Pakistani literature
Encyclopedia
Pakistan literature, that is, the literature
of Pakistan
, is a distinct literature that gradually came to be defined after Pakistan gained nationhood status in 1947, emerging out of literary traditions of the Indian subcontinent
. The shared tradition of Urdu literature
and English literature
of British India was inherited by the new state. Over a period of time a body of literature unique to Pakistan has emerged in nearly all major Pakistani languages, including Urdu
, English
, Punjabi
, Balochi
, Pushto and Sindhi
.
. According to Gilani Kamran (GC University
), Pakistani literature was expected to take a new direction along with the new state of Pakistan at this point, but did not immediately meet this expectation.
Saadat Hassan Manto (1912–1955), a prominent writer of short stories of the South Asia, produced great literature out of the events relating to the India-Pakistan independence. His literature is considered to be progressive in its tone and spirit. According to several critics it had not only evolved its own identity, but also had played a significant role in documenting the hardships and hopes of Pakistan in the latter part of the 20th century.
Today, Pakistani literature has taken a shape of its own by depicting the complex class system and common man. Contemporary authors such as. It also has evolved in merging Urdu literary forms and English literature leading to experimentation. Many writers of fiction borrow from English and vice versa.
Pakistani literature's main platform is the Pakistan Academy of Letters
, chaired by Iftikhar Arif
.
. English language poetry from Pakistan from the beginning held a special place in South Asian writing, with the likes of Taufiq Rafat, Daud Kamal
, Alamgir Hashmi
, Shahid Suhrawardy, Maki Kureishi
and Waqas Ahmed Khwaja, and later M. Athar Tahir, Omer Tarin
and others; but fiction from Pakistan
began to receive international recognition in the latter part of the 20th century, pioneered by figures such as Bapsi Sidhwa
, the Parsi author of The Crow Eaters, Cracking India
(1988) and other novels. In the diaspora, Sara Suleri
published the literary memoir, Meatless Days (1989), Hanif Kureshi commenced a prolific career with the novel The Buddha of Suburbia (1990), which won the Whitbread Award, and Aamer Hussein
wrote a series of acclaimed short story collections.
In the early years of the 21st century, a number of Pakistani novelists writing in English won or were shortlisted for international awards. Mohsin Hamid
published his first novel Moth Smoke
(2000), which won a Betty Trask Award and was a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award; he has since published his second novel, The Reluctant Fundamentalist
(2007), which was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. Kamila Shamsie
was shortlisted for the John Llewelyn Rhys award for her third novel, Kartography (2002); she has since published her fourth novel, Broken Verses. Asad Shabbir became the youngest author in Pakistan when he published 'Leo Solay' at the age of 16. Uzma Aslam Khan was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writers Prize (Eurasia region) for her second novel, Trespassing (2003). British-Pakistani writer Nadeem Aslam
won the Kuriyama Prize for his second book, Maps for Lost Lovers
(2004). The first novel of Mohammed Hanif
, A Case of Exploding Mangoes
(2008) was shortlisted for the 2008 Guardian First Book Award
. Emerging authors Kamila Shamsie
and Daniyal Mueenuddin
have garnered world wide attention.
(see Persian and Urdu
). Although Persian literature
from Persia itself was popular, several figures in South Asia, and later Pakistan, became major Persian poets, the most notable being Allama Iqbal. For a time, Persian remained the court language of the Mughals, soon to be replaced by Urdu. Persian still held its status, despite the spread of Urdu, well into the early years of the British rule in the Indian subcontinent. Most British officials had to learn Persian on coming to South Asia and concluded their conversations in Persian. In 1837, however, the British, in an effort to expand their influence, made a government ruling to discontinue the use of Persian and commence the use of English instead. Thus started the decline of Persian as the subcontinent's lingua franca, a position to be taken up by the new language of the British Raj
, English. Persian is regarded as a cultural language of Pakistan, and its national anthem is also composed in Persian. Languages spoken in Pakistan still show signs of heavy Persian influence.
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
of Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, is a distinct literature that gradually came to be defined after Pakistan gained nationhood status in 1947, emerging out of literary traditions of the Indian subcontinent
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...
. The shared tradition of Urdu literature
Urdu literature
Urdu literature has a long and colorful history that is inextricably tied to the development of that very language, Urdu, in which it is written...
and English literature
English literature
English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
of British India was inherited by the new state. Over a period of time a body of literature unique to Pakistan has emerged in nearly all major Pakistani languages, including Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
, English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, Punjabi
Punjabi language
Punjabi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by inhabitants of the historical Punjab region . For Sikhs, the Punjabi language stands as the official language in which all ceremonies take place. In Pakistan, Punjabi is the most widely spoken language...
, Balochi
Balochi language
Balochi is a Northwestern Iranian language. It is the principal language of the Baloch of Balochistan, Pakistan, eastern Iran and southern Afghanistan. It is also spoken as a second language by some Brahui. It is designated as one of nine official languages of Pakistan.-Vowels:The Balochi vowel...
, Pushto and Sindhi
Sindhi language
Sindhi is the language of the Sindh region of Pakistan that is spoken by the Sindhi people. In India, it is among 22 constitutionally recognized languages, where Sindhis are a sizeable minority. It is spoken by 53,410,910 people in Pakistan, according to the national government's Statistics Division...
.
History
The nature of Pakistani literature soon after independence aroused controversy among writers due to its being centered heavily on the negative events related to the India-Pakistan partitionPartition of India
The Partition of India was the partition of British India on the basis of religious demographics that led to the creation of the sovereign states of the Dominion of Pakistan and the Union of India on 14 and 15...
. According to Gilani Kamran (GC University
Government College University
Government College University, Lahore is a co-educational public university located on The Mall in Lahore, Pakistan...
), Pakistani literature was expected to take a new direction along with the new state of Pakistan at this point, but did not immediately meet this expectation.
Saadat Hassan Manto (1912–1955), a prominent writer of short stories of the South Asia, produced great literature out of the events relating to the India-Pakistan independence. His literature is considered to be progressive in its tone and spirit. According to several critics it had not only evolved its own identity, but also had played a significant role in documenting the hardships and hopes of Pakistan in the latter part of the 20th century.
Today, Pakistani literature has taken a shape of its own by depicting the complex class system and common man. Contemporary authors such as. It also has evolved in merging Urdu literary forms and English literature leading to experimentation. Many writers of fiction borrow from English and vice versa.
Pakistani literature's main platform is the Pakistan Academy of Letters
Pakistan Academy of Letters
The Pakistan Academy of Letters is a learned society of literary, Arts, and humanities. It is the largest learned society of it own kind, and promotes literacy and literature based conferences throughout the country...
, chaired by Iftikhar Arif
Iftikhar Arif
Iftikhar Hussain Arif, PP, SI, HI commonly known as Iftikhar Arif is an Urdu poet, scholar and littérateur from Pakistan. His style is romantic Urdu poetry. He has headed Academy Adbiyat, the Pakistan Academy of Letters and currently, he is the Chairman of Muqtadra Quami Zaban, the National...
.
English
English is an official language of Pakistan and was established since the British colonial era. The dialect of English spoken in Pakistan is known as Pakistani EnglishPakistani English
Pakistani English is the term used to describe the English language as spoken in Pakistan. Pakistani English is slightly different in respect to accent and spellings of some words.-History:...
. English language poetry from Pakistan from the beginning held a special place in South Asian writing, with the likes of Taufiq Rafat, Daud Kamal
Daud Kamal
Daud Kamal 4 January 1935 - 5 December 1987) was a Professor of English Literature at University of Peshawar, Pakistan. He was educated at Cambridge University, UK. Kamal started writing poetry in his twenties and became one of the major English language poets of Pakistan...
, Alamgir Hashmi
Alamgir Hashmi
Alamgir Hashmi is a major English poet of Pakistani origin in the latter half of the 20th century. Considered avant-garde, both his early and later works were published to universal critical acclaim and widespread influence...
, Shahid Suhrawardy, Maki Kureishi
Maki Kureishi
Maki Kureishi was a Pakistani poet.She taught at University of Karachi.She wrote in English.Her nephew is Hanif Kureshi.-Works:*, Drunken Boat 10-External links:...
and Waqas Ahmed Khwaja, and later M. Athar Tahir, Omer Tarin
Omer Tarin
Omer Tarin , born March 1967, is a well-known Pakistani poet in English, research scholar, and social activist...
and others; but fiction from Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
began to receive international recognition in the latter part of the 20th century, pioneered by figures such as Bapsi Sidhwa
Bapsi Sidhwa
Bapsi Sidhwa is an author of Pakistani origin who writes in English. She is perhaps best known for her collaborative work with filmmaker Deepa Mehta: Sidhwa wrote both the 1991 novel Ice Candy Man which is the basis for Mehta's 1998 film Earth as well as the 2006 novel Water: A Novel which is...
, the Parsi author of The Crow Eaters, Cracking India
Cracking India
Cracking India, is a novel by author Bapsi Sidhwa.Sidhwa's novel deals with the partition of India and its aftermaths. This is the first novel by a female novelist from Pakistan which describes the fate of people in Lahore...
(1988) and other novels. In the diaspora, Sara Suleri
Sara Suleri
Sara Suleri Goodyear, born Sara Suleri, is an author and, since 1983, professor of English at Yale University, where her fields of study and teaching include Romantic and Victorian poetry as well as a recent interest in Edmund Burke. Her special concerns include postcolonial literatures and...
published the literary memoir, Meatless Days (1989), Hanif Kureshi commenced a prolific career with the novel The Buddha of Suburbia (1990), which won the Whitbread Award, and Aamer Hussein
Aamer Hussein
Aamer Hussein is a Pakistani short story writer and critic.-Early life and education:He grew up in Karachi, where he attended Lady Jennings School and the Convent of Jesus and Mary. He spent most summers with his mother's family in India. He studied in Ootacamund, South India, for two years before...
wrote a series of acclaimed short story collections.
In the early years of the 21st century, a number of Pakistani novelists writing in English won or were shortlisted for international awards. Mohsin Hamid
Mohsin Hamid
Mohsin Hamid is a Pakistani author best known for his novels Moth Smoke and The Reluctant Fundamentalist .- Biography :...
published his first novel Moth Smoke
Moth Smoke
Moth Smoke is a novel written by Mohsin Hamid, published in 2000. It tells the story of Darashikoh Shezad, a banker in Lahore, Pakistan, who loses his job, falls in love with his best friend's wife, and plunges into a life of drugs and crime...
(2000), which won a Betty Trask Award and was a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award; he has since published his second novel, The Reluctant Fundamentalist
The Reluctant Fundamentalist
The Reluctant Fundamentalist is a novel by Mohsin Hamid, published in 2007.The novel uses the technique of a frame story, which takes place during the course of a single evening in an outdoor Lahore cafe, where a bearded Pakistani man called Changez tells a nervous American stranger about his love...
(2007), which was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. Kamila Shamsie
Kamila Shamsie
Kamila Shamsie is a Pakistani novelist who writes in the English language. She was brought up in Karachi and attended Karachi Grammar School....
was shortlisted for the John Llewelyn Rhys award for her third novel, Kartography (2002); she has since published her fourth novel, Broken Verses. Asad Shabbir became the youngest author in Pakistan when he published 'Leo Solay' at the age of 16. Uzma Aslam Khan was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writers Prize (Eurasia region) for her second novel, Trespassing (2003). British-Pakistani writer Nadeem Aslam
Nadeem Aslam
Nadeem Aslam is a prize-winning British Pakistani novelist.-Biography:Aslam moved with his family to England aged 14, when his father, a Communist, fled President Zia's regime. The family settled in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire...
won the Kuriyama Prize for his second book, Maps for Lost Lovers
Maps for Lost Lovers
Maps for Lost Lovers is a novel by the British Pakistani writer Nadeem Aslam. Ostensibly about the murder of a pair of lovers, the book is in fact a minute dissection of working-class Pakistani immigrant communities that have settled in the north of England over the last 40 years.Aslam spent 11...
(2004). The first novel of Mohammed Hanif
Mohammed Hanif
Mohammed Hanif is a Pakistani writer and journalist.-Life:He was born in Okara. He graduated from Pakistan Air Force Academy as a pilot officer, but subsequently left to pursue a career in journalism...
, A Case of Exploding Mangoes
A Case of Exploding Mangoes
A Case of Exploding Mangoes is a comic novel by the Pakistani writer Mohammed Hanif based on the plane crash that killed General Muhammad Zia ul-Haq, former president of Pakistan...
(2008) was shortlisted for the 2008 Guardian First Book Award
Guardian First Book Award
Guardian First Book Award, issued before 1999 as Guardian Fiction Prize or Guardian Fiction Award, is awarded to new writing in fiction and non-fiction.-History:...
. Emerging authors Kamila Shamsie
Kamila Shamsie
Kamila Shamsie is a Pakistani novelist who writes in the English language. She was brought up in Karachi and attended Karachi Grammar School....
and Daniyal Mueenuddin
Daniyal Mueenuddin
Daniyal Mueenuddin is a Pakistani-American author of the critically acclaimed short-story collection In Other Rooms, Other Wonders, published in the United States by W. W...
have garnered world wide attention.
Persian
During the early Muslim period, Persian became the lingua franca of the subcontinent, used by most of the educated and the government. Urdu, Pakistan's national language and lingua france, draws heavy influences from the Persian languagePersian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
(see Persian and Urdu
Persian and Urdu
The Persian language influenced the formation of many modern languages of the Greater Middle East, Central Asia, and South Asian regions, including Urdu....
). Although Persian literature
Persian literature
Persian literature spans two-and-a-half millennia, though much of the pre-Islamic material has been lost. Its sources have been within historical Persia including present-day Iran as well as regions of Central Asia where the Persian language has historically been the national language...
from Persia itself was popular, several figures in South Asia, and later Pakistan, became major Persian poets, the most notable being Allama Iqbal. For a time, Persian remained the court language of the Mughals, soon to be replaced by Urdu. Persian still held its status, despite the spread of Urdu, well into the early years of the British rule in the Indian subcontinent. Most British officials had to learn Persian on coming to South Asia and concluded their conversations in Persian. In 1837, however, the British, in an effort to expand their influence, made a government ruling to discontinue the use of Persian and commence the use of English instead. Thus started the decline of Persian as the subcontinent's lingua franca, a position to be taken up by the new language of the British Raj
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
, English. Persian is regarded as a cultural language of Pakistan, and its national anthem is also composed in Persian. Languages spoken in Pakistan still show signs of heavy Persian influence.
See also
- Pakistani poetryPakistani poetryPakistan has a rich and diverse tradition of poetry that includes Urdu poetry, English poetry, Sindhi poetry, Pashto poetry, Punjabi poetry, Saraiki poetry, Baluchi poetry, and Kashmiri poetry...
- Postcolonial literature
- Books and Publishing in PakistanBooks and publishing in PakistanThe publishing industry in Pakistan is hampered both by a low literacy rate and the fact that the national language, Urdu, is written in the right-to-left Arabic script unlike the official language, English, which is written left-to-right. Pakistan has had its share of poetry and prose writers in...
- Progressive Writers' MovementProgressive Writers' MovementThe Anjuman Tarraqi Pasand Mussanafin-e-Hind or Progressive Writers' Movement was a progressive literary movement in the pre-partition British India, consisting of a few different writers groups around the world....
- Saraiki literature
- Urdu literatureUrdu literatureUrdu literature has a long and colorful history that is inextricably tied to the development of that very language, Urdu, in which it is written...
Further reading
- Kamran, Gilani, 2004, Pakistan Literature: Evolution & trends
- Pakistani Literature: The Contemporary English Writers edited by Alamgir HashmiAlamgir HashmiAlamgir Hashmi is a major English poet of Pakistani origin in the latter half of the 20th century. Considered avant-garde, both his early and later works were published to universal critical acclaim and widespread influence...
(New York: World University Service, 1978; Islamabad: Gulmohar Press, 1987) (2nd ed.). ISBN 0-00-500408-X (OCLC #19328427; LC Card #87931006) - A Dragonfly in the Sun: An Anthology of Pakistani Writing in English, edited by Muneeza ShamsieMuneeza ShamsieMuneeza Shamsie is a Pakistani writer, critic, bibliographer and freelance journalist. She was born in Lahore, Pakistan into a literary-minded family, and was educated in England. She is daughter of the writer Jahanara Habibullah...
(Karachi: Oxford University Press, 1997). ISBN 0-19-577784-0 - Leaving Home: Towards a New Millennium: A Collection of English Prose by Pakistani Writers, edited by Muneeza ShamsieMuneeza ShamsieMuneeza Shamsie is a Pakistani writer, critic, bibliographer and freelance journalist. She was born in Lahore, Pakistan into a literary-minded family, and was educated in England. She is daughter of the writer Jahanara Habibullah...
(Karachi: Oxford University Press, 2001). ISBN 0-19-579529-6 - Post Independence Voices in South Asian Writings, edited by Alamgir HashmiAlamgir HashmiAlamgir Hashmi is a major English poet of Pakistani origin in the latter half of the 20th century. Considered avant-garde, both his early and later works were published to universal critical acclaim and widespread influence...
, Malashri Lal & Victor Ramraj (Islamabad: Alhamra, 2001). ISBN 969-516-093-X - Rahman, Tariq. 1991. A History of Pakistani Literature in EnglishLahore: Vanguard Publishers (Pvt) Ltd.
External links
- "Pakistani Authors Catch Literary World's Attention", Rob Gifford, Morning EditionMorning EditionMorning Edition is an American radio news program produced and distributed by National Public Radio . It airs weekday mornings and runs for two hours, and many stations repeat one or both hours. The show feeds live from 05:00 to 09:00 ET, with feeds and updates as required until noon...
, NPRNPRNPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
, May 29, 2009 - Pakistaniaat: A Journal of Pakistan Studies
- BookExchange: Pakistan Top Book Exchange