JANWADI LEKHAK SANGH (ANJUMAN JAMHOORIATPASAND MUSANNIFEEN) is an All-India association of democratic Hindi and Urdu writers. It was formed in February 1982 at its first historic Conference held at New Delhi in which more than 500 delegates from various states of India participated. The delegates discussed the draft Manifesto and Constitution of the Association at the Conference and adopted the basic documents. On the basis of those documents the Conference elected a Central Council and the Central Council elected an Executive Council including its office bearers such as the President, General Secretary, Vice Presidents and Secretaries, Treasurer and some members to run the organisation.
It is a well recognised fact that Janwadi Lekhak Sangh is the largest Association of Hindi and Urdu writers in India. It has its State and District level units in U.P., Bihar, Jharkhand, Delhi, Rajasthan, M.P., Maharashtra, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and West Bengal. New units in newly created states such as Uttaranchal and Chhattisgarh are also likely to be formed in the near future. The Central Council has representation of Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Goa. Recently organisational set up has been created in Punjab and Goa also.
Janwadi Lekhak Sangh has the best writers of Hindi and Urdu literature as its members.
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
JANWADI LEKHAK SANGH (DEMOCRATIC WRITERS’ ASSOCIATION) was formed when writers in India had realised that there was a threat from the ruling classes to democratic set up. They felt that a resistance would have to be built up so that democracy could be preserved and democratic values saved. Writers had seen the Emergency days during the late seventies when the the whole people were robbed of their democratic rights and the right of expression, which is so dear to writers, was also taken away. The return of the same regime in 1980 compelled various sections of intelligentsia to organise themselves in the form of Associations. The formation of Janwadi Lekhak Sangh was a sequel to this collective effort of Hindi and Urdu intelligentsia of which writers are the most important segment. So the basic aims and objectives of the Association are
(i) to be the part of the struggle for preservation and enrichment of democratic values in Indian society and fight against authoritarianism of the exploiting classes that are hell bent upon destroying democracy in India;
(ii) to carry forward the cultural heritage of secular, democratic and patriotic tradition of the days of our freedom movement of which Hindi and Urdu literatures were an important part
(iii) fight against all kinds of obscurantism and religious fanaticism and communalism that pose a grave threat to the composite culture of India and sow the poisonous seeds of communal hatred among various communities that have been living on this soil for centuries and contributed to its cultural heritage;
(iv) to fight against all decadent and irrational cultural streams and ideas propagated by imperialism for subversion of democratic and scientific temper of the people of developing countries;
(v) to fight against all decadent feudal ideologies and customs that perpetrate tyranny against women and downtrodden and uphold inequalities on the basis of castes, faiths, gender and races;
(vi) to encourage and help new writers of Hindi and Urdu literature by providing broad platform to their creative writing by organising recital and discussion sessions;
(vii) to organise critical discourse on the latest creative and cultural events and ventures including new publications in Hindi and Urdu literature.
(viii) to extend cooperation to other democratic organisations devoted to the similar cause of developing democratic culture, art and literature and to organise joint action programmes on issues of vital importance.