Hamza Hakimzade Niyazi

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Hamza Hakimzade Niyazi (6 March 1889 – 18 March 1929) was an Uzbek writer, playwright, poet, composer, teacher, and political activist. He helped shape modern Uzbek literature and is often called the first Uzbek playwright and the founder of modern Uzbek social realism.

Early life
- Born in Kokand, in what was then Russian Turkestan, into a devout Muslim family.
- He began education in a maktab and later studied at a madrassah.
- He became interested in reform and education, inspired by Jadid ideas and readers like the Crimean Tatar newspaper Terciman.

Education and reform work
- He founded secular schools for orphans and poor children to teach reading for free.
- He wrote Uzbek primers and textbooks and traveled village to village to spread literacy.
- He joined the Communist Party in 1920, becoming one of the first Uzbeks in the party.

Creativity and ideas
- Niyazi wrote plays, novels, poems, comedies, and collected folk songs.
- Notable works include Yangi Saodat (New Happiness, 1915), Poisonous Life or the Victims of Love (1916), The Bey and The Servant (1918), and One Episode from the Secrets of the Veil (1927).
- His writing often focused on social issues: women’s rights, inequality, and superstition.
- He helped promote a modern Uzbek literary language during the 1920s reform movement.

Life in Shohimardon and death
- In 1928, he moved to Shohimardon to help with the five-year plan and to reform a local shrine believed to be the tomb of Ali.
- The shrine’s supporters and local clergy opposed his reforms.
- On 18 March 1929, he was stoned to death by a mob in Shohimardon.

Legacy
- After his death, he was celebrated as a martyr who fought feudalism and religious superstition.
- The government created memorials: a museum, a theater, and a state prize named in his honor; a metro station and other sites were named after him.
- His image faded somewhat after Uzbekistan gained independence due to his strong Soviet ties, though many of his reforms and ideas survived.

Family
- His father was a wealthy apothecary.
- He married twice. His first wife, Aksinya (Zuhra), later converted to Islam. They had a son, Gʻiyos, who died young. His second wife was Zaynab (Ahmadjonova), and they had a son, Abbos, who died in World War II.

Works and impact
- Niyazi wrote about how education, modernization, and literacy could transform Uzbek society.
- He also wrote about the dangers of superstition and the unequal treatment of women.
- He helped lay the groundwork for modern Uzbek literature and culture, influencing writers for generations.