Inayatullah (editor)

Inayatullah
عنایت اللہ
Born	Inayatullah (1920-11-01)1 November 1920 Gujar Khan, Punjab, British India
Died	16 November 1999(1999-11-16) (aged 79)
Occupation	Novelist / editor
Years active	1970–1999

Inayatullah (1920–1999) was a Pakistani novelist, story writer, and the founding editor of monthly Hikayat Digest.

Early life

Inayatullah was born into a Rajput family on 1 November 1920, in Gujar Khan, Punjab, British India. In 1936, he passed his matriculation examination and joined the British Army as a clerk. He was in an infantry unit of the British army and fought at Burma Front against Japan. In 1944, Inayatullah was taken prisoner by the Japanese, but managed to flee from the prison, again joining the British army. His unit was sent by the authorities to Malaysia to counter the rebellions. After the partition of British India, Inayatullah joined the Pakistan Air Force as a corporal. In 1965, when the war started between Pakistan and India, he became a war correspondent.

Writing career

Inayatullah started his career as an editor of the monthly Sayyara digest. He later founded his own publishing house, Maktabae Daastan. In 1970, Inayatullah began publishing a monthly magazine called Hikayat Digest from Lahore. Inayatullah was drawn to writing historical books during the time. He also wrote historical novels, hunting stories, and detective fiction in addition to his editorial job. He also wrote about general psychology, biography, politics, and social evils in his essays. He published over a hundred works under the pen names Meem Alf, Iltumsh, Ahmad Yar Khan, Sabir Hussain Rajput, Waqas, Mehdi Khan, and Gumnaam Khatoon, along with his original name Inayatullah.

Books

Death

Inayatullah died on 16 November 1999, in Lahore at the age of 79.

References