Veteran Marathi grammarian Dr Yasmin Sheikh dies at 101 in Pune

Veteran Marathi grammarian Dr Yasmin Sheikh

Veteran Marathi grammarian and linguist Dr Yasmin Sheikh passed away in Pune on Sunday (August 24) due to age-related ailments. She was 101. Her last rites will be performed at Baner in Pune.

Dr Sheikh was widely respected for her lifelong contribution to Marathi grammar, linguistics and language education. Born into a Jewish family as Jerusha Ruben, she married Aziz Ahmed Ibrahim Sheikh in 1950. She did not convert her religion after marriage but adopted the name Yasmin Sheikh. She is survived by her two daughters, Dr Shama and Proffesor Rukhsana.

A student of Proffesor S. M. Mate, Dr Sheikh taught at school and college levels for 34 years. She also served as head of the Marathi department at SIES College in Sion, Mumbai, for six years. In addition, she taught grammar and linguistics to IAS aspirants for 10 years at the State Institute of Administrative Careers.

Her association with the Maharashtra State Bureau of Textbook Production and Curriculum Research, popularly known as Balbharati, was also significant. She contributed to the editing of Marathi textbooks for seven years and played an important role in the preparation of Karyatmak Vyakaran (Functional Grammar), published through Balbharati's research division. She also served as a grammar adviser to the Marathi magazine Antarnaad.

The Maharashtra government honoured her with the Dr Ashok Kelkar Award for her contribution to linguistics and grammar.

Dr Sheikh consistently advocated the use of standard Marathi in writing, irrespective of the dialect spoken by an individual. She had also expressed concern over the excessive and unnecessary use of foreign words in everyday Marathi, urging people to preserve and enrich the language.

"Language is the greatest cultural heritage; preserving and enriching it is our duty," was the principle she repeatedly emphasised throughout her career.

‘A great loss to the Marathi language'

Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Ajit Pawar condoled Dr Sheikh's death, describing it as a major loss to the Marathi literary and linguistic world and saying that "a knowledge tree of the Marathi language has fallen."

In her condolence message, Pawar said Dr Sheikh had devoted her entire life to the study, preservation and promotion of Marathi, linguistics and grammar. Through her 34 years of teaching at the school and college levels, she helped develop among students an appreciation for Marathi and an understanding of standard language.

Pawar also recalled Dr Sheikh's contribution as head of the Marathi department at SIES College, her teaching of grammar and linguistics to IAS aspirants, and her seven-year association with the editing of Balbharati's Marathi textbooks.

She further highlighted Dr Sheikh's contribution to Karyatmak Vyakaran and her work as grammar adviser to Antarnaad. Her commitment to the use of standard Marathi and her efforts to discourage unnecessary use of foreign words remained central to her work.

"Dr Yasmin Sheikh's life was a unique blend of social harmony, intellectual richness and deep commitment to the Marathi language," Pawar said.

She added that Dr Sheikh's century-long life and her tireless contribution to Marathi would remain an enduring part of the language's history. With her death, Marathi has lost a dedicated and deeply learned scholar whose work enriched the fields of grammar and linguistics.