ABSTRACT
This letter by Joginder Paul, written in 1997, to the editor of the magazine Tulu-e-Afkar, was his meticulous response to an article published in that magazine and is almost a treatise on writing and criticism. Although the article was a look at the Pakistani writer Mirza Adeeb’s short stories, Paul takes it upon himself to respond in great detail to a passage in the piece where the article writer compares one of Adeeb’s short stories to one of Paul’s, indirectly raising issues of inspired writing and plagiarism. In his letter Paul quotes the complete extract of the passages where the article speaks of the closeness in ideas between Adeeb and him. This he does, as he says very clearly, in order that readers have the entire issue in front of them and do not waste any time in trying to understand the point in question. Then he proceeds to address the points raised in detail one at a time, leaving no doubt that not only does he outright reject the claim of plagiarism but also states that the creative burden of his story is completely different from the other. The letter ends with Paul’s call for a correct critical practice and by his attaching a photocopy of his own short story so that readers are able to make up their own minds about the allegations and his response to that.
