Saadat Hasan Manto

Saadat Hasan Manto was a Pakistani writer, playwright and author considered among the greatest writers of short stories in South Asian history. He produced 22 collections of short stories, a novel, five series of radio plays, three collections of essays, and two collections of personal sketches. His best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics. Manto was known to write about taboos of society including prostitution, sexuality, and the human condition during the Partition of India. His stories like "Toba Tek Singh" and "Khol Do" (Open It) are considered masterpieces of Urdu literature. In his short life, he faced legal troubles due to obscenity charges on his writings, and struggled with alcoholism, which eventually led to his death at the age of 42 from cirrhosis of the liver.