LONDON: Pakistani playback singer Rahat Fateh Ali Khan received an honorary doctorate by Oxford University on Wednesday.
The renowned singer, before being conferred with the degree, also attended a talk alongside Pakistani education activist Malala Yousafzai about representing Pakistan in music globally.
Earlier, while announcing that Khan would be awarded an honourary degree, the Oxford University had described him as a “Pakistani singer, primarily of Qawwali, a devotional music of the Muslim Sufis”.
Oxford University has previously recognised Rahat Fateh Ali Khan’s work by naming one of their prestigious music halls after the maestro. He carries the torch for a family that has a rich cultural history in music, a heritage that includes over 600 years in Sufi and Qawwali music folklore, initially made famous in modern pop culture by his uncle, Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.
He has since then taken on the responsibility of carrying forward his 600-year-old family legacy by spreading Qawwali to audiences across the globe.
