"Khat e Taqdeer" Urdu's First Novel Or Allegory:A Research,Comparative And Analytical Study

Abstract

Molvi Abdul Karim's novel "khat e Taqdeer" was first published in 1862, before seven years of publishing "Mirat Ul Uros" by deputy Nazir Ahmad, and recommended for the    sylllabus of schools (Madaris) of punjab. Till 1865 its two editions were published and after this,the book was disappeared for years. Dr. Mehmood Ilahi discovered this book and published its new edition in 1964,after a gap of century. Unfortunately,it could not get the deserved attention of the critics as a book of novel. Usually it was taken as a series of allegories,while its analytical study shows that this book has a strong base to be admitted as the initial stage of Urdu novel. This article raises question and discusses that why an allegory could not be a novel ? and tries to prove "Khat e Taqdeer" as the initial shape of Urdu novel.