Manto is a legendary writer from India and Pakistan, famous for his works in Urdu fiction at the time of the partition of India and Pakistan in the mid-1900s. The knowledge of his ideology and work will be vastly important to the new generation. Manto was a bearer of liberal ideology. He wrote short stories about prostitutes and other taboos, and he touched subjects that stirred many controversies. The people in power saw their own ugly faces reflected back to them in his fiction. They dragged him into the courts of law. Publishers took his rightful profits away from him and bought his works in return for a mere bottle of alcohol. He led a sad and angry life, and he left this world without enjoying any benefit from his immense creativity. Still, even in his short life he left a mark on Urdu and Hindi literature that will last for generations to come. This collection begins with two essays he wrote defending his works and making his case for what's literature and what's obscenity. Also included are all six short stories for which he was dragged in courts of law, as well as a careful selection of his other works. In these times of political strife and upheaval, this collection of Manto's works is more important than ever.
