KARACHI: Speakers at the International Urdu Conference (IUC) paid tribute to Urdu poet Shabbir Ahmed Khan also know as Josh Malehabadi in the sixth session of the conference.
The topic under discussion was the cultural, intellectual, aesthetic, social and contemporary elements and artistic beauty of Josh’s poetry in reference to ode and poem. The sixth session was held at the Arts Council Auditorium at Arts Council of Pakistan (ACP), Karachi on Sunday.
In his address Dr Muhammad Ali said that Josh’s Islamic concept was deeper than that of Allama Iqbal. He criticized Iqbal and he said that Iqbal could have declared the Hindu deity Krishna as a prophet because he was so fascinated by him. Josh was against the material portrayal of god.
Josh was not a social scientist but was among those who gave paradigms for social science this is the reason is why progressive movements start their programs reciting Josh’s poetry. Josh has raised more than 35,000 questions about religion in his poetry. The fact that he was ignored and ill-treated does not matter as people did not treat Socrates in a humane manner either.
Dr Fatima Hassan termed Josh’s compiled poetry an asset and quoted Zahida Khatoon Sherwani saying that Josh’s anthology ‘Rooh-e-Adab’ might have no value for the world’s most spoken languages but it was surely an everlasting piece in the history of Urdu literature.
Josh’s granddaughter Tabassum Akhlaque regretted that Josh was ignored and after 60 years of independence, there is not a single street in Pakistan named after Josh and Josh’s chair does not exist in any university across the country. She demanded that Sindh Education Minister Pir Mazharul Haq select and add Josh’s poetry to the curriculum.
In his address Prof Daniyal Tareen said that Josh was a poet of diction, not the dictionary.
Ibrahim Rizvi said that only two prominent poets were born in the Indian sub-continent in the twentieth century, Allama Iqbal and Josh Malehabadi. There was a lobby of poets and writers who neglected Josh and that lobby was a beneficiary to the Indian Congress Leaders and English rulers of the India.
He remarked that if migrating to Pakistan was Josh’s sin for which he was ignored, there were many who also migrated but were honoured. Poet and author of the national anthem, Abdul Hafeez Jalandhari’s note on Josh was also biased. It was Josh who fought against English imperialism through out his life and he hated it so severely that he set all his clothes that were made in English textile mills on fire.
Josh initially wrote odes, which he discontinued and adopted poems as his main mode of expression, however, the colors of his ode writing days cannot be dissolved. In her address Naseem Syed regretted that the pronunciations of certain Urdu letters are being eliminated and are not being taught to children. She said that ethnic clashes are being embedded so deeply in the Pakistani society due to which conferences are held in closed rooms. She urged for conferences against ethnic riots.
Dr Ashfaque Hussein said that Josh had full command on the Urdu language and composition of poetry. The topics he talked about forced people to think.
Prof Siddiqur Rehman Kidwai said that literature is a meaningful tool for the protection of humanity this is why languages were created. Unfortunately, there are certain languages that are being suppressed and poets and writers should struggle to revive these languages. The progressive movement symbolized Josh’s poetry but sadly there has not been another Josh. Josh belonged to the Shia sect and raised many questions in Shia Majalis so it cannot be said that he was against Sunnism.