T WO books published recently have some similarities, but they are different, too. Both of them are, in fact, PhD dissertations; both are on Pakistani Urdu short story and both have been written by women scholars. But one of them researches Urdu short story in a political and historical perspective while the other analyses Urdu short stories written by women writers.

Urdu short story, though emerging on the literary scene quite late as compared to Urdu novel, became very popular in a short span of time. Starting its journey in the early 20th century, Urdu short story is by far more popular than the novel.

After the creation of Pakistan, Urdu short story written here developed some unique traits, reflecting the peculiar Pakistani milieu. With the passage of time, Pakistani Urdu short story became quite different from Urdu short story written in India. These two books explore the features that set Pakistani Urdu short story apart from its Indian lookalike.Dr Tahira Iqbal`s dissertation, titled Pakistani Urdu afsana: siyasi-o-tareekhi tanazur rnein, takes into account the historical events and political issues that have been renected upon in Pakistani Urdu short story. A 740-page tome published by Lahore`s Fiction House, it has ñve chapters. The ñrst chapter traces the historical and political events as discussed in Urdu short story till the creation of Pakistan. The second chapter covers the period from 1947 to 1958, taking into account the depiction of problems faced by the nascent country, the migration and the riots that entailed it, the Kashmir issue and the Palestine issue in Pakistani Urdu short story.

The third chapter analyses the political and historical issues that Pakistani Urdu short story writers have made part of their writings from 1958 to 1971. This chapter discusses short stories that portray issues such as the Pakistani identity, the conflict between the communist writers and their opponents, the first martial law, the 1965 war and the f all of Dhaka.

The fourth chapter is titled`Urdu short story during the era of extremism: 1977-1988`. It gives details about the short stories written as part of the resistance literature created against the 1977 martial law by the Zia regime and other topics such as Bhutto`s hanging and the ethnic and linguistic strife in Sindh.

The last chapter, covering the period from 1988 to the present, traces the short stories written against the backdrop of Pakistanbecoming the world`s 7th nuclear nation by testing the nuclear weapon, Pervez Musharraf`s martial law, 9/11 and its fallout, and the Balochistan issue.

The book examines in detail the short stories discussing these issues and events and lets the reader know how the writers of Urdu short stories reflected on them. It is a must read for students and scholars of Pakistan`s history and Pakistani literature.`Tahira Iqbal is a short story writer herself and she has made this book a complete and compact history of Pakistani Urdu short story,` writes Rasheed Amjad in the introduction to the book.

The intro to the other book also is written by Rasheed Amjad and he says: `In literature there is no difference between a male and female writer and there should be no discrimination on the basis of gender. But in recent times, a lot of research has been carried out on the literary work done by women writers and their distinct identity.

Written by Noreen Razzaq and titled Pakistani khavateen afsana nigar: Urdu afsane ki rivayet ke tanazur rnein, the book surveys the technical aspects of the short story in the first chapter. The second chapter provides the reader with a historical background of the women short story writers of Urdu. The third chapter discusses short fiction created by Pakistan`s women short story writers against the backdrop of Pakistan`s peculiar political, cultural, religious and social issues, covering the historical events and issues such as the migrationin 1947, the 1965 war, the 1971 debacle, martial law, sexual harassment, psychological and sexual problems, Karachi`s environment, the rural areas, international issues, mysticism and overseas Pakistanis.

The next three chapters evaluate the individual Pakistani women short story writers of Urdu and it includes some stalwarts of the genre indeed.

`This book by Dr Noreen Razzaq is a history of women short story writers of Urdu. She has not only analysed the writings of women writers but has also critically evaluated the technical and philosophical aspects of Urdu short stories written by Pakistani women writers,` adds Rasheed Amjad.

Published by Lahore`s Dastaavez Matbooa`at, the book offers an in-depth analysis of our women short story writers, their technique, style and topics.

These two books together complete a huge canvass depicting scenes from our history, literature and culture. With a touch of feminism, they highlight the issuesfacedby thisnadon.

drraufparekh@yahoo.com