Habib Jalib
Habib Jalib was a
Pakistani revolutionary poet,
left-wing activist and politician who opposed
martial law,
authoritarianism and state oppression.
Early life
Habib Jalib was born as Habib Ahmad on 24 March 1928
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. 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
.. His views led to imprisonment.
Bhutto's government
In 1972
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto came to power. According to sources 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?"
After Bhutto's death, Habib Jalib wrote the following poem:
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.
Zia-ul-Haq's martial law
During
General Zia-ul-Haq's dictatorship, Jalib wrote a poem on Zia, in which he asked how he could write darkness as
Zia (
Zia literally means
light in
Urdu).
- ظلمت کو ضیا، صر صر کو صبا، بندے کو خدا کیا لکھنا
- Darkness as light, Hot desert wind as a morning breeze
- How can I write a human as God?
Benazir Bhutto's government
After
General Zia-ul-Haq's death in 1988,
Benazir Bhutto came to power and released Habib Jalib.
[citation needed] Disappointed at the state of the nation, when asked if he felt any change after democracy, he said:
- حال اب تک وہی ہیں فقیروں کے
- دن پھرے ہیں فقط وزیروں کے
- ہر بلاول ہے دیس کا مقروض
- پاؤں ننگے ہیں بے نظیروں کے
- Haal ab tak wahi hain faqiroan kay
- Din phiray hain faqat waziroan kay
- her Bilawal hai Dais ka maqrooz
- paoon nangay hain Benazeeroan kay
- The status of the poor is still the same
- the days of the ministers have indeed changed
- every Bilawal (name of the only son of Benazir Bhutto) of the country is under debt
- while Benazirs (literally the poor) of the country walk without shoes
Death
Habib Jalib died on March 13, 1993. His family refused the offer of the government to pay for his funeral expenses.
Qateel Shifai expressed his sorrow and grief in these words:
- اپنے سارے درد بھلا کر اوروں کے دکھ سہتا تھا
- ہم جب غزلیں کہتے تھے وہ اکثر جیل میں رہتا تھا
- آخر چلا ہی گیا وہ روٹھ کر ہم فرزانوں سے
- وہ دیوانہ جس کو زمانہ جالب جالب کہتا تھا
- Apney saarey dard bhula kar auron ke dukh sehta tha
- Hum jub ghazlain kehtey thay wo aksar jail main rehta tha
- Aakhir chala hee gya wo rooth kar hum farzanoun se
- Wo deewana jisko zamana Jalib Jalib kehta tha[7]
Poetry
He mainly wrote about the evils brought upon society by corruption and inequity. An example is:
- فرنگی کا جو میں دربان ہوتا
- تو جینا کس قدر آسان ہوتا
- میرے بچے بھی امریکہ میں پڑھتے
- میں ہر گرمی میں انگلستان ہوتا
- مری انگلش بھی بلا کی چست ہوتی
- بلا سے جو نہ میں اردو دان ہوتا
- سر جھکاکے جو ہو جاتا 'سر' میں
- تو لیڈر بھی عظیم الشان ہوتا
- زمینیں میری ہر صوبے میں ہوتیں
- میں واللہ صدرِ پاکستان ہوتا
- Farangi ka jo main darbaan hota
- Tho jeena kis kadar aasaan hota
- Meray bachay bhi amreeka may parthay
- Main Har garmi may main Inglistaan hota
- Meree English bhi balaa ki chusth hotee
- Balaa say jo na main Urdu-daan hota
- Sar jhuka kay jo ho jaata sir main
- Tho leader bhi azeem-u-shaan hota
- Zameenain meree har soobay may hoteen
- May wallah sadr-e-Pakistan hota
- www.urdubhasha.blogspot.com/habibjalib
