Dr Muhammad Iqbal was a great thinker and poet who had presented the concept for creation of a separate homeland for the Muslims of the sub-continent which came to be known as Pakistan. Ever-grateful nation continues to pay glowing tributes to him for his memorable contributions towards awakening of the Muslims and creation of Pakistanis generally round the year but particularly on his birth anniversary which is celebrated on November 9 and his death anniversary is observed on April 21 every year.
Birth anniversary of the great thinker and poet is celebrated officially on November 9 and the death anniversary on April 21 every year somehow privately though a number of functions and symposiums are also duly organized by various socio-cultural organizations at which scholars and Iqbaliyat experts as well as people from different walks of life pay rich tributes to the great philosopher .This year 2020, Allama Iqbal’s death anniversary has not been observed as is done every year due to restrictions on gatherings due to Corona pandemic.
On such occasions, different aspects of the life, teachings and poetry in Urdu and Persian of the great philosopher and poet are highlighted. But, somehow, one aspect has not been so highlighted on all these occasions by the speakers that Dr Muhammad Iqbal was also an elected member of the Punjab Legislative Council from 1927 to 1930 from Lahore City Urban on a seat for Muhammadan on a ticket of Muslim League. In those days, Muslims were described as Muhammadan and others by non-Muhammadan.
Punjab Legislative Council was then headed by Chaudhry Sir Shahab-ud-Din as the President ,it had five ex-officio members and ministers including Mian Sir Fazl-i-Hussain as Revenue Member , Malik Feroze Khan Noon Minister for Local Self Government and Sardar Jogendra Singh Minister for Agriculture ,whose plaque is on display on the Punjab Assembly Chambers for inauguration of the huge imposing building, as well as Sir Geoffrey deMontmorency as Finance Member and Manohar Lal as Minister for Education.
The Council had 67 elected members from rural and urban areas of the then Punjab. Legharis, Gilanis, Daultanas who were the members are obviously more familiar to many of us as they were the forefathers of well-known political figures of our times like former President Sardar Farooq Ahmad Khan Leghari, former Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani and former Punjab Chief Minister Mian Mumtaz Muhammad Khan Daultana.
Allama Iqbal was elected as President in the annual meeting of All India Muslim League in Allahabad which continued for two days. It was here that he had presented his concept of a separate homeland for the Muslims of the sub-continent. He had also attended Second and Third Round Table Conferences.
Briefly for the information particularly for the younger generation now, it is well-known that Allama Muhammad Iqbal hailed from a Kashmiri family which had migrated from Kashmir in the early part of 19th century and settled in Sialkot.His family initially lived in mohallah Khateekaan. In 1861, Allama’s grandfather Sheikh Muhammad Rafiq bought a house in Kashmiri Mohallah os Sialkot which is now known as Iqbal Manzil. Allama Iqbal was born in this house on November 9, 1877.
His education started from Masjid Peer Hissamuddin, later he joined Scotch Mission High School Sialkot and passed his Middle examination in 1891, Matriculation in 1893 and Intermediate from the Scotch Mission College which was later known as Murray College. He continued his further education in the Government College Lahore from where he did BA in 1897,with honours and also got two gold medals for showing excellence in English and Arabic and did his MA in Philosophy.
He started his teaching career from Oriental College Lahore as Arabic Teacher from 1899 to 1903 and afterwards taught English and Philosophy in his alma mator Government College and Islamia College and went to England for higher education, getting BA degree from Cambridge University and was conferred PhD by Munich University of Germany in 1907 and Bar-at-Law from Lincolns Inn London 1908. On return to Lahore, he was appointed as Professor of Philosophy alongside which he continued legal practice in Lahore High Court also.
Allama Iqbal was fond of poetry from his childhood days and was introduced to the people in 1901 when Sir Abdul Qadir published his poem “Himala” in his literary journal “Makhzan”.
Allama Iqbal had lived at several places in Lahore for varying periods including upper storey of a book shop of Attar Chand Kapoor Booksellers in Anarkali from 1908 to1922, in a house on McLeod Road from 1922 to 1935. He had also lived somewhere inside Bhatti Gate from 1900 to 1905 though its exact location has not yet been identified..
Construction of Javed Manzil on May Road from Lahore Railway Station to Garhi Shahu at the back of Cairns Railways Hospital, which has since been turned into Iqbal Museum housing personal belongings etc of the great thinker and poet, itself makes an interesting story which may not be known to many.
While residing on McLeod Road, Allama Iqbal had in 1934 bought a piece of land measuring about seven kanals in open auction at Mauza Garhi Shahu in the name of his younger son Javid Iqbal. When the construction of the house was completed at an total cost of Rs 43,025, he had shifted there from McLeod Road. Javed Iqbal was the owner of the house and Allama Iqbal lived there on rent. Allama Iqbal had got written a document on stamp paper in May 1935 according to which he had rented three front rooms for Rs 50 per month and the amount was paid regularly to his son/landlord Javed Iqbal and receipt of the same duly acquired. Within four days of shifting to the newly-constructed house, Allama Iqbal suffered a great personal loss when his wife and mother of Javed Iqbal, Sardar Begum, expired on May 24, 1935.
Allama Iqbal had lived at Javed Manzil till his death on April 21, 1938, nine year ahead of his concept of a separate homeland for the Muslims was translated into reality under inspiring leadership of Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah and Pakistan had come into existence on August 14, 1947.
Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah along with his illustrious sister Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah had visited Allama Iqbal at Javed Manzil in 1936. Hindu leader Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru was also a great admirer of Allama Iqbal and had visited him at the Javed Manzil.
Transformation of Javed Manzil, the last abode of Allama Iqbal, into Iqbal Museum is also story of great interest and will be narrated some other time in bit detail.
1977 was birth centenary year of great thinker and poet Allama Mohammad Iqbal. To mark beginning of the yearlong celebrations in this regard, Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had visited Lahore on January 1, 1977. He went to the mazar of Allama Iqbal, who is laying in eternal rest on the right side of the stairs of historic Badshahi Masjid, offered “Fateha” and placed wreaths.
In brief here, on the asking of military ruler, President/Chief of Army Staff General Muhammad Ziaul Haq, Dr Javed Iqbal had sold Javed Manzil along with all personal documents, belongings and articles of personal use to the Federal Government for Rs 3.5 million and it was turned into Iqbal Museum in December 1977.
During reign of another military dictator General Pervez Musharraf, some personal belongs and documents of Allama Iqbal were supposedly “borrowed” for some time on his express orders for newly-established National Monuments Museum in Islamabad. These are on display there and Curator of the Iqbal Museum on being contacted said that this makes no difference whether Allama Iqbal’s personal belongings are on display in Islamabad or Lahore because these are being keenly viewed by the visitors there also.
Dr Javid Iqbal had purchased a bungalow of his choice, as per direction of the President/COAS to the Punjab Government, on Main Boulevard in Gulberg Lahore where he had lived till his death couple of years back with wife Justice (r) Nasira Javid Iqbal.
Dr Javid Iqbal’s bungalow in Gulberg is also a place of great interest for the researchers and scholars of Iqbaliyat, as in one of its room there is a big mural which is the great art work of prominent Pakistani artist Jimmy Engineer who had translated Allama Iqbal’s collection of Persian poetry “Javid Namah” into colours on the asking of Dr Javid Iqbal in 1980/81. It was the desire of Allama Iqbal expressed in one of his letter to son Javid that ‘Javid Namah” be translated into a mural by any artist. The great thinker and poet had stated that in the first instance, no artist can do that but if any artist dares and accomplishes this challenging task, he will attain immense fame and reputation both nationally and internationally. Pakistan’s most prominent artist Jimmy Engineer had undertaken this challenging task and accomplished it successfully in one year while staying at the bungalow of Dr Javid Iqbal all the time during 1980/81. He was criticized on accomplishing this task but he had brushed aside such criticism by merely saying “I have done what others could not do with the blessings of Almioghty Allah and I am genuinely round of my this artistic feat”.
Jimmy Engineer continues to regard Javid Namah mural and series of Pakistan Movement paintings as his major artistic achievements which have given him immense fame and reputation in Pakistan as well as around the world internationally.
On display in Iqbal Museum are Allama Iqbal’s original degrees, about 60 books including Holy Quran, English and Urdu books which had remained under his study, letters written and received , furniture, dresses, utensils as well letters and his own handwritten manuscripts etc.
So, there is lot to see for the researchers and scholars of Iqbaliyat at the Iqbal Museum and also at the bungalow of late Dr Javid Iqbal on Main Boulevard in Gulberg Lahore where Jimmy Engineer’s mural of “Javid Namah” may be of some interest for many.
The writer is Lahore-based Freelance Journalist, Columnist and retired Deputy Controller (News) Radio Pakistan, Islamabad, and can be reached at zahidriffat@gmail.com
