Nasira Sharma, born on August 22, 1948, stands as one of contemporary Hindi literature’s most formidable and nuanced voices. A novelist, journalist, and scholar, she occupies a unique intellectual space at the intersection of Indian and West Asian cultures. Born into a prosperous Shia Muslim family in Allahabad (now Prayagraj), Uttar Pradesh, she was the youngest child in a household defined by academic rigour and affection. Her father, Professor Jamin Ali, was the distinguished Head of the Urdu Department at Allahabad University, and though he passed away during her youth, his literary legacy—and the resilience of her mother, Nazhinin Begum—shaped her formative years.
Sharma’s educational trajectory reflects her mastery of multiple languages. After attending a convent school and earning her B.A. from Allahabad University, she completed an M.A. in Persian Language and Literature at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). Today, she commands five languages: Hindi, Urdu, English, Pashto, and Persian. This linguistic breadth became the foundation for her career as a specialist in Iranian society, politics, and art. Notably, she remains the only woman from South Asia to have interviewed Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini after his rise to power, a landmark achievement in international journalism.
Her personal life is as defiant of convention as her professional one. In an act of significant courage, she married Dr Ramchandra Sharma, a Hindu Brahmin scholar and professor of Geopolitics at JNU, under the Special Marriage Act. Despite initial opposition from both families and subsequent social censure, their union became a celebrated symbol of interfaith harmony in Indian literary circles. This lived experience of secularism is central to Sharma’s identity; she identifies as a practising Shia Muslim but rejects religious barriers, participating in Hindu festivals and visiting dargahs with equal reverence. Her very name—”Nasira” (Arabic for “helper”) and “Sharma” (a Sanskrit Brahmin title)—embodies this civilizational synthesis.
Sharma’s literary journey began in earnest in 1975 with the publication of her story Bukhana in the magazine Sarika. Over the following decades, she produced a vast body of work, including novels, short stories, plays, and essays. Her prose is celebrated for its “Ganga-Jamuni” quality, seamlessly weaving Arabic and Persian diction into Hindi. Her fiction often explores the struggles of women within patriarchal systems, the trauma of displacement, and the complexities of the Iranian Revolution.
Her major novels serve as milestones in modern Hindi literature:
-
Saat Nadiyan Ek Samandar (1984): An exploration of Iranian society.
-
Shalmali (1987): A depiction of women navigating tradition and modernity, featuring a mother-in-law character inspired by her own warm relationship with Saraswati Devi.
-
Thikare ki Mangni (1989): A critique of patriarchal customs affecting Muslim women.
-
Zinda Muhavare (1998): A poignant look at Partition and the displaced.
-
Paarijat (2011): The work that earned her the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award in 2016.
-
Kagaz ki Naav (2014): Awarded the Vyas Samman in 2019, selected as the finest Hindi work of the decade.
Beyond her novels, Sharma has contributed to academia and broadcasting, teaching at Jamia Millia Islamia and working with Aryanagar Radio Station. Her reportage from conflict zones in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria has added a gritty, grounded realism to her scholarly perspectives. Recognition for her work has been extensive, including the Mahadevi Verma Puraskar (1997), the UK Katha Samman for Kuiyanjaan (2008), and the Mahatma Gandhi Samman (2011).
Nasira Sharma’s legacy is defined by her refusal to be pigeonholed. Whether through her television adaptations on Doordarshan or her scholarly translations, she continues to advocate for a world where “neither can I speak ill of Hindus, nor of Muslims.” Her life and work remain a bridge between faiths, languages, and the shared human experience of the South Asian and Persian worlds.