\u201cPakistani science fiction has been historically non-existent, except for a few writers,\u201d Usman said. \u201cIsmat Chughtai\u2019s\u00a0Roshni Ka Safar<\/em>, which is sort of a time travel story, is a good example of early science fiction. Whereas, writers like Manto and Mumtaz Mufti have dabbled into what we call speculative fiction.\u201d He said science fiction was historically considered a genre with space travel, adventures and laser suits only, but the term broadened later as more and writers produced work that overlapped the genre.<\/p>\n A lot of newer people today think of speculative fiction as an umbrella in which there is science fiction, fantasy, magic realism, etc. It has been historically misunderstood.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of my definitions of science fiction comes from the American writer Ted Chiang, who calls the genre fiction that pushes the boundaries of knowledge and tries to expand them.\u201d<\/p>\n He said in South Asia, the genre has not been approached by writers in a critical way. \u201cWe don\u2019t find many writers in Urdu or English who have taken science fiction in a serious way, but India and Bangladesh have a lot of sci-fi literature. Begum Rokeya\u2019s\u00a0Sultana\u2019s Dream<\/em>\u00a0(a 1905 Bengali utopian novel) was the earliest feminist story about a parallel world where women run everything.\u201d<\/p>\n The situation has, however, started to change in Pakistan. \u201cA lot of people now are working on science fiction, such as Mohsin Hamid.\u201d Hamid\u2019s\u00a0Exit West<\/em>\u00a0(2017)\u00a0delves\u00a0into the themes of emigration and refugee crises. It is a story of a young couple in a war-torn city, who have to use a system of magical doors to flee, which lead them to various locations around the world. Kamila Shamsie\u2019s\u00a0The Djinn Falls and in Love and Other Stories<\/em>\u00a0is also testament to the fact that more and more writers are now doing critical work on science fiction. Usman also praised Nudrat Kamal\u2019s work on jinns and their history.<\/p>\n \u201cI can say 2020 was the year science fiction came of age in Pakistan,\u201d he said, adding that eight or nine science fiction writers were published professionally, which is a big number for a country where there were no sci-fi writers 20 years ago.<\/p>\n He said Pakistan has a very rich history of speculative fiction, which also includes fantasy and children\u2019s literature. \u201cChildren\u2019s literature is not taken seriously in Pakistan,\u201d he said, mentioning\u00a0Bachon Ki Dunya<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Bachon Ka Bagh<\/em>. \u201cNow we have Kehkashan Khalid, Nihal Ijaz Khan, Nur Nasreen Ibrahim and Sameem Siddiqui, who is the second Pakistani to have her story\u00a0AirBody\u00a0<\/em>in the best fiction of the year.\u201d<\/p>\n According to Usman, there are three major reasons that have opened doors for science fiction in Pakistan.<\/p>\n \u201cThe first is that super-hero universe makes a lot of money,\u201d he said, mentioning the\u00a0Harry Potter<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Twilight<\/em>\u00a0series.\u201d There is so much money going into these genres that they are no longer considered \u201cnerd\u201d or \u201cniche\u201d.<\/p>\n The second reason is Pakistanis\u2019 search for escapism, leading them to science fiction. \u201cBecause of Pakistan\u2019s war on terror people here are sick of realist fiction.\u201d Pakistan has been living in a dystopia for the last 50 years and escapism is never a bad thing, he added. It allows us to move forward.<\/p>\n The third reason, he said is the Salam Award. It was set up in 2016 and has become a perennial fixture in South Asia\u2019s science fiction. \u201cWe have hundreds of entries and have read over 250 writers.\u201d The awards also enable writers to get to know about editors and publishers in New York and the entire submission process.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have seen traditional themes being recreated by young writers,\u201d said Usman. There are stories about android robots in Balochistan, puppets facing language issues in Sindh, among others. \u201cWe are finally moving beyond the traditional\u00a0saas bahu\u00a0<\/em>and patriarchal stories.\u201d The trauma at the time of partition is also being viewed through a sci-fi lens.<\/p>\n Talking about water shortage in Sindh, Usman said writers can come up with fiction that examines different possibilities and solutions to these crises. He said Pakistani science fiction is moving towards equality, delivery of progressive and imaginative thoughts. \u201cWe have people thinking these themes and we to imagine the solutions. How about a year in which we write only utopian stories?<\/p>\n One reason why Urdu could not make much progress in science fiction is because of its vocabulary. \u201cUrdu has not been conducive to sci-fi terminologies. How many science fiction novels can we name in Urdu or Siraiki?\u201d<\/p>\n Usman added that dystopia is a very \u201cwestern\u201d and \u201cAmerican\u201d concept, where it is fascinating, but remarked that Pakistanis are already living in it.<\/p>\n The author called for universities to include science fiction as a course. \u201cWe need science fiction courses because they are critical to our growth.\u201d Conferences and workshops can also be organised where published authors can train and guide aspiring writers.<\/p>\n \u201cThe wonderful thing about art or literature is that it has the power to nurture and inculcate empathy,\u201d Usman remarked.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Pakistanis are hungry for new kinds of fiction and their response to recent stories show<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5866,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5864","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"Usman-T-Malik-Twitter-Urdu-has-not-been-conducive-to-sci-fi-literature-Usman-Malik-rapidnews-dailyrapid\"](\"https:\/\/dailyrapidnews.com\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Usman-T-Malik-Twitter-Urdu-has-not-been-conducive-to-sci-fi-literature-Usman-Malik-rapidnews-dailyrapid.jpg\")
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