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{{Short description|Indian writer}}
{{Use dmy dates}}
{{Infobox writer
| name = Amrita Pritam
| honorific_prefix =
| image = Amrita Pritam (1919 – 2005) , in 1948.jpg
| caption = Pritam in 1948
| birth_name = Amrita Kaur
| birth_date = {{birth date|1919|8|31|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Gujranwala]], [[Punjab (British India)|Punjab]], [[British India]] (now Pakistan)
| death_date = {{death date and age|2005|10|31|1919|8|31|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Delhi]], [[India]]
| occupation = Novelist, poet, essayist
| nationality = Indian
| period = 1936–2005
| genre = poetry, [[prose]], autobiography
| subject = Partition of India, Women, [[Dream]]
| movement = [[Romanticism|Romantic]]-[[Progressivism]]
| notableworks = ''[[Pinjar (novel)|Pinjar]]'' (novel) ''[[Ajj aakhaan Waris Shah nu]]'' (poem) ''Suneray'' (poem)
| spouse = Pritam Singh
| partner = Imroz
| children = 2
| awards = [[Sahitya Akademi Award]] {{small|(1956)}} [[Padma Shri]] {{small|(1969)}} [[Bharatiya Jnanpith]] {{small|(1982)}} Shatabdi Samman {{small|(2000)}} [[Padma Vibhushan]] {{small|(2004)}}
| signature =
| website =
| influences =
| influenced =
| module = {{Infobox officeholder
| embed = yes
| office = [[Member of Parliament]], [[Rajya Sabha]]
| constituency = [[List of nominated members of Rajya Sabha|Nominated]]
| termstart = 12 May 1986
| termend = 11 May 1992
}}
}}

'''Amrita Pritam''' ({{audio|Amrita Pritam pronunciation.ogg|listen}}; 31 August 1919 – 31 October 2005) was an [[Indian people|Indian]] novelist, essayist and poet, who wrote in [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]] and [[Hindi]].<ref name=lang/> A prominent figure in [[Punjabi literature]], she is the recipient of the 1956 [[Sahitya Akademi Award]]. Her body of work comprised over 100 books of poetry, fiction, biographies, essays, a collection of Punjabi folk songs and an autobiography that were all translated into several [[Languages of India|Indian]] and foreign languages.<ref name=guar/><ref>[http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2005%5C11%5C14%5Cstory_14-11-2005_pg7_43 Amrita Pritam: A great wordsmith in Punjab’s literary history] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060619074153/http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2005%5C11%5C14%5Cstory_14-11-2005_pg7_43 |date=19 June 2006 }} ''[[Daily Times (Pakistan)]]'', 14 November 2005.</ref>

Pritam is best remembered for her poignant poem, ''[[Ajj aakhaan Waris Shah nu]]'' (Today I invoke Waris Shah – "Ode to Waris Shah"), an [[elegy]] to the [[Waris Shah|18th-century Punjabi poet]], and an expression of her anguish over massacres during the [[partition of India]]. As a novelist, her most noted work was ''[[Pinjar (novel)|Pinjar]]'' ("The Skeleton", 1950), in which she created her memorable character, ''Puro'', an [[epitome]] of violence against women, loss of humanity and ultimate surrender to [[Existentialism|existential]] fate; the novel was made into an award-winning film, ''[[Pinjar (film)|Pinjar]]'' (2003).<ref>[http://www.tribuneindia.com/2005/20051105/saturday/main1.htm Always Amrita, Always Pritam] ''Gulzar Singh Sandhu on the Grand Dame of Punjabi letters'', ''[[The Tribune (Chandigarh)|The Tribune]]'', 5 November 2005.</ref><ref>{{IMDb title|0347779|Pinjar}}</ref>

When [[India]] was partitioned into the independent states of India and Pakistan in 1947, she migrated from [[Lahore]] to India, though she remained equally popular in Pakistan throughout her life, as compared to her contemporaries like [[Mohan Singh (poet)|Mohan Singh]] and [[Shiv Kumar Batalvi]].

Pritam's [[Masterpiece|magnum opus]], the long poem ''Sunehade'', won her the 1956 [[Sahitya Akademi Award]], making her the first and the only woman to have been given the award for a work in Punjabi.<ref name=mod>[https://books.google.com/books?id=m1R2Pa3f7r0C&pg=PA945&dq=Amrita+Pritam&sig=ACfU3U0CpuZGiTYdM4_fgX4dsZaextbNnA#PPA945,M1 Amrita Pritam] ''Modern Indian Literature: an Anthology'', by K. M. George, [[Sahitya Akademi]]. 1992, {{ISBN|81-7201-324-8}}.''945–947''.</ref> She received the [[Bharatiya Jnanpith|Jnanpith Award]], one of India's highest literary awards, in 1982 for ''Kagaz Te Canvas'' ("The Paper and the Canvas"). She was awarded the [[Padma Shri]] in 1969, and the [[Padma Vibhushan]], India's second highest civilian award, in 2004. In that same year she was honoured with India's highest literary award given by the [[Sahitya Akademi]] (India's Academy of Letters), the [[List of Sahitya Akademi fellows|Sahitya Akademi Fellowship]], awarded to ''the "immortals of literature"'' for lifetime achievement.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20041210084639/http://www.hindu.com/2004/10/05/stories/2004100514031300.htm Sahitya Akademi fellowship for Amrita Pritam, Anantha Murthy] ''[[The Hindu]]'', 5 October 2004.</ref>

==Biography==

===Background===
Amrita Pritam was born as Amrit Kaur in 1919 in Gujranwala, [[Punjab (British India)|Punjab]], in [[British Raj|British India]],<ref name=guar>[https://www.theguardian.com/news/2005/nov/04/guardianobituaries.india Amrita Pritam – Obituary] ''[[The Guardian]]'', 4 November 2005.</ref> the only child of Raj Bibi, who was a school teacher, and Kartar Singh Hitkari, who was a poet, a scholar of the [[Braj Bhasha]] language, and the editor of a literary journal.<ref name=wom/><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=1lTnv6o-d_oC&pg=PA254&dq=Amrita+Pritam&sig=ACfU3U1QKgR3CqBR6Vw_eBNoNj5e38LdYw#PPA254,M1 New Panjabi Poetry ( 1935–47)] ''Handbook of Twentieth-century Literatures of India'', by Nalini Natarajan, Emmanuel Sampath Nelson, Greenwood Publishing Group, 1996. {{ISBN|0-313-28778-3}}.''Page 253-254''.</ref> Besides this, he was a ''pracharak'' – a preacher of the Sikh faith.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.sikhtimes.com/bios_111205a.html|title=The Sikh Times - Biographies - Amrita Pritam: Queen of Punjabi Literature|website=Sikhtimes.com}}</ref> Amrita's mother died when she was eleven. Soon after, she and her father moved to [[Lahore]], where she lived till her migration to India in 1947. Confronting adult responsibilities and besieged by loneliness following her mother's death, she began to write at an early age. Her first anthology of poems, ''Amrit Lehran'' ("Immortal Waves") was published in 1936, at age sixteen, the year she married Pritam Singh, an editor to whom she was engaged in early childhood, and changed her name from Amrit Kaur to Amrita Pritam.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110701200641/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/amrita-pritam-513564.html Amrita Pritam – Obituary] ''[[The Independent]]'', 2 November 2005.</ref> Half a dozen collections of poems followed between 1936 and 1943.{{Citation needed|date=August 2022}}

Though she began her journey as a romantic poet, she soon shifted gears,<ref name=mod/> and became part of the [[Progressive Writers' Movement]]. The effect was seen in her collection, ''Lok Peed'' ("People's Anguish", 1944), which openly criticised the war-torn economy after the [[Bengal famine of 1943]]. She was also involved in social work to a certain extent, and participated in such activities wholeheartedly after Independence, when social activist [[Guru Radha Kishan]] took the initiative to bring the first [[Janta library|Janta Library]] in Delhi. This was inaugurated by [[Balraj Sahni]] and [[Aruna Asaf Ali]], and she contributed to the occasion. This study centre cum library is still running at Clock Tower, Delhi. She also worked at a radio station in [[Lahore]] for a while, before the partition of India.<ref>[http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2005%5C11%5C02%5Cstory_2-11-2005_pg3_1 Editorial] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061113000641/http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2005%5C11%5C02%5Cstory_2-11-2005_pg3_1 |date=13 November 2006 }} ''[[Daily Times (Pakistan)]]'', 2 November 2005.</ref>

[[M. S. Sathyu]], the director of the partition movie ''[[Garam Hava]]'' (1973), paid a theatrical tribute to her through his performance 'Ek Thee Amrita'.{{Citation needed|date=August 2022}}

===Partition of India===
One million people, [[Hindu]]s, [[Sikhs]] and [[Muslims]] died from communal violence that followed the partition of India in 1947, and left Amrita Pritam a Punjabi refugee at age 28, when she left [[Lahore]] and moved to New Delhi. Subsequently, in 1947, while she was pregnant with her son, and traveling from [[Dehradun]] to [[Delhi]], she expressed anguish on a piece of paper<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20051208053555/http://www.hindu.com/lr/2005/12/04/stories/2005120400040100.htm An alternative voice of history] Monica Datta, [[The Hindu]], 4 December 2005.</ref> like the poem, "[[Ajj Aakhaan Waris Shah Nu]]" (I ask Waris Shah Today); this poem was to later immortalize her and become the most poignant reminder of the horrors of Partition. The poem addressed to the Sufi poet [[Waris Shah]], author of the tragic saga of [[Heer Ranjha|Heer and Ranjah]] and with whom she shares her birthplace.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.apnaorg.com/poetry/heercomp/ |title=Archived copy |access-date=27 May 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070524000624/http://www.apnaorg.com/poetry/heercomp/ |archive-date=24 May 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Amrita Pritam worked until 1961 in the Punjabi service of [[All India Radio]], Delhi. After her divorce in 1960, her work became more feminist. Many of her stories and poems drew on the unhappy experience of her marriage. A number of her works have been translated into English, French, [[Danish language|Danish]], Japanese, Mandarin, and other languages from [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]] and [[Urdu]], including her autobiographical works ''Black Rose'' and ''Rasidi Ticket'' (Revenue Stamp).{{Citation needed|date=August 2022}}

The first of Amrita Pritam's books to be filmed was ''Dharti Sagar te Sippiyan'', as ''Kadambari'' (1965), followed by ''Unah Di Kahani'', as ''Daaku'' ([[Dacoit]], 1976), directed by [[Basu Bhattacharya]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.sikhtimes.com/news_082702a.html|title=The Sikh Times - News and Analysis - Amrita Pritam's Novel to Be Rendered on Film|website=Sikhtimes.com}}</ref> Her novel ''[[Pinjar (novel)|Pinjar]]'' (The Skeleton, 1950) narrates the story of partition riots along with the crisis of women who suffered during the times. It was made into an [[Filmfare Best Art Direction|award-winning]] [[Pinjar (film)|Hindi movie]] by [[Chandra Prakash Dwivedi]], because of its [[humanism]]: "Amritaji has portrayed the suffering of people of both the countries." ''Pinjar'' was shot in a border region of [[Rajasthan]] and Punjab.{{Citation needed|date=August 2022}}

She edited ''[[Nagmani (magazine)|Nagmani]]'', a monthly literary magazine in Punjabi for several years, which she ran together with [[Imroz (Punjabi painter)|Imroz]], for 33 years; though after Partition she wrote prolifically in Hindi as well.<ref name=lang/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pustak.org/bs/home.php?author_name=Amrita+Pritam|title=Amrita Pritam/अमृता प्रीतम|website=Pustak.org|access-date=28 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160117031543/http://pustak.org/bs/home.php?author_name=Amrita%20Pritam|archive-date=17 January 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> Later in life, she turned to [[Osho (Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh)|Osho]] and wrote introductions for several books of Osho, including ''Ek Onkar Satnam'',<ref>[http://www.sannyasworld.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=627 A tribute to Amrita Pritam by Osho lovers] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716003659/http://www.sannyasworld.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=627 |date=16 July 2011 }} ''Sw. Chaitanya Keerti'', ''sannyasworld.com''.</ref> and also started writing on spiritual themes and dreams, producing works like ''Kaal Chetna'' ("Time Consciousness") and ''Agyat Ka Nimantran'' ("Call of the Unknown").<ref>[http://www.lifepositive.com/Mind/arts/new-age-fiction/amritapritam.asp Visions of Divinity – Amrita Pritam] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080927031242/http://www.lifepositive.com/Mind/arts/new-age-fiction/amritapritam.asp |date=27 September 2008 }} ''Life Positive'', April 1996.</ref> She had also published autobiographies, titled, ''Kala Gulab'' ("Black Rose", 1968), ''Rasidi Ticket'' ("The Revenue Stamp", 1976), and ''Aksharon kay Saayee'' ("Shadows of Words").<ref name=wom>[https://books.google.com/books?id=OjZYf9Xf9bcC&pg=PA160&dq=Amrita+Pritam&sig=ACfU3U3DLfg8nbWhHgcYV9MdIhkuzxviSQ#PPA161,M1 Amrita Pritam] ''Women Writing in India: 600 B.C. to the Present'', by Susie J. Tharu, Ke Lalita, published by Feminist Press, 1991. {{ISBN|1-55861-029-4}}. ''Page 160-163''.</ref><ref>[http://www.chowk.com/articles/9116 Amrita Pritam Biography] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081205105527/http://www.chowk.com/articles/9116 |date=5 December 2008 }} ''Chowk'', 15 May 2005.</ref>

===Awards and honors===
Amrita was the first recipient of [[Punjab Rattan Award]] conferred upon her by Punjab Chief Minister Capt. [[Amarinder Singh]]. She was the first female recipient of the [[Sahitya Akademi Award]] in 1956 for ''Sunehadey'' (poetic diminutive of the Punjabi word "ਸੁਨੇਹੇ" (Sunehe), ''Messages''), Amrita Pritam received the [[Jnanpith|Bhartiya Jnanpith Award]], India's highest literary award, in 1982 for ''Kagaj te Canvas (Paper and Canvas).''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jnanpith.net/laureates/index.html |title=Jnanpith Laureates Official listings |publisher=[[Jnanpith]] Website |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013122739/http://jnanpith.net/laureates/index.html |archive-date=13 October 2007 }}</ref> She received the [[Padma Shri]] (1969) and [[Padma Vibhushan]] (2004), India's second highest civilian award, and [[List of Sahitya Akademi fellows|Sahitya Akademi Fellowship]], India's highest literary award, also in 2004. She received [[D.Litt.]] honorary degrees, from many universities including, [[Delhi University]] (1973), [[Jabalpur University]] (1973) and [[Vishwa Bharati]] (1987).<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.punjabilok.com/poetry/amrita_pritam.htm |title=Amrita Pritam |access-date=11 October 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081030004303/http://www.punjabilok.com/poetry/amrita_pritam.htm |archive-date=30 October 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

She also received the international [[Nikola Vaptsarov|Vaptsarov]] Award from the Republic of [[Bulgaria]] (1979) and Degree of Officer dens, [[Ordre des Arts et des Lettres]] (Officier) by the [[French Government]] (1987).<ref name=lang>[http://www.languageinindia.com/dec2005/amritapritamsunwani1.html Amrita Pritam, The Black Rose] by Vijay Kumar Sunwani, Language in India, Volume 5: 12 December 2005.</ref> She was nominated as a member of [[Rajya Sabha]] 1986–92. Towards the end of her life, she was awarded by Pakistan's Punjabi Academy, to which she had remarked, ''Bade dino baad mere Maike ko meri Yaad aayi..'' (My motherland has remembered me after a long time); and also Punjabi poets of Pakistan, sent her a '''chaddar''', from the tombs of [[Waris Shah]], and fellow Sufi mystic poets [[Bulle Shah]] and [[Sultan Bahu]].<ref name=guar/>

==Personal life==
[[File:Amrita_Pritam.jpg|thumb|Amrita Pritam at Heathrow Airport, London in 1971.]]
In 1935, Amrita married Pritam Singh, son of a hosiery merchant of Lahore's [[Anarkali Bazaar|Anarkali bazaar]]. They had two children together, a son and a daughter.She had an unrequited affection for poet [[Sahir Ludhianvi]].The story of this love is depicted in her autobiography, ''Rasidi Ticket'' (Revenue Stamp). When another woman, singer [[Sudha Malhotra]] came into Sahir's life, Amrita found solace in the companionship of the artist and writer Inderjeet Imroz. She spent the last forty years of her life with Imroz, who also designed most of her book covers and made her the subject of his several paintings. Their life together is also the subject of a book, ''Amrita Imroz: A Love Story''.<ref>[http://passionforcinema.com/amrita-preetam-imroz-a-love-story-of-a-poet-and-a-painter/ Amrita Preetam Imroz : A love Story of a Poet and a Painter] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100108032205/http://passionforcinema.com/amrita-preetam-imroz-a-love-story-of-a-poet-and-a-painter/|date=8 January 2010}} Passionforcinema.com, 8 August 2008.</ref><ref>[http://www.tribuneindia.com/2006/20061105/spectrum/book4.htm Nirupama Dutt, "A Love Legend of Our Times"] ''[[The Tribune (Chandigarh)|The Tribune]]'', 5 November 2006.</ref>

She died in her sleep on 31 October 2005 at the age of 86 in New Delhi, after a long illness.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4393970.stm |title=Indian writer Amrita Pritam dies |work=[[BBC News]] |date=31 October 2005 |access-date=1 August 2012}}</ref> She was survived by her partner Imroz, daughter Kandlla, son Navraj Kwatra, daughter-in-law Alka, and her grandchildren, Kartik, Noor, Aman and Shilpi. Navraj Kwatra was found murdered in his Borivali apartment in 2012.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mumbaimirror.com/article/2/20120915201209150215309207efeb3dc/Author-Amrita-Pritam%E2%80%99s-son-found-murdered-in-his-Borivali-apartment.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120919045349/http://www.mumbaimirror.com/article/2/20120915201209150215309207efeb3dc/Author-Amrita-Pritam%E2%80%99s-son-found-murdered-in-his-Borivali-apartment.html|url-status=dead|title=Author Amrita Pritam's son found murdered in his Borivali apartment|archive-date=19 September 2012}}</ref> Three men were accused of the murder<ref>http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/police-cracks-amrita-pritam-sons-murder-arrests-female-assistant-boyfriend/1005465 Police cracks Amrita Pritam son's murder, arrests female assistant, boyfriend/</ref> but were acquitted due to lack of evidence.<ref>https://www.hindustantimes.com/mumbai-news/sessions-court-in-mumbai-acquits-3-in-2012-murder-case-of-amrita-pritam-s-son/story-vGaIxKfZJoUjGHX6DQ99WJ.html {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190831144752/https://www.hindustantimes.com/mumbai-news/sessions-court-in-mumbai-acquits-3-in-2012-murder-case-of-amrita-pritam-s-son/story-vGaIxKfZJoUjGHX6DQ99WJ.html |date=31 August 2019 }} Sessions court in Mumbai acquits 3 in 2012 murder case of Amrita Pritam’s son</ref>

==Legacy==
In 2007, an audio album titled, 'Amrita recited by Gulzar' was released by noted lyricist [[Gulzar (lyricist)|Gulzar]], with poems of Amrita Pritam recited by him.<ref>[http://www.gulzaronline.com/default.htm 'Amrita recited by Gulzar'] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080705222306/http://www.gulzaronline.com/default.htm |date=5 July 2008 }}, Gulzaronline.com.</ref><ref>[http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/City_Supplements/Bombay_Times/Gulzar_recites_for_Amrita_Pritam/articleshow/2008708.cms Gulzar recites for Amrita Pritam] ''[[The Times of India]]'', 7 May 2007.</ref> A film on her life is also in production.<ref>[http://www.realbollywood.com/news/2007/01/movie-on-amrita-pritam-to-be-shot-in-himachal.html Movie on Amrita Pritam to be shot in Himachal] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080709011536/http://www.realbollywood.com/news/2007/01/movie-on-amrita-pritam-to-be-shot-in-himachal.html |date=9 July 2008 }} ''Realbollywood.com''.</ref>
On 31 August 2019, [[Google]] honoured her by commemorating her 100th birth anniversary with a [[Google Doodle|Doodle]]. The accompanying write up read as, "Today’s Doodle celebrates Amrita Pritam, one of history’s foremost female Punjabi writers, who 'dared to live the life she imagines.' Born in Gujranwala, British India, 100 years ago today, Pritam published her first collection of verse at the age of 16."<ref name="Amrita Pritam's Google Doodle">{{cite web | title=Amrita Pritam's 100th Birthday | website=Google.com | date=2019-08-31 | url=https://www.google.com/doodles/amrita-pritams-100th-birthday| access-date=2019-08-31}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/google-celebrates-100th-birth-anniversary-of-punjabi-poet-author-amrita-pritam-with-a-doodle/articleshow/70918925.cms|title=Google celebrates 100th birth anniversary of Punjabi poet, author Amrita Pritam with a doodle|newspaper=[[The Times of India]] |date=31 August 2019|access-date=31 August 2019}}</ref>

==Bibliography==
{{Unreferenced section|date= August 2022}}
;Novels
* ''[[Pinjar (novel)|Pinjar]]''
* ''Doctor Dev''
* ''Kore Kagaz, Unchas Din''
* ''Dharti, Sagar aur Seepian''
* ''Rang ka Patta''
* ''Dilli ki Galiyan''
* ''Terahwan Suraj''
* ''Yaatri''
* ''Jilavatan'' (1968)
* ''Hardatt Ka Zindaginama ''

;Autobiographies
* ''Black Rose'' (1968)
* ''Rasidi Ticket'' (1976)
* ''Shadows of Words'' (2004)
'''Short stories'''
* ''Kahaniyan jo Kahaniyan Nahi''
* ''Kahaniyon ke Angan mein''
* ''Stench of Kerosene''

;Poetry anthologies
* ''Amrit Lehran'' (Immortal Waves)(1936)
* ''Jiunda Jiwan'' (The Exuberant Life) (1939)
* ''Trel Dhote Phul'' (1942)
* ''O Gitan Valia'' (1942)
* ''Badlam De Laali'' (1943)
* ''Sanjh de laali'' (1943)
* ''Lok Peera'' (The People's Anguish) (1944)
* ''Pathar Geetey'' (The Pebbles) (1946)
* ''Punjab Di Aawaaz'' (1952)
* ''Sunehade'' (Messages) (1955) – [[Sahitya Akademi Award]]
* ''Ashoka Cheti'' (1957)
* ''Kasturi'' (1957)
* ''Nagmani'' (1964)
* ''Ik Si Anita'' (1964)
* ''Chak Nambar Chatti'' (1964)
* ''Uninja Din'' (49 Days) (1979)
* ''Kagaz Te Kanvas'' (1981)- [[Jnanpith Award|Bhartiya Jnanpith]]
* ''Chuni Huyee Kavitayen''
* ''Ek Baat''

;Literary journals
* ''Nagmani'', poetry monthly

==See also==
* [[List of Indian writers|Indian Writers]]
* [[List of Indian poets|Indian Poets]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* [http://www.panjabdigilib.org/webuser/searches/displayPage.jsp?ID=4859&page=1&CategoryID=1&Searched= Amrita Pritam Di Kav-Kala] (Punjabi- Sikh Publishing House Ltd.; pages 258; Pub: October 1954)
*Amrita Work in Shahmukhi [http://www.apnaorg.com/poetry/amirta/ NAVEEN RUT____Index ACADEMY OF PUNJAB IN NORTH AMERICA]
* Uma Trilok, ''Amrita Imroz: A Love Story,'' Penguin India (2006) {{ISBN|0-14-310044-0}}
* Indra Gupta, ''India’s 50 Most Illustrious Women'' {{ISBN|81-88086-19-3}}
* ''Indian Fiction in English Translation'' – [https://books.google.com/books?id=R8nsSokP3jUC&pg=PA35&dq=Amrita+Pritam&lr=&sig=ACfU3U23Hh05PAk_jpa50eGg_n202IaRSg#PPA29,M1 ''Chapt 4: Comments on Amrita Pritam's Magnum Opus: The Skeleton'' (Jagdev Singh)], by Shubha Tiwari. Atlantic Publishers & Distributors, 2005. {{ISBN|81-269-0450-X}}. ''Page 28-35''
* ''Studies in Punjabi Poetry. Chapt. 9- Amrita Pritam: The Poetry of Protest'', by Darshan Singh Maini. Vikas Pub., 1979. {{ISBN|0-7069-0709-4}}. ''Page 109''.
* [http://www.apnaorg.com/articles/amrita-biography/ 1st chapter of ''Revenue Stamp'' by Amrita Pritam]
* [http://www.littlemag.com/bodypolitic/amritapritam.html "The Cellar" by Amrita Pritam]
* [http://www.littlemag.com/belonging/amrita.html “Sahiban in Exile” by Amrita Pritam]
* [http://www.thedailystar.net/2004/02/07/d402072101111.htm "The Weed" by Amrita Pritam]
* [http://www.littlemag.com/jan-feb01/amrita.html "Wild Flower" by Amrita Pritam]
* [http://www.littlemag.com/ghosts/amritapritam.html ''Main Tenu Phir Milangi'', (I will meet you yet again) Translation]

==External links==
{{External links|date=August 2019}}

*[http://www.gadyakosh.org/gk/index.php?title=%E0%A4%85%E0%A4%AE%E0%A5%83%E0%A4%A4%E0%A4%BE_%E0%A4%AA%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%80%E0%A4%A4%E0%A4%AE Amrita Pritam at Gadya Kosh] (her prose work in Devanagari script)
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20050225205939/http://sawnet.org/books/authors.php?Pritam+Amrita Amrita Pritam and her Works at ''South Asian Women's Network'' (Sawnet)]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080618100709/http://www.razarumi.com/2008/06/09/amrita-pritam-1919-2005/ Amrita Pritam 1919-2005-a tribute by Raza Rumi]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2Q09F5Shyc Amrita Pritam talking about Partition and violence against women]
*[http://www.geocities.com/kavitayan/amritapritam.html Poems by Amrita Pritam at ''Kavitayan''] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20091026173015/http://www.geocities.com/kavitayan/amritapritam.html Archived] 2009-10-25)
*[https://kavishala.in/sootradhar/amrita-pritam Amrita Pritam | Kavishala Sootradhar]
;Video links
*{{YouTube|gvgSY81gVMM|''Aj Waris Shah Nu'', Amrita Pritam's most important poem, recited by Gulzar}}
*{{YouTube|um6QOvOPol4|Amrita Pritam's poem ''Main Tainu Pir Milangi'' recited by Gulzar}}

{{Padma Vibhushan Awards}}
{{SahityaAkademiFellowship}}
{{Jnanpith Award}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pritam, Amrita}}
[[Category:1919 births]]
[[Category:2005 deaths]]
[[Category:Indian feminist writers]]
[[Category:Indian women novelists]]
[[Category:Indian women poets]]
[[Category:Indian autobiographers]]
[[Category:Indian women non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:Poets from Lahore]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Punjabi]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Jnanpith Award]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Shri in literature & education]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in literature & education]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Fellowship]]
[[Category:Indian Sikhs]]
[[Category:Indian feminists]]
[[Category:Punjabi-language poets]]
[[Category:Punjabi-language writers]]
[[Category:Punjabi people]]
[[Category:Hindi-language writers]]
[[Category:Nominated members of the Rajya Sabha]]
[[Category:Writers from Delhi]]
[[Category:Indian magazine editors]]
[[Category:Officiers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres]]
[[Category:Sikh feminists]]
[[Category:Sikh writers]]
[[Category:Women autobiographers]]
[[Category:People from Gujranwala]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian poets]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian novelists]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian women writers]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian essayists]]
[[Category:Indian women essayists]]
[[Category:Women writers from Delhi]]
[[Category:Rajneesh movement]]
[[Category:Women magazine editors]]
[[Category:Women members of the Rajya Sabha]]

Amrita Pritam - Revision history

Ananya at 14:10, 22 September 2023