It is heartening to note that the federal government has announced a nationwide public holiday on November 9 to mark the birth anniversary of national poet Allama Mohammad Iqbal.

The Iqbal Day was on the calendar of national public holidays for decades, but the interior ministry, through a circular issued on Nov 4, 2015, announced the cancellation of the day as an annual holiday without specifying a reason. Much later, a Shehbaz Sharif-led coalition government restored the holiday in 2022.

Now the federal government, which is again being led by Shehbaz Sharif, in particular is required to take steps aimed at creating greater awareness among the masses about the works and thoughts of this philosopher poet.

In his poetry, Iqbal largely addresses the Muslim youth in undivided India with a view to motivating them to stand up to get their rights. No doubt, Iqbal was one of the greatest Urdu poets.

Moreover, Iqbal’s works in Persian language earned him huge recognition and popularity in Iran where he is revered as “Iqbal Lahori”.

The late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi during his visit to Pakistan earlier this year had alluded to this fact while offering fateha at Iqbal’s mausoleum in Lahore.

That Iqbal was a true visionary is a fact as he was the first politician who articulated the two-nation theory that ultimately led to the creation of Pakistan. His theory stood vindicated following Sangh Parivar’s ascent to power in India. In other words, Iqbal was country’s ideological founder.

Sania Mirza (Islamabad)

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024