Happy 103rd Faiz Ahmed Faiz

نثار میں تری گلیوں کے اے وطن کہ جہاں
چلی ہے رسم کہ کوئی نہ سر اُٹھا کے چلے

Nation commemorates the 103rd birth anniversary of renowned revolutionary poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz today. Faiz work is considered as the backbone of development of Pakistan’s literature, arts and poetry. He remained extremely influential in Pakistan and his work continues to influence the country’s literature and arts. Faiz was publicly honored by the Pakistan Government after his literary work was publicly endorsed and posthumously honored him with nation’s highest civil award, Nishan-e-Imtiaz, in 1990. Faiz was the first Asian poet to receive the Lenin Peace Prize, awarded by the Soviet Union in 1962. In 1976 he was award the Lotus Prize for Literature. He was also nominated for the Nobel Prize shortly before his death in 1984.

Faiz Ahmad Faiz’s poetry has been translated into many languages, including English and Russian.

During his lifetime, Faiz published eight books and received accolades for his works.[6] Faiz was a humanist, a lyrical poet, whose popularity reached neighbouring India and Soviet Union. 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 Ahmad Faiz was born on 13 February 1911, in Sialkot. Faiz was influenced by the works of Allama Iqbal and Mirza Ghalib, assimilating the modern Urdu with the classical

During 1948–50, Faiz led the Pakistan Trade Union Federation’s (PTUF) delegation in Geneva, and became an active member of World Peace Council (WPC).

In 1972, Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto brought him back and appointed him as the Culture adviser at the Ministry of Culture (MoCul) and the Ministry of Education (MoEd). Faiz continued serving in Bhutto’s government until 1974 when he took retirement from the government assignments.

Faiz was an avowed supporter of Sufism. He had close relations with several Sufi saints of his time. He was a favourite of Baba Malang Sahib, a Sufi of Lahore, Wasif Ali Wasif, Ashfaq Ahmad, Syed Fakhruddin Balley and other renowned Sufis.

In 1979, Faiz departed from Pakistan after learning the news of Bhutto’s execution had been taken place. Faiz took asylum in Beirut, Lebanon, but returned to Pakistan in poor health after renewal of the Lebanon War in 1982. In 1984, Faiz died in Lahore shortly after hearing a nomination of Nobel Peace Prize.