Book on Allama Iqbal’s vision launched

The coffee table book titled ‘Vision Unveiled: World view of Allama Iqbal’ was unveiled on Wednesday in an event held at the Indus Valley School of Art & Architecture.

The event was attended by Karachi’s poetry enthusiasts and socialites. The book was taken up as a special project by Supporters of The Citizens Foundation (STCF) to celebrate the visionary verses of Allama Iqbal and through this book to support The Citizens Foundation’s mission to educate Pakistan.

All proceeds from the sale of the book will go to The Citizens Foundation (TCF) and will help educate a greater number of less privileged children in remote communities. The highlight of the event was a dialogue between Arshad Mahmood and Khurram Ali Shafique on selected verses of Iqbal, and this was then followed by a ghazal performance.

Talking about the book launch, Amna Zahid, STCF member, said, “As supporters of education in Pakistan, we have special interest in the literary work of Sir Allama Iqbal. We feel that the enlightenment of heart and soul which is the true essence of knowledge was very close to Iqbal’s heart. That’s why it made perfect sense to compile the selected verses of Iqbal’s poetry with inspiring illustration so that our younger generation can become more familiar with the visionary thoughts of our national poet. At the same time, dedicating this book to TCF is a tribute to the work being done to enable education for all.”

The STCF is a dedicated group of TCF volunteers that have committed their energies to the cause of spreading quality education in Pakistan. They conceptualised the project to compile a book on Allama Iqbal’s poetry and commissioned this project to Khurram Ali Shafique, a well-known scholar focused on Iqbal’s life and work.

The idea of this coffee table book is to bring to life the forgotten lessons of hope and positivity in Iqbal’s verses that our people greatly need today. The book is a true labour of love with this beautiful verse of Iqbal embossed on the cover ‘Aalm-e- nau hai abhi parda-e-taqdeer mein, meri nighoon mein hai is ki sahr be-hijaab’ meaning ‘The new world is hidden behind the veil of destiny. But its dawn is manifest in my vision.’

“I want to especially thank Khurram for putting together some of the most inspiring words of Allama Iqbal in this book, Markings Corporate to beautify the book with illustrations, design and publishing the book gratis, and last but not least Amna Zuberi for adorning the book with her stunning photography.”

Each poetic verse in this book has been carefully translated into English for ease of understanding for the younger audience. The TCF has been mentioned by The Economist as perhaps the largest network of independently run not-for-profit schools in the world. Additionally, employing 12,000 women as an all-female faculty makes it the largest private sector women employer in Pakistan. The non-profit organisation is providing quality education to 220,000 children through nearly 1,500 purpose-built school units located in the heart of Pakistan’s urban slums and rural communities. The organisation ensures that girls represent nearly 50 per cent of overall student enrolment.

The TCF is a non-profit organisation set up in 1995 by a group of citizens who wanted to bring about positive social change through education. Today, the TCF is one of Pakistan’s leading organisations in the field of education for the less privileged.

The TCF model is providing quality education to 220,000 children through nearly 1,500 purpose-built school units located in the heart of Pakistan’s urban slums and rural communities. The organisation ensures that girls represent nearly 50 per cent of overall student enrolment. To magnify its impact, improve enrolment and quality of education, the TCF is now adopting government schools across Pakistan.