The Indian cultural and their
relevance to national reconstruction:
As reflected in Urdu short stories, during 20th century
Urdu language and literature has a long and colorful history that is
inextricably tied to the development of that very language, Urdu, in which it is
written. While it tends to be heavily dominated by poetry, the range of
expression achieved in the voluminous library of a few major verse forms,
especially the Ghazal and Nazm (poetry), has led to its continued development
and expansion into other styles of writing, including that of the short story,
or Afsana. Urdu literature is principally popular in India and Pakistan.
Additionally, it enjoys substantial popularity among South Asian immigrants in
North America, Europe and Middle East and usually around the world. It is widely
understood in Afghanistan. Urdu is finding interest in North American, European
and South Pacific Asian countries primarily through South Asian immigrants.
Urdu language and literature aspires to be one of world’s leading language
providing innovative, responsive and high quality job opportunities all over the
world. i hope to enable individuals to realize and develop to the fullest their
educational and intellectual potentialities; promote social and human values in
order to build a strong character, as also inculcate scientific temper and moral
values; to facilitate pursuit of knowledge and academic excellence in the light
of call of times.
Urdu language and literature has a long and colorful history that is
inextricably tied to the development of that very language, Urdu, in which it is
written. While it tends to be heavily dominated by poetry, the range of
expression achieved in the voluminous library of a few major verse forms,
especially the Ghazal and Nazm (poetry), has led to its continued development
and expansion into other styles of writing, including that of the short story,
or Afsana. Urdu literature is principally popular in India and Pakistan.
Additionally, it enjoys substantial popularity among South Asian immigrants in
North America, Europe and Middle East and usually around the world.. Urdu is
finding interest in North American, European and South Pacific Asian countries
primarily through South Asian immigrants.
Stories and other forms of expression in literature all over the world are the
strongest medium for reflecting the nuances of a particular society. Urdu is a
modern language which emerged in the Indian subcontinent and reflects most aptly
the composite heritage of the Indian people in all its dimensions. The language
was adopted by the Hindus and Muslims alike and also became a prominent vehicle
of our anti-imperialist struggle. Its rich vocabulary, multiple forms of
expression, popular script and its ability to cater to the taste of the learned
and the common men alike has made the language an important tool of historical
reconstruction. Among all its form, Short stories in Urdu is the most important
carries of our recent historical past. There has been an indomitable line of
scholars writing Short Stories in Urdu who while popularizing the language also
made a formidable contribution in strengthening our composite culture and
heritage. There is a vast corpus of Urdu Short Stories in 20th century which has
not been assessed with the perspective of revisiting our historical past
particularly with the objective of national reconstruction. This Article
describing important elements of Hindu-Muslim culture and integration and their
relevance to national reconstruction attempts to highlight the traces of a
common heritage. Herein lays the relevance of Urdu Short Stories in reflecting
the elements of this common identity. This Article will make a brief survey of
the trends in Urdu Short Stories writing and will suitably contribute to a
socio-historical reconstruction of the 20th century India. It will also help in
shaping our perspective of a common Indian heritage.
A question has often troubled my mind. This pertains to the relation that exists
between the cultural life of a nation and its literature. The question appears
to be related to a known fact, and everybody somehow or the other know that
culture is nothing but a pleasant feeling which is the outcome of a balance
struck in public life by art, literature, philosophical thoughts, life style and
material developments.
In a classified society its state caters differently to different classes, but
the existence of cultural life is related to the ability to control the methods
of production.
What is cultural? It can be said that cultural is the manifestation of the
highest character resulting collectively from the different aspects of the
internal and external lives of a nation and is greatly loved by the people, and
also serves as an identity for the people of that nation. The struggle to make
and preserve human identity birth to national culture.
The cultural is acquainted with its past and keeps contact with the pace of the
general development of the world. It makes a boundary within which different
developmental aspect of a nation like feeling-esoteric and material and
different kind of aspirations are confined. Time and again it rebuilds and
maintains this boundary. It supports the boundary in such a way that the
necessities of the national life can be fulfilled according to the need of the
time. It moves forward gathering all these strength which it has received in the
past. I think all these ingredients are the theme of a nation’s life. In this
way culture becomes the place of emergence of a nation’s conscience of its life.
But its standard never becomes general because cultural ideas are not the wealth
of every class in the society. This is the reason why a part of cultural
development of literature in its bilingual from express its effect on the life
of a man which at time appears to be juxtaposition between man and the group.
Some confusion also appears at times between various groups. Literature plays a
major role in projecting this confusion. In the expression of the people. in
this way it is nearer to the society in expressing cultural aspects of different
groups than any other medium.
Every country or nation has its national cultural wealth or capital, even if
that nation is not cultured, but it tries to protect its identity. To do that it
lays a string foundation. This foundation helps that country during bad times.
Music, dance and drama, stories, folk-lore’s, proverbs and fairy tales etc. are
the part of that foundation. If an analytical study is made, it will come to
light that all the above mentioned activities have their national character. But
all these activities have an ultimate goal to help human beings. Had it not been
so, achievements of centuries would have been broken into pieces. It is quite
natural that after every change of the epoch of history a part of literature and
cultural is destroyed.
But what so ever, some part of literature or cultural survives this turmoil
which becomes the mirror of the soul of that nation. However, these is
possibility of improvement in that cultural or literature, which is the mirror
of the development of that nation and has survived many testes and tribulations.
National literature is also the literature of Humanism. This can be found for
example in the literature or epics of that country. Why is it so? Because so far
dreams and its fulfillment are concerned, for living a happy, prosperous and a
life full of development, there exists similarities to a great extents. To make
others subservient, to sow the seed of dissension between different groups,
thinking that by looting happiness can be achieved etc. are not as basic and
lovely as the idea of ‘to live and let other live’. These ideas have taken birth
in a particular political situation and in a particular groups therefore,
literature does not express glimpse of that unstable race which cannot be called
ideal of humanism. In fact they are enemies of humanism and values. The aim here
is not to throw light or make an analysis of the literature only takes those
parts which national crises has traversed and accepts ideals of humanism. Only a
particular group and its blood strained history or punish all gods can not
become the part of literature.
The actual difficulties of associating the cultural life with literature have
not been done by scholars very openly. Generally, literature is considered as a
medium to express an individual’s thoughts or the results of thinking prioress
of self evaluation. In this context, in addition to the individual controversy,
these days controversy between groups and individuals has them in its body. But
in the literature of the world one can find the resolve of love, and desire to
live. Almost in every race, national cultural and national life have influences
the literature in one form or the other. But they become historical part of
literature. That part of literature of Germany and Italy which are full of
violent incidents and blood thirsty wars and represents the bad intentions of
Mussolini and Hitler have been dropped even in those countries. Not only that
they are on the verge of being obsolete but also they are not to become part of
international literature. The biographies of Mussolini and Hitler are being
studied by the students of only. Generally speaking, the life style of
aristocratic classes of these two countries reflect an image which cannot be
called ideal on humanistic grounds. In this controversy it becomes difficult to
judge the aspirations and imagination of a literary person which is part of the
national culture or group culture of that country. It is true that a large part
of any literature is the result of an author’s individual creation which is not
only the fruits of his thinking process but activities of individual creation
which is not only the fruits of his thinking process but activities of so many
groups are also inserted into it. But many scholars try to find something from a
dash between a group and an individual. They find some essential elements in
this controversy. A substantial part of the building of mind-analysis is erected
on this fictitious tales that a man helps the society in compulsion. Otherwise
man’s individuality wants to remain aloof from society. This hypothesis leads to
other confusions, because these necessities of a man are termed as the
collection of natural habits, which on one side cannot be changed an on the
other side it is said that every man cannot become equal to others in fulfilling
his dreams. Therefore, these two matters are true-neither the nature of human
being is unchangeable nor the society is an enemy of an individual. Therefore,
an author wants to impose his personal ideas and ideals on the society. It means
that he opposes that part of idealism of the culture which humanity has achieved
after years of struggle and which does not believe in the capacity of the man to
progress.
Common struggle of human beings from the time immemorial has given birth to it
and it does not have faith in the future of man but its nature is like a fixed
nail – A belief like above cannot do any good for a literary man or literature.
In this case relation between literature and culture will be fruitless because
individual ideas and resorting to violent means will be very dangerous and
social responsibilities of literature will not do anything for its betterment.
Generally it will not become part of the cultural life. A good literary figure
maintaining his personal identity-cult continues to help the society and common
people by his literary struggle. He represents the community’s ideals in the
garb of his own ideas. Literature is a cultural way of behavior and any
institution of culture is not merely the result of a single person’s personal
struggle. In this the heart of a nation should be impulses. An ideal is
determined by those basics of culture which have been produced by creations for
centuries and are also the result of struggle of construction. By this a
distinct culture and their followers are also known. Ideals are being changed,
but in the race of culture, its identity can be seen. In the ancient literature,
moralistic teachings of human friendship, love and art were main emphasis, which
became nodal measures for judging the literature. All those flights of ideas
were inter-spersed with economical, social and civil lives of that time. These
were agricultural based. But as the time passed human struggle became intense
and thinking patterns also changed. In the struggle of overcoming nature and its
phenomena, men changed themselves. But it does not mean that physical appearance
of a man also changed. A wonderful result came in the form of machine power. By
different kinds of machines a man enhanced his power by several folds.
The machine life periscope and telescope enhanced the astronomy of thinking man.
The discovery of engine fastened the motion of man and he started feeling
stronger. In this process so many of his misconceptions either changed or were
converted into beliefs. He would have believed more in the potentiality or the
capacity of men. Breaking the barrier, a man’s ideas started taking new
directions. New possibilities were also discovered. The meaning of change is
that by the change of physical condition the conscience of man is also changed.
Now whatever will be the ideals in them, there will be a new look, it will be
widened. There will be belief in the capacity of man. About the nature, there
will be new thoughts. But it does not mean that there will be hate in place of
love, immorality in place of morality and human personality-cult it may be
possible, but for a developed cultural-life of a nation, it is impossible.
Therefore, that part of the old culture which are symbols of humanism, greatness
and survival will also find some place in new cultural life. The methods of
getting them can be different, but its survival can not become extinct. It will
give momentum to the life and it will also represent the national character of a
country. It will help that country to establish some relations with its past.
This is the reason why no country ever becomes ready to change its language and
its literature.
Now if we accept this fact that a literature is the medium of representing the
cultural idealism, and by this the soul of a nation is identified, then it is
obvious that it must be protected. Literature itself becomes a medium to protect
itself. Here it is not necessary to go into details of it but the reality is to
point towards it. Can a literature help in changing inner core of a person or
does it change only some external aspects of life of a man? The answer to this
question lies in the fact that the role of literature defines the making of a
nation wealthy or poor. This is the main point of philosophical discussion of
the present age.
Now it is difficult to ascertain that the conscience of human being is the
product of material condition or physical condition. In other words it can also
be asked that the physical condition of gain is the by product of human
conscience. But a learned man who has studied history or the history of
philosophy will readily accept that man himself produces physical changes or
conditions according to his needs. By this physical change a man’s conscience is
also changed. It does not happen immediately that a man wants to destroy this
world and the next moment the world is destroyed. Any destruction comes through
physical changes. That is the reason why the map of the world does not change
merely by thinking in the mind. That thinking process must be accompanied by
physical change. A change is the intrinsic nature of a human being. This change
comes through the national play of human beings. In this course, conscience of
human being is increased. A literature plays an important role in increasing
this conscience of human beings.
This role of literature becomes even more important when the world is passing
through turmoil when there is danger of war and the culture is on the verge of
collapse. Here literature plays an important role in uniting every part of the
world. In place of destruction, a help can be sought for the development of
particular areas and the people of that area can reap the fruits of development.
Somewhere physical change is helping the humanity. But in some parts physical
change becomes a danger for humanity. Here the role of a literary person becomes
important. He has to choose his way cautiously. He should bring that part of the
culture before human beings, which will become helpful in reflecting the
culture. This decision will have to be taken in the light of that civilization
which produces history. The history is not merely the personal conflicting
opinion of some historians but is the result of struggle of millions of people
against tyranny of travesty of life. That is why the greatest literature of the
world find place in greatest wealth of culture in the world.
India is a country which has an ancient history. From the very beginning people
of different faiths came here and settled here. They have intermingled in such a
way that it is very difficult to ascertain their earliest groups or faiths.
India has witnessed so many storms of politics. It has been flooded with
different cultures. Every new culture effected some change in the earlier
culture and also enriched the existing one. This gave birth to a new society
that is called Indian society. That is also called Indianans.
India is counted among those few countries which have witnessed the rise and
fall of different civilizations. Even after this rise and fall of civilizations
some internal current of these have survived. It is this internal currents that
binds different groups together. Invaders came here and they were overpowered by
this culture. They accepted the culture of this soil and started living
smoothly. Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians and Parsees started looking at this
vast country as their mother land. India became the centre of different
religions. Here the bond between different groups became stronger than blood
relations.
Philosophies of different religions contributed a lot in shaping Indian lives.
Starting from Dravida to the invasion of English people, it enriched the culture
of this country. Different elements of philosophies contributed to the culture
of this land and enriched them. In this way there emerged a new culture that is
called the Indian culture.
Infact beginning of sowing the seeds of Indianness should be considered from the
inception of Muslim rule. Muslims brought the cultures of Arab, Iran and Iraq,
and having encountered the cold and free breeze of different rivers and fertile
tracts, became fascinated with this land. Now, they had only limited emotional
relations with Arabs.
Muslims accepted the way of life of this land, started obeying rules of
governance and also accepted other realities of life. These Muslims had brought
the concept universal brotherhood with them. They did not have any obstacle like
caste – rigidities when they intermingled with local population. In this way
when they established their rule here, they behaved in the same way as the
subject people. Muslims thought it immoral to obstruct their festivals and other
rites and rituals. Muslims had a different way of life when they put their feet
here. They had different language. Here the way of living of Indian people was
not lower than those of Muslims. At the same time the way of life of Muslims was
also not inferior. In this way there was equilibrium between them. This
equilibrium gave birth to a third way of life. The same condition arose on
language front. In the development of this culture Lodhi rulers played an
important role. But the role of Mughal rulers becomes more significant because
they engaged Rajputs in matrimonial alliance and provided them religious freedom
in addition to a share in the administration appointing them at high places.
During Mughal period in particular and medieval period in general Hindus and
Muslims were very close to each other due to way of cladding. At that time
hardly any instance of communal violence is recorded.
In addition to Muslim rulers, independent rulers separate from the Mughal
Empire, also contributed specially in the development of Indian culture. These
empires were very far from the periphery of the central rule of the Mughals.
Both Hindus and Muslims came together and established an efficient
administration. It helped in augmentation of the cultural life of India . Here
mention may be made of some prominent rulers who contributed a lot in this
cultural development. e.g. Alauddin of Bengal and his son Nusrat Shah, Mohammad
Quli – Qutab Shah and his successors of Golkunda and Ibrahim Adil Shah of
Bijapur.
Kashmir was very far from Delhi . But its ruler Jainul Abideen who was
nick-named “Budalshah” tried to shorten the gap between Hindus and Muslims. He
was known for his impartiality and generosity. He brought back those Brahmins
who had been driven out by the tyranny of Siknader Shah.
The greatest cause facilitating fraternity of people was rhea liberal, and
generous Rule of Muslims based on two philosophies of universal brotherhood and
equal Treatment of all subjects. If the facts is accepted that the culture is
the creation of Human beings then it obviously becomes clear that it is done
during the lifetime of human beings. Then by the unification of Hindus and
Muslims a new culture developed in this country. It gave birth to a new
language, which sprung as the synthesis of two cultures of Hindu and Muslims.
But it came to the front as the sole medium to represent Indian culture. The
Urdu language is the result of Hindu and Muslim unity. In this way Urdu became
an Indian language in which men from different religion wrote and accepted it by
heart.Therefore,its utility and importance Cannot be denied for sketching a
National life of India.
The cultural history of human beings witness rises and falls. It is directly
proportional rapid change of time. Urdu has also witnessed changed. But one can
find different kinds of Urdu Dastana, Kahani, Upasnayasa, Gajala, Najma, Qasida
And Masanawi etc. Its domain is limitless in which the culture of the Ganges and
Yamuna can be seen. In the light of this aspect here is an effort to make a
study of Shorts stories of Urdu and its impact on Indian life and culture. These
stories of Urdu are not only a live representation of society and culture but
they also contain A description of common culture of Hindus and Muslims.
Civilizations in their basis forms exhibit the way of life, rituals, and
production of their time. After an intense struggle they take the form of
culture. In English they are christened as civilization and culture. If one
wants to explain the civilization of Mohenjodaro and Harappa,it will be
experimental. But a culture which comes after, civilization incorporates in it
the memories of past. This help is further development in one-way or the other.
In the recent past, clash between Dravid Aryan, Islamic, Arabic, English and
French civilizations are instance of historical phenomena. But to write them it
took a lot of time. Its evaluation should be from sociological point of view
rather than historical point of view. According to a German scholar, culture
always takes births in holidays i.e. in leisure time of humans. But it is
undoubtedly clear that the foundation of a culture takes place not during the
fulfillment of bare necessities of human beings but during their leisure and
extra time.
Dance, Drama, Songs and literature are the best medium to express any culture.
It does not mean that the highest forms of culture have no bearing on the
physical need of human beings. It does happen but it (culture) needs some
vacations.
Afsana of Urdu and beginning of the twentieth century started simultaneously.
Urdu took in its fold stories and many more other information.
Centuries old tyranny of the English has also found a place in the Urdu
literature. It also incorporates in its arm the actions of those traders on
whose supports English ruled this country. Urdu literature was also enriched by
the writings in different language prevalent at the same time as English. It
also kindled a hope of future struggle of Indian independents being engineered
by revolutionaries at the time.
A fine balance between civilizations and culture on one hand and librations the
other can be found in the form of Shairy of Urdu. So many articles and books
have been written in the form of shairy. Prominent writers of such writings Are
Mira ji, Nazeer Akbar Iilahabadi, Iqbal and many others. They have openly
praised the Hindu way of life, Ritchuals and customs followed during different
festivals. They have also taken something from the poems and verses of Hindu to
augments Urdu literatures.
One can read the last phase of the writings of prame chand. He has taken
different characters from different literatures. By this he has created and anal
gammadion of characters that can be characterizes as belonging to Indian
culture.
A literature cannot get the position of highest placed among literatures of the
world, if it does not include in different currents of civilizations. The
composite form of different religions takes a secular characters of literatures
that id perhaps the best forms of Urdu literatures here in this country. Stories
if literatures are different from political secularism. Stories are perhaps he
best examples of composite cultures.
Presence of civilization and culture in stories are essential factors to make it
real stories.
As pen and paper are essential factor writing anything, so are the civilization
and culture necessary ingredients of a stories. Plot of a stories prepared by
happenings. In different happenings a belief is made by different characters.
Civilization and culture get their support from the narration of characteristic
happening and in its backgrounds.
Biasness in the stories spoils the aim. A writer has to take a balance view. His
aim is not to denigrate and one culture and to praised other cultures.
One of the prominent causes of India’s poorly has been traditional method of
agriculture. An Indian farmer has become victims of exploitations by the English
floods, and scant rains etc. People started doing industrial works inside their
house to get rid of them.
After that the English people band goods produced by these workers. In this
course British rule in India supported foreign goods a they despised locally
produced goods. Slowly, local markets did not compete with well-developed and
planed policy of British. Village and cotton industries which where the basis
for the self-sufficient economy of village and cities were also closed. Workers
became unemployed. They started towards towns. An Urdu literature has narrated
all happenings during British period through different shorts stories.
Now in the town laborers were asked to work for nearly 14-18 hours. They were
not paid regularly. They had to live in small rooms like animals. These rooms
did not have even basic facilities like light; drain system for water, windows,
proper kitchen etc. They were compelled to lead a life of animal. A protest was
but natural. Urdu literature in the form of stories reflected the situation.
Life of laborers before freedom was very pathetic. This entire thing has been
elaborated in different stories of Urdu literature.
After independence, condition of workers and labors classes improved. They had
now more freedom, and appose the bad rule and regulations of factories owners.
The government gave satisfactory compensation to these workers. There conditions
improved in comparison to that of previous situation. Time and again workers
gave call for strikes. In this way workers, over all condition improve. They
were now paid daily allowance, traveling allowance, dearness allowance, pensions
and gratuity etc. All these expect have been elaborated in Urdu literature.
Now it cannot be denied that the condition of lab our classes improved. But it
is also a fact that they were under the clout of the capitalist classes. They
were not able to freedom from capitalist or owner-classes. Capitalist classes
were exploiting some how or the other them. So many classes have come to the for
society. It has given birth to superiority and inferiority complex among the
laborers.
After independents, Zameedari system was abolished through the constitution. But
big and wealthy farmers became more conscious politically and they started
exploitation of the other marginal workers the village. They capture power in
the punchayat and subjugated poor fallows of the village. By hook or crook they
encroached upon the lad of poor farmers. In this way wealthy people went on
becoming wealthier and become poor became poorer. Landless laborers and bonded
laborers used to serve big farmers and other money Landers even after
independents. Lower cast people of villagers used to serve upper castes and
other dominants classes. When education became prevalent in those classes they
revolted against these. They were not ready to beer the brunt of Bramans,
Thakurs, Kayasthas, and others money landers. Naxalite movement arose as one of
the revolutionaries struggle against dominating land owning classes. In some
states MCP and people’s war group (PWG) become active. Fight between these
classes and upper castes became eventual. All these things have got place in
short stories of Urdu.
Urdu literature could not remain at the periphery of this entire incidence. Urdu
stories have been influenced to a great extant by these uprisings. In Urdu
stories exploitations by Zameedars, money Landers, and capitalist classes have
been nicely narrated. At the same time struggle of lab our classes, depressed
subjects and uprooted laborers have also got due position. A life full of
struggle and ups and downs of laborers has been sketched prominently in Urdu
stories. Stories have included all these situations after independents. In these
stories writers have described all those factors by which a change in the
society has been effected. After independence lab our class has been progressing
very fast. Therefore, class –struggle has been also intense in nature. Strike
has become day-to-day business and factories have been locked up for not meeting
the rights of the workers. Developments of new and advance machines are also in
the news and development of industries related factors. But they have given
birth to new problems. Urdu writers have also discussed at length these
problems. Among these problems, unemployment is the supreme. In addition to
these there are other problems like non-functioning of machine, injury to the
worker while working or laborers-death at that time of working due to failure of
machine. In such incidents, no proper care of laborers by the owners and
excitement workers on such incidence etc. adds to the problems. Urdu writers had
included all these phenomena in their writing. Not only this but also all kinds
of dissatisfaction about not achieving desired goals or result in the society
has been elaborated by Urdu writers in their new short-stories. Prominent
writers of this classes are Krishna Chandra, Hidayatullah Ansari,Rajender Singh
Bedi,Asmat Chughtai,Khaja Ahmed Abbas, Ram Lal,Mehendra Nath, Iqbal Mateen,
Ilyas Ahmed Gaddi, Yogendra Paul,Hans Raj Rahber, and Bal want Singh e.t.c.