Renowned Urdu writer Jeelani Bano passes away at 90

Urdu writer and scholar Jeelani Bano passed away at the age of 90, in Hyderabad on Sunday after a brief illness.

Urdu writer and scholar Jeelani Bano, a Padma Shri awardee whose work left an imprint on Urdu literature, passed away in Hyderabad on Sunday after a brief illness. She was 90.

She is survived by her son Ashhar Farhan, co-founder of Lamakaan. She was the wife of Anwar Moazzam, a well known academic.

Bano began writing in the 1950s and went on to build a prolific literary career spanning short stories, novels, radio plays, screenplays, essays and children’s literature. Over the decades, she published more than 20 books and her works were translated into several Indian and foreign languages, earning wide readership and academic attention.

She received the Padma Shri in 2001 and numerous literary honours, besides an honorary D.Litt. from Maulana Azad National Urdu University. Widely respected as a mentor and cultural figure, Bano remained engaged with literary and social causes well into her later years.