Pakistan, Iran envoys join Dhaka University event marking Allama Iqbal’s birth anniversary
Pakistan's High Commissioner to Bangladesh Imran Haider and Iranian Ambassador Dr Jalil Rahimi Jahanabadi joined scholars and academics at Dhaka University on Monday to commemorate the 149th birth anniversary of philosopher-poet Allama Muhammad Iqbal.
The event, titled “We and Iqbal 2026,” was held at the university's historic Bottola premises at 3:30 pm, bringing together academics and writers to examine Iqbal's literary and philosophical legacy.
Writer and Iqbal researcher Fahmid-ur-Rahman chaired the programme.
Among the speakers were Dhaka University's Persian Language and Literature Professor Dr Md Abdus Sabur Khan, Urdu Professor Dr Golam Rabbani, Assistant Professor of Persian Language and Literature Mehdi Hasan, and writer and thinker Mohammad Sajal.
Discussions centred on Iqbal's philosophy of Khudi, or selfhood, which emphasises self-awareness, individual dignity and the development of human potential.
Speakers examined his ideas on identity, self-respect and human emancipation, alongside his influence on Muslim intellectual and political thought.
They also discussed the relevance of Iqbal's philosophy to contemporary social and political life, arguing that his ideas should extend beyond literary and academic debates.
The speakers stressed the need to introduce younger generations to Iqbal's writings and philosophical contributions and explore their application to individual, social and national life.
Born on November 9, 1877, in Sialkot, Iqbal was a poet, philosopher and political thinker whose writings in Persian and Urdu helped shape debates about Muslim identity, intellectual revival and political self-determination in British India.
His philosophical work continues to attract scholarly interest across South Asia and beyond.
Organisers described “We and Iqbal 2026” as an initiative to revisit his intellectual legacy and introduce his writings to a new generation through contemporary academic discussion.
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