Amrita Pritam (; 31 August 1919 – 31 October 2005) was an

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

novelist, essayist and poet, who wrote in

Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabis, Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a ...

and

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

. A prominent figure in

Punjabi literature Punjabi literature, specifically literary works written in the Punjabi language, is characteristic of the historical Punjab of present-day Pakistan and India and the Punjabi diaspora. The Punjabi language is written in several scripts, of which th ...

, she is the recipient of the 1956

Sahitya Akademi Award The Sahitya Akademi Award is a literary honour in India, which the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, annually confers on writers of the most outstanding books of literary merit published in any of the 22 languages of the ...

. Her body of work comprised over 100 books of poetry, fiction, biographies, essays, a collection of Punjabi folk songs and an autobiography that were all translated into several

and foreign languages. Pritam is best remembered for her poignant poem, ''

Ajj aakhaan Waris Shah nu Ajj Aakhaan Waris Shah Nu (; ) is a Punjabi-language poetic dirge by Punjabi author Amrita Pritam about the horrors of Punjab's partition during the 1947 partition of India. The poem is addressed to the 18th-century Punjabi poet Waris Shah, w ...

'' (Today I invoke Waris Shah – "Ode to Waris Shah"), an

elegy An elegy is a poem of serious reflection, and in English literature usually a lament for the dead. However, according to ''The Oxford Handbook of the Elegy'', "for all of its pervasiveness ... the 'elegy' remains remarkably ill defined: sometime ...

to the 18th-century Punjabi poet, and an expression of her anguish over massacres during the

partition of British India The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Pakistan is the Islam ...

. As a novelist, her most noted work was '' Pinjar'' ("The Skeleton", 1950), in which she created her memorable character, ''Puro'', an

epitome An epitome (; , from ἐπιτέμνειν ''epitemnein'' meaning "to cut short") is a summary or miniature form, or an instance that represents a larger reality, also used as a synonym for embodiment. Epitomacy represents "to the degree of." A ...

of violence against women, loss of humanity and ultimate surrender to

existential Existentialism is a family of philosophical views and inquiry that explore the human individual's struggle to lead an authentic life despite the apparent absurdity or incomprehensibility of existence. In examining meaning, purpose, and value ...

fate; the novel was made into an award-winning film, '' Pinjar'' (2003). When

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

was partitioned into the independent states of India and Pakistan in 1947, she migrated from

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

to India, though she remained equally popular in Pakistan throughout her life, as compared to her contemporaries like

Mohan Singh Mohan Singh (4 March 1945 – 22 September 2013) was an Indian politician from the Samajwadi Party. He was elected three times to the Lok Sabha from Deoria in Uttar Pradesh. He was the General Secretary of the Samajwadi Party. He died on 22 S ...

and

Shiv Kumar Batalvi Shiv Kumar Batalvi (23 July 1936 – 6 May 1973) was a Punjabi poet, writer and playwright of the Punjabi language. He was most known for his romantic poetry, noted for its heightened passion, pathos, separation and lover's agony, due to that ...

. Pritam's

magnum opus A masterpiece, , or ; ; ) is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, skill, profundity, or workmanship. Historically, ...

, the long poem ''Sunehade'', won her the 1956

, making her the first and the only woman to have been given the award for a work in Punjabi.Amrita Pritam
''Modern Indian Literature: an Anthology'', by K. M. George,

Sahitya Akademi The Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India. Founded on 12 March 1954, it is supported by, though independent of the Indian government. Its off ...

. 1992, .''945–947''. She received the

Jnanpith Award The Jnanpith Award is the oldest and the highest Indian literary award presented annually by the Bharatiya Jnanpith to an author for their "outstanding contribution towards literature". Instituted in 1961, the award is bestowed only on Indian ...

, one of India's highest literary awards, in 1982 for ''Kagaz Te Canvas'' ("The Paper and the Canvas"). She was awarded the

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

in 1969, and the

Padma Vibhushan The Padma Vibhushan ( , lit. "Lotus Grandeur") is the second-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "exceptional and distinguished service". All persons w ...

, India's second highest civilian award, in 2004. In that same year she was honoured with India's highest literary award given by the

(India's Academy of Letters), the

Sahitya Akademi Fellowship The Sahitya Akademi Fellowship is a literary honour in India bestowed by the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters.Quote: "In his acceptance speech when India's National Academy of Letters (Sahitya Akademi) in 1997 conferred its h ...

, awarded to the ''"immortals of literature"'' for lifetime achievement.

Biography

Background

Amrita Pritam was born as Amrit Kaur in 1919 in modern-day district of Mandi Bahauddin,

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

, in

into a

Khatri Khatri () is a caste system in India, caste originating from the Malwa (Punjab), Malwa and Majha areas of Punjab region of South Asia that is predominantly found in India, but also in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The Khatris claim they are war ...

Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...

family.Amrita Pritam – Obituary
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', 4 November 2005. She was the only child of Raj Bibi, a school teacher, and Kartar Singh Hitkari, a poet and a scholar of the

Braj Bhasha Braj is a language within the Indo-Aryan language family spoken in the Braj region in Western Uttar Pradesh centered on Mathura. Along with Awadhi, it was one of the two predominant literary languages of North-Central India before gradually ...

language, and the editor of a literary journal. Besides this, he was a ''pracharak'' – a preacher of the Sikh faith. Amrita's mother died when she was eleven. Soon after, she and her father moved to

, where she lived till her migration to India in 1947. Confronting adult responsibilities and besieged by loneliness following her mother's death, she began to write at an early age. Her first anthology of poems, ''Amrit Lehran'' ("Immortal Waves") was published in 1936, at age sixteen, the year she married Pritam Singh, an editor to whom she was engaged in early childhood and changed her name from Amrit Kaur to Amrita Pritam. Half a dozen collections of poems followed between 1936 and 1943. Though she began her journey as a romantic poet, she soon shifted gears, and became part of the

Progressive Writers' Movement The Progressive Writers' Association or the Progressive Writers' Movement of India or ''Anjuman Tarraqi Pasand Mussanafin-e-Hind'' () or ''Akhil Bhartiya Pragatishil Lekhak Sangh'' (Hindi: अखिल भारतीय प्रगतिश� ...

. The effect was seen in her collection, ''Lok Peed'' ("People's Anguish", 1944), which openly criticised the war-torn economy after the

Bengal famine of 1943 The Bengal famine of 1943 was a famine in the Bengal province of British India (present-day Bangladesh, West Bengal and eastern India) during World War II. An estimated 800,000–3.8 million people died, in the Bengal region (present-day Ban ...

. She was also involved in social work to a certain extent, and participated in such activities wholeheartedly after Independence, when social activist

Guru Radha Kishan Guru Radha Kishan (1925-1996) was an Indian Independence activist and Communist politician. Early life Radha Kishan was born in 1925 in a family of farmers on Krishna Janmashtami in Bid village (currently in Harda district, Madhya Pradesh) ...

took the initiative to bring the first Janta Library in Delhi. This was inaugurated by

Balraj Sahni Balraj Sahni (born Yudhishthir Sahni; 1 May 1913 – 13 April 1973) was an Indian film and stage actor, who is best known for (1946), '' Do Bigha Zameen'' (1953), '' Chhoti Bahen'' (1959), '' Kabuliwala'' (1961), Waqt (1965) and '' Garm Hava'' ...

and Aruna Asaf Ali, and she contributed to the occasion. This study centre cum library is still running at Clock Tower, Delhi. She also worked at a radio station in

for a while, before the partition of India. M. S. Sathyu, the director of the partition movie '' Garam Hava'' (1973), paid a theatrical tribute to her through his performance 'Ek Thee Amrita'.

Partition of India

One million people,

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

Sikhs Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Sikh'' ...

and

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

died from communal violence that followed the partition of India in 1947, and left Amrita Pritam a Punjabi refugee at age 28, when she left

and moved to New Delhi. Subsequently, in 1947, while she was pregnant with her son, and traveling from

Dehradun Dehradun (), also known as Dehra Doon, is the winter capital and the List of cities in Uttarakhand by population, most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous Dehradun district, d ...

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

, she expressed anguish on a piece of paper like the poem, "

Ajj Aakhaan Waris Shah Nu Ajj Aakhaan Waris Shah Nu (; ) is a Punjabi-language poetic dirge by Punjabi author Amrita Pritam about the horrors of Punjab's partition during the 1947 partition of India. The poem is addressed to the 18th-century Punjabi poet Waris Shah, w ...

" (I ask Waris Shah Today); this poem was to later immortalize her and become the most poignant reminder of the horrors of Partition. The poem was addressed to the Sufi poet

Waris Shah Pir Waris Shah ( ; 1722 1798) was an 18th-century Punjabi Muslims, Punjabi Muslim Sufi poet of the Chishti order, known popularly for his contribution to Punjabi literature. He is primarily known as the author of the ''Heer Ranjha'' love ...

, author of the tragic saga of Heer and Ranjah and with whom she shares her birthplace. Amrita Pritam worked until 1961 in the Punjabi service of

All India Radio All India Radio (AIR), also known as Akashvani (), is India's state-owned public broadcasting, public radio broadcaster. Founded in 1936, it operates under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of Information and Broa ...

, Delhi. After her divorce in 1960, her work became more feminist. Many of her stories and poems drew on the unhappy experience of her marriage. A number of her works have been translated into English, French, Danish, Japanese, Mandarin, and other languages from

and

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

, including her autobiographical works ''Black Rose'' and ''Rasidi Ticket'' (Revenue Stamp). The first of Amrita Pritam's books to be filmed was ''Dharti Sagar te Sippiyan'', as ''Kadambari'' (1975), followed by ''Unah Di Kahani'', as ''Daaku'' (

Dacoit Dacoity is a term used for "banditry" in the Indian subcontinent. The spelling is the anglicised version of the Hindi word डाकू (ḍākū); "dacoit" is a colloquial Indian English word with the meaning "a robber belonging to an armed ...

, 1976), directed by

Basu Bhattacharya Basu Bhattacharya (1934 – 19 June 1997) was an Indian film director of Bollywood, Hindi films. He is perhaps best known for his 1966 film ''Teesri Kasam'', starring Raj Kapoor and Waheeda Rehman (based on the short story "Maare Gaye Gulfam ...

. Her novel '' Pinjar'' (The Skeleton, 1950) narrates the story of partition riots along with the crisis of women who suffered during the times. It was made into an award-winning

Hindi movie Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Hollywood". The industry, producing films in th ...

by Chandra Prakash Dwivedi, because of its

humanism Humanism is a philosophy, philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and Agency (philosophy), agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The me ...

: "''Amritaji has portrayed the suffering of people of both the countries''." ''Pinjar'' was shot in a border region of

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

and Punjab. She edited ''

Nagmani Nagmani Kushwaha (born 15 Jan 1953) is an Indian politician from Bihar and Jharkhand. He is the son of another Bihar politician and Social ReformerJagdeo Prasad, in whose party Shoshit Samaj Dal, Nagmani started his career. He has served as an ...

'', a monthly literary magazine in Punjabi for several years, which she ran together with Imroz, for 33 years; though after Partition she wrote prolifically in Hindi as well. Later in life, she turned to

Osho Rajneesh (born Chandra Mohan Jain; 11 December 193119 January 1990), also known as Acharya Rajneesh, Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, and later as Osho (), was an Indian godman, philosopher, mystic and founder of the Rajneesh movement. He was viewed ...

and wrote introductions for several books of Osho, including ''Ek Onkar Satnam'', and also started writing on spiritual themes and dreams, producing works like ''Kaal Chetna'' ("Time Consciousness") and ''Agyat Ka Nimantran'' ("Call of the Unknown"). She had also published autobiographies, titled, ''Kala Gulab'' ("Black Rose", 1968), ''Rasidi Ticket'' ("The Revenue Stamp", 1976), and ''Aksharon kay Saayee'' ("Shadows of Words").Amrita Pritam
''Women Writing in India: 600 B.C. to the Present'', by Susie J. Tharu, Ke Lalita, published by Feminist Press, 1991. . ''Page 160-163''.

Awards and honors

Amrita was the first recipient of

Punjab Rattan Award The Punjab Ratan Award, is a type of award An award, sometimes called a distinction, is given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, i ...

conferred upon her by Punjab Chief Minister Capt.

Amarinder Singh Amarinder Singh (born 11 March 1942) is an Indian politician, military historian, former royal and Indian Army veteran who served as the 15th Chief Minister of Punjab. His father, Yadavindra Singh, was the last Maharaja of the princely st ...

. She was the first female recipient of the

in 1956 for ''Sunehadey'' (poetic diminutive of the Punjabi word "ਸੁਨੇਹੇ" (Sunehe), ''Messages''), Amrita Pritam received the Bhartiya Jnanpith Award, India's highest literary award, in 1982 for ''Kagaj te Canvas (Paper and Canvas).'' She received the

(1969) and

(2004), India's second highest civilian award, and

, India's highest literary award, also in 2004. She received

D.Litt. Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or '), also termed Doctor of Literature in some countries, is a terminal degree in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. In the United States, at universities such as Drew University, the degree ...

honorary degrees, from many universities including,

Delhi University The Delhi University (DU, ISO 15919, ISO: ), also and officially known as the University of Delhi, is a collegiate university, collegiate research university, research Central university (India), central university located in Delhi, India. It ...

(1973),

Jabalpur University Rani Durgavati Vishwavidyalaya (Rani Durgavati University), also known as University of Jabalpur, is a government university in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India. It was named after the queen Rani Durgavati. History The university was constitut ...

(1973) and Vishwa Bharati (1987). She also received the international Vaptsarov Award from the Republic of

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

(1979) and Degree of Officer dens,

Ordre des Arts et des Lettres The Order of Arts and Letters () is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is the recognition of significant ...

(Officier) by the

French Government The Government of France (, ), officially the Government of the French Republic (, ), exercises Executive (government), executive power in France. It is composed of the Prime Minister of France, prime minister, who is the head of government, ...

(1987).Amrita Pritam, The Black Rose
by Vijay Kumar Sunwani, Language in India, Volume 5: 12 December 2005. She was nominated as a member of

Rajya Sabha Rajya Sabha (Council of States) is the upper house of the Parliament of India and functions as the institutional representation of India’s federal units — the states and union territories.https://rajyasabha.nic.in/ It is a key component o ...

1986–92. Towards the end of her life, she was awarded by Pakistan's Punjabi Academy, to which she had remarked, ''Bade dino baad mere maike ko meri yaad aayi..'' (My motherland has remembered me after a long time); and also Punjabi poets of Pakistan, sent her a chaddar, from the tombs of

, and fellow Sufi mystic poets

Bulle Shah Sayyid Abdullāh Shāh Qādrī (; ), popularly known as Baba Bulleh Shah and vocatively as Bulleya, was a Punjabi revolutionary philosopher, reformer and Chishti Sufi poet, regarded the 'Father of Punjabi Enlightenment'; and one of the g ...

and

Sultan Bahu Sultan Bahu (also spelled as Sultan Bahoo; ; 17 January 1630 – 1 March 1691), was a Punjabi Muslim poet, Sufi, scholar, and historian of the 17th century. Renowned for his mystical poetry, he was active during the reigns of Mughal emperors ...

Personal life

In 1935, Amrita married Pritam Singh, son of a hosiery merchant of Lahore's

Anarkali bazaar Anarkali Bazaar (Punjabi language, Punjabi, ) is a major bazaar in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab, Pakistan. Anarkali also serves as a neighbourhood and union council of Data Gunj Buksh Town, Data Gunj Buksh Tehsil of Lahore. It is situated in ...

. They had two children together, a son and a daughter. She had an unrequited affection for poet

Sahir Ludhianvi Abdul Hayee (8 March 1921 – 25 October 1980), popularly known by his pen name (takhallus) Sahir Ludhianvi, was an Indian poet who wrote primarily in Urdu in addition to Hindi. He is regarded as one of the greatest film lyricists and poet ...

. The story of this love is depicted in her autobiography, ''Rasidi Ticket'' (Revenue Stamp). When another woman, singer

Sudha Malhotra Sudha Malhotra (born 30 November 1936) is an Indian playback singer. She also acted in some Bollywood films and as a playback singer, worked in popular Bollywood movies in the 1950s and 1960s, like '' Arzoo'', ''Babar'', '' Dhool Ka Phool'', ''A ...

came into Sahir's life, Amrita found solace in the companionship of the artist and writer Inderjeet Imroz. She spent the last forty years of her life with Imroz, who also designed most of her book covers and made her the subject of several of his paintings. Their life together is also the subject of a book, ''Amrita Imroz: A Love Story''. She died in her sleep on 31 October 2005 at the age of 86 in New Delhi, after battling a long illness. She was survived by her partner Imroz, daughter Kandlla, son Navraj Kwatra, daughter-in-law Alka, and her grandchildren, Kartik, Noor, Aman and Shilpi. Navraj Kwatra was found murdered in his Borivali apartment in 2012. Three men were accused of the murder but were acquitted due to lack of evidence.

Legacy

In 2007, an audio album titled, 'Amrita recited by Gulzar' was released by noted lyricist

Gulzar Gulzar (born Sampooran Singh Kalra; 18 August 1934) is an Indian Urdu poetry, Urdu poet, lyricist, author, screenwriter, and film director known for his works in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of greatest Urdu poets of this era. He starte ...

, with poems of Amrita Pritam recited by him. A film on her life is also in production. On 31 August 2019,

Google Google LLC (, ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial ...

honoured her by commemorating her 100th birth anniversary with a

Doodle A doodle is a drawing made while a person's attention is otherwise occupied. Doodles are simple drawings that can have concrete representational meaning or may just be composed of random and abstract art, abstract lines or shapes, generally w ...

. The accompanying write-up read, "Today’s Doodle celebrates Amrita Pritam, one of history’s foremost female Punjabi writers, who 'dared to live the life she imagines.' Born in Gujranwala, British India, 100 years ago today, Pritam published her first collection of verse at the age of 16."

Bibliography

;Novels * '' Pinjar'' * ''Doctor Dev'' * ''Kore Kagaz, Unchas Din'' * ''Dharti, Sagar aur Seepian'' * ''Rang ka Patta'' * ''Dilli ki Galiyan'' * ''Terahwan Suraj'' * ''Yaatri'' * ''Jilavatan'' (1968) * ''Hardatt Ka Zindaginama '' ;Autobiographies * ''Black Rose'' (1968) * ''Rasidi Ticket'' (1976) * ''Shadows of Words'' (2004) Short stories * ''Kahaniyan jo Kahaniyan Nahi'' * ''Kahaniyon ke Angan mein'' * ''Stench of Kerosene'' ;Poetry anthologies * ''Amrit Lehran'' (Immortal Waves)(1936) * ''Jiunda Jiwan'' (The Exuberant Life) (1939) * ''Trel Dhote Phul'' (1942) * ''O Gitan Valia'' (1942) * ''Badlam De Laali'' (1943) * ''Sanjh de laali'' (1943) * ''Lok Peera'' (The People's Anguish) (1944) * ''Pathar Geetey'' (The Pebbles) (1946) * ''Punjab Di Aawaaz'' (1952) * ''Sunehade'' (Messages) (1955) –

* ''Ashoka Cheti'' (1957) * ''Kasturi'' (1957) * ''Nagmani'' (1964) * ''Ik Si Anita'' (1964) * ''Chak Nambar Chatti'' (1964) * ''Uninja Din'' (49 Days) (1979) * ''Kagaz Te Kanvas'' (1981)-

Bhartiya Jnanpith Bharatiya Jnanpith a literary and research organization, based in New Delhi, India, was founded on February 18, 1944Encyclopaedia of Indian literature vol. 1, p. 298 1987, Sahitya Akademi, by Sahu Shanti Prasad Jain of the Sahu Jain family and h ...

* ''Chuni Huyee Kavitayen'' * ''Ek Baat'' ;Literary journals * ''Nagmani'', poetry monthly

References

External links

Amrita Pritam at Gadya Kosh
(her prose work in Devanagari script)
Amrita Pritam and her Works at ''South Asian Women's Network'' (Sawnet)Amrita Pritam 1919-2005-a tribute by Raza RumiAmrita Pritam talking about Partition and violence against women
2009-10-25)
Amrita Pritam , Kavishala Sootradhar
;Video links * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pritam, Amrita 1919 births 2005 deaths Indian feminist writers Indian women novelists Indian women poets Indian autobiographers Indian women non-fiction writers Poets from Lahore Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Punjabi Recipients of the Jnanpith Award Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in literature & education Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Fellowship Punjabi Sikhs Indian feminists Punjabi-language poets Punjabi-language writers Hindi-language writers Nominated members of the Rajya Sabha Writers from Delhi Indian magazine editors Officiers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Sikh feminists Sikh writers Women autobiographers People from Gujranwala 20th-century Indian poets 20th-century Indian novelists 20th-century Indian women writers 20th-century Indian essayists Indian women essayists Women writers from Delhi Rajneesh movement Indian women magazine editors Women members of the Rajya Sabha Writers from Lahore People from Punjab Province (British India)