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Sadia Dehlvi (born 1957) is a Delhi-based media person, activist, writer and a columnist with the daily newspaper, the Hindustan Times, and frequently published in Frontline Urdu, Hindi and English newspapers and magazines.
She is a prominent face on prime time television debates dealing with the issues of Muslim communities. She has been the editor of Bano, a popular woman’s journal in the Urdu language with the Shama group of Publications. Dehlvi has produced and scripted a number of documentaries and television programs, including Amma and Family (1995), starring Zohra Sehgal.
Sadia Dehlvi was born in Delhi in 1957, to one of the oldest media houses of Delhi, Shama group of Publications, a renowned name in Urdu publication which published 'Shama', a literary and film Urdu monthly, and eventually closed in 1987. Her grandfather was Yusuf Dehlvi and father is Yunus Dehlvi who lived in Shama Ghar on Sardar Patel Road, in New Delhi where she was born, the one time Delhi's cultural hub, today houses Bahujan Samaj Party headquarters, (since 2002). Her surname 'Dehlvi" (Dehlavi) means someone from Delhi reflecting her family's long association with Delhi.
For over thirty years Sadia Dehlvi has engaged in voicing concern on issues regarding heritage, culture, women and Muslim communities. She lives with her teenage son in New Delhi. In April 2009 Sadia Dehlvi authored a book on Sufism called "Sufism: The heart of Islam" published by HarperCollins Publishers, India. She is currently working on a book detailing Delhi’s Sufi history.
Dehlvi is a close friend and confidante of author Khushwant Singh. Singh’s book Not a Nice Man to Know was dedicated to "Sadia Dehlvi". He wrote, "To Sadia Dehlvi, who gave me more affection and notoriety than I deserve." Singh's book, Men and Women in my Lifecarries an entire chapter on her and the cover has her photo. In 1998, Dehlvi produced a television show, "Not a Nice man to Know" with Khushwant Singh interviewing women from various fields.
Dehlvi won acclaim for her television series starring the veteran actress Zohra Sehgal "Amma and Family" that broke the stereotype portrayal of a Muslim family. Dehlvi co-produced and scripted the series, also playing one of the main roles.
She married a Pakistani citizen, Reza Pervaiz in 1990, she stayed in Karachi for while, where the couple had a son, Armaan in 1992.Apr 8, 2002.
She also has appeared on TV series Zindagi Kitni Khoobsoorat Hai (2001) as an actress against traditional islamic values. She also regularly makes appearance in mixed gender parties which are deemed to be unislamic by all islamic scholars Currently she is a twice-divorced lady and tied the knot for the third time to a married man with five children, she cites the following reason for the marriage:
‘‘Towards the end of last year I saw death closing in on me. Professionally, emotionally and financially, nothing was working out and I felt orphaned. I rarely went out of my farmhouse and most days stayed tucked in bed auditing life. But I was wary of getting into another marriage for fear of emotional exhaustion. I admitted to moments of loneliness and desperation but laughed through it all. Karamat’s now my biggest strength ’’.
Author
§ Sufism, The Heart of Islam, Harpercollins, 2009.
§ Dilli ka Dastarkhwan - chapter in City Improbable : An Anthology of Writings on Delhi/edited by Khushwant Singh. New Delhi,
As Actress:
§ Zindagi Kitni Khoobsoorat Hai" (2001) TV series
§ Amma and Family (1995) TV series
Producer:
§ Not a Nice Man to Know (1998) TV series (associate producer)
Writer:
§ Amma and Family (1995) TV series (writer)
§ Winner of Indira Gandhi Priyadarshini Award Tribune India
§ Sadia Dehlvi received the Best Journalist Award in 1989.
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