Srinagar, Apr 09 (KNS): Former Union Minister and senior Congress leader, Prof. Saifuddin Soz remembers poet Mahjoor on his 66th anniversary.
“Today is the 66th death Anniversary of Mahjoor, the poet of Kashmir. To remember him is a celebration as he had given voice to the pent-up feelings of Kashmiris and awakened the spirit for a unique struggle for freedom. Mahjoor was the first poet in Kashmir whose songs were sung almost instantaneously by the people of all ages, throughout Kashmir,” Soz said in a statement issued to KNS.
“Mahjoor had galvanized the masses and his poems had inspired the Kashmiris to fight for their dignified future. A prominent actor and film director of the time Balraj Sahni, was so impressed with Mahjoor that he had remarked that ‘Mahjoor has given a new meaning and dimension to the then powerful leader of Kashmir to fight his battle’,” he said.Click Here To Follow Our WhatsApp Channel
Paying a tribute to Mahjoor for his popularity with the masses, “Sahni had also said, ‘When his work takes him to the capital, he walks through streets unnoticed. And, yet his songs and poems are the cherished property of every man, woman and child, living between Baramulla and Pir Panchal’.”
“It was my privilege to convince the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that Govt. of India need to commemorate Mahjoor for his popular poetry by issuing a postal stamp. This function of historic importance was held at SKIIC and the PM had released the Mahjoor Stamp in presence of Sonia Gandhi and others,” Soz said.
“Today, the need of the hour is that we lay the foundation for a mechanism commemorating Mahjoor as a beacon of light and courage to preserve our precious Ethos for all times to come,” he added. (KNS)