Biography
Ehsan Sehgal, born Khawaja Ehsan Elahi Sehgal on 15 November 1951, is a Pakistani Urdu poet and writer who has lived in the Netherlands since 1978. He is also a journalist and activist for democracy and the freedom of the press and of speech.
He has received awards from Indian and European Urdu literary organisations, in recognition of his literary achievements, and is famous for his poetry book Zarb-e-Sukhan in the Urdu world. Moreover, his many ghazals and naats have also been composed and sung by various singers of Pakistan. Sehgal has written a novel and several books of poetry; his articles have been published in various Urdu newspapers.
Sehgal was born in Larkana, Pakistan, in a Punjabi business family. His father, Khawaja Manzoor Elahi Sehgal, was from Pind Dadan Khan, Pakistan. Ehsan Sehgal received his elementary and secondary education in Larkana. He later moved to Karachi. He was awarded a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree from University of Sindh, Hyderabad, and obtained Master of Arts Urdu (M.A.) and Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) degrees from University of Karachi. He worked in several firms before he began his career in journalism. Sehgal distinguished himself as a journalist, but "unfavorable conditions" forced him to leave the country. In 1978, he sought political asylum in the Netherlands, settling in The Hague to work as a freelance journalist. He married a Dutch national woman named Hetty who converted to Islam as Rubina Sehgal. The couple has two daughters, Memoona Sehgal and Tehmina Sehgal. He currently freelances for Urdu newspapers and magazines and online daily newspapers. ..
