Odil Yoqubov

Odil Yoqubov's creative activity began in the 1950s. People's Writer of Uzbekistan (1985), Odil Yoqubov was awarded the Hamza State Prize of the Republic for his novel "Ulug'bek xazinasi" ("Ulugbek's Treasure"). He was awarded the "Do'stlik" (Friendship) order in 1994 and the "El-yurt hurmati" (Respect of Nation and People) order in 1998. He has also had a fruitful career as a skilled translator, critic, and publicist.

Biography

Odil Yoqubov was born in 1926 in the village of Qarnoq, Turkistan District, Shymkent Region, Republic of Kazakhstan, into a civil servant family. After graduating from secondary school in 1944, he served in the army from 1945 to 1950. The young soldier participated in the Soviet-Japanese War.

From 1951 to 1956, he studied at the Faculty of Philology of the Central Asian State University. Between 1955 and 1959, he worked as a consultant at the Writers' Union of Uzbekistan, a special correspondent for "Literaturnaya gazeta" (1959-1963, 1967-1970) for our republic, an editor-in-chief at the "Uzbekfilm" studio and the Republican Committee for Cinematography, and deputy editor-in-chief at the Gafur Gulam Literature and Art Publishing House (1970-1982).

Later, he served as editor-in-chief of the newspaper "O'zbekiston adabiyoti va san'ati" (1982-1989), chairman of the Writers' Union (1989-1996), and vice-president of the Terminology Committee of Uzbekistan and the Assembly of Cultural Figures of Turkic Peoples (1998-2004).

Another major work by the author, the novel "Ko'hna dunyo" ("Ancient World"), chronicles the lives and tragic fates of two great scholars of Central Asia, Beruni and Ibn Sina. It strives to show their great contributions to the progress of world science. Odil Yoqubov also created major works on modern themes, such as "Diyonat" (1973) and "Oqqushlar, oppoq qushlar" (1988). If in the novel "Diyonat" the writer showed the victory of justice over injustice and baseness, in the novel "Oqqushlar, oppoq qushlar" he clearly portrayed the vices of the period of stagnation. His new novel, titled "Adolat manzili" ("Address of Justice"), celebrates the struggle for national independence and the victorious and sacred path of justice.

Odil Yoqubov is the author of plays such as "Aytsam tilim kuyadi, aytmasam dilim" (1956), "Yurak yonmog'i kerak" (1957), "Chin muhabbat" (1958), "Olma gullaganda" (1960), and others staged in the theaters of our republic. The multi-part video film based on the novel "Diyonat" also brought glory to the author. He has also had a fruitful career as a skilled translator, critic, and publicist.

In the novel "Ulug'bek xazinasi" (1974), the writer depicted the conflicts between the great astronomer Ulugbek and his son Abdullatif, illustrating the struggle between progressive and reactionary forces. The novel also features a magnificent image of Ulugbek's talented student, the famous scientist Ali Qushchi.

Other works by the author, such as "Ikki muhabbat" (1956), "Bir feleton" (1961), "Muqaddas" (1963), "Qanot juft bo'ladi" (1969), "Billur qandillar" (1975), "Er boshiga ish tushsa" (1969), and the novella "Izlayman" (1977), have been presented to the attention of fans.

Odil Yoqubov's first major work, the novella "Tengdoshlar", was published in 1951.

People's Writer of Uzbekistan (1985) Odil Yoqubov was awarded the Hamza State Prize of the Republic for his novel "Ulug'bek xazinasi". He was awarded the "Do'stlik" order in 1994 and the "El-yurt hurmati" order in 1998. The author passed away in 2009 after a serious illness.