Dr. Rasheed Ahmed Khan (IR Expert): Allama Iqbal through his poetry evoked a new spirit in Muslims of India when they were facing crisis in terms of identity and place. Sir Allama Muhammad Iqbal was an intellectual who not only tried to protect the political and cultural future of Indian Muslims on solid foundations but also tried to awake the global Muslims through his constructive ideas. He roused the feeling of Muslim Nationhood among the Muslims of India through his poetry and informed them of propaganda of West about Muslims. Allama Iqbal firmly believed that the Muslims of India have a separate identity and to protect it, the establishment of a separate homeland was necessary. This sense of a single unity was a major factor in the creation of Pakistan. Iqbal was strictly against nationalism. He considered all the Muslims to be part of one Ummah. For him, a Muslim in any part of the world was part of a brotherly relation.
Dr. Mazhar Ali Talat (Iqbal Expert): Dr Allama Muhammad Iqbal had certain traits in his personality such as the best poet, best philosopher and a brilliant political worker. Iqbal’s philosophy of khudi shows that man is neither soul nor body. Man is above both because he possesses them. The ideas of Allama Iqbal on every aspect of life have a universal dimension. The philosophy he offers is a rebirth of idea for the Islamic world, which is experiencing dissolution, corruption, and alienation in every field. Allama Iqbal shed light on the plight of Muslims across the world and instigated them to protect their rights by evolving constructive ideas. Iqbal was deeply concerned with the youth of his time. He was very much clear on the fact that if youngsters focused on their real destiny, they could lead the Muslims of the Sub-Continent out of the harm’s way. Iqbal wanted the youth to have the best knowledge and that was the awareness of the Quran.
