Iqra Liaqat
Islamabad: Foremost role of Progressive movement in Urdu literature was that it gave the idea that every art has a purpose and art can lead life towards betterment. Before the emergence of the Progressive Movement, Urdu literature was meant to be written for elite class. Poetry and fiction were considered to fulfill certain aesthetic needs. Novels were didactic in nature.
In this entire scenario art had nothing to do with life of a common man. Progressive movement in Urdu was revolt against this escapism. Based on the slogan “Art for Life”, progressive movement not only advocated the representation of masses in Urdu literature but also advocated that art can be used against forces of oppression and status-quo. Pioneers of Progressive movement, studying abroad, were influenced by revolutionary ideas of 20th century.
They were influenced by writings of Karl Marx who said “Philosophers have hitherto only interpreted the world in various ways; the point is to change it”. They were admirers of Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 which changed the lives of millions of proletariat and peasants. They were voracious readers of Gorky, Maupassant, Flaubert, Tolstoy and many other writers. With all these rebellious ideas, pioneers of Progressive Movement came to India where the ground for such a movement was already well prepared.
Initially Progressive movement got huge response from stalwarts like Rabindranath Tagore, and Munshi Prem Chand. It produced writers of high caliber like Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Krishen Chander and Sahir Ludhyanvi. Later, the movement faced thought time from British Raj in the shape of censure and imprisonment of its members. Although progressive movement declined after the Partition of India but it left immense impact on Urdu literature which has no match in entire history of Urdu literature.
First congress of Progressive Writers’ Movement, held in Lucknow in 1936, left deep impact not only on Urdu literature of subcontinent but also on politics of British India. What led this event to take place? There are several reasons. First three decades of 20th century were years of rapid upheavals all over the world. World War I had been ended with millions of deaths across the globe. Bolshevik Revolution in Russia had given a new hope to workers of the world. These events were the culmination of conflicts of modernist ideologies which eventually moved the minds of subcontinent. Emerging progressive thinkers from subcontinent concluded that wars are the consequence of colonialism and revolutions are for the emancipation from capitalism.
These thinking brains of Indian, studying abroad, were determined to alter the course of Indian history not with bullets but with books not with war but with wisdom. For them literature was the best source for this revolutionary change. At the same time several literary movements in Europe were leaving deep impact on thoughts of modern man. These movements not only offered ways of expression but literature had also become a great mode of criticizing the miseries of life. Romanticism emphasized on self-expression of an individual, before that an individual had to keep himself away from his writings. Secondly, literary movement of realism left great impact on fiction.
Novelists like Balzac, Victor Hugo portrayed miseries of common people in their novels. Short story writers like Guy de Maupassant and Anton Chekhov wrote extensively on sufferings of lay men. In this context Matthew Arnold, the English critic, rightly said, “Literature is the best criticism of life”. Impacts of these movements were to take roots in writings of Krishen Chander, Sahir Ludhyanvi and other progressive writers of British India. The purpose of Progressive Writers’ Movement was not just to expose the inhuman barbarity of the system but to change it. First thing to change the system was to change people’s thinking. Progressive writings developed a great deal of critical thinking among common masses. Other purpose was to lead life towards betterment. Most of the progressive writers were convinced that change is inevitable. That’s the reason that poems of Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Israr-ul-Haq Mijaz, and Sahir Ludhyanvi are full of optimism and revolutionary zeal. Progressive Writer’s Movement emerged as a new ray of hope for suffering masses of colonial India.
Progressive Movement also influenced film, theatre and radio. Indian People’s Theatre Association (IPTA), formed in 1943 for cultural awakening, was the effort of Progressive writers. Progressive poets such as Kaife Azmi, Majrooh Sultanpuri and Sahir became lyricist and gave wonderful songs to film industry. Number of progressive writers wrote stories for films. Musician such as Salil Chaudhri and Director such as Bimal Roy were influenced by the Movement. It was not the criticism and hardship from outside which lead this movement towards decline but partition of India in 1947 and afterwards internal conflicts within movement reduced movement’s strength. Writers of British India were now divided into two countries: India and Pakistan.
In Pakistan hardliners judged every piece of writing with the lens of progressive or non-progressive. Stalwart writer Manto was expelled from Progressive movement in 1949 because his writing was not considered up to the requirement of “progressive” ideology. Faiz Ahmed Faiz was also sidelined as he also was accused of writing too ambiguous poems. Due to this discouraging environment number of writers from Pakistan migrated to India. Finally the Progressive Writer’s Movement was declared illegal in Pakistan in 1954. To conclude, Progressive Movement in Urdu, considered as the strongest movement in entire history of Urdu literature, left deep impact on lives of millions of people. It gave awareness against brutalities of the colonials. It exposed the very nature of the system.
The movement produced finest poets of Urdu literature; it gave highly regarded fiction writers of Urdu language. It was the only movement in Urdu whose echo could be heard the entire world. It was the only movement which had deep impacts on film, theatre, music and other forms of art. Although it declined after partition of India but its ideology continues to live even in 21st century. Art produced by Progressive Movement would be alive for centuries as it would continue to inspire wretched of the earth, for which this movement took place.
The writer is educationist and research fellow and accessible at [email protected]