A famous writer, Mumtaz Mufti was born on 11 September 1905. He became a civil servant under British rule and started career as a school teacher. Soon after partition, he migrated to Pakistan with his family. He started writing Urdu
Mumtaz Mufti
A famous writer, Mumtaz Mufti was born on 11 September 1905. He became a civil servant under British rule and started career as a school teacher. Soon after partition, he migrated to Pakistan with his family. He started writing Urdu short stories while working as a school teacher before partition.
In the beginning of his literary career, he was considered a non-conformist writer having liberal views, who appeared influenced by Freud. His transformation from Liberalism to Sufism was due to his inspiration from Qudrat Ullah Shahab. All the same, he did manage to retain his individual point of view and wrote on subjects which were frowned upon by the conservative elements in society.
In the beginning of his literary career, Mumtaz Mufti was considered a non-conformist writer having liberal views. Like Mumtaz Shireen he appeared influenced by Freud. As Ashfaq Ahmed, a close friend, once said before partition, Mumtaz Mufti used to read unpopular literature and even novels by a Swedish writer.
He disliked the partition plan but later became a patriotic Pakistani and defender of Islam and its principles. His main transformation from a liberal to a hardline sufi came about after he came under the influence of Qudrat Ullah Shahab.
All the same, he did manage to retain his individual accent and wrote on subjects which were frowned upon by the conservative elements in society. His writings more or less resemble Sadat Hasan Manto.
The two phases of his life are witnessed by his autobiographies, Ali Pur Ka Aeeli and Alakh Nagri. According to forewords mentioned in his later autobiography, Ali Pur Ka Aeeli is an account of a lover who challenged the social taboos of his times, and Alakh Nagri is an account of an acolyte who greatly influenced by the mysticism of Qudrat Ullah Shahab.
In recognition of his exceptional contributions, he has been awarded highly prestigious civil awards of Sitara-e-Imtiaz (1986) and Munshi Premchand Award (1989).
Talaash (Quest) was the last book written by Mumtaz Mufti. He died on 27 October 1995 (aged 90) In Islamabad.