Progressive Writers Association 90 Years Mumbai by Prof. Dr. Avinash Kolhe examines the historic 90th anniversary celebrations, tracing the legacy of progressive literature, IPTA, and Nadira Babbar’s reflections on art, resistance, and social justice.

The 90th anniversary of the Progressive Writers’ Association in Mumbai highlights the enduring relevance of progressive literature and art in shaping social justice movements. Featuring voices like Nadira Babbar and rooted in the legacy of Munshi Premchand, IPTA, and Sajjad Zaheer, the event reaffirms the role of artists in resisting polarization and inspiring change.

The Progressive Writers’ Association [PWA], founded in the year 1936, celebrated its 90th anniversary with fanfare in Mumbai on 11th and 12th April 2026. The function was organized in Parel, a working-class locality of Mumbai. A bunch of suburbs like Parel, Lalbaug, Worli, etc. was once aptly known as Girangaon, meaning a suburb of cotton textile mills.

The PWA function was held in the huge hall of the Rashtriya Mill Mazdoor Sangh [RMMS] and saw progressive artists like Nadira Babbar, Ramesh Talwar, Kuldeep Singh on the stage as well as in the audience. These are the leading lights of the IPTA.

Origins of the Progressive Writers’ Movement

Over to the PWA. The working-class revolution of October 1917, led by Lenin, galvanized the youth all over the world. Youth felt that time must bring into reality the dream of a world led by the toiling millions and create a just and new world. For this, writers and artists too should shoulder responsibility. This gave birth to the PWA. Its inaugural session was held on 10th April 1936 in Lucknow. And the grand old man of Indian literature, Munshi Premchand, was in the chair. Said he in his presidential address, ‘We have to change the criteria of art [Sahitya Ka Uddedhya]’. This was a long-felt need of the new era where literature and art were supposed to liberate literature from the dreamy world of romance, full moon, and flowers.

By the 1930s, all over the world, there was serious discussion about the function of art in life. Four friends, Sajjad Zaheer, Mohammad Deen Taseer, Mulk Raj Anand, and Ahmed Ali met in London in 1935 to discuss the formation of a writers’ body to fight the rising tide of fascism/Nazism and British imperialism. Thus, was born the PWA, which now is a 90-year-old body.

Linking History with Mahatma Phule
This year, the organizers decided to tie this event with the 200th birth anniversary of Mahatma Phule, a wise and timely decision. After the PWA came the Indian Peoples’ Theatre Association [IPTA], founded in 1943. The leading lights of these two groups were Bombay-based, as the Hindi film industry was located here.
This session of the PWA was inaugurated by CPI General Secretary D. Raja, and on stage were Nadira Babbar, P. Lakshaminarayana, National President of the PWA, Dr. Sukhdev Singh Sirsa, along with other dignitaries. Many important books were released on the occasion, followed by a national symposium on ‘The Importance of Literature in the Struggle for Social Justice’. This symposium saw writers from diverse linguistic backgrounds sharing their views on the transformative role of literature.

Nadira Babbar on Relevance Today
In a globalized, consumerism-led world of today, literature still holds the power to change the world for the better. In an interview, Nadira Babbar, theatre director and daughter of Sajjad Zaheer, one of the founder-members of the PWA, said, ‘The biggest relevance of PWA is that we are faced with polarization in our society and the PWA members must fight it’.
Not a tall expectation, considering how the IPTA’s shows in the communally charged atmosphere of the 1940s could douse the fires. IPTA’s songs like ‘Suno Hind ke rahne walon’ [Listen, residents of Hind], ‘Tu zinda hai to zindagi ke jeet mein yaqeen kar’ [If you are alive, believe in winning life] urged communal harmony and humanism.
This optimism is infectious and badly needed these days.

Trending Now, What Everyone Is Talking About, Cultural Moment, Social Pulse, In The Spotlight, Internet Reacts, Current Conversations, This Moment Matters, Now Streaming In Public Discourse,