Full History Of Great Revoluyionery poet Habib Jalib

Early life

Habib Jalib was born as Habib Ahmad on 24 March 1928^[1] in a village near Hoshiarpur, British India. He migrated to Pakistan after the partition of India and worked as a proofreader for Daily Imroze of Karachi. He was a progressive writer and soon started to grab the audience with his enthusiastic recitation of poetry. He wrote in plain language, adopted a simple style and addressed common people and issues. But the conviction behind his words, the music of his voice and his emotional energy coupled with the sensitivity of the socio-political context is what stirred the audience.

Political views

Jalib was a Marxist-Leninist and aspired to the ideals of Communism.^{[citation needed]} He was initially a member of the Communist Party of Pakistan (CPP), but joined the National Awami Party (NAP) in 1957 following the ban on the CPP in 1954^{[citation needed]}. His views led to imprisonment.

Ayub Khan's martial law

Jalib was first imprisoned during the martial law regime of Ayub Khan due to his opposition of Khan's policies. He wrote his poem "Dastoor" during those days.^{[citation needed]}
Criticizing those who supported Khan's regime, he wrote:

کہیں گیس کا دھواں ہے

کہیں گولیوں کی بارش ہے

شب عہد کم نگاہی

تجھے کس طرح سراہیں

Kahin gas ka dhuan hae

kahin golion ki baarish

Shab-e-ehd-e-kum nigahi

tujhay kis tarah sarahein

There is smoke of teargas in the air

and the bullets are raining all around

How can I praise thee

the night of the period of shortsightedness

Jalib could never reconcile with the dictatorship of Ayub Khan. So when Ayub enforced his tailor-made constitution in the country in 1962, which a former prime minister Chaudhry Muhammad Ali likened to the Clock Tower of Lyallpur, Jalib wrote the following poem:

Original Urdu English translation دیپ جس کا محلات ہی میں جلے چند لوگوں کی خوشیوں کو لے کر چلے وہ جو سائے میں ہر مصلحت کے پلے ایسے دستور کو، صبح بے نور کو میں نہیں مانتا، میں نہیں مانتا میں بھی خائف نہیں تختہ دار سے میں بھی منصور ہوں کہہ دو اغیار سے کیوں ڈراتے ہو زنداں کی دیوار سے ظلم کی بات کو، جہل کی رات کو میں نہیں مانتا، میں نہیں مانتا پھول شاخوں پہ کھلنے لگے، تم کہو جام رندوں کو ملنے لگے، تم کہو چاک سینوں کے سلنے لگے، تم کہو اس کھلے جھوٹ کو، ذہن کی لوٹ کو میں نہیں مانتا، میں نہیں مانتا تم نے لوٹا ہے صدیوں ہمارا سکوں اب نہ ہم پر چلے گا تمہارا فسوں چارہ گر میں تمہیں کس طرح سے کہوں تم نہیں چارہ گر، کوئی مانے، مگر میں نہیں مانتا، میں نہیں مانتا The light which shines only in palaces Burns up the joy of the people in the shadows Derives its strength from others’ weakness That kind of system, like dawn without light I refuse to acknowledge, I refuse to accept I am not afraid of execution, Tell the world that I am the martyr How can you frighten me with prison walls? This overhanging doom, this night of ignorance, I refuse to acknowledge,I refuse to accept “Flowers are budding on branches”, that’s what you say, “Every cup overflows”, that’s what you say, “Wounds are healing themselves”, that’s what you say, These bare-faces lies, this insult to the intelligence, I refuse to acknowledge, I refuse to accept For centuries you have all stolen our peace of mind But your power over us is coming to an end Why do you pretend you can cure pain? Even if some claim that you’ve healed them, I refuse to acknowledge, I refuse to accept.   Jalib was banned from official media but he remained undeterred. He rather started a tirade against the tyranny with more resolution. It reached its zenith when Fatima Jinnah decided to contest elections against Ayub Khan. All democratic forces rallied around her and at her election meetings, Jalib used to recite his fiery poems in front of an emotionally charged crowd. His most popular poem at that time was: ماں کے پائوں تلے جنت ہے ادھر آجائو Maan kay paon talay jannat hai idhar aa jao The paradise is under the feet of the mother. So come into her fold. In another incident which has become a part of the resistance folklore of the country, the Governor of West Pakistan, the Nawab of Kalabagh, invited filmstar Neelo to dance in front of Shah Reza Pahlavi of Iran. She refused and as a consequence the police was sent to bring her, which led to her attempting to commit suicide. This incident inspired a poem by Jalib, which was later included by Neelo's husband Riaz Shahid in the film Zerqa. The poem was titled Raqs-e-Zanjeer (The dance of the chains) تو کہ ناواقفِ ادبِ غلامی ہے ابھی رقص زنجیر پہن کر بھی کیا جاتا ہے Tu kay nawaqif-e-aadab-e-ghulami hae abhi Raqs zanjeer pehan kar bhi kiya jata hai. You are not aware of the protocol of a king's court. Sometimes one has to dance (before them) with the fetters on. Bhutto's government In 1972 Zulfikar Ali Bhutto came to power. According to sources[who?] close to Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, one day Habib Jalib went to Bhutto's place to meet him. When Bhutto on invited him to join his political Party, Jalib asked, "Have the oceans ever fallen in rivers?"[this quote needs a citation] After Bhutto's death, Habib Jalib wrote the following poem[5]: ٹوٹا ہے کہاں اس کا جادو اک نعرہ بنا ہے اس کا لہو ثابت ہوا دھڑکن دھڑکن پر وہ شخص حکومت کرتا تھا لڑتا تھا وہ اپنے جیسوں سے ہم سے تو محبت کرتا تھا His magic has not been broken His blood became a slogan It has been proved,that he ruled his people's hearts He used to fight with the people like him (Feudal Lords), but with the (poor) people like us, he used to love. Continue Reading.....