Highest civil award announced for a Turkish professor by Govt of Pakistan

 

Prof. Celal Soydan

Islamabad: On Friday (August 14), the government of Pakistan has announced the third highest civil award for a Turkish professor working in the Department of Urdu and Literature in Istambul University, Turkey, for his work promoting the Urdu language.

On the occasion of 74th independence day of Pakistan, the president Arif Alvi announced Sitara-e-Qaid-e-Azam (the third-highest civilian award) for Prof. Celal Soydan for his work on promoting the national language of Pakistan (Urdu). 

The professor will be bestowed with this award on March 23, 2021, on the occasion of Pakistan Resolution Day.

He was the first Turk to have completed his Master’s Degree in Urdu from Punjab University Lahore in 1993. In 1994, he joined Ankara University, where he completed his doctorate in 1999 on Allama Mohammad Iqbal, Pakistan’s national poet, and a 20th-century philosopher.

Prof. Celal Soydan Background

• Prof. Celal Soydan was the head of Ankara University’s Department Urdu Language and Literature from 2005 to 2014.
• In 2014, he joined Istanbul University, where he is currently teaching Urdu Language and Literature.
• Prof. Celal Soydan has also translated the entire Diwan (collection of poetry) of Mirza Asadullah Ghalib into Turkish, which is the famous Indian poet of Urdu and Persian. He also turned the Urdu works of Sir Muhammad Iqbal to the Turkish language.
• He is a co-author of Urdu-Turkish dictionary “Urdu Türkçe - Türkçe Urdu Sözlük” compiled in 2015.

Prof. Celal Soydan Interview

Talking to Anadolu Agency, Prof. Celal Soydan thanked the Pakistani government for recognizing his work. 

"It is a great honor for me," he said 

"Pakistan and Turkey share a long list of religious, cultural, and social similarities. I am happy that I have contributed to further strengthen these bonds," he maintained.