Renowned progressive thinker and writer, Syed Sibte Hasan, and his scholarly work acquire eminence seen in the context of the society he lived in, and the state whose policies he, along with millions of others, suffered. He sought to promote rationalism and scientific mode of thinking in a society in which obscurantism was deeply embedded in norms and practices.

Sibte Hasan spoke about critical thinking, challenging the orthodoxy. He stood for the supremacy of people, thus denouncing authoritarianism whether operating in the society or the state.

Sibte Hasan was a prominent figure of the Progressive Writers’ Movement (PWM) and was a pioneer of the Progressive Writers’ Association (PWA), which was founded in 1936. He, along with Ali Sardar Jafri and Israr ul Haq Majaz, edited the Association’s literary journal, Naya Adab.

In the later life, he remained associated with PWA’s activities. In 1985-86, he was one of the central figures behind the Association’s renaissance, which took place amidst its golden jubilee celebrations held in London, Karachi and Delhi.

Under the influence of PWM, a rich corpus of literature was produced. Scores of creative writers made their names in fiction and poetry. Part of this literature produced in Urdu, and other native languages of India, was of such high standard that it could be placed with the first class world literature.

In literary criticism also, Progressive writers employed new and contemporary tools of literary judgement. However, a weaker side of this new thrust of progressivism was that it could not make many inroads into the social sciences.

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Particularly after independence, emphasis was more on creative writings while history, sociology, political science, anthropology, etc., did not see noticeable contributions by the progressives. It is also true that the oppression that was let loose against those who held democratic urges had not left much space in the society for serious academic work. Universities which cultivate creative thinking were deprived of a culture of inquiry and research.

The individuals who paid attention towards serious social and political writings were quite few. Allama Niaz Fatehpuri who, following the footsteps of Sir Syed, had an impressive big corpus of rational literature to his credit and who had dispelled the unscientific beliefs and thoughts from a high academic pedestal, migrated to Pakistan in 1962.

But by that time he had consumed most of his energies and before he could specifically address the socio-political issues confronted by Pakistan, he died in 1966. In Pakistan, the earlier and more substantial torch-bearers of enlightenment came in the form of Ali Abbas Jalalpuri and Sibte Hasan, to be joined later by Mubarak Ali and a few others.

Sibte Hasan took to serious social writings after an exhaustive career as a communist political worker, a Politbureau member and a journalist. As a worker, he underwent trials of imprisonment and persecution. As a journalist, he served in Payam, Qaumi Jang and Lail-o-Nihar (as editor).

Perhaps it was his occupation with journalism that widened his horizons as well as interests. Therefore, when he chose to write on serious social and historical matters he at once got involved with diverse disciplines. His books cover a wide range of disciplines -- socio-cultural history, history of ideas, politics, anthropology, etc. What makes all of his work attractive for the thinking minds are his objectivity and a rational and historical approach, all grounded in a profound understanding of Marxism and its tools of analysis.

Sibte Hasan’s first book, Shehr-i-Nigaaran, being his memoirs of Hyderabad Deccan, drew criticism from a traditional segment for the author had severely criticised the feudal set up of the princely state whose cultural attainments were certainly acknowledged by him.

His next book, Maazi ke Mazaar, was a major work in Urdu on the subject. It delves into the creation of beliefs in ancient societies and looks how these beliefs became institutionalised to give form to what is identified as established belief systems in the subsequent societies.

Pakistan mein Tehzeeb ka Irtiqa came following the break-up of Pakistan in December 1971. It was the times when the fate of the rest of the country was questioned in international quarters, and even in Pakistan there was a lot of confusion about why the country dismembered and how the rest of it could ensure its survival.

Sibte Hasan believed that in the first place the diversity of the Pakistani society should be acknowledged and what are relegated as regional cultures should be recognised as full-fledged and legitimate constituting components with the integration of whom a Pakistani identity can be created.

This narrative was completely opposite of the centralised mindset prevalent at the level of the rulers who had denounced cultural diversity of the country in the name of religion. Sibte Hasan also traced Pakistan’s history at the level of the society departing from the hitherto trend of official and traditional historiography focusing solely on the history of the rulers.

The next work came with the title of Musa say Marx Tak which is a history of socialist thought from the ancient times to the nineteenth century. Sibte Hasan distinguishes between the utopian and scientific socialisms and writes in detail what these stood for. The book is free from jargons and presents its content in very simple language, a fact that has made it reader-friendly. The book has run into a number of editions.

In 1979 Iran underwent a long spell of internal strife resulting in an Islamic Revolution under Ayatollah Khomeini’s leadership. Sibte Hasan had been interested in Iran because of its rich literary history. Way back in the 1940s, he had written an article in Naya Adab, on "Daur-i-Mashroota ki Shayri".

He was well-versed in nationalistic trends in the Iranian history. Thus, when Iran underwent a revolution he was quite equipped to accept for himself an assignment to research and write on what had happened in Iran. Thus, there came the Inqilaab-i-Iran, a timely and well received book.

In the book, Sibte Hasan analysed the social context of the revolution, the forces that were galvanised by it and the role of religion in it. He was also in a position to suggest that Iran had to still go a long way to attain a true democratic revolution. To him, Iran was heading from the monarchy towards Ayatocracy, and the ultimate revolution was still far away.

During General Ziaul Haq’s military rule when the whole society was subjugated in the garb of Islamisation and the claims of the military rulers that they were transforming the country into an Islamic state, Sibte Hasan came up with Naveed-e-Fikr in which he traced the roots of political Islam in the nineteenth and twentieth century and how it had come to serve the military regime’s purpose. He exposed at length theocracy and its exploitative character.

Similarly, he dispelled the misgivings and misconceptions created about secularism. He also took pains to explain the nature of the political collectivity organised in Medina after the Holy Prophet’s migration to it. Sibte Hasan held that establishment of a state was not a part of Prophetic missions because many Prophets did not establish a state in their times, and if others did so it was due to the circumstances of the times rather than as a part of the Prophetic mission.

Sibte Hasan died in April 1986, a little before the publication of his first English book, The Battle of Ideas in Pakistan, which comprised almost all those themes covered in Naveed-i-Fikr. However, there were two additional articles whose themes were not covered in the latter. These were Iqbal’s Concept of Man and The Battle of Ideas in Pakistan.

Sibte Hasan’s six books have been published so far posthumously. Sukhan Dar Sukhan, a background study of Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s poetry was compiled by Hasan Abidi. Ahmad Saleem compiled Sibte Hasan’s editorials as Pakistan kay Tehzeebi aur Siyasi Masail.

Four of Sibte Hasan’s posthumous books were compiled by this writer. These are Afkar-i-Taza, Adab aur Roshan Khyaali, Moghunni-i-Atishnafs: Sajjad Zaheer, and Marx aur Mashriq. It may be mentioned that at least three other books of Sibte Hasan comprising his scattered writings are in the process of editing and printing.

It is not difficult to say that Sibte Hasan has contributed wholesomely in the promotion of enlightenment in Pakistan. His works are much more important today than these were in his lifetime because of the fact that the country has drifted more and more towards obscurantism and extremism since he breathed his last. Not only this but there is a need to enhance the efforts to counter the above forces. Sibte Hasan’s pursuit of enlightenment needs to be the pursuit of as many conscientious people as possible.