Pakistan’s social-democratic conscience - II

The social ethics of a nation do not deteriorate in a day. First one beam is eaten by termites. Then a second and then the third. If it is not restrained then one day the whole building falls with a thud. In Pakistan too, democracy and civic freedom were similarly doomed. It began with small instances but no one paid any heed and the termites kept hard at work from within.

When working-class forces asked other parties to join them in a struggle for political freedoms, they were contemptuously dismissed as “enemies” of the state. If such leftists were arrested under the Safety Act, of what concern could it be to the big parties? How could they know that a time would come when all political parties would be deemed enemies of the state; the constitution abolished; assemblies dissolved; political parties deemed illegal; and the freedom of assembly, speech and publication taken away from all.



In the National Assembly Mian Iftikharuddin was the sole individual who warned the nation about these impending dangers and whenever civic rights were compromised in even the slightest manner, he raised his voice against this with full force. In this connection, a minor incident of February 1948 can be cited which gives indication of the way the wind was blowing.

Mian was the President of the Punjab Muslim League in those days. One day two representatives of the C.I.D. police barged into the Muslim League office and said that they would write down the proceedings of the session of the provincial Executive Council. Mian said that this kind of undemocratic act neither took place under the British Raj nor in the time of Khizar Hayat. The C.I.D. people said that they had been ordered from above, thus the compulsion. The Muslim League was itself in power at the centre and in the provinces. The C.I.D. people did leave at Mian’s protest, but neither the central government nor the central Muslim League questioned the C.I.D.

In my opinion, Mian's greatest achievement was the launch of Pakistan Times, Imroz and Lail-o-Nahaar

In 1953 when the movement for Khatam-e-Nubuvvat began at the signal of the Muslim League provincial government and the government of Khwaja Nazimuddin enacted martial law in Punjab, Mian strictly censured this measure in theNational Assembly. He said that when the whole country was ablaze in 1947 and blood had become cheap in Punjab, nobody had dared to impose martial law. For him the government of Pakistan was reviving the tradition of General O’ Dwyer!

Mian had said, addressing the government benches: “…you people who are supporting Martial Law should remember that today Martial Law has been imposed in one province, tomorrow it will be imposed in the whole country. Then you will find out what are theresults of depriving the democratic rights of the people.”

This prediction of Mian was fulfilled within just five years. The rehearsal had been the bloody drama which had occurred in Punjab in 1953. That drama was then played in 1958 on the stage of Pakistan.

Mian’s speeches on constitutional problems prove his far-sightedness and mature perception. At that time, when there were many other difficulties in the path of constitution-making, the greatest impediment was the problem of division of powers between West Pakistan and East Pakistan. The ruling elite of West Pakistan was not prepared to give East Pakistan its democratic rights; although the latter was bigger than the former in terms of population. Mian proposed a confederation to solve this puzzle. He believed that the only way to address the complaints of the people of East Pakistan and the suspicions which had developed was to give complete provincial autonomy to East Pakistan –where the centre should only be responsible for foreign policy, defence and currency. The short-sighted national leadership failed to consider such options.They had thought that they could appease the people of East Pakistan by buying the so-called representatives of East Pakistan present in the National Assembly. If even that did not work out, it was believed in corridors of power, the Bengalis could always be tamed by the use of force.

Today we all are well aware of the consequences of this dangerous policy. Provincial autonomy was denied to East Pakistan and the result was that half of the country separated itself. Arguably, little has been learnt from this bitter experience. To flout democratic values by force has become a national habit.

The terminology of Islamic Socialism was also used for the first time in the National Assembly by Mian Iftikharuddin.

Mian was of the opinion that the internal contradictions of the capitalist system had become evident and now conscious people everywhere were feeling that the only solution to the social and economic problems of the people was that all the means of production – land, industrial enterprises and commercial institutions – be made the collective property of the nation rather than the private property of individuals. He felt that the creative capabilities of individuals can only develop in this manner. Whilst making a speech in the National Assembly, he had said that by subjecting Pakistani economic policy to the interests of the Anglo-American bloc, the economic and industrial progress of the country had been stopped. He argued that Pakistan ought to sell raw materials to the socialist countries and enhance commercial relations with them so that key industries could be set up. But who would hear Mian’s lone voice in the drum-house of the National Assembly? The best of it is that six or seven years later, the same gentlemen who used to call Mian an agent of Moscow were forced to enhance trade relations with the socialist countries in times of contingency!

The same situation also presented itself in the case of foreign policy. At the time when the government was enhancing Pakistani alignment with the Western bloc in the Cold War, Mian was the lone voice in the National Assembly who had protested against this dependency, which he considered a national shame. He clarified the actual nature of the American aid and noted that it was more of a dependency trap. Mian also severely criticised the Cold War military pacts with the US. He believed it was folly to imagine that the United States would come from across the seven seas to help Pakistan militarily when needed. Events very quickly also proved the truth of these views. Mian insisted that Pakistan should neither join any bloc nor accept the marginalisation of any great power; but should adopt an independent foreign policy. On the same basis, he was also a strong opponent of the Baghdad Pact and CENTO.

Mian felt that if the compulsion from martial law authorities had been so severe, they ought to have simply closed down the papers themselves. "Why are you blackening your face and mine by compromising with the Martial Law?"

In my opinion, Mian’s greatest achievement was the launch of Pakistan Times, Imroz and Lail-o-Nahaar. The example of the valuable services that these journals rendered in raising the political and social consciousness of the country and broadening the intellectual horizons will be difficult to match in the history of Pakistan. Arguably, no publication in the country has till today been able to reach the high standard of literature and journalism achieved by these journals. Mian was neither a writer nor a journalist, but his personality had such magnetic attraction that the eminent writers and journalists of the country would gladly participate in the institutions that he set up – and the majority among them were those people who could have earned better wages in other government and non-government institutions. But where could they have found the environment of freedom and independence at Progressive Papers? Mian never told anybody to write this or that. At Progressive Papers, people used to work by their own choice and wrote whatever they wanted. Mian also never made these papers the source of his personal publicity. He roamed across the world and participated in lots of events, but the reports of his activities was never published in these papers – not even information about his arrival and departure. Mian sometimes used to say in jest: “Friends do write a few lines about me, after all, I am no less of a good-for-nothing than Daultana and Feroz Khan Noon.”

Mian would participate in the editors’ meeting as if he were not the owner of these papers, but a guest. He would argue for hours, and he would also object to things – but he never expected that his associates would agree with him, and nor did he ever force the latter to accept his opinion. If the workers of Progressive Papers Limited remained busy with passion and sincerity day and night to improve the papers, herein lay the secret.

The difference between the performance of a free person and that of a loaded pony was revealed when Field Marshal Ayub Khan usurped control of Progressive Papers Limited.

Immediately upon coming to power, the administration of Ayub Khan began by arresting the Chief Editor of Pakistan Times and the editors of Imroz and Lail-o-Nahaar. He appointed military censors over the papers. Obviously not a single sentence could be published against the martial law in these papers, but the Ayub Khan regime was not content even with this. Three or four months later, when the above-mentioned journalists were released by order of the High Court, Progressive Papers Limited and all its assets – in which Mian also had shares worth 50 lakhs (Rs 5 million) were taken into government custody under the Security of Pakistan Act.

The Security of Pakistan Act was present even before Ayub Khan. Political workers were arrested under it and bails were obtained from newspapers or they would be closed down; but not even Ghulam Muhammad and Iskander Mirza had gone so far as to directly usurp control over newspapers. This is not to suggest, of course, that in terms of authoritarianism they were far behind the Field Marshal.

As per my information, it was a few intellectuals, who were the ‘favourites of the King’ in those days, who had suggested to the Field-Marshal the mechanism by which to control Progressive Papers Limited. They did not know that the sword which they used against Progressive Papers would one day be used on them. Josh Malihabadi noted accurately that:

In life, retribution is a principle strong

Always on target, sparing neither right nor wrong

Mian’s spiritual capital was taken from him. His bungalow was searched. His property of Angoori Bagh was confiscated. False cases were instituted against him. A police guard was appointed at his gate but there was hardly a crease on Mian’s frown. He persisted with the usual. The same arguments and keeping awake at night; the same laughter and wit; the same jokes and chuckles – though he always had the regret that his newspapers laid down arms before the martial law without putting up a fight.

When martial law was imposed, he was under treatment in London. Friends tried their best to reason with him – that he ought to let the storm abate a little, and then return. But he did not agree and returned to Lahore. Sibte Hasan reminisced about when Mian met him and other ex-employees of Progressive Papers. Mian appeared very serious, contrary to the usual routine. He told them: “The way you people are with the Martial Law, you should be awarded the Sitara-e-Khidmat!” When these people told him of the compulsions they faced, his face flushed.

Mian felt that if the compulsion from martial law authorities had been so severe, they ought to have simply closed down the papers themselves. “Why are you blackening your face and mine by compromising with the Martial Law?” Those present at the meeting gave several arguments to the effect that papers must remain alive ‘for the sake of country and nation’. They argued that readers understood these difficulties – and that was why the readership, instead of decreasing, was actually increasing. Mian responded in a very bitter tone that if they set out to sell the paper while naked, publication might increase further!

Sibte Hasan further remembers the day when he went to meet Mian on the second or third day after his separation from Lail-o-Nahaar. It was spring. Mian’s mansion had become a scattering of flowers in the true sense. There was a C.I.D. and police guard at the gate and Mian was seated in the balcony of the lower terrace. By coincidence, the workers of Progressive Papers Limited were gathered in this meeting. Mazhar Ali Khan, Abdullah Malik, Hameed Akhtar, Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi, Mian Mahmud Ali Kasuri, Syed Ameer Hussain Shah and Mian Maqsood, etc. Abdullah Malik and Hameed Akhtar were insistent that they wanted to resign, although Ayub Khan had applied the Essential Services Act to the workers of Progressive Papers Limited.

Mian was reasoning with Abdullah Malik that there was absolutely no need to be emotional and that they must never resign. When Sibte Hasan reached there, Abdullah Malik suggested that he be consulted. At this Mian laughed loudly and said that people who had already been fired could be exemplified by the saying “Sweetheart we ourselves are drowning, but we will also take you down with us!”

Then he became serious and said, “I have never given orders to you till today. But for the first time today, I am ordering you to stop thinking about resignation. Martial Law will not remain forever, nor will Ayub Khan. Progressive Papers will one day become a national institution again, whether I am there or not.”

Mian was a heart patient since long but his speed and energy forever remained the same. He tried to bear the trauma of Progressive Papers, too, with laughter. But in this, perhaps, he could not succeed. The reality is that Mian Iftikharuddin never died his own death but was done in by the martial law of Ayub Khan. But today neither that martial law remains, nor those who imposed it.

The poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz, who was Mian Iftikharuddin’s friend and ally, paid tribute to him in the following verses of his timeless ghazal:

(I am) mountain when I stop; (I am) beyond life when I walk

I have, (turned) every step on the path of the beloved into a memorial 

Raza Naeem is a Pakistani social scientist, book critic and an award-winning translator and dramatic reader currently teaching in Lahore. He is also the president of the Progressive Writers Association in Lahore. His most recent work is an introduction to the reissued edition (Harper Collins India, 2016) of Abdullah Hussein’s classic novel ‘The Weary Generations’. He can be reached at: razanaeem@hotmail.com