جان نثار اختر بیسویں صدی کے ایک بڑے ترقی پسند اور رومانی شاعر ہیں۔ترقی پسند تحریک کے فعال رکن بھی ہیں۔ان کی شاعری میں جہاں معروضی صداقتوں کا برملا اظہار ہے وہیں ان کی شاعری رومانیت کی چاشنی سے بھی لبریز ہیں۔ کہیں کہیں مایوسی اورناامیدی کی پرچھائیں بھی جابجا ملتی ہیں۔ زیر مطالعہ جاں نثار اختر کے کلام کا انتخاب ہے۔جو انجمن ترقی اردو علی گڑھ نے اردوشاعروں کا انتخابی سلسلہ کے تحت شائع کیا ہے۔جس میں ان کی غزل ،جسارت ،تصور، عزم ،مراجعت ،زندگی وغیرہ نظمیں شامل ہیں۔

Jaan Nisar Akhtar has made a distinguished mark as a romantic and revolutionary poet. He was born in 1914 in Gwalior, where his father was posted, in service. His native village was Khairabad. His father Muztar Khairabadi was also a reputed shayar. Akhtar did his studies till matriculation from Gwalior and passed M.A. (Urdu) from Aligarh Muslim University. In 1940, he became a lecturer at Victoria College, Gwalior and then took up Professorship in Urdu at Hamidia College, Bhopal. He only received basic guidance from his father in classical Urdu sher-o-shayari. Despite the fact that he had no mentor, he portrayed his poetical genius in ghazals, nazms, masnavis, quatrains and songs. Seven collections of his poetry have been published. Akhtar lived in Bombay and wrote songs for movies. He passed away on August 18, 1976 in Mumbai, following a heart attack. In recognition of his poetical accomplishments, he received many awards like M.P. Sahitya Akademi, Soviet Land Nehru Award, etc. His language and style were simple but eloquent with extensive use of Hindi words.