July 11, 2004

LITERATURE has always been one of the finest pursuits of mankind, which has not only played an important role in the development of the human intellect, but has also served as a reservoir of historical facts with an artistic perspective. Today, when serious readers feel dejected at the way the quality of literature has deteriorated, the publication of a book like Nuqta-i-Nazar by Abid Hasan Minto is most timely.

Nuqta-i-Nazar contains all that progressive criticism stands for. The scope of topics covered, the depth of analysis and the balanced approach towards developing an argument can be identified as the hallmarks of Minto’s work. It is amazing to note that certain essays written more than three decades ago and contained in this volume have so much relevance to the existing realities of today. One would not like to assume that the reason for this relevance is that nothing much has changed over the last three decades. One would attribute it to the ability of the author to conceive and develop ideas that are valid for all times.

Minto says in his preface to the latest edition that he did revise some of his earlier essays in the light of the new realities but that no major conceptual changes have been made while doing so.

The various articles compiled in the book present a broad array of subjects, which form the basic edifice of knowledge about the relationship that exists between culture, social and religious beliefs and the ideas presented in the literature produced under their influence. “Aaj Mir-o-Ghalib kahan hain” (where are Ghalib and Mir today) sets the tone of the discussion that follows in other articles. It explores the pathos and feelings of deprivation in Mir and Ghalib’s poetry which can be traced directly to the socio-economic culture of their times. This militated against the idea of self-reliance and kept the masses under the patronage of the shahs and the nawabs. Some of these led very decadent and depressed lives as they saw their grip on power weakening.

In the articles titled “Dayimi aqdaar ka mas’ala” (the issue of eternal values) and “Adab ki dawami qadrain” (lasting literary values) an attempt has been made to identify and discuss the universal and timeless literary values, namely those which keep literature relevant in spite of the fast-changing times and social norms. Other articles look into a variety of subjects ranging from religious literature, importance of objective realities in literary criticism, contemporary literature and criticism, and others.

The essay on the genius of the highly acclaimed short story writer Balwant Singh is one of the two articles about a literary personality, the other being an appraisal of Sayyad Mutlabi Faridabadi, a poet not too well-known amongst literary circles and the general readers. Nuqta-i-Nazar, besides throwing light on key literary and cultural issues, also reminds our literary figures that a major prerequisite for literary pursuit is commitment. This is something that one needs to always demonstrate and uphold to make a meaningful contribution and to attain a noteworthy position in the history of literature.

Abid Hasan Minto has been able to demonstrate successfully that belonging to a particular school of thought doesn’t effectively mean that your perceptions will always be myopic. His association with the progressive writers’ movement has definitely resulted in a particular dialectic, but it has not become a barrier in the way of his objective analysis of historical facts and his intellectual appreciation of other ideas.

This is definitely not a book to be missed by anyone having an interest in understanding literature and wishing to learn how different cultural forces exert an influence in shaping the literary contents and forms in a given society. Minto’s language is straightforward, uncomplicated and thus very comprehensible. Given his career in law, his political leanings towards the Left and his commitment to certain ideals, it is refreshing to note that his essays do not have a ring of propaganda about them.

The author does not bring any bias to his analyses, let alone siding with one group of critics as against another. Minto is by all means an original analyst in the sense that he has his own refreshing ideas to share with his readers. It is unfortunate that the same cannot be said about the bulk of criticism that is available in the market today. Research being done in most of our universities in the field of literary criticism suffers from similar drawbacks, mainly because it is spoonfed by a handful of literary academics who would not hear things said otherwise.

Nuqta-i-Nazar thus remains what it promises to be to the last page: an independent viewpoint which one is at liberty to accept or reject. Moreover, it also manages to stay focused on its subject matter: a critical appraisal of Urdu literature and identification of the contexts in which its wider body should be understood. The work can very well be categorized as that of scholarship, though the author makes no such claims, and is recommended as a must-read for students of Urdu criticism in particular.

 

Nuqta-i-Nazar

By Abid Hasan Minto

Multi Media Affairs

21-Nand Street, Sham Nagar, Chawburji, Lahore-54500

Tel: 042-7356454.

Email: multimediaaffairs@hotmail.com

ISBN 969-8483-10-1

368pp. Rs300

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