Amrita Pritam

A revolutionary Punjabi poet and novelist who challenged gender norms and highlighted Partition trauma.

Amrita Pritam (1919–2005) is celebrated as one of South Asia's most influential literary voices. Born in British India, she witnessed the horrors of the Partition of India in 1947, which deeply shaped her work. Her poem Aj Aakhaan Waris Shah Nu (Today I Invoke Waris Shah) became a haunting elegy for Partition's victims, blending personal grief with collective trauma.

Pritam defied societal expectations by writing openly about female desire and autonomy. Her novel Pinjar (The Skeleton) exposed the brutality faced by women during Partition, later adapted into a award-winning film. She became the first woman to win Sahitya Akademi Award (1956) and received India's highest literary honor, the Jnanpith Award, in 1982.

Beyond literature, Pritam's unconventional life—including her lifelong relationship with artist Sahir Ludhianvi—challenged conservative norms. She collaborated with progressive writers' movements, advocating for secularism and women's rights until her death in 2005.