Novelist, poet, critic, diplomat, scholar, Ahmed Ali was born in Delhi in 1910. He was educated at Aligarh and Lucknow universities, standing first-class and first in the order of merit at the B.A. level as well as the M.A. He taught at the universities of Lucknow, Allahabad and Agra between 1932 and 1946, and later joined the Bengal Senior Educational Service as a professor, before becoming head of the English department at Presidency College, Calcutta. During the Second World War, he was the BBC's representative and director in India. He was also a distinguished visiting professor, travelling to Nankin, China; and Michigan State University, Southern Illinois and Western Kentucky in the United States. Angarey, published in 1932 in Urdu, met with instant success. Ali went on to co-found the All-India Progressive Writers' Movement and Association. After independence, he lived in Pakistan and established embassies in China and Morocco. He had a deep interest in Sufism, and was passionate about Ghalib's poetry. His writing voiced concern over the decay of Muslim culture and the injustice of colonial rule. He was proficient in several languages including French, Chinese, Persian and Arabic. He is considered a pioneer of the modern Urdu short story. In recognition of his enduring contribution to international letters and services to the nation, the Government of Pakistan issued a commemorative postage stamp in his honour in 2005.