PESHAWAR: Politics, literature and life are indivisible part of society that reflects historical progress, human development and prevailing complexities.

This was stated by Dr Akhtar Ali Shah, former home secretary and IGP, during a seminar organised by a think tank and conducted by Dr Sher Zaman Seemab, according to a statement issued here on Tuesday.

Dr Akhtar said that human life had multiple political and social dimensions related to the society, state, nature, instincts and biological needs. It evolved from Stone Age to the current technological era, he added.

He said that society, which organised human life, in itself had different stages of development starting from family, tribe, feudalism and capitalism.

Dr Akhtar said that each stage of human development had its own means of production and corresponding relationship of production with the society and its progress had amply been illustrated by Karl Marx.

The essence of superstructure revolved around mode and relations of production, because as the means of production changed and advanced the structure of society changed that gave control and command to the class having control over modes of production.

“Now what happens that the superstructure commands the laws, ideas, philosophy, poetry and literature, each and every sector of the society starts glorifying the class structure,” said Dr Akhtar.

However, the concept of dialectical materialism remained intact and society evolved due to its own inherent contradiction, he added.

He said that those having comprehension of the contradiction of the exploitative system spoke against the contradiction and injustices through the medium of literature, politics and in the form of theories like the critical theory.

Ayub Shah, MPA, Yawar Naseer, a leader of PPP, Dr Noor Jehan, former vice-chancellor, Dr Shaukat Amirzada, a leader of ANP, Engineer Sher Aman, Engineer Arif, Engineer Gul Bahadar Khan, Noor Mohammad Mohmand, Yahya Khalil, agriculture expert Saeed Khan, Advocate Syed Hammad and Advocate Immad Khalil also spoke on the occasion.

Published in Dawn, June 9th, 2021