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Faiz Ahmad Faiz MBE NI (13 February 1911 – 20 November 1984) was a Pakistani poet, and author in Urdu and Punjabi language. He was one of the most celebrated writers of the Urdu language in Pakistan. Outside literature, he has been described as "a man of wide experience" having been a teacher, an army officer, a journalist, a trade unionist and a broadcaster.

Faiz was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature and won the Lenin Peace Prize.

Born in Punjab, British India, Faiz went on to study at Government College and Oriental College. He went on to serve in the British Indian Army. After Pakistan's independence, Faiz became the editor to The Pakistan Times and a leading member of the Communist Party before being arrested in 1951 as an alleged part of conspiracy to overthrow the Liaquat administration and replace it with a left-wing government.

Faiz was released after four years in prison and went on to become a notable member of the Progressive Writers' Movement and eventually an aide to the Bhutto administration, before being self-exiled to Beirut. Faiz was an avowed Marxist, and he received the Lenin Peace Prize by the Soviet Union in 1962. His work remains influential in Pakistan literature and arts. Faiz's literary work was posthumously publicly honoured when the Pakistan Government conferred upon him the nation's highest civil award, Nishan-e-Imtiaz, in 1990.

Education

Following the Muslim South Asian tradition, his family directed him to study Islamic studies at the local Mosque to be oriented to the basics of religious studies by Maulana Hafiz Muhammad Ibrahim Mir Sialkoti, an Ahl-i Hadith scholar. According to Muslim tradition, he learned Arabic, Persian, Urdu language and the Quran. Faiz was also a Pakistan nationalist, and often said, "Purify your hearts, so you can save the country...". His father later took him out of Islamic school because Faiz, who went to a Madrassa for a few days found that the impoverished children there, were not comfortable having him around and ridiculed him, as much as he tried to make them feel at ease. Faiz came to the Madrassa in neat clothes, in a horse-drawn carriage, while the students of the school were from a very poor backgrounds and used to sit on the floor on straw mats In 'Faiznama', his close friend Dr. Ayub Mirza recalls that Faiz came home and told his father he was not going to attend the Madrassa anymore. His father then admitted him to the Scotch Mission School, which was managed and run by a local British family. After matriculation, he joined the Murray College at Sialkot for intermediate study.[9] In 1926, Faiz enrolled in Department of Languages and Fine Arts of the Government College, Lahore. While there, he was greatly influenced by Shams-ul-Ulema, Professor Mir Hassan who taught [Arabic] and Professor Pitras Bukhari .Professor Hasan had also taught the renowned philosopher, poet, and politician of South Asia, Dr. Muhammad Iqbal. In 1926, Faiz attained his BA with Honors in Arabic language, under the supervision of Professor Mir Hassan. In 1930, Faiz joined the post-graduate program of the GC, obtaining MA in English literature in 1932. The same year, Faiz passed his post-graduate exam in the 1st Division from Punjab University's Oriental College, where he obtained a master's degree in Arabic in 1932.It was during his college years that he met M. N. Roy and Muzaffar Ahmed who influenced him to become a member of the Communist Party.

Academia and literacy

In 1935 Faiz joined the faculty of Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College at Amritsar, serving as a lecturer in English and British literature. Later in 1937, Faiz moved to Lahore to reunite with his family after accepting the professorship at the Hailey College of Commerce, initially teaching introductory courses on economics and commerce. In 1936, Faiz joined a literary movement, (PWM) and was appointed its first secretary by his fellow Marxist Sajjad Zaheer. In East and West-Pakistan, the movement gained considerable support in civil society. In 1938, he became editor-in-chief of the monthly Urdu magazine "Adab-e-Latif (lit. Belles Letters) until 1946.In 1941, Faiz published his first literary book "Naqsh-e-Faryadi" (lit. Imprints) and joined the Pakistan Arts Council (PAC) in 1947.

Faiz was a good friend of Soviet poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko who once said "In Faiz's autobiography... is his poetry, the rest is just a footnote".During his lifetime, Faiz published eight books and received accolades for his works. Faiz was a humanist, a lyrical poet, whose popularity reached neighbouring India and Soviet Union.[self-published source] Indian biographer Amaresh Datta, compared Faiz as "equal esteem in both East and West".Throughout his life, his revolutionary poetry addressed the tyranny of military dictatorships, tyranny, and oppressions, Faiz himself never compromised on his principles despite being threatened by the right-wing parties in Pakistan. Faiz's writings are comparatively new verse form in Urdu poetry based on Western models. Faiz was influenced by the works of Allama Iqbal and Mirza Ghalib, assimilating the modern Urdu with the classical.Faiz used more and more demands for the development of socialism in the country, finding socialism the only solution of country's problems.During his life, Faiz was concerned with more broader socialists ideas, using Urdu poetry for the cause and expansion of socialism in the country. The Urdu poetry and Ghazals influenced Faiz to continue his political themes as non-violent and peaceful, opposing the far right politics in Pakistan.
Legacy

Although living a simple and restless life, Faiz's work, political ideology, and poetry became immortal, and he has often been called as one of the "greatest poets" of India . Faiz remained an extremely popular and influential figure in the literary development of Pakistan's arts, literature, and drama and theatre adaptation.In 1962, Faiz was awarded the Lenin Peace Prize which enhanced the relations of his country with the Soviet Union which at that time had been hostile and antagonistic relations with Pakistan.[36] The Lenin Peace Prize was a Soviet equivalent of Nobel Peace Prize, and helped lift Faiz's image even higher in the international community. It also brought Soviet Union and Pakistan much closer, offering possibilities for bettering the lives of their people. Most of his work has been translated into the Russian language.

Faiz, whose work is considered the backbone of development of Pakistan's literature, arts and poetry, was one of the most beloved poets in the country.[36] Along with Allama Iqbal, Faiz is often known as the "Poet of the East".[37] While commenting on his legacy, classical singer Tina Sani said:

Faiz Ahmad Faiz... (was) like a comrade, his thoughts were soft but effective and inspired the classical singers as it did others in the plays we did... Faiz's poetry never gets old because the problems and situations in this country have not changed. Today we sing him because of his beautiful poetry, missing out on the reasons behind his poems that had predictions...

— Tina Sani, commenting on the legacy of Faiz

Courtesy--wikipedia
- Faiz Ahmad Faiz

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