THE POETICS OF PEACE: HUMANISM AND ANTI-WAR CONSCIOUSNESS IN MUBARAK QAZI'S ‘CAST AWAY THE GUN’

Abstract

In this study, Mubarak Qazi's poem Cast Away the Gun is analyzed in the light of Humanistic Literary Criticism and Peace Theory, as this poem has succeeded to change the rhetoric of violence into a philosophy of peace, compassion and human dignity. Resistance is not an armed struggle but an ethic of engagement in life as it is seen in Balochi poetry, even if in modern times, it has been a common theme of resistance, identity and political struggle. Using a qualitative approach, the study uses close textual analysis to explore how symbolic imagery, imperative language, and concepts of nature, love and beauty establish an anti-war message. The symbols, a gun, a sun, a moon, flowers, wine, and colours, are moral indicators of the process of reconciliation, hope, and cultural renewal; and the words "Cast away the gun" are a strong moral call for peace. The findings reveal that the theme of modern Balochi literature has been expanded in the poem and the understanding of heroism has shifted from war to compassion. The study places Qazi in the context of anti-war literature, underscoring his unique and important role in the context of the discourse of peace in the present era and the development of literature studies related to the Baloch.