If I Speak, They Will Kill Me, to Remain Silent Is to Die

Poetry of resistance in General Zia's Pakistan (1977-88)

Bibliographic Data

ID3642025
AuthorsVirinder S Kalra (University of Warwick), Waqas Butt (0000-0003-1203-6839), Waqas M Butt (Oldham Council)
Year2019
Volume53
Issue04
Pages1038-1065
Publication date2019-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueModern Asian Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0026-749X • E-ISSN: 1469-8099
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0026749x17000130
OpenAlexW2596675460
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited11

The ethnic and sectarian divisions that were part of General Zia's (1977-88) political strategies in Pakistan were resisted not only through street protest and political opposition, but also in the realm of culture. In particular, poetry was a vehicle through which to express discontent as well as to mobilize the population. By offering an analysis of a number of poems and the biographies of the political poets who wrote them, this article offers another perspective on the question of resistance in this period of Pakistan's history. Whilst the outcome of the policy of ethnic division was to divide the struggle against General Zia into a broad anti-Punjab front, this article highlights how it was class division and the securing of elite consent that were the major achievements of the Zia regime. In contrast to previous research, we highlight how resistance came from all groups in Pakistan as reflected in the poetry and literature of the time

Art · Biology · Elite · Ethnic group · Literature · Opposition (politics · Poetry · Political science · Politics · Population · Realm · Resistance (ecology · Sociology · Demography · Gender Studies · Law · Politics and Conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle East · South Asian Studies and Conflicts · South Asian Studies and Diaspora

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