Adjunct Faculty, Mushtaq Ahmed Gurmani School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Lahore University of Management Sciences, Pakistan.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21659/jsae/v2n2/v2n207
[Article History: Received: 21 August 2025. Accepted: 15 October 2025. Published: 27 October 2025]
Abstract
Unpacking resistance as a framework is crucial to locating identity in contemporary transnational contexts. Within South Asian literary traditions, resistance has long been situated in poetry by serving as both a historical template and a living archive of collective struggle. Poetry has articulated both the aspirations of marginalized communities as well as their despair, transforming grief into a shared vocabulary of defiance. This paper explores such a discourse of resistance through the lens of Faiz Ahmad Faiz’s “Intesaab” (Dedication), positioning the poem as a site for theorizing transnational identity and otherness. Drawing on postcolonial and postmodern theory, as well as literary hermeneutics, the paper interrogates whether “Intesaab” can be read beyond its original context as a transnational social imaginary. The analysis begins with Faiz’s poetic influences and his engagement with Marxist collectives, situating the revolutionary underpinnings of his work. The paper later goes on to contrast poetics and hermeneutics as modes of analysis, addressing issues of translation, subaltern representation, and the circulation of “Intesaab” across linguistic and cultural boundaries. The closing section reflects on the postmodern condition: how contemporary readings reshape both the meaning of the poem and its capacity to inspire resistance in new geographies. Ultimately, the paper interrogates whether despair, so often framed as passive or immobilizing, can instead be mobilized as a transnational resource for consciousness and solidarity. In positioning Faiz’s work within shifting terrains of identity and resistance, the paper argues for “poetics of despair” as a vital tool for reclaiming subjectivity across borders.
Keywords: Resistance, Transnationalism, Postcolonial Theory, Revolutionary Poetry
