Urdu

Yes he is an eminent Urdu poet. He was awarded the Padmashri by the Government of India for his contribution to Urdu literature. Ali Jawad Zaidi (Born 10.03.1916 Died 06.12.2004) who became the Secretary-General of the All India Students Federationduring the Quit India Movement, retired from active government service in 1978 as a very senior bureaucrat, is an internationally acclaimed Urdu scholar, writer, poet & critic, and author of over 80 books written in Urdu, Hindi, English and Persian. His most notable work is "A History of Urdu Literature" (http://www.amazon.com/History-Urdu-Literature-Jawad-Zaidi/dp/8172012918). He is also the recepient of several other other prestigous awards such as the Ghalib Award.

He was also a freedom fighter who fought for India's freedom. During the Indian freedom struggle, he was imprisoned for writing poetry that incited patriotic fervour. In those days Sarojini Naidu (a very prominent Indian poet & freedom fighter) used to attend meetings of the student's freedom movement (of which Ali Jawad Zaidi was a leader) and in one such meeting she lavished praise on one of his poems. From the discussion forum in the WikiAnswers, three books of Syed Ali Jawad Zaidi have come up. 1. A book of poems written by Ali Jawad Zaidi titled "Tisha-i-Awaz". The book contains 52 poems written by him and has 160 pages. The book was published in 1985 and priced at Rs. 25/-. The book was published by Nusrat Publishers, Haideri Market, Aminuddaula Park, Lucknow. 2. A book of poetry written by Ali Jawad Zaidi titled 'Naseem-e- Dasht-e-Arzoo' published by Naami Press, Naqkhaas, Lucknow, in the year 1982. The book contains 152 poems by Ali Jawad Zaidi. This collection of Poems won an award from the state Government. 3. A book titled "Dayar-e-sahr" written by Ali Jawad Zaidi published in 1960 and printed by Union Printing Press, Delhi. This maybe in addition to a number of other books that Ali Jawad Zaidi may have written. This book alone has 64 poems. 4. Rang-e-Sang - Collection of poems by Ali Jawad Zaidi Published in 1944. 5. Naghma-e-Aazaadi - Collection of Patriotic poems, Published in 1957, in both Urdu and Hindi. 6. Meri Ghazalein - Collection of Gahzals by Ali Jawad Zaidi Published in 1959. This collection won an award from the State Government. 7. Inteqhad Ali Jawad Zaidi - Collection of Poems Published in 1971. 8. Warq Warq Zanjeer - collection of Poems Published in 1990. 9. Dhoop Chaaon - Collection of Poems Published in 1994. 10. Paro - Long poem by Ali Jawad Zaidi Published after his death in 2005 with the efforts of his son, Anwar Zaidi and transcribed by his daughter-in-law, Saba (in Hindi). Please refer to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ali_Jawad_Zaidi for a complete list of his works.