Ali Sardar Jafri’s Poetry: A Colonial and Postcolonial Perspective

Abstract

The Progressive Movement emerged during the colonial and postcolonial periods as a conscious literary and intellectual response to political domination, social injustice, and economic exploitation. One of its central objectives was to secure the legitimate rights and dignity of individuals in accordance with contemporary social realities. Under British imperial rule, the people of the subcontinent were subjected to severe exploitation that devastated their economic structures, natural resources, and social fabric. In reaction to this oppression, writers and intellectuals raised powerful voices through literature, giving rise to resistance writing that challenged imperial authority and articulated the suffering of the masses. Consequently, literature became an enduring force of social awareness and protest.However, the end of colonial rule in 1947 did not bring about the radical transformation that the common people had hoped for. Although political power shifted, systems of exploitation largely remained intact, with local elites and ruling classes replacing foreign rulers. Progressive writers, therefore, redirected their critical gaze toward these indigenous imperialists, exposing their hypocrisy, greed, and continued oppression of the marginalized. Their literary works highlighted class conflict, economic disparity, and the betrayal of revolutionary ideals. In this context, analyzing progressive poetry from a postcolonial perspective becomes essential, as it reveals how literature continued to resist domination, interrogate power structures, and advocate social justice in the post-independence era..