sutoor began publication from delhi in june 1970 under the editorship of kumar pashi. in his magazine, he wrote: "sutoor, in manto's words, is not a mouthpiece of any particular literary group. rather, its purpose is to promote free thinking, impartiality, frankness, and seriousness in literature, in contrast to literary factionalism. it also aims to clear the misconceptions surrounding modernism and find the right path." sutoor was also a spokesperson for modernism, as is evident from anwar sadeed's letter published in the magazine's letters column, "bazgasht", in which he wrote: "i hope that sutoor will play a positive role in making modernism a movement." the magazine’s content reinforced this claim. it featured essays, poems, short stories, ghazals, quatrains, rubaiyat, as well as sections titled "special studies," "new books," and "bazgasht" for various literary contributions. from its very first issue, sutoor successfully captured the attention of literary circles. it gained immense popularity, especially among writers affiliated with modernist literature.