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 (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

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

Allama Iqbal Muhammad Iqbal (9 November 187721 April 1938) was a South Asian Islamic philosopher, poet and politician. 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 (UoP) is a public research university in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Founded in 1882, its international influence has made it one of the most prestigious universities in South Asia; being the oldest and largest publ ...

, Lahore, he went to

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

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 ...

asked 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 physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

to have obtained a PhD in English Literature in England, but it is not true because Taseer completed his PhD at Cambridge in 1936, whereas Saiyid Abdul Latif, was awarded a doctorate in English literature from the University of London in 1924.

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 Chaudhry Faiz Ahmad Faiz (13 February 1911 – 20 November 1984) was a Pakistani poet and author of Punjabi language, Punjabi and Urdu literature. Faiz was one of the most celebrated, popular, and influential Urdu writers of his time, and his ...

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'' () or ''Akhil Bhartiya Pragatishil Lekhak Sangh'' (Hindi: अखिल भारतीय प्रगतिश� ...

. In 1941, Taseer was appointed the principal of

Sri Pratap College Sri Pratap College, commonly known as SP College, is an academic and professional college in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India. The college has been accredited by NAAC with an 'A+' Grade. It is the oldest institute of higher education in the K ...

in Srinagar. In 1942 he became the founding principal of the new

Amar Singh College Amar Singh College, is an academic and 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 1913 as Amar Singh Tec ...

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

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

, helping in the war effort. He worked in Simla and Delhi. After the

Partition of India The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...

, 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 and President of the All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Confer ...

, the leader of the

Jammu & Kashmir National Conference The Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (JKNC) is a regional political party in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir union territory and Ladakh. Founded as the All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference by ...

, to join Pakistan. Abdullah, who had just been released from prison by the Maharaja's government, was unwilling. 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 Guards. Described as a "shadowy figure" and "complete adventurer", he is generally addressed as a "Major" in Pakistani sources. H ...

on 22 October. He asked the Indian prime minister

Jawaharlal Nehru Jawaharlal Nehru (14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat, and statesman who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20th century. Nehru was a pr ...

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 o ...

married

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

Salmaan Taseer Salman Taseer (; 4 January 2011) was a Pakistani businessman and politician, who served as the 34th Governor of Punjab from 2008 until his assassination in 2011. A member of the Pakistan Peoples Party since the 1980s, he was elected to the ...

and the grandfather of

Aatish Taseer Aatish Ali Taseer (born 27 November 1980) is a British-American writer and journalist. Taseer was born in London and raised by his mother Tavleen Singh in New Delhi. Taseer had no contact with his father, Salman Taseer, until he was 21. He re ...

. 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 Academic staff of the Government Islamia College Writers from British India Academic staff of the University of the Punjab People of the 1947 Kashmir conflict People from Punjab Province (British India)