สำนักงานราชบัณทิตยสภา

The Journal of the Royal Institute of Thailand Volume IV - 2012 15  Thailand, which had its first phase between 1947 to 1957. This political-literary movement is characterized by the fi rst actions of the so-called “progressive” writers and their proclamation of art for life against art for art’s sake . The central question was about the function of literature and the actual task of the writer. This “peaceful uprising” of 1952 resulted in many Thai authors turning to the social problems of the country and they therefore, gave greater impetus to “progressive literature”. This also applies to the time after the fi rst military putsch by General Sarit Thanarat in 1957 that led to a blossoming of progressive “literature for life” in Thailand, if only for a period of a year. The second military putsch in Thailand was however a major turning point. General Sarit abolished the constitution, dissolved parliament and governed the country with 20 laws he set himself. Communist actions, or actions considered as such, were forbidden and the media was heavily censored. Many writers and journalists were put under strict surveillance or arrested as communists. Among them, Chit Bhumisak, who was accused of being a communist. In May 1965 Chit went “into the jungle” in order to take part in the revolutionary fi ght of the farmers, workers and the Communist Party of Thailand. Chit Bhumisak was shot dead on 5 May 1966 in the jungle in a province of north-eastern Thailand. Following Chit’s death, the previously more literary socialist battle of the Thai people gained a new realism and became for many a political reality in many regions of Thailand. Satien Chantimathorn, a famous Thai writer, with his book ‘The Thread of Littérature Engagée’, 4 called the time period after the second military putsch in the year 1958 “Dark Ages of Enlightenment”. It was also the beginning of the Vietnam War with Henry Kissinger’s ‘Domino Theory’, which feared the countries of South East Asia would topple and become Communist, one after the other. This literary and political movement in Thailand after World War II did not change the stable and clear position of the Thai government which at that time was supporting the ‘Western Democratic ideology’, considering the United States of America as a close ally. Thai military, wanting, above all else, to safeguard their independence, had allowed the formidable military presence of the United States during 1961-1975, in Thailand. 4 Satien Chantimathorn wrote this book, in which a fi rst view of this literary movement in Thailand is given, after joining other students going to the jungle for 5 years after student demonstration in October 1976. Pornsan Watanangura