The uniform culture
According to Iqbal, we need to transform ourselves individually so that we could participate in the life of our communal self. This includes changing our habits of thought through our uniform culture.
Waheed Murad
Khudi, for those who want it
This post is not for those who indulge in the thought of Iqbal as an intellectual luxury. Today, I am writing only for those who want to grasp a fundamental concept in order to become useful to society and humanity. To such friends, I can say quite frankly that to try grasping Iqbal’s concept of …
The people’s actor
Review by Maheen A. Rashdi published in Dawn, Books & Authors, September 25, 2016. “Shafique’s narrative is addictive, and while you may pick up Waheed Murad: His Life and Our Times out of curiosity … the story that unfolds surpasses expectations. Whilst revealing diverse aspects of Waheed Murad’s personality, Shafique has opened up a new …
‘Introducing Iqbal’ at Warwick and Oxford
I got an opportunity to deliver a talk at the University of Warwick on November 9, 2015. It was later repeated at St. Edmond’s Hall, Oxford, on November 15. The title was ‘Introducing Iqbal’. Since then I have received a request to upload the transcript. I offer here the gist of my presentation. As a …
Parallels in history
In August 1588, the Spanish Armada invaded England with a fleet of 130 ships. It is generally believed now that its defeat was indecisive in strategic terms but became a great propaganda victory for England. The Latin inscription on the commemorative medal is usually translated as ‘God blew with His wind and they were scattered.’ …
A portrait of the artist as Waheed Murad
This article was originally published in the magazine, Nukta Art, December 2010. Since then, it has been shared on The Free Library by Farflex, where it is also referenced to the articles on Ibn Tufail and Fred Astair. It is also linked on the Waheed Murad website at Weebly. It can be downloaded as an …
Samandar, a parable?
Dawn, Images, November 28, 2010. On January 6, 1968, the government of President Ayub Khan announced that a conspiracy had been uncovered between some personnel from East Pakistan and Indian politicians to overthrow the government in East Pakistan and establish an independent state of Bangladesh. Twelve days later, the popular Bengali politician Sheikh Mujibur Rehman …
Armaan of a nation
This article was originally published in Dawn Images, March 14, 2010. In presenting it here, I am making two changes to correct a factucal error. The third sentence in the original text was, “Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the dissident foreign minister who was generally identified with a hard line stance against India, had just received an …
Farewell, Pervez Malik
This article was originally published in Dawn Images, 30 November 2008, as an obituary (ironically, just as I was finishing my article ‘The Mystery Behind Waheed Murad‘, the man who might have known the most about that mystery was breathing his last). Filmmaker Pervez Malik died on November 18. It can’t be the end of …
The mystery behind Waheed Murad
Dawn Images, Sunday, 23 November 2008 I have been researching the life and works of Waheed Murad for more than 20 years now and the mystery around him deepens with every new clue that I come across. He is the greatest screen legend of Pakistani cinema and therefore we forget that he was also a …