Ismat Chughtai (21 August 1915 â€" 24 October 1991) was an Indian Urdu
novelist, short story writer, and filmmaker. Beginning in the 1930s,
she wrote extensively on themes including female sexuality and
femininity, middle-class gentility, and class conflict, often from a
Marxist perspective. With a style characterised by literary realism,
Chughtai established herself as a significant voice in the Urdu
literature of the twentieth century, and in 1976 was awarded the Padma
Shri by the Government of India.Ismat Chughtai was born on 21 August
1915 in Badayun, Uttar Pradesh to Nusrat Khanam and Mirza Qaseem Baig
Chughtai; she was the ninth of ten childrenâ€"six brothers and four
sisters.[1] The family moved frequently as Chughtai's father was a
civil servant; she spent her childhood in cities including Jodhpur,
Agra, and Aligarhâ€"mostly in the company of her brothers as her
sisters had all got married while she was still very young. Chughtai
described the influence of her brothers as an important factor which
influenced her personality in her formative years. She thought of her
second-eldest brother, Mirza Azim Beg Chughtai (also a novelist), as a
mentor. The family eventually settled in Agra, after Chughtai's father
retired from the Indian Civil Services.[2]Chughtai received her
primary education at the Women's College at the Aligarh Muslim
University and graduated from Isabella Thoburn College with a Bachelor
of Arts degree in 1940.[3] Despite strong resistance from her family,
she completed her Bachelor of Education degree from the Aligarh Muslim
University the following year.[2] It was during this period that
Chughtai became associated with the Progressive Writers' Association,
having attended her first meeting in 1936 where she met Rashid Jahan,
one of the leading female writers involved with the movement, who was
later credited for inspiring Chughtai to write "realistic, challenging
female characters".[4][5] Chughtai began writing in private around the
same time, but did not seek publication for her work until much
later.[5]
novelist, short story writer, and filmmaker. Beginning in the 1930s,
she wrote extensively on themes including female sexuality and
femininity, middle-class gentility, and class conflict, often from a
Marxist perspective. With a style characterised by literary realism,
Chughtai established herself as a significant voice in the Urdu
literature of the twentieth century, and in 1976 was awarded the Padma
Shri by the Government of India.Ismat Chughtai was born on 21 August
1915 in Badayun, Uttar Pradesh to Nusrat Khanam and Mirza Qaseem Baig
Chughtai; she was the ninth of ten childrenâ€"six brothers and four
sisters.[1] The family moved frequently as Chughtai's father was a
civil servant; she spent her childhood in cities including Jodhpur,
Agra, and Aligarhâ€"mostly in the company of her brothers as her
sisters had all got married while she was still very young. Chughtai
described the influence of her brothers as an important factor which
influenced her personality in her formative years. She thought of her
second-eldest brother, Mirza Azim Beg Chughtai (also a novelist), as a
mentor. The family eventually settled in Agra, after Chughtai's father
retired from the Indian Civil Services.[2]Chughtai received her
primary education at the Women's College at the Aligarh Muslim
University and graduated from Isabella Thoburn College with a Bachelor
of Arts degree in 1940.[3] Despite strong resistance from her family,
she completed her Bachelor of Education degree from the Aligarh Muslim
University the following year.[2] It was during this period that
Chughtai became associated with the Progressive Writers' Association,
having attended her first meeting in 1936 where she met Rashid Jahan,
one of the leading female writers involved with the movement, who was
later credited for inspiring Chughtai to write "realistic, challenging
female characters".[4][5] Chughtai began writing in private around the
same time, but did not seek publication for her work until much
later.[5]
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