Iqbal Day: Glorious Past, Gloomy Present

Asem Mustafa Awan

Today, the Pakistani nation celebrates the birth anniversary of Allama Dr. Muhammad Iqbal, the man behind the concept of Pakistan’s creation, in a situation where the ideological and political differences have left the country in a chaotic state with no end in immediate sight.

Allama Muhammad Iqbal, in his speech at Allahabad in 1930, defined the state of Pakistan by explaining its geographical and ideological boundaries. The very speech charged the Muslims of the sub-continent who were striving for the independence and the dream materialised under the leadership of great Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah in 1947.

The Pakistan movement was nurtured on this very concept and countless sacrifices were made to get the piece of land we call Pakistan.

Allama Iqbal’s conception of the state was in accordance with contemporary requirements. Allama Iqbal’s essays and scholarly sermons show that a major part of his intellectual discourse was devoted to building the Muslim character and the foundation of a state that caters to all its inhabitants.

Iqbal’s article, “Islam as a Moral and Political Concept of Life,” is an eye-opener for the readers and was published over 100 years ago. His sermon at Aligarh University in the early 1900’s on the Muslim Ummah encompassed the concept of an Islamic State.

The struggle for independence was given colossal momentum by his poems and writings that gave a clear message of two-nation theory, where a separate homeland for Muslims was envisioned.

The state of Pakistan was established on the basis of a two-nation ideology and it was expected that after obtaining the piece of land, the one-nation concept would have taken roots immediately but all that exist at present is on the contrary.

Regional, ethnic, religious, and linguistic divides imposed by the so-called political stalwarts have made an incision in the homeland that was the bloodiest of all migrations in the history of mankind.

This divide resulted in Pakistan being divided and the other part of Pakistan is now called Bangladesh.

The ‘Fall of Dhaka’ and the reasons behind it have not been told, and the nation has been given a “history” that many independent historians of that time contest.

Iqbal’s concept of freedom and righteousness in humans revolves around Muslim identity and the unimpeachable character of Muslims.

Iqbal’s poetry globally portrayed the revival of the human spirit, which is limitless and infinite. Iqbal’s teachings taught nations how to live after trauma and collective suffering.

The world has viewed Pakistan as a model nation destined to achieve greatness since its inception, but as time passed and the nation was hijacked by the elite, its nose-down journey to the endless pit became unending. The entire country is hijacked by a select few that control over 90 per cent of the resources, and this doesn’t end here.

Iqbal envisioned the Muslim youth as a falcon. It is time that all stakeholders sit down together and pledge a promise to the man who envisioned Pakistan as a leader in the community of nations.

Pakistan was made with over a million lives sacrificed and it is time the people who made those sacrifices are honoured.