A native speaker of Hindi/Urdu, Raza has a BA and MA from Lucknow University and completed his PhD in Modern Urdu Literature at Jawaharlal Nehru University. His primary research focus was on modern Urdu prose as it was being written after independence. He is also deeply interested in Urdu novels, Afsana (short story), screenplays, and poetry. He has had numerous articles in Urdu and Hindi published in various magazines and newspapers on the topic of Urdu/Hindi language and literature.