The Muslim Vanishes, Saeed Naqvi
In this version of India – as imagined by Saeed Naqvi in his play, The Muslim Vanishes – followers of Islam suddenly disappear one day. He imagines the outcome in social, cultural, and political terms. As the play traverses history and fantasy, there’s an uneasy resemblance to a reality where Muslims are being isolated for their identity. Though a work of grit and humour, The Muslim Vanishes conveys the hurt of the author and possibly also, that of India’s Muslim population. The play acts as a warning of a real and present danger.
Dada Comrade, Yashpal, translated from the Hindi by Simona Sawhney
Harish, a young revolutionary in pre-independence Lahore, disagrees with his party’s underground armed resistance. Betrayed by his party, he becomes a labour activist who soon comes under the radar of the British government. Part fictional and part autobiographical, Yashpal’s Dada Comrade has been hailed as a pioneer of political fiction…