Rana Siddiqui Zaman for The Hindu (Sep 16, 2014)
“India highly misunderstood Iqbal and his philosophy,”
said Vice-President Hamid Ansari while launching a book on the noted
poet Allama Iqbal at his residence on Monday.
Philosopher, Patriot, Poet
Dr.
Ansari called him a “philosopher, patriot and poet in one”. He noted
that Mr. Iqbal was “misunderstood as ‘anti-national’ or from ‘Pakistan’
even by the so-called ‘learned’ Ministers in the Indo-Pak polity.”
The
book in Urdu, titled Iqbal Ka Harf-e-Sheerin (Iqbal’s Honeyed Verses),
has been penned by an international Iqbal scholar Professor Abdul Haq.
It was released in the presence of Delhi University Vice-Chancellor
Dinesh Singh, Urdu scholar Anis Aazmi and Dr. Zafar Mehmood, who runs
the Iqbal Academy.
Mr. Ansari quotes a famous verse from the poet:
Meer-e-Arab ko aayi thandi hawa jahan seMera watan wohi hai, mera watan wohi hai
This
couplet describes the poet’s love for India and says that even Prophet
Mohammad wanted to feel the cool breeze coming from Hind. “India should
not only respect Iqbal but also read and take lessons from him,” added
Mr. Ansari.
Known to have pioneered research on Mr.
Iqbal in India in 1972, it is the 38 book of Professor Haq on the poet.
Cracking a joke on himself on the subject, he said: “People say I have
‘wasted’ 50 years only on one shayar. Iqbal is important for the
country because he was the only poet who openly challenged the British
empire in his verses unlike any other literary figure of his time in any
language.”
Vice-Chancellor Delhi University Dinesh
Singh said, “I am afraid people in general may not read this highly
recommended book for three reasons; they don’t know the Urdu script,
there is no interest in poetry and no reading habits among one-line
tweet and message-driven younger generation.”
Unrivalled Secularism
Mr. Iqbal’s socialist views were reflected in his verses like khaye kyon mazdoor ki mehnat ka phal sarmayedar
(why should an industrialist eat up a labourer’s share). Dr. Mehmood
noted, “He is the only Urdu poet who kept Vishwamitra, Gautam Buddha,
Jesus Christ, Prophet Mohammad and the Geeta in the same verse. He needs
no certificate from anyone to prove his Indianness or secular
credentials.”
The book will soon be translated into
various languages, including Hindi, English and other regional languages
by the Iqbal Academy.
