Faiz Ahmad Faiz

 (13 February 1911 – 20 November 1984)

He was a Pakistani poet, and author in Urdu and Punjabi language. He was one of
the most celebrated writers of the Urdu language in Pakistan. Outside literature, he
has been described as "a man of wide experience" having been a teacher, an army
officer, a journalist, a trade unionist and a broadcaster.

Faiz was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature and won the Lenin Peace Prize.

Born in Punjab, British India, Faiz went on to study at Government

College and Oriental College. He went on to serve in the British Indian Army. After
Pakistan's independence, Faiz became the editor to The Pakistan Times and a
leading member of the Communist Party before being arrested in 1951 as an alleged
part of conspiracy to overthrow the Liaquat administration and replace it with a left-
wing government.

Faiz was released after four years in prison and went on to become a notable
member of the Progressive Writers' Movement and eventually an aide to the Bhutto
administration, before being self-exiled to Beirut. Faiz was an avowed Marxist, and
he received the Lenin Peace Prize by the Soviet Union in 1962. His work remains
influential in Pakistan literature and arts. Faiz's literary work was posthumously
publicly honoured when the Pakistan Government conferred upon him the nation's
highest civil award, Nishan-e-Imtiaz, in 1990.

Internationalism and communism

Faiz believed in Internationalism and emphasised the philosophy on Global
village. In 1947, he became editor of the Pakistan Times and in 1948, Faiz became
vice-president of the Pakistan Trade Union Federation (PTUF). In 1950, Faiz joined
the delegation of Prime minister Liaquat Ali Khan, initially leading a business
delegation in the United States, attending the meeting at the International Labour
Organization (ILO) at San Francisco. During 1948–50, Faiz led the PTUF's
delegation in Geneva, and became an active member of World Peace
Council (WPC).

Faiz was a well-known communist in the country and had been long associated with
the Communist Party of Pakistan, which he founded in 1947 along with Marxist
Sajjad Zaheer and Jalaludin Abdur Rahim.  Faiz had his first exposure to socialism
and communism before the independence of State of Pakistan which he thought was
consistent with his progressive thinking.  Faiz had long associated ties with the
Soviet Union, a friendship with atheist country that later honoured him with high
award. Even after his death, the Russian government honoured him by calling him
"our poet" to many Russians.  However his popularity was waned
in Bangladesh after 1971 when Dhaka did not win much support for him.[15] Faiz and
other pro-communists had no political role in the country, despite their academic
brilliance.

Although Faiz was a not a hardcore or far-left communist, he spent most 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 the
1950s, he lent editorial support to the party. He was also involved in the circle
lending support to military personnel (e.g. Major General Akbar Khan). His
involvement with the party and Major General Akbar Khan's coup plan led to his
imprisonment later.

Later in his life, while giving an interview with the local newspaper, Faiz was asked
by the interviewer as if he was a communist. He replied with characteristic
nonchalance: "No. I am not, a communist is a person who is a card carrying member
of the Communist party ever made. The party is banned in our country. So how can I
be a communist?..."

Rawalpindi plot and exile

After returning from the United States, Ali Khan imposed restrictions on Communist
party as well as Pakistan Socialist Party. Although the East Pakistan Communist
Party had ultimate success in East-Pakistan after staging the mass protest to
recognise Bengali language as national language.

Prime minister Liaquat Ali Khan imposed extreme restrictions and applied
tremendous pressure on the communist party that ensured it was not properly
allowed to function openly as a political party. The conspiracy had been planned by
left-wing military officer and Chief of General Staff Major-General Akbar Khan. On 23
February 1951, a secret meeting was held at General Akbar's home, attended by
other communist officers and communist party members, including Marxist Sajjad
Zaheer and communist Faiz. General Akbar assured Faiz and Zaheer that the
communist party would be allowed to function as a legitimate political party like any
other party and to take part in the elections. But, according to communist Zafar
Poshni who maintained, in 2011, that "no agreement was reached, the plan was
disapproved, the communists weren't ready to accept General's words and the
participants dispersed without meeting again". However the next morning, the plot
was foiled when one of the communist officer defected to the ISI revealing the
motives behind the plot. When the news reached the Prime minister, orders for
massive arrests were given to the Military Police by the Prime minister. Before the
coup could be initiated, General Akbar among other communists were arrested,
including Faiz. In a trial led by the Judge Advocate General branch's officers in
a military court, Faiz was announced to have spent four years in Montgomery
Central Jail (MCJ), due to his influential personality, Liaquat Ali Khan's government
continued locating him in Central Prison Karachi and the Central Jail Mianwali. The
socialist Huseyn Suhravardie was his defence counselor. Finally on 2 April
1955, Faiz's sentence was commuted by the Prime minister Huseyn Suhrawardy,
and he departed to London, Great Britain soon after. In 1958, Faiz returned but was
again detained by President Iskander Mirza, allegedly blamed Faiz for publishing
pro-communist ideas and for advocating a pro-Moscow government. However, due
to Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's influence on Ayub Khan, Faiz's sentence was commuted in
1960 and he departed to Moscow, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics; he later
settled in London, United Kingdom.

Return to Pakistan and government work

In 1964, Faiz finally returned to his country and settled down in Karachi, and was
appointed Rector of Abdullah Haroon College. Having served as the secretary of the
Pakistan Arts Council from 1959 to 1962, he became its vice-president the same
year.

In 1965, Faiz was first brought to government by the charismatic democratic

socialist Zulfikar Ali Bhutto who was tenuring as Foreign minister in the presidency
of Ayub Khan.  Bhutto lobbied for Faiz and gave him an honorary capacity at
the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MoIB) working to rallying the people
of West-Pakistan to fight against India to defend their motherland.  During
the 1971  Winter war, Faiz rallied to mobilise the people, writing poems and songs
that opposed the bloodshed during the Bangladesh Liberation War.

In 1972, Prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto brought him back when Bhutto appointed
Faiz as 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 had strong ties with Bhutto, and was deeply upset upon Bhutto's removal
by Chief of Army Staff General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq in 1977, in a military coup
codename Fair Play. Again, Faiz was monitored by Military Police and his every
move watched. In 1979, Faiz departed from Pakistan after learning the news that
Bhutto's execution had taken place. Faiz took asylum in Beirut, Lebanon, where he
edited the Soviet-sponsored magazine Lotus and met well-known Arab figures
like Edward Said and Yasser Arafat,  but returned to Pakistan in poor health after the
renewal of the Lebanon War in 1982. In 1984, Faiz died in Lahore, Punjab Province,
shortly after hearing that he had received a nomination for the Nobel Prize for
Literature.

Legacy
Although living a simple and restless life, Faiz's work, political ideology, and poetry
became immortal, and he has often been called the "greatest poet" of Pakistan. Faiz
remained an extremely popular and influential figure in the literary development of
Pakistan's arts, literature, and drama and theatre adaptation.  In 1962, Faiz was
awarded the Lenin Peace Prize which enhanced the relations of his country with the
Soviet Union which at that time had been hostile and antagonistic relations with
Pakistan. The Lenin Peace Prize was a Soviet equivalent of Nobel Peace Prize, and
helped lift Faiz's image even higher in the international community. It also brought
Soviet Union and Pakistan much closer, offering possibilities for bettering the lives of
their people. Most of his work has been translated into the Russian language.

Faiz, whose work is considered the backbone of development of Pakistan's

literature, arts and poetry, was one of the most beloved poets in the country. Along
with Allama Iqbal, Faiz is often known as the "Poet of the East". While commenting
on his legacy, classical singer Tina Sani said:
Faiz Ahmad Faiz... (was) like a comrade, his thoughts were soft but effective and
inspired the classical singers as it did others in the plays we did... Faiz's poetry never
gets old because the problems and situations in this country have not changed.
Today we sing him because of his beautiful poetry, missing out on the reasons
behind his poems that had predictions...

— Tina Sani, commenting on the legacy of Faiz,

Accolades and international recognition

Faiz was the first Asian poet to receive the Lenin Peace Prize, awarded by the
Soviet Union in 1962. In 1976 he was awarded the Lotus Prize for Literature. He was
also nominated for the lenin Prize shortly before his death in 1984.

At the Lenin Peace Prize ceremony, held in the grand Kremlin hall in Moscow, Faiz
thanked the Soviet government for conferring the honour, and delivered an
acceptance speech, which appears as a brief preface to his collection Dast-i-tah-i-
Sang (Hand under the rock):

Human ingenuity, science and industry have made it possible to provide each one of
us everything we need to be comfortable provided these boundless treasures of
nature and production are not declared the property of a greedy few but are used for
the benefit of all of humanity… However, this is only possible if the foundations of
human society are based not on greed, exploitation and ownership but on justice,
equality, freedom and the welfare of everyone… I believe that humanity which has
never been defeated by its enemies will, after all, be successful; at long last, instead
of wars, hatred and cruelty, the foundation of humankind will rest on the message of
the great Persian poet Hafez Shiraz: ‘Every foundation you see is faulty, except that
of Love, which is faultless....

— Faiz Ahmad Faiz, 1962, 

In 1990, he was belatedly honoured by the Pakistan Government when

ruling Pakistan Peoples Party led by Prime minister Benazir Bhutto, accepting the
recommendation, and posthumously awarded Faiz, the highest civilian
award, Nishan-e-Imtiaz in 1990. In 2011, the Pakistan Peoples Party's government
declared the year of 2011 "as the year of Faiz Ahmed Faiz". In accordance,
the Pakistan Government set up a "Faiz Chair" at the Department of Urdu at
the Karachi University and at the Sindh University, followed by the Government
College University of Lahore established the Patras, Faiz Chair at
the Department of Urdu of the university, also in 2011. The same year,
the Government College University (GCU) presented golden shields to the
University's Urdu department. The shields were issued and presented by the GCU
vice-chancellor Professor Dr. Khaleequr Rehman, who noted and further wrote: "Faiz
was poet of humanity, love and resistance against oppression". In 2012, at the
memorial ceremony was held at the Jinnah Garden to honour the services of Faiz by
the left-wing party Avami National Party and Communist Party, by the end of the
ceremony, the participants chanted his name: "The Faiz of workers is alive! The Faiz
of farmers is alive...! Faiz is alive....!".

Translations
Faiz Ahmad Faiz's poetry has been translated into many languages, including
English and Russian. A Balochi poet, Mir Gul Khan Nasir, who was also a friend of
Faiz Ahmad Faiz, translated his book Sar-e-Wadi-e-Seena into Balochi with the
title Seenai Keechag aa. Gul Khan's translation was written while he was in jail
during Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's regime for opposing the government's policies. It was only
published in 1980, after Zia-ul-Haq toppled Bhutto's government and freed all the
political prisoners of his (Bhutto's) regime. Victor Kiernan, British Marxist historian
translated Faiz Ahmed Faiz's works into English, and several other translations of
whole or part of his work into English have also been made by others; a
transliteration in Punjabi was made by Mohinder Singh.

Faiz Ahmad Faiz, himself, also translated works of notable poets from other
languages into Urdu. In his book "Sar-i Waadi-i Seena ‫ی سینا‬
ِ ‫"سر واد‬
ِ there are
translations of the famous poet of Dagestan, Rasul Gamzatov. "Deewa", a Balochi
poem by Mir Gul Khan Nasir, was also translated into Urdu by Faiz.

Plays, music, and dramatic productions on Faiz

 "Hum Dekhenge" ‫ہم دیکھیں گے‬ by Iqbal Bano
 Sheeshon ka Maseeha ‫ شیشوں کا مسیحا‬by Omer Khawaja and Shabana Azmi.
 Dard Aayega Dabe Paon ‫ درد آئے گا دبے پاؤں‬by Sheela Bhatiya.
 Kuchh Ishq kiya Kuchh Kaam ‫ کچھ عشق کیا کچھ کام‬written by Danish Iqbal and
staged by IPTA Delhi. This multi-media Stage Production was premiered at the
Sri Ram centre, New Delhi on 11 November 2011. The Play is a Celebration of
Faiz's Poetry and featured events from the early part of his life, particularly the
events and incidents of pre-independence days which shaped his life and ideals.
Directed by K K Kohli the musical Production featured Artists like Shamir
Abadan, Jaishri Sethi, Dr Naseem, Izhar, Minhaj, Prateek Kapoor, Twinkle
Khanna and Amit Bajaj in lead roles. The script was the first part of a Faiz trilogy
written by Danish Iqbal on the occasion of the Faiz Centenary Celebrations.
 Chand Roz Aur Meri Jaan ‫ – چند روز اور میری جان‬A dramatised reading of Faiz's
letter and letters written by his wife Alys Faiz. This Production was initially done
at the start of his birth centenary celebrations at India Habitat Center, New Delhi
by Danish Iqbal and Salima Raza. 'Chand Roz Aur Meri Jaan' was also done at
Amritsar Faiz Festival organised by Preet Ladi, at Punjab Natshala, Amritsar, on
6 October 2011. This time it was done by Suchitra Gupta and Danish Iqbal.
 2011 Drama Festival of Delhi Urdu Academy is basically devoted to
Productions about Faiz. Apart from 'Kuchh Ishq kiya Kuchh Kaam' by IPTA,
Delhi and 'Chand Roz Aur Meri Jaan' by Wings Cultural Society,  this Festival
will also feature Plays by Peirreot's Troupe on Faiz, namely 'Jo Dil Pe Guzarti
Hai'. The festival also presented, for the first time on stage 'Tera Bayaan
Ghalib', directed by Dr Hadi Sarmadi and performed by Bahroop Arts Group,
which was an adaptation of one of Faiz's few plays for the radio.
 Ye Dagh Dagh Ujala ‫ یہ داغ داغ اُجاال‬A profound piece of poetry, written by Faiz
Ahmad Faiz inspires Raj Amit Kumar to make a film Unfreedom which was
released on 29 May 2015 in North America. The idea behind Unfreedom came
from the desire to express the lack of freedom in the socio-economic structure of
India's contemporary times.
 Jatt and Juliet ‫ یہ داغ داغ اُجاال‬A profound piece of poetry, written by Faiz Ahmad
Faiz inspires Raj Amit Kumar to make a film Unfreedom which was released on
29 May 2015 in North America. The idea behind Unfreedom came from the
desire to express the lack of freedom in the socio-economic structure of India's
contemporary times