Celebrating Iqbal Day

Iqbal Day is an annual national holiday, celebrated in Pakistan and is locally known as Yōm-eWelādat-e Muḥammad Iqbāl. Iqbal Day celebrates Sir Muhammad Iqbal who was born on the 9^th of November 1877 in Sialkot. He is commonly known as Allama Iqbal and passed away on 21st April 1938. He was a poet, a philosopher and a politician who influenced the Pakistan Movement.

Allama Iqbal was knighted by King George V, and hence obtained the title of ‘Sir’. His famous literary works are Asrar-e-Khudi, Rumuz-e-Bekhudi, Payam-e-Mashriq, Zabur-e-Ajam, and Javed Nama. Every year the whole world pays tribute to Allama Iqbal, the "Poet of the East". The Pakistan government has officially declared him as the national poet.

The Pakistan Movement also referred to as Tehrik-e-Pakistan aimed for the independence of Pakistan and Bengal from the British Empire. Iqbal harnessed his talent in literature and wrote powerful poetry as a tool for spreading political awareness. The Pakistan Movement is taught to students in Pakistan and mentioned in both school and universities textbooks.

One of the famous quotes said by Allama Iqbal in reference to the Pakistan Movement is, “I would like to see the Punjab, North-West Frontier Province, Sindh and Baluchistan amalgamated into a single State. Self-government within the British Empire, or without the British Empire, the formation of a consolidated North-West Indian Muslim State appears to me to be the final destiny of the Muslims, at least of North-West India.”

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Pakistan’s Influential Poets

1.      Muhammad Iqbal

Sir Muhammad Iqbal is commonly known as Allama Iqbal. He was born on the 9th of November 1877, and passed away on 21^st April 1938. He was a poet, a philosopher and a politician who influenced the Pakistan Movement. King George V knighted him, giving him the title of ‘Sir’. His famous works are Asrar-e-Khudi, Rumuz-e-Bekhudi, Payam-e-Mashriq, Zabur-e-Ajam, and Javed Nama.

2.      Faiz Ahmad Faiz

Faiz Ahmad Faiz was born on the 13^th of February 1911 and passed away on the 20^th of November 1984.He was an influential and revolutionary poet, who was nominated four times for the Nobel Prize for literature. He was a notable member of the Progressive Writers' Movement (PWM), and was awarded with MBE in 1946, the Nigar Awards in 1953, the Lenin Peace Prize in 1963, Nishan-e-Imtiaz in 1990 and the Avicenna Prize in 2006. His famous works are Naqsh-e-Faryadi, Dast-e-Sabah and Zindan-nama.

3.      Parveen Shakir

Parveen Shahkir was born on the 24^th of November 1952 and passed away on the 26th ofDecember 1994. She was a poet and a teacher, who published her first volume of poetry, Khushbu (Fragrance) in 1976. She continued to write poetry, and the following volumes have been compiled to form Mah-e-Tamam [Full Moon] with the exception of Kaf-e-Aina. Parveen Shahkir was awarded with the Pride of Performance, for her contributions to Pakistani literature.

4.      Abu Al-Asar Hafeez Jullundhuri

Abu Al-Asar was born on the 14th of January 1900 and passed away on the 21^st of  December 1982. He was an Urdu poet who wrote the lyrics for the National Anthem of Pakistan. His other famous works are Shahnama-e-Islam and the Hymn of Kashmir. He received the Pride of Performance Award and Hilal-e-Imtiaz.

5.      Zehra Nigah

Zehra Nigah is an Urdu poet and scriptwriter from Pakistan who was born on the 14^th  of May 1937. She has written several television serials, including Pinjar. Zehra has published only two volumes of poetry, Shaam ka Pehla Taara (The First Star of the Evening) and Waraq (Page). She was also honored with the Pride of Performance award. 

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