A jadid poet and teacher from the Samarkand region who ran a new-method school and wrote verse urging his readers toward learning and reform.
An artisan's son
Saidahmad Siddiqiy, who wrote as Ajziy — "the humble one" — was born in 1864 in the village of Halvoyi, in the Jomboy district of Samarkand, into a family of artisans. He was educated in the traditional way but, like many of his generation, came to believe that Turkestan's schools had fallen far behind the world, and he became one of the organisers of new-method schools in the region.
The mirror of admonition
His verse was written to persuade. In Anjumani arvoh ("The Assembly of Spirits", 1912) and Mir'oti ibrat ("The Mirror of Admonition", 1914) he made the case, in accessible poetry, for schooling, science and the reform of harmful customs. Ganjinai hikmat ("The Treasury of Wisdom", 1914) and Ayn ul-adab ("The Spring of Good Manners", 1916) followed, and he also worked as a translator.
Back to the classroom
After the revolution he tried to put his ideas into public service: from 1919 he worked in the Samarkand regional justice department, first as deputy head and then as head. In 1922 he returned to teaching, the work he valued most. He died in 1927 — before the repressions that would claim so many of his fellow jadids.
Key achievements
- Wrote Mir'oti ibrat ("The Mirror of Admonition", 1914), a verse call to learning and reform
- Published Anjumani arvoh (1912), Ganjinai hikmat (1914) and Ayn ul-adab (1916)
- One of the organisers of new-method schools in the Samarkand region