WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden has conferred a lifetime achievement award to Pakistani-American Urdu poet and writer Raees Warsi.
New York State Assembly member Jessica Gonzalez presented the award on behalf of Biden, recognizing Warsi’s lifelong services to promoting the Urdu language and literature at the international level.
Raees has spent more than 34 years advocating for the Urdu language. He also organized the first-ever Urdu conference at the United Nations which gained international attention. The heads of missions of Pakistan and India, along with the UN Secretary-General, acknowledged Urdu’s significance as an international language.
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A resolution was also adopted during the event, regarding the inclusion of Urdu among the official languages of the United Nations.
The Pakistani government has previously acknowledged Raees’s contributions, awarding him the Pride of Pakistan Award in 2017 through the Federal Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis. Raees’s literary work has also been widely celebrated.
His collection, “Aina Hoon Mein,” was well-received by renowned literary figures, including Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi, Prof. Gopichand Narang, and Dr. Jameel Jalbi.
Moreover, his ghazals have been sung by famous singers from Pakistan and India including Ghulam Ali, Amanat Ali Khan, Hamid Ali Khan, Ustad Zakir Ali Khan, Humaira Channa, Parvez Mehdi, Udit Narayan, Rafaqaat Ali Khan and Sadhana Sargaram.
