The Colours Of Faiz Ahmad Faiz’s Life

“Bol ki lab azaad hain tere, bol zaba ab tak teri hain. Tera sutvaan jism hain tera, bol ki jaan ab tak teri hain” (Speak, for your lips are free; speak, for your tongue is still yours. Your upright body belongs to you; speak, for your soul, still is yours.)

These lines of famous Pakistani poet Faiz Ahmad Faiz was written in 1979 against the dictatorial regime of General Zia-ul-Haq. It became a universal anthem of protest after it was sung by Ghazal singer Iqbal Bano at Lahore’s Alhamra Arts Council in 1986.

Pakistani poet and author Faiz Ahmad Faiz is one of the most celebrated Urdu writers and is recognised as one of the most powerful poetic voices in South Asia.

Born on February 13, 1911, in Punjab province in British India, he was an influential left-wing intellectual who was also a human rights and civil liberties activist. He grew up in a privileged family that was well known in literary circles. He often witnessed local poets and writers gathering at his home who met to promote the literacy movement in the province.

Faiz took up his primary education in Sialkot and learned Urdu, Persian, and Arabic. He later studied philosophy and English literature in Lahore and finished an M.A. in Arabic.

Regarded as the “greatest poet” of Pakistan, Faiz’s early poems were conventional and were based on simple concepts of love and beauty. While in Lahore, he developed an interest in politics and tools that brought forward change for the betterment of the society. He would often say, “Purify your hearts, so you can save your country.”

Among other accolades, he was the first Asian poet to have been awarded the Lenin Peace Prize by the Soviet Union in 1962. Prior to his death, he was also nominated for the Nobel Prize.

In 1976, he was awarded the Lotus Prize for Literature. Posthumously, Faiz was honoured by the Pakistan Government with the highest civilian award Nishan-e-Imtiaz in 1990. Later in the year 2011, the Pakistan Peoples Party’s government declared the year 2011 “as the year of Faiz Ahmed Faiz.”

With numerous highs and lows in his life, Faiz successfully managed to shine bright and was equally revered in both Pakistan and Northern India.