Toba Tek Singh holds a special importance in the history of Pakistan in many respects. An ordinary village from a century ago is now an important district of the Punjab province. Until some time back, it was a tehsil of Lyallpur (Faisalabad) district. Even before the advent of Pakistan, Lyallpur was known in united Punjab for the first agricultural college and other agricultural activities and experiments. Then this district also has the distinction of being the birthplace of many renowned personalities. The legendary revolutionary of the Indian subcontinent Bhagat Singh Shaheed and the secretary of the Communist Party in united Punjab and former member of the Assembly Sohan Singh Josh too belonged to Lyallpur.
The identity of Lyallpur tehsil and now as Toba Tek Singh district which became after the creation of Pakistan is owing to those literary and political achievements which occurred here or are attributed to it.
Chaudhary Fateh Mohammad addressing a National Awami Party (NAP) Punjab province meeting in Lyallpur (Faisalabad), 1968
First of all, one remembers the classic short story Toba Tek Singh by Saadat Hasan Manto, which he wrote on the sectarian riots which broke out on the occasion of the 1947 Partition of India. Though Manto wrote other short stories influenced by the events occurring during the riots, Toba Tek Singh leaves a really deep impact on the reader. This is the reason that when a selection in Urdu of the stories that were written at the time of the Partition in India in its various languages was published many years ago, this story by Manto too was included in it and the compiler gave the title Kitne Toba Tek Singh Aur? (How Many More Toba Tek Singhs) to the book, owing to the serious effect of this short story. More recently, in 2018, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) named the work among the 100 stories that shaped the world, alongside works by authors like Homer and Virginia Woolf; it was praised as “a classic short story that translates the trauma of Partition through the post-Partition exchange of lunatics across the India and Pakistan border.”
The Kisan Conference at Toba Tek Singh is not just important because Faiz participated in it and because the verses he recited there were made a target of criticism. In fact, this conference itself is an unforgettable historic event.
The day was 23 March 1970. It is an important day in our Indian Subcontinent in many aspects. On this same 23 March 1940 was passed that historic resolution at the annual session of the All-India Muslim League at Minto Park in Lahore, which was named as the Pakistan Resolution afterwards, though the word ‘Pakistan’ was nowhere in it. Now we celebrate this day as Republic Day in Pakistan. It was the also the 23rd of March when young revolutionary Bhagat Singh was martyred in the Central Jail of Lahore by hanging. His martyrdom has left such indelible traces in subcontinental history which still give the sprit of courage to the young generations of today.
A special train named the Kisan Express took thousands of people from Lahore to the desired destination, Toba Tek Singh
The Kisan Conference which took place in Toba Tek Singh on 23 March 1970 is also especially important given that here in united Pakistan it was the last gathering in which representatives of all classes of both wings of the country participated. The conference was presided over by Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani.
Faiz Ahmed Faiz
The president of the reception council of the conference Sardar Shaukat Ali began his welcome address as follows:
Honourable President! The great leader of the workers of Pakistan, Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani, the leader of the workers and peasants of East Pakistan, the leaders of various political parties, labour organizations and students, progressive intellectuals and labouring peasants of villages, workers and ladies! I warm welcome you all from the Reception Committee of the Kisan Conference. You have added a new era and revolutionary chapter in the history of Pakistan by participating in this grand conference of peasants and labourers. For the first time in West Pakistan, workers, revolutionary students and intellectuals by participating in such large numbers in this great gathering of peasants have indicated the people’s unity without which no far-reaching change in Pakistani society can be effected.
It is clear from the aforementioned words of Sardar Shaukat Ali and the participation of representatives of various classes in this gathering that this gathering was a full expression of class consciousness and unity to all extents and purposes, which is unparalleled in our recent history.
A scene from agrarian movements in Toba Tek Singh in our times
Sardar Shaukat Ali proceeding further, explaining the purpose of the conference in his welcome address, says:
The biggest objective of this Kisan Conference is to fix the attention of the working masses and progressive workers of West Pakistan on the agrarian problem, and to tell the people that the Pakistani people can never stand on its feet until the agrarian problem is solved. The economy of Pakistan can never be freed from the fist of imperialist powers, and the agrarian problem can never be solved until the agrarian revolution is begun.
These extracts from Sardar Shaukat Ali’s welcome address supply the ideological foundation of the conference. But the estimate of the conference being a great crowd and its form and expanse was made by Taoos Khan, a labour leader of his time, as follows:
On the evening of 22 March walking in the tent from one end to another when I saw its length and width I was surprised. I was surprised that what was the need of such a big tent and prayed to God to preserve the good name of the peasants and workers. But on the second day when I reached the conference at 10 am, I was surprised to see the whole tent was full. Thousands of men were standing outside the tent right and left and a flood of peasants was coming in from outside which spread from the tent for hundreds of yards onto the vast field and roads. I danced with joy seeing this. I kept raising cries of Kisan Zindabad, Peasant Worker unity Zindabad.
The late Taoos Khan very much danced with joy seeing this massive crowd in this great and unique gathering of peasants and workers at Toba Tek Singh but how did this great multitude reach Toba Tek Singh?
A special train named the Kisan Express took thousands of people from Lahore to the desired destination (Toba Tek Singh). Likewise, thousands of workers from interior Sindh and Karachi accompanied by peasants arrived by the Shaheen Express.
(to be continued)
Raza Naeem is a Pakistani social scientist, book critic and award-winning translator and dramatic reader, currently based in Lahore, where he is also the president of the Progressive Writers Association. He can be reached at razanaeem@hotmail.com
Raza Naeem is a Pakistani social scientist, book critic and award-winning translator and dramatic reader based in Lahore, where he is also the president of the Progressive Writers Association. He can be reached via email: razanaeem@hotmail.com and on Twitter: @raza_naeem1979
