Google celebrates feminist Urdu author Ismat Chughtai's 107th birth anniversary with doodle

Google, on Tuesday, marked author Ismat Chughtai's 107th birth anniversary with a doodle.

The doodle celebrates the life and works of the Indian writer whose stories were way ahead of they time, and often censored for their honest depictions of women’s lives.

Born August 21, 1911 in Uttar Pradesh, Chughtai was the ninth of ten children. She began writing at an early age, inspired by her elder brother, Mirza Azim Beg Chughtai, who was known for his humorous works.


The grande dame of Urdu fiction narrowly avoided an arranged marriage at the age of 15, and convinced her parents to let her pursue a bachelor’s degree at Isabella Thoburn College.

She later went on to study teaching at the Aligarh Muslim University, becoming the first Indian-Muslim woman to obtain both a bachelor of arts and a bachelor's in education degree.

In the 1930s, Chughtai attended a meeting of the Progressive Writers Association and became interested in writing to advocate for human rights.

One of Chungtai’s most famous works, 'Lihaaf', telling the story of a romantic relationship between a wealthy landlord’s wife and her female servant, questioned double standards and encouraged liberation.

The story was met with outcry at the time of its release, and even landed the author in court on charges of obscenity. It however became a classic over time and went on to inspire two Bollywood films about queer love, Deepa Mehta’s 'Fire' (1996) and Abhishek Chaubey’s 'Dedh Ishqiya' (2014).

The author who championed social liberation and gender equality also had a short-lived film career. She wrote for three Bombay Talkies productions that were directed by her husband Shaheed Latif - 'Ziddi' (1948), 'Arzoo' (1950) and 'Sone Ki Chidiya' (1958). She also wrote the dialogue for Shyam Benegal’s 'Junoon' in 1978, and even played the role of Jennifer Kendal’s character's mother.

Her other famous literary works include 'Gainda' and 'Vocation' among others.

Chughtai, now known as a national feminist icon, was awarded the prestigious Padma Shri by the Government of India in 1976 for her contribution to literature.