The long spells of authoritarian rule in Pakistan have nurtured a rich dissident literary tradition. This tradition has its roots in the Progressive Writers' Movement, which originated in colonial India with major Urdu poets and writers as its vanguards. Faiz Ahmed Faiz was, of course, the best-known torchbearer of this tradition, while other luminaries included Sajjad Zaheer, M D Taseer, Rashid Jahan, Kaifi Azmi, Ismat Chughtai, Sahir Ludhianvi and Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi, to name only a few.
With the post-Independence Pakistani state continuing the old-style approach to ruling over the masses, the progressive movement too carried on its dissent long after 1947. Those who had migrated to Pakistan faced a new reality, which, in the words of Faiz, was far from the dawn for which they had hoped. "This blemished light, this dawn by night half-devoured," Faiz wrote ruefully. "Is surely not the dawn for which we were waiting."
The progressive literary movement eventually began to be considered something of a threat to the postcolonial state, and several Pakistani writers faced severe restrictions. Among the several pioneers of the movement, it was the direct yet lyrical poetry of Habib Jalib that stirred the street, echoing the vision of the world from below. While Faiz used the classical Persian idiom, Jalib's expression was more popular and immediate, and related easily to the common language of the streets. During the rule of General Ayub Khan, from 1958 until 1969, Jalib particularly represented the public conscience when he chanted his poem "Dastoor" (Constitution), which was about Ayub Khan's tailor-made 'constitution'. Later, this work was utilised in support of Fatima Jinnah's (the Quaid-e-Azam's younger sister) campaign against the general:
Aisay dastoor ko I do not accept
Subh-e-baynoor ko I do not recognise
Mein naheen manta A constitution that resembles
Mein naheen janta A morning with no light