MOHAMMAD IQBAL COMMUNITARIAN NATIONALISM

Introduction:- Sir Mohammad Iqbal was initially a great Indian nationalist, secularist, realist and worked hard for Hindu-Muslim unity and later under the influence of contemporary political, social, religious and cultural conditions, he converted from nationalism to religiosity and led to the separation of Pakistan. Sir Mohammad Iqbal was an ideological proponent of islam and a factor in the partition of the country and reputed to be the "Spiritual Father of Pakistan". Iqbal's Biography -Education:-

Famous as a poet, great writer, philosopher and politician in Urdu and Persian languages, Mohammad Iqbal also known as allama iqbal, was born on November 9, 1877 to a middle class family in Sialkot, a city in the then British Indian province of Punjab which is now present in Pakistan. Primary education was completed in Sialkot. It can be said that during childhood, Mohammad Iqbal was greatly influenced by his guru Syed Mir Hasan. Syed Mir Hasan, a versatile scholar of many Islamic languages, trained well in traditional Islamic literature. Iqbal completed his higher education in Lahore .He completed his Bachelor of Law in 1898 from the Government College in Lahore and his Master degree in Philosophy in 1899.Thomas Arnold, a British nationalist who was a lecturer at government college in Lahore greatly encouraged Mohammed Iqbal. With his encouragement, iqbal went to England in 1905 to study European, Arabic and Persian philosophy at the University of Cambridge. He completed his barrister course in 1906 from Middle Temple College, London. He received his Ph.D. for research on "The Development of Metaphysics in Persia" in 1908 from the prestigious Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Germany. From 1908 to 1911 he worked as a lecturer in philosophy at government college in Lahore. After that he resigned that job and started practicing law. Writings:-

Mohammad Iqbal was profoundly influenced by world famous philosophers such as Syed Mir Hassan, Mawlana Rumi, Friedrich Nietzsche, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Thomas Arnold. He authored several books and essays in Urdu and Persian languages, which were later translated into several languages and gained worldwide recognition. Notable among them were Saare Jahan se Achcha , The Secret of the Self, Bang-e-Dara, Javid Namah, Zarb-e-kaleem, Armughan-i Hijaz, The Secrets of Selflessness, and etc.

Iqbal's thoughts on politics:-

Muhammad Iqbal, a great Indian nationalist and secularist until 1905, turned towards Muslim nationalism after completing his higher education in Europe between 1905-1908.In his view religion is a great force. Iqbal felt that there should be a connection between religion and politics, only a government formed on the basis of religion will be able to solve the contemporary problems and the goal of the kingdom should be to achieve the spiritual perfection of the people and the development of religious life. He believed that only a government with a religious preference can work better than a secular state in solving socio-economic problems. With this idea , Iqbal became fascinated towards religious politics and joined the Muslim League while he was in Europe. He was also elected as member of the Punjab Legislative Council between 1925 and 1928.

Iqbal was elected as the President of the Muslim League in 1930 at the annual meeting in Allahabad. He represented in the Round Table Conferences held in London between 1930-1932 on behalf of the All India Muslim League. He asked for the restoration of the past glory of the muslims and that a separate state should be allotted to the Muslims in India under the name of North-Western state. In the later period, this idea was attributed to the demand for a separate Pakistan. Hence Muhammad Iqbal is said to be “The Spiritual Father of Pakistan”. Changing from nationalism to religiosity:-

By declaring that we are Indians and our country is India, it can be said that, he worked hard for the unity of Hindus and Muslims in India. As an Indian nationalist, he supported secularism and glorified India as his motherland and that, every speck of dust in India is equal to a deity. In 1904, with the song Saare Jahan se Acha, Iqbal told the world that India is the best in the whole world.

But with the time, Muhammad Iqbal changed his views on nationalism. After spending time in Europe from 1905 to 1908, he strongly opposed Indian nationalism, treating territorial nationalism as a staunch enemy of Islam. He started thinking towards Islam based on religion and proposed the Pan-Islamism.

Pan-Islamism:-

Pan-Islamism or Universal Islam is the unification of all Muslims in the world and ruling them as a unit. He thought that this will remove obstacles such as ethnic, caste,place and brings peace and prosperity in the world. In this way, Iqbal wanted to achieve "universal unity "on the basis of religion. That is why he tried to foster a sense of brotherhood among all Muslims in different countries for the concept of Islamic brotherhood by declaring that “We are Muslims and the whole world is ours”. However, In some cases, he intended that one has to follow “Islam” in accordance with the changed circumstances, while in few other cases, he intended to follow traditional Islamic practices.

The concept of Pakistan:-

He felt that Muslims were the rulers before the British came to India and that efforts should be made to bring such conditions back in India. That is why he believed that, at first we should gain independence from the british, so that the muslims would also have an adequate participation in the administration. However, during his stay in Europe, Iqbal changed his mind completely. As a Muslim revivalist, he could not tacitly accept the domination of Hindus over 80 million Muslims. Assuming that Hindus would gain the upper hand politically if All India nationalism developed, he began to demand for the establishment of a separate state for Indian Muslims by declaring minority muslims as an etnic. However, the concept of a separate North-western state for Muslims proposed by Iqbal was rejected by the Nehru Committee set up in 1928, after which the concept of a separate Pakistan was brought to the fore by Iqbal. In 1930, Muhammad Iqbal delivered a presidential address at the annual meeting of the Muslim League in Allahabad, announcing the reorganization of India on the basis of religion. In 1933 he said that the country should be divided on the basis of religion, historical and cultural relations, but it is Iqbal's inner feeling that it should be in India only. But in 1937, Muhammad Iqbal wrote a letter to Muhammad Ali Jinnah stating that dividing India on the basis of religion and establishing a separate state for muslims only will solve all problems of muslims. Thus he remains in history as the spiritual ideological proponent of Pakistani separatism. However, he breathed his last on April 21, 1938 in Lahore without seeing the formation of special Pakistan he had dreamed of.

However, Muhammad Iqbal can be seen as a great writer, philosopher, politician and even as a great scholar in Urdu and Persian languages .He worked tirelessly for the religious restoration of Islam and traditional Islamic literature .He worked hard to promote universal Islamic brotherhood. He is known as the "Spiritual Father of Pakistan".

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