Imtiaz Ali Taj

Syed Imtiaz Ali Taj (Urdu: سیّد امتیاز علی تاؔج‎; Sayyid Imtiyāz ʿAlī Tāj 1900–1970) was a dramatist who wrote in the Urdu language. He is remembered above all for his 1922 play Anarkali, based on the life of Anarkali, that staged hundreds of times and was adapted for feature films in India and Pakistan, including the Indian film Mughal-e-Azam (1960).

Born Syed Imtiaz Ali in Lahore on 13 October 1900, he was the son of Moulvi Mumtaz Ali, who was also known as Shams-ul-Ulema (Sun of the Scholars), in recognition of his pioneering contribution to Urdu drama. His forefathers had moved to Lahore following the 1857 revolt in Delhi. When Imtiaz started writing, he adopted the name "Taj". During his student days, his literary skill came to the fore as he translated and directed many English plays, sometimes acting in female roles at a time when girls were not encouraged to act. After studying in Lahore, he first worked in his father's publishing house, Dar-ul-Ishaat Punjab (meaning:"Punjab publishing house").

He then went on to contribute to the children's journal Phool and the women's magazine Tahzeeb-e-Niswan; he wrote for Phool in association with Ghulam Abbas Ahmed and Ahmed Nadeem Oasm. He was a co-founder (together with Maulana Abdul Majeed Salik) of the literary journal Kehkashan. In addition to his many translations of Shakespeare's plays into Urdu, including A Midsummer Night's Dream as Sawan Rain Ka Sapna. He also wrote a number of plays himself, the most notable being Anarkali and Chacha Chakan, which continue to be performed today.

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