Hidden Histories of Pakistan

In the decades immediately preceding and following Indian independence and the creation of Pakistan, a group of South Asian literary intellectuals dedicated themselves to a craft of writing that aimed to disturb the status quo. They demanded liberation,from the maligning imperialist archaeology on the one side, and from its misuse by reactionary elements in our society. Influenced by international trends in social realism as well as leftist movements in India, and writing predominantly in Urdu - a widely shared North Indian vernacular language increasingly being tied to Indo-Muslim identity - these literary intellectuals called themselves progressive writers. This book is about how progressive, and referred to as "Urduphone" intellectuals made up of Indian and Pakistani Muslims involved in leftist politics, articulated their struggles for freedom in the face of immense political suppression."--