Writers of the world unite!

Side-effect
In the midst of this chaos that engulfs us as a country and society and under the thick clouds of depression and misery that cast a heavy shadow on our existence, the display of enterprise and resilience by some offbeat individual or a group of Pakistanis – be it in the realms of culture, sports, campaigning for human rights or academic achievement – never fails to surprise and impress.
These one-off acts, or rather modest movements generated by some people, have not yet formed the necessary critical mass to take the country and society out of the multiple forms of crises we face. Overall, we continue to remain socially regressive, ethically impoverished and intellectually challenged. Nevertheless, the increasing cynicism as a result of our social conditions must not make us undermine the significance of such random or well thought-out acts like a Pakistani woman scaling Mount Everest and campaigns like Muslim citizens clamouring for minority rights. In these lie the possibility, the hope, the prospect and the chance of setting the course right for the country and its people.
It was Rahat Saeed from Karachi, a veteran political and cultural activist and former editor of the quarterly journal, Irtiqa, and Imdad Akash from Islamabad, a poet and writer actively associated with what remains of the Progressive Writers Association in Islamabad and Punjab, who took upon themselves the mammoth task to organise a conference of the African-Asian Writers Union in Islamabad, spread over three days. They mobilised civil society institutions like Strengthening Participatory Organisation and state institutions like the Pakistan Academy of Letters to come to their assistance.
Official support was rather moral in nature and even so came along after things had already been organised. A range of volunteers, from young women and men associated with ‘Speak up for peace’ to individuals like Arif Taj and Tariq Shahid, came forward to support the initiative. Held under the ideological umbrella of the Afro-Asian People’s Solidarity Organisation, the general theme of the conference was ‘Designs of global hegemony and the role of writers in the defence of culture, heritage and peace’.
From local luminaries including IA Rehman, Kishwar Naheed, Taj Haider, Dr Jaffer Ahmed, Dr Ayesha Siddiqa and Dr Tariq Rehman to foreign delegates like Helmi Al-Hadeedi, Mohammed Salmawy, Ali Javed, Yug Pathak, Saadullah Newand and Dr Sukhdev Singh, more than 40 creative writers, poets, authors and journalists from six countries spoke over three days.
There were four concurrent workshops also held, which dealt with four fundamental questions derived out of the general theme of the conference. The first question raised was about the possibility of determining a cogent and coherent view of the gathered writers on the continuously evolving global cultural hegemony spearheaded by western states.
As expected, after lengthy discussions, the participants of the workshop dismissed cultural imperialism in any shape or form and reiterated the long held demand of oppressed classes and nations to end the effects of colonialism on our lives, states and societies. It was deemed important to ‘decolonise’ the mind, the spirit, the languages and literatures and the art. From Edward Said’s seminal work on the subject, ‘Culture and imperialism’ to Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s editorials written in early 1980s in Lotus, the journal of Afro-Asian writers published from Beirut, many relevant works were quoted from and referred to.
The second question was to delineate the role and responsibilities of writers to defend and secure African and Asian heritage(s) and whether this role is being imposed upon them from outside, meaning political compulsions to further a cause, or being voluntarily accepted by the writers. It was emphasised by some that in the quest for beauty, truth and freedom, it is the inner voice of a writer – the voice of her/his conscience – that determines any role or responsibility the writer chooses for her/himself.
In the same workshop, ‘heritage’ as a concept in contemporary times was also discussed. It was emphasised that heritage is not something that can be relegated to the past. It lives within us, as individuals and societies, and writers as the voice of their people safeguard and promote this lived heritage.
The third question, linked to the second, that came under scrutiny was how to define our cultural values and the role writers need to play to promote these. Not only did this question attract critical debate, there was a consensus that like heritage, cultural values cannot stay fixed. There is a continuous need to shed traditional anti-people practices that masquerade as culture and promote universal human values embedded in local cultural practices.
The fourth and final question was about the role writers must play in promoting peace and harmony in human societies across the world. Establishing peace has been the key objective of progressive writers since the beginning as they believe that food security, decent livelihood, democratic political culture, secure future of our children (and existence per se) are under grave threat if there is no peace in the world.
Writers, paradoxically, even had to participate in the fight against oppressive forces in Spain, Egypt, Vietnam, Palestine, etc to establish justice and peace. However, the use of the pen as the ultimate weapon against social oppression, economic exploitation, ignorance, narrow-mindedness and religious extremism continues to this day and will continue until the vision for a peaceful world is not realised.
Since this was an opportunity for writers and delegates from different parts of the country and region to come together and deliberate more thoroughly on our local and regional issues, they came up with some specific thoughts and resolutions. They unanimously supported the government of Pakistan’s most recent efforts to rid the country of hatred, war and terrorism through all possible means.
They, however, insisted on a pro-people post-conflict political and administrative strategy to rehabilitate the affected population and to systematically invest in the tribal regions for the prosperity of people at large. They also extended support to all Muslim countries fighting extremism and terrorism and striving to establish democracies.
Writers from different parts of Pakistan were of the view that the means to contain global cultural hegemony lie in our acceptance, appreciation and promotion of our diverse national cultures and heritages. As far as cultural values are concerned, Pakistani writers emphasised their belief in shared cultural values and heritage between people without discrimination or difference in the name of caste, creed, race, religion or sex. Pakistan is a multi-religious society with Muslims forming the majority population. All citizens, irrespective of their faith, should be equal in the eyes of the state and treated with respect and dignity.
The presence of Afghan delegates in the conference and the candid exchange of ideas hinted at the role writers from both sides can play to bring the two countries closer. There was a strong support for the initiative for peace between the governments of Pakistan and India and the policy of the current Pakistani government to resolve all outstanding disputes through peaceful means. The peace process can be strengthened by exchange of writers, books and publications across the border.
I may disagree with some of the analysis offered during the course of the conference and the resolutions made about the role of writers, particularly creative writers, in today’s world. However, what is hugely refreshing is the increasing belief in democracy among left-wing writers and political workers in the developing world. Perhaps the demise of the Soviet Union and the complete switchover of Communist Party-led China to a global capitalist economy have contributed to this change in thinking and approach.
If we may recall, with some exceptions, the original impetus of 19th century socialism was profoundly democratic in nature which was professed mainly by Marx and Engels. They desired and struggled for the awakening of the masses from the stupor of centuries. The high level of economic development they advocated was not an end in itself for them but a milestone in the way to achieve the real goal – all humanity living with respect and dignity.
The writer is a poet and author based in Islamabad.
Email: harris.khalique@gmail.com