The 134th birth anniversary of national poet and philosopher Allama Muhammad Iqbal went unnoticed as no activity was organised in the capital on the occasion. Pakistan Academy of Letters (PAL), National Language Authority (NLA), Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA), Lok Virsa, Sir Syed Memorial Society (SSMS), Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU), Quaid-e-Azam University (QAU), National University of Modern Languages (NUML), International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI) and other private organisations that use the name of Iqbal to boost their businesses also did not bother to arrange a seminar or sitting to pay tribute to the Poet of the East.
This time a majority of the people who used to celebrate the day with national fervor in the past have not really been kind to Iqbal’s legacy. Nevertheless, people enjoyed the day as a national holiday and with Eid festivity.
It is pertinent to mention here that though this attitude, especially from public sector organisations, occurred because of prolonged official Eid holidays. It was observed in the past that government organisations used to hold a number of programmes, cancelling their official holidays to celebrate other national events on their premises, but not for Iqbal who gave the idea of a separate homeland.
Liaquat Hussain, a student of Iqbaliyat at a local university, said, “We accommodate showbiz figures and literary men in our lives, but it is unfortunate that we have forgotten to celebrate November 9 this time in a befitting manner. Perhaps, it is due to the fact that every body is engaged in worldly affairs and worried about material things,” he said.
When contacted, officials of various organisations opined that it was because of Eid holidays and everyone was busy celebrating the Eid. “Also the prevailing law and order situation hampered our plans. However, we will conduct a number of seminars in a day or two,” they added. Allama Muhammad Iqbal was born on November 9, 1877, in Sialkot. He was an Urdu and Persian poet, philosopher and politician.
