PESHAWAR
With her eyes fixed on the canvas and a paintbrush carefully held between her fingers, sixth-grade student Fatima Aziz was absorbed in bringing the portrait of national poet Dr Allama Muhammad Iqbal to life.
Around her, the school hall was filled with young artists, colourful paintings and portraits of the leaders who played a pivotal role in the struggle for Pakistan.
For Fatima, however, the painting competition was more than an artistic activity but it was an opportunity to express her understanding of the poet whose vision, articulated at Allahabad in 1930, helped shape the idea of a separate homeland for the Muslims of the subcontinent.
The annual painting competition, organised by Peshawar Model School in connection with Pakistan’s 79th Independence Day celebrations, attracted a large number of young participants.
Students painted portraits of Dr Iqbal, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan and other leaders of the Pakistan Movement.
When the results were announced, Fatima’s portrait won first position, while Anaya secured second and Ezna Wali stood third.
The young winner was visibly delighted with her achievement and said “Dr Allama Iqbal is my favourite poet. His Allahabad Address gave a clear vision to Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah about the future of Muslims of the subcontinent,” Fatima said.
She said Pakistan had given its citizens a name, identity and freedom, adding that young people had a responsibility to contribute to the country’s development.
“I feel immense proud whenever I learn about the struggle of our leaders of Pakistan’s freedom movement. We should study their sacrifices and work hard to make Pakistan better,” she said.
For Fatima’s classmates, the competition also became a lesson in history. “Dr. Iqbal’s poetry is not only about poems; it gives us a message of hope, courage and hard work,” said student Anaya who clinched second position.
Another student, Ezna Ali , who won third position, said preparing her painting helped her learn more about the Pakistan Movement.
“While making my painting, I read about father of the nation Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and poet of the east Dr. Allama Muhammad Iqbal. I realised that Pakistan was not created overnight. Many people struggled for years to achieve this dream,” she said.
They said the painting activity had made history more interesting for students. “When we read history in books, sometimes it feels difficult. But when we paint the people and events of that time, we understand their importance better,” Ezna Wali said.
Addressing the prize-distribution ceremony, Peshawar Model School Principal Afsheen Majid congratulated the students and said the creation of Pakistan was a great blessing, urging the younger generation to work with dedication for the country’s prosperity and to understand the sacrifices made by the Muslims of the subcontinent.
“Pakistan is a great blessing, and we must work hard for its prosperity,” she said. Afsheen said that 17 years before Pakistan emerged on the world map as an independent state, a powerful poetic and political voice from the Indian subcontinent had articulated an idea that would eventually alter the course of South Asian history.
It was on December 29, 1930, at the historic 25th session of the All-India Muslim League in Allahabad, that Dr Allama Muhammad Iqbal presented his famous address, outlining his vision for an independent Muslim state in northwestern India.
Historians and scholars regard the 1930 Allabad address as a major milestone in the intellectual and political development of the Pakistan Movement.
Professor Dr Muhammad Yunus Khan, former chairman of the Pakistan Studies Department at Islamia College Peshawar, said the address represented a turning point in the political consciousness of Muslims in British India.
“Dr Iqbal declared that Muslims were not just a religious community but a distinct nation deserving political independence,” he said.
At the time, Muslims of the subcontinent were facing political uncertainty, social challenges and increasing fears about their future under British colonial rule and in a Hindu-majority political system.
Dr Iqbal proposed the consolidation of Muslim-majority areas in the northwest, including Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan and the North-West Frontier Province, now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, into a political unit that later become present day Pakistan.
“Dr Iqbal wasn’t just speaking politically. He was arguing for the preservation of Islamic civilisation, values and identity in South Asia,” Dr Yunus said.
The significance of Iqbal’s vision became increasingly apparent during the following decade. Although the poet-philosopher died in 1938 and did not witness the creation of Pakistan, his ideas continued to influence the political struggle led by Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
In 1940, ten years after the Allahabad address, the All-India Muslim League passed the historic Lahore Resolution on March 23, which gave further political shape to the demand for Muslim-majority territories to have independent political arrangements.
“From that point onward, the demand for Pakistan was not merely an idea; it became a powerful political movement,” Dr Yunus said.
The name “Pakistan” had been coined earlier, in 1933, by Chaudhry Rahmat Ali, providing a name that became associated with the emerging political aspirations of the Muslims of the subcontinent.
Under Quaid-e-Azam’s determined leadership, the Muslim League expanded its political influence and gained growing support among Muslims across British India, including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The 1945-46 elections proved to be a critical milestone, as the Muslim League secured an overwhelming mandate among Muslim voters and strengthened its claim to represent the political aspirations of Indian Muslims.
Finally, on August 14, 1947, the dream of a separate homeland became a reality as Pakistan emerged as an independent sovereign country, with Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah serving as its first Governor-General.
Dr Iqbal, however, was not alive to witness the fulfilment of the vision he had articulated at Allahabad.
“Dr Iqbal’s address was not a conventional political demand but a declaration that gave direction and purpose to a fragmented community,” Dr Yunus remarked. It provided an ideological foundation for the movement that ultimately led to the creation of Pakistan.
For students such as Fatima, the story of Iqbal is not confined to the pages of a history textbook. It is reflected in their classrooms, paintings, poetry competitions and national celebrations.
Fatima said she wanted other children to learn about Iqbal’s message and understand their responsibility towards Pakistan.
“We are the future of Pakistan. We should study, respect our country and use our talents for its progress,” she said.
Her small painting, displayed proudly among dozens of others, thus became more than a winning entry. It became a young student’s interpretation of an idea first articulated nearly a century ago.
Today, Dr Allama Muhammad Iqbal is remembered as great leader of Pakistan, while his Allahabad address remains a cornerstone of the country’s political and historical narrative.
As Pakistan is going to celebrate another Independence Day on August 14, the words spoken by Dr Iqbal in Allahabad in 1930 continue to resonate across generations:
“I would like to see the Punjab, North-West Frontier Province, Sindh and Balochistan amalgamated into a single state.”
What began as a vision in Allahabad eventually became a political movement, a national aspiration and, on August 14, 1947, a new country called Pakistan.
And for young Pakistanis like Fatima, the story continues not only in history books, but in the dreams they paint for the future.
