Political consciousness in the early phase of Subhash Mukhopadhyay’s poetry/ সুভাষ মুখোপাধ্যায়ের প্রথম পর্বের কবিতায় রাজনৈতিক চেতনা

Abstract

The 1940s in undivided Bengal were marked by political upheaval and revolutionary fervor. Against this backdrop of national unrest and global conflict, poet Subhash Mukhopadhyay emerged as a powerful literary voice. His political poetry of the time deeply absorbed the tension of the era. Although his poems carried strong ideological messages, they never collapsed into empty slogans. Instead, they were artistically restrained, shaped by a deliberate poetic craft. Subhash consciously employed poetry as a tool of political resistance, rejecting romantic escapism and choosing instead to align himself with the working class and their struggles. His poetic journey thus began not in the serenity of personal musings, but in the burning sun, among the oppressed masses.

              Subhash Mukhopadhyay was born in 1919 in Naogaon, Rajshahi (present-day Bangladesh). In 1930, his family moved to Kolkata, where he studied at Bhawanipur Mitra Institution and later at Scottish Church College. The sociopolitical events of the 1930s greatly influenced him. In 1935, students in Kolkata organized anti-fascist demonstrations. That same year, the All India Progressive Writers’ Manifesto was published, leading to the formal establishment of the All India Progressive Writers’ Association in 1936. The Bengal chapter was officially formed on 25 June 1936, with significant intellectual and literary figures involved—including Subhash himself. Rabindranath Tagore was one of its patrons. Other major participants included Naresh Chandra Sengupta, Hirendranath Mukherjee, Buddhadeb Basu, Bishnu Dey, Samar Sen, and Satyendranath Majumdar.

              Until the 1930s, Marxist influence in Bengali literature was minimal. However, the 1931 launch of Parichay magazine, edited by Sudhindranath Dutta, became a key platform for Marxist thought. By 1939, the Communist Party had established district units in 28 districts of Bengal, gradually expanding the influence of socialist ideology across the region. Writers and cultural activists, including Subhash, contributed to this ideological shift with life-affirming progressive literature. Subhash’s first poetry collection, Padatik, was published in 1940. It was followed by numerous other notable works, including Agnikon (1948), Chirakut (1950), Phul Phutuk (1957), Ei Bhai (1971), and Dharmer Kol (1991). His poetry evolved in style, tone, and technique, yet remained rooted in a deep commitment to social justice.