Keynote: The story
of Urdu’s greatest modern poet, the man who wrote Sare JahanSe Acha
Hindustan Hamara and was later considered the poet laureate of Pakistan
Description:
Allama Mohammad Iqbal, whom Sarojini Naidu called the ‘poet laureate of
Asia’, remains a controversial figure in the history of the Indian subcontinent.
On the one hand, he is regarded as one of the last great Muslim thinkers and
considered the ‘Spiritual Father of Pakistan’.
On the other, his message
of Eastern revivalism and his fight against colonial powers and Islamic
fundamentalists place him in the ranks of the twentieth century’s major intellectuals.
Iqbal’s
tragedy was that after his death, he was made the national poet of Pakistan and
largely ignored in India. In his time, Iqbal was lauded as much as Tagore, but
today India celebrates Tagore while Iqbal has been banished from her consciousness.
This is
the story of Iqbal’s evolution as poet, philosopher and politician. While Iqbal’s
roles in the struggle for India’s freedom and the Pakistan movement are well-known,
not much is widely known about his personal life. This biography highlights
some of the least known facets of Iqbal’s life: how did a nationalist poet transform
into a poet of Islamic revivalism and global revolution? How did three years in
Europe chang Iqbal’s political and philosophical outlook? Why did he change his
language of poetic expression from Urdu to Persian during his stay in Europe?
Why did his first marriage fail and how did his romantic relationships affect
him as a person?
Author
bio:
Singapore-based
journalist, writer, and filmmaker Zafar Anjum has been published in India, the
US, the UK, Singapore and other countries. His most recent works include a work
of non-fiction, The Resurgence of Satyam (Random House India, 2012), and
a collection of short stories, The Singapore Decalogue: Episodes in the Life
of a Foreign Talent (Red Wheelbarrow Books, Singapore, 2012). He
also blogs, mentors budding writers and is editor of kitaab.org, a literary
website. A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year
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