CHAPTER - I

INTRODUCTION

"Culture is the finer aspect of Life - which helps

Man to be changed by the social forces around

him, and who changes these forces and who, in

the course of so doing, changes himself. That is

his destiny and his duty. And if he forgets it,

the writer is there to remind him by portraying

Man in his books — portraying his weakness as

well as his strength, his meannesses as well as his

greatness and the grandeur of his personality.

For that not only the writef should be a Man,

he must be a humanist —a believer in Man, a

lover of Man, as well as a critic of Man and his

pettiness and his selfishness."1

i) INTRODUCTION

The purpose of the present thesis & to study in detail Khwaja

Ahmed Abbas as a Progressive writer,with a view to forming an estimate

of his outstanding contribution to the Progressive Movement that opened

1. K.A.Abbas, “My Literary Credo”, INDIAN LITERATURE (New Delhi

Sahitya Akademi, 1919), p. 25.
 2

up vistas of a better world order based on social equality, liberty and

unity in the early decades of the twentieth century of modern Indian

history. Socially, politically and culturally, the movement insisted, art

and literature should reflect the society. The present study also tries to

determine Abbas’s place in the great tradition of socially committed

Indian writers in English, that is among the progressivists in particular

and in Indian literature in general. As a writer Abbas has been

comparatively neglected. Abbas was misunderstood by critics sometimes

for his entanglement with popular medias like the film and journalism

and often for his leftist leanings and propaganda. M.K.Naik, a noted

scholar of Indian literature in English, writes about his stories, “strongly

coloured by Abbas’s militant Leftism, and not a few carry the tell-tale

marks of his journalistic and film-world experiences, both in conception

and technique”.2 While Srinivasa Iyengar and G.S.Amur make only a

passing reference to Abbas’s INQILAB, Rama Jha belittles Abbas as a

“novelist of historical importance only”,3 for the reason that Abbas was

engaged in other careers like film and journalism. C.V.Venugopal dubs

Abbas as a writer who does “not generate any inspiration in the reader to

2. M.K.Naik, A HISTORY OF INDIAN ENGLISH LITERATURE (Delhi,

Sahitya Akademi, 198^, p. 185.

3. Rama Jha, GANDHIAN THOUGHT AND INDO-ANGLIAN NOVELISTS

(Delhi, Chanakya Publications, 198j, p. 41.
 3

put in attempts at setting things right”.4 Gobind Prasad Sharma,

comparing Abbas’s pre- and post-Independence writings, says that

Abbas’s pre-Independence works of fiction had a seriousness of

purpose, a concern for national or social issues. His post-

Independence works on the other hand are devoid of any such concern,

written generally with a commercial purpose with the cliches and

conventionalities of “popular literature”.5 Some contemporary critics

even gave a communal colour to Abbas’s writings, describing him as

anti-Hindu (in reference to his short stories SARDARJI and TWELVE

HOURS and his first novel TOMORROW IS OURS) and hurled abuses

at Abbas calling him a “universal mischief-monger”, “Pakistani Agent”,

“An old Agent of British imperialism” and “a writer deserving to be

hanged”.6 Notwithstanding these critical remarks, recent studies on

Abbas have firmly anchored him in the great tradition of humanists.

According to Ravi Nandan Sinha, “it will be nearer the truth to place

him in the humanistic tradition rather than in the narrow tradition of

Marxism”.7 Mulk Raj Anand sees him as one “who dared to talk as

an Indian and write like a prophet beyond

4. C.V.Venugopal, THE INDIAN SHORT STORY IN ENGLISH (A SURVEY).

(Bareilly, Prakash Book Depo^, p.101.

5. Gobind Prasad Sharma, NATIONALISM AND INDO-ANGLIAN FICTION

(New Delhi, Sterling Publishers, 197^, p. 280.

6. D. Overstreet Gene and Marshall (ed), COMMUNISM IN INDIA (Bombay,

Perenniaijt p.318.

7. Avadhes, K. Singh, (ed), CONTEMPORARY INDIAN FICTION IN

ENGLISH (New Delhi, Creative Books, 199^, p. 135
 4

Mohammed”.8 J.N.Sahni extols Abbas as an “iconoclast with little laith

in organized religion, organized politics or middle class taboos and

conventions.”9 Ahmed Hasib, who places Abbas higher than Raja

Rao with regard to his authenticity and sincerity in presenting Indian

life, says, “Abbas writes as an Indian and with the Indian readers in

mind”.10 Aside from these casual, tangential references by various

critics, however, no serious attempt has been made to identify the most

important aspect of Abbas as a progressivist nor systematically explore

his progressive insights. Hence, to fulfill the desideratum an attempt has

been made in the present thesis to explore the progressive aspect of

Abbas through a detailed analysis of his short stories, novels, plays and

journalistic writings.

11) Progressive Ideology and the Progressive Movement in Indian

Literature : A Survey

1) Progressive Ideology : Its Aims and Ideals

Sajjad Zaheer brought the spirit of progressivism from England

to India in 1935 by publishing a collection of short stories ANGARE in

8. Mulk Raj Anand’s Foreword to H.S.Chandalia’s, ETHOS OF KHWAJA

AHMED ABBAS (1996),p. vi.

9. J.N.Sahni, TRUTH ABOUT THE INDIAN PRESS (Bombay Allied

Publishers, 197^, p. 203.

10. Ahmad Hasib, THE NOVELS OF KHWAJA AHMED ABBAS (belhi, Seema
Publications, 198^, p. 148.
 5

which he edited the stories of Prof.Ahmed Ali, Rasheed Jahana and her

husband Mohamedujjafar, a famous communist writer. This was a great

blow to the Muslim religious fundamentalists and the publication of the

book marked the beginning of a new literary era in the history of Indian

literature. In fact this was the real starting point

of progressivism in India. In order to spread the spirit of the

progressive movement all over India, Sajjad held a meeting on February

14, 1936, at his home, and famous Urdu writers like Premchand and

Nigam attended it and discussed the formation and the aims and

objectives of the Indian Progressive Writers Association.

Though progressivism in its origin was a Western (English)

movement, in India it started as an Urdu Movement under the leadership

of Sajjad Zaheer, Mulk Raj Anand, Dr.Abdul Alim, Premchand,

Mr.Ahmed Ali and Prof.Raghupati Sahai. The first meeting of the Ali

India Progressive Writers Association was held in Lucknow on 9-10

April, 1936. Mr.Ahmed Ali, who was the Chairman of the Reception

Committee, named Premchand as the President. It was blessed bv

Tagore and Vallathol. Pandit Nehru, Sarojini Naidu, Hasrat Mohni and

Moulvi Abdul Haq were chief guests of the conference.

In fact, Premchand suggested the names of Dr.Zakir Husain,

K.M.Munshi and Jawaharlal Nehru, “for it would be better if someone

 6

outside the Association presided”.11 But finally it was Premchand

himself who was made the President of the first conference of the

Progressive Writers Association. Premchand strongly condemned the

narrow mindedness, caste prejudice, exploitation of woman and

hypocrisy of the religious leaders. In his speech delivered on 9*b April at

the all India Progressive Writers meeting held in Lucknow, Premchand

said, “It is the duty of Indian writers to give expression to the changes

taking place in Indian life and to assist the spirit of progress in the

country by introducing scientific rationalism in literature. They should

undertake to develop an attitude of literary criticism which will

discourage the general reactionary and revivalist tendencies on questions

like family, religion, sex, war and society and to combat literary trends

reflecting communalism, racial antagonism, sexual libertinism and

exploitation of man by man.

“It is the object of our Association to rescue literature from the

conservative classes... to bring the arts into the closest touch with the

people; and to make them vital organs which will register the actualities

of life, as well as lead us to the future we envisage.”12

11. Madan Gopal, MUNSHI PREMCHAND - A LITERARY BIOGRAPHY

^New Delhi, Asia Publishing House, 1964),p. 417.

12. Mohammed Sadiq, TWENTIETH CENTURY URDU LITERATURE (Baroda,

Padmaja Publications, 194^t P- 62.
 7

At the same meeting a manifesto was announced and it was iater

on published in Premchand’s HANS (1936), the magazine in Devangari

script started by Premchand and K.M.Munshi in order to exchange ideas

between one Indian language and another. It later served as the platlorm

of the progressive writers and published several anti-fascist stories.

The aims and ideals of the Progressive Writers Association can be

summarised as under :

Aims

1. To set up associations of writers of different Provinces of India,

to establish a close relationship between them through

conference, pamphlets and provincial literary associations,

2. To bring together those associations and organisations which did

not work counter to the ideals outlined in the manifesto,

3. To create and translate progressive literature which would bridge

the cultural divisions and help struggle for independence and her

social regeneration,

4. To protect the interests of the writers and to render assistance to

those who needed it for the publication of their works,

 8

5. To work for the freedom of ideas and thought, and

6. To work for the acceptance of the Indo-Roman script for use by

all the Indian languages.

Ideals

1. Opposition to imperialism because British imperialism was at that

time depriving the Indian people of their national Independence

2. Opposition to feudalism, because it was only an obstacle in the

economic development and emancipation of the Indian people

3. Opposition to blind faith in religion which was a chain made of

century-old feelings and ideas and hindered every modern

progressive thought.

4. Opposition to caste and untouchability.

5. Opposition to communalism.

6. Opposition to exploitation of woman.

 9

7. Upliftment and emancipation of Indian labourers. Indian

capitalism would not be allowed to exploit the working class

ruthlessly.

8. Uplift and emancipation of the peasantry.

9. As a whole freeing Indian thinking from fatalism and superstition

to make it follow reason and logic.13

As mentioned in the manifesto of the Progressive Writers

Association, its branches were later set up in Aligarh, Lahore, Delhi,

Amritsar and Lucknow.

Soon the progressive movement became popular on account of

the two World Wars, Non-co-operation movement of 1921, economic

distress of 1929 and 30, political disobedience movement of 1931, social

conflict between labour and capital, onrush of social ideas, miseries of

the Bengal famine. Already the Marxist influence in 1936 on Indian

literature had produced a spirit of revolt in the country but it was

looking forward to find a proper platform and an organisation, which

was provided by the Progressive movement and its Chingan, an Urdu

13. Carle, Coppla. (ed), MARXIST INFLUENCE ON SOUTH ASIAN

LITERATURE (Delhi, Chanakya Publications, 193$ p 223
 10

magazine started in 1938 by Sajjad Zaheer and Sohan Sing Josh from

Saharanpur (U.F.).

The young writers’ thirst for individual liberty and freedom of

expression, social equality and national unity was quenched by the

Progressive Writers Association, and they committed their art to the

betterment of society. No doubt, the manifesto has certain

Marxist leanings, but they never felt it alien as there is ample scope for

the concept of non-violence and the principles of peace and

brotherhood, which made it penetrate into Indian minds. One more

factor that contributed to its firm foundation in the Indian ethos was its

activist philosophy and social commitment. Till then Indian literature

had been dreamy and unrealistic. The progressive writers for the first

time brought it down to earth. In his survey of achievements of the

progressive movement, Prabhakar Machwe observes, “The greatest

contribution of the progressive writers lay in bringing the novel nearer in

focus to all-sorts-of-life in its lurid and bawdy and stripped-off form;

life without frills, embellishment or decorations; life still quivering

under all feudal-medieval mass and rusted debris. The progressive

fiction writer drew freely his idiom from the dialect and the spoken word

as heard in the market place or sarai at the fair or in the factory, at

 .11

places previously considered not worth visiting or below respectability in

literary tradition”.14

Thus the progressive movement made its successful beginning

during the forties in Urdu literature. It started as an Urdu movement for

two reasons. Firstly, the pioneers of this movement, like Sajjad Zaheer

and his companions (except Mulk Raj Anand) were basically Urdu

writers, and it was they who brought this Western spirit to India

Secondly, during the forties Urdu literature was dominant in India, and

writers like Premchand, Upendranath Askh and Sajjad were widely read

and adored. Urdu literature had made a great impact on almost all the

Indian progressive thinkers, so much so that even Pandit Nehru and

major progressive writers in English, like Ahmed Ali, K.A. Abbas and

several others were inspired by, and indebted to, the progressive

ideology and some of them even wrote in Urdu first, and in English

afterwards. So the beginning of the progressive movement in Urdu

literature marks the beginning of progressivism in all the regional

languages as well as in Indian writing in English.

14. Prabhakar Machwe, FOUR DECADES OF INDIAN LITERATURE New

Delhi, Chetana Prakashan, 1976jt p. 110.
 12

2) The Progressive Movement in Urdu Literature

Though the movement of the progressive writers in Urdu headed

by Sajjad Zaheer and Dr.Abdul Alim was launched in 1936. It reached

its climax only in the Post-Independence era. The darkness of communal

atrocities and Partition followed the dawn of Independence in 1947,

which left the Urdu writers in pain, sorrow and emotional trauma. The

writers of this period used sarcasm, irony, comedy, farce, satire,

denunciation and melodrama in their socially committed novels, stories

and poems in order to cure the ills of the society of the period. No

doubt, the progressive movement with Marxian-hold influenced all the

literature of the period. But it is in Urdu literature that these features

are expressed more vividly. Specially in the writings of Firaq, Faiz

Ahmed Faiz, Sardar Jafri, Krishan Chandra, Hasan Mantoo and Rajinder

Singh Bedi.

Faiz Ahmed Faiz, now a citizen of Pakistan is a revolutionary

poet. His highly individualistic use of language, patriotic ideas and

depiction of contemporary society are his chief contribution. Ali Sardar

Jafri, with his blend of Sufism, Marxism and Vaishnavism and with

progressivism, advocated the cause of a new, just social order where

man was supreme. His famous work ASIA AWAKES and MAIN

MAYOOS NAHIN HOON are notable experiments in progressivism.

Sajjad, a staunch Marxist,wrote ROSHNI and Majnoon Gorakhpuri

 13

wrote PARDESI KE KHUTOOT. These two are the most important

works of the period.

Among the second generation of progressive poets, N.M.Rasid,

Miraj Quayyam Nazar, Majaroohn Sultanpuri, Sahir Ludhianvi and

Akthar-vi-Iman are the important figures. Kaifi Azmi caused a great

revolution in Urdu poetry by his PATHAR KI DEEWAR and MERA

SAFAR, which deal with the life of mill workers.

According to Prof.Ahmed Ali, Urdu progressive poetry did not

possess the poetic qualities, which mark great poetry. But at least

during the early stages of this movement some of these writers wrote

with remarkable success.

Urdu short story writers made some experiments with theme,

technique and style as there was no dearth of subjects. India s

Independence brought with it an endless variety of subjects for that

matter. The Progressive writers bade goodbye to the traditional hero of

romance, bringing in his place the uprooted refugee, the exploited girl,

the victim of poverty, of communalism, casteism and religion. For

instance, Ahmed Nadim Qasimi, in his two famous short story

collections, NAYA FARHAD and ATISH-I-GUL, presented rural life in

all its myriad forms of poverty and backwardness. Krishan Chandra s

HUM WASHI HAIN is a literary landmark. SONE KA AND A CHAUTI

 14

KA JORA of Ismat Chugatai is equally important in respect of the

originality of theme and analysis of the characters. Saadat Hasan

Mantoo is a realist and satirist. He mainly dealt with the theme of sex,

torpedoing the conventions and old taboos of the society in his

THANDA GHOST, TOBA TEK SINGH and KLI SALWAR. Rajendra

Singh Bedi mixed the element of romance with progressivism which

made him a distinctive writer. His LAJAWANTI and EK CHAADAR

MAILI SI are fine short stories depicting the day-to-day problems of

life and emotional relations of men and women and their relations with

the land. The other writers of the group are Balawant Singh and Qurrat-

vl-Ain Haider.

Among the progressive Urdu novelists Azis Ahmed was one who

expressed progressive views about sex in his GUREZ and SHABNAM.

Ramanand Sagar’s novel AUR INS AN MAR GAYA is a study in the

mass madness of those Independence days when thousands were killed

and hundreds of homes were shattered. Ismat Chugtai’s experiences of

middle class family life and social taboos broke new ground in the Urdu

novel. In TERHI LAKIR, he presents these questions with his own

unconventional answers. Imtiaz Ali’s ANDHERA presents a

psychological picture of the characters in a most scientific manner

Hayatullah Ansari’s historical and political novel LAHU KE PHOOL

deals with the freedom movement and the Partition of the country.
 15

So far as the theme in drama is concerned there was nothing

new. The progressive dramatists were making new experiments with

form and technique. According to Prof.N.S.Gorkar, Urdu drama, which

was still alive in books and magazines, looked forward with a hope for a

theatre. There are a few writers with progressive dramas to their credit.

They are Upendra Nath Ashk (who wrote a social play TALA WAN).

Kanhaiylal Kapoor (who wrote the one act play ZINDAG1 KI TALASH

MEN) and Mirza Abid (who wrote NAND KUMAR) are progressive

dramatists in their own right.

The Progressive Movement, which took birth in Urdu literature,

died before it could achieve maturity. The main reason for its sudden

decline was the division among the members of the Association on

ideological grounds. Sajjad Zaheer and his companions restricted

progressivism to the Marxist theory, which stance was strongly opposed

by Prof.Ahmed Ali and his followers. Also there were some other

writers who took the middle path. Their concentration on sex and

propaganda in the name of social commitment and literary progressivism

also brought about its downfall.

3) The Progressive Movement in Hindi Literature

Hindi literature, written between the two World Wars, has been

divided into two classes - Chayavad (Romanticism) and Pragativad

 16

(Progressivism). Pragativad is an offshoot of the All India Progressive

Writers Movement.

The Hindi progressive writers are divided into two groups. The

first group includes Premchand, Upendranath Ashk, Yuga Datta Sharma

and Amritlal Nagar, who concentrated on the problems of hunger,

poverty and exploitation of the urban middle class. These writers were

not ready to subordinate their art to the political objective, whereas the

second group of writers, which includes Yashpal, Rangeya Raghava,

Rahul, Bhagavati Charan Varma and lainendra, presented through their

works the various aspects of social and political life of the post-

Independence period, and being members of the CPI, they put a Marxist

interpretation on the Indian situation.

Premchand, the first President of the Progressive Writers

Association, was a pioneer in treating of rural life. According to him all

great literaure is progressive in its nature and content. He was of the

opinion that art should serve life. Premchand’s three major novels,

RANGABHOOMI, GODAN and NIRMALA are good examples of his

progressive outlook. His RANGHABHOOMI published in 1924, strongly

opposes urbanisation, industrialisation and westernization. NIRMALA,

published in 1923, makes a direct attack on the dowry system. GODAN

published in 1936, gives a stark picture of poverty and the conflict of

the two generations of father and son. Apart from these novels, his
 17

short stories, like KAFAN, PAREEKSHA and SAMAR YATRA also,

hold a mirror up to contemporary society.

After Premchand two distinct trends appeared in Hindi Fiction.

One was the psycho-analytical novel and the other, the progressive

novel. In the post-Premchand period, Yashapal has been the

representative writer. He is out to destroy the decadent values of

modern society. His major works are MANUSHYA KE RUP,

DESHADROHI and DADA COMRADE. Compared to Premchand,

Yashapal’s reaction to social evils is more violent and harsher. The next

important writer is Rangeya Raghava known for his historical and social

novels. Whether historical or social, his progressive views are well-

expressed in his novels - SIDHA SADHA RASTA, MARDON KA TILA

and AAKHARI AAWAJ. In particular, the inhumanity of British officers

during the Bengal famine of the 1940s is vividly described in many of

his novels. Rahul is a minor writer belonging to this category. Through

his historical novels he highlighted the present problems symbolically

His famous work JAI AYAUDHYA is known for its symbolical treatment

of the present. Upendra Nath Ashk, a very balanced writer of this

group, can be compared with Premchand in his presentation of rural life

and analysis of the psychology of the characters. Rameshwar Shukla

projects his Marxist views in novels and short stories. There is a tine

amalgam of Gandhism and progressivism with humanism in his novels

like, CHADTI DHUP, NAYI IMARAT and ULKA. Praneshwar Nath’s

 18

MAILA ANCHAL is also a remarkable novel. Jainendra, who is a

versatile writer, has given expression to varied aspects of Indian social

life, but his fascination for analysing problems of sex and its different

aspects is noteworthy. His SUNEETA, TYAGAPATRA and SUKHADA

are important from the point of view of progressivism.

Among the progressive story writers Amrit Rai, the son of

Munshi Premchand, is well-known. He has also written two

progressivist novels. HATHIKA DANT and BIJ are his two famous

stories about rural life and the national movement. Bhagvati Prasad

Vajpeyi, Radha Krishna and Chandra Kiran too enriched the progressive

tradition in literature by means of their stories. In drama there has been

no notable development, except for some experiments by Upendra Nath

Ashk. He dealt with the emerging social situations in his dramas like,

CHHOTA BETA, ANJU DIDI and QAID. Bhisham Sahni, the Secretary

of the Progressive Writers Association, and a great non-conformist,

portrays social life in an ironical manner; he often lashes out at social

institutions. His dramas HANOOSH and TAMAS, however, deal with

the theme of individual suffering caused by political tyranny. Bhisham

Sahni is of the opinion that the concept of progress is fundamental to

the individualist protest against any decadent system.

Udayashankar Bhatt, Chatursen Shastri and Devaraj Dinesh too

wrote some important dramas during this period.

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Though the progressive movement started in Hindi literature

with Premchand, it found its proper outlet in Yashapal and his

companions. They were staunch Marxist writers and socially committed

individuals. Within their restricted sphere of Marxism they succeeded in

writing some of the most successful novels and short stories. Another

speciality of Hindi progressivism is its new and successful experiments

in the field of Drama and the Novel. Compared to the progressivist

dramas and novels in any other language, Hindi dramas and novels are

more artistic. Thus the overall development of the movement and its

contribution to the development of Hindi literature has been very

significant.

4) The Progressive Movement in Kannada Literature

'Navodaya’ and ‘PragatisheeV are the two important movements

in Kannada literature of the early 20,h century. The Navodaya

movement started with the publication of Bi. Yam. Shree’s ENGLISH

GEETEGALU published in 1921. Navodaya writers are mere aesthetes,

crying for the moon and singing about the stars and beauteous valleys

Progressive (Named Pragatisheel) writers with Marxist leanings

emerged during the 1940’s and 50’s. As against Navodaya’s personal,

domestic and bourgeois city life and sentiments, the progressive writers

started the trend of depicting universal social and lower middle class life

and experiences.
 The Progressive movement in Kannada literature started in 1943

and found chief exponent in Aa.Na.Kru. On the 23rd of May 193 3

Indian progressive writers assembled under the leadership of Sajjad

Zaheer in Bombay. Prof.R.V.Jahagirdar, who had distinguished himself

as a playwright writing under the pen name ‘Shriranga’, attended it. In

the same year in which All India Progressive writers met in Bombay, the

first meeting of progressive writers in Kannada was held in Mangalore

and made Shri Kanthappa Shettar the President, and Niranjana, the

Secretary. In the month of December 1943, the second meeting of

Kannada progressive writers was held in Bangalore, and Aa.Na

Krishnarao was elected the President and Nadiger Krishnaraya, the

Secretary. Afterwards, the Progressive Writers Association opened its

branches all over Karnatak, mainly in Dharwad, Hubli, Bijapur, Karwar,

Dakshina Kannada, Shimoga and Bhadravati.

Alongside of waging a struggle for the betterment of life, the

progressive writer is expected to produce a literature that affirms deep

and abiding life-values. Progressivists believed that a writer should feel

a certain degree of social responsibility as he is an inevitable part of

society. Progressive writers insisted that all writing must be based on

true observations of life and the society in which we live. We must

depict our soil and our people, our farmers and their poverty. A writer

should not be a day-dreamer, he should be alive to the sensitive issues of

life around him. That is why the Kayyoru farmers’ protest in 1941. the
 21

Naragund farmers’ protest of the Independence period and the Sepoy

mutiny were presented in a few novels by Niranjana, Basavaraj

Kattimani and other leading writers of the progressive movement.

The progressive movement headed by the celebrated novelist and

short story writer, Aa.Na.Kru., who was also an orator and social

thinker, achieved tremendous popularity in 1945. Writers from all the

nooks and corners of Karnataka converged under the new banner to

voice their protest against blind religious beliefs, bourgeoism and

organised themselves with a view to bringing about radical change in the

total structure of society through their stories, novels, poems, dramas

and essays. Among the works produced by the group Aa. Na. Kru’s

NAGNA SATYA, SHANISANTANA, SANJEGATTALU, KABBINADA

KAGE and APARANJI are prominent. Aa. Na. Kru. In his novels

strongly criticised the bourgeois literature. He had Marxist leanings but

at the same time he believed that India had its own Marxism even before

the arrival of Marxism proper in India. Aa. Na. Kru deeply influenced

the readers of his time by means of the power of picturesqueness of his

language. He even wrote a book on sex named, SAHITYA MATTU

KAMA PRACHODANE (Literature and Sexploitation) in which he

frankly discussed sex in detail for the first time in Kannada. He

believed that sex is a part of human life, it is nothing to be ashamed

about, nor should we look upon'as sin. And life would be reduced to
 22

sheer boredom without a proper understanding of sex and its due

indulgence.

The next famous writer of this group was Basavaraj Kattimani,

who dealt with rural life in general and of farmers in particular, in his

novels. He exposed the hypocrisy of institutionalized religion in his

JAR ATARI JAGADGURU, political chicanery in JWALAMUKHIY A

MELE and narrated the glorious saga of the freedom struggle in MADI

MADIDAVARU. Kattimani was an atheist, compared to other writers of

this period.

Niranjana, journalist, editor, story writer and novelist was the

third important writer of the progressive movement. Even today

Niranjana is known as a famous short story writer. His KONEYA

GIRAKI, which deals with the dumb girl who sells her body for food,

and everybody squeezes the pleasure of sex from her unto death,

including the eagle circling above the dead girl, exposes the lust and

lecherous nature of men in so called civilised societey. While his

HAMAL IMAMISAB is about the life of a poor railway guard DALI,

THATAK is about the inhumanity of the feudal elements still strongly

entrenched in society. CHIRASMARANE, which depicts the farmers

protest of Kayyuru and MRUTHYUNJAYA, which reports the revolt and

struggle of the slaves in Egypt, are very important.

 23

There are some minor novelists, like Chaduranga (who wrote

SHAVADA MANE), Poorna Chandra Tejaswi (who wrote TABARANA

KATHE) and Kumar Venkanna (who wrote ROBERT OVEN). Among

the poets V.K.Gokak, Gangadhar Chittal, Ramachandra Sharma, Kayyar

Kiyyanna Rai, and Su.Ram.Yakkundi are the outstanding names. But

except Su. Ram. Yakkundi none of these made any notable contribution

to the movement. Among the playwrigts Sriranga is very important. His

SHOKACHAKRA, which is based on Gandhiji’s life, is very popular

even today.

The progressive (Pragatisheel) movement burst on the Kannada

literature scene in 1940 and started declining in 1948. It was short­

lived. Still its achievements are noteworthy.

5) The Progressive Movement In Marathi Literature

The emphasis on the scientific, modern and liberal ideologies by

the progressive movement of the Thirties brought about a great change

in Marathi literature. After Independence two schools of poetry came

into existence. One sang in praise of Shivaji and the other is known as

the progressive poets group that sang of the Russian Revolution which

promised individual liberty and emancipation from the clutches of

authoritarianism. But even before the impact of the progressive

movement was felt in Marathi literature, Kesavasuta (1865 to 1905), a

noted poet, had started writing in the progressive style. He spread

 24

through his writings the message of revolution and as such had a

tremendous impact upon the younger generation. S.K.Kanetkar,

M.T.Patwardhan, Y.D.Pendharkar were other major poets who

had a greater appeal to the younger generation. Then there came

another group of writers who sang in praise of the workers' and

peasants’ struggle in Vietnam and the Russian Revolution. They were

Amar Shekh, Muktibodh, Narayan Surve and Vinod Karandikar. In the

Forties, Marathi poetry took a rebellious turn with B.S.Mardhekar,

A.R.Deshpande and N.G.Joshi following the path of British and Russian

progressive poets.

Ever since its birth in 1843, Marathi drama has been more

progressive, and consciously so, than most of the other forms of Marathi

literature. It has reflected the moods of the rapidly changing society

and individual problems. When the communist party came to the

foreground in 1942, there emerged a group of socially committed

dramatists, like Mama Warerkar, Acharya Atre, Nana Jog and

P.L.Deshpande. A special reference needs to be made to Prabhakar

Khadilkar’s KICHAK VADH, which carried a politically revolutionary

message.

After Independence Vijay Tendulkar, P.V.Darvekar and Vasant

Kanetkar, with their realistic plays, exposed the snobberies of the upper

castes and trenchantly criticised the classification of society on the basis

 25

of caste, creed and colour. Vijay Tendulkar has proved to be very

dynamic and progressive with his socially committed dramas like

GIDHADE (vultures) and SH ANT AT A. The other famous writers of the

progressive group were Vasant Kanctkar and C.T.Khanekar.

Marathi novelists who distinguished themselves during the

period, 1925 to 1945, may be divided into two groups. One was led by

Phadke, who upheld the theory of Art for Art’s sake, and the other was

led by V.S. Khandekar and G.T.Magholkar, who were progressive

writers. The late Anna Bhau Sathe, poet and novelist, and Jayawant

Dalvi, novelist, mainly concentrated on the workers in factories and

fields, the miseries of the underdogs and the problems of Devadasis

It was only after 1945 that the progressive movement reached its

zenith in Marathi literature. Marathi progressive writers focussed their

attention on two problems. One was the miserable condition of the

farmer in rural Maharashtra, his poverty and dependence on the most

indefinite seasonal rains and the other one is the mechanical life of the

worker in factories, who has lost his identity as a man in the capitalist

world. Marathi progressive writers succeeded, in a remarkable degree,

in making the movement a powerful revolt against injustice of all kinds

- social, political and economic.

 26,

6) The Progressive Movement in Bengali Literature

The second conference of the Progressive Writers Association

held in Calcutta at Ashutosh College auditorium in December 1938 is an

eventful day in the history of Bengali literature. It was presided over by

Rabindranath Tagore, who was one of the pioneers of the progressive

movement in India. But his progressivism was rooted in Indian soil and

philosophy, whereas the progressive writers of the Thirties borrowed

their radical ideas from Marx and Lenin. Tagore vividly depicts life in

the countryside of Bengal, the floods, poor harvests and the unhygienic

conditions of existence. He was in favour of economic self-sufficiency

and co-operative enterprise. So he blessed the new generation of the

progressive movement which was committed to social amelioration.

Among the other regional writers who were also present at the meeting

were Mulk Raj Anand, Ali Sardar Jafri, Sajjad Zaheer, Balaraj Sahni

Mukerjee, Buddhadeva Bose, Sudharsan, Prabodhakumar Sanyal and

Dr.Abdul Alim. Sarat Chandra Chatterji who pre-dated the movement in

Bengali literature depicted contemporary society in all its reality.

The progressive movement in Bengali literature coincided with

the progressive movement in other regional languages too, PRAGAT1

and KALLOL were two major journals which provided a platform for the

writers to express progressive ideas. The names of the major writers and

their writings are as follows.

 27

Dr.Nareshchandra Sengupta was a teacher of law by profession.

He was influenced by the movement during his student days in Calcutta.

He wrote novels about unconventional sex relations. His SUDHA

(1920), SATI (1921) and PAPER CHAP (1922) are some of his famous

works. He also wrote short stories and plays.

Buddhadeva Bose was basically a poet. His MARMAVANI and

BANDIR VANDANA show his allegiance to D.H.Lawrence. As a

spokesman of the progressive movement Bose always played a significant

role. He tried to ignore traditions. His novels AKRAMANYA and

AMAR BANDAN are good illustrations of his progressive ideology

which insists on the rejection of the middle class ‘babu’ culture with all

its social taboos of Bengal.15 Ajit Datta (1907), the co-editor of

PRAGATI, was a major poet. His PATAL KANYA, a collection of

poems, gives the picture of an exploited girl. Bishnu Dey (1909), the

chief writer of PRAGATI was a professor of English. He published

more than half a dozen collections of poems, which vividly reflect his

progressive sympathies and Marxist leanings. Bimal Chandra Ghose

(1910), a revolutionary poet of the Thirties was closely associated with

the progressive cultural movement in West Bengal. Shukanta

Bhattacharya (1926 to 1947), who died prematurely at the age of twenty

15. INDIAN LITERATURE (New Delhi, Sahitya Akademi) Vof XVIII, No 4,

 28

two, was an outstanding revolutionary poet as well as a devout

communist. His friend Siddeswarsen translated Mykovasky into Bengali

and expressed his progressive view both in prose and poetry.

Among the playwrights, Bijon Bhattacharya is the most

important. He wrote his realistic brand of plays on the Bengal famine

and exposed the hidden hands of imperialism behind the tragedy. Bijon

was one of thefounders of IPTA and also a member of the communist

party. He wrote NAMBANNA, a play set against the background of the

famine. Later K.A.Abbas based his film DHARTI KE LAL on the this

very story. Among the Bengali progressive playwrights special mention

should be made of Salil Sen, Utpal Dutt, Kiron Mitra and Shambhu

Mitra.

Mahasweta Devi, Bijon Bhattacharya’s wife and recent Jnana

Pith award winner, is a journalist, activist and novelist, who was exposed

to communism by her husband. However, she was a left-winger

progressive writer ‘not affiliated to any party’.1* She wrote novels,

plays, short stories and journalistic pieces about the miserable life of the

middle class people in urban areas. Also Mahasweta Devi calls upon

16. ‘As Sajjad Zaheer and his followers affiliated to the Communist Party,
Machawe Prabhakar, FOUR DECADES OF INDIAN LITERATURE (New
Delhi, Chetana Prakashan House, 197$, p. 48.
 29

every responsible writer to take up the cause of the oppressed and down­

trodden. Her famous works are AGNIGARBHA, BARTIKA, RUDAAI I

and BEHULA. Most of her novels have been translated into many other

regional, national and international languages. Also some of them have

been filmed. Buddhadeva Dasgupta, though mainly known as a film

maker, is also a famous progressive novelist and poet who wrote with a

sense of social commitment. He highlighted the barrenness and

helplessness of urban middle class life and the Naxalites’ life. He wrote

in all six volumes of verse and three novels. His DOORTVA and LAI,

DARJA are outstanding ones among them.

By and large Bengali literature, produced during the Thirties and

Forties, dealt with the life of the down-trodden and distressed, the

vagabonds on the roads of Calcutta and the Naxalites. In the case of

other regional literatures the progressive movement was a reaction to the

social injustice of a particular period. In Bengali literature the

movement is still alive even today in the writings of Mahasweta Devi

who is the last great exponent of the fading glory of the progressive

movement.

7) The Progressive Movement in Malayan Literature

The progressive movement brought about a great change during

the short period of seventeen years from 1930 to 1947 in Malayali

literature too.
 30

As the left wingers in politics became dominant, the new

generation of writers held the view that literature should be realistic, and

that realism would be relevant only when it has a social message to

convey. This concept of socialist realism of the Thirties influenced

Malayali fiction writers like Kesavadev, Thakazi and Ponkunnain Varki.

Kesavadev is an outstanding figure among the contemporary

practitioners of the novel and short story. He always draws upon the

lives of common people. Poverty, crime, ignorance and the relentless

struggle for existence - all find a place in his novels and stories. His

ideological stand, as reflected in his writings is, “society is tyrannical

machine, and man is left with only one choice : to smash it, if he does

not want to be pulverised.”17

Thakazi Sivasankar Pillai, an outstanding progressive novelist

whose novel CHAMNEEN won the Sahitya Akademi award for 195 7, is

more known as a short story writer with progressive ideas and leftist

leanings than as a novelist. In his writings he makes a searching analysis

of the problems of landless peasants and the activities of the fisher-folk

community of Kerala.

17. K.M.George (ed), WESTERN INFLUENCE ON MALAYALAM LANGUAGE

AND LITERATURE,(New Delhi, Sahitya Akademi, 197^, p. 108
 31

The speciality of Malayali Progressive Writers Association is that

it captured the imagination of the younger short story writers more than

that of the novelists, so much so that during this period very few novels

were written. The short story writers of the period challenged all

conventions - religious, social, bureaucratic and political. Thakazi Pillai

exposed the dark recesses of sexual life, particularly the upper class

people. INQILAB and PRATHIK-SHAKAL are his famous collections.

Kesava Dev gave a new dimension to story writing by his PR A V AH AM,

CHITRASALA and BHAVI VARAN. S. P. Pottekkad published some

twenty collections of short stories. Mohammad Basheer in his well-

known collections JANMADINAM and PAVAPPETTAVARUTE VESYA.

dealt with the problems of his own community of Muslims. There are

two minor short story writers whose main canvas was their own

community. Ponkunnam Varki, who held strong leftist view, wrote

about the Christian community. His collections arc ANIYARA and

EZHAKAL. Antarjanam wrote a large number of stories about the

Nambudiri community. Thus the Malayalam short story reached its

zenith during the period of the progressive movement and demonstrated

that literature is not the monopoly of any particular caste.

8) The Progressive Movement In Telugu Literature

After 1935, the swing of Leftism was to the side of Telugu

literature in particular. This Marxist movement in Telugu literature

originated as a revolt against the romantic movement popularised by

 32

Rayaprolu Subba Rao. The Marxist writers insisted that the Romantics

should sing about the forced labour which made the Taj Mahal possible,

instead of the glory of the Taj Mahal. As Sri Sri1* (Srirangam Srinivas

Rao) puts it in his interview with D. Anjaneyulu, the Telugu Progressive

Writers Association had two goals to achieve : one, the acceptance of

Guruzada as its leader; and the other, the rediscovery of Vemana as a

significant poet. In order to bring literature close to common men and

women of the working class, in Telugu progressive writers organised the

Praja Natya Mandali, based on the principles of the People's

Theatre Association and staged real people’s plays like ‘MAA

BHOOMI’ and ‘MUNDODUGU \

Sri Sri is the chief exponent of the progressive movement in

Telugu literature. He started a new epoch in contemporary Telugu

poetry by establishing a vital link between literature and the social life

of the people. Sri Sri is a committed writer calling for unity of the

working class of Andhra and was President of the Revolutionary

Writers’ Association for some time.

Sri Sri’s collection of songs MAHAPRASTHANAM (Great

Journey) is a landmark in the history of the Progressive Movement in

18. INDIAN LITERATURE (New Delhi, Sahitya Akademi),Vol.XXI, p.§ .

 33

Telugu literature in general, and in Telugu poetry in particular. In this

book Sri Sri calls upon the society to march ahead to create a new order

where there will be a continuous explosion of new energies and where a

new sense of purpose will revitalise our social objectives. There is a

poem in praise of the Russian Revolution named the ROARING

RUSSIA. In this collection the theme of revolution takes different

shapes in different songs and the longing for a new social order is the

motif underlying all the songs.

Apart from Sri Sri’s writings JWALA MUKHI, NAGNAMUNI

even younger poets like Pemmaraju, Gopal Krishna and Appari

Muralikrishna have exhibited progressive views and Marxist tendencies

in their writings. Andhra University has recently published an

anthology, viz., NAVA KAVITA edited by C.R.Reddy which includes

some representative poems of the progressive movement.

Thus Sri Sri is the only great name in the annals of the Telugu

Progressive Movement. It is almost a one man’s school. Still, as far as

the achievement is concerned, it is undoubtedly remarkable.

9) The Progressive Movement in Gujarati Literature

The same is not the case with Gujarati literature, since there is

nothing like a progressive school there. 20th century Gujarati literature

 34

has been divided into two schools - Gandhian and post-Gandhian. There

are certain similarities between the progressive writers and the writers of

the Gandhian era, who tried to reach their views to the masses. During

the period there was an odd social situation in Gujarat created by

economic inequities. Inspired by Gandhiji’s activities in the fields of

service to the poor, village uplift and eradication of untouchability, they

wrote about the unsophisticated and uneducated rural people, instead of

the rich. Among them poets like Umashankar Joshi, Sundaram and

Rajendra Shah, novelists and short story writers like Pannalal Patel and

Broker are very important.

The names of Umashankar Joshi and Sundaram are inseparable in

any account of Gujarati poetry. They are very important writers of both

the Gandhian and post-Gandhian era. If they wrote about the quest for

freedom in the Gandhian period they also wrote about the exploitation in

the post-Gandhian era. Their concept of freedom was entirely different.

Along with political freedom they demanded freedom from the age old

socio-economic inequities which had led to man’s exploitation by man.

In 1939 Umashankar Joshi published NISHITHA and Sundaram

published VASUDHA which broke new ground in literature.

Gulabdas Broker, is noted short story writer. Though he was a

contemporary of Pannalal Patel, he did not turn towards the village and

the lower strata of society. Instead, he candidly portrayed the middle

 35

class and upper middle class society and for the first time in Gujarati

literature he openly discussed the question of sex and religion.

Pannalal Patel, a famous novelist and short story writer of the

post-Gandhian era, depicted the meanness, pettiness, cowardice,

unimaginable poverty, ignorance and superstition of the rural folk. His

MALELA JIV and MANAVI-NI BHAVI are his famous works, which

have been translated into all the Indian languages.

A writer with multi-facets, Javarchand Meghani is another

Gujarati progressivist writer. He is a playwright, short story writer,

critic, journalist, as well as popular singer of folk songs. So he wanted

a great change in the established form of the society. He dealt with the

Saurashtra tribals in his writings SORATH TARAN VAHETA PANI

SAMARANGAN and NIRANIAN.

Thus Gujarati writers of the Gandhian period shared the ideology

of the progressive movement and enriched the literature with their

unique contribution.

10) The Progressive Movement in Punjabi Literature

Punjab, the land of five rivers, introduced immortal writers like

Kartar Singh Duggal, Amrita Pritam, Gurubux Singh, Ajit Kaur and

Balwant Gargi to the progressive movement in the 40’s and 50’s. In fact
 36

the First World Punjabi Literary Conference organised by the

Progressive Writers Association of U.K., in 1980, was attended by over

fifty writers from India, Pakistan, Holland, Singapore. Especially,

Punjabi poetry, fiction and literary criticism of this period were highly

influenced by Marxist principles. Compared to other Indian literatures,

the movement was very late in coming to Punjabi literature. But it was

very strong. The fact behind this strong and straightforward reaction

was their first-hand experience of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre of 1919

and the pangs of separation brought on by Partition of India. Their days

of suffering under British rule, and their agonies of separation, under

the Congress rule made them entirely different from the creative writers

of the rest of India. Indirectly these incidents strengthened their faith in

leftist ideologies.

Among the prominent progressive Punjabi writers Amrita Pritam

and Kartar Singh Duggal together produced a major portion of the

corpus of progressive literature. Amrita Pritam, who passed away

recently, was contemporary of some famous progressive writers, like

Saadat Husan Mantoo, Rajendra Singh Bedi and Krishan Chandar. She

was a born poetess, but she has made a valuable contribution to other

genres of literature too, like novel, short story, essay and drama. She

received the prestigious Bharatiya Jnanpith Award in 1981 and the state

award for her collection of poems KAGAZ TE CANVA in 1973.

 37

Amrita Pritam’s prime concern in her poetry is the human being.

She is a writer with a social conscience. She wrote her best poems when

she was fairly young, at the time of the Partition. Her first collection

was PATHAR GITE (Marble stones). No doubt, woman’s anguish and

her pitiable condition in a male-dominated society is the underlying

theme of her writings; still her poetry is not feminist in the strict sense

of the term.

Amrita Pritam wrote her first novel DOCTOR DEV in 1949

exactly two years after the Partition. She had had first-hand experience

of the Partition and had witnessed the burning of Lahore, the suffering

and abduction of women. She has published a number of collections of

short stories, essays and novels. Among them KARI DHUP KA SAGAR,

TEE SARI ANKH, 49 DAYS and RASIDI TICKET are the important

ones.

Kartar Singh Duggal, the author of SHARAD PUNYAN D1

RAAT, CHANAI RAT, DA DUKHANT, NAHUN TEY MAS, MAAN

PEO JAE, IK AKH IK NAZAR and IK CHHIT CHANANDI, is mainly

known as a distinguished short story writer. His famous short story THE

SLAVE, dealing with the theme of sex, in which Duggal made a

Freudian approach to the problem of sex created a great sensation during

the 70’s. His novels deal with the theme of Partition, peasants’ life in

rural area and the lower strata of society. Through his writings he
 38

proposed to bring about a change in the social and political structure of

the India of his time.

There are some minor writers with Marxist leanings. They are

Jaswant Singh Kanwali (his LAHU DI LO is one of the much discussed

novels dealing with the Naxalite movement), Prem Prakash (wrote

DASTVAEZ, also concentrated on a similar theme) and Mohan Kahlon

During the period, the Marxist school of criticism in Punjabi

literature was a very dominant one. The major practitioners of Marxist

critical theory in Punjabi have been Sant Singh Sekhon, Krishan Singh

and Mohinder Kaur.

Though the overall contribution of Punjabis to the progressive

movement in literature is remarkable, their contribution to Punjabi

language is very meagre.

11) The Progressive Movement in Rajasthani Literature

The progressive movement made its beginning with poetry in

Rajasthani literature. In 1947, with the organisation of ‘Prajamandals'

in the state, some local workers attempted to awaken socio-political

consciousness in the people through composition and recitation of songs.

The poetry of this period is known as the modern Rajasthani poetry.

 39

which aims at social progress and reconstruction of social structure

The poetry of this period has been broadly divided into eight types such

as (1) Stories in verse, (2) Humour and satire, (3) Pragatisheel, (4)

Love of the land, (5) Patriotic and heroic, (6) Odes and elegies, (7)

Love and eroticism and (8) Nai Kavita.

The Pragatisheel poets, who perceived the hard realities of the

political, social and economic sphere, and began to expose the

corruption, injustice, anomalies, disparities and exploitation prevalent in

different spheres of society, are known as the progressive poets in

Rajasthani literature. The poets of this movement mainly dealt with the

sorrows and sufferings of the common man, particularly the farmer.

They are Ganesilal Vyas ‘Ustad’, Sumanes Josi, Gajanan Varma,

Ramesvardayal Srimali and a few others. The poets writing patriotic

and heroic poems also tried their hand at Pragatisheel poetry. Among

them Kisor Kalpanakanth, Satyanarayan ‘Aman\ Onkar Parikred Vyas.

Harivallabh ‘Hari’ and Tiwari ‘Bandhu’ are the important names. At!

these writers wrote poems on individual, political, social, religious and

cultural oddities of the time. They depicted the pitiable conditions of

the society in two ways :

1. by drawing attention of the people towards actualities and giving

straightforward warnings,
 40

2. by pleading for steadfast adherence to the path of virtue in spite

of difficulties.

Among the Rajasthani Pragatisheel poets, Ganesilal Vyas, a

pioneer and a most powerful poet, is widely known by his pen name

‘Ustad’. He is a great patriot who experienced the tyrannies of the

freedom movement. He raised his voice against feudalism, colonialism

and racism. NATYA GIT RUPAK and NATYA GIT are his better-

known works.

Suman Josi, Mukul, Gajanan Varma and Srimali were the notable

poets who gave graphic pictures of village life and the miseries of the

farm workers.

As it gave many soldiers to the Indian army, Rajasthan also

played a very important role in deciding the political fate of India. The

bravery and sacrifice of the jawans, their love of mother India and their

experience of the horrors of wars against China and Pakistan provided

new material for the ‘Pragatisheel’ poets. The patriotic and heroic

Pragatisheel poets of Rajasthan emphasised the importance of human

values. ‘That in modern times the brain has progressed but the heart has

shrunk.’ ‘Men are many but real human beings few.’ ‘Man should hold

his own against odds’ are the poems forming a class by themselves in

Rajasthani poetry.
 41

Rajasthani literature is rich in stories, called ‘vat'. Especially

about 1950 and after (which is the flowering period of the progressive

movement in all walks of Indian life) a good number of stories were

written. This was a transitional period in the history of Rajasthani short

story. That was where writers like Muralidhar Vyas (VARA GANTHA),

Manohar Sarma (KANYADAN), Annaram Sudam (ANDHEINA!

ANKHYAN), Srilal Nathamal Joshi (PARANYOD1 KANWARI), Baijnath

Panwar (NAINAN KHUTYO NIV) widened the scope of the short story

form by writing reformist and socially committed stories.

Compared to poetry and the short story, the novel was late in

appearing on the literary scenario of Rajasthan. It was almost in the

first quarter of the 20“* century that Siva Chandra Bharatiya wrote

KANAK SUNDAR (1903), the first novel in Rajasthani literature. As

beginners, the Rajasthani writers wrote novels under the Western

influence and the novels of this period are traditional, idealistic and

almost artless. It was with the publication of Annaram Sudani's ANDHI

OUR ASTHA in 1966, brought a new wave of social awareness was

ushered in, which enlightened the people of Rajasthan. Sudam was

highly influenced by progressive and Marxist principles. In his novels

he narrates the harrowing experience of the whole countryside of

Rajasthan, the changing profiles of politicians, the arrogance of youth

leaders and the helpless dependence of the villagers on money-lenders.

 42

His famous novels are MARAI RA RUNKH and MIKATI KAYA,

MULAKATI DHARATI, etc.

Yaclavendra Sarma, Chatrapti Sinha and Satyen Josi are the

famous novelists of the movement.

Despite all these achievements and contributions, Rajasthani

Pragatisheel literature lacks originality of theme and commitment to

social change, as it is much indebted to Hindi, Bengali and Gujarati

literature.

12) Progressive Movement in Indian Writing in English

Indian writing in English in general and the novel in particular

developed considerably during the period from 1900 to 1947 which is

known as the Gandhian period and which is a high water-mark in the

history of the development of Indian fiction in English. The form was

enriched specially by three categories of writers. They were :

1. Political Novelists,

2. Social Realists, and

3. The Progressive Writers.

 43,

What differentiates the progressive writers from the other two

types of writers are their firm faith in humanistic ideologies, their

progressive outlook towards the future and their contemporary socio­

political consciousness. Mulk Raj Anand, a western educated

progressive thinker and English novelist, was one of the founders of the

Progressive Writers Association in India. Later the Association was

strengthened by novelists like Ahmed Ali, K. A. Abbas, Bhabani

Bhattacharya, Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, Kamala Markandaya and poets like

Pritish nandy and Anita Desai. Undoubtedly, all of them were

progressive writers but their views on progressivism and ways of

approach were not necessarily the same because their insights into the

realities of human life were different. However, all of them together

pleaded for a total change in the prevailing system.

A) Mulk Raj Anand (b. 1905)

In the sphere of Indian writing in English a new phase of

creativity was started by Mulk Raj Anand, who was and still is the first

socially committed Indian writer and progressive thinker. His

UNTOUCHABLE (1933) which is faithful picture of the contemporary

situation of underdogs was inspired by Gandhiji’s account of a sweeper

boy Uka in YOUNG INDIA. Anand’s progressive philosophy is a

mixture of realism, the Greek concept of Hellenism, and Indian

humanism based on the doctrines of Buddha, Kabir and Gandhi.

 44

Anand was one of the chief organisers of the progressive

movement in England and India. With Sajjad Zaheer, another leader ot

the Progressive Writers Association, Anand played a very important role

in organising those young Indian writers, who had been to England for

higher education then. And the first meeting of the Progressive Writers

Association held in England in 1935 was attended by Ralph Fox, the

British leftist critic, Sajjad Zaheer, Mulk Raj Anand and Jyotirmaya

Ghosh, and Anand was elected the president of the Association.

Anand, along with Sajjad Zaheer, attended an International

Congress of Writers in Paris on 11 June 1935 to protest against the rise

of Fascism in Europe. Writers like E.M.Forster, Aldous Huxley, Boris

Pasternak, Tolstoy, Ralph Fox and Thomasman directed Anand’s

attention towards progressivism. He continuously emphasised, through

his novels and short stories, that the writer should be in vanguard of the

fight for social justice and radical reforms. In fact, he began where

Premchand had stopped. Besides bringing rural life into literature, he

presents intellectual slavery, ignorance and the adverse effects of the

undigestible industrialisation, which was hurriedly accepted by Nehru

and his followers. He hates urbanisation and the so-called civilisation

which has not undergone the course of humanisation. The element that

differentiates Anand from all his contemporary writers is his anger. He

has no tears, no grief but only anger and aims to change the whole

Indian society.
 45

So far Anand has published more than thirty books which

comprise mainly novels and short stories. Among his novels inspired by

progressive ideals are UNTOUCHABLE (1933), COOLIE (1936), THE

BIG HEART, TWO LEAVES AND A BUD (1937) and SWORD AND

SICKLE (1942) are very important. They are important both historically

and artistically. Right from UNTOUCHABLE (1933) Anand’s every

novel presents the burning issues of pre-Independence India. For

instance, his second novel COOLIE (1936), known as the odyssey of

Munoo, deals with the life of a boy named Munoo who leaves his village

in search of livelihood, becomes a victim of colonialism, and the

corruption and inhumanity of the society. Anand attacks social evils on

scientific and humanistic grounds, which results in a rationalist analysis

of contemporary taboos. Among his short stories THE BARBER’S

TRADE UNION, LULLABY and THE LOST CHILD have won much

appreciation and been widely discussed. His recent story THE

SHADOW OF DEATH depicts a woman who puts herself to fire, attacks

the social evil ‘Sati’ is a picture of Roop Kanwar’s life. Each of his

novels is not a mere skeleton of morals and ideas but a voice that comes

from the depth of the heart. What made Anand distinctive among all

his contemporaries is his great love of humanity with all its wickedness

and ugliness.
 46

B) Ahmed All (1910-1994)

A unique personality and a close friend of Raja Rao and E.M

Forster, Ahmed Ali was a man of many parts. A progressive novelist,

short story writer, poet, translator, critic, teacher, diplomat, and

businessman, he migrated to Pakistan after the Partition of India in 194 7

and settled in Karachi. He was one of the earliest initiators of the

progressive writers’ movement in Urdu and English literature.

Nineteen thirty one was an eventful year in Ali’s life for two

reasons. Firstly, the introduction of Ali to the literary world with the

publication of his Urdu short story MAHAVATAN K1 EK RAT and,

secondly, his meeting with Sajjad Zaheer in Lucknow and

Mahamuduzzafar in Mussorie. These three young men, together with

Rashid Jahan, later published ANGARE, an anthology of nine short

stories of which two were written by Ahmed Ali. The book is

considered to be one of the most historically important from two points

of view. Firstly, because it started a new phase in the history of south

Asian literature, and, secondly, because it marks the beginnings of the

history of the Progressive Writers Association. The book shocked the

sensibilities of the conservatives so much so that all the four writers

were soundly berated and scathing editorials were written by newspapers

against them. Finally, the disturbance ended in the prescription by the

then British Government of India, because it contained matter offensive

 47

to public morality. Ahmed Ali was a great non-conformist whose anger

burst out against the ban of the book and he wrote an article IN

DEFENCE OF ANGARE, which was published in the LEADER of

Allahabad. Ali wrote, “The authors of the book do not wish to make any

apology for it. They leave it to float or sink of itself. They are not

afraid of the consequences of having launched it. They only wish to

defend the right of launching it, and other vessels like it - they stand for

the right of free criticism and free expression in all matters of the

highest importance to the human race in general, and the Indian people

in particular. Our practical proposal is the formation immediately of a

League of Progressive Authors, which should bring forth similar

collections from time to time, both in English and the various

vernaculars of our country. We appeal to all those interested in the idea

to get in touch with us.”19

Ahmed Ali remained a progressive writer throughout his life.

Ever since his participation in the activities of the Angarey group in

1933 till his death he was a dynamic progressive activist. He was one

of the organisers of the first historic meeting of the Progressive Writers

held in Lucknow on 9 and 10 April, 1936, and also presented a paper on

A PROGRESSIVE VIEW OF ART. Ahmed Ali wrote three novels

19. Mukthar Zaman, “Professor Ahmed Ali The Rebel That Was”, THF
JOURNAL OF INDIAN WRITING IN ENGLISH, Vol. 23, No 1 and 2,
(January-July, 1995),p. 23.
 48

(TWILIGHT IN DELHI, 1940, OCEAN OF NIGHT, 1964 and RAJ S

AND DIPLOMATS, 1986), two plays (THE LAND OF TWILIGHT.

1931, BREAK THE CHAINS, 1932), three collection of short stories

(HAMARI GALI, 1940, THE PRISON-HOUSE, 1985 and BEFORE

DEATH, 1956) and three collections of poems, which were all inspired

by a progressivist vision. These works truly reflect the socio-economic

and political upheavals of the Indian sub-continent under colonial

rule. In his writings Ahmed Ali focuses mainly on the slavery, poverty

and misery of the mass of people and the exploitation of the poor by

the rich, of Indians by the British and also of the uneducated by the

educated and sophisticated class.

TWILIGHT IN DELHI is a famous novel by Ahmed Ali,

published in 1940, and translated into Urdu, French, Spanish and

Portuguese. It is a simple love story of a boy and a girl of the noble

middle class Muslim family whose path of love is full of difficulties. In

this novel Ahmed Ali throws light on the 1940’s way of life, customs,

wedding rituals, class system in old Delhi. Simultaneously he shows the

public reactions to the First World War, the horrors of influenza, the

1919 epidemic, the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar and the

political turmoil of 1920 in Northern India.

Ahmed Ali’s second novel DAWN OF NIGHT, published in

London in 1964, depicts the Muslim society in Lucknow city between the

two world wars. Here Ahmed Ali widely discusses the Muslim ideas of
 49

love, peace and friendship through the story of love between the

Nawab’s mistress and a young lawyer, which cannot overcome the class

barriers. As a progressive writer Ahmed Ali strongly opposes all the

obstacles on the path of human understanding, love and unity. The

novel was revised later and renamed WHEN LOVE IS DEAD,

Ali’s approach to social problems in his short stories is one of

sensationalizing the issue involved. In his three short stories A NIGHT

OF WINTER RAINS, THE CLOUDS DO NOT COME and OUR LANE,

he identified himself ideologically and politically with the general trend

that progressive writing assumed in the thirties and afterwards. Writing

about Ahmed Ali’s works, Zeno highlights the two chief characteristics

of his short stories and novels which made him a progressive writer.

“Firstly, we find him a strict realist who is concerned above all

with the social reality of his group. Secondly, in terms of content we

find in him a sharp satirical critic of the life of his society and at the

same time a positive upholder of the cause of social change. Both these

qualities we find in his writing until the end.”20

What Ahmed Ali believed in and practised as a progressive writer

is worth noting since it is in his own words. “Progressive literature is to

20. “Professor Ahmed Ali and the Progressive Writers Association” THE
JOURNAL OF INDIAN WRITING IN ENGLISH, Vol. 23, No 1 and 2.
(January-July, 1995),p. 119.
 50

present life in all its objectivity, and bring out the deeper meaning from

my point of view. I have definite views about progress. Progress is a

'constant becoming’. I believe ‘Progress’ continues, whatever may

happen. Nothing in the world is final. Communism, too, cannot be the

be-all and end-all of man’s struggle. Once you label a

thing, it comes to an end. Progress is betterment, progress towards

perfection... Progress cannot be shut up in a bottle.”21

C) Bhabani Bhattacharya (b. 1906)

Bhabani Bhattacharya hails from the same state in which Abbas

was born (Bihar), took his early education in the same city, where Abbas

had. He is one of the great experimentalists who successfully gave voice

to SO MANY HUNGERS of pre- and post-Independence India. Bhabani

has successfully woven the contemporary threads of war, Fascism,

Famine, Freedom fighting, and frustrations into his writings.

Bhattacharya started writing when India was passing through a

momentous phase in her history. Bengal was burning in the bowl of the

1943 famine. The whole of India was in the final phase of the freedom

movement. Apart from the political turmoil there was unending hunger,

physical, emotional and intellectual. If external hunger of Bengal

21. Mukthar Zaman, “Professor Ahmed Ali The Rebel That Was”, THF
JOURNAL OF INDIAN WRITING IN ENGLISH,
 51

engulfed more than two million men, women and children, the

emotional and political hunger swallowed all India. Bhattacharya never

“believed in writing for the sake of writing”,22 he was greatly moved bv

the heart-breaking events to which he was witness. What associates him

with the movement is his literary credo which runs as follows :

“I hold that a novel must have a social purpose. It must place

before the reader something from the society’s point of view. Art is not

necessarily for art’s sake. Purposeless art and literature which is much

in vogue does not appear to me a sound judgement.”23

Right from Anand almost every Indian writer has essayed the war

theme. But only Bhattacharya succeeded in putting across its evil

effects. Mainly, his two novels SO MANY HUNGERS and SHADOW

FROM LADAKH give unforgettable heart-breaking pictures of war. He

dealt with several themes which were common to the progressive writers

They are clash between Indian and Western ideas (MUSIC FOR

MOHINI), the inhumanity of feudalism the deceit of China in 1962

(SHADOW FROM LADAKH), the Bengal Famine (SO MANY

22. CONTEMPORARY NOVELISTS IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.(New

York, St. Martin’s Press, \9lfy p. 12.

23. Sudhir Joshi, “An Evening with Bhabani”, THE SUNDAY STANDARD
(April 27, 1969).
 52

HUNGERS and HE WHO RIDES A TIGER), the idealogical conflict of

Gandhism with industrialism, rural innocence and urban lust for female

flesh, etc. Bhattacharya depicted contemporary happenings realistically

and honestly, but nowhere did he appear as being involved emotionally

He nevere regarded himself either as a social reformer or as a prophet.

He successfully propagated the truth in the very progressive writers’

idiom. No doubt, he concentrated very much upon the darker aspects of

life but it never blinded him to the beauty of life. Commenting upon

Bhattacharya’s novels, K. R Chandrasekharan writes, “with tm

progressive ideas and his vision of glorious future he has also great

admiration for the spiritual and cultural heritage of the country.”24

D) Ruth Prawer Jhabvala (b. 1927)

Ruth Prawer Jhabvala is a rare genius whose life has been a long

journey through different cultures and countries. She hails from the

Nazi Germany of Hitler. Long before Jhabvala’s birth her parents left

for England during the Second World War. Married to an Indian,

Jhabvala spent the days of her youth and mother-hood in India and left

for New York after the publication of HEAT AND DUST which won the

Booker prize in 1935. It is irrelevant to ask whether Jhabvala writes as

24. K.R.Chandrashekharan, BHABANI BHATTACHARYA (New Delhi, Arm Id

Heinemann Publishers Pvt. Ltd., 197$ p. 8.
 53

an Indian or an European. She is European by birth but is Indian by

domicile. She loved the Indian Heat and Dust along with all its

humiliations, and with pride she said that India is a “Paradise on

Earth”.25 Being a foreigner and an upper class woman, Jhabvala knew

her limitations. She never tried her hand at the depiction of rural India

She chose to depict only upper class and middle class societies

Jhabvala’s emotional involvement in the problems of post-Independence

Indian life, her opposition to racial discrimination and her deep concern

for the concern in Indian social atmosphere ideologically associate

her with the progressive movement. Although she depicts only the urban

upper class society, she displays a general urge for humanistic writing.

The major concern in her novels is not love hate relationship of a

young boy and a young girl. On the contrary, she deals with the horrible

experiences of post-war Indian society. Naturally, the sense of

alienation, the socio-cultural growth, the transition of society from

tradition to modernity, middle class aspirations towards sophistication

the downfall of Gandhian values after Independence, the miseries of

Hindu families after the Partition, a permissive sexual outlook of

westernized Indian youngsters on their youth and a never-ending

haunting sense of dichotomy in the mind of the individual who stood at

25. Ralph, J. Crane, (ed), PASSAGE TO RUTH PRAWER JHABVALA New

Delhi, Sterling Publishers, 199j), p. 50.
 54

the cross-roads of Indian tradition or western licentiousness - these are

the major problems she highlighted in her novels, short stories and

screen plays.

Her first novel TO WHOM SHE WILL is purely an India-based

novel. It deals with the class barrier, which was a great hurdle in the

path of love of several young and progressive lovers like Hari and

Amrita. Here Jhabvala presents the psychological pictures of traditional

minds like Pandit Ram Bahadur and Radha, the widow of a freedom

fighter. The novel ends with the victory of age-old and deep-rooted

social taboos that arrange Hari’s marriage to Sushila, a girl of his own

class. For this failure of love Jhabvala faults the age which was unable

to cope with the forces of modernity. According to her, India has some

progressive youngsters who wish to revolutionalize the past and present

but they are very few in number.

Her second novel THE NATURE OF PASSION is the story of a

corrupt businessman. Lala Narayan Das, father of six children, finds

nothing wrong in giving or taking bribe. Jhabvala pits Chandra Prakash,

Lalaji’s own son, against Lalaji. In this novel Jhabvala presents the

ugly faces of bourgeois society and the rapid growth of bribery in the

post-Independence era.
 55

Jhabvala’s third novel ESMOND IN INDIA is quite different

from her two earlier novels. ESMOND IN INDIA is the story of a

conflict between east and west, where the socio-political change in post-

Independence India also takes an equal share.

HEAT AND DUST - Jhabvala’s masterpiece that brought her the

Booker prize and sent her to America, is a typical story of Olivia

Douglas and the Nawab of Katm who, by getting Olivia with child,

thinks to take revenge upon the British Raj that had emptied his princely

state. This deed he thinks is the greatest achievement of his life

equivalent to his ancestor Amanullakhan’s victory over Marwar. The

theme is almost similar to that of ESMOND IN INDIA. But the

approach is more candid and realistic than that of the earlier.

Apart from these, Jhabvala has two more novels HOUSE

HOLDER, GET READY FOR BATTLE and four collections of short

stories. Jhabvala though an alien to the soil, made a signal contribution

to Indian writing in English by her unprejudiced portrayal of the social

class she was familiar with. Swaying though her position was like a

pendulum, she tried her hand at several other contemporary themes

which were completely neglected by the progressive writers. So far as

her commitment to the age and the Indian society is concerned, she is as

honest and realistic as Kamala Markandaya, Shanta Ram Rau and

 56

Kamala Das. With her gentle irony which is not without a touch of

satire Jhabvala made people aware of the plaguing contemporary society

£) Kamala Markandaya (b. 1924)

As the other antipodis to Jhabvala, Kamala Markandaya, a post-

Independence writer, was married to an Englishman and settled in

Britain. She is a feminist, social realist and progressivist. She has

written nine novels in all, each one of which is a special study of a

particular social problem. But the study is rather feministic and

restricted in scope. She analyses the problems from the point of view of

the female’s position in Indian society. Kamala’s inner fury is the fury

of an Indian woman against the male class that considered woman a

machine for producing children and a means of satisfying the sexual

urges of man. As a progressivist Kamala expends her fury against

prostitution, feudalism, discrimination against the barren

woman, dowry and the pardah system and sexual double

standards prevalent in India. Kamala Markandaya’s themes and

characters, ideas and observations change according to the changing

Indian socio-political scene. Her spirit of revolt and her critical

observation of the persistent social milieu make her one of the foremost

progressive writers of India.

 57

Markandaya’s most famous novels are NECTAR IN A SIEVE.

THE VIRGIN, SOME INNER FURY, A HANDFUL OF RICE, THE

COFFER DAMS and THE NOWHERE MAN.

Her first novel NECTAR IN A SIEVE (1924) is the pathetic tale

of a peasant woman, Rukmini, and her three daughters, who are victims

of famine and prostitution and economic slavery. THE VIRGIN, which

is also set in the countryside, has many similarities with the NECTAR IN

A SIEVE. Like Anand in his COOLIE Kamala Markandaya in her THE

VIRGIN also made a study of the impact of modern civilization on rural

India after Independence.

The Indian freedom struggle has been a great force behind the

progressive movement. It toughened the non-conformist stand of these

writers. Markandaya has written a novel based on the theme of the

national struggle named SOME INNER FURY (1955). She takes her

first flight from the rural background to the urban upper class society

here and discusses the problem of the east and west encounter.

A HANDFUL OF RICE her only novel in which the male

character plays a dominant role, is about a village boy, Ravi, who comes

to Madras like the Munoo of COOLIE. Poverty and hunger were the

greatest problems after Independence. A HANDFUL OF RICE was a big

day-to-day question before new born India. The novel is a psychological

 58

study of the minds of people waiting for the day that would provide

them a handful of rice.

THE COFFER DAMS, POSSESSION and THE NOWHERE M AN

exhibit her bold approach to the problems of contemporary society

Markandaya’s writings, which deal with the problems of women, fall in

line with the progressive movements ideology. Because, howsoever

sincerely women’s interest may have been represented by Anand, Abbas

and Bhattacharya, they lack authenticity, the first hand touch.

As in other regional languages, in Indian English literature also

poetry played a vital role in the development of the progressive

movement. In the post-Aurobindo period Indo-Anglian poetry became

the voice of the innermost experience of common men and women. The

Indian poets who contributed to progressivist literature in English arc

P.Lal, Ezekiel, Pritish Nandy, Syed Amanuddin, Kamala Das, Joseph

Furtado and Arvind Krishna Mehrotra. All these poets, with their keen

observation of the social environment, view the social issues in terms oi

a progressive vision. Instead of the issues related to hell and heaven

God and salvation, love and separation of Aurobindonean poetry, their

poetry sings of the soil, the mill worker, the pavement dweller and the

wayward. They are the poets who opened their eyes to the dark nights

of the Indian freedom struggle, Partition, famine and poverty. 1 hey

 59

breathed the air of the great ‘October Revolution’ and change in the

Indian social milieu.

Thus Progressivism, though basically a European movement,

entered into Indian writing in English as well as in other regional

literatures through Urdu literature. Except Mulk Raj Anand all the

Indian writers in English started their career as progressive writers under

the influence of the movement in their regional languages. It would he

very difficult to identify the writers who were not influenced by the

movement during the forties and fifties. Even Raja Rao and Khushwant

Singh, whose writings have several similarities with those of Abbas and

Anand, as far as the themes of colonialism, the east-west encounter,

cultural harmony, atrocities of Partition are concerned, could not escape

the impact of the Progressive Movement.

No doubt a particular movement starts in a particular period.

But as far as its consequences are concerned, it goes beyond its age and

geographical area of origin. Thus, the Progressive Movement in Indian

English literature starts with Anand and Abbas, it continues as far as

Pritish Nandy and even reaches the younger writers of our time.
 60

ili) Conclusion

In addition to the progressive literatures discussed above there

were other Indian literatures, like Kashmiri, Oriya and a few others,

which were impacted by the movement, but they did not make any

remarkable contribution. The foregoing discussion of the birth and

development of the movement in regional languages and Indian writing

in English suffices to help understand the main aspects oi the

Progressive Movement, which could be summed up as follows :

1. The progressive movement started in all Indian languages, but

did not live up to the large claims of its early days.

2. The movement with all its weaknesses succeeded in organising

the writers for the first time at the national level by providing a

common platform and bridging the gap between the common man

and the literati.

3. The credit of making the common man the hero and of depicting

the life of the underdogs and the down-trodden goes to

progressive writers only. By giving voice to the agonies of the

socially deprived classes, they made literature more humanistic

and realistic than it had been earlier.

 61

4. The progressive writers made the people socially and politically

conscious.

5. They dealt with man’s life on the earth, his fight for justice and

struggle for a better life. They never sang in praise of an

invisible God. Their philosophy was earth-bound.