Ram Babu Saksena

thumb|His scholarly works became core parts of South Asian university curricula Ram Babu Saksena (1897 – 1957) was a distinguished South Asian historian, researcher, and critic. He authored the first comprehensive and scientific history of Urdu literature in English, titled A History of Urdu Literature. Its subsequent Urdu translation became a fundamental documentary text in university curricula, playing a historic role in introducing Urdu's linguistic evolution to the global stage. Quotes The history of the Urdu language is the history of the shared cultural synthesis and solidarity of the subcontinent, wherein people of diverse religions and cultures came together to craft a beautiful intellectual and linguistic bouquet. Tarikh-e-Adab-e-Urdu (History of Urdu Literature - Translated by Mohammad Askari), p. 12 A scientific study of a language's literary evolution is impossible unless we connect and evaluate its prose and poetic treasures alongside its precise political and social background. Ibid (Preface), p. 4 The remarkable speed with which Urdu prose has developed in a very short span of time, absorbing scientific, legal, and academic terminology, is clear proof of the language's extraordinary flexibility and expansiveness. Tarikh-e-Adab-e-Urdu, p. 142 Stepping away from traditional biographical anthologies (*Tazkira-nooisi*) toward regular scientific and documented historiography is the only way to elevate Urdu literature to the academic standards of the modern world. Maqalat-e-Saksena (Collected Essays of Saksena), p. 78 Category:1897 births Category:1957 deaths Category:Urdu-language writers Category:Historians from India Category:Literary critics Category:Non-fiction authors from India