Saadat Hasan Manto: Remembering the literary giant

Saadat Hasan Manto, who wrote primarily in Urdu; occupies a unique and dominant position in literature.

January 18^th (today) marks his 66^th death anniversary. Manto was known to write about the tough truths of society about which nobody dared speak.

Saadat Hasan Manto remembered for his lifetime services to Urdu literature. Born on May 11, 1912 in Samrala in the British Indian state of Punjab, Saadat Hasan Manto is known for his candid and often provocative narratives, Manto has been widely credited as one of South Asia’s most talented modernist fiction writers.

His most famous short stories were Kaali Shalwar, Toba Tek Singh and many others.”

By the 1940s, Manto’s Urdu literature was a great skill to manage. Through his unfiltered exploration of marginalized characters and social taboos, Manto charted controversial territory that few writers dared to explore.

Saadat Hasan Manto published 22 collections of short stories throughout his prolific career, but he wasn’t limited to the medium; he also wrote a novel, three collections of essays, over 100 radio plays, and more than 15 film scripts.

Bollywood actor and filmmaker Nandita Das made a movie based on the life of Manto. It’s available on Netflix. Pakistani actor and filmmaker Sarmad Khoosat also made a film based on the post-partition life of Manto.