Hamid Mir
This was a letter against which false accusations were levelled against the poet of the East, Allama Iqbal. After a century, many members of the British Parliament are also supporting Allama Iqbal’s position. This was the same letter against which the unrest gave rise to this famous poem of Iqbal.
If the Jews have a right to the land of Palestine
Why not the Arabs?
This letter was written by the British Foreign Secretary Lord Balfour to a Zionist leader, Lord Rothschild, in 1917, which is also known as the Balfour Declaration. In this letter, the British Foreign Secretary had announced that his government was ready to establish a separate state for the Jews in Palestine. Allama Iqbal had become politically active against the Balfour Declaration. After the massacre by the British government in Amritsar in 1919, there was an atmosphere of fear throughout India, but in this atmosphere of fear and terror, Allama Iqbal held a meeting in December 1919 in the garden outside Mochi Gate in Lahore and passed a resolution against the Balfour Declaration, demanding that the British government withdraw the declaration of the partition of Palestine. Meanwhile, in 1923, the British government awarded Allama Iqbal the title of Sir for his book “Secrets of Self”. “Secrets of Self” was translated into English by Professor R. A. Nicholson of Cambridge University and it was because of this English translation that the decision to award the title of Sir to the poet of the East was made. Many Iqbal scholars believe that Allama Iqbal had refused to receive such official honours in the past, but one of the reasons for accepting the title of Sir was that he wanted to send a message to the British government that he was certainly a critic of the government’s policies but had no enmity with anyone, so attention should also be paid to his political views. Even after taking the title of Sir, Allama Iqbal continued to oppose the Balfour Declaration and declared the League of Nations an association of shroud thieves. At that time, the headquarters of the League of Nations was in Geneva. Iqbal said in his poem “Palestinian Arab” included in “Zarb-e-Kaleem” that “The medicine is not in Geneva or London. The blood of the ants is in the hands of the Jews.” In 1929, Allama Iqbal chaired another meeting in the garden outside Mochi Gate, Lahore and Demanded the withdrawal of the Balfour Declaration.
1931, Allama Iqbal attended the Palestine Conference in Jerusalem at the invitation of the Grand Mufti of Palestine, Syed Amin al-Hussaini. In a speech here, Allama Iqbal said that he was not in great danger from the enemies of Muslims but was in great danger from some Muslims. Allama Iqbal’s speech was in English and Abdul Rahman Azzam was translating his speech into Arabic. After attending this conference, he began to criticise the governments of some Arab countries. At one point he said, “There is not even a Hussain (RA) in the Hijaz caravan. Although he is brave, he has crossed the Tigris and Euphrates.” Allama Iqbal continued to oppose the partition of Palestine and the Balfour Declaration until his death, because of which the loyalists of the British continued to make false accusations against him, but Iqbal’s position became more and more rigid. He said, “How can this foreign civilisation, which is itself the lip of the grave, revive Iran and Arabia?” The Tehran that America and Israel are bombing today is written as Tehran in Iqbal’s words. In one place, it is said, “If Tehran were the Geneva of the Eastern world… perhaps the fate of the earth would change!” Allama Iqbal had called the League of Nations an association of shroud thieves. It was abolished in 1946 and replaced by the United Nations. Through this United Nations, the Balfour Declaration was implemented, and Israel was established in 1948. When Israel was established, Allama Iqbal was not alive, but Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah refused to recognize Israel in accordance with Iqbal’s thinking. More than a century has passed since the Balfour Declaration, and today there is a demand in the British Parliament that the British Prime Minister apologize for the Balfour Declaration and the establishment of Israel because Britain’s role in this matter has not given peace to the world, but only wars. A few days ago, 45 members of the British Parliament belonging to different parties have written a letter to Prime Minister Keir Starmer demanding that we not only acknowledge the mistakes of our past but also examine our own character and apologize for the Balfour Declaration to correct history. More members of the British Parliament are going to support this letter and intend to get it passed by the House in the form of a resolution. Whether this resolution is passed or not, but the letter of 45 members of Parliament has proven the position of Allama Iqbal and Quaid-e-Azam to be true. An Indian writer Tara Charan Rastogi had written a book against Allama Iqbal in which fabricated stories were included to characterise him and it was said that Iqbal was not even of Kashmiri origin. The thought of Iqbal will always remain a thorn in the hearts of dishonest historians like Tara Charan Rastogi because these imperialist agents could not destroy the thought of Iqbal despite all their efforts. With each passing day, the truth of Iqbal’s thought is emerging more brightly than ever. The League of Nations, which is today called the United Nations, was called by Iqbal as the League of Nations. Iqbal, while calling the “League of Nations” someone’s mistress, said, “It is possible that this mistress of the two worlds…will be taken care of for a few days by the amulet of the devil.” This United Nations is no longer anyone’s mistress today because the devils of the modern era do not accept any of its decisions and resolutions. Who knew that Tehran, which Allama Iqbal wanted to make the Geneva of the Eastern world, would stand as a huge challenge to the devils of his era in 2026 and Muslims around the world would forget all their differences and pray for the success and security of Tehran. Israel may be able to survive the devil’s talisman for a few more days, but the real reason for the war that Israel has started against Iran in collaboration with the United States is a letter written by Lord Balfour in 1917, which was rejected by Allama Iqbal. In 2026, this letter is also being rejected by members of the British Parliament. Therefore, the rulers of the Muslim world should also turn to Iqbal’s thought, instead of relying on any devil’s talisman today, which will still be seen standing on the right path of history a century letterheaded the withdrawal of the Balfour Declaration.
