Choudhri Mohammed Naim, known as C.M. Naim, died on July 9 in Hyde Park at the age of 89. Naim was an emeritus professor in the University of Chicago’s Department of South Asian Languages & Civilizations (SALC), where he began teaching more than 60 years ago and retired in 2001. He is widely regarded as the founder of Urdu studies in North America.
Rochona Majumdar, George V. Bobrinskoy Professor and SALC chair, commented on his impact: “even after his retirement, generations of students treated Naim-sahib’s home as a veritable pilgrimage.”
Shariq Khan, a current Ph.D. candidate in SALC who visited Naim regularly despite never formally taking classes from him, said, “He was always surrounded by the latest that was being written in Urdu, and he went out of his way to congratulate and encourage young writers.” Khan described this as reflecting Naim’s “egalitarian ideals” and noted, “He would also be the happiest to know about any new good work, especially coming from young students. I would often be surprised by how easily he would be amazed at whatever I was doing.” Khan also recalled Naim’s critical approach: he possessed “a capacity for sharp critique” and did not tolerate “exclusion, pettiness and mediocrity.”
Muzaffar Alam, George V. Bobrinskoy Professor Emeritus in SALC and a colleague of Naim’s, observed that Naim “questioned and discussed the validity of several political and social issues concerning Islam, Muslim politics and Pakistan.” Alam pointed to Naim’s book *A Killing in Ferozewala: Essays / Polemics / Review* as an example of his engagement with political topics.
Dipesh Chakrabarty, Lawrence A. Kimpton Distinguished Service Professor in History and SALC, highlighted the breadth of Naim’s writing: “ranging widely from the autobiographical, studies of humor in Urdu poetry of the eighteenth century, to his recent, pioneering book on crime fiction in Urdu.”
Naim contributed regularly to major media sites such as Scroll.in and TheWire.in. Two additional books are set to be published posthumously.
James Nye, former bibliographer for Southern Asia at UChicago Library, said that “Naim was ardent in his concern that collections of Urdu books and periodicals, especially those in private collections, should be preserved and made accessible.” Nye credited Naim’s guidance with shaping preservation efforts over four decades: “It was his guidance, collaboration and insistence that oriented much of the Urdu preservation work librarians and archivists have been involved in for over four decades.”
Naim is survived by two children who grew up in Hyde Park—Tahir (TJ) and Farah. TJ recalled accompanying his father to work while their mother worked elsewhere: “an early example of a father taking his children to work while his wife worked,” remembering time spent playing with his sister at Foster Hall.
In 1971, when Naim attempted to resign from UChicago before moving back to India, TJ recounted that “the department chair at the time declined to accept his resignation and told him to take leave for a year,” promising he could resign if he still wished after that period. After a year away from Chicago, Naim returned—a decision considered pivotal for both SALC’s future and for Urdu studies at large.
Majumdar noted that even after retiring many years ago, Naim continued attending Southern Asia seminars and events. She added that he served as “a connection between India, Pakistan and a vast South Asian diaspora,” with writing and teaching that combined Islamic history with modern Urdu literature.
Majumdar further explained: “Naim-sahib first put UChicago on the global scholarly map of Urdu and Islamicate Studies.”
A condolence meeting will be held by colleagues in SALC on Tuesday, Oct. 14 from 5 to 7 p.m., Room 103 at Foster Hall. A campus service is also being planned.