Manto's story was edited per official policy to present Hindu-Muslim riots as a one-way affair, Muslims as victims.

Manto’s writing had a history of attracting the wrath of authorities for its stinging moral and political comment.

The situation on the ground in East Pakistan had by then developed into a full-blown civil war.

While entangled in the daily business of surviving, finding shelter, food Shahid had to keep his real identity hidden.

They wanted to leave before sunrise, afraid of being shot by West Pakistani troops who'd shoot anyone moving out.

Shouldn’t law be respected and allowed to take its course irrespective of the political situation on the ground?

Large part of the population was sitting on the ideological fence when powerful elements decided for the ethnic divide

Break up of the two wings of the country was a price the powers had cynically agreed to impose on people of Pakistan.

A civil war is a tragic situation, politics of identity degenerates into a destructive armed conflict.

Bilwani describes how Gujarati business clans from West Pakistan lost their investments East Pakistan following 1971.