Reviews Surkh Salam: Some Reflections of an Untold Story of Pakistani Left

Review: Surkh Salam - Some Reflections on an Untold Story of the Pakistani Left

After Jamal Naqvi's book, Kamran Asdar Ali's book has also sparked a healthy debate within left circles, which is a good sign. The reviews so far have some shortcomings and the reporting of events has its twists, but I will share a more detailed note soon. The Lahore book launch of Kamran Asdar Ali's Surkh Salam was held at the OUP Lahore office on Friday, 8th January, 2016. It was attended by both young and old comrades interested in the history of the left movement. The media reporting of the event was not up to the mark, though I am sharing the link below. Abid Hassan Manto spoke well as he had actually read the book, although he received it just four days earlier. Manto correctly pointed out that after 1954, the book mostly narrates the history of the Sindh party and misses the struggle of the Punjabi communists. The author accepted this shortcoming. While the author has used some rare references, there are still many missing links regarding the pre-partition period. Saleema Hashmi shared her personal memories. Till 1943, there was no organized party as such, but many communist groups existed in different areas. In his interview to Awami Jamhoori Forum, a left journal of Lhore, CPI(M)leader Harkishan Singh Surjeet — who had joined a communist group in Punjab in 1934 — also explained this. The first Congress of the CPI was held in 1943 and the second in 1948, but the period between 1943 and 1948 was an intense one, not only in British India but internationally too. Joining hands with US,UK, France by former USSR  in 1941 was a big change. Interestingly, Conference of big three set the future agenda well. The shift of the superpower role from the UK and France to the US and USSR, and the emergence of China as another non-European Global player was interesting. It started after the signing of the Atlantic Charter on 14th August 1941 and concluded at Yalta. The USSR became a partner of the US and UK in WW-II in late 1941, and communists got temporary relief from the state, especially in the colonies. That is how the CPI got a chance to work openly and started building the party and its institutions. Simultaneously, this new alliance raised new questions too. In 1943, the USSR disbanded the internationalist communist organization Comintern and replaced it with Cominform. But such shifts are not included in the book, nor have the reviewers pointed them out. The author gives a detailed account of the Adhikari thesis on Muslim nationalism in Muslim-majority provinces and the infamous 'Pakistan Report' at the 2nd CPI Congress in Calcutta, yet he fails to explore the dubious role of the British Communists like RPD (Rajani Palme Dutt) etc. If support for Pakistan was a decision taken at a Party Congress in 1943, then it could only have been changed at a party congress. The writer failed to give details of the August 1946 meeting of the CPI in which, according to the author, the decision to support the AIML was withdrawn. Was it a Central Committee meeting? Who were the participants? What were the different positions taken? Why did numerous communists remain unaware of that decision? There are many more questions. The author should also read a book by Bengali Communist Mohit Sen, A Traveller and the Road: The Journey of an Indian Communist, which throws ample light on post-1942 politics and the CPI. Regarding the Calcutta Congress, the writer rightly points out the very small number of delegates from Punjab, Sindh and NWFP (only one from each) as compared to 32 from East Bengal. He tries to justify it but failed. Whether making a separate Communist Party in West Pakistan was a conspiracy or not is also among the ignored questions by the writer. Interestingly, in newly formed Pakistan, it was easily explained away as an act to dismantle the Eastern Wing. The effect of such a blunder was witnessed in Jinnah's speech when he visited East Pakistan (19 to 28 March 1948) just 13 days after the Calcutta Congress (28 Feb to 6 March 1848), where he openly criticized the communists. The writer also gives details of the Pakistan Report by an old Indian Communist (again a Bengali), Bhowani Sen. I first heard his name and his report in M.D. Taseer Sahib's article, in which Taseer rightly criticized Sen. Here Kamran misses the stand of the CPI regarding Kashmir, which is another interesting area of study in the early period. Another question about the book is its main source — a Special Branch report written by Mian Anwar Ali. Can we use it as a primary source? The report was prepared at a time when the state was ready to join the US bloc and for that purpose wanted to show a communist threat; the Pindi Conspiracy Case too was designed to serve that purpose. Manto rightly mentioned this and questioned the infamous report. He asked why writers from Hassan Zaheer (a civil servant) to the present work are depending on it. No doubt, the writer gives details with references and in many ways his book discusses many things for the first time, yet it needs a careful reading too. Nonetheless, the book is a useful addition, so I will write a detailed review soon.

There are some links  I A Rehman article, Intizar Hussain urdu article Published in Express, Jamil Malik Criticism, Karachi book launch reporting in Tribune, A piece by the Author, Lhore Book Launch reporting in Dawn, review by Sarwat Ali in The news on sunday, Lhore book launch report at Tribune, 
Another half truth: a column of Intizar hussain