Cultural departments turn a blind eye to Manto's 65th death anniversary

Late writer's day goes largely unnoticed

The 65th death anniversary of legendary author and playwright Saadat Hasan Manto was observed on Saturday.

While fans and well-wishers of the late writer took the opportunity to celebrate his literary contributions, cultural departments across the country generally remained silent. No tributes or memorial events were held in Manto's honour - not even by Lahore Arts Council, Alhamra Arts Council and Punjab Institute of Language Art and Culture.



According to sources, certain officials within Lahore Arts Council are also blockading the Manto Festival. "A group of right wing and traditional clerics that have dominant roles in the Lahore Arts Council are not in favour of Manto Festival," a senior official of the department told The Express Tribune.

"Even other colourful activities like the Gilgit-Baltistan Festival have been stopped at Alhamra. Although poet Faiz Ahmad Faiz's daughter Muniza Hashmi is the chairperson at Alhamra, she only managed to arrange Faiz Festival and has now ignored Manto Festival," he added. "Lahore Arts Council has received immense criticism over this from civil society and Manto's admirers from all over the world."

Furthermore, the official highlighted that although committees such as Punjab Arts Council and Punjab Institute of Language, Art and Culture have high budgets for cultural activities, they have chosen against hosting an event for Manto.

Just last year, Lahore Arts Council cancelled the Manto Festival on account of the writer's work being perceived as controversial. However, after facing public pressure, the administration did reverse it's decision. But unlike last year, a change of heart seems unlikely.

Born in Ludhiana on May 11, 1912,  Manto is regarded as a prominent figure in the world of Urdu literature in both India and Pakistan. He was primarily known for unearthing societal taboos and evils in his writings, as a result of which he is often called controversial - even today. In spite of his writings being perceived as obscene by a large segment of society,  many - especially those that belong to the realm of Urdu literature - celebrate Manto as a hero.

"Manto is one of the greats when it comes to Urdu literature. He told us about the realities of life that were largely ignored. He was a brave writer who talked about the evils in society," said renowned writer, poet and former DG Punjab Language Arts and Culture, r Sugra Sadaf, said.

A strong critic of Partition, many of Manto's works alluded to the dark side of the division between India and Pakistan. His final work, Toba Tek Singh, sheds light on mental illness within the context of Partition.

Manto's boldness often resulted in run-ins with the law led him at odds with the authorities. Aside from his unique style and the themes he tackled, the storyteller is also revered for being one of  Pakistani literature's  most prolific contributors.

Bollywood actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui portrayed Manto in a biopic of the writer

During the course of his career, Manto produced five series of radio plays, three collections of essays, 22 compilations of short stories and one novel. In 2012, the government of Pakistan rewarded him with the Nishane Imtiaz in honour of his contributions.

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