پاک فوج میں اُردو طنز و مزاح

THE LITERARY SERVICES OF PAKISTAN ARMY FOR URDU HUMOUR AND SATIRE

Abstract

The writers of the Pakistan Army have rendered invaluable services in the promotion of Urdu language & Literature and have shown their creative essence in all genres of Literature. Very few of us are aware of the literary services of the Pakistan Army. If we look at the total limmas of satire and humor in Urdu literature, it is a pleasant surprise that our best humorists belong to the Great Pakistan Army. First of all, we should remove the misconception that satire and humor are not genres of literature, but rather a style of literature. The biggest argument for this is that the style of satire and humor has been used in all the prevalent genres of poetry and prose of Urdu literature. The tradition of satire and humor in the Army is very old and very glorious. Along with performing their duties, the Young Writers of the Pakistan Army also create humorous literature with great skill to reduce mental stress. Army humorists have a unique identity in the history of Urdu humor thanks to their wit and themes.  The basic nurseries of Urdu satire and humor in the Pakistan Army are the magazines and journals published by various military institutions and training Centers. "Hilal" , "Huma" , "Rasd O Tarseal" , "Qayadat" , "Alamgirian"  , "Mashal" "Nishan A Manzil" , "Al Jihad" , "Shah Sawar"  and "Pakistan Army General" are prominent among these magazines and journals. The leading Urdu humorists started their pen work from these journals. The intellectual themes present in the brilliant creations of these humorists are the reason for the development of human emotions and the promotion of aesthetics. The writings of military humorists, in addition to fully reflecting social life, expose many human behaviors and provoke thought on society, which is highly commendable. The literary history of Urdu is a witness that many talented poets and writers of the Pakistan Army could not join the mainstream of literature only because they belonged to the Defance Services of Pakistan. If creators like "General Khalid Mahmood Arif" , "Brigadier Safdar" , "Subedar Rahim Gul" , "Subedar Ghulam Ali Bulbul"  and  "Havaldar Afzal Gohar"  had become part of the mainstream, they would certainly have achieved their rightful place in the evolution of Urdu literature.  It is a pity that his creative literature reached the level of authorship but it was seen as the literature of a specific class. The same is also associated with dozens of creative humorists of the Pakistan Army. The poetry of Subedar Ghulam Ali Bulbul is in no way less than the poetry of Syed Zameer Jafri, but few readers of literature are even familiar with his name. The creativity of military writers like "Brigadier S S Hadi", "Colonel Fazal Akbar Kamal" , "Major Tariq Toor"  and "Subedar Afzal Tahseen" , like the aesthetic writing of "Subedar Ghulam Ali Bulbul", is also hidden from the eyes of ordinary readers of literature. These are all names that, if made part of the mainstream, would add dozens of quality additions to the evolutionary tradition of Urdu literature. The article under review will examine the tradition of Urdu satire and humor in the Pakistan Army.