Rehana Khatoon was born on 30 August 1948, in Aligarh, in Uttar Pradesh, India to Late Professor Emeritus Nazir Ahmed, a renowned scholar of the Persian language and Padma Shri award winner. Inspired by her father, Rehana secured a master's degree in Persian in 1973 and followed it with an MPhil in 1975, and five yeares later, she took a doctoral degree in the language, in 1980, all from Aligarh Muslim University. Subsequently, she received a University Grants Commission fellowship and kickstarted her career as a research associate under the fellowship. In 1980, she joined University of Delhi as a faculty member where she worked till her retirement as the Head of the Department of Persian Language. During her tenure, she also worked as the Director of the Intensive Course in Modern Persian for Italian Students at the university and contributed to the Memorandum of Understanding between University of Delhi and University of Rome La Sapienza. Rehana Khatoon kept herself abreast with the developments in the Persian language by regularly attending refresher courses. She attended a two-month-long course organized by Bunyad-i-Farhang-i-Iran, Tehran, in 1978 and a four-month course by University of Isfahan, Iran, in 1995. She attended the course conducted by the Academic Sraff College, Jamia Millia Islamia and has attended 18 courses by the Iran Cultural Centre, New Delhi during the period from 1986 to 2006. Rehana Khatoon currently lives in Noida with her family.
Positions
Apart from working as the Head of the Department of Persian Language, University of Delhi, Rehana Khatoon has served as the Deputy Coordicator of the DRS Programme of the University Grants Commission and as a Member, Library Sub Committee - Ghalib Institute - 2014 She has also been the Vice President of the Scholar Association, New Delhi and was the Visiting Fellow at Aligarh Muslim University in 2007 and 2008. She has also served as the member of organizations of forums such as Ghalib Institute, Amir Khusro Society, Encyclopedia of Persian of the Subcontinent and Anjuman Tarriqi Urdu.
Awards and recognitions
Rehana Khatoon was awarded the Padma Shri, in 2014, twenty seven years after her father, the 1987 Padma Shri award winner, Professor Nazir Ahmed was honoured by the Government of India. She has also received many other awards such as:
Fakhruddin Ali Ahmad Ghalib Award - Ghalib Institute, New Delhi - 2002
Career Award - University Grants Commission, New Delhi - 1994-1997
Fellowship - University of Isfahan, Teheran
Research Scientist "A" - University Grants Commission, New Delhi - 1988
Post-Doctoral Fellowship - University Grant Commission, New Delhi - 1980
Senior Research Fellowship - University Grant Commission, New Delhi - 1977
Ghalib Medal - 1969
Publications
Rehana Khatoon is credited with several books, over 30 in number, on topics such as lexicography, comparative philology and Persian language and literature. She has also written a source book by name, Delhi: Past and Present: Focus on Persian Sources Some of her notable works are:
Books apart, Khatoon is credited with several published articles on topics related to the Persian language. She has also translated a medical book on Diabetes, written by Dr. C. L. Arya and a story book, Mitti Se Heera by Professor Maqbool of Jamia Millia Islamia, from Hindi to Urdu.
