Abstract

History is the witness of the immense influence literature exercises upon the nations. Percy Byssey Shelley and Mir Gul Khan Naseer, the two great names in the history of English and Balochi literature simultaneously, played an important role in the emancipation of society. Both the poets were against the bogus system of caste, color and creed, suppressing the masses. They were highly against social stratification and feudalism and raised their voice dauntlessly against the prevalent injustice. They are termed as poets of resistance who expressed repulsion against the corrupt social, political and religious scenario. Both the poets were termed as champions of liberty and had the creed to promote social, political and religious reforms. Anon they realized the ineffectiveness of their efforts. Finally, they strove to transform the individuals through their incredible poetry where a profusion of gorgeous verse along with brilliant imagery enchants the readers. 

Key Words

Percy Byssey Shelley, Mir Gul Khan Naseer, Socialism, Revolution, Insurgence, Human Emancipation.  

Introduction

Percy Byssey Shelley (1792 – 1822)

The French Revolution, being a universal rather than a domestic event, gave a novel touch to the political, economic and social issues. Shelley was highly inspired by the French Revolution. The three watchwords of the French Revolution, namely equality, liberty and fraternity, being at the top of every agenda, transformed or reshaped the political and social scenario, especially that of Britain. In Shelley’s poetry, the immense influence of the revolution is quite evident. In his poetry, the concept of equality gave way to the ideology of universal brotherhood. Under the influence of the French Revolution, Shelley dreamt that the entire humanity would nestle together and the oneness of mankind would emerge as a popular doctrine. He was highly influenced by the concept of equality that blazed within the hearts of humanity, who demanded equal access to all the opportunities, including happiness and freedom. This concept of equality was given to humanity by the mentioned revolution. It was then that the man was considered above cast, creed, color and class. Besides equality, the broad spectrum of the French Revolution resided on the other two creeds, such as liberty and fraternity. It protested against all forms of injustice, including oppression and exploitation. Shelley, the revolutionary, condemned any hindrance in the way of liberty. There resounded in Britain the slogan in favor of the freedom of the common man. The French Revolution broadened the vision of humanity, and especially the men of letters visualized the future from a new perspective, according to which there would be no brutal erection such as “Fortress of 

Bastille’. The revolutionaries dreamt of the regeneration of mankind. Despite the fact that they were dissatisfied with the
existing milieu, they still hoped that the golden period had to come; it is not passed or lost.


Mir Gul Khan Naseer (1914-1983)
Gul Khan was conferred with the title of Balochistan’s Poet Laureate. He was a bilingual renowned Baloch politician, poet, historian, and journalist from Balochistan, Pakistan and as a revolutionary figure was also at the forefront of the Baloch nationalist movement. Between 1935 and 1980 was the period when he remained most active as far as his political affiliations were concerned. Unfortunately, all the great poets are acknowledged after their deaths. Similarly, Mir Gul Khan Naseer was posthumously awarded President's Award in 2001 for his literary services. Shelley too faced a similar situation, and in the same manner today, The University College Oxford is proudly having Shelley’s statue placed in the same institution ironically from where Shelley was once expelled after he wrote the pamphlet The Necessity of Atheism (1811) with the collaboration of his college friend Thomas Jefferson Hogg. Both the poets born and bred in different regions experienced different cultures and circumstances, yet their revolutionary zeal to revivify the ignorant masses to claim their rights and to snatch liberty from the clutches of the elite affiliate them spiritually for the noble cause. The USSR government in 1962 decided to present Gul Khan with the Prize, but because of his differences with the Ayub Khan Regime of that time, he wasn't allowed to go to Moscow. Both the rebels paid the price for their revolutionary zeal and desire to emancipate humanity, such as Shelley’s personal life was badly targeted by the anonymous reviewers of the magazines, namely, Quarterly Review and Blackwood Magazine. He received hatred from the general public as he was once knocked down outside the Post Office, where he was waiting to fetch his letters. Both the giant literary figures of their respective ages used poetry as a medium to enlighten the masses. Gul Khan spent 15 years in prison as a price for his social, political, and humanitarian strive. Shelley also strove hard to propound his socialist agenda, but after realizing the futility of his efforts to liberate humanity from the deep slumber of ignorance, he utilized all his youthful energy to spread the message of human liberation through his poetry. 


Method and Procedure
This is qualitative research. It is descriptive, analytical and interpretative. ‘Qualitative Content Analysis Technique’ is applied to analyze the poetry of both the mentioned poets in the light of human liberation and socialism. According to critics, content analysis is a method that referred to the examination of the written text. ‘‘Content analysis has historically been conducted quantitatively; however, now there is a rich tradition of qualitative content analysis as well as mixed approaches” (Biber, 2006). 

Review

Percy Byssey Shelley 

Shelley is accused of being an ‘‘ineffectual angel’’ by Matthew Arnold as the one who is divorced from reality. To critics, some of his visions were mere phantoms, yet he boldly dealt with science, spirituality and democracy in his poetry. He focused upon the struggle of the downtrodden in the hostile and unjust world. Being a revolutionary poet, he launched the revolution against ignorance, tradition, prejudice and dogmatic religion. He denounced religion if it suppressed individual freedom and is an alloy of political despotism. Shelley was an absolute lover of freedom that made him revolt against the conventions, tradition and existing political, moral or social institutions. With reference to this, Queen Mab (1813), The Revolt of Islam (1817), and Prometheus Unbound (1817) stand testimony to it.          

Shelley as a poet of liberty, has a multidimensional plan to follow. Liberty is not only an empirical

phenomenon rather; it has abstract implications as well. Liberty for Shelley is freedom from tangible and abstract bondages. His Necessity of Atheism (1811) is an attempt to release humanity from the restrictions of religion. He, later, paid the price for his blasphemous work that resulted in his expulsion from the University College, Oxford.        

In Shelley’s work, there is constant strife between forces of good and evil that leads to man’s acknowledgement of the finite existence in this material world. This symbolically opens for man the gate to acumen where the mortal is released from the barriers of material with the dawn of wisdom and spiritual insight. Shelley’s most ambitious poem, according to the critics, is The Revolt of Islam (1817). The poem is evidence of Shelley’s genuine and turgid symbolism. ‘‘But the poet had now come to a mature insight… into the complex interplay of good and evil. Man's recognition of his boundaries is the first step to wisdom and inner liberty; martyrdom does not put an end to hope, for it is a victory of the spirit and a vital source of inspiration.’’(Encyclopedia, 2004)

Hellas (1822) is a lyrical drama regarding the glorious contemporary war waged in Greece. According to critics, ‘‘Shelley’s enthusiasm for the stirrings of independence in Greece prompted him to write Hellas (1822)”. The title of the poem suggests that Shelley dedicated the poem to Prince Mavrocordato, whom he had met in exile at Pisa and who later returned to Greece to take part in the revolution against the Turks. Much of the action in the poem takes place in the Turkish palace where the king, who, while receiving the reports of the progress of the war and prophesies of doom, finally gets the news of the Turkish conquest. The poem portrays the dismay of the Greek slaves (Mulhallen, 2010). Despite his utter fiasco to convey his revolutionary idealism concerning human liberation, Shelley poetry is marked with his anticipation of the golden millennium. The following stanza from Hellas is evidence of Shelley’s optimism where he quotes, 

‘‘The world's great age begins anew, 

The golden years return, 

The earth doth as a snake renew 

Her winter weeds outworn: 

Heaven smiles, and faiths and empires gleam 

Like wrecks of a dissolving dream” (Shelley, 1822) 

The poem is a manifestation of Shelley’s vision of a society where the lion and the lamb would lie together. This, in fact, is Shelley’s credence in a liberal, free planet, which is the outcome of man’s struggle for liberty. Shelley is a poet of love and liberty, and in his work ‘‘…Love and liberty are consistently constructed as ‘[t]wins of a single destiny…’’ (Gladden, 2002). It is his love for the individuals that he sought for an ideal land for them to dwell upon. In his poetry, Shelley describes the world without liberty reverting into utter disorder. He longs for a sterile land for the humans that can be established on the foundation of liberty. His extreme idealism makes his dream of an ideal land impossible and impracticable. Shelley, then relegating the substantial, soars in the ethereal world. According to critics he then,’’ did not belong to his (or our) world, and made little out of it. He lacked ‘’a firm grasp on actuality…and, when forced to touch it, instead of making the best of the experience, he fled back into a world of shadows or abstractions and gave up any attempt to cope with concrete reality (Wilson, 1959 ). Hitt argues that Shelley’s work conveys,’’ … an event inspired solely by revolutionary zeal (2001). The focal theme of his poetry is a revolution for the sake of regeneration and liberation. His work has great symbolic significance where light is used as a revolutionary metaphor for liberty. Matthew Cowels states that Shelley used the metaphor of light for liberty:

Liberty

From heart to heart, from tower to towe

Scattering contagious fire into the sky, 

Gleamed’’ (Cowels, 2014) 

In Shelley’s poems, liberty is presented as a force of nature that is all-permeating and is sweeping through the planet where oppressors and oppressed are symbolized as shadows of night that would anon vanish with the dawn of liberty.







Mir  Gul  Khan  Naseer (1914-1983)

Habib Jalib, a renowned Pakistani revolutionary poet and politician who was labelled as the poet of the masses as he opposed authoritarianism and oppression. His name symbolizes the initiation of a new era in Baloch poetry as it revolves around the situation of Balochistan and its people at that time. He was a good friend of Gul Khan whose poetry was a source of inspiration for him, and once he commented that, "Had Mir Gul Khan Naseer been born in Punjab, he would've become Faiz Ahmed Faiz , and if Faiz had been brought up in Balochistan, he would've become Gul Khan Naseer".

Elfenbein comments that ‘‘Gul Khan was very committed both socially and politically, and most of his poetry is very outspoken in its condemnation of dishonest politicians and their chicanery…” (Elfenbein, 1991). Gul Khan strove hard to spread awareness amongst the people of his land. He became the voice of the deprived and the downtrodden. He got infuriated to find the innocent and naive people of society trapped in the clutches of the exploiters. He calls the rich the exploiters of the masses. He did achieve great success in his mission to make the lower strata aware of their due rights. Ahmed asserts that he shaped the ideological and political awareness of the people of Balochistan and the Baloch society by translating works. He introduced new economic and societal trends in Baloch society. He struggled for the improvement of the weak people of Balochistan through strengthening their economic, political and social rights. He fought against tribalism and multiple typecasts and tried to awake people of Balochistan against the tribal system, and paved the way for social and political development. Besides being a politician and a poet, he was a historian and social critic (Ahmed, 2018). Accordingly, Mir Gul  Nasir’s poetry is having a streak of change.  He, like Shelley, dreams when the worker will come out for revolution. Both the poets were in favor of change and emancipation.  




Balochi

Á bigindit Nasír mawjání. Berakay zurta ?o guláb á int.”   




English Translation

Take a look at the tides of change. 

Nasir moved with the red flag (Ansari & Dall, 2018). In these lines, he condemns the feudal lords and the elite of the society. 

According to Fazal Baloch, Mir Gul Khan Naseer’s inspirational verse added a new dimension to modern radical poetry (Baloch, 2020). The central theme and message of his poetry are to rouse the lower classes from the slumber of ignorance to claim their rights. He remained worried about the welfare of those who spend their entire life while burning the midnight oil, but in return, they get nothing out of their hard toil. In his poems, he targets the rich people of the society while addressing the poor. He tries to make the latter aware that this is the right time to fight against injustice; otherwise, if the poor would remain lost in the sleep of ignorance, it will result in deprivation. The poem is full of invectives against the rich, whom he calls tyrants and brutes. They have snatched the laborers of all their happiness just to facilitate themselves, and they are living a life of luxury at the cost of the poor. His poetry reflects his profound concern for the deprived section of society. 

Conceptual Framework

Socialism refers to equality, democracy and cooperation. Socialism supports the equal distribution of wealth and wants to rectify the social system while dealing with the core issues such as the long working hours of labourers and their low payment. Both Shelley and Gul Khan abhorred the unjust social system of their respective lands.  They were against the landlords and feudal; in this sense, they were against capitalism. They wanted to tear the obstacles of exploitation and promoted a socialistic state as Yumna Khatoon remarks that “…socialism ennobles social welfare of all and sundry by fostering the primal elements of education, health, employment, high labor productivity etc. on the basis of equal opportunity. On the contrary, capitalism promotes deep economic inequality, anarchy, irremediable unemployment, mass poverty, illiteracy above allow labor productivity” (Khatoon, 2016). Both Shelley and Gul Khan’s whole life is a quest for the social and national liberation of the individuals of their beloved homelands. They both held the view that freedom is the innate right of the individual and longed for justice for all. To them, the essence of capitalism is apathy and inhumanity. Socialism promotes humanism and is highly concerned for respect and concern for the individuals in the state. Finally, the mentioned poets held the view that a new socialist state can emerge by the rebellion of the proletarian. 

Discussion and Argument

Percy Byssey Shelley

Broadly speaking, the English Romantic Movement may be perceived as interlinked and inspired by the French Revolution. The French Revolution fired the imagination of the English Romantic Poets, heralding the dawn of a new era. The material revolution simultaneously produced a revolution in the realm of ideas, thought and visions. The French Revolution, like opium, intoxicated the minds of the romantic poets, amongst whom Wordsworth, Coleridge and Shelley are the most affected. Especially Shelley swallowed profoundly, the ideology, from the flask of the French Revolution. If Wordsworth sang of humanitarian and natural benevolence, Shelley has proclaimed the staunch champion of liberty, equality and fraternity. His work projects equality, giving way to fraternity and finally resulting in the out-growth of liberty.

Revolution concept especially interested the Romantic poets. Romanticism has a similar effect in poetry, like a revolution in politics. Revolution is a driving force for almost all romantic poets. Shelley is labelled as a rebel and revolutionary poet. Although horrified by Napoleon, Shelley never gave up revolution. His experience of revolution mainly resided in the writings of multiple authors. He was also affected by Plato, etc. When looked back, Shelley found revolution despite the fatal outcome of it, such as terror, despondency and disease.

His famous poem The Revolt of Islam (1818) provides clear evidence that the ideas of progress being the main source of inspiration for the revolution succeeded again. Ode to the West Wind (1819) portrays Shelley as a rebellious who longs for social change, and the west wind, a symbol of revolution, can inculcate change. The poem portrays wind exercising its charm over the earth, in the sky and on the surface of the ocean. The wind is portrayed as bringing about benign changes, and this very quality incites the poet to seek the wind’s aid to complete his mission. Therefore, in the concluding stanzas, we find Shelley conversing with the wind directly while appealing to the wind to inspire him to regain his lost passion and power to reform the world. As his revolutionary ideas are devoid of the spark to mesmerize the youth thus, the wind can kindle the glee fewer thoughts of the poet and can fuse a novel fervor in the progressing youth to revivification. 

An Ode to Skylark (1820), the bird is not only a bird but a spirit of revolution exercising its influence over the earth. It is also compared with the beams of the moon, whose presence is more spiritual than tangible as they are felt than seen. Shelley states that,  




All the earth and air

With thy voices is loud

As, when might is bare,

From one lonely Cloud

The moon rains out her beams, and heaven is overflow’d” (Shelley, 1820)

Swinburne narrates about Shelley that “he was alone the perfect singing god ’’. The very name Shelley composes magnificent music in the ear. Identically Shelley’s work possesses the same musical quality and is the expression of his lyrical genius. The rich aroma of Shelley’s contradictory being is unavoidable. Belonging to the aristocratic class, the author of the Prometheus Unbound (1820) had fluttered in his speech, evidence of philosophic fanatic. These traits are often observed in the case of religious enthusiasts. Shelley, a free spirit, never resided for long at one spot. He arrived and departed like a spectre, leaving no trail of would-be destination behind. The writer who had the free habit of writing verses on guitar amazed Edward John Trelawny, who found Shelley’s countenance as flushed and feminine. Mrs Trelawny was spellbound when he came across Shelley for the first time. He stated, “I was silent from astonishment; was it possible this mild-looking, beardless boy, could be at war with all the world”? (Hughes,1931).

Shelley, a teenage boy, is offering the thoughts of his fertile imagination. At Eton, he becomes prominent among the other boys because of his dauntlessness and his revolutionary philosophy, which he offers freely and fearlessly. His spirit revolted against the evils of society. He detested all forms of oppression. Being a humanitarian, in his lyrics, he expressed his love for humanity and freedom. He revolted against social, political and religious institutions. He hated all the authoritative organizations who suppressed the freedom of the masses. The early influences left a deep impression on the immature mind of Shelley, changing it into a premature one. Shelley went through such revolutionary and philosophical works as Plato’s Symposium (385-370BC) and William Godwin’s Political Justice (1793). Shelley’s antipathy towards the intolerable system of the state, these two impressions he received as the legacy from his before-mentioned masters. William Godwin’s utopian philosophy tremendously coloured Shelley’s imagination. Shelley, like Godwin, believed that a time would come when humanity would be free of disease, anguish, melancholy and resentment and when common interest, which would take the place of particular interest, would be to do good to all. Shelley’s vital faith in the golden future and his passionate love for freedom make him a somewhat quixotic figure. Though his intellect sparkles like a diamond, yet he is a poet with extreme but impossible opinions. 

Shelley went to Eton, which claimed to have a secret of developing the youngsters without repressing the personality. Shelley swallowed the bait and got admitted to Eton. Later the environment he found at Eton was against his taste and nature. According to peacock Shelley often recalled the days spent at Eton and the persecution he tolerated from the senior pupils, with a feeling of resentment. At Eton, he revolted to be a fag and raised his voice against the system. He was proclaimed to be the pioneer of organizing the body against the system; consequently, he was expelled from Eton. Shelley took it as a sample of tyranny. Note of freedom echoes not only in Shelley’s general and educational affairs but also in his matrimonial affairs. William Godwin, with his false doctrine, notoriously poisoned and contaminated many immature and virtuous minds. He propounded the theory of free love. Shelley, for whom Godwin was a prophet and Political Justice not less than a gospel, adopted the philosophy of free love. Shelley looked upon the institution of marriage as a restriction in the way of freedom. Shelley’s first marriage took place in 1811 with Harriet Westbrook, a girl of sixteen. She loved Shelley and pleaded with him to save her from her father, who wanted to send her to school against her wish. The elopement of the young couple followed by their marriage. Authentically Shelley and Harriet’s marriage was the result of Shelley’s chivalrous spirit. Harriet proved to be fond of her husband. She tried her best to accommodate Shelley according to his taste. Peacock, Shelley’s early biographer, got amazed when Shelley unfolded his mind, describing. “Harriet as a noble animal but not a partner of his life, because she could not feel poetry or understand philosophy”. (Blunden: 1965).  The devil of liberty yelled inside and incited Shelley to get rid of the marriage, which he later did so. He refused to bind himself with a creature who has no understanding of his literary achievements and who lacks the essential literary touch. “He pictured his married life as the living bound to the dead, according to the metaphor found in his verses, 

Chain one who lives and breathes his boundless air, 

To the corruption of a closed grave”? (Blunden, 1965).

Shelley, in his work, expresses his inevitable love for liberty which he wishes to get even at the cost of living. In Queen Mab (1813), Shelley adores death, which opens up a gate to eternity and freedom. Death makes one free from the invisible chains of the material world. Shelley quotes in The Daemon of the World (1816), 

“How wonderful is death,

  Death and his brother sleep.”(Shelley, 1816)

Prometheus Unbound (1820), a lyrical drama, presents the evil condition of the universe. The original theme of the drama is liberation. The main character, Prometheus, allegorically stands for the desire for liberty. At the same time, it represents mankind thirsting after liberty. The drama presents Shelley as an off-spring of the French revolution. The production of The Mask of Anarchy (1819) mainly resided upon Shelley’s purpose to attack the conservative British administration. Anarchy, the word, is used to define the miserable condition of Britain where only the authoritative class could plan for themselves in society. It is described as the chaos of tyranny. Another figure, namely “maniac Maid”, symbolizes hope, defeats anarchy. Maniac Maid incites the masses to liberate themselves from the cruel clutches of their oppressors, reciting a provoking song,

“Thou art clothes, and fire, and Food

  For the trampled multitudes

  No_ in countries that are free

  Such starvation cannot be

 As in England now we see.”(Shelley, 1819)

Shelley expressed his annoyance at the exploitation of the masses. He advocated the philosophy, which is later termed socialism. He disapproved of capitalism and strove for the betterment and freedom of workers. Shelley, despising the old, mad, dying and blind king, George the third, enthrones a new queen of England, that is to say, liberty. Shelley, the dreamer, throughout his life, dreamt of an ideal, utopian state. Ode to liberty (1820) revives the same theme. Shelley visualizes his dreams of a new society. He recalled the past when equality and love led the pastoral community to triumph. 

Ode to the West Wind (1820), the fruit of Shelley genius, is the spontaneous outpouring of Shelley’s spiritual longings. Shelley is called the poet of cloud, sky and wind. He was touched by the liberal and free movement of the phenomenon of nature. He wants to get changed into a falling leaf, into a floating cloud or even a free wave of the ocean. He longs to exchange his dull spirit with that of the fierce spirit of the west wind. 

“Be thou, spirit fierce

  My spirit? Be thou me, impetuous one”. (Shelley, 1820)

The poem portrays Shelley as an outcast, down-trodden and grief-stricken person. His thoughts are uninspired and lack the spark of enthusiasm. Shelley wants the west wind to convey his message of liberty, equality and justice all around the world. He pleads the wind, 

“Derive my dead thoughts over the universe

Like withered leaves to quicken a new birth!

And, by the incantation of this verse (Shelley, 1820) 

Shelley highlights the social injustice by referring to the social condition of the minority among the people, possess these commodities. When struggling for freedom, Shelley turned against the rich as they became the oppressors of the workers. The initial tyranny, according to Shelley, is of wage-system, monarchy and clergy despotism. He further states that few possessed the material benefits. A few people gathered benefits by either force or fraud. Revolution can bring change in society. In the light of these doctrines, Shelley appears to be a teacher as well as a poet. Shelley, in his poetry, appears to be descriptive, analytical, musical and as well as didactic. 

Shelley died in 1822. Critics relate a very mysterious incident with Shelley’s death, that while boating at Spezia, Shelley suggested to his friends to taste the death and on the spur of the moments, he jumped into the water and put an end to his life. Though his family denied if we test the truth of the rumor in the light of Shelley’s work, then it does carry weight. His later poems are marked with the prophecy of Shelly’s approaching death, especially in Adonais (1821). Shelley makes an open declaration that he is about to leave the world of man as nothing fascinates him anymore. He, at the prime of his life, amazed the world by his philosophy which demanded liberty in all matters.  His death is the manifestation of the conversion of his words into deeds. Shelley, the romantic, the idealist, fought for the cause of others and ultimately lost his own war waged against the evils. His dreams of the golden millennium proved to be fake and the world as unbearable. He, then, snatched liberty from the cruel clutches of death and embraced death for eternal freedom.

According to critics, Shelley’s religion is an amalgamation of Pantheism and Platonism. Shelley was a follower of Plato. He believed in one Universal Mind. Each individual mind faces death, which united the individual with the Universal Mind and mingling in infinite spirit to be part of the world.

For Shelley, Napoleon was greedy and a tyrant. He is Queen Mab writes about “the bloodless veins Of desolate society”, (Shelley, 1813) 




Mir Gul Khan Naseer

Mir Gul Khan's poetry expresses liberal nature and socialist credo. Gul Khan for a long time fought to abolish the social stratification that prevailed at that time as he was against the unjust system. His poetry can be termed as anti-chauvinistic and anti-imperialistic on the whole. Though most of his poetry was in the Balochi language yet being a versatile artist, he wrote poems in multiple languages between 1933–1950. Unfortunately, there has been no publication of his Urdu poetry to this date. A progressive poet known as a poet of resistance, Gul Khan, was extremely nationalistic, whereas Shelley turned against the English when they brutally snatched and deprived Ireland of its freedom. Gul Khan’s mother had a vital influence upon the mind and personality of the poet as she, being a learned woman, was well versed in Persian and could read the holy Quran. She was a source of inspiration for her son. Gul Khan started writing poetry quite early when he was merely eight years old. His contribution to Urdu poetry is worth mentioning as he got it published in newspapers during his education in Lahore under the pen name Naseer. The following is the famous quatrain of his poem:




Translation

‘‘When the world starts to constrict around the poor man

 His mutilated naked form is left to fend for his hungry gut

 Then it's better from this life of misery and torture

 If war ensues, heads roll & lavish palaces are burnt to the ground.’’

Mir Gul Khan’s contribution in the field of literature can never be forgotten as he wrote extensively and had translated several works. His books includes: History of Balochistan (1952) (Urdu) Volume 1, History of Balochistan (1957) (Urdu) Volume 2 , Daastaan-e-Dostain o Sheereen (1964), Koch o Baloch (1969), Garand (1971), Balochistan Kay Sarhadi Chaapa Maar (1979), Seenai Keechaga (1980), Mashad Na Jang Naama (1981), Shah Latif Gusheet (1983), Gulgaal (1993), Shanblaak (1996). The last two being posthumous publications. 

He was termed as the Baloch of the century as he tried to remove misconception against the Baloch race and raised the status of his race, and brought both Balochis and brahvis closer to each other by logically proving them the descendants of the same race. 

As a staunch adherent to progressivism, he remained committed to its ideals/principles throughout his life. Devotion to the indigenous land is quite evident in the work of both poets. They can be termed as the sons of the soil. They were much aggrieved to see the deteriorating situations of their respective regions. They were willing to self-sacrifice for their native lands.  They expressed their abhorrence against the people who exploited the innocent masses of their homeland in the name of religion.  Both the poets had socialistic agenda to uplift the pathetic condition of the masses. They stood firm against the corrupt system, which exploited the poor to serve the rich. They suffered immensely and devoted their lives to see their dreams come true. 

According to critics, Gulbang (1951) is the first modern Balochi verse. In his poetry, a figure, the poor peasant, appears often. In fact, the poor peasant is a symbolic figure who represents the deprived of the society who face discrimination, injustice, suppression and cruelty. He never wasted his ink to write about the enchanting beauty of the beloved; rather, he used phrases like starvation, oppression, shirtless people with an empty stomach. To him, the landlords are the tormentors of the poor farmers. He raised the slogan in favor of justice, equality and respect. In his revolutionary poetry, he targeted the deeply-rooted tribal society by highlighting its drawbacks. 

He is often compared to the great Urdu poet Habib Jalib. He is termed as the first modern Balochi poet as through his revolutionary poetry; he attempted to make the deprived of the social strata aware of their rights of liberty and self-determination. He died on 6th Dec 1983 due to chronic disease. 

In Cries and Shouts and Hurried Calls, the poet is highlighting the bitter fact that people of his homeland are blessed with physical sight but are unfortunately spiritually blind. The poet is mournfully calling them colour blind who are contented with the type of life given to them. But to the poet, they have mistaken dusk for dawn. The poet interprets the life of the have-nots as dark and black like the night that has spread its darkness all around. He further states that he envisions lightning and voiceless thunder. Here the poet predicts that the time is closed when the people of his land would become aware of their rights, and this enlightenment would be followed by a voiceless thunder. This voiceless thunder refers to the revolution that would take place silently and would gradually become fierce. The poet foresees that injustice and tyranny can only be defeated by sacrifice and struggle. The poet calls his people fools as he wants to make them aware of the prolonged, dark and dismal night that has some sinister design against them. The creepy, grim night has engulfed all the brightness. Here the poet is speaking in symbolic tones. The dark night refers to the merciless imperialists who are snatching the patriots of their zeal to liberate their land from their injustice and tyranny, etc. According to him, the elite class of the society tramples the rights of the valiant patriots who are brimming with enthusiasm to liberate their people from the physical and mental slavery of the imperialists. The poet particularly mentions the names of the freedom fighters who are the advocate for the cause of the week and the downtrodden. In order to silence any sort of rebellion against them, the imperialists are setting the villages and cities on fire. The poet calls them contemptuous agents of foreigners who are committing genocide. 

‘‘ This is just a test of the steadfastness of the patriots

It won't last; this night of terror won't last

Even though it's dark and foggy at the moment

Nasir sees clearly, with his heart

The flag of your victory waving in the wind.’’ (Naseer, 2012)

Mir Gul Khan Naseer’s poetry is full of sarcasm against the ruling class. His poetry projects a pathetic picture of the innocent masses who are lost in the deep slumber of ignorance. Though his poetry is grim and grave, it always ends with a note of optimism. The last line of the above poem is a prediction of the bright future of the masses of his country. Similarly, Shelley is also acknowledged as the poet of the future, and in his poems, he is highlighting the corruption and tyranny of the aristocracy against the lower masses. His poems, too, are full of satire and sarcasm against the rulers and those who have power. But well said that absolute power corrupts absolutely. Both the poets mention their disdain against the rulers, feudal, etc., as they misuse their power and authority for personal benefits.

 In the poem Man O Mullah, the poet opposes social stratification, and the poem also highlights the importance of equality amongst the genders. 

The poet is further condemning all those having authority without any difference of caste and nationality. According to the poet, the aristocracy of the society is only concerned to fill its own pockets. Whereas the poor keep their own descending and become poorer. Gul Khan exposes their lavish lifestyle and disapproves it disdainfully by calling them criminals, pimps, blood-sucking leeches and poisonous snakes. They profess to serve humanity, but it’s just the lip service that they provide to humanity, and in reality, they are just piling up every comfort for themselves and for their families.

 ‘‘These Mirs, Masters and Sardars (Tribal Chieftans)

These Pirs, Clerics and Zardaars (the Wealthy)

These are the real roots of evil

They are criminals and pimps,

Traitors of humanity,

Blood-sucking Leeches and Poisonous snakes

They travel in cars and planes

Their houses are furnished with velvet carpets

And they eat from golden plates.’’ (Naseer, 2012).

In the following lines, the poet evidently and directly highlights the oppression of the elite class against the laboring class. The poet wonders that how do the aristocracy accumulate their wealth, and being corrupt and merciless, they don’t have any right to be the masters of the masses. 

In Socialism-I-Amal Gul Khan, Naseer rejects the prevalent social, political and economic system of injustice against the lower classes of society. He favors socialism as the ruling system of the country as it claims to liberate the oppressed from the clutches of the selfish elite.

Again the above-mentioned poem repeats the same disdain for those who are looting and polluting his people and homeland. He advocates socialism that does not believe in competition; rather, its agenda is cooperation. The poet is quite definite that the present system of feudalism which is equivalent to capitalism, would collapse due to inner defects as it is based upon inequality and injustice. Socialism promotes human welfare amongst the common masses. 

Mir Gul Khan Naseer’s optimism is worth appreciating as he always predicts the renaissance of society. He visualizes a change that can be interpreted as a revolt against the upper class of the society.

Conclusion

Shelley and Gul Khan, the literary giants and the freedom fighters, throughout their lives remained devoted to the cause of human welfare and human liberation. Their socialistic creed advocated the establishment of the laboring class of society. Shelley’s ethereality is also linked with his desire to abandon the empirical world full of injustice and tyranny where the masses are everywhere in chains. Shelley’s entire quest in the light of his work is manifested as a longing for absolute liberty for the establishment of an ideal benevolent state. Both the mentioned poets, in their poems, referred to the disparity and desolation in the world. They believed that this communal disparity and the prevalent social conditions enhanced the misery of the many. Shelley, a revolutionist, is a humanist and socialist creed can be traced to his affiliation with the French Revolution that raised the slogan equality, liberty and fraternity. Whereas Mir Gul Khan Naseer developed his socialist and humanist creed as a result of the sufferings of his people, he witnessed painfully under feudalism. Both the poets favor equal rights for both genders. They expressed extreme disdain against the mere lip service of the clergy, who exploit the innocent masses in the name of religion. Both the poets can be termed as the true champions of the weak and poor and had humanitarian and socialist agenda to improve the deplorable condition of the common man. They expressed their hatred for absolute power as it results in injustice. Their poetry aims for the ultimate and inevitable human liberation, and note of optimism is evident that both the poets were quite hopeful about the future of mankind where all would have access to the basic requirements of life, including fooding, clothing, shelter, education and employment.    

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