Hamza Hakimzade Niyazi

Hamza Hakimzade Niyazi
Hamza Hakimzade Niyazi in the 1920s
Native name	حمزہ حکیم زادہ نیازی Ҳамза Ҳакимзода Ниёзий Hamza Hakimzoda Niyoziy
Born	6 March [O.S. 22 February] 1889 Kokand, Russian Turkestan
Died	18 March 1929(1929-03-18) (aged 40) Shohimardon, Uzbek SSR, Soviet Union
Cause of death	stoned to death
Occupation	author, composer, playwright, poet, scholar, and political activist
Notable awards	People's Writer of the Uzbek SSR (1926)[1]

Hamza Hakimzade Niyazi (Uzbek: حمزہ حکیم زادہ نیازی / Ҳамза Ҳакимзода Ниёзий / Hamza Hakimzoda Niyoziy) (March 6  [O.S. 22 February] 1889 – 18 March 1929) was an Uzbek author, composer, playwright, poet, scholar, teacher, and political activist. Niyazi is widely seen as one of the leading figures in the early development of modern Uzbek literary tradition. He is generally considered the first Uzbek playwright, the founder of modern Uzbek musical forms, as well as the founder of Uzbek social realism. During the Russian Revolution, he strongly supported the Bolsheviks, as they strongly opposed the system of feudal rule that was prevalent in much of Central Asia. He was one of the first Uzbeks to join the Communist Party and dedicated his life to promoting literacy and education in his homeland, opening schools and orphanages.

Apart from Uzbek, Niyazi was fluent in several other languages, including Arabic, Persian, Russian, and Turkish. In addition to writing textbooks, non-fiction works, and newspaper articles, Hamza wrote plays, musicals, poetry, and novels. His prominent works include the novelette Yangi Saodat, the song Yasha, Shoʻro, and the poem memorializing honor killing victim Tursunoy Saidazimova as a martyr. His works generally dealt with social issues, such as women's rights, social inequality, and the prevalence of superstition.

Born to a devout Muslim family, he became an atheist over time, supporting measures to control religious fanaticism and superstition in Central Asia. Traveling village by village, he tried to help teach people to read the Uzbek language as well as discourage violence against women and superstitious practices and promoted the hujum by organizing rallies. Stationed in Shohimardon to help with the five-year plan, he knew that the shrine in Shohimardon to Ali was not the actual resting place of Ali and intended to remove it, as the local elites used it to extort the local peasants by demanding they pay alms to it. However, the local clergy was outraged by his activities of promoting the hujum and trying to educate the populace about the dubious nature of the shrine. Consequently, Hamza was stoned to death on 18 March 1929.

After his death, Hamza was hailed as a martyr in the struggle against feudalism and religious fanaticism. Streets, a station of the Tashkent metro (later renamed), the theater in Tashkent where he taught drama, and a literature prize were named in his honor. Statues built in his likeness were installed in numerous cities in the Uzbek SSR, and his character was the main protagonist in the 1961 movie Hamza and the 1970s TV series Fiery Roads. However, after independence, Hamza became significantly less revered, as his political views supportive of the Soviet Union and opposition to religious activities were seen as un-Uzbek and anti-Muslim, despite the fact that many of the customs he pushed to abolish were derived from pre-Islamic practices.