Muhammad Din Taseer (28 February 1902 – 1 December 1950), also known as Deen Muhammad Taseer and popularly known as M. D. Taseer, was a Pakistani Urdu poet, writer, and literary critic. He is considered one of the pioneers of the progressive movement in Urdu literature.

Early life

M. D. Taseer was born in Ajnala, Amritsar district,

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...

, on 28 February 1902 to a family of Kashmiri ancestry. His father, a peasant named Mian Atta ud Din, died when he was a small child, and he was brought up by his maternal uncle Mian Nizam ud Din in Lahore. He was a friend of

Allama Iqbal Sir Muhammad Iqbal ( ur, ; 9 November 187721 April 1938), was a South Asian Muslim writer, philosopher, Quote: "In Persian, ... he published six volumes of mainly long poems between 1915 and 1936, ... more or less complete works on philoso ...

since his childhood. In 1933 Taseer started a literary journal called Karwan. After his M. A., while employed as an assistant professor in the

University of Punjab The University of the Punjab (Urdu, pnb, ), also referred to as Punjab University, is a public, research, coeducational higher education institution located in Lahore, Pakistan. Punjab University is the oldest public university in Pakistan. ...

, Lahore, he went to

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

for a PhD in English literature, with Iqbal's letter of recommendation. He reached London in 1933 and began his M. Litt. at Pembroke College, Cambridge. His research supervisor

Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch (; 21 November 186312 May 1944) was a British writer who published using the pseudonym Q. Although a prolific novelist, he is remembered mainly for the monumental publication '' The Oxford Book of English Verse 1 ...

the University Senate to allow him to work on his PhD without obtaining an M. Litt first. His PhD thesis was titled "India and the Near East in English literature from the earliest times to 1924". Taseer is said to be the first person from the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...

to have obtained a PhD in English Literature in England.

Career

On his return from Cambridge at the end of 1935, Taseer joined the Muslim Anglo-Oriental (MAO) College in Amritsar as its principal. Along with

Faiz Ahmad Faiz Faiz Ahmad ''Faiz'' (13 February 1911 – 20 November 1984; Urdu, Punjabi: فیض احمد فیض) was a Pakistani poet, and author of Urdu and Punjabi literature. Faiz was one of the most celebrated Pakistani Urdu writers of his time. Outsi ...

he was one of the founders of the

Progressive Writers' Movement The Progressive Writers' Association or the Progressive Writers' Movement of India or ''Anjuman Tarraqi Pasand Mussanafin-e-Hind'' (( ur, ) or ''Akhil Bhartiya Pragatishil Lekhak Sangh'' (Hindi: अखिल भारतीय प्रगति� ...

. In 1941, Taseer was appointed the principal of Sri Pratap College in Srinagar. In 1942 he became the founding principal of the new

Amar Singh College Amar Singh College (Urdu: , Kashmiri: ) is an academic & professional college in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is the second oldest college in the Kashmir Valley after Sri Pratap College. History It was established in November 1 ...

, which was an offshoot of the Sri Pratap College. In 1943, he was given in the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

, helping in the war effort. He worked in Simla and Delhi. After the Partition of India, he moved to Pakistan, worked as the principal of the Islamia College in Lahore.

1947 Kashmir conflict

In the first week of October 1947, the Government of Pakistan reportedly sent him, along with

, to persuade

Sheikh Abdullah Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah (5 December 1905 – 8 September 1982) was an Indian politician who played a central role in the politics of Jammu and Kashmir Abdullah was the founding leader of the All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference (later re ...

, the leader of the

Jammu & Kashmir National Conference The Jammu & Kashmir National Conference (JKNC) is a regional political party in the Indian union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Founded as the ''All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference'' by Sheikh Abdullah and Chaudhry Ghulam A ...

, to join Pakistan. Abdullah, who had just been released from prison by the Maharaja's government, was unwilling. He felt that if Kashmir joined Pakistan, "the same thing will happen to

hem A hem in sewing is a garment finishing method, where the edge of a piece of cloth is folded and sewn to prevent unravelling of the fabric and to adjust the length of the piece in garments, such as at the end of the sleeve or the bottom of the g ...

as happened to

Kapurthala Kapurthala is a city in Punjab state of India. It is the administrative headquarters of Kapurthala District. It was the capital of the Kapurthala State, a princely state in British India. The aesthetic mix of the city with its prominent buil ...

" (presumably meaning that religious minorities would be killed and driven away). He wanted to keep his options open. According to Abdullah, Taseer told him that, if Kashmir did not join Pakistan, they would have to think of "other ways". Abdullah's response was that "a decision must be made by the people themselves and they must be allowed to make it." Abdullah's indecision ended with the

Pakistani tribal invasion of Kashmir Khurshid Anwar was an activist of All-India Muslim League, heading its private militia, the Muslim League National Guard. Described as a "shadowy figure" and "complete adventurer", he is generally addressed as a "Major" in Pakistani sources. He wa ...

on 22 October. He asked the Indian prime minister

Jawaharlal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...

to accept Kashmir's accession and send the troops needed for the defence of Kashmir.

Life

In 1937 Taseer fell in love with a British tourist named Christobel George, who had also been a student at Cambridge. They were married in 1938, with Allama Iqbal himself drafting the marriage-deed (nikahnama) for the couple, including the right of divorce for Christobel George, and Christobel converting to Islam and adopting the name of Balqees Taseer (also spelled Bilquis Taseer). Christobel's sister

Alys Faiz Alys Faiz (Urdu:; September 1915 – 12 March 2003) was a Pakistani poet, writer, journalist, human rights activist, social worker and a teacher. Alys was born in London, but she later became a naturalized citizen of Pakistan. She was the wife of ...

married

. M. D. Taseer was the father of the 26th Governor of Punjab

Salmaan Taseer Salman Taseer (Punjabi and ur, ); ( 4 January 2011) was a Pakistani businessman and politician, who served as the 26th Governor of Punjab from 2008 until his assassination in 2011. A member of the Pakistan Peoples Party since the 1980s, he ...

and the grandfather of

Aatish Taseer Aatish Ali Taseer (born 27 November 1980) is a British-American writer and journalist. Early life Taseer was born in London, England, to Pakistani businessman and politician Salman Taseer and Indian journalist Tavleen Singh. His parents had a ...

. His daughter Salma Mahmud published a memoir ''The Wings of Time'', recounting his life. Taseer died of a heart attack on 30 November or 1 December 1950, at age 47.

Works

* * * Taseer's lyrics were used in the 1942 film Khandan.

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Taseer, MD 1902 births 1950 deaths MD Pakistani people of Kashmiri descent Writers from Amritsar Poets from Lahore Urdu-language poets from Pakistan Alumni of Pembroke College, Cambridge Government Islamia College faculty Writers in British India University of the Punjab faculty People of the 1947 Kashmir conflict