is name was Ibrahim Jalees. He was born a hundred years ago on August 22 and passed away on October 26, 47 years ago. His was born in Hyderabad Deccan but had no clear idea of the place. His pen was swift; his temperament mercurial. The urge to write had seized him at Aligarh University, where he studied for his B.A, in 1940. He had spent a few days in government employment. He had not yet turned twenty when his writings started appearing in Saqi, the literary journal edited by Shahid Dehlavi.

He became famous with his short story Zard chehray (Yellow faces). When his book of satirical pieces, Chalees Karor Bhikari (400 million beggars), was published, readers of Urdu literature were quick to take notice.

Jalees wished to try his luck in the cinema industry in Bombay, where financiers referred to script and dialogue writers as chopadivaala (accounts folk). He returned to Hyderabad, where he took on the challenge of organising the All-India Progressive Writers’ convention in 1946. His writings reflected Marxist inclinations. He was not a between-the-lines writer. The intent was always loud and clear. In 1948, he arrived in Pakistan. Soon afterwards he wrote Doe mulk, aik kahani (Two states, one story). This was an account of the final days of the state of Hyderabad. Jalees had been touched by the ‘police action’ undertaken by the Indian military action in Hyderabad to force its merger with the Indian Union. The book, dedicated to Hameed Akhtar, is a sensitive narrative of the lay man’s exploitation at the hands of the authorities and in their name.

Jalees was associated with various Urdu newspapers including Imroz, Anjaam, Jang, Hurriyat and Musawat. He started as a sub-editor at Imroz and was later the editor of Anjaam for a while. Later still, he launched his own weekly, Awami Adaalat (People’s court). When Liaquat Ali Khan introduced the Public Safety Act, Ibrahim Jalees published a sharp essay titled Public Safety Razor. This landed him in prison where he was to remain for five months.

In September 1951, he visited China at the invitation of the Chinese government, staying there for six weeks. He returned with a travelogue, titled Nayi Deevaar-i-Cheen (The new China wall).

In 1955, he moved to Karachi, where, after the death of Majeed Lahori, he began writing a column titled Waghera Waghera (Etcetera etcetera) in Jang. The column was an instant success and soon became his first first introduction.

In 1961, then vice-president Lyndon B Johnson, who was visiting Pakistan, invited Ibrahim Jalees to the United States for a study tour. Jalees visited America for four-months. He compiled an account of his experience and observations in a travelogue titled Jaadunagri Amrika (America, the magic land).

Jalees’s travelogues have a distinct literary style.

Jalees edited daily Anjaam for some time. After that he started Awami Adalat. In 1975, he became the editor of daily Musawat, the Pakistan Peoples Party paper. In July 1977, Gen Zia-ul Haq shut down Musawat. Jalees campaigned for the rights of his colleagues. On October 26, he passed away. He was fifty-three.

Ibrahim Jalees was also an accomplished short-story writer. Most of his stories were against imperialism and imperialist powers. His first short story, Maan (Mother), published in 1938, was informed by nationalist passion. Although he wrote only a few short stories, they earned him critical acclaim. Short stories, however, did not promise a regular income. That was why Jalees turned to writing for newspapers.

Collections of his short stories, Zard Chehray, Chalees Karor Bhikari, Zameen Jaag Rahi Hai (The whole earth is awakening), Kuchch Gham-i-Janaan Kuchch Gham-i-Dauraan (A bit of personal passion, a bit of concern for the times), Azad Ghulam (Free slaves), and Ulti Qabar (The inverted grave), are mostly about the people of India and South Asia, crushed by centuries of poverty. Jalees noted that they had no one to comfort them and lacked even basic necessities of life. The economy was often in a dire state and famines threatened people with death by starvation. Food grains were often scarce. Jalees made these conditions and events the central theme of many of his stories.

His short story Azad ghulam is a powerful illustration of the tumultuous in Indian history.

Ibrahim Jalees was fearless in exposing the social problems and societal contradictions. He endured many hardships including imprisonment but did not compromise his integrity.

Jalees holds a high place in the Urdu literature and journalism. He is also admired for his steadfast stand against tyrants of his time. Empathy for the poor was the hallmark of his writings

The writer is a Lahore-based critic, translator and researcher. He is currently translating Mumtaz Shireen’s short stories and unfinished autobiography. He can be reached at: razanaeem@hotmail.com. He tweets @raza_naeem1979 His pen was swift; his temperament mercurial.