International Multidisciplinary e-Journal. 22774262. SJIF: 5.744. UGC Approved.(197-204)

ANGAREY; A PATH-BREAKING AND PROSCRIBED ANTHOLOGY: DISCOURSE TOEARDS PROGRESSIVE WRITERS’ ASSOCIATION

JOSHINA JAMWAL Ph.D RESEARCH SCHOLAR DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY UNIVERSITY OF JAMMU.

Before we look at the uproar over the controversial anthology Angarey, let us look at the calm before the storm begin and then move at the furore created by its publication . And finally towards the sequence of events culminating in its ban and discourse towards the Progressive Writers' Association. The 1930s was a significant decade for Indians witnessing the publication of the controversial Angarey in 1932 and the formation of Progressive Writers' Association in 1936 which is dedicated to the realistic portrayals in literature. These writers deployed realism in complex and innovative ways and represent the stark realities of the present i.e. prevailing social problems which would persist in the post-colonial period.1 In 1932, Sajjad Zaheer ; one of the author of Angarey was a young man and had just returned to India after studying in England . During the course of his stay , he had come into contact with many progressive writers and thinkers from different parts of Europe . His combat zone was his own country where he dreamt of creating a world free from social , economic and religious exploitation. It was his friendship with like- minded people like Ahmad Ali , Rashid Jahan and Mahmud- uz- Zafar that made the publication of Angarey possible. Sajjad Zaheer had published a few short stories in some Urdu journals but publishing of Angarey remained his most cherished , emotional and ambitious project. 2

The controversial anthology of ten short- stories Angarey, (Live coals) contributed by four authors who were also involved with the Progressive Writers' Association. Many detractors and its enthusiastic supporters , saw Angarey as the result of cultural and intellectual contact with Europe. It would be such that both Sajjad Zaheer and Ahmad Ali had been studying in England at that time and both were drawn to the radical and avant- garde literary movements that were gaining momentum in the Europe at that time. 3 Angarey ; an anthology of ten short - stories appeared sometime in December 1932, from Lucknow. The collection of short stories contained five short- stories by Sajjad Zaheer , two by Ahmad Ali, two by Rashid Jahan and one of Mahmud- uz -Zafar. Angarey consisted of five short

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Angarey ; published in Urdu is a collection of different authors within one cover. Here, were a group of young writers who were thoroughly unorthodox , openly contemptuous of religion , social customs and desirous of social change . They were idealistic and impatient for radical change as they were against established traditions and conventions .5 Sajjad Zaheer contributed the greater portion of stories to Angarey but particular condemnation was directed towards two of these Neend Nahin Aatae ( Sleep does not come ) and Jannat ki Basharat ( Vision of Heaven). Both stories had a sexual theme but one invoked the idea of God , the koran and prostitutes. Ahmad Ali essays into the realms of poverty especially the poverty of Muslim women through veils of convention to expose the stark reality. This was sufficient ground for uproar within the United Provinces in particular and India in general . 6

The person who became the prime symbol and target of the campaign against Angarey was Dr Rashid Jahan . The religious zealots were unable to stomach the fact that it was a Muslim woman who was rebelling against them and writing about the woman's body. Even her name became Angareywali ( the Angarey Women) Rashid Jahan .7 She had made a pioneering inroad into the literary public sphere and speak not only about women's bodies and sex but also about modernity , science , progress , ethics and epistemology. She is the only woman in the quartet who penned two stories concerning the plight of married women - Dilli Ki Sair ( A Trip to Delhi) and Parde ke Peeche ( Behind the Veil). Rashid Jahan 's "Behind the Veil" is the bitter rant by a married woman who lives her life in seclusion and this story explicits domestic misery. 8 The Angarey’s entire project was troped as a unveiling of hypocrisy and hidden oppresssion . Rashid Jahan as a woman and a doctor wrote about gender , medicine and politics of space . She became an icon of the literary radicalism of Angarey ; decried by some and celebrated by others. In progressive families , she became a symbol of the emancipated woman but in conservative homes, an example of all the worst that can occur if a woman is educated and not kept in purdah. Rashid Jahan portrays the ghastly plight of the women behind the purdah .She also contributed a story which is an attack

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Mahmud- uz -Zafar ; who later married Rashid Jahan made a brief foray into fiction with his contribution to Angarey. His work , Jawanmardi attempts to examines how gender identities are shaped by social institutions as well as the ways in which the gendered subject engages with those institutions. Mahmud -uz- Zafar 's lone contribution to Angarey was the short story "Jawanmardi" (Manhood) which parodies the supposed modernity and superiority of an English educated Indian man who seeks to impregnate his wife inspite of his illness.10

The publication of Angarey is truely a constant struggle against injustice and inequality and hope in social upliftment. The young group of writers of Angarey challenged not just social orthodoxy but also the traditional literary narratives and techniques . It is an attempt to represent the individual mind and its struggle .11 Each of the ten pieces ; dealt with the lives of the most disenfranchised, disempowered and downtrodden. This is the single most important contribution in literary terms which opened the doors for many writers . Angarey was not just a mere collection of short-stories but a sophisticated protest against established traditions and conventions . It was a declaration of a path- breaking testament and was first published in December 1932 by the Nizami Press, Lucknow. In March 1933, the government of United Provinces banned Angarey . However, even after Angarey was proscribed , the four young contributors to the volume - Sajjad Zaheer , Ahmad Ali, Rashid Jahan and Mahmud -uz -Zafar refused to apologize for it.12

However, rather than being cowered by this censorship and harassment , the writers refused to go into hiding or issue an apology . They leave it to float or sink of it. They are not afraid of the consequences of having launched it. From this, it is quite clear that not only were the writers refused to admit any wrongdoing but they were also in no mood to compromise. 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. 13 Instead a statement was issued to the press from Delhi and was drafted by Mahmud -uz-Zafar and signed by him on behalf of all the four authors. They were of the opinion that they have chosen the particular field of Islam not because they bear any special malice but because being born into that particular society ; they felt themselves better to speak and were more sure of their ground there. 14

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On 5th April 1933, Mahmud- uz -Zafar wrote an article , " In the Defence of Angarey" for "The Leader" , a newspaper published from Allahabad. The piece was also reproduced in some other papers, including the "Hindustan Times" subtitled ; " Shall we submit to gagging?". It lashes out against the muzzling of free speech. The article is neither an apology nor an expression of fear. On the contrary , it reiterates the 'Inner Indignation " against the sorry scheme of things" that had found expression in Angarey . It ends with the formation of a league of progressive authors which should bring forth similar collections from time to time both in English and vernaculars of our country.15

It is evident that none of the four writers of the collection were at any point oblivious of the social and political chastisement that would follow its publication . Nonetheless, they had underestimated the severity and extent of hostility it actually generated. Ahmad Ali affirms that we knew the book would create stir but never dreamt that it would bring the house down. The writers were condemned at public meetings and the bourgeois families hurried to dissociate themselves from them ...... they were lampooned and satirized and condemned editorially and in pamphlets..... Their lives were threatened and people even lay in wait with daggers to kill us. 16The next three months after the publication of anthology saw a torrent of abuse and fatwas against the book and its authors ; prompting the government of the United Provinces to ban it on 15 March 1933 under Section 295A of the Indian Penal Code. The proprietor of Nizami Press , Malik Ali Javed had been raided under orders of the city magistrate . He had confessed to his mistake in bringing out the book and apologized in a written statement on 27 February 1933 for insulting the feelings of the Muslim community. He readily agreed to surrender the unsold copies of the book to the government.17

Moreover, it is important to see the banning of Angarey in the context of the over- all strategy adopted by the British. It is equally important to correctly interpret the impulses behind the publication of such a book in the first instance. The overtly sexual references and attack on religion drawn away the purpose of the book that also introduce another sort of writing that is graphic word pictures of a sick and ailing society . It was a self-conscious attempt to shock people out of their inertia and to show them how hypocrisy and sexual oppression had so crept into everyday life .18

The opponents of Angarey were no less eloquent. Many booksellers were reported to have returned the copies of book for fear of irreparable damage to their business. Others claimed that many booksellers fainted at the mere sight of the book. Other were much harsher and declared that writers of a book as offensive as Angarey and should be punished with stoning and if need be hanging. Newspapers like the English daily “Star" published from Allahabad www.shreeprakashan.com [email protected], Vol-6, Issue-6, Jun-2017. Page 200 International Multidisciplinary e-Journal. 22774262. SJIF: 5.744. UGC Approved.(197-204) condemned Angarey in no uncertain terms. Many Urdu newspapers and magazines published similar critical articles and responses. For instance, Haqueeqat published a note against Angarey must be looked at from the technical point of view and be kept at a distance from religion. But a “Note on the Press" from the native newspapers reveals the first inking ferment that was brewing at that time. 19

The controversy which broke out over the writers and their work was on a scale hitherto not seen in South Asia . The Central Standing Committee of the All Indian Muslim Conference , Lucknow , passed a resolution which declared that the meeting strongly condemn the heart rending and filthy pamphlet called Angarey....which has wounded the feelings of the entire Muslim community by ridiculing God and his prophets and which is extremely objectionable from the standpoints both of religion and morality . The Committee further strongly urges upon the attention of the United Provinces Government that the book be at once proscribed. 20

However , this did not stop the onslaught that had been brewing . Fatwas were decreed against the book and its authors. Questions were raised on the floor of the of the United Provinces assembly calling for the prosecution of the authors and suggested punishments included death by stoning or hanging! so it was no surprise that the Government of the United Provinces banned the book in 15 March 1933 under Section 295A of IPC. 21 Such hostility had not been anticipated by the writers who continued with their everyday lives. It was a self-conscious attempt to shock the people out of their inertia and show how hypocrisy and sexual oppression had so crept into everyday life that it was accepted with blithe disregard for all norms of civilized society.22

In short, Angarey drew public anger as it ridicule the prophet and several rituals , customs and practices that were dear to the Muslims. It was the first attempt to mock religion and religious practices. As Angarey was proscribed shortly after publication ; it gave no time to form an opinion on their own . Most of those who condemned the book widely and considered it as blasphemous had not read the book. Moreover, public perception was so banked against the book and its authors that the verdict was influenced by popular perception rather than an informed reading of the text. The colonial government , responding to the reaction from a section of Muslims imposed a ban in what it considered the larger good of the community. The reactionaries had used these weaknesses to make Angarey and its writers the subject of harsh propaganda.23

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Angarey represented the first ferocious attack on society in modern literature. It was a declaration of war by the youth of middle class against the prevailing social , political and religious institutions. Hence, the call at the end, set up a League of progressive authors which signaled the beginning of a realization that writers had to be organized. Thus, Angarey was published as a result of a creative urge of a few young writers .So, its direction being determined not by any foreign influence but by social conditions and the degrading state of society. 24

Consequently, we see the roots of the Progressive Writers’ Movement of 1936 also laid in a small publication that caused an enormous controversy. These four young writers had met earlier in 1932 in Luck now and become great friends. Ahmad Ali recalls that what brought them together was a shared love of art and literature and all were inspired by the strange new world of European culture and were filled with a zeal to change the social order and right the wrongs done to man by man. Although, external influence clearly played a major role in politicizing these writers and it was the struggle for independence which they perceived as oppressive practices that propelled them to write .25

Beyond the Angarey phenomenon , the genesis of the Progressive Writers' Association can be traced back to two curiously disparate influences outside India as well the Bloomsbury Circle with whom both Sajjad Zaheer and Mulk Raj Anand had developed a personal acquaintance i.e. International writers for the defense of culture whose 1935 congress in Paris they attended . In his memoirs, conversations in Bloomsbury consist of vignettes of meetings with luminaries ranging from the Woolfs to E. M Forster, T .S. Eliot, Clive Bell and Lytton Strachey. They draw to the literary brilliance of the European modernists whom he meets and eager to share his work with them. Mulk Raj Anand writes of being attracted to the stimulating intellectual atmosphere of Bloomsbury and drawn to the literary brilliance of the European modernists whom he meets and eager to share his work with them. Out of these encounters grew a desire to create a stimulating literary circle that would reproduce the excitement of Bloomsbury.26

What is apparent is how the controversy surrounding the publication of this work catapulted these writers into the political limelight and left them with no alternative but to defend themselves and their independence.27 Whilst Ahmad Ali and Mahmud -uz- Zafar were conducting the defense of their publication in India , Sajjad Zaheer had been sent to London by his father where he met with fellow Indian students and academics who would gather once or twice a month to discuss stories they had written and the political situation in India and Europe. They responded to call given by Mahmud -uz- Zafar in India with an initial meeting www.shreeprakashan.com [email protected], Vol-6, Issue-6, Jun-2017. Page 202 International Multidisciplinary e-Journal. 22774262. SJIF: 5.744. UGC Approved.(197-204) consisting of six or seven individuals in Sajjad Zaheer 's room in London in late 1934 and set up a committee to organize the Indian Progressive Writers' Association . It consisted of Mulk Raj Anand , Jyoti Ghosh , Promod Sen Gupta , Mohammad D Taseer and of course Sajjad Zaheer himself. 28

However , it was decided that four or five people should draft a manifesto to formulate the aims and objectives of the association. Mulk Raj Anand prepared the first draft and Dr Gosh prepared the second draft which was presented before the committee and finally Sajjad Zaheer was asked to rewrite the whole draft after intensive discussions on the committee. His draft appeared in "Left Review" in London and was also published in ''Hans" by Premchand in India . This meeting attracted about thirty five Indians and Mulk Raj Anand was elected president . The manifesto was adopted unanimously with some minor amendments and taken to India by Zaheer when he returned a year later . It was short but coherent and bold in its declarations. 29

In nutshell, literature can be defined as the truest mirror of the society when it fully reflected the contradictions of social development and showed an insight into the of society and the future direction of its evolution. What is interesting is that literature emerge as a means of criticising "social ills " and impact our senses in unique way. 30 Most writers may reflect awareness about a given social reality but they might not have a critical attitude towards it. In short ,the purpose of Progressive Writers ' Association is to liberate literature and other arts from the fatal grasp of the conservatives.31

However, Angarey ushered a stream of consciousness which was new to contemporary literary scene and this continues to be significant in literature even today. Angarey is the first manifestation of the aesthetic expression and this marks a defining moment not just in Urdu literature but in literatures of many other languages of India .32 This laid the foundation of the Progressive Writers' Association which is by far the most significant literary movement of the twentieth century India. 33In the mid-sixties of the nineteenth century, the Progressive Writers' Movement gradually slowed down and lost its original grandeur.34 But it took an integrated and unified shape and played a significant role in shaping the distinct literary behaviour .This condemned political vandalism, communal outcry, feudal exploitation and cementedly promoted social amity, plural social fabric, humanity and brotherhood. Hence, the historical beneficial role of Angarey and progressive literature cannot be overlooked.35

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REFERENCES:

1. Rakshanda Jalil, Liking Progress Loving Change , A Literary History of the Progressive Writers' Movement in Urdu, Oxford Universty Press, 2014, pp.146, 148. Also in Sajjad Zaheer The Light : A History Of The Movement for Progressive Literature , Oxford University Press, Karachi, 2006, p.6. 2. Vibha S. Chauhan and Khalid Alvi , Nine Stories and A Play Angaray , Translated from the Urdu, Rupa Publications, New Delhi, pp. VII, VIII. Also quoted in Carlo Coppola, The Angare Group: The Enfant Terribles Of Urdu Literature, Annals of Urdu Studies, Vol. 1 , 1981, p.61. 3. Priyamvada Gopal, Literary Radicalism in India, Gender, Nation and the Transition to the Independence, Routledge Publications, New York , 2013, pp. 15-16. 4. Rakshanda Jalil, Op.Cit., p.109. 5. Vibha S. Chauhan and Khalid Alvi, Op. Cit., p.XV. 6. Talat Ahmed , Literature and Politics in the age of Nationalism, Routledge Publications, New Delhi, 2009, pp. 16, 181. 7. Priyamvada Gopal, Op. Cit., p.42. 8. Ibid., p.32. 9. Talat Ahmed, pp.15,181-182. Also in Priyamvada Gopal , Op. Cit., pp. 39, 42. Also in Rakshanda Jalil, Op.Cit., pp. 112-113. 10. Talat Ahmed Op. Cit., p. 15. 11. Vibha S. Chauhan and Khalid Alvi, Op. Cit., pp. VII,VIII. 12. Ibid., p. XV. 13. Talat Ahmed , Op.Cit., pp. 18. 14. Ibid., pp. 17,182. 15. Talat Ahmed , Op. Cit., p. 182. Also quoted in Vibha S. Chauhan and Khalid Alvi, Op. Cit., p. XVI. 16. Talat Ahmed, Op. Cit., p.17. Also quoted in Vibha S. Chauhan and Khalid Alvi, Op.Cit., pp. XVI , XVII. 17. Rakshanda Jalil , Op.Cit., pp. 148-149. 18. Ibid., p.151. 19. Ibid., p.168. 20. Talat Ahmed, Op. Cit., p.16. 21. Rakshanda Jalil, Op. Cit., p. 148. 22. Carlo Coppola , Op. Cit., p.61. Also in Vibha S. Chauhan and Khalid Alvi, Op. Cit.pp XVI, XVII. 23. Rakshanda Jalil , Op.Cit., p. 168. 24. Ibid., p. 18. 25. Talat Ahmed , p.15. 26. Piyamvada Gopal, Op. Cit., p. 23. 27. Talat Ahmed , Op. Cit; p. 18. 28. Ibid., p.19. 29. Talat Ahmed ,Op.Cit., pp. 19-20. 30. Vibha S. Chauhan and Khalid Alvi, Op. Cit.. pp. XX, XXI. 31. Talat Ahmed , Op. Cit., p. 20. 32. Vibha S. Chauhan and Khalid Alvi, Op. Cit. p. VII. 33. Ibid., p. XVI. 34. Ghulam Nabi Khayal, Progressive Literary Movement in Kashmir, Khayalaat Publishers , Srinagar, p.101. 35. Dr. Farooq Fayaz , Review of the book, "Progressive Literary Movement in Kashmir ’’ Daily Excelsior Magazine , Sept. 25 , 2011, p. 3.

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