6. The Break
Recent books have suggested that Faiz dissociated himself from the organization after just a few years but this is incorrect since even after Pakistan’s inception (i.e. more than ten years after the formation of the PWA), Faiz was still involved with what had, by then, become the All Pakistan Progressive Writer’s Association, helping in organizing meetings and vigorously defending the association from vicious attacks by Mullahs in the editorial pages of the dailies Imrooz and Pakistan Times. He himself described the event that led to him finally distancing himself from the organization. It was at a meeting of the organization at Mazhar Ali Khan’s house. Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi read a paper zealously attacking Allama Muhammad Iqbal and his poetry. Faiz, whose father had been a friend and colleague of Iqbal, and who was a great admirer of Iqbal’s poetry was saddened and angry. He protested forcefully arguing that this was ‘meaningless extremism’ but was over ruled. This broke his heart and from then on, he stopped going to the meetings concentrating on running Pakistan Times.
This was Faiz’s formal break with the association, though he remained on friendly terms with most members except for Qasmi. It is also true though, that when Faiz was imprisoned, it was Qasmi who arranged for the launch ceremony of his new book ‘Dast-e-Saba’ at the risk of his reputation and social standing. Not only was an organization that was considered ‘suspicious’ in government circles arranging for a book launch, it was doing so while the poet was in jail on charges of treason and sedition. Despite this, Faiz and Qasmi’s relations never warmed and their differences continued to grow over time, though for other reasons.
Faiz himself never referred to his ‘divorce’ from the organization and never considered it a betrayal of his progressive ideals about society and humanity. Moderation and self-restraint was the core of his personality and this served him in good stead while many of his contemporaries would allow their fiery feelings to run away with them leading to all manner of extremist views or works that appeared harsh and demagogic in tone and style.
Urdu literature in this era produced many works in this style which echoed these insurgent slogans, denounced the indolent traditions of the past and called for smashing the decrepit idols of days gone by. Sibte Hasan has termed this ‘the age of literary terrorism’.
Faiz, thanks to his reserve, stayed above this fray while using his poetry to unmask the brutal face of oppression and injustice. His nationalist poems which sang of his love for his land and its people in the same tones that one would reserve for a beloved were especially admired by workers and common people. Farmers, peasants and workers would be ecstatic upon hearing these works and would always demand that Faiz recite these at meetings and poetry hearings in poor neighborhoods. Faiz’s more ‘exalted themed’ poems were no less mellifluous in winning over the hearts of his admirers. It was these poems that determined the direction of his poetic evolution and his admirers have always included these in his ‘progressive’ works as well.
The stated objectives of the organization provided authorities with a ready excuse to accuse them of the ‘sins’ of being ‘Socialist’, ‘Communist’ or ‘Atheist’. Efforts were started to revoke their legality and this led, eventually, to a terminal weakening of the association and its eventual division into small, regional sub chapters. This happened much later and the progressive, humanist ideas of its founders stayed alive and vibrant in the works of Faiz and his many contemporaries. Today, these same ideas serve as an inspiration to a new generation. All writers, poets and artists who cast a critical glance at society’s ills and long for a world free of oppression, injustice and poverty (and there is no shortage of such people), whatever their creative endeavors, can still be termed ‘progressive’.
Excerpted and translated from ‘Parvarish-e-Lauh-o-Qalam; Faiz, hayaat aur takhleeqaat’ by Ludmilla Vasilieva.
Translated by Ali Hashmi.
References:
1. ‘Angaaray’, a short story collection with works by Sajjad Zaheer, Rasheed Jahan, Mahmooduzzafar and Ahmad Ali and was published in 1932. Some historians trace the origins of the progressive movement itself to this publication which caused uproar. The writers were self declared Communist and Socialists and, for government authorities, this itself was enough to ban the book as well as issue orders for the revocation of all published copies. This, of course, led to even more attention for the book from all quarters. However, the publication of this collection cannot be considered the beginning of the PWA. A.S. Sukhochov has pointed out that the traditions already present in Urdu literature later termed ‘progressive’ could only be expressed in newer forms adapted by the writers of the PWA. A meeting in January 1935 in London of a small literary group is the true beginning of the association. These were young people educated in England, inspired by socialist ideals and also familiar with Literature who prepared an outline for forming an all India association of progressive writers and artists and prepared the initial manifesto. It had the signatures of its ‘chief editor’ Mulk Raj Anand, Sajjad Zaheer, Mohammad Deen Taseer and a few others. Copies were made of the document and some were dispatched to India to ‘like minded, progressive writers’. One reached the literary group run by Mahmooduzzafar and Rasheed Jahan.
2. Jallianwala Bagh: The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, alternatively known as the Amritsar Massacre, is named after the Jallianwala Bagh (Garden) in the northern Indian city of Amritsar. On April 13, 1919, British Indian Army soldiers under the command of Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer opened fire on a peaceful, unarmed gathering of men, women and children celebrating the Punjabi New Year. The firing lasted about 10 minutes and official British Raj sources placed the fatalities at 379. According to private sources there were over 1000 deaths, with more than 2000 wounded. The British Civil Surgeon indicated that there were 1,526 casualties.
3. Meeraji (1913-1949), modernist poet, one of the founders of modernist Urdu poetry.
Further Reading:
1. Ludmilla Vasilieva. Parvarish-e-Lauh-o-Qalam;Faiz, hayaat aur takhleeqaat. Translated from the Russian by Usaama Farooqui and Ludmilla Vasilieva. Oxford University Press, 2007.
2. Sajjad Zaheer. Roshnaai. Seema Publications, New Delhi, 1985 (in Urdu).
3. Sajjad Zaheer.The Light, the History of the movement for Progressive Literature in the Indo-Pakistan SubContinent. Translated by Amina Azfar. Oxford University Press, 2006.
