Allama Mohammad Iqbal

In the name of Allah who is the most gracious and the most merciful. Today our topic is the dream of Allama Mohammad Iqbal. Allama Mohammad Iqbal was born on November 9, !"" in #ial$ot. %e was one of those rare geniuses whose e&cellence in the field of poetry as well as political thin$ing was recogni'ed throughout the world in his lifetime. %e wrote many (oo$s, poems for $ids and poetry in different languages li$e )rdu, Arabic and *ersian. Iqbal was the greatest Muslim political thin$er of the last century. There is a general impression that although he was a great Muslim philosopher and poet of the +ast, politics was an important and glittering aspect of his multifarious activities. %e lived in the period when millions of Indians , Muslims, %indus and people of other religions were fastened by the chains of (ritish imperialism. -uring this dar$ period of slavery, disgrace and dishonor, Iqbal.s poetry imbibed a new spirit in the people and he himself played a significant role in the struggle for independence of the sub,continent. %e understood the political movements of his time in their true perspective, had a glimpse of the future movements and too$ part in the struggle for independence. %e pro/ected the true picture of the situation before the Muslim world. 0rom the very beginning, Iqbal was pleading the concept of separate electorate for the Muslims. %e considered it imperative for removing the sense of discrimination of the Indian Muslims and was not prepared to compromise on it at any stage. %e continued to fight against the 1ongress, but did not deviate at all from his point of view. In 9 2, both the Muslim 3eague and the 1ongress, after mutual consultation, passed certain proposals constituting what is now called the 43uc$now *act.. 5ne of these proposals was that the principle of separate electorate be adopted for the Muslims. Thus, as the 1ongress had agreed to it, there was no contention in incorporating separate electorate for the Muslims in the Act of 9 9. The Muslims were firm in their demand for separate electorate since 962. No doubt, *a$istan would not have emerged without this system of elections. Therefore, this clause of the 3uc$now *act has a great historical significance. 5n May 6 , 97", a public meeting was held in (ar$at Ali %all, 3ahore, under the auspices of the *un/ab Muslim 3eague. #ir #hafi presided over the meeting. A resolution proposed by Iqbal was passed in the meeting. In order to defeat the 1ongress attempts to introduce /oint electorate system in India, a 1onference was held in New -elhi from -ecember 79, 97!, to 8anuary 6 , 979, under the auspices of All *arties Muslim 1onference. #pea$ing on this occasion, Iqbal said9 :If Muslims have to live in India as a nation, they must ma$e immediate efforts for their progress and reforms and should prepare a separate political program. There are certain parts of India where the Muslims are in ma/ority and there are other parts where they are only a small minority. In this situation, it is imperative that we should have a separate program.;

#pea$ing on the resolution, Iqbal said9 :I have a right to say that I am the first Indian, who has reali'ed the significance and necessity of %indu,Muslim unity. It has always been my desire that this unity should be on permanent basis. %owever, the present circumstances are not in favor of /oint electorate. The political vision of Allama Iqbal is highly praise worthy. %e had noticed , as early as the beginning of the 76th century , that the principle of separate electorate was essential to safeguard the rights of Muslims in the subcontinent. At the end I will conclude the topic on some of the poetry of Allama Mohammad Iqbal