Syed Sibte Hasan: Journalist, Thinker and Historian of Ideas
سید سبط حسن
Updated
Syed Sibte Hasan (سید سبط حسن, 1916–1986) was a journalist, editor and one of the most widely read progressive thinkers in Urdu. His books on history, culture and ideas, written in clear, unpretentious prose, are still read by students across Pakistan.
Life
Sibte Hasan was born in 1916 in Azamgarh district in the United Provinces and studied at Aligarh. He worked as a journalist, joined the Progressive Writers' Movement, and studied in the United States for a time. After Partition he moved to Pakistan, where his left-wing politics brought him imprisonment. He edited the literary-political weekly Lail-o-Nahar in Karachi, and devoted his later years to writing books. He died in New Delhi in 1986.
Books
Musa se Marx Tak (From Moses to Marx): the history of socialist ideas.
Mazi ke Mazar (Tombs of the Past): ancient civilisations and their beliefs.
Pakistan mein Tehzeeb ka Irtiqa (The Evolution of Civilisation in Pakistan, 1975): his best-known survey of the region's history.
Naveed-e-Fikr and The Battle of Ideas in Pakistan: essays on thought and politics.
Why he matters
Sibte Hasan wrote for readers who had no access to academic history, and he insisted that culture is made by working people and changes as their lives change. His books remain among the most popular non-fiction in Urdu.
Questions and answers
Who was Sibte Hasan?
A Pakistani journalist, editor and Marxist writer (1916–1986), known for books such as Musa se Marx Tak and Pakistan mein Tehzeeb ka Irtiqa.
What is Sibte Hasan's most famous book?
Musa se Marx Tak (From Moses to Marx) and Pakistan mein Tehzeeb ka Irtiqa are his best known.