معاصر اردو افسانے میں سماجی و ثقافتی رویے

Abstract

The rapid advancement of technology, along with the expansion of consumerism and globalization, has engendered profound transformations in social institutions as well as in social and cultural values since the late twentieth century. To examine the literary implications of these transformations, this paper undertakes a critical analysis of selected short stories by Ikramullah, Asad Muhammad Khan, Asif Farrukhi, Muhammad Hameed Shahid, Nasir Abbas Nayyar, Neelam Ahmad Bashir, Aasim Butt, and Ali Akbar Natiq. The study demonstrates that contemporary Urdu short fiction foregrounds, on the one hand, themes such as intolerance, social apathy, fear, political oppression and exploitation, cultural conflict, and social inequality. On the other hand, it also articulates affirmative values including humanism, empathy, gender equality, sincerity, and love. Consequently, contemporary Urdu short fiction not only offers a critical interrogation of shifting socio-cultural values but also contributes to the cultivation of intellectual awareness and social consciousness among its readerships.