HYDERABAD, Nov 09 (APP): The academicians who expressed their views at a seminar organized to mark Allama Iqbal Day said the national poet’s philosophy of self-realisation, intellectual awakening, national consciousness and collective responsibility continued to provide effective guidance to the nation.
They expressed those views while addressing a national seminar titled ‘Allama Iqbal’s enduring vision and Pakistan’s youth’ organised by the Pakistan Study Centre, University of Sindh, Jamshoro, on Monday.
The event was organized to commemorate the birth anniversary of the great thinker and poet of the East, Allama Muhammad Iqbal.
The seminar aimed to highlight Iqbal’s intellectual, philosophical and political contributions, as well as the contemporary relevance of his thoughts for Pakistan’s younger generation.
Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Fateh Muhammad Marri (TI) paid rich tribute to Iqbal for his invaluable contributions to literature, philosophy and the intellectual awakening of Muslim Ummah.
He said his revolutionary poetry carried a timeless message of self-respect, courage, determination, self-confidence and self-realisation.
He added that through his poetry, Iqbal had particularly encouraged the younger generation to recognise their abilities, develop self-confidence and strive continuously to achieve higher goals in life.
The VC appreciated the Pakistan Study Centre for organising the academic event, saying that commemorating Iqbal Day through meaningful academic and intellectual activities was the need of the hour.
He underscored that universities had a fundamental responsibility to promote constructive thinking, research, creativity and leadership qualities among students. Marri emphasised that universities should prepare responsible, talented and enlightened citizens capable of effectively addressing contemporary national and global challenges.
He urged the younger generation to seek guidance from Iqbal’s philosophy and carry forward his ideals for the betterment of society and the country. Director of the Pakistan Study Centre, Prof Dr Shuja Ahmed Mahesar, in his address, described Iqbal as an eminent national poet and philosopher whose intellectual message had played a revolutionary role in shaping political consciousness among Muslims of the subcontinent.
Mahesar observed that Iqbal’s concept of Muslim nationhood was based on shared religious, historical, cultural and civilisational values. Highlighting the evolution of Iqbal’s Two-Nation Theory, he described his historic Allahabad Address of 1930 as particularly significant, which provided an important intellectual and political direction to the Pakistan Movement.
He said that Allama Iqbal had proposed the unification of Muslim-majority provinces into a new Muslim state to ensure the protection of the linguistic, ethnic, cultural and religious values of Muslims. He added that Iqbal’s poetic and philosophical ideas had generated self-confidence and renewed hope among Muslims, thereby further strengthening the freedom movement.
The Chairman noted that more than 60 percent of Pakistan’s population consisted of people below the age of 30, underlining the need of equipping them with quality education, technical skills, self-confidence, discipline and leadership abilities.
Chairman of the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, Dr Abdul Razaque Channa, highlighted the contemporary relevance of Iqbal’s philosophy of Khudi (self). On the occasion, students Abeer, Halar, Inam Rind, Bakir Laghari, Aisha Jokhio and Fiza delivered speeches and recited poetry by Allama Iqbal.
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