Kalra, V. and Shalini, S. (eds.) (2016) State of Subversion: Politics in Twentieth Century Punjab

263 Pages·2015·0.79 MB·English

by  Glyph Graphics

State of Subversion
This volume looks at the interface between ideology, religion and
culture in Punjab in the 20th century, spanning from colonial to
post-colonial times. Through a re-reading of the history of Punjab
and of Punjabi migrant networks the world over, it interrogates the
term ‘radicalism’ and its relationship with terms such as ‘militancy’,
‘terrorism’ and ‘extremism’ in the context of Punjab and elsewhere
during the period; explores the relationship between left and religious
radicalism—such as the Ghadar movement and the Akalis – and the
continuing role of radical movements from British Punjab to the
independent states of India and Pakistan.
Expanding the dimensions on the study of Punjab and its historical
impact in the South Asian region, this book will interest scholars and
students of modern Indian history, politics and sociology.
Virinder S. Kalra is Senior Lecturer in sociology at the University
of Manchester. He is the author of Sacred and Secular Musics:
A Postcolonial Approach (2014). Widely published, his areas of
research include Punjabi popular culture, British racism and themes
in creative resistance.
Shalini Sharma is Lecturer in colonial and postcolonial history at
Keele University. She has written on radical politics in Punjab and
is currently working on Indian intellectuals and the USA.
Introduction (cid:31) i
South Asian History and Culture
Series Editors: David Washbrook, University of Cambridge, UK
Boria Majumdar, University of Central Lancashire, UK
Sharmistha Gooptu, South Asia Research Foundation, India
Nalin Mehta, Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of
Singapore
This series brings together research on South Asia in the humanities and social sciences,
and provides scholars with a platform covering, but not restricted to, their particular
fields of interest and specialization.
A significant concern for the series is to focus across the whole of the region
known as South Asia, and not simply on India, as is often the case. There will be a
conscious attempt to publish regional studies and bring together scholarship on and
from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and other parts of South Asia.
This series will consciously initiate synergy between research from within aca-
demia and that from outside the formal academy. A focus will be to bring into the
mainstream more recently developed disciplines in South Asian studies which have
till date remained in the nature of specialized fields: for instance, research on film,
media, photography, sport, medicine, environment, to mention a few. The series will
address this gap and generate more comprehensive knowledge fields.
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iNi ew(cid:31) PerAspmecittivae sShah and Jharna Pathak
State of Subversion
Radical politics in Punjab
in the 20th century
Edited by
Virinder S. Kalra and
Shalini Sharma
Introduction (cid:31) iii
First published 2013 as a special issue of South Asian History and Culture
(Vol. 4, No. 4) by Routledge, UK
First published in hardback 2016
by Routledge
1 Jai Singh Road, New Delhi 110001, India
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
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Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2013, 2016 Virinder S. Kalra and Shalini Sharma
The right of Virinder S. Kalra and Shalini Sharma to be identified as the author of the
editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in
accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in
any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter
invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trade-
marks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record has been requested for this book
This edition is for sale in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and
the Maldives only.
ISBN: 978-1-138-95642-1 (hbk)
iTvy pe(cid:31)s et Ainm Siatbao Snh 1ah0 /a1n2dp tJ hbayr Gnaly Ppaht hGarkaphics Private Limited Delhi 110 096
Contents
List of Illustrations vii
Notes on Contributors ix
1 State of Subversion: Aspects of Radical Politics
in 20th Century Punjab 1
Virinder S. Kalra and Shalini Sharma
2 Progressives, Punjab and Pakistan: The Early Years 13
Kamran Asdar Ali
3 Majlis-i-Ahrar-i-Islam: Religion, Socialism
and Agitation in Action 45
Tahir Kamran
4 An Unfulfilled Dream: The Left in Pakistan ca. 1947–50 74
Ali Raza
5 Alternative Politics and Dominant Narratives:
Communists and the Pakistani State in the Early 1950s 102
Anushay Malik
6 ‘In One Hand a Pen in the Other a Gun’:
Punjabi Language Radicalism in Punjab, Pakistan 130
Virinder S. Kalra and Waqas M. Butt
7 The Indian Workers’ Association Coventry
1938–1990: Political and Social Action 156
Talvinder Gill
8 A Long Strange Trip: The Lives in Exile of Har Dayal 188
Benjamin Zachariah
9 Communism and ‘Democracy’: Punjab Radicals
and Representative Politics in the 1930s 218
Shalini Sharma
Index 00
Introduction (cid:31) v
This ground-breaking collection of essays significantly enhances
our understanding of the political formations of colonial and post-
colonial Punjab, with particular attention to the Pakistani Punjab and
diaspora … [The book] provides insight on a pragmatic and region-
specific politics that promises to inform a broader understanding.’
Anne Murphy, University of British Columbia, Canada
vi (cid:31) Amita Shah and Jharna Pathak
Illustrations
Figure
9.1 Starred questions in the Punjab Assembly 1932–40 240
Table
9.1 [TBC] 241
Introduction (cid:31) vii
viii (cid:31) Amita Shah and Jharna Pathak
Contributors
Kamran Asdar Ali is Associate Professor of Anthropology, Middle
East Studies and Asian Studies and the Director of the South Asia
Institute at the University of Texas, Austin. He is the author of
Communism in Pakistan: Politics and Class Activism, 1947–1972.
Waqas Butt is an independent researcher, former Lecturer in
Anthropology at Qaid-e-Azam University. He is the author of The
Life of Pakistanis in the Netherlands. He is currently Head of transla-
tion and interpretation services at Stoke City Council.
Talvinder Gill is an independent researcher who obtained his PhD in
History from the University of Warwick, on the topic of The Indian
Workers’ Association Coventry, 1938–1990.
Tahir Kamran is a notable Pakistani historian, currently the Iqbal
Fellow at the University of Cambridge, as professor in the Centre of
South Asian Studies. He has authored four books and has written
several articles specifically on the history of the Punjab, sectarianism,
democracy, and governance.
Virinder S. Kalra is Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University
of Manchester. He is the author of Sacred and Secular Musics:
A Postcolonial Approach (2014). Widely published, his areas of
research include Punjabi popular culture, British racism and themes
in creative resistance.
Anushay Malik is currently Assistant Professor in the History depart-
ment at the Lahore University of Management Sciences. Her PhD
thesis focused on the labour movement in Lahore and was com-
pleted from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University
of London in 2013.
Ali Raza is Assistant Professor in History at the Lahore University of
Management Sciences. His interests are in radical politics in Punjab in
the mid-twentieth century. His PhD focused on theIn Ktriortdiu Kctiisoann P(cid:31)a rtyix.
x Contributors
Shalini Sharma lectures on colonial and postcolonial history at Keele
University. She has written on radical politics in Punjab and is cur-
rently working on Indian intellectuals and the USA.
Benjamin Zachariah is a historian and postcolonial theorist. He is
the Indian Council for Cultural Relations Professor of South Asian
History, Orientalisches Institut, University of Halle-Wittenberg, and
Senior Research Fellow, Cluster of Excellence ‘Asia and Europe’,
Heidelberg University.
x (cid:31) Amita Shah and Jharna Pathak