At the time of its creation, Pakistan was very weak and struggling to stand on its own feet. It turned for help to various countries but did not get a very good response. At this critical time, Pakistani Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan received an invitation on 2nd June 1949 from USSR for a visit to Moscow for holding dialogues.1, 2 Liaquat Ali Khan saw a ray of hope through this invitation but delayed the tour and after some time got an invitation for a visit from USA offering economic and political aid as well as support on the Kashmir issue.1, 2 Pakistan accepted this invitation and Liaquat Ali Khan visited Washington in May 1950.1, 2 From then onwards, Pakistan became a member of the rightist camp.1, 2
Speaking of Marxism in Pakistan, it is necessary to mention the All-India Progressive Writers’ Association. Soviet literary policy influenced Urdu literature in India and Pakistan. The Soviet Communist Party organized the Union of Soviet Writers in 1934. At that time, the Soviet foreign policy was enticing Communist groups in other countries to unite under antifascist alliances. The All-India Progressive Writers’ Association (AIPWA) was established in 1936 with the first All-India Progressive Writers’ Conference being held in Lucknow. Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru, who was the leftist leader of the Congress Party, was invited to preside over the Conference. (Malik, 649) The Association was a tool of the Communist Party of India (CPI), though any charges of this Communist affiliation were strongly denied. The Communist leader Sajjad Zaheer was elected as the Secretary General of the All-India Progressive Writers’ Association. However, the patronage of many well-known non-Communist personalities such as Maulana Hasrat Mohani, Maulavi Abdul Haqq, President of Anjuman Taraqqi-i Urdu, Doctor Abid Husain, Qazi Abdul Ghaffar, Josh Malih-Abadi, and Abdul Majid Salik, subsided the suspicions of any Communist affiliations of the Association a great deal. Between 1936 and 1947, the Movement had much influence on Urdu writers. Many Marxist writers emerged from the Punjab such as Faiz Ahmad Faiz, Ahmad Nadim Qasimi, Zahir Kashmiri and Sahir Ludhianvi. They incorporated Marxist ideas in Urdu poetry and tried to fuse these ideas in novels and story writing as well. (Malik, 652)
The progressive writers largely belonged to upper and middle classes of the society so they did not know about the lives of the proletariat even though they were united under the idea that they should help these lower classes. These writers agreed that their social class connection was due to the prevailing capitalist social order and all of them were determined to work against their own social classes. Faiz Ahmad Faiz said that “Marx, Engels, and Lenin were not manual workers; not one of them had ever worked in any factory even for a day. Much would depend on how well [the progressive writers] understand the problems of the workers, act wisely and sincerely.” According to Faiz, literary imagination and sincerity in expression could be sufficient tools for the progressive writers even if they did not have the chance to have contact with the workers. Faiz said, “If the message of the progressive writers does not reach the uneducated workers at least it reaches the middle classes. The war between the capitalist and the proletariat is not the exclusive war of the proletariat; it is a battle challenging all of us. Are not we part of our society?” (Malik, 652-653) Many practical suggestions to familiarize the progressive writers with the conditions of the proletariat were made, some were even followed. A branch of peasant poetry emerged in which Sayyid Muttalabi Faridabadi became well-known. (Malik, 654)
The Progressive Writers’ Association could not do well in Pakistan after 1947, as in Pakistan the Communist ideology of the Association was not looked upon favorably. The Communist Party got annihilated in Pakistan after Partition. The Communist Party of India (CPI) tried to work in Pakistan for a few months between 1947-1948, and in 1948 decided to have a distinct and new Communist Party in Pakistan. CPI had a difficult time trying to find a leader who could head the new party in Pakistan. In the end, Sajjad Zaheer became the Secretary-General of the newly formed Communist party of Pakistan (CPP). Zaheer now resigned from the post of Secretary-General of AIPWA. Ahmad Nadim Qasimi was named the Secretary-General of the All-Pakistan Progressive Writers’ Association (APPWA) at its formal creation in Lahore. (Malik, 659)
Even though CPP was a perfectly legal political party between 1948-1954, it was closely being monitored by the Pakistani Government. The Prime Minister of Pakistan, Liaquat Ali Khan, in 1951, charged the CPP with having attempted to hatch a plan to overthrow the Pakistani government with the help of some accomplices from Pakistan Army. Sajjad Zaheer and Faiz Ahmad Faiz were put behind bars and faced a trial along with Major General Akbar Khan, the Pakistan Army Chief of Staff. All the accused were convicted in 1953 and by 1954 the Communist Party of Pakistan was declared illegal across the country. (Malik, 659) However, the CPP had helped formulate several other Leftist political organizations in Pakistan. Mian Iftakhar-ud-Din and Sardar Shaukat Hayat Khan created the leftist Azad Pakistan Party in early 1950s. This party was an ally of Ganatantri Dal, a leftist organization in East Pakistan. (Malik, 659-660)
In late 1940s, Mian Iftakhar-ud-Din started the Progressive Papers Limited which was a leftist stock company. It began publishing Pakistan Times, the daily Imroz, and many other political magazines. Faiz Ahmad Faiz became the first editor of The Pakistan Times and managing editor of the daily Imroz. In 1953, Ahmad Nadim Qasmi who was the Secretary-General of the All-Pakistan Progressive Writers’ Association (APPWA) became the editor of the Imroz. (Malik, 660)
Under Qasmi, the APPWA made various attempts to influence young writers and poets of Pakistan. To a large extent, they did manage to draw many intellectuals to the movement. The personal charisma of Ahmad Nadim Qasmi and Faiz Ahmad Faiz was instrumental in this as they still had rather stainless reputations. (Malik, 660)
The decline of the All-Pakistan Progressive Writers’ Association was hastened by their belligerent attitude against the Pakistani government and their rigid stance against those writers who wavered from the beliefs of the Association. (Malik, 661)
The first all-Pakistan Conference took place in Lahore in 1949. There were four Soviet representatives present. The progressive writers discussed that a new time of revolutionary struggle was now there with the creation of Pakistan and there was a need for the writers to avail new opportunities of action. The manifesto which was formed discussed the trends in Pakistani literature and also stated the position of the progressive writers that they had challenged the policies of the Pakistani government and were ready to work for the development of Socialism in Pakistan. The manifesto also discussed the presence of writers in Pakistan whose only purpose was to promote the policies of the Pakistani leadership (“reactionary writers”). (Malik, 661)
From the writers who favored the current establishment, many belonged to active groups. One such group spoke of art for art’s sake; they were indifferent to art with meaning and were only concerned with style and decoration in literary texts. Another group spoke of nationalism; they were only concerned with selling Islamic literature and in reality were unaware of the true spirit of Islam. Likewise, several such groups were discussed. (Malik, 661)
The manifesto declared that the progressive writers looked upon art not just for art’s sake, but also believed that art should be used to benefit society and change society for the better. A number of publications were labeled as belonging to groups which favored the current Pakistani establishment, such as Mah-i Nao, Naya Daur, Saqi, and Urdu Adab, and progressive writers were instructed not to participate in them. In the end, the manifesto condemned many writers who supported the capitalist regime, among them Sadat Hasan Manto, Hasan Askari Noon Mim Rashid and Qurrat al-Ayin Hayder, instructing the progressive magazines to refrain from publishing their works. (Malik, 662)
Not all the writers had accepted Marxism, although they had earlier been sympathetic towards the movement. The movement required much sacrifice and the uncompromising attitude of the Association destroyed the unity of the movement. Dissidents under Hasan Askari and Manto accepted the notion of art for art’s sake. The remaining members of the APPWA gathered around Ahmad Nadim Qasmi and Faiz Ahmad Faiz and eventually began to be called the Sawera group, after the name of one of their magazines. The splintering of APPWA was good for their rivals who consequently gained considerable influence over the country’s publications. (Malik, 662-663)
APPWA’s policies led to clashes with the Pakistani establishment. In the 1949 Conference, APPWA passed following resolutions which
“- condemned the Provincial Government’s Public Safety Act, and the Public Safety Ordinance of the Government of Pakistan;
- demanded the withdrawal of the arrest warrant for Sajjad Zaheer;
- disapproved of the decisions of the Pakistan Newspapers Editors Conference, which condemned those provisions of the Pakistan Safety Ordinance which were only applicable to newspapers;
- lent moral support to the journalists of the Sindh Observer, who were in conflict with the paper’s management;
- condemned the “reactionary writers” international organization, P.E.N.;
- demanded the recognition of the People’s Republic of China, and congratulated the Chinese masses on their success against the Kuomintang;
- condemned the repressive policies of the capitalist countries against their progressive writers;
- appreciated the courage and determination of Indian progressive writers, and - condemned the “terrorism” of the Nehru and Patel government;
- declared the Association’s determination to take full part in the international struggle to preserve peace;
- emphasized the policy of support to provincial dialects along with Urdu;
- recommended the policy of bringing literature and art closer to the masses.” (Malik, 663)
It was not a good idea to announce these eleven resolutions since they challenged the Pakistani establishment at a period when the Association was not strong enough. The supporters of the movement were only there in the cities of Pakistan and the patron of APPWA, the Communist Party of Pakistan was still trying to gain grounds in Pakistan. This policy tells us of the misjudgment of Sajjad Zaheer about the Pakistani political scenario. The Pakistani Government was weak after Partition but it was not that fragile that it could not tackle the problem from the leftists, particularly since this problem was on such a limited scale. In 1951, the APPWA was announced to be a political party by the Pakistani establishment and was frequently disturbed by it until 1958. (Malik, 663)
It was Ayub Khan who finished the Progressive Papers Limited in 1958. It was charged with conspiring with a foreign power and its assets were forcibly put up on auction, sold to a group of businessmen for 4,600,000 ruppees. This was a death blow for APPWA, since it deprived the progressive writers of their means of making a living. Many writers became incorporated into different organizations while the most rebellious were left to make a scarce living out of their own publications. Hence the Association died out completely. (Malik, 663-664)
In 1966, there was a debate in West Pakistan about the compatibility between Islam and socialism and whether the term “Islamic Socialism” made sense or was a term that had inherent contradictions. A number of Middle Eastern intellectuals had earlier written about the topic, especially after Nasser’s formal proclamation of “Arab Socialism” in early 1960s. The Pakistani “Islamic Socialists” were negligent of this literature and hence did not make good use of it. (Fazlur Rahman, 31)
Allama Iqbal had criticized the capitalism of the West, had appreciated Lenin in his poem “Lenin’s Petition to God”, had suggested the abolishment of religion if it did not give the proletariat their rights in a poem “God’s Command to Angels”, and in “It Is God’s Earth” he said that the resources on earth belong to all humanity and cannot become the property of a handful of people. (Fazlur Rahman, 31) Iqbal wrote the following verses about Karl Marx:
“The world does not like tricks and
Of science and wit nor, their contests
This age does not like ancient thoughts,
From core of hearts their show detests.
O wise economist, the books you write
Are quite devoid of useful aim:
They have twisted lines with orders strange
No warmth for labour, though they claim.
The idol houses of the West,
Their schools and churches wide
The ravage caused for, greed of wealth
Their wily wit attempts to hide.”5
However, Iqbal also criticized certain aspects of Communism. In “Satan’s Advisory Council” he rejected the materialistic philosophy of Communism. He thought that Communism had brought about an equitable economic system (which was similar to that of Islam) but it should not have materialism behind it. He wrote to Sir Francis Younghusband that “If Bolshevism can accept God, it will come very close to Islam. I will not, therefore, be surprised if at some future time Islam overwhelms Russia or Russia overwhelms Islam.” Similarly, Iqbal rejected the “atheistic socialism of Jawaharlal [Nehru]” and also termed the Muslim League’s apathy towards improving the conditions of the Islamic masses as being un-Islamic in his letters to Jinnah. (Fazlur Rahman, 31)
In the 1966 arguments, Iqbal was vigorously quoted by the two sides. The socialists quoted his statements about the similarities between Islam and socialism, while their opponents quoted his denunciation of atheistic socialism. Both Jinnah and Liaquat Ali Khan had actually used the term “Islamic Socialism”. (Fazlur Rahman, 31) In the Introduction to the Guidelines of his Third Five-Year Plan, Ayub Khan had mentioned that the aim of his policies was “Islamic Socialism”. But the topic gained a lot of controversy and the term “Islamic Socialism” was excluded from the text when it was finally published. (Fazlur Rahman, 32)
Bhutto launched his socialist campaign in 1966 and he was quick to understand that he needed to incorporate Islam in his socialism in order strengthen his political support in the country. J.A.Rahim, who was a Communist in his party did not approve of this and protested vehemently when Mawlana Kawsar Niazi was appointed the Propaganda Secretary of the Party. However, the Pakistan People’s Party maintained its stance of Islamic Socialism in its election manifesto, and after winning the 1970 elections Bhutto proclaimed his victory as “great victory for Islam”. In Pakistani society, vows of bringing prosperity in future through the bringing into check of the assets of upper classes brings good results in elections, especially if such vows are mingled with a touch of Islam. (Fazlur Rahman, 31) Whereas it was easy to win the elections, it was not so easy for Bhutto to manage the affairs of state once he came into power. His party’s vote bank had included a very diverse set of people, including Communists, socialists, Islamic Socialists and even landlords. Such diversity makes it difficult to have a definite policy, keeping the interests of all factions in mind. Clearly, an Islamic Socialist country would firstly need a well drafted ideology based on Islam, and secondly would need the relevant ideologically engineered government frame work for it to function. Both these features were not there in Bhutto’s time. (Fazlur Rahman, 32)
The slogan of the PPP was “Islamic Socialism”, yet it was excluded from the 1973 Constitution. There was nothing incorrect in the term, it could have been used to make true the possibilities of establishing an equitable Islamic system in the modern environment. Perhaps the opposition of the other two socialist inclined political parties, the National Awami Party and the Jamiyat ul-Ulama, made Bhutto compromise with the rightists. (Fazlur Rahman, 32)
When speaking of Marxism in Pakistan, it would be unjust to not mention Faiz Ahmad Faiz, a known Marxist, and one of the finest poets of Urdu in twentieth century. Poetry had been Faiz’s passion in his early life. It was after he started teaching at Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental (MAO) College in Amritsar in 1935 that he got a passion for politics and public relations. He made many new Marxist friends, among them Mahmuduz-Zafar and his wife Rashid Jahan. Reading The Communist Manifesto greatly influenced Faiz. It was banned in India, but Faiz got access to it through his new Marxist friends. From then on, Faiz led a politically active life. He helped establish the All-India Progressive Writers’ Association. (Khalid, 260) About Faiz’s poetry, Sajjad Zaheer said “[T]he values represented by the poet are the same as the values of all progressive humanity of today. But Faiz has adopted them so well that they neither appear distinct from the best traditions of our civilization and culture, nor is the individuality of the poet, his soft, sweet, and lyrical style divorced from them.” (Khalid, 261)
In Lahore, after Partition, Faiz engaged in various works including journalism, trade unions and the international peace movement. But such activities were not endorsed in the newly formed state as its government increasing leaned towards the right and adopted a pro-American stance in its foreign relations. (Khalid, 261)
In 1951, Faiz met his army friends who were dissatisfied with the current political system of the country and wanted to bring about a change. Faiz brought his Communist friend Sajjad Zaheer to the discussion. Although they all decided that the time was not suitable for any attempt to bring about change, they were discovered and charged with having plotted and conspired to overthrow the regime, and were hence convicted. Faiz got a sentence of four years in jail. Faiz spent this time writing poetry, which he had abandoned earlier. His poetic collection, Dast-e Saba was published while he was still in prison. (Khalid, 261-262)
When Faiz was freed, Cold War was happening and left wing activities were suppressed in Pakistan. Faiz could do very little. He remained a part of the International Peace Committee and he acquired an international literary reputation, receiving the Lenin Peace Prize in 1962, the greatest honor the Soviet Union had for foreign literary figures. (Khalid, 262)
Circumstances improved for Faiz when Bhutto came to power, a man whose policies Faiz liked. Bhutto appointed him as Consultant on Cultural Affairs to Ministry of Education. Then came Zia ul Haq’s regime and Faiz spent much of the time abroad in exile until 1983 when he returned to Lahore. He passed away the following year. (Khalid, 262-263)
According to Russian author Vasilieva, “the political and social values that were of the first importance for Faiz did not pass the test of history”. Faiz’s poetry in his poetic collection Mire Dil, Mire Musafir is characterized mostly with sadness, doubt and despair. According to Vasilieva, this despair and grief was largely due to Faiz’s doubts about the Soviet Union and also due to doubts about Faiz’s lifelong beliefs and aims, or about how they were being brought about. (Khalid, 267) Faiz died in 1984, and did not survive to see the collapse of so many things which were important to him, including the break up of the Soviet Union. (Khalid, 268)
We now turn our attention towards how the present Communist Mazdoor Kissan Party in Pakistan came into being.7 The Communist Party of Pakistan was banned after the Rawalpindi Conspiracy Case in 1951, together with its many front organizations such as Democratic Students Federation, the All-Pakistan Progressive Writers Association, Railway Workers’ Union (headed by Communist Mirza Ibrahim).7 The Communist Party and the movement became clandestine.7
The party tried to build up support, operating behind Maulana Bhashani’s anti-imperialist National Awami Party (NAP).7 NAP was a mixture of regional nationalists and leftists.7 In 1960s, CPP tried to stir up support from amongst the working classes.7
Then came the rift between the Chinese and the Soviets which splintered the Pakistani Communists into two groups.7 The Pakistani Maoists started the Mazdoor Kissan Party (MKP) in 1970 under Major Ishaq Muhammed.7 The MKP started a guerilla war against feudals in Hashtnagar.7 The success of the People’s War, as this war was called, had an encouraging effect on the leftist movement in Pakistan.7 This war liberated an area of 200 square miles and similar movements started erupting all over the country.7 The Communist Party of Pakistan was pro-Soviet and it also started a peasant armed movement in Patfeeder in Baluchistan.7 They also began to influence various worker unions in the cities. The 1970s was period of struggles against the bourgeoisie, and the peasants and workers gained control of various sectors which remain strongholds of the working classes.7
In 1977, there was a military coup and the communist leaders were put behind bars. The head of MKP, Major Ishaq Muhammed, too was jailed and died in 1982. After him a peasant communist leader, Ghulam Nabi Kalu, led the MKP.7
In 1986, MKP criticized Gorbachev’s policies for the reason that they thought it would restore capitalism in USSR.7 The CPP, however, maintained their support for Glasnost and Perestroika.7 The fall of the Soviet Union had an adverse affect on the communist movement in Pakistan.7 Many people deserted the movement and it was a time of ideological confusion and political disillusionment.7 It was at this time in 1995 that the Communist Party of Pakistan and the Mazdoor Kissan Party engaged in self assessment and united to form the new Communist Mazdoor Kissan Party (CMKP) to save the communist movement.7
One reason which can be identified why Marxism has not flourished in Pakistan is that the workers and peasants are not exactly united to rise in order to bring about a revolution. The working classes in Pakistan are mostly the serfs, peasants, daily wage workers who are divided along the lines of ethnicities, sectarianism, kinship, communities, castes.
Another reason why Marxism has not been able to spread in Pakistan may be that a notion is propagated by the rulers of the promise of roti, kapra aur makaan (bread, clothes and house) for all, though it means nothing to the rulers. This is the ideological guise beneath which the rulers who themselves are the bourgeoisie are manipulating the thinking of the proletariat masses to stay in power by making the masses think along certain lines designed by these rulers.
Another reason why spread of Marxism has been inhibited in Pakistan is that the Pakistani society is emotionally attached to Islam. The ruling classes have, by a propaganda, spread the notion that Marxism is an ungodly ideology, which is opposed to religion in general, and is a threat to Islam in particular. During the 1980s, the Soviet Union was branded as being the "infidel” Soviets.8
To divert the attention of the proletariat from a revolution, the rulers have created outside enemies (the phenomenon of the security state, tensions with India, ISI created Taliban, and so on), which portray the ruling class as well as the whole nation as the deprived victims of imperialism.
Privatization and structural adjustments programs of World Bank, IMF (neoliberalism in general) break down trade unions and affect labor laws negatively, which can lead to a break down in the Left's movement.
Bibliography:
1.
2. "Liaquat Ali Khan « My Distinguished Sense." My Distinguished Sense. Web. 10 Dec. 2010.
3. Malik, Hafeez (1967) The Marxist Literary Movement in India and Pakistan, The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 26, No. 4 (pg. 649-664)
4. Fazlur Rahman, “Islam and the New Constitution of Pakistan”, in J. Henry Korson ed. Contemporary Problems of Pakistan, 1974, Pages 31-33.
5. "The Voice of Karl Marx « Red Diary." Red Diary. Web. 10 Dec. 2010.
6. Khalid, Adeeb, The Life and Works of Faiz Ahmad Faiz
7. Vidrohi. "History of the Communist Mazdoor Kissan Party. « The Rebel Road…." The Rebel Road…. Web. 10 Dec. 2010.
8.
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