Urdu Literary Culture (Literatures and Cultures of the Islamic World)

The book examines the impact of political circumstances on vernacular (Urdu) literary culture through an in-depth study of the writings of Muhammad Hasan Askari (1919 -78), Urdu's first and finest literary critic. Conceptually, the book melds the perspectives of literary studies and history since Askari's life was lived at the crossroads of early nation formation and the writing of literary and social history, both of which have played a generative role in the organization and articulation of politics in South Asia. The study provides a detailed treatment of the intellectual world that Askari inhabited: colonial and postcolonial India and Pakistan. Complicating an analysis of Askari's life and work is the fact of his living the life of a closeted gay. Farooqi analyzes f the ways in which Askari's sexuality filtered through his writing.