ASGHAR MEHDI ASHAR

Asghar Mehdi Ashar (Urdu: اصغر مہدی اشعر; born 12 October 1973) is a Pakistani-Canadian engineer, Urdu literary scholar, critic, author, lecturer, reciter, and digital archivist. He is widely known for his scholarly and lexicographical contributions to the classical Urdu poetic genre marsiya (elegiac poetry). Ashar is the founder of Farogh-e-Marsiya International, editor of the Farogh-e-Marsiya Magazine, creator of the Emarsiya digital archive, and compiler of pioneering marsiya dictionaries published by the Urdu Dictionary Board, Karachi.

Early life and education

Asghar Mehdi Ashar was born on 12 October 1973 in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. He received his early education at Habib Public School, Karachi, and earned a Bachelor of Engineering degree from N.E.D. University of Engineering & Technology.

Ashar later migrated to Canada, where he completed an Executive MBA and a Master’s degree in Management Sciences from the University of Waterloo. He also undertook management development studies at the Richard Ivey School of Business, University of Western Ontario.

Professional career

Engineering career

By profession, Ashar is a trained engineer and has served in executive and leadership roles within multinational engineering and manufacturing organizations in Canada and abroad.

Literary scholarship

Parallel to his technical career, Ashar developed a strong scholarly presence in Urdu literature, specializing in marsiya studies. His work combines classical literary criticism with digital humanities, focusing on preservation, accessibility, and linguistic analysis of marsiya poetry.

Farogh-e-Marsiya International and Emarsiya

Ashar founded Farogh-e-Marsiya International, an organization devoted to the promotion and academic study of marsiya worldwide. He also created www.emarsiya.com, a digital archive hosting thousands of complete marsiyas by more than 250 poets. The platform is considered one of the earliest comprehensive digital repositories dedicated exclusively to marsiya poetry.

Publications

Ashar has authored, edited, and compiled several significant works in Urdu literature, especially marsiya:

• Farogh-e-Marsiya: Ik Naye Azm Ki Ibtida
• Farhang-e-Anees — the first dedicated dictionary of marsiya poetry, published by the Urdu Dictionary Board, Karachi
• Farhang-e-Dabeer — a comprehensive lexicon covering the marsiyas of Mirza Dabeer
• Dabeer ke Marsiye Volumes 1 to 7 — collected works of Mirza Dabeer
• Abr Jonpuri ke Marsiye — collected marsiyas of poet Abr Jonpuri
• Sagheer Sonwi ke Marsiye — collected marsiyas of poet Sagheer Sonwi
• Farogh-e-Marsiya Magazine, Editions 1 to 22 — quarterly literary magazine edited by Ashar

These publications collectively document, preserve, and analyze classical and modern marsiya poetry, and have been recognized by literary scholars and institutions for their contribution to Urdu literature.

Recognition and appreciation

Ashar’s lexicographical work, particularly Farhang-e-Anees and Farhang-e-Dabeer, has been formally recognized by the Urdu Dictionary Board (Urdu Lughat Board), Karachi. The Board’s publication of these works marked a significant milestone in the academic treatment of marsiya as a major literary genre.

In December 2025, a seminar and appreciation event was held at the Urdu Dictionary Board to honor Ashar’s contributions. Senior scholars including Dr. Aqeel Abbas Jafri and Dr. Hilal Naqvi praised his work for strengthening Urdu lexicography and restoring scholarly focus on marsiya beyond sectarian perspectives.

Marsiya recitation

Ashar is also an accomplished marsiya-khwan (marsiya reciter). He began recitation at the age of 14 and has recorded numerous classical marsiyas, contributing to the preservation of traditional oral performance practices.

Academic lectures and public engagements

Ashar has delivered academic lectures internationally. In August 2025, he presented a lecture titled “Urdu Marsiya in the Modern Age: A Scholarly Approach to Revive a Classical Literary Genre Through Digital Renaissance” at the University of Texas at Austin under its Asian Studies program. The lecture focused on integrating traditional literary scholarship with digital tools for cultural preservation.

Interviews and media

Ashar has been featured in interviews and reports discussing his literary mission, including an in-depth interview published by Aalmi Akhbar, where he outlined his efforts to modernize marsiya studies through research, publication, and digital archiving.

Selected works

• Farogh-e-Marsiya: Ik Naye Azm Ki Ibtida
• Farhang-e-Anees
• Farhang-e-Dabeer
• Dabeer ke Marsiye Volumes 1 to 7
• Abr Jonpuri ke Marsiye
• Sagheer Sonwi ke Marsiye
• Farogh-e-Marsiya Magazine, Editions 1 to 22