Funeral services on Friday for Munsif Daily editor Lateef Mohammed Khan

Lateef Mohammed Khan, who spent his life defending Urdu through journalism, books and lectures, died Aug. 6 at a local Chicago hospital. The 80-year-old worked in journalism for more than three decades, getting his start at the Munsif Daily, an Urdu language newspaper.

The Munsif Daily is an Urdu language newspaper published from Hyderabad in India. Its editor-in-chief was Khan Lateef Khan till yesterday. The Munsif Daily Is the largest circulated Urdu newspaper in South Asia. The paper was owned by Mahmood Ansari, when Masood Ansari fell seriously ill, the newspaper was sold to Khan Lateef Khan in 1996, who became editor-in-chief. He started the first Urdu satellite TV channel in India.

He was chairman of the Sultan ul Uloom Education Society. Khan was known for bringing in a revolutionary change in Urdu publications in the city by reintroducing the Munsif newspaper in color print 23 years ago.

Ali Khan, president and founder of Urdu Semaj Chicago, shared his condolences and said, “He was a legend in our community and a very genuine, gracious man in person and an acclaimed columnist. Sad to hear of his passing away today. This is a total loss for the whole community.”

Many renowned personalities including Dr. Qutub Uddin, Iftekhar Shareef, Azeem Quadeer, Saleem Abdul Rehman, Ishaan Ahmed, Kaleem Hasan, Omer Haqqani and many others paid tribute to his service.

Khan's funeral services will be at the Muslim Community Center in Chicago after Friday prayers. He will be buried in Chicago.