riter Ahmad Bashir bore a lot of hardships throughout his illustrious career but did not deviate from his chosen path. To dodge oppressive censors, he sometimes wrote under fictitious names.

Born a hundred and one years ago, Ahmad Bashir was a journalist, intellectual, writer and filmmaker. His brilliant prose distinguished him among his contemporaries. His collection of sketches, Jo Milay Thay Rastay Mein (Fellow Travelers), was a pioneering work. Some of these became controversial but Bashir was undaunted. He also wrote an autobiographical novel, Dil Bhatkay Ga (The Heart Shall Wander).

Not all of his journalistic work has been preserved. Sacchai Ki Tarikh (A History of Truth) is a collection of Ahmad Bashir’s essays, written for various newspapers and magazines. The book has been compiled by Comrade Tanvir Ahmad Khan. Most of the articles appeared in Lail-o-Nahar. Quaid-i-Azam Par Kufr Ka Fatwa (The Edict Against Quaid-i-Azam), Zaati Malkiyat Ki Mu’aashi Istilah (Economic Vocabulary of Private Property), 1956 Ka Aaeen (The 1956 Constitution), Riyasat Aur Mausiqi (The State and Music), Raagdari Aur Siyasat (Musicology and Politics) and Sindh Ki Lok Mausiqi (The Folk Music of Sindh) are of special importance.

The book includes an eyewitness account of the historic Kissan Conference held in March 1970 in Toba Tek Singh. It also contains a rebuke to those who opposed Gen Pervez Musharraf. Ahmad Bashir condemned the military dictatorships of Field Marshal Ayub Khan, Gen Yahya Khan and Gen Zia-ul Haq. However, he also berated Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, calling them undemocratic. He argued that the Pakistan Quaid-i-Azam had worked to build was meant to be a democratic, secular and Islamic-socialist country. “Now you [Benazir, Nawaz Sharif, etc] talk about a democracy that carries the 13^th and 14^th Constitutional Amendments. Is this constitution not the protagonist of an authoritarian government? Pervez Musharraf’s government is similarly authoritarian. Yu want to remove it… But Pervez Musharraf’s authoritarian rule is much better than the authoriataian governments of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Zia-ul Haq, Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif. You and your friends want immediate elections in the name of collective wisdom but what collective wisdom?”

Ahmad Bashir was dismissive of what he called a bourgeois democracy. Instead he raised the flag of a people’s democracy. He had a stern rebuke for democracy in many of his essays. He writes, “our peasants do not need democracy. They need but land, seed, water, schools and hospitals. [Onlu] some middle-class intellectuals need democracy. They are happy serving the ruling class.”

The book includes a speech by Mian Iftikhar-ud Din. One wonders why it has been included in the volume. The collection also includes two articles on music that are highly technical. One wonders if an uninitiated reader can profit from these.

As a writer Ahmad Bashir is capable of surprising his readers and holding their attention. Comrade Tanvir Ahmad Khan has done a great service to the reading public. The publication may not have been possible without the help and assistance extended by writer Neelum Ahmad Bashir.

Sacchai Ki Tarikh

Writer: Ahmad Bashir

Compiled by: Comrade

Tanvir Ahmad Khan

Publisher: Aks Publications, Lahore, 2024

Pages: 142

The reviewer is the president of the Progressive Writers’ Association. He has translated many of Ahmad Bashir’s sketches into English and is currently engaged in compiling and writing an introduction to the reissued edition of Ahmad Bashir’s collection of essays in English, Dancing With Wolves. He may be reached at razanaeem@hotmail.com. He tweets at @raza_naeem1979