In 1931, Jahan was posted to the Lady Dufferin Hospital (now the Dufferin Hospital) in Lucknow, the capital city of the United Provinces. In Lucknow, Jahan met Sajjad Zaheer, Ahmed Ali, and Mahmuduz Zafar. The following year, the quartet published "Angaaray", a collection of short stories railing against the hypocrisies of Islamic orthodoxy and the British Raj. In 1933, Jahan joined the Communist Party of India and became a leading party figure in the United Provinces, adopting the moniker "Comrade Rashid Jahan."