Ra‘di Azarkhashi

Ra’di Azarakhshi, Ghulam’ali (1909-1999), son of Muhammad ‘Ali Iftikhar Lashkar. A Journalist, university professor, and poet with the nom de plume Ra’id. Born in Tabriz, his family hailed from Tafrish. He received his primary and secondary education in Tabriz and obtained his high school diploma in 1927. He went to Tehran and enrolled at the Higher School of Law and Political Science. Having received his BA in Law in 1930, he returned to Azerbaijan and embarked upon his teaching career. Having taught literature, history, and geography in Tabriz, he was transferred to Tehran and was appointed the director of the Publications Bureau of the Education Ministry and also the Ta’lim wa Tarbiyat Journal. An article by Sayyid Hasan Taqizadih, entitled Junbish-i Milli-yi Adabi (National Literary Movement), appeared in the journal, in which the contributor had criticized the methodology adopted by the Persian Academy in selection of Persian equivalents for words of alien origin approved by Riza Shah, stating that ‘the sword is not supposed to intervene with the task of the pen.’ Reza Shah, disfavoring the criticisms, ordered the police force to collect all the copies of the issue and when Hikmat, the then Education Minister resided in Moscow, some of the personnel of the journal, including Ra’di Azarakhshi, were jailed. Ra’di entered government service in 1933, serving as the director of the Technical Library of the Education Ministry, Publications Administration, the Amuzish wa Parwarish Journal, and also served on the editorial board of the Iran Newspaper. Upon the establishment of the Persian Academy, he was in charge of its secretariat for a while. He went to Paris in 1936 to further his studies of the French language and obtained his doctorate in literature. He had mastery of French, English, Arabic, and modern Turkey. Upon his return, he worked for the Education Ministry. The then Education Minister, ‘Ali Asghar Hikmat, who sent him to Europe in 1936 where he obtained his doctorate in law. Having returned to Iran in 1942, he was invited to serve as a member of the Persian Academy, director general of the Education Ministry, and given professorship at the University. Spending a while on his literary and cultural activities, he went to England as Iran’s cultural attaché and studied there for some years. He returned to Iran and was appointed technical inspector and chief advisor, and director of Higher Education Administration, and finally Iran’s ambassador to UNESCO. After a number of years, he was succeeded by Manuchihr Iqbal, he was recalled to Tehran. Upon his return, he was appointed a senator and the dean of the Faculty of Letters at the Melli University. He was elected a senator in the 1963 elections, serving as a member of the senate for four years. His criticisms in the senate, of the Education Ministry, and government plans led to the end of his life in public service after the four year office at the senate. He was appointed the dean of the Faculty of Letters at the Melli University and held this office till his retirement in 1978. He delivered speeches at the fundraising sessions held at the Society for Children with Hearing Impairment and Speech Defects, where he used the word nashinawa (hearing impaired). He was an erudite poet of vigor, having embarked upon his poetical career in high school. His early poetry includes the Nawruzi musammat and some qit’as, like Azmand (Avaricious), and Marg-i Kudak (Death of a Child) and Ghazal-i Pakdaman (Ghazal of the Chaste). He was an authority in Persian, Arabic, English, and French belles-lettres. He composed poetry from his early youth, appealing to distinguished figures of scholarship and poetry because of the innovative themes and fluency of expression. Scholars like Adib al-Saltana Sami’i, ‘Ali Asghar Hikmat, and Dabir A’zam Bahrami appreciated his talents and contributed to his achievements. His poetry, including qasidas, ghazals, and chakamas run to 40, 0000 couplets, two volumes of which have appeared. His works include: Rastakhiz-i Adabi-yi Iran; Jahanbini-yi Firdawsi; Tarikhchih-yi Tahawwul-i Danishgah-ha dar Iran (in English); Tahqiq dar Amuzish-i ‘Ali (on comparative law in French); Panj A’ina; and some mathnawis of a political nature. 

Asar-afarinan (3/ 119-120); Chaharsad Sha’ir-i Barguzida-yi Parsiguy (373-378); Sukhanvaran-i Nami-yi Mu’asir (3/ 1557-1565).