KARACHI, Jan 28: Speakers at a book launch on Wednesday praised well-known critic Prof Mumtaz Hussain for proving that even literary classics were not without progressive ideas.

They also underlined the need for publishing those works of Prof Mumtaz which have been out of print for long. The literary committee of the Arts Council of Pakistan, Karachi, in collaboration with the Prof Mumtaz Hussain Literary Committee and publishing house Sheherzad, launched a collection of Prof Mumtaz's essays. The book is titled Adab aur rooh-i-asr.

Poet and scholar Sahar Ansari recalled that in his famous book, Roshnai, Sajjad Zaheer had lauded the works of Prof Mumtaz, calling him a young and a promising writer. "In his book, Zikr-i-Hafiz, Sajjad Zaheer, who was a mentor of Prof Mumtaz, discussed the progressive ideas and thoughts in literary classics. Prof Mumtaz, who was acquainted not only with English, Urdu and Persian literature but also with philosophy and history, followed in the footsteps of his mentor."

He said that while Prof Mumtaz had espoused Marxist ideas and philosophy all his life, his views were not dogmatic. He added that Prof Mumtaz had revised his views and opinions in the light of new events and realities on a regular basis.

Reading out a well-written essay, poet and teacher Shahida Hasan said Prof Mumtaz had always linked literary criticism to social consciousness. She said: "Prof Mumtaz turned to literary criticism in 1946. At that time progressive ideas were fast gaining ground in the subcontinent. The Pakistan Movement was also in full swing. Prof Mumtaz formed his world view under the influence of Marxist thought in those turbulent days," she said.

Ms Mumtaz briefly reviewed almost all the essays of the book. Commenting on Prof Mumtaz's essays on Ghalib, poet and columnist Zahida Hina said he had argued that the great poet had profited from the ideas of Raja Ram Mohan Roy during his famous trip to Calcutta (now Kolkata). "At present, rapprochement with India figures very high on the list of the government's priorities. But Prof Mumtaz spoke about normalization of relations between the arch rivals when such talk was considered seditious."

She said that if Prof Mumtaz had been alive today, he would have urged young writers to take on the forces of oppression and tyranny. Journalist Hasan Abidi recalled that initially he and other supporters of Marxist philosophy had great difficulty in understanding the works of Prof Mumtaz whose writings were thought to be opaque, if not entirely unintelligible. He added that the problem was solved to a large extent afterwards when he and his like-minded friends became more acquainted with progressive ideas and Prof Mumtaz made his prose facile and easy to understand.

Former Karachi University vice-chancellor Jamil Jalibi spoke about Prof Mumtaz in a light-hearted manner. He said that Prof Mumtaz was very outspoken, to the point of being blunt. Speaking about Prof Mumtaz's flinty candour, Mr Jalibi recalled that as director of the National Book Foundation he had once refused to publish the book by a woman writer. "When she told him that her book had been praised by a certain professor, Prof Mumtaz lost his temper. He said that the professor was 'an ass'."

Mr Jalibi praised Dr Asif Farrukhi, the compiler and publisher of the book, for taking the first step towards remembering Prof Hussain, who died on 15 Aug, 1992. Naqqash Kazimi, Asif Farrukhi and Dr Nayyar Aziz Masoodi also spoke.