Leadership in the Progressive Writers’ Movement, 1935–1947

Abstract

Abstract A study of organizational issues among Urdu writers in the Progressive Writers’ Association from 1935 to 1947, based on Russell’s contacts with writers and key written sources. The movement aimed to harness literature to social and political aims, bringing it closer to the concerns of ordinary people. Russell describes the political climate of the time, the anti-imperialist struggles, and the sympathy towards communists and others committed to an egalitarian social agenda. He points out contradictions in the attitudes of early leaders such as Sajjad Zahir; their unconscious attitudes as members of the educated elite, often from the landlord class. The organization sought to win support from established writers such as Premchand, and attracted many Urdu poets and short story writers. Though organizationally they were not equipped to achieve their original ambitious aims, they achieved considerable success in producing a new kind of literature that appealed to a much wider audience.