Mir Gholam ‘Ali, surnamed ‘Azad, was born at Maidanpur in Balgram in A.D. 1704, and was instructed in language, &c, by Mir Abdul Jelil of Selsibil; in prosody and polite literature by Mir Saiad Muhammad; in the Koran by Shaikh Muhammad Hayat; and in all excellences by Shaikh ‘Abdul Wabhat Tantawi. According to the Masalati Shuara, he studied eloquence with Muhammad Aslam Salim and Shaikh Saad Ulla Gulshan of Ahmadabad. ‘Azad was a poet and a biographer of poets. He was the friend of Shah Nawaz Khan, and when the latter was murdered, he collected his friend’s manuscripts which were scattered in all directions, and published them. ‘Azad travelled a great deal, and in H. 1150, visited Mecca, where he remained two years, and then came to Aurangabad. The Miratu-l Khayal or ” Mirror of fancy” by Shir Khan Lodi, mentions that ” the author of the Khazanahi A’amirah calls himself ‘Azad, Husaini, Wasiti, and Balgrami,” and says that in H. 1176 ‘Azad composed the Tazkirah at the request of his relation Muhammad Auladi Muhammad. Ibrahim Khalil gives the life of ‘ Azad in his Suhuf, and states that ” up to the present time, which is the 7th year of Shah ‘Alam, he is still occupied in the composition of Persian and Arabic poetry. His works are numerous, and among others, he has arranged three Tazkirahs of poets,-the first called Yadi Bayza; the; second Servi ‘Azad; and the third Khazanahi ‘Aamirah.” In the Khulasatu-l ‘Afkar, it is mentioned that ” ‘Azad was a distinguished poet settled at Aurangabad, where he was much honoured, and associated on friendly terms with the sons of ‘Asaf Jah. He wrote a Persian diwan, and a book of Arabic elegies and mesnawis. His Tazkirahs are considered noble proofs of his proficiency in everything connected with prosody, versification, and composition, both in Persian and Arabic.” Fakir ‘Azad died in H. 1200. He was celebrated all over India, Arabia, and Egypt for his learning and literary productions.
