Muhammad Naeem Khan Niazi
LAHORE, Aug 14 (APP):Allama Dr. Muhammad Iqbal is a seer whose vision and struggle had provided a direction to the Muslims of India and saved them from going astray.
He embodied all the qualities of a philosopher-king, revolutionary poet, visionary leader and a political thinker whose ideas ultimately outwitted the mighty British and the clever Hindus.
Iqbal is rightly acclaimed the political thinker of Pakistan and he rejected the nationalist politics of the Congress in his historic Allahabad Address 1930 which he delivered at the annual session of the All-India Muslim League and demanded a separate homeland for the Indian Muslims in the best interests of India as well as Islam. He believed that Islam is the major formative factor in the lives of Muslims in India and this led to the creation of Pakistan in the name of religion.
The movement for Pakistan was the brain-child of poet of the East Allama Dr. Muhammad Iqbal who gave the idea of independence from the Hindu majority and the British yoke.
Before Dr. Iqbal’s vision of the separate identity of the Muslims of India, the British and the Hindus dreamed of a united India and it was Iqbal’s eye which saw the creation of a separate homeland for the Muslims of the North Western India and Bengal.
Despite all his contributions to the creation of Pakistan, the biggest achievement was to mentor Muhammad Ali Jinnah to lead the Muslims of India and unify the Muslim League factions while he made untiring efforts to mobilize the feudal classes to work for the Muslim Ummah in India.
A major part of Iqbal’s poetry was dedicated to the glorious past of the Muslims and his basic contribution has been to create a sense of unity among the Muslim Ummah. Iqbal, through his poetry, reminded the Muslims of their glorious past and urged the Muslims of the sub-continent to improve their lot by following the golden traditions of Islam.
It was the person Iqbal who had convinced Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah to lead the Muslims to their cherished goal once he had gone into self-imposed exile in London as he had discovered the qualities of a true leader in Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. In one of his letters to Jinnah, he wrote:
“I know you are a busy man but I do hope you won’t mind my writing to you often, as you are the only Muslim in India today to whom the community has right to look up for safe guidance through the storm which is coming to North-West India and, perhaps, to the whole of India”.
Iqbal always remained in constant touch with father of the Nation, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and in one of his letters on 21 June 1937 Iqbal explained to Jinnah his vision of a separate Muslim state:
“A separate federation of Muslim Provinces, reformed on the lines I have suggested above, is the only course by which we can secure a peaceful India and save Muslims from the domination of Non-Muslims. Why should not the Muslims of North-West India and Bengal be considered as nations entitled to self-determination just as other nations in India and outside India are.”
Former Principal Oriental College Punjab University Prof. Dr. Mazhar Moeen believes that it was the vision of Allama Dr. Muhammad Iqbal who mentored Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah to lead the Muslims of India to win a separate homeland in the sub-continent. He said ‘Iqbal’s eye saw a messiah in the form of Muhammad Ali Jinnah who could shepherd the Muslims of India to a destination after his demise’.
Although Jinnah had different political vision for the Muslims of India, but Iqbal’s views, at last, brought him round and Jinnah ultimately expressed unanimity with Iqbal’s views that Muslims needed a separate homeland. Jinnah accepted Iqbal as his mentor in politics and frequently borrowed ideas directly from Iqbal – including his thoughts on Muslim unity, justice and equality, on economics, and others.
It was Iqbal’s influence which brought about significant change in Jinnah regarding the Muslim identity and Iqbal’s undeniable influence was apparent in the ideas of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
In a public speech in 1940 following the death of Iqbal, Jinnah expressed his preference for implementing Iqbal’s vision even at the expense of becoming a ruler. He stated: “If I live to see the ideal of a Muslim state being achieved in India, and I was then offered to make a choice between the works of Iqbal and rulership of the Muslim state, I would prefer the former.”
Iqbal’s role in the Pakistan Movement has been formative and it would not be an exaggeration to say that Pakistan would not have been a reality without the presence of Dr Allama Muhammad Iqbal. His actions proved a beacon of light when the path to a free homeland was dark and dreary during the Pakistan Movement and his persona, today, spreads radiance for the generations to come.
