My life and struggle – III

Fayyaz Baqir

NSO launches itself 

First Major Political Statement

Visit of American Student Delegation to Punjab University in Lahore

From November 1969 to December 1970 – when the first general elections were held in Pakistan – the National Students Organisation (NSO) found many strategic opportunities to demonstrate its power. In the meanwhile, organisational work to establish NSO units continued inside and outside of Lahore. Details of various units, their conveners and activists will follow, along with a description of a show of power by the NSO in dealing with some major events. Subsequent to the ban on the Punjab University (PU) students union led by Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba’s (IJT’s) Barik Ullah Khan by the Governor Amir Muhammad Khan, a Students Council was handpicked by the university administration to deal with student affairs. A Students’ Affairs Department was also established. Some of the prominent members of the Students Council were Shahid Nadeem, Munawwar Hayat, Khwaja Salim, and perhaps Rao Usman.

The architectural and educational design of the PU’s new campus and many of its new departments like the Administrative Sciences Department, Institute of Education and Research (IER) and Applied Psychology were inspired by the American educational system and funded with US assistance. As part of a youth development initiative under the new educational system, a cultural exchange programme between Pakistani and American universities was also started.

These were the ‘hot days’ of the Cold War. Pakistan had agreed to be a frontline ally in the Central Treaty Organisation (CENTO) and the South East Asia Treaty Organisation (SEATO) military alliances with the west to encircle the Socialist Camp in the name of breaking the Iron Curtain. Joseph Simpson Farland assumed the charge of US Ambassador to Pakistan in these days. Mr Bhutto expressed his anxiety over Farland’s posting in Pakistan. He thought that Farland might try to influence the national elections in Pakistan. Maulana Maududi, who had recently returned after his medical treatment from Buffalo, USA, had threatened that Pakistani communists will be treated the same way as communists were dealt with in Indonesia. It was estimated that one million communists were killed in the massacre that followed the overthrow of Indonesia’s Seokarno during Farland’s tenure in Indonesia. Seokarno had led Indonesia’s war of independence against the Dutch colonialists and was one of the leading five members of the Bandung Conference who emerged as the leaders of the Third World. This created fear, anxiety and the expression of public anger against perceived US designs in Pakistan. This was the time when US campuses were echoing with the slogan “Ho, Ho, Ho Chi Minh!” and Anti-Vietnam War sentiments. The World Bank’s American President and former US Secretary of Defence Robert Strange McNamara had said: “Hunger is the major communist ally in Asia.” The Chinese Communist Party had introduced the slogans: “East is Red”, “Americans, Leave Asia” and “US Imperialism is a Paper Tiger”. The Soviet leadership added to the anxiety by ‘disagreeing’ with Mao on the paper tiger statement and saying: “US Imperialism is a Paper Tiger with Nuclear Teeth.” The air was filled with anti-imperialist emotions.

This was also the time when an American student delegation visited PU as part of the US cultural exchange programme. It was the second half of 1970. Members of this delegation were hosted by the Students Council and planned to deliver speeches, play music and mix with local students. Their reception was held on the third floor of the Students’ Affairs Building at PU’s New Campus. The NSO made strategic use of this event to declare its presence and demonstrate its power. A group of leading NSO activists including Imtiaz Alam, Zaman Khan, Khalid Mahmood, Arif Raja, Shuja ul Haq, Fayyaz Baqir, Manzoor Ijaz and their allies like Idrees Khatana got seated in the middle of the hall. As soon as the programme started the hall was filled with roars of anti-American slogans: “Down with US Imperialism”, “Yankees go back”, “Asia Surkh Hai” (Asia is Red) and “Americans Leave Vietnam”.

The memory of Mohammad Ali (Clay)’s imprisonment on his refusal to be drafted for the Vietnam War based on his Islamic beliefs was fresh in many minds, as well as his poem, “White man’s paradise is black man’s hell”. The cultural programme’s atmosphere got charged with these expressions of anti-imperialist anger. The hosts were very upset and soon a physical brawl started. The NSO agitators could have been overpowered but they were joined by Palestinian and Bengali students. Eventually the organisers agreed to allow the protestors to raise questions to the visiting delegation after the musical performance. A very hot and hostile exchange of views followed.

The NSO had succeeded in making its presence felt and appeared on the radar of the university administration. Imtiaz made the point by asking questions in Urdu and insisting on the answer being translated for him into Urdu. Khwaja Saleem volunteered to translate. Idrees Khatana, one of the leading figures in the anti-Ayub movement on the PU campus, questioned why no black student was part of the American delegation. I still remember his question: “So many blacks in America, no black in the delegation; why?” Most of the questions were about the US role in the Vietnam War and its opposition to the freedom struggles of people in Palestine, Iran and other parts of the world. This event established NSO’s credentials as a vocal nationalist and anti-imperialist student organisation in PU. It also raised the NSO’s profile as a formidable force on the university campus.

Interestingly, something similar happened at the Nishtar Medical College in Multan. Ambassador Farland decided to visit the college and a big crowd of students gathered to welcome him on both sides of the passage leading from the college gate to the main building. The local administration made all the security arrangements and dispatched police and intelligence personnel to keep an eye on the crowd. Multan had been a centre of the anti-Ayub student movement and progressive politics. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto had announced his candidacy to contest the election for the National Assembly seat from Multan. Due to Mr Bhutto’s statement about Farland’s posting, progressive youth were charged with anti-American feelings. As the car entered the college gate, it slowed down. There were cheers, claps and slogans and the security people were busy watching the mood of the crowd. All of a sudden, a zealous teenager moved close to the Ambassador’s car, snatched the US flag fluttering on the bonnet of his vehicle, and disappeared into the crowd. There was some commotion in the crowd, some slogans and counter-slogans but the young man disappeared. The act was so spontaneous and so sudden for the security personnel that they watched it in dumb silence. No one could imagine such a display of anger, defiance and courage. But the statement had been made. People did not trust Americans.

Although it was a period of the US honeymoon with Pakistan’s right wing parties, the public mood was completely different. The local administration tried in vain to trace the ‘culprit’. No luck. It is ironic that one of the local religious leaders running against Bhutto in the election for the local seat, when questioned about his views on Farland, responded, “We want cordial relations with every country, whether it is Greenland, England or Farland.”

May Day 1970

May Day brings with it the message of the workers’ power, dignity, courage and international solidarity. It has been celebrated with fervour and excitement by left wing intellectuals, political parties, trade unions and student organisations in Pakistan. The International labour song (Internationale) became closely associated with this day. In the 1970s this song was translated into both Urdu and Punjabi and used to be sung on occasions related to May Day celebrations. As a mark of international solidarity, some of Pablo Neruda’s poems translated into Urdu after the overthrow of Salvador Allende’s democratically elected socialist government by General Pinochet were also recited in public rallies. In 1970 May Day was celebrated in a unique way in PU. PU students joined the big processions taken out on the streets and trade union rallies and marches on this day. It is interesting that this day is celebrated in memory of the success achieved by the Chicago workers for getting their demand for an eight hour work day accepted after their blood was spilt on the streets, but one does not hear anything about this event in the US on May 1st.

At midnight on April 30, 1970, Comrade Nazir Ahmad Chaudhry, an NSO member, along with two other Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) activists Yusuf Hamdani (aka Yusuf Bhara) and Ehsan Ullah Khan, hoisted a red flag on top of the university auditorium. When the new day dawned on campus the red flag was fluttering on the rooftop of PU New Campus’ auditorium. It could even be seen in the distant residential neighbourhoods of Wahdat Colony and Rehmanpura. No one knew who had hoisted the flag. But it seemed to be a statement that the PU is Red (read communist). For the PU administration, it appeared like a blatant attack on the ‘piety’ and ‘sanctity’ of their institution. The culprits had to be found and punished. Same was the view of the right wing IJT.

The NSO contingent had left for the Labour Hall at Nisbet Road in the morning to attend the May Day ceremony organised by the Hydroelectric Power Workers Union (aka WAPDA Union) led by Bashir Bakhtiar, and other trade unions. The popular slogans of those days were: “Talib Ilm Inqilab ka haraval dasta hain” (Students are the vanguard of the Revolution) and “Taqat ka sarchashma kaun, Talib Ilm, Mazdoor, Kissan” (Students, Workers and Peasants are the source of all Power). The banners hanging on the walls of the Labour Hall had these slogans inscribed on them. The first slogan was ideologically contested by the Marxist fringe but gained popularity due to the leading role of students against Ayub Khan’s government. To show and strengthen this solidarity, most active NSO members were gathered at the Labour Hall at Gawalmandi Chowk, far away from the New Campus. For IJT this was a psychological offensive and could not go unnoticed.

Right wing student activists and members of the administration got infuriated at the sight of the red flag. These were General Yahya Khan’s days in power, and General Atiq-ur-Rehman was Governor of Punjab. Raising a red flag on top of a university building under military rule was like showing a red rag to a charging bull. The red flag was removed and burnt among cheers, claps and slogans shouted by the right wing crowd. However, this retaliation was not considered enough. Student Leader Hafeez Khan used the influence of his close friend Shaheen Atique-ur-Rehman – daughter of the then Governor – to register a case on charges of subversion against 13 members of the NSO in the Summary Military Court of Lahore. He thought this way he will display his power and win more supporters to his side. The accused included Manzoor Ejaz, Shuja ul Haq, Arif Raja, myself and many others, people who had not actually installed the flag. Student hostels were raided, and some of the students were rounded up. I had a room allotted at Garden Town Hostel of PU, although I lived at New Campus Hostel with my cousin. I had gone back home for a couple of days when the police came searching for me. On my return to the hostel, warden Ikram Ali asked me to report to the court.

The Summary Military Court proceedings started, and all the students were presented for trial. Manzur Ejaz was perhaps accused as the ring leader for cooking up the conspiracy and implementing and supervising the operation to install the flag. Despite the biases of the military court against ‘subversive’ left wing students, it was hard for the court administrator to accept the allegation. The key ‘culprit’ in the case, Manzoor Ejaz, walked into the court on crutches. Although perceived as a dangerous communist student leader, he was physically handicapped, and the court was not convinced that he could climb up the rickety wooden ladder in the middle of the night and go to the auditorium’s slanting rooftop to accomplish this mission. This proved beyond a doubt that the plea was baseless. It was a loss of face for IJT, and a big embarrassment for Hafeez Khan. Manzur saved the skin of all the other ‘culprits’. All the accused were released. This event further raised the NSO’s profile and polarised campus politics to its advantage. As they say, nothing succeeds like success. This event projected the NSO’s image as a formidable force at PU, and raised the curiosity of students about its mission, programme, and activities.

Nazir was internally reprimanded for violating party discipline (installing the flag without a formal decision in an NSO meeting) and committing adventurism. Externally we owned this act because it built our image.

New Campus visit of Ittefaq Worker’s Union President Altaf Baloch

The NSO also has to its credit the first event ever organised for the visit and speech of a prominent trade union leader of Ittefaq Foundaries, Altaf Baloch, at the New Campus. Altaf was a pioneer of trade union activity in the Kot Lakhpat Factory Area. He took the courageous step of forming a trade union to oppose the tyranny of the Ittefaq Foundries owners. Earlier efforts to form a trade union at Ittefaq had failed, as according to some accounts the factory owners had burnt a worker alive in the furnace. I am not sure about the truth of this account, but this image was good enough to strike terror into the hearts of factory workers. It took extra courage to mobilise, organise and protest under these circumstances. As the factory owners were supported by the local administration and hired the services of local goons, forming a union at Ittefaq was a daunting task. Yahya Khan’s military government was in power, and workers did not expect to get justice in the event of a dispute with the owners. Our purpose in inviting Altaf to the New Campus was to hear firsthand the stories of horror and rebellion in the industrial area and learn about the efforts that workers were making to demand their rights. This was to show the university students the world of reality as being very different from the rosy picture presented in the books. It was also meant to start building solidarity between the students and the working class.

Altaf Baloch’s lecture was arranged in a hall booked at the Student Teacher Centre (STC). His narration of events taking place at Ittefaq heated the blood of the participants and laid the foundation for a close student-workers alliance in Lahore’s politics. This collaboration scaled greater heights when the NSO’s student leader Tariq Latif started working with Packages Factory Union and organised a formidable alliance of trade unions in Lahore known as Muttahida Mazdoor Mahaz (Joint Labour Front), which was housed at the Mazdoor Markaz (Workers Centre). Trade union work was led by Professor Khalid Mahmood, and I attended many meetings of activists at Kot Lakhpat in the Professor’s company. Soon the Professor’s Group (PG) built a network of trade union partners at Ferozepur Road, Multan Road, Ravi Road, G T Road, 7-Up factory area of Gulberg, Model Town and Garhi Shahu.

Tariq Latif, Khwaja Tariq Masood, Asghar Ali Shirazi, Mohammad Rafi, Zahid Islam, Sufi Mushtaq, Islam and many other student activists worked under the leadership of Professor Khalid Mahmood and Professor Nawaz. Khwaja Tariq Masood also made inroads in the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA). The Railway Workers Union was under Mirza Ibrahim and the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) under Tufail Abbas’ Group. Public meetings, processions and rallies became a common form of student-worker alliance in the coming days. One Workers Centre was established at Chungi Amar Sidhu and another at Royal Park near Diyal Singh Chowk. This collaboration continued through the NSO’s informal support for the PPP candidates in the 1970 elections and formal participation in major public rallies. On May Day 1970, big workers rallies joined by huge crowds of PPP workers caused concern among the right wing parties. On June 5, 1970, Jama’at-i-Islami (JI) carried out big processions all over Pakistan and named it Youm-e-Shaukat-e-Islam (A day for celebrating the glory of Islam) to show its power. Consequently, the PPP, left wing student organisations and trade unions held a counter-rally to show full force opposition to the use of Islam for supporting the status quo.

Tariq Ali had earlier made visits to several cities in Pakistan. Some processions were also carried out upon his arrival. He carried the aura of a charismatic and heroic figure among progressive youth. During a big procession on the Mall, some youngsters spotted Tariq Latif and were not sure if he was Tariq Ali or someone else. Tariq heard them whispering among themselves and did not show that he was listening to them. As expected, they asked him what his name was, to which Tariq Latif simply replied, “Tariq”. It ‘confirmed’ their guess. They lifted him up on their shoulders all the way from Regal Chowk to Charing Cross, raising slogans and paying glowing tributes to ‘Tariq’.

It was so sad that owing to the split caused between the left groups due to the Sino-Soviet differences, cracks started appearing in the workers’ movement as well. Due to his affiliation with the National Awami Party (NAP), Altaf Baloch was labelled as a revisionist and an agent of Soviet Social Imperialism. The PG tried to isolate him in the trade union movement. He was subsequently nominated in the First Information Report (FIR) registered against the assassins of labour leader Abdur Rehman. It was an extremely stressful and heartbreaking moment for him, a trade union leader being accused of participating in the murder of a comrade. During his trial I met him in the Camp Jail when I went to meet Zubair Shah. He had known me from the early days of the NSO and wanted my support to help resolve the issues. It was heartbreaking to see him under so much distress caused by the unfair accusations against him. Things changed later and he was cleared of the charges against him. It was very heartening to see him released from jail. The last time I talked to him on the phone was during Yusuf Raza Gilani’s government, when he was given an award at the Prime Minister’s House in recognition of his services. My wife was organising the ceremony, and he wanted to track down his invitation card. I could feel the love and warmth in his voice and recall the days when we met for the first time and raised together the slogan: “Taqat Ka Sarchashma Kon? – Talib Ilm, Mazdoor Kissan”.

Student Union Election in PU 1970

In 1970 the government’s ban on the student union in PU was lifted. The PU Student Union elections became the centre of attention for all political parties because they heavily depended on students to demonstrate their street power. Since these elections were to be held before the national elections, political parties wanted to gain a psychological edge by showing their following among the youth. JI had a very organised student wing IJT in the field. JI was a very organised, cadre-based right wing party with its headquarters in Lahore. It had the support of all right wing parties against the threat of a socialist economy promised by the PPP. Big businesses had generously started financing JI’s campaign to ‘save’ Islam from the hands of those who wanted to attack the sanctity of private property. JI had musclemen, finances, press coverage and the claim to represent Islam in support of its student wing at PU. The NSO at this time consisted of a bunch of young, inexperienced and newly organised students. The battle between IJT and NSO appeared like a contest between a titan and a pigmy. However, as the campaign progressed, NSO gathered strength as a formidable adversary. NSO’s success in challenging the uncontested power of IJT was closely linked to its election strategy.

Credit for the success of this strategy goes to Professor Aziz-ud-Din’s acumen in negotiating and forming alliances as well as understanding the ground reality of student politics. Professor Aziz-ud-Din’s strategy rested on three pillars: i) keeping the fight focused on the class enemy; ii) isolating the staunchest political opponent in the enemy camp by isolating it from other political allies and hitting one target at a time, and iii) allying with the ‘natural enemies’ of the political opponent within the rightist camp to defeat the enemy. For example, he thought that Jamiat-i-Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) was a natural enemy of JI. So, in a political fight against JI we should join hands with JUI to benefit from their natural enmity. His favourite example of such a hostile interaction was the exchange of hot words on JI’s posters calling people to action by saying: “Niklo, Khwah halkey ho ya bojhal aur Jihad karo Allah ki rah mein”, meaning “Come out (of your complacency) whether you are weak or strong, and carry out Jihad for the sake of Allah”. In response Maulana Ghulam Ghaus Hazarvi, JUI, in a public meeting said, “Niklo naheen warro”, which meant, “Don’t come out, go the hell back to where you came from”. This neutralised JI’s rhetoric and gave considerable strength to socialist workers who were feeling very defensive after this onslaught.

Professor Aziz-ud-Din’s political vision was ‘never fight a losing war’. This strategy was followed in the PU Students Union elections in the first three elections that I was associated with. Whether we succeeded in achieving the results that we wanted is a different thing. But we tried. In the first election in 1970 our panel of candidates consisted of Jahangir Badar for President, G A Sabri for Vice President and Jamil Akhtar for General Secretary. In the next election our presidential candidate was Jahangir Badar again, Vice Presidential candidate was Rashid Butt, and for the post of General Secretary we fielded Anwar Chaudhry. In the third election our presidential candidate was Basit Waheed, Vice Presidential candidate was Raja Anwar, and the candidate for General Secretary was Qasim Khan. I am writing these names because names get mixed up when we narrate our memories after almost half a century. For the time being I will describe what was the political context under which elections took place in 1970; how candidates were selected for the first election; what was our strategy, gains and losses, and what happened on the election day, election night, and afterwards.

After the announcement of Student Union elections, several bright and charismatic progressive student leaders announced their intent to enter the contest as candidates against the nominees of IJT. These candidates included Shahid Nadeem, Khwaja Tariq Masood, Tariq Latif, Rao Usman and a few others. Barik Ullah Khan, who was deposed as the IJT-supported President of the Student Union at the time of the imposition of the Ayub Khan government’s ban, also announced his candidature. This time around IJT did not support him. Jahangir Badar announced his candidature too. IJT fielded Hafiz Idrees as presidential candidate, Tanvir Abbas Tabish as Vice Presidential candidate, and Hafeez Khan for the post of General Secretary. Independent presidential candidates like Barik Ullah Khan and M P Ilyas soon phased out of public attention, and the main battle between the NSO and IJT candidates entered centre-stage.

Jahngir Badar had no credentials as a progressive student leader at that time. Before the announcement of his candidature he was actually closely associated with the Democratic Youth Force – JI’s baton carrying force to subdue communist kafirs (non-believers). One of the IJT’s slogans in those days was “Jago Jago Muslim Jago, Bhago Bhago Communist Bhago” (Wake up, wake up, wake up Muslims; Run away, run away, Communists). Due to some strange coincidence, “Na’ara–e–Takbeer” raised by them was also delivered as “Na-ra-e–tak-bir Allah–o-Akbar” in the rhythm of One, Two, Cha Cha Cha, One, two, Cha Cha Cha.

Strangely, JI, which had seriously opposed the creation of Pakistan because the Muslim League strove to create a separate homeland for Muslims, not an ideological state meant to implement Islam, and which therefore would not be much different from Kafiristan – as argued by Maulana Maududi in Islam aur Maujuda Siasi Kashmakash (Islam and the Current Political Conflict), now stood guard to protect the ‘ideological frontiers of Pakistan’. Maulana Maududi used the term ‘Ideology of Pakistan’ to carry out this crusade to protect Pakistan from Bhutto’s politics. In JI’s view, Bhutto, like Jinnah, seemed to have a secular mindset, and intended to rob the body politic of Pakistan of its religious soul. It was actually a war between Jinnah and Bhutto’s cultural Islam (which in the JI’s view was a resurrection of the Hindu tradition) on the one hand, and JI’s own version of pure ideological Islam on the other. The dividing line between left and right wing politics in the PU elections were the popular aspirations of Roti, Kapra aur Makan (Bread, Clothing and Shelter) and the superficial Ideology of Pakistan. It was not clear at this point whether Badar, NSO’s presidential cadidate, had his heart closer to the people or the ‘Ideology’.

Political compulsions necessitated making a fresh evaluation of his candidacy. By declaring his candidature against Hafiz Idrees, Badar had presented himself as a ‘natural enemy’ of IJT. As a former insider he could break away some of their supporters and create a nuisance during the campaign as well. In the previous year Badar also served as President of Hailey College of Commerce Student Union, so he had a large vote bank in his pocket already. He was a day scholar and had a wide network of local connections. Given Badar’s strengths, other progressive candidates competing for the post of President had a slim chance of winning. So other progressive candidates had two choices: one, to contest and lose, and let Badar lose the election as well, or two, withdraw and help Badar win. The second choice made sense, because NSO and other progressives realised that their objective for participating in the election was not to win the presidential post for a progressive candidate, but to defeat IJT. If this objective could be accomplished, next year a progressive candidate could be nominated. Supporting Badar also provided the opportunity to win him over to progressive politics, an objective that all of us know was achieved.

The PU Administration and certain Heads of Department were openly supportive of IJT, and Yahya Khan’s military government was still in power. Progressive students felt that they were contesting elections in a very unfavourable environment. An event on the Election Day strengthened the doubts of the progressives that the scale was being tilted against them. A couple of hours after the polling started, they discovered that hundreds of ballot papers did not carry the name of Jamil Akhtar, their candidate for General Secretary. This was taken as a dirty conspiracy to defeat their candidate. The head of the Student Teacher Centre (STC) was approached, and on his assurance that new ballot papers will be printed and polling for the post of General Secretary will be held after a couple of days, the NSO and Badar’s supporters calmed down and agreed to go for a second round of voting.

Election results for the rest of the posts were to be announced in the evening at STC New Campus. Soon after dinner, supporters of both candidates started gathering on the lawn of STC. The air was tense and both parties suspected each other of starting a violent scuffle in case of losing seats. There were rumours, suspicions and preparations for fighting back if things went wrong. One young, handsome, starry eyed idealist undergrad student – scion of one of the accused in the Rawalpindi Conspiracy Case – took me to the fence of the lawn and whispered in my ear: “Comrade, no need to worry, I have a crate full of dynamite under the fence; if we are attacked, we can explode the STC building.” The event passed rather peacefully, and nothing happened. Badar lost by a narrow margin of 100 votes. His polling agents claimed that more than a hundred votes polled for him were cancelled. Now all eyes were set to see what happens on the day of the next polling. Badar was a guy with calm nerves and cool temper. In the face of tension, uncertainty and confusion he always asked his friends to Muth Rakh, which literally means ‘keep fist’, but in popular understanding it means to ‘stay cool’. So for the time being the NSO lot agreed to Muth Rakh.

From Ballot Boxes to Kot Lakhpat Jail

Two days after the election results were announced, the second polling for the post of General Secretary was held. Due to the victory of IJT in the earlier round, many uncommitted voters were very likely going to swing to Hafeez Khan. For the NSO, defeating the IJT candidate was no longer important. The election was already lost. Now the NSO could only win the high moral ground against the tampering with the election process and project a defiant image to widen its support base. This was a perfect opportunity for Imtiaz Alam to act. Azizuddin had once commented that Imtiaz was very much like the Mehboob of Urdu Ghazal (‘Beloved’ in Urdu love poetry) – an irresistible and inaccessible charmer, in this case playing Mehboob to both the university administration and the party leadership. Imtiaz was a student of Journalism. He gathered his close comrades in the department, crashed the door to the polling centre, picked up the ballot boxes and crushed them under his feet. All his companions raised hell by raising slogans full throat, banging doors and stamping their feet on the floor. Some also raised the slogan: “Usee jitna he jitna hey jamalo, tusee nasna he nasna, hey jamalo” (We are bound to win hey jamalo, and you are bound to flee, hey jamalo). Dancing to the tune of hey jamalo was very common in NSO processions to heat the blood of its supporters and build their emotions to ecstatic heights. In a little while a small procession gathered around Imtiaz and he made a round of all the departments at New Campus.

The IJT and university administration were caught unawares. In quick succession Imtiaz smashed the ballot boxes in all the departments. When the news reached PU Old Campus and other affiliated colleges – Hailey College, Law College and Oriental College – NSO and Badar supporters broke the ballot boxes there as well. The whole polling exercise came to a halt. By flexing its muscles, the NSO refused to accept the second polling and election results.

The University Administration reacted by registering a police case against 14 students on charges of hooliganism, disturbing the peace of the campus and interrupting the polls. The accused included Imtiaz Alam, Jahangir Badar, Babar Zaman, Riaz Bhatti, Shuja ul Haq, perhaps Khawar Zaman and others (I don’t remember all the names). All these students were rounded up and sent to Kot Lakhpat Jail. Now the release of these student leaders from jail and a call for justice became NSO’s rallying cry for next year’s Union elections. In a matter of less than a year the NSO built a wide support base through agitations, protests, public meetings and courageous confrontation with the authorities. During these days General Atiq-ur-Rehman once came to meet the Vice Chancellor at New Campus. NSO activists found out about this and blocked his exit by staging a sit-in outside the meeting room, demanding the release of their comrades.

However, in the coming year the NSO was not able to defeat the IJT in the election. Even some of the voters whose families voted for the PPP in villages at times voted for the IJT. This is the point to ponder. I want my silent readers to share their thoughts on this issue. It is better to speak and risk being politically incorrect than to be silent and politically chaste. My own explanation consists of the following three simple points.

First of all, the Left had a revolutionary ideology and a very individualistic culture, while the IJT had an individualistic ideology but a culture of brotherhood, fraternity and solidarity. They would welcome any incoming student with open arms and offer them support at every step until they got settled. Their class base was students of rural and lower middle class background; our support base was among urban and English medium liberals. In the coming year when I met Javed Hashmi during his election campaign and asked him his expectations about his election campaign, he said: “We have got the support of the ‘bourgeoisie’ in Hailey College and Oriental College, and you have got the support of the ‘proletariat’ in the Fine Arts and English Department.” That sums up point one.

Secondly, life is taller than any ideology. The Left’s major failure in Pakistan has been in building a party that rallies the support of the people it claims to represent as a vanguard. This is caused because the left has failed in inventing new forms of struggle that are in line with the living reality of the working classes. I will not further elaborate on these points. These are points to ponder and may be discussed separately. Others also need to contribute.

Lastly, Left politics was great in the form of literature, poetry, fiction, art, agitation and trade union activity, but it lacked a narrative to combat Maulana Maududi’s narrative articulated in a western rational framework. This rational narrative, ironically, became a limitation of JI and IJT also because JI could not carve out a constituency outside the sections of the middle class raised in the western educational tradition. The Left had a claim to monopoly over rationality in the name of ‘scientific socialism’, but it could not effectively counter the JI narrative. Failure of narrative is still a major failure of Left politics in Pakistan. Indigenisation of Marxist terminology cannot substitute for a narrative anchored in local history, culture, contemporary realities and habits of heart and mind.

I want to digress now to the NSO’s relationship with the PPP. It is important to understand this tangle before we proceed further. The relationship played a very important role in the future development of Left groups in Pakistan. It needs to be seen whether courtship of the PPP was a mirage or an opportunity lost.

I am reproducing below a letter sent to me by Professor Mohammad Qadeer, former Director of Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Queen’s University, Canada after reading my column in an online journal Wichaar.

Dear Fayyaz,

I have read religiously successive postings of your account of the history of the left student organisation (NSO) in Punjab University. It is fascinating and instructive. For me it fills a void in my understanding of the left movement in Pakistan at a time when l was already settled in the US/Canada and was associated with the Ahmeds, namely Eqbal, Aijaz and Feroz. Of course, Feroz was a good friend and willing to engage with compatriots, the other two always assuming to be the guides whom mortals like us were meant only to follow.

Led by Feroz, an effort was mounted to capture the Pakistani students association of North America in 1968. He used the Pakistani students magazine to promote socialist ideas and mobilise support for Bhutto in 1969-70. During the East Pakistan debacle, Pakistan Students Forum under Feroz’s editorship condemned the Army action. This energised the Islamic students organisation (mostly transplanted IJT stalwarts) to pack the annual convention and rout our panel led by Feroz, despite fiery speeches by Eqbal Ahmed. This defeat led Feroz to start an independent magazine called Pakistan Forum, which he took with him to Pakistan and turned it into an eminent voice of the left in Pakistan. Fayyaz, this brief account reaffirms your observation that the left’s narrative seldom gets past the urban liberal classes. It has to come down to the interests and concerns of the vast majority. Please keep up writing this history and its lessons. It is very precious as an ‘on the ground’ account.

Manzur Sahib, your laudable effort to link the left’s social justice concerns with the common folks’ traditions and indigenous languages (Punjabi) have been very informative for me in my writings. In my book, l have made a good use of many of your newspaper columns about the village life. Thanks. Now I am grateful to be receiving Wichaar.”

(To be continued)