A Brief History of Pakistani Literature in English, Summary

The origin of Pakistani English literature or Pakistani literature in English goes back to British Colonial times. Still, its history always needs clarification due to the identity crisis problems with Pakistani writers. As Taufiq Rafat, one of the prominent Pakistani poets, jots down, "A fair number of Pakistanis writers in English… [So] we may point to a distinct Pakistani-English Literature". It vividly reflects that we have our distinct literature and high-quality literary content. Still, it has always been a problem to call it Pakistani literature or Muslim literature in the sub-continent.

Critics are divided on the matter and try to trace its origin. Some writers with a religious mindset, like Faiz and Professor Gilani Kamran, linked Pakistani literature to the advent of Islam, 712 Muhammad Bin Qasim, while Professor Kakar Hussain and Dr. Wazir Agha trace it back to the geography of Harappa and Mohenjodaro. Our literature starts from the period of Muhammad Bin Qasim, or Harappa and Mohenjodaro is not our target to discuss; instead, we will focus on the progressive period from 1947 to date.

The history of English literature in Pakistan can be divided into three periods. The first period the early phase, starts from 1947 to the 1970s. This period was not full of strong passions and spirits; most writers lived abroad as an expatriate. They represent the elite class, and their focus themes were Partition, misery, and confusion. The prominent writers of the early period were Ahmad Ali, Shahid Suhrawardy, Shahid Hosein, Zeb un Nisa Hamidullah and an exceptional talent was Zulfiqar Ghose.

The 1990s to the present saw a sudden, beautiful blooming of Pakistani English Literature, which has grown, evolved, and expanded so much. In this period, plays flourished along with the novel. English became the official and syllabic language, which attracted middle-class writers. Quick access to the internet, modern technologies, and freedom from the autocratic rule of dictators produced famous writers. Central themes were technology, middle-class people's issues, and fictional creative writings. Mohsin Hamid, Kamila Shamsie, Moniza Alvi, Omer Tarin, Haris Khaliq, and Muhammad Hanif were significant writers of this period. 

The second period began from the 1970s to the 1980s, a period that was full of literary spirit and writing enthusiasm. The period is also famous due to the three prominent and commanding figures, Taufiq Rafat, Daud Kamal, and Alamgir Hashmi. These poets represented the culture of Pakistan and gave distinct literature to their newly emerged state. Taufiq Rafat introduced Pakistani idioms into English, and his poem 'Arrival of the Monsoon' gained extraordinary popularity. The central theme of the writers were political upheavals, economic disparity, women's emancipation, and dictatorship regime. Some of the writers of this era were Taufiq Rafat, Daud Kamal, Alamgir Hashmi, Dr. Tariq Rehman, Hanif Kureshi, Kaleem Omer, G F Riaz, and Sara Suleri. Poetry flourished in this period, along with fiction and prose.

Let's briefly highlight the process of growing different genres one by one.

Poetry

It is an exciting point that poetry flourished first in Pakistan compared to the other English literature genres. Due to the heterogeneous culture, the literature produced

here displays a dazzling variety. Each variety is full of its literary heritage and spirit. Some expatriate and local Pakistani poets have a lot of artistic talent and popularity nationally and internationally. However, unlike fiction in English produced by Indian Muslim writers, contributions are negligible in the English poetry field written from the perspective of a monumental Indian Muslim minority at the time of the Partition. However, in the future, poetry in English will gradually take wing in infant Pakistan.

Pakistan and its people have inherited a rich cultural heritage of poetry from the pre-partition era. As we mentioned earlier, the second phase was remarkable regarding the flourishing of poetry. Some names are trademarks in Pakistani anglophone poetry, like, Alamgir Hashmi, Toufiq Rafat, Makki Qureshi, Muneeza Naqvi, and Daood Kamal.

The three greatest poets represented Pakistan, its culture, tradition, and issues in the second period. As with all post-colonial poetry, this "assimilation and resistance" (Patke 14) led to 19 Asma Mansoor the creation of Pakistani poetry in English that was characterized by "care, precision, and exactness in every word" (Jamil vii). This genre is exceptionally malleable since Pakistani poetry is still endeavoring to forge a distinct identity based not only on its Islamic origins but also on its colonial past along with its turbulent present. It is probably for this reason that it is difficult to identify the risk of any particular trend of writing in Pakistani poetry in English since Pakistani poets have inherited a mélange of traditions and techniques from indigenous and foreign sources. Rafat's first poetry appeared in 1985; The Arrival of the Monsoon. He mainly portrayed interior Punjab's culture and wrote on simple to a complex subject. The Kitchen, ecological mimetics, Last Poem, and The Village are famous.

Another hit poet from Abbottabad, Daud Kamal, was famous for his unique writing style. He was an imagist, and His first collection, Compass of Love and other poems, appeared in 1973. This was followed by Recognitions (1979), Faiz in English (1984), and A Remote Beginning 1985. Kamal's rendering of Faiz was published in another edition from India in 1988. Alamgir Hashmi was another towering poet in the Pakistani literary world. He wrote many books on fiction as well. His famous works were The Table Is Laid, Voices of the Quill, A Decade's History in Verse, and This Time in Lahore: New Poems.

Novel/Fictional Writing

Mumtaz Shahnawaz is the first Pakistani novelist who wrote The Heart Divided in 1948. Fiction from Pakistan started to receive recognition in the latter part of the 20th century, with the popularity of the Parsi author Bapsi Sidhwa who wrote The Ice Candy Man, The Crow Eaters, Cracking India (1988), etc., after the earlier reputations of Ahmed Ali and Zulfikar Ghose had been made in international fiction. Hanif Kureshi commenced a prolific career in the diaspora with the novel The Buddha of Suburbia (1990), which won the Whitbread Award. Aamer Hussein wrote a series of acclaimed short story collections. Sara Suleri published her literary memoir Meatless Days (1989). Some modern novelists gained the same popularity as early 20th-century writers. They are shortlisted for international awards as well.

Mohsin Hamid published his first novel, Moth Smoke (2000), which won the Betty Trask Award and was a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award; he has since published his second novel, The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2007), which was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. British-Pakistani writer Nadeem Aslam won the Kiriyama Prize for his second book, Maps for Lost Lovers (2004). The first novel of Mohammed Hanif, A Case of Exploding Mangoes (2008), was shortlisted for the 2008 Guardian First Book Award. Emerging authors Kamila Shamsie and Daniyal Mueenuddin have garnered wide attention. Other than those, Kamila Shamsie, with Salt and Saffron (1998), Kartography (2002), Burnt Shadows (2009) and A God in Every Stone (2014); Mohammad Hanif, with A Case of Exploding Mangoes (2008) and Our Lady of Alice Bhatti (2011) and others; and Bina Shah with Where They Dream in Blue (2001), The 786 Cybercafe (2004) and Slum Child (2010). There are many others, too, and it augurs well for Pakistani English Literature's future.

Drama/Plays

Drama is not flourished as well as poetry and other literary genres due to Muslims' orthodox beliefs. It may be due to the need for more interest in Pakistani people who separated themselves from India based on language and religion. Before Partition, Fyzee Rahamin's drama Daughter of India (1937) is probably the only item of this genre worth mentioning. In Pakistan, plays get famous around the eighties. Nasir Ahmad Faroqi tried his level best to show artistic talent but faded. The Naked Night (1965) is a three-act play written by Faroqi. Hanif Qureshi has broken the tradition and becomes prominent. Kureishi writes: "From the start, I tried to deny my Pakistani self. I was ashamed. It was a curse, and I wanted to be rid of it. I wanted to be like everyone else." He has written 1980 The King and Me, London: Faber and Faber, 1981 Outskirts, London: Faber and Faber

1981 Borderline, London: Faber and Faber

1983 Birds of Passage, London: Faber and Faber and,

1988 Sammy and Rosie Get Laid, London: Faber and Faber.

Critical Works

Two writers are prominent in this category because they wrote highly appreciable critical works. Dr. Tariq Rehman and Intizar Hussain, in addition to his world-acclaimed linguistic studies, which writings have continued till today. Alamgir Hashmi was generally considered an all-rounder, best known as a poet, but some of his critical works are highly appreciated.

Short Stories

English writing in Pakistan and India is the direct result of British colonialism. Pakistan inherited a few English writers at the time of Partition. Zaib un Nisa Hamidullah was a prominent female short story writer who worked a lot in this genre. In 1958, she published her only story collection, The Young Wife and Other Stories!, which is regarded as the first book of 'literary' Pakistani English fiction written since 1947. Among others, The Wheels Go Round and Round by Aisha Malik (1966), Saqipur Sacred by HK Burki (1969), They Belong (1972) by Raja Tridiv Roy, and Death By Hanging by Yunus Said4 are all examples of early Pakistani English collections which include good short stories, alongside hugely inadequate ones. Another short story writer Zulfiqar Ghose wrote many stories around the 1960s, including A Statement Against Corpses (1964 which marked the beginning of Ghose's distinguished career. Political Upheavals led to the production of many short stories writers like Sadness at Dawn by Nisar Ahmed Farooqi (1967) to the 'sex-obsessed (Rahman, p. 87) and The Seduced' by Saeed P. Yazdani. Other than that, Athar Tahir and Reham were also prominent for short stories during the third phase of the Pakistani English literary period.

Conclusion

The discussion shows that English Pakistani literature is full of spirit and passion. Contents are appreciated worldwide, and writers receive awards for their works. Most of them are expatriates, but they represent Pakistani culture in one or another. They have artistic talent, and that's why the world remembers them greatly. Poetry flourished well compared to the other genres due to the three towering poets, Taufiq Rafat, Daud Kamal, and Alamgir Hashmi. The second phase is remarkable, and the last era is blooming.

Credit: Written by MSM Yaqoob