Toilers of the East

ہم اہلِ صفا مردودِ حرم                  

مسند پر بٹھلائے جائیں گے

اور راج کرے گی خلقِ خدا

جو میں بھی ہوں اور تم بھی ہو

ham ahl-e-safā mardūd-e-haram

masnad pe bithāe jāeñge

aur raaj karegī ḳhalq-e-ḳhudā

jo maiñ bhī huuñ aur tum bhī ho

The eternal words of Faiz perfectly capture the sentiments of the peoples of color all over the World – from Dada to McKay – united in their fight against imperialism and colonialism, and their fight for recognition. Freedom, whether it meant bringing down the white man’s flag or bringing about the right to equality and dignity, seemed to have become palpable. It was a time of hope.

With this profound hope, there was forged an unprecedented unity. A sense of brotherhood (arguably, not sisterhood) amongst all those fighting to overthrow the rule of the white man. This brotherhood found its Makkah in Moscow. With arms wide open, the Soviets welcomed the Toilers of the East. The vanguard that defeated capitalism, now set sail to demolish its other half: colonialism. The Soviet symbolized the promise of self-determination for all and was constantly working toward this end; be it the posters or the conferences of the Comintern or the trainings of the University of the Peoples of the East. The two most prominent facets of this struggle were the sense of community amongst the oppressed peoples, and in tandem with that, the sense of dignity and liberty accorded to each individual.

INDIA: Colonialism is doomed everywhere!

Colonialism will not pass!

These Soviet posters are telling evidence of the prevailing ideas of the time and perfectly encapsulate the sentiments described in the accounts by Dada and McKay. Both have similar themes, showing a strong man, one African (a “black icon in the flesh”) and the other Indian, standing tall and proudly kicking out the white man (symbolizing colonialism) from their motherland. The men have been depicted in all their cultural glory – with their dark skins and traditional clothes as symbols of pride. The African poster also shows the flags of many African nations waving brightly in the background – highlighting the unity of the Africans. The fact that these posters come from the Soviet, of course, show their unwavering support for the Indian and African causes. 

McKay beautifully expressed this as a “spontaneous upsurging of folk feeling”, stemming from their common oppression. Whereas in the U.S. around the same time, the oppression of the peoples of color was enshrined in the constitution, Soviet turned out to be a socialist utopia. In this land, McKay reveled in the passion of the people lifting him on their shoulders, and Dada found his identity was no longer questioned, or worse, denied. Here, even a sailor who had seen the world, was stunned by the diversity of peoples living (and struggling) together. And only here, a black man was an honorary General of the Red Army while another was rubbing shoulders with the Big Four. This magnificent experiment of International Communism was a brief realization of the dreams of the subjugated peoples all over the globe. From reading about the struggles of their Moroccan brethren to enthusiastically supporting the British union’s strikes; it was indeed, here, that the rule of the white man predicated on difference and discord could be defeated by the power of the united peoples. The reality of colonialism had been exposed, and now was the time to reclaim the identity, dignity and freedom that had been robbed off them.  This, then, is the story of the posters. 

(Images source)