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A Rebel and Her Cause: The Life and Work of Rashid Jahan
Despite a brief and slender literary career, Rashid Jahan blazed like a meteor in the progressive firmament of pre-and post-Independence India. Doctor, writer, political activist, crusading member of the Communist Party of India, Rashid Jahan was radical in a way that defied all expectations -- from her social class, her comrades, her peers and colleagues.
In a remarkably perceptive, richly detailed account of this pioneering woman, Rakhshanda Jalil offers readers an unusual document: a warm and informed biography -- based on archival material, extensive interviews and critical commentaries -- together with fine translations of Rashid Jahan's best known stories and plays.
Through a subtle counterpointing of Rashid Jahan's political purpose with her literary and professional skills and sensibility, Jalil paints an arresting portrait of a woman deeply and passionately engaged with the great debates of her time: fascism, imperialism, nationalism, socialism and feminism. This intense engagement is reflected in every facet of her life and literature, as they unfold here in vivid and compelling prose.
In a remarkably perceptive, richly detailed account of this pioneering woman, Rakhshanda Jalil offers readers an unusual document: a warm and informed biography -- based on archival material, extensive interviews and critical commentaries -- together with fine translations of Rashid Jahan's best known stories and plays.
Through a subtle counterpointing of Rashid Jahan's political purpose with her literary and professional skills and sensibility, Jalil paints an arresting portrait of a woman deeply and passionately engaged with the great debates of her time: fascism, imperialism, nationalism, socialism and feminism. This intense engagement is reflected in every facet of her life and literature, as they unfold here in vivid and compelling prose.
- GenresNonfictionIndia
246 pages, Paperback
First published March 11, 2014
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75 people want to read
About the author
Rakhshanda Jalil
50 books36 followersRakhshanda Jalil is a writer, critic and literary historian. Her published work comprises edited anthologies, among them a selection of Pakistani women writers entitled, Neither Night Nor Day; and a collection of esssays on Delhi, Invisible City: she is co-author of Partners in Freedom: Jamia Millia Islamia and Journey to a Holy Land: A Pilgrim s Diary. She is also a well-known translator, with eight published translations of Premchand, Asghar Wajahat, Saadat Hasan Manto, Shahryar, Intezar Hussain and Phanishwarnath Renu.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 1, 2017
This is a remarkable book, it introduced me to a person I should have known about, but unfortunately didn't. Rashid Jahan is a person Ismat Chugtai identified as 'having spoilt her', a person who pushed Faiz from Shabab (romanticism) to Inquilab (revolution), a sang-e-meel (milestone) best amplified in his nazm 'aur bhi hai gam zamaane me muhabbat ke siwai...mujhse pehli si mohabbat mere mehboob na maang.'
Rashid Jahan was a doctor, a Communist party worker, a harbinger of the movement that would be called the 'Progressive Writer's Movement.' Through her short stories and plays, she sketched the life of Indian women, documenting their incidents and conversations, practices and dilemmas, thereby bringing to life protagonists who were both present (haazir) yet invisible. (ghaib)
An important read, particularly so in understanding the Indian social history.
Rashid Jahan was a doctor, a Communist party worker, a harbinger of the movement that would be called the 'Progressive Writer's Movement.' Through her short stories and plays, she sketched the life of Indian women, documenting their incidents and conversations, practices and dilemmas, thereby bringing to life protagonists who were both present (haazir) yet invisible. (ghaib)
An important read, particularly so in understanding the Indian social history.
July 21, 2024
After reading a translation by Rakhshanda Jalil, I was looking at her backlist to find out what other books she has translated and written, and that is how I discovered her biography of Rashid Jahan. I've never heard of Rashid Jahan before, and I thought that if there is a book on her, there must be something about her, and so I got it.
The book is divided into two parts. The first half which stretches to around a 100 pages is Rashid Jahan's biography. The second part which is of similar length is a collection of her stories and plays, translated by Rakhshanda Jalil. I loved this format of the book, where we get to read about an author in depth and also get to read her work. I wish though that the biography part was longer.
The book starts with the story of Rashid Jahan's dad, on how he started the first school for Muslim girls in India, how he had to face a lot of opposition and criticism for it, how he got it off the ground with the help of his family and friends and well-wishers and others who believed in girls' education including the Begum of Bhopal, who was a big supporter of girls' education, and how he put his own daughters into that school and how they all went on to achieve great things. Then the book talks about Rashid Jahan's childhood, and how after school she went to college and went on to become a doctor (she must have been a pioneer to have studied medicine and become a doctor in the 1920s). The book also talks about her time as an activist, when she and her husband and their friends fought for the oppressed, and went to jail many times, during the British era, and later even after India became independent. The moral of the story is that if you are an activist, no government likes you, irrespective of whether your country is under colonial oppression, or your country is a democracy ruled by your own people. If you are an activist and you fight for the poor and the oppressed, the government will always try to put you in jail. If you are a peaceful, nonviolent protestor, the government hates you more, because it can't brand you as a bad person or as a terrorist, and so you're definitely going to prison. The last part of the book talks about Rashid Jahan's career as a writer and as a dramatist. There is a separate section on how the book 'Angaaray' came to be published, and about the reception of Rashid Jahan's stories featured in it, and the public outcry against the book and against her.
The biographical part of the book was very good, it was excellent. I loved what Rashid Jahan's dad did, the way he fought in persistent and gentle ways to start a girls' school, to bring education to girls. I'm wondering why there is no biography of him available today, because what he did was pioneering, it was legendary. In the history of Indian education, especially girls education, his name should be on the top. He wrote a memoir himself, but it is hard to find.
Rashid Jahan's life was very fascinating to read about. Before her generation, Muslim girls couldn't go to school, and they were mostly educated at home. Atleast, that is what the book says. She studied at school, and then went to college, became a doctor, became a writer, became an activist and fought for the oppressed, and lived a fascinating life, and accomplished amazing things. It is so hard to believe when we read about it now. She died when she was 47. It was sad and heartbreaking, she had so many years ahead of her.
The second part of the book has a selection of Rashid Jahan's short stories and plays. There were 10 stories and 3 plays. I'd read two of them in 'Angaaray' and it was nice to read more stories and plays here. I loved most of them. 'That One' is about a sex worker, who shows kindness towards a teacher, and how her heart is filled with pure innocent love. 'One of My Journeys' is about the narrator getting into the train and she meets two groups of women there, who end up fighting with each other, and what happens after that. 'Man and Woman' is a conversation between two people who love each other, but the man wants to curtail the woman's freedom and independence, and she refuses to budge. 'Iftari' started slowly and meandered on, but it had one of the most beautiful conversations at the end, and I cried after reading it. 'Thief' is about a thief who brings his kid to the doctor to get treatment and what happens after that. It had some cool dialogue (at one point the doctor asks, "Why do you steal?" To which the thief replies, "Memsaheb, we each have our own professions." 😄) and a beautiful ending. 'Woman' is a play about a wife who is going through emotional pain because her husband is thinking of marrying again.
I loved both Rashid Jahan's biography and her stories. I'm glad I discovered this book. Many later generations of great writers like Ismat Chughtai, Qurratulain Hyder, Attia Hosain have said that Rashid Jahan is their inspiration and now I know why.
Reading the story of Rashid Jahan, and her family and friends made me think this. That many great people walked on these lands, who are forgotten heroes now. They accomplished great things. We are in their debt.
Sharing some of my favourite parts from her stories.
Quote 1
From 'Iftari'
"So, Amma, why don't you fast?"
"Because you don't," Nasima teased her son.
"That's because I am little. My grandmother says those who are old enough and still don't fast will go to hell. What is hell, Amma?"
"Hell? Why, there it is!... Right there in front of you!"
"Where?" asked Aslam, turning his head to look in all four directions.
"There... where that blind beggar is standing. There... where the weavers live. There... where the ironsmiths and the dyers live."
"But my grandmother says there is fire in hell."
"Yes, there is fire. But it isn't the sort of fire that will light our hearth. The fire of hell, my son, is the fire of hunger. Often, you don't get anything to eat in hell and when you do, it is very little and of very bad quality. One has to work very hard in hell. And the clothes that the people in hell wear are old and battered. And their homes are small and cramped and dark, filled with lice and bugs. What is more, my dear Aslam miyan, the children in hell do not have toys to play."
"Kallu doesn't have any toys, Amma; it is because he also lives in hell, isn't it?"
"Yes."
"And heaven?"
"Heaven is here where you and I live with your aunts and uncles. It is here in this large, clean house where we get to eat lots of delicious things such as butter, toast, fruits, eggs, meat, milk. Children have good clothes to wear and a motor car to play with."
"Then, Amma, why does everyone not live in heaven?"
"Because, my dear, those who live in heaven do not let others come in. They get these other people to do all their work but then they push them back into hell."
(Comment : After a while this happens.)
Frightened by what he had seen, little Aslam clung to his mother and said, "Amma." His young mind had seen the true picture of hell for the first time.
Nasima looked at the Khans angrily and said, "These miserable wretches!" Again, Aslam said in a low voice, "Amma."
Nasima stooped to pick him up and looking at him straight in the eyes, spoke in a forceful voice, "My darling, it will be your job to remove this hell when you grow up."
"And what about you?"
"I? Where can I go from my prison?"
"Why not? You are not as old as grandmother that you cannot walk," young Aslam answered echoing the serious tone of his mother. "You must come with me, too."
"All right, my darling, I will also come with you."
Quote 2
From 'Thief'
"I wonder what will happen to those other thieves who neither have a warrant, nor ever will. There are several types of theft. Petty thievery, picking pockets, robbery, larceny, black- marketing, exploitation, filling your home with the money earned from the labour of others, swallowing up someone else's land or country. After all, why aren't these included in theft?
I am not bothered about what people say but when everyone around me began to make fun of me, I felt a twinge of conscience. Had I truly committed a crime by not having the thief arrested? I am a law-abiding citizen. I have certain societal obligations. By not getting that thief arrested, had I shown a lack of civic sense?
I looked around me. I saw that some of the biggest thieves walk around dressed up as saints, and live in large mansions. They travel in aeroplanes and have either gobbled up large tracts of land or are preparing to do so. And to safeguard their own interests, have gone a step further than poor Kamman who only bribed the police. They have the entire police and armed forces on their payroll. Kamman was speaking arrogantly to me, pretending to be an equal, on the basis of a mere five or six hundred rupees, whereas these others... they are not merely arrogant, they sit high above us on a pedestal and rule over us."
Have you read this book on Rashid Jahan? What do you think about it?
The book is divided into two parts. The first half which stretches to around a 100 pages is Rashid Jahan's biography. The second part which is of similar length is a collection of her stories and plays, translated by Rakhshanda Jalil. I loved this format of the book, where we get to read about an author in depth and also get to read her work. I wish though that the biography part was longer.
The book starts with the story of Rashid Jahan's dad, on how he started the first school for Muslim girls in India, how he had to face a lot of opposition and criticism for it, how he got it off the ground with the help of his family and friends and well-wishers and others who believed in girls' education including the Begum of Bhopal, who was a big supporter of girls' education, and how he put his own daughters into that school and how they all went on to achieve great things. Then the book talks about Rashid Jahan's childhood, and how after school she went to college and went on to become a doctor (she must have been a pioneer to have studied medicine and become a doctor in the 1920s). The book also talks about her time as an activist, when she and her husband and their friends fought for the oppressed, and went to jail many times, during the British era, and later even after India became independent. The moral of the story is that if you are an activist, no government likes you, irrespective of whether your country is under colonial oppression, or your country is a democracy ruled by your own people. If you are an activist and you fight for the poor and the oppressed, the government will always try to put you in jail. If you are a peaceful, nonviolent protestor, the government hates you more, because it can't brand you as a bad person or as a terrorist, and so you're definitely going to prison. The last part of the book talks about Rashid Jahan's career as a writer and as a dramatist. There is a separate section on how the book 'Angaaray' came to be published, and about the reception of Rashid Jahan's stories featured in it, and the public outcry against the book and against her.
The biographical part of the book was very good, it was excellent. I loved what Rashid Jahan's dad did, the way he fought in persistent and gentle ways to start a girls' school, to bring education to girls. I'm wondering why there is no biography of him available today, because what he did was pioneering, it was legendary. In the history of Indian education, especially girls education, his name should be on the top. He wrote a memoir himself, but it is hard to find.
Rashid Jahan's life was very fascinating to read about. Before her generation, Muslim girls couldn't go to school, and they were mostly educated at home. Atleast, that is what the book says. She studied at school, and then went to college, became a doctor, became a writer, became an activist and fought for the oppressed, and lived a fascinating life, and accomplished amazing things. It is so hard to believe when we read about it now. She died when she was 47. It was sad and heartbreaking, she had so many years ahead of her.
The second part of the book has a selection of Rashid Jahan's short stories and plays. There were 10 stories and 3 plays. I'd read two of them in 'Angaaray' and it was nice to read more stories and plays here. I loved most of them. 'That One' is about a sex worker, who shows kindness towards a teacher, and how her heart is filled with pure innocent love. 'One of My Journeys' is about the narrator getting into the train and she meets two groups of women there, who end up fighting with each other, and what happens after that. 'Man and Woman' is a conversation between two people who love each other, but the man wants to curtail the woman's freedom and independence, and she refuses to budge. 'Iftari' started slowly and meandered on, but it had one of the most beautiful conversations at the end, and I cried after reading it. 'Thief' is about a thief who brings his kid to the doctor to get treatment and what happens after that. It had some cool dialogue (at one point the doctor asks, "Why do you steal?" To which the thief replies, "Memsaheb, we each have our own professions." 😄) and a beautiful ending. 'Woman' is a play about a wife who is going through emotional pain because her husband is thinking of marrying again.
I loved both Rashid Jahan's biography and her stories. I'm glad I discovered this book. Many later generations of great writers like Ismat Chughtai, Qurratulain Hyder, Attia Hosain have said that Rashid Jahan is their inspiration and now I know why.
Reading the story of Rashid Jahan, and her family and friends made me think this. That many great people walked on these lands, who are forgotten heroes now. They accomplished great things. We are in their debt.
Sharing some of my favourite parts from her stories.
Quote 1
From 'Iftari'
"So, Amma, why don't you fast?"
"Because you don't," Nasima teased her son.
"That's because I am little. My grandmother says those who are old enough and still don't fast will go to hell. What is hell, Amma?"
"Hell? Why, there it is!... Right there in front of you!"
"Where?" asked Aslam, turning his head to look in all four directions.
"There... where that blind beggar is standing. There... where the weavers live. There... where the ironsmiths and the dyers live."
"But my grandmother says there is fire in hell."
"Yes, there is fire. But it isn't the sort of fire that will light our hearth. The fire of hell, my son, is the fire of hunger. Often, you don't get anything to eat in hell and when you do, it is very little and of very bad quality. One has to work very hard in hell. And the clothes that the people in hell wear are old and battered. And their homes are small and cramped and dark, filled with lice and bugs. What is more, my dear Aslam miyan, the children in hell do not have toys to play."
"Kallu doesn't have any toys, Amma; it is because he also lives in hell, isn't it?"
"Yes."
"And heaven?"
"Heaven is here where you and I live with your aunts and uncles. It is here in this large, clean house where we get to eat lots of delicious things such as butter, toast, fruits, eggs, meat, milk. Children have good clothes to wear and a motor car to play with."
"Then, Amma, why does everyone not live in heaven?"
"Because, my dear, those who live in heaven do not let others come in. They get these other people to do all their work but then they push them back into hell."
(Comment : After a while this happens.)
Frightened by what he had seen, little Aslam clung to his mother and said, "Amma." His young mind had seen the true picture of hell for the first time.
Nasima looked at the Khans angrily and said, "These miserable wretches!" Again, Aslam said in a low voice, "Amma."
Nasima stooped to pick him up and looking at him straight in the eyes, spoke in a forceful voice, "My darling, it will be your job to remove this hell when you grow up."
"And what about you?"
"I? Where can I go from my prison?"
"Why not? You are not as old as grandmother that you cannot walk," young Aslam answered echoing the serious tone of his mother. "You must come with me, too."
"All right, my darling, I will also come with you."
Quote 2
From 'Thief'
"I wonder what will happen to those other thieves who neither have a warrant, nor ever will. There are several types of theft. Petty thievery, picking pockets, robbery, larceny, black- marketing, exploitation, filling your home with the money earned from the labour of others, swallowing up someone else's land or country. After all, why aren't these included in theft?
I am not bothered about what people say but when everyone around me began to make fun of me, I felt a twinge of conscience. Had I truly committed a crime by not having the thief arrested? I am a law-abiding citizen. I have certain societal obligations. By not getting that thief arrested, had I shown a lack of civic sense?
I looked around me. I saw that some of the biggest thieves walk around dressed up as saints, and live in large mansions. They travel in aeroplanes and have either gobbled up large tracts of land or are preparing to do so. And to safeguard their own interests, have gone a step further than poor Kamman who only bribed the police. They have the entire police and armed forces on their payroll. Kamman was speaking arrogantly to me, pretending to be an equal, on the basis of a mere five or six hundred rupees, whereas these others... they are not merely arrogant, they sit high above us on a pedestal and rule over us."
Have you read this book on Rashid Jahan? What do you think about it?
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews