In December 1932, four young people came together in Lucknow to publish a slim book, a first-of-its-kind anthology in Urdu. Comprising nine short stories and a play, Angarey (meaning ‘live embers’) drew public anger verging on mass hysteria making the uproar over later banned books pale in comparison considering this was an age innocent of social media. The next three months saw a torrent of abuse and fatwas against the book and its authors—Sajjad Zaheer, Ahmad Ali, Mahmudduzzar and the only woman in the group, Dr Rashid Jahan. The proprietor of Nizami Press, Malik Ali Javed, caved in after his press was raided under orders of the city magistrate. He confessed to his mistake in bringing out the book, apologised in a written statement on February 27, 1933, for insulting the feelings of the Muslim community, and readily agreed to surrender the unsold copies of the book to the government.