Hafeez Jullundhry dies

December 21, 1982

This day marks the death anniversary of Hafeez Jullundhri, the famous poet and writer of Pakistan’s national anthem (the melody of which was composed by Ahmed Ghulamali Chagla) in Lahore. His remains were later shifted to a tomb built by the Government of Pakistan near the Minar-e-Pakistan in Lahore.

From 1922 to 1929, Jullundhri remained the editor of a few monthly magazines namely, Nonehal, Hazar Dastaan and others. After the WWII, he worked as the director of the Song Publicity Department. Jullundhri actively participated in Pakistan Movement and used his writings to propagate for the cause of Pakistan. In early 1948, he joined the armed forces as Director General of morals in Pakistan Armed Forces and was also Director of Writer’s Guild.

He wrote the Kashmiri Anthem, “Watan Hamara Azad Kashmir.” Jullundhri’s work of poetry, Shahnam-e-Islam, gave him incredible fame which, in the manner of Firdowsi’s Shahnameh, is a record of the glorious history of Islam in verse.

Published in Dawn, Young World, December 19th, 2015