“Nations are born in the hearts of poets, they prosper and die in the hands of politicians.” – Allama Iqbal
Muhammad Iqbal, famously known as Allama Iqbal was not only a poet, but a philosopher, and a visionary who envisioned an independent state of Muslims, that after years of struggle resulted in the creation of Pakistan. Today, on 9 November, Pakistan celebrates his 144th birth anniversary with national zeal and fervor.
The day dawned with a change of guard ceremony at the mausoleum of Allama Iqbal in Lahore where a Pakistan Navy contingent assumed ceremonial guard duties.
A number of programs have been arranged by literary, educational, political, social, and cultural organizations to pay homage to the national poet and shed light on different aspects of his life and teachings.
Politicians, academics, and people from civil society also eulogized the Poet of the East on Twitter.
The President of Pakistan shared a quote from the poet as a tribute to him on his 144th birthday.
Minister for Information, Fawad Chaudhry, shared a famous quatrain from Iqbal’s poem to highlight his message.
Many intellectuals stress the need for understanding Iqbal’s message of ‘Ijtehad’ in the modern era, something that the nation also needs to reconstruct its social order for the better. There should be unity amongst Pakistanis, and an emphasis on character building rather than rote learning that has become commonplace in our educational institutions.
In his several couplets, Iqbal referred to the youngsters of Muslim ummah as ‘Shaheen.’ It is time we unite and delve deep to find out the spirit of Iabal’s Shaheen to revitalize ourselves as a nation.