From Javed Manzil to Iqbal Museum

LAHORE - Going towards Garhi Shahu from Railway Station, both these places have their importance in own right, one just cannot miss Javed Manzil on the right hand just behind the Railways Cairns Hospital which has since long been turned into Allama Iqbal Museum as a tribute to the great thinker, poet and teacher. For this you only have to be little observant of the surroundings like this scribe and then nothing will escape your eyes. Javed Manzil is one of at least four known places where Allama Iqbal had lived on his return from Britain and Germany after securing higher education as well as Ph.D. As a matter of fact, this was the place where Allama Iqbal had breathed his last on April 21, 1938. He did not live for some years more to see his concept of a separate homeland for the Muslims of the sub-continent, where they could have religious as well as economic freedom from Hindus subjugation, being turned into a concrete reality by Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah through his inspired and principled leadership and statesmanship with the blessings of Almighty Allah. And a visit to the Javed Manzil turned Allama Iqbal Museum on the eve ofdeath anniversary of the great thinker and poet, which falls on April 21, 2011, turned out to be quite educative and informative, quite expectedly. Other places where Allama Iqbal had lived for varying period in the city were the upper storey of the shop in Anarkali of Attar Chand Kapoor Booksellers from 1908 to 1922, Mcleod Road House No 116 from 1922 to 1935 and from May 1935 at Javed Manzil till his death. Earlier on from 1900 to 1905, Allama Iqbal had also lived somewhere inside Bhatti Gate, about which no information is readily available even now despite extensive and intensive research at the official and private levels. Mcleod Road residence of Allama Iqbal was used for many years as its office by the Iqbal Academy Pakistan till it had shifted to the Iqbal Complex, Aiwan-e-Iqbal, on Hakim Ahmad Shuja Road, also known as Egerton Road. The House is still in the possession of the Federal Education Ministry whereas the whereabouts of his Anarkali residence are not known. As per the details available from different sources, Javed Manzil construction and ownership makes quite interesting and illuminating reading in general and particularly for the research scholars. While residing on Mcleod Road, Allama Iqbal bought in 1934 a piece of land measuring seven kanals in open auction at Mauza Garhi Shah in the name of his younger son Javed Iqbal. When the construction of the house was completed at a cost of Rs 42,025, he had shifted there from Mcleod Road. While looking around at the personal belongings of Allama Iqbal at the museum, one can find receipts of every financial transaction which Allama Iqbal had undertaken in his life time. This is not all. Since the piece of land was bought in the name of his younger son, none else but Javed Iqbal was regarded as its owner. Accordingly, Allama Iqbal got a document written on stamp paper on May 21, 1935, and rented three front rooms for Rs 50 per month with son Javed Iqbal as the land lord and the father as the tenant. This karaya namah is on display in the museum along with several other personal use belongings of the great thinker and poet. Within four days of shifting to the newly-constructed house on Mayo Road, which is since baptized as Iqbal Road, the great poet and philosopher suffered a huge personal loss when his wife Sardar Begum, who was mother of Javed Iqbal, expired on May 24, 1935.Allama Muhammad Iqbal continued to live in the same house for another years and breathed his last in one of three rooms, in his use, on April 1938. Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah along with his sister Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah had visited Allama Muhammad Iqbal at the Javed Manzil in 1936. Hindus leader Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru was also a great admirer of Allama Iqbal and had visited the Javed Manzil to meet him. Allama Iqbal was born in Sialkot in 1877.In order to celebrate birth centenary of great thinker and poet in a befitting manner, the democratically elected Federal Government of Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had set up the National Committee for Allama Iqbal Centenary celebrations. This committee had proposed that the Javed Manzil should be bought over by the Federal Government and turned into a museum where all personal belongings of Allama Muhammad Iqbal should be preserved and put on display for the posterity. Along side, extensive research undertaken at the initiative of the National Birth Centenary Celebrations Committee had also declared with the approval of the Prime Minister that November 9 is the birth date of Allama Muhammad Iqbal and it should be celebrated as such every year at the national level. The 1977 being the centenary year, Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had special flown into Lahore on January 1 that year, visited the mazar of great thinker and poet and declared that year (1977) be celebrated as the Iqbal Year. On July 5, 1977, then Chief of Army Staff General Muhammad Ziaul Haq staged a coup, ousted the government of Prime Minister Bhutto, derailed the democratic process and became the Chief Martial Law Administrator retaining Fazal Elahi Chaudhry as the President till the completion of his constitutional tenure of five years in September 1978. Afterwards, General Ziaul Haq also became the President while retaining the top slot of the Army Chief as well. On the persuasion of the President/Army Chief, owner Dr Justice Javed Iqbal agreed to sell the Javed Manzil to the Federal Government for its being turned into a museum named after his illustrious father. Accordingly, the Federal Government assumed possession of the Javed Manzil in December 1977 and it was declared as Allama Iqbal Museum. Dr Justice Javed Iqbal was paid by the Federal Government a hefty amount of Rs 3.5 million for the Javed Manzil along with all belongings of Allama Muhammad Iqbal. Furthermore,President/Army Chief General Muhammad Ziaul Haq had directed the Punjab Government to provide a suitable piece of land to Dr Javed Iqbal in any posh locality of his choice. Justice (retd) Dr Javed Iqbal has his bungalow on the main boulevard in Gulberg. In one room of his bungalow, there is a big mural done by well-known artist Jimmy Engineer to transform Allama Muhammad Iqbals collection of Persian poetry Javeed Nqamah into colours. Jimmy Engineer had took this assignment as a challenge and stayed at the new residence of Dr Javed Iqbal for about one for its accomplishment. Javed Manzil was renovated by some Japanese Engineers who had visited Lahore for this purpose at the invitation of the Federal Government after which the Allama Iqbal Museum was formally inaugurated by the President/Army Chief General Muhammad Ziaul Haq in December 1984 Couple of years back, as per the direction of the highest auithority of the land, President/Army Chief General Pervez Musharraf, more than 50 articles displayed in the museum were removed and handed over to the newly-established National Monument Museum in Islamabadfor display there. Some of these articles have been returned but there are no signs of the whole lot of articles being sent back for put on display again at the Allama Iqbal Museum from where these were taken away apparently as borrowed items. This is just one aspect of the life of great thinker and poet confined to some mention of places where Allama Iqbal lived in Lahore. For those, who may be interesting in knowing more about Allama Muhammad Iqbal, relevant details are given here briefly. It is a well-known that Allama Muhammad Iqbal hailed from a Kashmiri family which had migrated from Kashmir in the early part of 19th century and settled in Sialkot. In the beginning, the family lived in Mohallah LKhateekaan in Sialkot where in 1861, his grandfather Shaikh Muhammad Rafiq bought a bought a house in Kashmiri Mohallah which is know known as the Iqbal Manzil there. Allama Iqbal was born in this house on November 9, 1877. He had completed his school and early college education in Sialkot doing Middle in 1891, Matriculation in 1893 and Intermediate examinations from Scotch (later Murray) College Sialkot. Hedid graduation from Government College, Lahore in 1897 with honours securing scholarship with distinction in English and Arabic subjects. He did M.A. in Philosophy in 1899. He started his practical career soon after from the Oriental College, Lahore as teacher in Arabic and served there in this position from 1899 to 1902. Afterwards, he taught English and Philosophy in Government College and Islamia College, Lahore. He proceeded to Britain in 1905 for higher education. He did graduation from the Cambridge University and was conferred Ph.D. in 1907 by Munich University of Germany.In 1908, he passed Bar at Law examination from the Lincons Inn (London). On his return to Lahore, he joined Government College as Professor of Philosophy and also did legal practice in the Lahore High Court. A separate account of Allama Iqbal as the poet and politician will be presented some other time in order to do justice to the maximum extent possible. For more and much more, in all fairness, please do visit the Allama Iqbal Museum whenever it is convenient and pay him tributes besides offering fateha for his departed soul. The museum remains open daily from 9 A.M. to 4 P.M. and Wednesday is a closed day. According to the museum officials, not many people visit the Javed Manzil to have glimpses of the relics of the great thinker and poet even on his birth anniversary on November 9 and death anniversary on April 21 every year though the entry is absolutely free. According to the Director of the museum, Muhammad Ilyas Bhatti, the number of visitors to the Allama Iqbal Museum is rather on the low side quite disappointedly. He said this was mainly due to the lack of awareness on the part of the people at large in the provincial metroplis, other parts of the country as well as in the foreign countries. He said that even the residents of the locality are not all that familiar that the Javed Manzil has since long been transformed into the Allama Iqbal Museum.