Instead Of Debating A Holiday On His Birthday, This Is What Allama Iqbal Would Have Wanted Us To Do

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The spiritual father of Pakistan, Muhammad Iqbal, also known as Allama Iqbal, holds immense importance in the history of the country and its ideology. Allama Iqbal was born on 9th November 1877, in Sialkot, Punjab.

Allama Iqbal did not just champion one quality. He was a successful poet, philosopher, think-tank, barrister and as well as a politician. He is thought to be the inspiration behind the Pakistan Movement and celebrated for his very famous Allahabad Address.

Recently, a huge debate has been going on in Pakistan with the government set to reject 9th November as a national holiday in the name of Allama Iqbal. People of the country have been infuriated by this decision and have demanded the holiday with a petition in the Lahore High Court.

However, what hurts to see is that we are on the route to forgetting our heroes, people who worked day and night to bring us this independent piece of land. When we talk about Allama Iqbal and all he has done for Pakistan’s independence, we’re sure to run at a loss for words.

The role of Allama Iqbal in Pakistan’s creation can never be denounced. The Poet of the East was the first person to bring forth the ideology of nationhood and togetherness. He evolved Sir Syed Ahmed’s two-nation theory and worked rigorously towards bringing it into practicality. With his poetry, he countered the propaganda the West had started against Muslims of the sub-continent.

Not only did he speak political lingua-franca, Allama Iqbal was elected as the member of Punjab’s Legislative Assembly in 1926. In 1937, after the general elections, Iqbal stood hand in hand with Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and together they revamped the Muslim League.

The idea of independence for Muslims in the sub-continent along with the concept of the togetherness of one Muslim Ummah was given to us by Allama Iqbal. Today, we stand at the crossroads debating whether there should a holiday in his name or not? That is just disgraceful.

What next? Cancelling the holidays which involve Quaid-e-Azam as well? After that, maybe we could cancel all religious holidays too? The government needs to recheck their hasty decisions and take into consideration public sentiments and all the sacrifices our heroes made for this country.

Instead of us debating whether we should have a holiday on 9th November or not, Allama would have wanted us to stay united and respect ourselves more than anything. The feeling of togetherness was instilled in the Muslims via the poetry and messages of Iqbal. He would not have cared whether there should be a holiday in his name or not, however, he would have cared about how we react in these times. Pakistan Zindabad!