Hassan Manto – “A Literary World unto Himself”

Abstract

Hassan Manto (1912-1955) one of the finest writers of our age, is a short story writer of Urdu language, in addition to being a film and radio scriptwriter and a journalist. he has published twenty-two collections of short stories, one novel, five collections of radio plays, three collections of essays, and two collections of personal sketches. Acknowledge hundred years after his birth, he is one of the most powerful voices of our time. Originally written in Urdu, trifling in style and form, the stories focus on twists and turns of human psychology. Partition and subsequent loss of balance of life form a major ground in his short stories and he creates fabulous characters from among the common. The paper discusses Manto – as a writer and a social philosopher. His best stories are those that tell the awful stories of partition and also depict the so -called fallen women and prostitutes against the backdrop of filthy lanes and slums. He is no doubt a much criticized nevertheless widely read author.