Freedom struggle and the role of revolutionary poetry

Neera Chandhoke

Political Scientist

JAGDAMBA Prasad Hitaishi wrote: ‘Shahidon ki chitayon par judenge har baras mele, watan per marne walon ka yehi baaki nishan hoga’ (Every year, fairs will be held at the funeral sites of martyrs; this will be their legacy). Far from celebrating the lives of martyrs, however, people are applauding the power of our rulers, who metaphorically flex their arms before audiences, even as parts of the country continue to be devastated by violence and hate. What can we say about these desolate, ruined spaces except repeat Dante’s words from The Divine Comedy: ‘Abandon all hope all ye who enter here’?

The rituals of Independence, which could not have been attained without the sacrifices of countless Indians, have been appropriated by a ruling elite seemingly indifferent to the consequences of its own policies. It’s time we began to reclaim and rediscover, as part of Independence Day celebrations, the thousands of Indians who, inspired by Gandhi as well as progressive poets, participated in the freedom struggle.

Today, Urdu is regarded as the language of the ‘enemy’, and Urdu speakers are identified with a particular community. Revolutionary poetry, which mobilised an entire generation, was written by both Hindus and Muslims who loved Urdu, and continue to do so. Brij Narayan Chakbast (1882-1926) wrote: ‘Yeh khaak-e-Hind se paida hain josh ke aasar/Himalaya se uthe jaise abr-e-daryabaar’ (From the dust of Hindustan have arisen signs of energy and passion, the way rivers gush from the Himalayas). Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev had this poem by Bismil Azimbadi (1901-1978) on their lips: ‘Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamare dil mein hai; dekhna hai zor kitna baazu-e-qatil mein hain’ (We passionately desire to lay down our lives, let’s see how much strength the enemy possesses).

Maulana Hasrat Mohani coined the phrase ‘Inquilab zindabad’. This became the rallying cry of the freedom struggle. He demanded azaadi-e-kaamil or complete independence in 1921: ‘Rasm-e-jafa kaamyab dekhiye kab tak rahe/Hubb-e-watan mast-e-khwab kab tak rahe/Daulat-e-Hindustan qabzah aghyar mein/Be adad o behisab dekhiye kab tak rahe’ (Let us see how long we are oppressed, how long freedom remains but a dream, and how long the British plunder India’s riches).

If revolutionaries were inspired by Chandra Shekhar Azad’s poem ‘Dushmano ki goliyan ka hum samna karenge/Azad hi rahein hai, azad hi rahenge’ (We will face the bullets of the enemy, we have been free and we will continue to be free), they were equally motivated by ‘the poet of revolution’ Josh Malihabadi: ‘Mera naara, inquilab o inquilab o inquilab’ (My slogan is revolution).

How do we differentiate between Hindu and Muslim poets? Both loved freedom, both wrote amazing poetry that captured the essence of political resistance. They were to transform literature and poetry. Sajjad Zaheer wrote in his autobiography Reminiscences: ‘Sensitive writers felt that they could not continue in the old mode… It was no longer possible for the writers to continue to live in ivory towers and remain unconcerned with the lives and thoughts of common people.’ He was referring to the wave of anti-fascism, socialism and radicalisation of culture, literature and poetry that swept India in the 1930s. Literary figures expanded the goals of the freedom struggle to the fight against injustice and patriarchy within society. Witness the contrast between those progressive writers and rabid Muslim and Hindu right-wingers who remain stuck in the notion of ‘two nations’.

Bhisham and Balraj Sahni, Prithviraj, Raj and Shammi Kapoor and a number of stars, including the debonair Dev Anand, as well as poets Jan Nisar Akhtar, Sahir Ludhianvi and Sardar Jafri, among others, spoke up against communalism, poverty and social oppression. The progressives taught us that society has to look outwards towards imperialism, but it also has to also look inwards and focus on the many contradictions, oppressions and tyrannies of our own society.

At the first meeting of the Progressive Writers’ Association, Munshi Premchand gave the inaugural address in chaste Urdu. He told the audience that good literature can only be founded on truth, beauty, freedom and humanity. It has to reject all that inhibits human freedom and creativity, such as orthodoxy and obscurantism. ‘Literature is the outward form of the artist’s spiritual balance, and what harmony creates is never subversive. It nurtures in us the qualities of loyalty, sincerity, sympathy, justice and egalitarianism. Where these qualities exist, there is stability and life. Where they are wanting, there is division, selfishness, hatred, enmity, and death… Literature makes our life natural and free… it civilises the self.’ Progressives showed another way beyond the Hindu-Muslim binary: the ills that beset the human condition. Human beings cannot be essentialised and reduced to their religious identity. They are capable of walking another path: solidarity with the oppressed, compassion for the poor, and sensitivity to the sufferings of their people.

This dimension of the national movement taught us that beyond our religious identity lies another space, that of humanity. Penning the lyrics of a song from BR Chopra’s Dharmputra, Sahir Ludhianvi asked a significant question, ‘Yeh kiska lahu hai, kaun mara’ (Whose blood is this, who died?). If only we were to ask this question, we might realise humanity. Otherwise, we will continue to wring our hands and wonder in the words of Javed Akhtar, ‘Yeh kahaan aa gaye hum, yun hi saath chalte chalte…’

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