# Shafqat Tanvir Mirza

Shafqat Tanvir Mirza – known by many as STM (6 February 1932 – 20 November 2012) was a Pakistani writer and a journalist known for his activism for Punjabi culture and language. He was also a journalist union leader and was sent to jail twice because of his activities on behalf of newspapers he worked for.

## Early life and education

Belonging to a Rajput family that took the Mirza nobility title during the times of emperor Akbar, his ancestors belonged to Rajouri (now in Jammu and Kashmir, India), but Mirza himself was born in February 1932 the village of Domeli, in the Jhelum District (now in Punjab, Pakistan), where his father, a Range Officer in the Punjab Forest Department, was transferred.
Mirza studied at schools in Chakwal, Khushab, Wazirabad, Attock, Bahawalnagar and at Gordon College, Rawalpindi.

## Career

Mirza's earlier career centred on Rawalpindi, where he worked for the daily newspapers Tameer and Hilal, as well as at Radio Pakistan. In 1970, he joined Daily Musawat, subsequently moving on to Daily Imroze, where he became the editor. In the 1990s, Shafqat Tanvir Mirza joined the English language newspaper Dawn, where he contributed regular columns on Punjabi language and culture.

## Activities as an author and translator

Shafqat Tanvir Mirza was also active as an author, writing and translating a number of books. He wrote in Urdu, Punjabi and English.
* Tehreek-i-Azadi Vich Punjab da Hissa (Punjabi)
* Adab Raheen Punjab de Tareekh (Punjabi)
* Resistance Themes in Punjabi Literature (English)
* Making of a Nation (English)
* Shah Hussain, a biography of 16th century Sufi poet (in Urdu language)
* Lahu suhag, a Punjabi translation of Blood Wedding by Garcia Lorca
* Booha Koeena, a Punjabi translation of No Exit by Jean-Paul Sartre
* Akhia Sachal Sarmast nay, a translation of the Seraiki prose of Sachal Sarmast

## Awards and recognition

* Pride of Performance Award by the President of Pakistan in 2006
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* 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Shafqat Tanvir Mirza profile and Pride of Performance Award info on The Express Tribune newspaper Published 21 Nov 2012, Retrieved 4 January 2024
* 1 2 3 4 5 Nazeer Kahut (20 November 2012). "Shafqat Tanvir Mirza is no more: Profile: A lifetime of activism". Academy of the Punjab in North America website (APNA). Archived from the original on 7 April 2013. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
* ↑ Sheikh, Majid (20 November 2013). "STM: One year on and the fight continues". Dawn News. Archived from the original on 4 January 2025. Shafqat Tanvir Mirza's family originally belonged to Rajouri, now in India, where he himself claimed his ancestors were Rajas of the land. In the time of Akbar this Rajput family was allowed to name their first son as Mirza, a name used only by Mughal royalty. His pedigree, and thus his tenacity, he was aware of. And so it was that he was given his name. His father was a Range Officer in the Punjab Forest Department, and during one of his transfers STM was born in Domeli in Jhelum District in February, 1932.