Practice modes
Languages & Literature
Pakistan
World & History
Aise dastoor ko, subh-e-benoor ko / Main nahin maanta, main nahin jaanta
"Such a constitution, a dawn without light, I do not accept, I do not acknowledge."
Habib Ahmed, who took the pen name Jalib, was born in Hoshiarpur and moved to Pakistan after Partition, working as a proofreader in Karachi before becoming known at poetry gatherings (mushairas).
He opposed every authoritarian government of his lifetime, from Ayub Khan to Zia-ul-Haq, and was jailed many times. He recited his poems at political rallies, including for Fatima Jinnah's 1965 campaign.
Despite his fame he lived and died in poverty, refusing to accept favours from those in power.
Resistance to dictatorship, the rights of workers and the poor, freedom of expression, and political courage, in simple language anyone could understand.
Jalib's poems are still recited at protests and political rallies in Pakistan. He was awarded the Nishan-e-Imtiaz posthumously in 2009.