Ahmaq Phaphoondavi was born Mohammad Mustafa Khan in 1895 at a place called Phaphoond in Etawah district of Uttar Pradesh. His family hailed from Farrukhabad from where his father shifted to Phaphoond after his father was hung during the cataclysmic events of 1857. After completing his early education, Phaphoondavi joined Tibbiya College in Delhi. Even before he could set up his practice after completing his education in medicine, he joined the Non-Cooperation movement against the British rule. He took an active part in India’s freedom movement for which he also had to suffer imprisonment. He died on August 8, 1957.

Ahmaq Phaphoondvi is considered to be one of the important poets of humour and satire. He chose social, political, and cultural issues as the objects of his satire. He also wrote ghazals and nazms many of which are patriotic and raise voice of protest against British domination. Apart from writing poetry, Phaphoondvi  also compiled an Urdu-Hindi dictionary which was published by Uttar Pradesh government as Urdu-Hindi Shabd Kosh.