Muhammad Iqbal was an Indian Muslim poet, philosopher and politician, whose poetry in Persian and Urdu is regarded as among the greatest in modern times. Also famous for his work on religious and political philosophy in Islam, he is credited with first proposing the idea of an independent state for Indian Muslims, which would inspire the creation of Pakistan. He is best known for his poetic works, which include the Tarana-e-Hind, Asrar-e-Khudi, Rumuz-i-Bekhudi, and the Bang-i-Dara. He is officially recognised as the "national poet" in Pakistan. The anniversary of his birth on November 9 is a holiday in Pakistan. Iqbal was a strong proponent of the political and spiritual revival of Islamic civilisation across the world, but specifically in India; a series of famous lectures he delivered to this effect were published as The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam. One of the most prominent leaders of the All India Muslim League, Iqbal would encourage the creation of a "state in northwestern India for Indian Muslims" in his 1930 presidential address.

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_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1916: World War I: The Battle of Verdun on the Western Front ended as the French drove the Germans back to their starting positions. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Verdun)

1972: Eugene Cernan, Ronald Evans, and Harrison Schmitt aboard Apollo 17 returned to Earth. No human has visited the Moon since. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_17)

1974: An early personal computer, the Altair 8800, went on sale. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altair_8800)

1984: The People's Republic of China and the United Kingdom signed the Sino-British Joint Declaration, agreeing the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong to China on July 1, 1997. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sino-British_Joint_Declaration)

1998: The U.S. House of Representatives passed articles of impeachment against President Bill Clinton over the Lewinsky scandal. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewinsky_scandal)

_____________________ Wikiquote of the day:

It is wrong to expect a reward for your struggles. The reward is the act of struggle itself, not what you win. Even though you can't expect to defeat the absurdity of the world, you must make that attempt. That's morality, that's religion. That's art. That's life. -- Phil Ochs (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Phil_Ochs)