Living with Colonialism: Nationalism and Culture in the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan (Colonialisms) by Heather J. Sharkey

Author:Heather J. Sharkey [Heather J. Sharkey]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2010-02-12T04:22:00+00:00

CENSORSHIP, SURVEILLANCE, AND RESISTANCE

In the aftermath of the 1924 uprisings, the regime imposed heavy surveillance, placing the educated Northern Sudanese on their best behavior. Most of those who had participated in the League of Sudan Union or White Flag League continued in government jobs, performing them with the same dedication as before. While crackdowns pushed politics outside the public arena, political discussion did not disappear completely, but turned to literature instead. Contrary to expectations, therefore, the period from 1924 (the year of the uprisings) to 1938 (when the Graduates Congress emerged as a forum for open political debate) was a time of great intellectual vitality. Literary activity became the political ground par excellence, as the educated Northern Sudanese gathered after work in homes, employees clubs, and literary salons. Generally regarded as innocuous by the authorities, these activities stimulated debates on the cultural foundations of "Sudanese" society and discussions about a future without British rule.

The chill that followed 1924 began to thaw in 1930 when the regime promulgated its first formal press law. (Although the Sudan government had had no formal press law until that time, it had, from the early years of the regime, subjected Sudanese newspapers to censorship, defining it as a legal prerogative of the governor-general that derived from the martial law declared at the time of the conquest.65) This new law regulated the import, sale, and distribution of printed materials. As far as newspaper publishing was concerned, each prospective publisher had to apply for a permit; gain approval for the owner, printer, and editor(s); submit each issue for Intelligence Department review; pay a security fee; and, if requested, supply information on his writers.66 In other words, the 1930 press law codified publishing practices but did not substantially differ from the regime's earlier informal policies. Although its provisions were strict, merely by signaling that the regime was prepared to consider new journalistic ventures, the promulgation of the 1930 press law marked an easing of the regime's post1924 crackdowns.

Two literary journals emerged in the 193os after the promulgation of the press law. The first, al-Nahda al-Sudaniyya, better known simply as alNahda ("The Awakening") came out only from 1931 to 1932, while al-Fajr ("The Dawn") ran irregularly from 1934 to 1937. Both had remarkably short runs, troubled by financial difficulties and by the illnesses and deaths of their editors.67 Nevertheless, they were arguably the two most important Northern Sudanese journals of the twentieth century because they provided a forum for the exploration of Sudanese nationalism and national identity.

Some say that the founder and editor of al-Nahda, Muhammad Abbas Abu'l-Rish (1908-35), had been preparing the journal secretly, in handwritten form, when the authorities found out about it. Approaching Abu'lRish, they asked him to come into the open with his journal, on the understanding that government approval for publication would be forthcoming. The same was not true for another handwritten paper, called al-Asil ("The Steadfast"), published by a student named Muhammad Abd al-Wahhab alQadi, from the Ma`had al-Ilmi (where the Islamic sciences were taught), and containing praise poems as well as articles on Islamic reform and moral values.

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