Nazir Akbarabadi

(pen name of Wali Muhammad). Born circa 1740, in New Delhi; died 1830, in Agra. Indian poet. Wrote in Urdu.

A representative of the democratic trend in Indian literature, Nazir Akbarabadi realistically depicted Indian society and expanded the themes and genres of classical Urdu poetry. He was particularly interested in the everyday life and mores of the Indian common people. Nazir Akbarabadi was principally concerned with social issues. The theme of social injustice is prominent in his narrative poems Celebration of the Rainy Season, Poverty, and The Shaken City.

In his satirical works, Nazir Akbarabadi condemned the idleness of the aristocrats and the parasitism of the clergy. He combined the classical tradition of Urdu poetry with the images and ideas of folk poetry and with Indian and Persian-Tadzhik literary tradition.