How Iqbal’s vision and efforts helped in the creation of Pakistan?

He is known to see the dream of a separate state for the Muslims of Indian Subcontinent.

How Iqbal’s vision and efforts helped in the creation of Pakistan? Allama Iqbal was a great poet and philosopher. He was born on 9th November 1877 in Sialkot. After seeking early education, he was admitted to the Government College, Lahore, where he obtained the degree of MA in the subject of philosophy. He left for England for higher studies in 1905. Later, he obtained the degree of philosophy of ethics and in 1907, he also obtained the degree of doctorate (Ph.D.) from Munich University.

Iqbal was a great thinker, philosopher, poet and one gave concept of Pakistan in a precise manner for the first time in history. If we say he was a conceptual founder of Pakistan it wouldn’t we wrong. He not only proposed a solution of homeland for the Muslims of Sub-continent but also tried to wake up whole Muslim Ummah through his visionary and philosophical ideas depicted in his poetry.

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He gave his own interpretation of Islam which is not only representation of true spirit of Islam but also at the same time synchronized with the modern age.His poetry is as much full of motivation that one of the Indonesian politician says: “We lead our freedom movement through the poetry of Iqbal”.

Iqbal in the early years of his life stood for composite Indian nationalism. His Urdu poetry before 1906 and specifically poems such as ‘The New Temple’ and ‘The Indian Anthem’ bear ample testimony to this fact. His visit to Europe was a turning point and his thoughts altered from composite Indian Nationalism to Muslim Nationalism. Iqbal visited Europe in 1905 and returned to India in 1908. During this period Iqbal acquired law degree at Lincoln’s Inn, a Bachelor of Arts at Cambridge and a Doctor of Philosophy at Munich University.

It was his stay that he was able to closely observe the political developments in Europe. He made a deep observation to explore the basis of their political models. In this exercise he highlighted the inherent flaws which were responsible for creating tensions between countries. It was nationalism based on love for land i.e. territorial nationalism. It was prime factor to provoke selfishness among the countries to protect their national interests. Iqbal concluded that territorial nationalism was of gross misuse. According to Iqbal it was, for instance, a weapon of European Imperialism which destroyed the unity of Muslim world.

Iqbal and Pakistan

Iqbal was strictly against nationalism. He considered all the Muslims to be a part of One Umma. For him, a Muslim whether he belonged to any part of the world was the part of brotherly relation. He considered nationalism to be a coffin for the Muslim Umma. Thus, opposing the limitation and disadvantages of nationalism, Iqbal gave the philosophy of a “Millat-e-Islamia” and this philosophy is the basis of Pakistan Ideology.

The scheme demanded in Pakistan Resolution was almost similar to the concept expressed by Iqbal in Allahabad Address in 1930. Thus, Iqbal’s concept of a separate homeland served as a foundation of political demand for Pakistan in 1940. This was also affirmed by Jinnah in these words “Iqbal is no more amongst us, but had he been alive he would have been happy to know that we did exactly what he wanted us to do.