Ustad Daman

Chiragh Din, who took the pen name Ustad Daman, was born in Lahore and worked as a tailor. He had little formal education but a sharp mind and a gift for spontaneous verse, which he recited at public gatherings.

Before independence he took part in the freedom struggle. After 1947 he became famous for poems that mocked politicians, military rulers and injustice in simple, humorous Punjabi; his criticism of the government led to arrests, including under Ayub Khan.

He lived simply in a small room in old Lahore and is remembered for refusing offers of wealth and position.