IQBAL EXHIBITION WELCOME ADDRESS
On the occasion of Iqbal Day at Karachi on April 16, 1966 an exhibition of Iqbal Material was also arranged. It was inaugurated by H.E. Mr Hoshang Ansari.Ambassador of the Royal Iranian Embassy in Karachi. Mr. Mumtaz Hasan, Managing Director, National Bank of Pakistan and Chairman, Iqbal Day Organising Committee, delivered the following speech of welcome.
Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen
It is my privilege and 'pleasure to welcome you all to this Iqbal Exhibition. I am particularly happy that it has been possible for His Excellency the Imperial Iranian Ambassador to be with us this afternoon to inaugurate the exhibition. Iran and Pakistan have been close to each other over the centuries. Our political relationship, is inherent in the physical contiguity of our two countries, apart from the fact that towards the close of the sixth century B.C. Sind and the Eastern Punjab were a part of the Achaemenid empire. This, as the Greek historian Herodotus tells us, was the twentieth satrapy, and had its capital at Taxila. The cultural affinity, which is always deeper and more lasting than political connections, has been particularly prominent since the Middle Ages when Persian became the court language of Muslim rule in this Sub-continent, and men of such eminence as Masood Saad Salman, Amir Khusro, Ziauddin Burney, Abdur Rahim Khankhanan, Faizee, Abul Fazl, Abdul Qadir Bedil and Asadullah Khan Ghalib rose among us. There were also the Persian poets and scholars, large in number, who were attracted by the munificent patronage of the Muslim rulers of this Sub-continent, and spent the best part of their lives with us. We had men like Urfi of Shiraz, Naziri of Naishapur, Talib of Amul, Kalim of Kashan, Mir Zahid of Herat and others. Persian became such a vital part of our literary tradition and our cultural heritage that the educated classes used it not only in their official dealings but also in their private correspondence. Thousands of books on literary, academic and scientific subjects were written in Persian. The role of the language in the cultural life of the Sub-continent is illustrated particularly in the works of Ghalib and Iqbal. Ghalib, who is one of the greatest poets of the Urdu language, a language which itself represents a blend of Persian and Sanskrit, gave preference to his Persian poetry over his Urdu Diwan :
پارسی بین تابہ بینی نقش ہائے رنگ رنگ
بگذر از مجموعۂ اردو کہ بی رنگ من است
If you want images of variegated hue,
See my Persian poems .
And leave aside my Urdu work,
For that is lacking in colour.
With the advent of British rule the English language rose to prominence, and Persian language and literature gradually lost favour. There were a few scholars and poets who adhered to the old tradition, but it was not till Mohammad Iqbal turned to Persian that we were able to re-establish our spiritual and cultural links with Iran, and, indeed, with the rest of the Muslim world. Iqbal started as a poet of Urdu, and is, like Ghalib, one of the greatest names in Urdu poetry, but when he developed his world-view and felt that he had a message to deliver, he decided to use Persian as his vehicle of communication. His message was intended not only for the Muslim world but for the human race as a whole. It was his feeling, however, that of all the languages he knew he could express himself best in Persian :
گرچہ ہندی در عذوبت شکر است
طرز گفار دری شیرین تر است
فکر من از جلوہ اش مسحور گشت
خامۂ من شاخ نخل طور گشت
پارسی از رفعت اندیشہ ام
در خورد با فطرت اندیشہ ام
Although the language of Hind is sweet as sugar,
Yet sweeter is the fashion of Persian speech;
My mind was enchanted by its loveliness,
My pen became as a twig of the Burning Bush.
Because of the loftiness of my thoughts,
Persian alone is suitable to them.
In another verse Iqbal has summed up the importance of Iran in the whole complexion of his thought:
تنم گلے ز خیابان جنت کشمیر
دل از حریم حجاز و نوا ز شیرازست
My body is a rose from the earthly Paradise of Kashmir,
My heart belongs to the Holy Land of the Hijaz, and my song is from Shiraz.
It may be recalled that Iqbal's thesis for his Doctorate from theMunich University concerned the 'Development of Metaphysics in Persia'. He was proud of the fact that, though a Brahmin by extraction, he knew the great teachings of Rumi and Shams Tabriz:
مرا بنگر در ہندوستان دیگر نمی بینی
برہمن زادۂ رمز آشنائے روم و تبریزاست
Mark me, for there is none besides in Hindustan,
Who, though a Brahmin's son, is familiar with the mysteries of Rum and Tabriz.
As regards Iran, his feelings can best be expressed in his own words:
چوں چراغ لالہ سوزم در خیابان شما
اے جوانان عجم جان من و جان شما
I burn like the lamp of the tulip in your garden;
My life is yours, 0 brave men of Iran.
If Iqbal loved Iran, Iran has shown no lack of affection for Iqbal. One of the warmest tributes ever paid to him came from that Prince of Poets, the late Malik-ush-Shuara Bahar, who wrote in 1942 :
عصر حاضر خاصۂ اقبال گشت
واحدے کز صد ہزاراں بر گزشت
شاعران گشتند جیشے تارومار
وین بہادر کرد کار صد سوار
The modern age has become the age of Iqbal,
He is one who has surpassed thousands of others.
When poets were like a beaten and disorganised band,
This mighty warrior, single-handed, did the work of a hundred men.
This was long before the establishment of Pakistan. Since Independence, Iqbal has become still better known in Iran. The late Sadiq Sarmad said of him:
اگرچہ مرد بمیرد ز گردش مہ و سال
نمردہ است و نمیرد محمد اقبال
Although men are destined to die in the course of months and years,
Muhammad Iqbal has not died, and shall never die.
This is only an example of the tributes that present day Iran has paid to Iqbal. Recently, a complete collection of his Persian works has been published in Tehran.
This is a subject to which one cannot do justice in a short times but I have taken the liberty to refer to it in order to tell Your Excellency how very pleased and honoured we feel that you, the Ambassador of Iran in Pakistan, should inaugurate an exhibition of Iqbal.
So far as I know, this is the fourth Iqbal exhibition ever held. The first exhibition, I am informed, was held in Hyderabad Deccan in 1946. The second was held in Karachi, after Independence, which was opened by Her Highness the Begum of Janjira here in Frere Hall in the very place where it is being held today. A third and much smaller one was arranged privately, again in this very place, on the occasion of the visit to Pakistan of Mr. Jarring, who had come to this country as a representative of the Security Council. This is the fourth exhibition. As you will see, we have tried, on this occasion, to assemble Iqbal's autographs, letters and other writings, in original, together with a number of rare books, photographs and paintings. There are also first editions of most of his books and a number of important publications dealing with his life and work. The object of a collection such as this is to bring Iqbal closer to us and to enable those who did not or could not know him personally to see him in his original work. It would be possible to assemble a much bigger collection, but the sponsors of the present exhibition have aimed at a representative though not a comprehensive collection.
May I be allowed to mention that there is also a stall in this exhibition at which books by Iqbal and on him are on sale to the public.
Before I close, I would like to extend our heartiest welcome to all our guests, particularly those who have taken the trouble to come to Karachi specially for this occasion.
We are proud to have Ali Bakhsh with us today. This is the man who served Iqbal for a life time, and has been serving him even after his death. In spite of his ninety years, he has done us the honour of travelling to Karachi for this Iqbal Day function. We cannot forget his kindness. May he live long!
We have also with us here such eminent scholars as Allama Arshi, Syed Nazir Niazi, Dr. Abdullah Chaghtai, Sufi Ghulam Mustafa Tabassum, and Sayyid Abid Ali Abid, all of whom knew Iqbal and can speak about him with authority.
In the end, may 1 express our gratitude to Your Excellency once again and request you to do us the honour of inaugurating the Iqbal Exhibition.
Mumtaz Hassan
