LAHORE – The 64th death anniversary of renowned Pakistani writer, playwright, and author Saadat Hasan Manto is being observed on Friday (today). Manto was born in Ludhiana, British India on 11th May 1912.
Manto is a prominent name in the archives of Urdu literature. Manto has left a legacy that stretches far and wide.
Manto faced persecution for using his work as a tool to break the status quo and questioning double standards of socially enforced morality. He was tried for obscenity six times; thrice before 1947 in British India, and thrice after independence in 1947 in Pakistan, but never convicted.
He produced 22 collections of short stories, a novel, five series of radio plays, three collections of essays and two collections of personal sketches.
It is ironic that while Manto brings recognition to Pakistan, he still faces censorship in the country as Nandita Das’s biopic starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui as Manto was not cleared for viewing in Pakistan for “anti-Partition narrative theme and explicit scenes” and a Manto Festival at Alhamra was also postponed due to concerns over “vulgarity”.
On his 64th death anniversary, the Government of Pakistan wrote that “his writings have had a profound impact on millions of readers”.
“He dared to address topics that were typically considered taboo for his time,” it added.
https://twitter.com/pid_gov/status/1086170051013734400?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1086170051013734400&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pakistantoday.com.pk%2F2019%2F01%2F18%2Fsixty-four-years-after-death-manto-lives-on%2F
Nandita Das also took to Twitter: “Saadat Hasan died on this day, 64 years ago, but Manto lives on. While I hope, in some small way, through the film that I have made, I have been able to capture his empathy, his spirit, his courage. It is an ode not just to the man, but to his thoughts, ideas, and convictions.”
https://twitter.com/nanditadas/status/1086103402373922816?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1086103402373922816&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pakistantoday.com.pk%2F2019%2F01%2F18%2Fsixty-four-years-after-death-manto-lives-on%2F
Twitterati also paid tribute to the remarkable writer in their posts:
https://twitter.com/only_i_can_/status/1086172363186688002
https://twitter.com/Bizenjo/status/1086168975552196613
https://twitter.com/gabeeno/status/1086166164164829190
https://twitter.com/Made_in_Pak/status/1086182062934114305
https://twitter.com/hidayat_hevard/status/1086075489670750209
Saadat Hassan Manto passed away at the age of 43 on this day in 1955.
