Iqbal Day: Govt announces public holiday on Nov 9

ISLAMABAD: The federal government has announced a public holiday on November 9 (Wednesday) across the country on the occasion of birth anniversary of national poet and philosopher Allama Muhammad Iqbal, ARY News reported.

A notification to this effect was also issued by the government.

Born in Sialkot on November 9 in 1877, Iqbal received his early education in the traditional maktab and went to Sialkot Mission School, from where he passed his matric exams.

He obtained his Bachelor of Arts Degree from Government College, Lahore in 1897 and secured his Masters’s Degree two years later. He was appointed as a lecturer of history, philosophy and English in Lahore’s Oriental College.

Iqbal conceived of the idea of Pakistan and used poetry to motivate the Muslims, especially the youth of the sub-continent in their struggle against their British rulers and their demand for a separate homeland.

Unfortunately, he did not live to see the dream of a separate homeland for Muslims come true and passed away on April 21, 1938.