Who is the author of the novel 'Twilight in Delhi'?

"Twilight in Delhi" is an English novel by Ahmed Ali, published in 1940 by the Hogarth Press in London (run by Leonard and Virginia Woolf), with the support of E. M. Forster.

About the novel:

• It is set in Delhi between 1911 and 1919, at the time of the coronation durbar of King George V and the shifting of the capital from Calcutta to Delhi.
• It tells the story of Mir Nihal, the head of an old aristocratic Muslim family, and his son Asghar, who falls in love with a girl from a lower social class.
• It describes the decline of the traditional Muslim culture of Delhi after the Revolt of 1857, the changing social customs, and the impact of British rule.
• It includes many Urdu poems and gives a vivid picture of the old city of Delhi, its festivals, markets and pigeon-flying.
• It is regarded as one of the classics of early Indian English fiction.

About Ahmed Ali (1910-1994):

He was born in Delhi.

He was one of the four writers of "Angarey" (1932), a controversial collection of Urdu short stories that criticised social and religious conservatism, which was banned by the British government. "Angarey" helped inspire the Progressive Writers' Movement (founded 1936).

He taught English at Lucknow and Allahabad universities.

After Partition, he moved to Pakistan, where he served as a diplomat.

He also translated the Quran into English ("Al-Qur'an: A Contemporary Translation").

Other writers and works about Delhi:

• Khushwant Singh: "Delhi: A Novel" (1990).
• William Dalrymple: "City of Djinns" (1993) and "The Last Mughal" (2006).

Other writers:

• Ismat Chughtai: "Lihaaf" and "Tedhi Lakeer" (Urdu).
• Mulk Raj Anand: "Untouchable" and "Coolie".

Why not the other options?

• ✗Khushwant Singh wrote "Delhi: A Novel".
• ✗Ismat Chughtai wrote in Urdu.
• ✗Mulk Raj Anand wrote "Untouchable" and "Coolie".