PROGRESSIVE WRITERS’ MOVEMENT
IN
URDU LITERATURE
A
LECTURE
DELIVERED
BY
JAVED AKHTAR
TRANSLATED
BY
HUMAYUN ZAFAR ZAIDI
The Progressive Writers’
Association – as soon as one hears these four words, one’s mental
horizon is illumined with a myriad of stars – Faiz, Majaz, Krishan
Chander, Sardar Jafri, Ismat Chughtai, Sahir, Kaifi, Jan Nasar,
Ahktar, Rajender Singh Bedi, Majrooh, there are innumerable names
which shine like a galaxy and leave us wonderstuck.
‘There was a time when all lived
together’!
Oh what memories come flooding -
the fading evening light through the small chink in the prison
cell, the beautiful caressing hand of the moonlight on the lonely
terrace, the abject poverty of a youth, the ravishing beauty of a
widow, the pain writ large on the face of Kalu, the scavenger, the
haphazard life of Shamman inching ahead in a crooked line, the
Punjab in flames, wounds and scars on the fair and flowery body of
Kashmir, a girl squatting all alone in the untiled courtyard of
her motley abode staring longingly at her wedding dress whose fate
has been sealed forever thanks to the politics of partition,
homeless and destitute shoeshine boys and newspaper hawkers,
slogan shouting revolutionaries banging their head against the
walls of stone ; the bodies of martyrs burning like wax,
someone beholding the Taj from a unique perspective ; someone
embarks on a journey all alone, soon to find himself to be part of
a caravan.
We need to ponder over this
movement- who were the people associated with it? What did they
set out to do? What could they achieve? To what extent were they
successful, if they failed what were the reasons for it? We have
to ponder.
We are told that the publication of
‘Angaray’ and later the meeting of a few forward looking young
writers in a London restaurant could be seen as the starting point
of the movement. I feel nothing gets started unless there are
conditions for it to happen. If we wish to comprehend the genesis
of its tone and temper, we will have to turn pages of history and
identify conditions and circumstances that brought about the birth
of the movement. On the one hand, we will have to look carefully
at the impact of the British stranglehold on India and on the
other, the changing economic system in Europe and how it was
affecting the world.
In England, as a result of the
Industrial revolution, the feudal system was loosing its grip.
Capitalism had become the new order of the day; new changes were
coming about in the equations between capitalism, production and
labour. Though the basis of the erstwhile feudal system rested on
exploitation, in the new Industrial society as well, exploitation
touched a new nadir.
Novel and
innovative ways of exploitation were employed. The feudal system
despite its attendant evils was still a system in which the
peasants and farmers were responsible for production and thus
however tenuous, a relationship existed. The industrial system
brought this affinity to an end. In the feudal system whose
mainstay was agriculture there were only two classes of people –
the landowner and the peasant. Exploitation was simple and direct.
But the capitalist society in order to run its economic
exploitative enterprise needed some literate and educated people
as well. Consequently between the capitalist and the workers a new
class of people emerged - the educated middle class. That’s
another matter that in days to come it was the same middle class
from whose ranks there arose people who espoused the cause of the
worker. But this happened much later!
At the beginning of the industrial
era, there were no laws to safeguard the interest of the workers,
and the capitalists were dead against enacting any. A worker would
work upto 18 hours a day and was paid a paltry amount that
could only help him survive and the 6 hour break was given so that
he could work for another 18 hours!.
Obviously there was no question of
pension or any other kind of fund, no off days and on top of it
this blatant exploitation was being justified phisophically! Adam
Smith ( 1723 – 1790) has argued in his world famous book ‘the
wealth of nations’ that the economic matters be absolutely
delinked from political. He thought that it would be best if
business and other economic activity were free of political
interference.
Another economics expert, David
Ricardo ( 1772- 1823) put forth the view that a capitalist should
have the freedom to produce only those goods for which he had
sufficient resources and labour. This way production would cost
less. The capitalist should also be free to sell his goods to any
country without any let or hindrance. Ricardo favoured open
markets throughout the world. Today’s globalization seems akin to
his view! Herbert Spencer , another economic thinker was totally
against state interference in business. He has vehemently opposed
all such laws, which sought to protect the right of the worker.
Thus not
only labour was being exploited unashamedly but all such
exploitative measures were being defended with unabashed vigour.
Such a situation was bound to have repercussions. When a booklet
first made its appearance in 1848, little did anyone realize that
it was destined to have far reaching impact on all spheres of
human life and civilization and that each and every nation of the
world would either accept it or reject it but there would be no
escape from being affected by it. Who could imagine that the
words of this booklet would echo for centuries to come. This was
the c
Communist
Manifesto!
Some ninety years later a young
Urdu poet who used to write romantic verse read the same communist
manifesto. This is what his reaction was in a letter,
“One day Sahabzada Mahmuduzzafar
gave me a thin booklet and asked me to go through it and advised
caution since it was declared unlawful. It was the communist
manifesto and I read it in a single sitting. I felt as if someone
had given me the key to the treasure trove of mystery. That’s how
my interest in Socialism and Marxism was initiated. Then I read
Lenin’s works. Later I read books about the Soviet society by
revolutionary writers. About that time the Indian Progressive
Writers Association came into being”.
The incident Faiz Ahmed Faiz has
referred to in his letter took place in 1935. Post World War I,
the long shadow of fascism in Italy and Nazism in Germany could be
clearly discerned. In the last phase of the war the Bolshevik
Revolution had already taken place. There can be opposing points
of view about it being inherently fraught with contradiction but
the fact that the Russian revolution gave a new courage to the
helpless laborers caught in the stranglehold of capitalism. It
gave them a new daring to dream about a better life free from all
shackles, which enslaved them. The PWA was an offshoot of such
noble and lofty ideals.
Ladies and gentlemen’.
Understanding this International background of the PWA is all
important but we need to put it in perspective and view it in the
context of the historical, social, political and economic
conditions of our own country.
Because of the British hold on
India, the country’s intellectuals and reformers adopted two
differing, albeit, opposite viewpoints. One view, whose proponent
were the likes of Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Jyoti Baphule and later
reformers, was that English education is all too essential and
hence they advocated it with fervour. One thing we should be clear
about at this point is that Raja Ram Mohan Roy stressed the
importance of English at a time when our rulers had not even
thought about it. Lord Macaulay ‘s Minutes of Education appeared
full two years after Raja Ram Mohan Roy’s passing away. There was
a world of difference between the two. While Raja Ram Mohan Roy’s
espousal of English education was for the propagation of a
scientific and objective temperament and eradication of religious
superstition and other social evils, Macaulay through English
education desired to create a middle class which could become part
of the ruling administrative machinery.
The other school of thought
comprised orthodoxy. They opposed Raja Ram Mohan Roy tooth and
nail. On a close appraisal it seems that they neither despised the
British nor the English language but were bitterly opposed to the
reform that Raja Ram Mohan Roy was endeavoring to introduce.
Raja Ram Mohan Roy had pleaded for
Modern English education in the early part of the 19th
century. On the other hand Muslims didn’t spare a thought for it
till 1857. It was only after 1857 that Sir Syed and his friends
initiated the Aligarh movement. In turn, they met with stiff
resistance from Muslim revisionists who drew inspiration from the
Wahabi Movement.
Sir Syed’s movement also had its
share of opponents. Contemporaries like the satirist Akbar
Allahabadi made him the butt of jokes in many of his verses:
Kya janiye Saiyyed the
khudagah kahan tak
Samjhe na key sidhi hai
meri rah kahan tak
(Who knows how far Sir
Syed saw the truth?
The end of his straight
road was out of sight)
Akbar wrote a famous quatrain for
his son Ishrati:
Ishrati Ghar ki Mohabbat ka maza
bhool gaye,
Kha key London ki hawa e-ahde wafa
bhool gaye
Pahonche hotel mein to phir Id ki
parwa na rahi
Cake ko chakh ke siwayyon ka maza
bhool gaye
(Ishrati forgot all the joys of
home and family love.
Once in London he broke all his
promises and vows.
His new taste for cake and
restaurants of London
Made him forget the festival of Eid
and the home-made vermicelli”)
I would like to pose a question
here which I failed to answer you too give it a thought. Akbar,
who had so many suspicions and doubts about western education and
in fact worked down upon it, here was his son enjoying and having
a pleasurable time in London devouring cake and developing a taste
for the traditional homemade vermicelli? Why did Akbar allow his
son to go to the West? This kind of dichotomy in attitude is not
confined to Akbar alone. Even today, in our country the flag
bearers of Hindi, who denounce English in the strongest terms and
consider it to be the last symbol of enslavement, send their own
children to English medium schools and later to the US, UK and
Australia. Even those who are not willing to effect any changes in
the syllabi of madrasas, their children study not in madrasas but
other main line schools. I beg your pardon for this digression,
lets’ now go back to the Aligarh Movement.
Apart from arousing consciousness
for education, Sir Syed and his dedicated band of followers, also
initiated the process of a rethink on certain Islamic principles.
The writings of people like Sir Syed, Mohsin-ul Mulk and Chiragh
Ali contain a liberal and scientific interpretation of Islamic
beliefs. However, the Aligarh Movement did not meet with any
success on this front, but it did manage to create a mindset among
upper and middle classes which later on proved to be congenial for
progressive thinking and ideas.
Hali is also a part of Sir Syed’s
band. His Preface to Poetry is a document of great importance.
Some of his arguments did not find favour with some people but the
historical significance of this treatise cannot be denied; Hali
has talked about Urdu poetry and the need for reform in it
particularly in Ghazal. He was sternly against hackneyed and oft
repeated cliches in the classical Urdu ghazal- the candle and the
moth; the flower and the nightingale; the cup and the goblet, the
lover and the beloved. He advocated the need for purpose and
social value norms in literature. This way Hali and his close
associate Mohd Husain Azad can be termed as the precursors of the
progressive Movement. The duo had settled in Lahore after 1857 and
there they organized Mushairas not on a give verse or metre but on
a specific subject on which the poet had to compose poems. The
first of these symposia was held in 1874. Thus subjects, diction,
imagery and idioms enriched Urdu verse. The poet was enabled to
look beyond his own personal longings and desires.
So that there is no
misunderstanding on this score, too things need to be clearly
stated. Hali and Azad may be considered to be precursors of the
PWM but were in no way its founders. We will dwell upon the marked
difference between form and temper of the Natural poetry of Hali
and Azad and that of the PWM. Secondly the social concerns voiced
by Hali and Azad were not new to Urdu poetry. Each and every
significant poet from Qul Qutub Shah to Ghalib has written about
the social conditions of his time. In fact, there is a form in
Urdu poetry Shaher Aashoob in which contemporary issues of social
concern were versified. Most classical poets have written Aashoob,
but Nazeer and Sauda earned unparalleled fame. One of Sauda’s
pentagons runs thus:
Kharab hain wo imaraat
kiya kahon khuch tujh paas
Ki jin key dekhe se jati
rahi bhook aur piyaas
Aur ab jo dekho to dil
hoi zindigi se udaas
Bajaye gul chamano mein
kamar kamar hai ghaas
Kahi sutoon para hai
kahin marghol
(How shall I tell you of the
miserable plight of those buildings, the very sight of which made
the famishing person forget his hunger and thirst! You look at
them now and feel sick at heart to see the grasses growing waist
high in what was once a garden full of flowers. Here lies a broken
column and there an arch.)
Nazeer Akbarabadi has also left
behind many such verses which are replete with issues that were
adversely affecting society:
Marey hain hat hat pe sab yahan ke
dastkar
Aur jitne peshadar hain rotey hain
zar zar
Kootey hai tan lohar to peetey hai
sar sunar
Khuch ek do key kam ka rona nahi
hai yar
Chattees peshey walon ka hai
karobar band
(All the craftsmen are sitting idle
and all artisans are in tears
both the ironsmith and the
goldsmith weep inconsolably
its not a problem affecting one or
two
the business of thirty six
professionals is at a standstill)
Apart from satires, Urdu poetry is
replete with peoms on social occasions, celebrations and festivals
like holi, diwali and basant. Breadth of vision and the feeling of
national oneness have been the hallmarks of Urdu. Even classical
poetry has not remained unaffected by political developments.
Mir Taqi Mir cried over the
dethronement and blinding of Ahmad Shah thus:
Shahan ko kohle jawhar thi khake pa
unki
Unhin ki aakhon mein phirti salayan
dekhin
(Yes, Monarch were they
Yes, dust under their feet was
valued more than the powdered pearls
Yes, I have been a witness
Their glittering eyes being pierced
with needle)
Dil ki barbadi ki es had hai
kharabi ke na pooch
Jana Jata hai es rah sey lashkar
guzra
(Oh how brutally the domain of
heart has been devastated
it seems it was trampled by a
marching army.)
The above two couplets graphically describe the plunder death and
destruction unleashed upon Delhi by Nadir Shah. Another couplet
by Ghalib is in the background of 1857:
Qado geesu mein qais o kokan ki
aazmaaish hai
Jehan hum hain wahan daro rasan ki
aazmaaish
(Qais the lover and Farhad the
stone cutter
are competing with one another to
excel in statore and style
but the arena we are in the contest
is for the gallose and the noose)
Many progressive poets like Majroh
and Jafri have also echoed these thoughts express by Ghalib who
said:
Likhtey rahay junoon ki hikayate
khoon chakan
Har chand es mein haath hamarey
qalam huai
(What if our hands were chopped off
nothing could stop us from writing
tales of frenzy)
Faiz when faced with imprisonment
where there was restriction on free expression,boldly declared:
Matae Lauho qalalam chin gayee to
kya gham hai
Ki khoon-e dil mein dubolin hain
ugliyan maine
Zaban pe mohr lagi hai to kya ki
rakhdi hai
Har ek halqa-e zanjeer mein zaban
maine
(If ink and pen are snatched from
me shall I
Who have dipped my finger in my
heart’s blood complain-
Or if they seal my tongue,when I
have made
A mouth of every round link of my
chain)
A moot question can be raised that
if tradition of poetry has been handed down from generation to
generation why should only the Progressive Movement be given the
credit of binding literature to society and why should not Hali’s
Natural poetry? To answer this question satisfactorily, the
difference between the two movements needs to be understood. One,
Hali and Azad though their literary movement sought to create
educational and social consciousness and their writing had a sense
of purpose and reform, it never included political awakening in
its agenda. It did not challenge he rulers while the Progressive
Movement opposed British imperialism openly. Its protagonists even
suffered incarceration for their daring.
Two, Hali and Azad’s movement
addressed those among the uppar and middle classes which farmed
the elite. There was nothing in this movement for the ordinary
folks, the barber, the baker, the Tonga wallah, the farmer,
peasants and the ordinary labour classes. On the contrary in the
Progressive Movement the problems and issues affecting the poor,
backward, downtrodden became subjects to write about.
Three, Hali and Azad’s movement did
tell the women folk that they were the source of pride to the
world but did not tell the world how to treat and respect mothers,
sisters and daughters and give them their rights. Respect and
pride without any rights is meaningless. The progressives on the
other hand took up the issue in right earnest. Way back in 1937
progressive writers Majaz had a strong message for the women of
the country:
Another young progressive writer
Kaifi addressed the womenfolk thus:
Nabze hasti ka lahu kanptey aansu
mein nahin
Urney khulney mein hai nakhat khame
gesu mein nahin
Jannat ek aur hai jo mard key pehlu
main nahin
Uski aazad ravish par bhi machalna
hai tujhe
Uth mere jan mere saath hi chalna
hai tujhe
(Life’s veins have blood, not
trembling tears only
in what opens and flies lies
frangrance, not in tresses only
There is a paradise too, beyond the
male’s view point only
To its free rhythm you have to
dance in ecstacy
Rise my love! You have to walk
along with me.
In Europe and America women’s
liberal and women’s empowerment movements came to the fore in the
sixth decade of the last century largely as a result of the
writings of two courageous women Germane Green and Belly Friedman,
it’s a pity that the world has no knowledge of the fact that 20
years prior to this an Indian woman short story writer had been
fearlessly raising these issues and had been to court many a time
accused of blasphemy and obscenity but the power of her pen showed
no relenting. This woman writer was Ismat Chugtai – one of the
most formidable pillars of strength of the PWM.
Another striking difference between
Hali and Azad’s Natural poetry movement and the PWM was that the
former was never an organized initiative. Having read the Urdu
translation of English poetry, Hali and Azad advised Urdu poets to
write in a simple language about natural scenery and deal with
social subjects with reformist zeal. This movement had a very
limited following Apart from Lahore and a few poets of Delhi, it
did not attract many votaries. The sphere of influence of PWM was
not confined to any one language or any one nation. It was a
universal movement. In India almost all the languages came under
its sphere of influence . In Urdu the strength with which this
movement became a force to reckon with can be gauged from the fact
that in all the major centres – Delhi, Lucknow, Bombay, Lahore,
Hyderabad and Aligarh almost all prominent poets and writers were
influenced by it.
In the light of these facts,
distinction between the Natural poetry movement and the PWM
becomes amply clear.
On November 24th 1934
some young writers and intellectuals met in a Landon restaurant to
ponder over document prepared by Sajjad Zaheer, the purpose being
to familiarize literature of Indian languages with new subjects
and him aesthetics. From among those present some became famous
writers in their respective languages. Apart from Sajjad Zaheer,
Jyotimur Ghosh, Mulk Raj Anand and Mohammad Deer Taser were in
atendence and each one of them earned a name for themselves in
their respective languages f Bengali, English and Urdu. It was
decided in the meeting that a body called All India Progressive
Writers Association be formed and Sajjad Zaheer was asked to give
it a practical shape. By mid 1935 the manifesto of the movement
was prepared and Sajjad Zaheer came back to India and discussed it
with leading litterateurs. Munshi Premchand, the top most writer
in Urdu and Hindi not only praised the manifesto but also
published its Hindi translation in his magazine ‘Hans’.
The first conference of Progressive
Writers Association was held in Lucknow on 13th April
1936 and this manifesto as adopted. This manifesto spelt out the
social responsibility of writers in the following words “ It is
the duty of Indian writers to give full expression to the changes
taking place in Indian life and promote scientific and radical
outlook and set such critical standards that could adequately
combat outdated ideas and beliefs about family, religion, sex, war
and society. It is incumbent upon them to check the growth of such
ideas and trends, which advocate communalism, racial prejudice and
human exploitation.”
Munshi Premchand had presided over
this conference, and in his presidential address he had said, “
literature is not a pastime, it shoed does not deal with love and
romance but also addresses problems and issues of life, our body
of writers does not want literature to be at the mercy of those
who only talk about banal subjects of love and beauty and
intoxication. Literature should become the medium to send strong
messages across and use it as a tool to initiate action, it is not
bothered about language with the loftiness of the ideal, and
breadth of vision, language itself strives towards simplicity, the
beauty of meaning can be retained without employing ostentatious
and verbose expression. The writer who writes for the classes
employs a style which is appreciated by the targeted readers but
the ones who write for ordinary folks use a language which is
easily comprehended by the masses”.
Most of Premchand’s address became
the salient features of the Progressive Movement. for all time to
come this address while stressing the need for literature to
reflect the realities of life, also wanted the parameters of
beauty to be redefined. A progressive writer besides appreciating
the beauty of his beloved also shows his concern for other aspects
of this fast paced and stressful life and it gives its forceful
expression in his works. Premchand’s advise finds sublime poetic
expression in the following poem of Faiz Ahmed Faiz……
Main ne samjha tha ke too hai to
darakshan hai hayat
Tera gham hai to ghame dehar ka
jhagra kya hai
Teri soorat se hai aalam me baharon
ko sabat
Teri aankhon ke siwa dunya mein
rakh kya hai
(Once I thought:
Life would be all lustre
If you were with me ,
The vexing world would not
distract
If I made your grief my own
Your beauty lent permanance to
spring
What did the whole world hold out
for me;
All this once I thought)
After talking about the rich
attributes of the beloved’s beauty, certain other images seize the
eye of the poet the dark mysterious and spells that countless
centuries have cast, the bodies just being traded in the market
place, it moved the poet ( mujhse pehli si muhabbat)no end and he
cries………..
Lot jat hai ukhar ko bhi nazar kya
kahiye
Ab bhi dilkash hai tera husan kya
kahiye
Aur bhi gam hain zamane mein
mohabbat ke siwa
Rahatein aur bhi hain wasl ki rat
key siwa
(There are many pains other than
love
and many pleasure are there in the
world
other than the pleasure of love
Dark-brutal spells of countless
centuries,
Bodies woven into brocade, satin
and silk
Up for sale in streets and lanes –
Bodies besmeared with dust and
bathed in blood –
Bodies, as if emerging out
Of flaming ovens of disease untold,
Puss oozing out of festering wounds
–
All these sights too catch the eye,
how can I ignore?
But your beauty remains winsome
still,
How can I help?
Some detractors of the Progressive
Movement considered it to be a movement of certain poets and
writers affiliated to the Communist Party. They refused to
consider it as a separate movement and dubbed it as a part of the
propaganda machinery of the Communist Party- no more no less. To
form such an opinion about the PWM a person should either be
completely ignorant or untruthful and if fortunately he’ both then
he could hold on to this misconceived notion for the rest of his
life.
There is no doubt that Sajjad
Zaheer and his other friends who had wanted literature to be
concerned with social issues, problems and especially backward and
weaker sections were affiliated to the Communist Party. Being a
communist is neither a crime nor a vice but it is also free that
there were many others had no connection with the Communist Party.
Premchand himself was ideologically a Gandhian and his
presidential address at the first conference is an immensely
valuable document which gave firm direction to its aims and
objectives, language and style of the Progressive Writers
Association. This movement was also blessed by Rabindranath
Tagore , in his message he had said , “ ………………….
I feel that no one can deny the
fact that Tagore was much above petty political parties. Hasrat
Mohani, an active Congress leader who was jailed where he
underwent rigorous imprisonment was a great supporter of the
movement.
Besides Tagore, Premchand and
Hasrat Mohini the Progressive movement found favour with countless
writers and intellectuals who were not communists. Pandit Nehru,
Maulvi Abdul Haq, Josh, Firaq, Aziz Ahmed, Hayatullah Ansari,
Ahmed Nadeem Qasami, the Telegu poet Sri Sri , Gujrati poet Uma
Shanker Joshi, Punajbi writer Gurbux Singh, Marathi literate Anna
Bahu Sathe were great votaries of progressive writing though their
political ideology was different. Even among the prominent
progressive writers of Urdu not all were members of the Communist
party. Sardar Jafri, Kaifi, and Janissar Akhtar were cardholders
of the Communist Party but many others like Khawaja Ahmed Abbas,
Rajender singh Bedi, Sahir Ludhanwi, Ismat Chughtai were not
members of the communist party yet their involvement with the
movement was as deep as any one else’s. However, it’s a fact that
in the Progressive Movement there were such people who lacked
flexibility in the ideological beliefs. They natural endeavoured
to make others fall in line but it did not happen.
In an assembly of Progressives a
woman progressive writer during the course of her enthused address
said “ Our flag is red, our aims and objectives are red, our pen
is red, our ink should be red, our short stories should be red,
our ghazals too need to be red.” Among the audience was Majaz
known for his wit and ready repartee pleaded with the lady to at
least allow the use of pink. I don’t know if the lady condescended
or not but in the progressive movement along with red there were
many lighter and thin shades of pink as well. The poetry of Naiz
Haider, Faiz, Majaz, Kaifi, Janesar Akhtar, Majrooh, Makhdoum and
Sahir has not bear the hallmark of a single uniform colour, each
had their own peculiarity and distinctive quality. Similarly the
short stories of writers like Krishen Chandra, Bedi and Ismat
Chughtai were not cast in the same mould.
The problem is that if you raise
the issue of minorities or women’s rights, speak against
communalism and religious frenzy or about the economic
exploitation of peasants and farmers, and liberals aboures you are
immediately dubbed as a communist though in actual fact you may
not be one. I think my communist friends can take pride in the
fact that to be a progressive you needn’t be a communist but a
communist has to be progressive!
It is impossible for a communist
not to be progressive. Here the question can be asked as to what
in reality can be the definition of progressivism. In the light of
what Premchand said and what transpired in the many conferences of
the PWM addressed by Krishan Chandra and many other eminent
writers, it can be said that progressivism is not negating
tradition altogether. Instead of being enslaved to tradition, it
insists upon drawing lessons from ones own experiences. To accept
change can no way be construed as insult to tradition.
Progressivism consists of a radical and scientific approach to the
problems of the society, to create such literature, which is
useful and purposeful. Art and literature should not just give
pleasure and enjoyment but they should be a means to inculcate
positive values. In the name of abiding by social norms and
rituals, women are still subjected to oppression and injustice.
Raising your voice against such issues is progressive, to make the
problems that plague the socially deprived classes the subject of
literature to question the on going exploitation of labour by the
capitalist is to be progressive. The question that arises is
whether the work of progressive writers is an indicator of their
fulfillment of the writer’s social obligations. Progressive short
story writers have played an important role in disseminating
progressive values. Besides Premchand’s Path-breaking stories
there are innumerable stories like Ali Abbas Husaini’s ‘Mela
Ghoomni’,Krishan Chander’s’Kalu Bhangi’and Zindagi Ke Mor
Par’,Ismat Chughtai’s Genda,Chauthi ka Jora,and Nannhi Ki
Naani,Bedi’s ‘Lajwanti’,’Apne Dukh Mujhe Dedo’,Hayatullah
Ansari’s’Aakhri Koshish’,Ghulam Abbas’’Anandi’,Balwant Singh’s
‘Jagga’Ahmad Nadeem Qasimi’s’Gandasa’,Khwaja Ahmad
Abbas’Ababeel’and Tiddi’,Upendra Nath Ashk’sKakran Ka Teli’who
have fulfilled the requirements of social responsibilities asked
for by PremChand and the advice proferred by Gurudev Tagore in his
message to the 1936 Coference of the PWA.
The list is endless but in the
interest of brevity only a few have been mentioned. These short
stories are an index of the manner in which the writers have met
their social responsibilities as enumerated by Pemchand in his
famous address of 1936, and endorsed by Tagore in his message to
the conference. Perhaps taking his cue from the two stalwarts,
Krishna Chandra said in a session of the PWA:
“ Its seems that our stories and
poems barring few have not come down from the high pedestal.
Poetry in particular has not yet outgrown feudal underpinnings. It
continues to be in tune with the subdued and melancholic temper of
old. It is not firmly rooted in the soil, nor does it contain the
sweat and soil of the peasant (nor does it exude the sweat of the
peasant’s toil). I do not find in poetry or other literary
genres, the home and hearth of the poor nor the songs of the
peasant, nor the workers endless travails. Our poetry does not
refer to the working woman’s broken comb with wisps of hair
entangled in it ; nor does it refer to Dabbo Manohar’s pet that
accompanies him every morning when he sets out to plough the
fields ; it does not reverberate with the sprightly and hold bold
love songs which the rural women humm for their menfolk while
carrying food for them across the uneven pathways. It does not
allude to their clothes that smell of dung. Our literature
has no reference to bathwa – it does not need to dwell upon the
whiff of perfume emitted by the musk-deer nor the locks and
tresses of Tataari beauties, and that is its major lacuna. I do
not find the humble abodes of my country, its flora and fauna nor
a familiar image that would enchant one even after a 100 years!
Till such time that we do not come down to earth, and study the
life lived by peasants and workers in their homes and paint its
true picture with utmost sincerity and effort, till then our
literature will not attain literary heights that will compel a
reader in the world to conclude that Indians are the same as them.
Though the task is difficult we have to accomplish it”.
Krishna Chandra alone could have
alone said such things. I am convinced that there are innumerable
people in India who have deeply felt the anguish of class
struggle, social exploitation and inequality not as a consequence
of a political leader’s statement or an economist’s discourse or a
sociologist’s thesis, but as an outcome of those progressive short
stories that have shaped the readers’ social consciousness.
A large number of novels and short
stories and novels written by Manto,Krishan Chander,Ramanand
Saagar and many other progressive writers in the aftermath of the
partition of India and the riots that followed still take the
imagination by storm. Ghaddar by Krishan Chander deserves special
mention here. The central character Dina Nath belongs to a feudal
Hindu household in a village near Lahore. His ‘Haveli’ is burnt
down and all family members are put to death. However he manages
to survive and flees to Amritsar witnessing the acts of savagery
and bloodshed. The scene remains the same even there- humanity is
under fire. Haunted by barbarism, death and destruction, Dina Nath
ponders over the hollowness of the pride that man takes in
civilization, which is like a veil torn apart by a freak event in
history. laying bare the primeval forests of human instincts.
Towards the end of the novel, Dina Nath stands alone in a field
where a group of Muslims was massacred earlier in the day. Corpses
lie all over the place. Dina Nath hears the cry of a child and
detaches it from its dead mother. He embraces the child and says
to himself “ Dina Nath, you are not following the logic of mutual
hatred between the two nations. Where do you go from here?”.
Now I would like to acquaint you
with the views of the opponents of progressive literature. Those
of us who know a little about these opponents must have heard the
name of Gopal Mittal who was the arch enemy of progressive
movement. In the silver jubilee issue of his journal, TAHREEK,
Anwar Sadeed of Pakistan has this to say about the progressive
short story writers “ These writers lost sight of their literary
obligations and out of political compulsions exploited the tragedy
of partition as padding material before it could become part of
the human consciousness. To enhance the effect of the story,
events that had not taken place were super – imposed into the
story lines. I wish I could ask Anwar Sadeed whether after the
barbarism of 1947 there was any need for exaggeration to create
effect. Anwar Sadeed further says that progressive writers used
the theme of riots consciously to highlight their objectivity but
their hypocrisy and partisanship could not remain concealed.”
It is easier to see Anwar sadeed’s
comments and I don’t need to delve deeper into it. In a famous
story by Ahmed Nadeem Qasimi entitled ‘Parmeshwar Singh – a
childless Sikh’ chances upon a Muslim child of seven or eight
years during the riots. He thinks of bringing him up as a Sikh but
he is jolted by his conscience and feels compelled to restore the
child to its family near the border. The child crosses the border
but the border Police kills Parmeshwar Singh. Reacting to this
story Anwar Sadeed comments “Ahmed Nadeem Qasimi in Parmeshwar
Singh has tried to create the effect of objectivity but has only
succeeded in falsifying true human emotions, which means that in
other words, had Parmeshwar Singh killed the child or successfully
changed his religion, that would have appeared natural to Anwar
Sadeed. And if Ahmed Nadeem Qasimi would have Parmeshwar Singh
restored the child to its parents, it would appear unbelievable to
Anwar Sadeed because it was contrary to human nature. Thus it
seems Anwar Sadeed has a poor opinion not only of progressive
movement but also of human beings at large. I find it difficult to
explain but I’ll ask my brother Dr Salman Akhtar who is
psychologist. to do that for me!
The progressive movement has given
poets of such eminent stature to Urdu that remains unequalled in
the annals of literary history. The history of Urdu poetry would
be considered incomplete without the poets like
Faiz,Majaz,Jafri,Majrooh,Jan Nisar Akhtar,Makhdoom,,sahir and a
host of others..
From 1935 to 1975 poetry has given
effective expression to a range of social experiences longings,
desires, dissent and aspirations to successive generations. This
poetry is not of luxury and indulgences. It is about the common
man- peasants, factory workers whose hands are smeared with
mud on their hands and sweat on their brows. This poetry is a
declaration of war against upper class exploiters. It is about the
fast receding night and the impending dawn.
Progressive poets are generally
accused of dealing with exclusive themes of an agitational nature.
Sometimes political discourses have been versified to pass as
poetry. Sometimes propaganda and slogan mongering have been taken
recourse to, thereby stifling literary and aesthetic
considerations.
I’ll speak the truth and nothing
but the truth. It is not that all the accusations are entirely
baseless. At the same time they are not wholly true. There is no
doubt that barring a few most progressive poets can be faulted one
way or the other. At the same time it can be asserted that most
progressive writers have produced works that have become the
valuable part and legacy of Urdu literature. Poetry, good and bad
is a commonplace in all eras but a poet is remembered for its
contribution of a lasting value – the weaker parts of his works
are either ignored or forgotten or forgiven.
If Mir could say:
Door baitha Ghbar-e Mir us se
Ishq bin yeh adab nahin aata
(Even my dust settled at a distance
from her
This repect can only be borne out
of intense love)
The same great poet also composed
the following couplet;
Suna jaata hai ai ghatiye tere
majlis nashinon se
Ki tu daru piye raat ko milkar
kaminon se
( It is being said by the people
whose company you keep
That you go about drinking at night
with undesirable ruffians)
But we adore Mir for such couplets
as:
Chashme khoon basta se kal raat
lahoo phir tapka
Hum to samjhe the ki ai mir yeh
azaar gaya
(Last night my blood-soaked eyes
oozed drops of blood yet again
Oh! The delusion Mir that I forever
was rid of this malaise!)
Will we judge Ghalib’s greatness
from the following couplet:
Partaw-e khor se hai shabnam ko
fana ki taleem
Ham bhi hain ek inayat ki nazar
hone tak
(A mere glance of favour cast over
my hapless self
Might have been what the fatal rays
of the sun teach the dew drops unseen)
Or from the couplets written in
lighter and jocular vein like
Dhaul dhappa us sarapa naaz ka
shewa nahin
Hum hi kar baithe the Ghalib
peshdasti ek din
(She was not accustomed to fight
and fisticuffs
It was me Ghalib who started it
all)
Majrooh is accused of composing
non-poetic verses like :
Amn ka jhanda is dharti p-ar kisne
kaha lahrane na paye
Yeh bhi koi Hitler ka hai chela
marle saathi jane na paye
(Who stopped the flag of peace
being raised on earth
He seems to be follower of Hitler
get him before he escapes)
Look at the profundity and
sublimity of Majrooh’s poetic qualities in the the following
couplet:
Dekh zindan se pare rang-e chaman
josh-bahar
Raqs karna hai to paon ki zanjeer
na dekh
(Look beyond the prison walls what
flowers have bloomed look at the exuberance and fervour of spring
If you want to dance don’t pay heed
to shackles that bind your feet)
Or
Rok sakta hamen zindan-bala kya
Majrooh
Hum to awaz hain deewar se chan
jate hain
(Majrooh how could I be imprisoned
in a looney citadel
My cries flilter through the stony
walls )
Sardar Jafri who is often accused
of just praising and eulogizing Russia and Stalin,has also given
very memorable poems to Urdu literature:
Safed ata siyah chakki se raag
bankar nikal raha hai
Sunehri chulhon mei aag ke phool
khil rahe hain
Patiliyan gunguna rahi hain
Dhuen se kale tawe bhi chingariyon
ke honton se hans rahe hain
Dupatte aangan mein doriyon par
tange hue hain
Aur unke aanchal se dhaani
Sunehri pagdandiyon ke dil par
Siyah lahengon ki srkh gotein
machal rahi hain
Yeh saadgi kis qadar hasin hai
(White flour pours forth like a
melody
from hand-driven mills.
Flowers of fire spring into bloom
From golden hearths
Pots are singing.
Hot plates charred with smoke
Are laughing with cinder-black lips
Scarves are hanging
On clothes-lines in the courtyard,
And they are dripping dhani drops.
Read hems of black skirts
Are dancing on the heart
Of golden bypaths.
How beautiful is this simplicity!
One can apply the strictest norms
of aesthetic standards and can not but be enchanted by the
following stanzas composed by Sardar.
Pattiyon ki palkon par
Oos jagmagati hai
Imliyon key peron par
Dhoop par sukhati hai
Muskuratey hain tarey
Chand key katorey sey
Chandni chirakti hai
Jail ki fizaaon mein
Phir bhi ek andhera hai
Jesey ret mein gir kar
Doodh jasb ho jai
Roshni key gallon par
Tirgi key nakhoon ki
Sekron kharashen hain
(Dewdrops shine
On the eyelashes of leaves.
Sunlight dries its feathers
On tamarind trees
The sun laughs
Stars smile
Moonlight spills from
The cup of the moon.
The compound of the prison
Is still bathed in darkness;
As if milk is absorbed
In a vast expanse of sand.
Nails of darkness
Have left countless scratches
On the cheeks of the light.
Every Progressive writer has
contributed some poems and some pieces of verse that have made
Urdu literature proud. ‘Ham Jo Tareek Rahon Mein Mare gaye’,
Zindan Ki ek Subh’, ‘tanhai’by Faiz; ‘Chand Taron Ka ban’ and
‘Andhera by Makhdoomi’ ‘Taj Mahal and ‘Parchaiyan’ by Sahir;
‘mera safa’ and ‘pathar ki Dewaar’ by Jafri; ‘Khak-e-dil and
Aakhri Mulaqaat’ by Jan Nisar Akhtar, ‘Meena Bazaar’ and ‘Zameen’
by Wamiq; ‘Ibn-e-Maryam’ and ‘Aurat’ by Kaifi; ‘Maut’ by Jazbi and
several pieces by him and Majrooh which have become aphorism and
proverbs in Urdu. The words of all these poets bear a stamp of
their love of human beings, their faith in the destiny of man, and
the greatness of human life. I am reminded of a few couplets of
Jan Nisar Akhtar which celebrate the beauty and greatness of life
thus:-
Jeeney ki har tarah sey tamanna
hasin hai
Har shar key bawajood yeh duniya
hasin hai
Dariya ki tund barh bhayanak sahi
magar
Toofan sey khelta hua tinka hasin
hai
Sehra ka har sukoot darata rahay to
kiya
Jangal ko kat-ta hua rasta hasin
hai
Dil ko hilaye lakh Ghataon ki ghan
garaj
Mitti pey jo gira wohi qatra hasin
hai
Raton ki teergi hai jo purhaul
gham nahin
Subhon ka jhankta hoa chehra hasin
hai
Lakhon saubaton ka agar samna bhi
ho
Har jehad har amal ka taqaza hasin
hai
(The desire to remain alive is
beautiful
Despite all evil this world is
beautiful
The awful flow of the river may be
terrifying
But the lonely straw battling with
the storm is beautiful
The silence of the desert may be
intimidating
But the path which cuts across the
wild is beautiful
The sound and fury of dark skies may
cause commotion in the heart
But the tiny drop that falls down
is beautiful.
Never mind if the darkness of the
night is fearsome
The face of the dawn peeping
through it is beautiful.
Even if scores of challenges stare
in the face
The will to toil and labour is
beautiful.
Though the shade, temper and
diction of all progressive poets is distinct, they have all
dedicated their works to the common cause which Faiz has so
masterfully delieuated in the following poem.
(Place : Jamia Millia Islamia,
New Delhi. Date : 16/8/2005.)
