Faiz Ahmed Faiz

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This article is about the poet. For other uses, see Faiz (disambiguation).
Faiz Ahmad Faiz

Born February 13, 1911(1911-02-13)
Sialkot, Pakistan
Died November 20, 1984 (aged 73)
Lahore
Occupation Poet
Literary movement Socialism

Faiz Ahmed Faiz (فيض احمد فيض), (1984 - 1911) was a Pakistani poet considered to be one of the most famous modern Urdu poets. He was born in Sialkot, in the Punjab of pre-independence India (now Pakistan). After the partition of 1947, he decided to live in Pakistan, and died in Lahore. Faiz was a member of the Anjuman Tarraqi Pasand Mussanafin-e-Hind (Progressive Writers' Movement), and an avowed Marxist. In 1962 he was awarded the Lenin Peace Prize by the Soviet Union.

In the 1930s Faiz Ahmed Faiz married Alys Faiz, a British woman. They had two daughters. Alys Faiz's influence on Faiz's life and poetry is reputed to have been great.

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[edit] Life

[edit] Family

Faiz was born in Sialkot on February 13, 1911.

[edit] Education

Following the traditions of the Muslim community in the Indian subcontinent, Faiz, in his early age was sent to the Masjid (Mosque) to be oriented with the basics of religious studies by Maulvi Muhammad Ibrahim Mir Sialkoti. Later, he went to Scotch Mission School, Sialkot, for academic education and after matriculation, joined the Murray College, Sialkot for intermediate and graduation. His most influential teachers were Shams-ul-Ullamah (The Sun of Teachers) Syed Mir Hasan (Arabic) (who had also taught the well renowned philosopher, poet, and politician of South Asia, Allama Dr. Muhammad Iqbal), and Professor Yousuf Saleem Chishti (Urdu). He acquired his post-graduate studies from the Government College, Lahore (Master of Arts in English Literature) and the Oriental College, Lahore to achieve another masters degree in Arabic Literature.

Faiz
Faiz

[edit] Career

Faiz started a branch of Anjuman Tarraqi Pasand Mussanafin-e-Hind in Punjab in 1936. Also he was a Member and Secretary of this branch. Faiz was also an Editor of Mahanama (Monthly) Adab-e-Lateef (1938-1942 AD).Faiz became a lecturer in English at M. A. O. College, Amritsar in 1935 and then at Hailey College of Commerce, Lahore. He briefly joined the British Indian Army and was promoted to the rank of Lieut. Colonel in 1944. He resigned from the Army in 1947 and returned to Lahore to become the first editor in chief of the Pakistan Times, a paper started by Mian Iftikharuddin under Jinnah's patronage. This paper played an important role in partition. In 1959 he was appointed as Secretary, Pakistan Arts Council and worked in that capacity till 1962.

Returning from London in 1964 he settled down in Karachi and was appointed as Principal at Abdullah Haroon College. He was editor of the monthly magazine Adabe-Latif from 1947 to 1958. Faiz distinguished himself as a journalist and was editor of the Pakistan Times, the Urdu newspaper Imroze and the weekly Lail-o-Nihar. In the 1965 war between India & Pakistan he worked in an honorary capacity in the Department of Information. In exile he acted as Editor of the magazine Lotus in Moscow, London and Beirut.

Faiz wrote poems that opposed the bloodshed occurring in what became Bangladesh during the conflict with Pakistan [1].

[edit] Communism

Faiz was an avowed communist and was associated with Communist Party in Pakistan. Faiz spent much of the 1950s and 1960s promoting the cause of communism in Pakistan. During the time when Faiz was editor of The Pakistan Times, one of the leading newspapers of 50s, he lent editorial support to CP. He was also involved in the circle lending support to military personnel (e.g. Major General Akbar Khan) who promised that in case of a successful military coup against Liaquat Ali Khan the CP would be allowed to function as a legitimate political party like any other party and to take part in the general elections. This involvement with CP and Major General Akbar Khan's coup plan lead to his imprisonment later.

When Faiz was asked if he was a communist he replied in his usual nonchalant manner "A communist is a person who is a card carrying member of the Communist party. The party is banned in our country. So how can I be a communist?"

[edit] Imprisonment

Faiz was charged with complicity in a failed coup attempt known as the Rawalpindi Conspiracy Case and was sentenced to four years' imprisonment in 1951. The jail term gave him a first-hand experience of the harsh realities of life, and provided him with the much-needed solitude to think and write poetry. Two of his greatest works Dast-e-Saba and Zindan-Nama were products of this period of imprisonment.

[edit] Publications

  • Naqsh-e-Faryadi, 1941
  • Dast-e-Saba, 1953
  • Zindan Nama, 1956
  • Mizan, a collection of literary articles, 1956
  • Dast Tah-e-Sang, 1965
  • Sar-e-Wadi-e-Seena, 1971
  • Sham-e-Shehr-e-Yaran, 1979
  • Merey Dil Merey Musafar, 1981
  • Nuskha-Hai-Wafa, 1984 (A collective work)
  • Pakistani Culture, (Urdu and English)

[edit] Awards

Faiz was the first Asian poet to be awarded the Lenin Peace Prize, the Soviet Union's equivalent to the Nobel Prize in 1963. Other notable recipients include Pablo Neruda, Nelson Mandela, W.E.B. Dubois, Bertolt Brecht, Fidel Castro and Nobel Prize winning Chemist Linus Pauling. The real award for a poet is the love and appreciation of his fans and Faiz enjoyed both for most of his life. He recorded for the Library of Congress in 1977 which has fifty two works by him [2].

Before his death in 1984 he was also nominated for the Nobel Prize.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links