On PWA and Fight against Communalism

COMMUNICATION

Mr Ather Farouqui’s article in the annual issue of Mainstream ‘Indo-Pak Relationship: Companions of Paradoxical Syndrome’ is unique in many ways. He is the first to address the issue of Urdu and its relevance to the worsening relationship between India and Pakistan. Of special interest was his focus on the inactiveness of the Left parties, particularly on the issue of the stasis in the Progressive Writers’ Association (PWA), which has become just a forum for socialites, with the whole purpose just being to batten on government funds and thereby lead a cushy existence.

Presently, the PWA will not stir a finger in the fight against communalism, as its ranks mostly comprise Muslim fundamentalists and Hindi chauvinists. Its leadership is made up of third-rate critics, who come up with inconsequential books and articles, for the simple reason that these worthies are associated with the teaching profession, where published work—and not its quality—is the sole basis for promotion in universities and their affiliated colleges. So all we get from the PWA is a mountain of trash.

This contrasts remarkably with the PWA’s stellar birth under Sajjad Zaheer, aided by friends like Mulk Raj Anand, Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Deen Mohammad Tasir, etc. Soon this galaxy was joined by the likes of Majrooh Sultanpuri, Sahir Ludhianvi, Asrarul Haq Majaz, Ahmad Ali (of ‘Twilight in Delhi’ fame) and Makhdoom Mohiuddin and Ali Sardar Jafri. In fact, every right-thinking writer of those times wanted to associate himself with the PWA. Prem Chand was closely associated and active for the PWA and Rabindranath Tagore, though not active because of his old age, agreed to its aims and objectives and sent messages to the various conferences organised by it. The PWA of those times was no prisoner of one language, but only true to its Marxist ideology. If one looks at the present list of PWA office-bearers, the word that springs to the lips is ‘shame’ and explains the degree of degeneration in it.

The present PWA leadership both in Hindi and Urdu, which clearly works on the instructions of the Communist Party of India (CPI), surprisingly has not only moved away from its glorious past but is very sectarian in its outlook. The CPI certainly is not sectarian, so this phenomenon needs to be examined—how a literary outfit of the CPI is as communal as the Jama’t-e-Islami. It is matter of further shame that the Hindi PWA too is as sectarian as the RSS, with a leadership like that of Namwar Singh, whose article ‘Basi Bhat main Khuda ka Sajha’ was never condemned by the CPI. Nor was this person thrown out of the platforms of the Left. His is such a shameful article that even writers associated with the RSS would have thought twice before putting out such objectionable material for public consumption. It is high time the CPI leadership took serious stock of the situation and reached out to the real writers in every language. This, however, will not be possible unless PWA is freed from the nameless entities who have migrated it to various university departments. It is also imperative that the CPI-M and CPI-ML work to reorganise their literary platforms. For this, a debate is required, for which Mainstream hopefully will provide a forum.

Nusrat Zaheer

(Editor, Adab Saaz Urdu quarterly)

T-37, HUDCO Place, Andrews Ganj, New Delhi-110049

nusratzaheer@gmail.com | Residence: 0091-11-26253033 | M.:09716145593

Editor’s Note: Nusrat Zaheer is certainly entitled to his views and he has every right to sharply criticise any movement or individual. However, his use of certain adjectives against Namwar Singh compelled us to remove those without in any way changing the tenor of his letter.