Literature And Iqbal

"Nations are born in the hearts of poets; they prosper and die in the hands of politicians."

                                                                                      --Iqbal, Stray Reflections (1910)

Our mentor, Mr. Khurram Ali Shafique has deduced after years of his research in Iqbal studies that Iqbal believed that literature plays the most important role in the life of a nation. In fact, he treated literature like a collective dream which comes true. Therefore, the most courageous and daring stand which Iqbal Studies demands from us is that we insist that if anything is wrong in the world, its ultimate root can be traced in the kind of literature that has been venerated, and if we want to bring any positive change, the first step has to be the representation of that change in idealistic literature:

"No new world can come into being around us until it is first created in the depth of our souls (i.e. in our imagination)."

My findings of many years indicate that purely on the basis of statistics it can be stated without any doubt that the most POPULAR authors of the seven stages of Pakistan, and their key messages, have been the following:

• 1887-1906: Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, "seek consensus"
• 1907-26: Muhammad Ali Jauhar, "think long-term"
• 1927-46: Allama Iqbal, "rise above yourself"
• 1947-66: Ibne Safi, "respect the law"
• 1967-86: Waheed Murad, "unite organically"
• 1987-2006: Mustansar Hussain Tarar, "learn experientially"
• 2007-26: I'm Pakistan - by which I mean that there is not likely to be any particular author, but all Pakistanis together must create a larger picture through "new media" (Internet, mobile phones, photo copies, and so on); message should be, "accept consensus"   

the writers listed here were inspired by our collective ego, and their perfect sequence shows that the collective ego of Pakistan has been alive and sound and healthy, and constantly communicating to us through these authors and their colleagues.

1. They became popular because the collective judgement of the Pakistani nation has been sound. There can be no other conclusion. THIS is the main thing which we need to remember - more important than the authors themselves. We need to regain our belief in our collective judgement, in ourselves. We need to understand that our CONSENSUS has been always on those authors who were inspired by the collective ego, and who were presenting the true message of that stage. Then why are we in a state of mess?
2. We are in a state of mess because, while we appreciated and respected the "consensus" authors in the first three stages, leading us to independence, we FAILED to appreciate and respect the "consensus" authors of the latter stages soon after the birth of Pakistan. Since politics invariably follows the course of literature, our political life was a story of success in the first three stages when we recognized the consensus authors and followed their message, and our political life became the joke of the century when we failed to recognize the consensus writers of the latter stages, and we failed to respect them.

We need a cultural revolution, a revolution of love and self-acceptance. This is khudi, in all its meanings: if we lack the courage to accept our own consensus, our own collective choices, how can we claim to have a self, or even self-respect? Needless to say, these authors are not just the heritage of Pakistan but they have got things which can be useful for the whole world. They are the dreams that must true, and almost everyone who hears their dreams wants them to come true. The whole world is looking for exactly the messages which these authors gave, but unfortunately and ironically we are the ones who are getting in the way - then why should we not be in a bad state?

اُس کی تقدیر میں محکومی و مظلومی ہے
قوم جو کر نہ سکی اپنی خودی سے انصاف

(follow the links given above and you will find interesting things.)