''Shahab Nama'' (; ) is an Urdu autobiography by renowned Pakistani writer and diplomat

Qudrat Ullah Shahab Qudrat Ullah Shahab (or Qudratullah Shahab, ur, ; 26 February 191724 July 1986) was an eminent Urdu writer and civil servant from Pakistan. Shahab holds the distinction of having served as the Principal Secretary to three heads o ...

. It is an eyewitness account of the background of

the subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographical region in Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian Ocean from the Himalayas. Geopolitically, it includes the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India ...

's Muslims'

independence movement Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

and of the demand, establishment and the history of Pakistan. The 1248-page long book was published posthumously in 1987, shortly after Shahab's death. It is his most notable publication and a bestselling Urdu autobiography. It covers his childhood, education, work life, admission to Imperial Civil Service, thoughts about Pakistan and his religious and spiritual experiences. Mushfiq Khwaja, a close friend of Shahab, was one of those who criticised the book for its exaggerations, inaccuracies and stretched truths. Considering Shahab's reputation as a man of integrity and a

Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...

, ''Dawn'' wrote that "he mainly told the truth but there were things that he stretched."

See also