Tuesday, April 26, 2011  Shikwa, Jawab e Shikwa   Iqbal wrote
the two poems, “Shikwa” and “Jawab-i Shikwa” (Complaint to God
and its Response), in early twentieth century. It was the prime
time of his poetic revelation, which is called his third period
that began in 1908 and ended at his death in 1938. During that
time Muslims in India had almost lost their entity as a nation.
They had become the most oppressed community in British ruled
India. A little before Iqbal, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan (1817-1898)
had realised that the major cause of Indian Muslims’ misfortune
was their illiteracy and the lack of knowledge.....  Hereunder I
quote three stanzas from this part of “Shakwa”:  Ham jo jeetey
thay to jangon ki museebat ke liye Aur marte thay tirey naam ke
azmat ke liye Thi na kuch tegh zani apnee hukumat key liye Sar
bakaf phirte thay kiya dhar men daulat ke liye? Qaum apni jo
zaro-maal-i jahan par marti But faroshi ke iwaz but shikani
kiyum karti?  (If we lived we lived for the calamities of wars
If we died we die