Karachi: Authorities in this commercial capital of Pakistan have renamed a road named after Moti Lal Nehru, father of India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, as Jigar Muradabadi road.
Jigar Muradabadi, renowned Urdu poet, stayed in India after partitition. He was a staunch nationalist.
Both Moti Lal Nehru and Jigar Muradabadi were active supporters of the Indian freedom struggle.
Moti Lal Nehru died in 1931, 16 years before India attained independence, while Jigar Muradabadi died on September 9, 1960. His funeral was held in Gonda (UP).
Jigar was a true Indian. He never compromised his patriotism, writes Akhtar Balouch in the newspaper Dawn. He loved his country from the bottom of the heart and would never tolerate any criticism on his homeland.
According to Dr Muhammad Ziauddin Ansari, Jigar also portrayed some of the faults of his beloved country in his verse.
According to Ansari, Jigar wrote a poem titled 'Bhaag Musaafir Mere Watan Say Mere Chaman Se Bhaag'. In this poem, Jigar described some things he did not appreciate about India, and put forth his grievances in verse.
When Jigar travelled to Pakistan, he was welcomed by the then Pakistan Governor General Khwaja Nazimuddin, who requested his to recite that poem for the audience.
Jigar declined, saying, “Those complains are for my own people. I cannot read it here.” The Governor-General kept insisting, but Jigar did not accede to his request.
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