58 SOCIAL SCIENTIST In order to arrive at an understanding of the current socio-political background which may have necessitated a united front of the progressive writers, we have to mark the following : a) The deepening of the economic crisis in the last few years as a result of policies which encourage the intensive exploitation of the workers by the rich; b) Social oppression of the workers, peasants, landless labourers and salaried employees, generating large-scale discontent, resentment and revolt; c) Denial of democratic rights to the toiling people so that their resentment does not assume an organised character; d) Indirect and direct curbs on writers and intellectuals so that their plans to lay bare effectively the evil aspects of our society are systematically thwarted. In response to such challenges—posed on one side by the ruling classes through their acts of repression against the poor; and on the other by the oppressed poor masses through their united democratic actions against their 'masters5— a broad progressive outlook has begun to emerge in Hindi literature recently. As our objective historical situation demanded, this outlook has been strengthening itself gradually by showing a consistent concern for the developments in our society. Again, this outlook has moved in the healthy direction of becoming an active participant in the larger struggle for social emancipation. Considerable numbers of young and enthusiastic writers have rallied together and registered their general sense of disapproval through articles, short stories and poems and by putting up magazines from their centres of work and influence. The present All-India Progressive Hindi Writers5 Conference held at Banda this year seemed to be a step in the direction of enabling writers to reach a common minimum agreement on some of the basic literary tasks. Kedar Nath Agrawal, a fine sensitive Hindi poet and the chief architect of the Conference, rightly pointed out at the beginning that a fruitful dialogue between the progressives of various political shades is possible only if the assembled writers observed proper sobriety while thrashing out the points of difference. He seemed to have in mind the few 'old hands' many of whom had quietly slipped into oblivion in so far as the fulfilment of a significant literary role at the present time was concerned. The four sessions into which the Conference was divided were devoted to poetry, short story, literary criticism and the organisation question respectively. Rajiv Saxena's paper on the poetry of the post-Independence period broadly outlined the reasons for the failure of the progressive movement in the past. He considered the trend of New Poetry as faithfully reflecting the cultural ethos of our country because it had broadened the writer's vision. Thus, it had taken Hindi poetry forward. The same thing