also compared Chughtai's writing style in the novel to that of French writer and intellectual Simone de Beauvoir, based on the duo's existentialist and humanist affiliations. Influences and writing style Chughtai was a liberal Muslim whose daughter, nephew, and niece were married to Hindus. In her own words, Chughtai came from a family of "Hindus, Muslims and Christians who all live peacefully". She said she read not only the Qur’an, but also the Gita and the Bible with openness. Chughtai's short stories reflected the cultural legacy of the region in which she lived. This was well demonstrated in her story "Sacred Duty", where she dealt with social pressures in India, alluding to specific national, religious and cultural traditions. In Chughtai's formative years, Nazar Sajjad Hyder had established herself an independent feminist voice, and the short stories of two very different women, Hijab Imtiaz Ali and Rashid Jehan, were also a significant early influence. Many of her writings, including Angarey and Lihaaf, were banned in South Asia because their reformist and feminist content offended conservatives (for example, her view that the Niqab, the veil worn by women in Muslim societies, should be discouraged for Muslim women because it is oppressive and feudal). In popular culture Publications on Ismat Chughtai Ismat: Her Life, Her Times. Sukrita Paul Kumar, Katha, New Delhi, 2000. . Ismat Chughtai, A Fearless Voice. Manjulaa Negi, Rupa and Co, 2003.81-29101-53-X. "Torchbearer of a literary revolution". The Hindu, Sunday, 21 May 2000. Kashmir Uzma Urdu weekly, Srinagar, 27 December 2004, 2 January 2005. "Ismat Chughtai – Pakistan-India (1915–1991)", World People, 5 May 2006. Eyad N. Al-Samman, "Ismat Chughtai: An Iconoclast Muslim Dame of Urdu Fiction", Yemem Times, 13 April 2009 The song "Yeh Dunya", released in the fourteenth season of Coke Studio Pakistan, where singer Faris Shafi mentions Ismat Chugtai in his rap. Tribute On August 21, 2018, Google celebrated her 107th birthday with a Google Doodle. Bibliography Filmography Awards and honours See also List of Indian writers References Notes Citations External links Ismat Chughtai (1915–1991), resource page Columbia University Biography and bibliography Ismat Chughtai's Short Stories Ismat Chughtai's account of the Lihaaf Trial Journal of Urdu Studies 1915 births 1991 deaths Indian women screenwriters 20th-century memoirists Filmfare Awards winners 20th-century Indian Muslims People from Budaun Urdu-language short story writers Urdu-language writers from India Indian memoirists Women memoirists Indian feminist writers 20th-century Indian women writers 20th-century Indian dramatists and