FROM Benazir Bhutto to Trotsky — that is how I will like to sum up the intellectual journey of a disillusioned poet of our times, Javaid Shaheen. He has lately discovered in Trotskyism the panacea for all our national and international ills, including his own. In fact, after being estranged from the old ones, he stood in a dire need for a new demi-god, and he now has found one in Trotsky. This may well serve as a new source of inspiration for his poetry. After all, he has been constantly writing poetry from the fifth decade of the last century. He must, off and on, have some new emotional drive to increase his urge to write poetry.
Javaid Shaheen’s enthusiasm for his new faith reminds me of his excitement when he was secretary of the cultural wing of the Peoples Party in Lahore. However, his new enthusiasm is a little more concrete. He has already to his credit the Urdu translation of Trotsky’s autobiography. Now he has come out with the translation of National Question and Marxist Internationalism, a study of national affairs by three Trotskiite intellectuals, Ted Grant, Alan Woods, and Lal Khan.
In fact, Javaid Shaheen is as enthusiastic about his new faith as he is about his poetry. So, while being kind enough to give me his newly published collection of verse Dair Sai Nikalnai Wala Din, he also handed over to me this translated volume that has been published by Struggle Publishers of Lahore under the title Qaumi Sawal Aur Marxi Bainulaqwamiat. He expected me to read carefully his newly written ghazals and nazms. As far as his translated volume goes, he also expected me to attend the inaugural function of the book. Giving respect to his new enthusiasm, I attended the function and listened attentively to Trotskiites’ lectures, including the one delivered by Munnoo Bhai.
Javaid Shaheen is not alone in this venture. He enjoys the companionship of Munnoo Bhai. They are the two disgruntled children fleeing from their old ideological home and taking refuge in the folds of Trotsky. Saying goodbye to their dear old affiliation, they are now seen in the company of Trotskiites.
As far as Pakistani politics are concerned, these Trotskiites are new entrants. However, they have not yet been able to make their presence felt in political or even intellectual circles. The early Marxists had staged their entry with a bang. They had the strength to launch a country-wide literary movement known as the Progressive Writers Movement, which even after the partition dominated the literary scene for quite some time, both in India and Pakistan. But they regarded Stalin as their benefactor, and were indifferent to Trotsky. So the poor soul could not earn a place among the icons of the ‘revolution’ during those historic years in the subcontinent.
In the ‘60s a new group of young leftists cropped up. These angry young men were in a mood not to acknowledge anybody other than Mao Tse-tung. They censured the old progressives for being pro-Russian, branded them as revisionists, and rejected them. They were Maoists and had no time for Trotsky or his followers.
During those very years Z.A. Bhutto came out with a catchy slogan of Islamic Socialism, which may be seen as the Pakistani brand of the theory. It too worked well. Many people were seen swayed by this slogan.
But until recently none of these brands was in vogue. The Trotskiites saw it as an opportune moment to come out with their own brand of socialism. But they have not yet been able to attract the attention of intellectuals, even of those with leftist leanings. Should we conclude from this that Trotsky has failed in Pakistan or should we say that the Marxist ideology itself has now lost its appeal? And should it be taken as a result of the fall of the Soviet Union?
Hats off to Munnoo Bhai and Javaid Shaheen, who, despite the insensitivity of the left-leaning intellectuals, have amicably responded to the call of the Trotskiites.
Javaid Shaheen appears very much devoted to the cause Trotsky stands for. But he is a sensitive poet as well. His new ideological fervour must influence his verse. In fact, he has found in Trotsky a new source of inspiration for his poetry.Dair Sai Nikalnai Wala Din also includes his newly written verse, a bit different from what we have been reading in his old ghazals and nazms.
FROM Benazir Bhutto to Trotsky — that is how I will like to sum up the intellectual journey of a disillusioned poet of our times, Javaid Shaheen. He has lately discovered in Trotskyism the panacea for all our national and international ills, including his own. In fact, after being estranged from the old ones, he stood in a dire need for a new demi-god, and he now has found one in Trotsky. This may well serve as a new source of inspiration for his poetry. After all, he has been constantly writing poetry from the fifth decade of the last century. He must, off and on, have some new emotional drive to increase his urge to write poetry.
