Stamp issued by Mirza Ghalib by other countries.
Ghalib, born Mirza Asadullah Baig Khan (27 December 1797 – 15 February 1869),was an Indian poet. He used his pen-names of Ghalib and Asad. His honorific was Dabir-ul-Mulk, Najm-ud-Daula. During his lifetime, the already declining Mughal empire was eclipsed and displaced by the Colonial British Raj and finally deposed following the defeat of the Indian rebellion of 1857, are some of the events that he described through his work.
Most notably, he wrote in both Urdu and Persian. His Persian Divan is at least five times longer than his Urdu but his fame rests on his poetry in Urdu.
Today, Ghalib remains popular not only in India and Pakistan but also among the Hindustani diaspora around the world.