70 YEARS OF DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS BETWEEN PAKISTAN AND GERMANY (1951-2021) November 9, 2021 (2021-11)

The University of Heidelberg gained an international reputation in the course of the 19th century and thus succeeded in increasingly attracting non- European students, such as the poet, philosopher and later Pakistan national poet Muhammad Iqbal.

Allama Muhammad Iqbal (1877-1938) is considered the spiritual father of Pakistan and began around year 1900, to write national poems. Today, he is considered one of he most influential Islamic thinkers of the 20th century. In 1905, Allama Iqbal moved from British India to Cambridge, where he began to deal with Hegel.

The interest in Hegel finally brought him to the German city of Heidelberg. Here, he was introduced to German literature and philosophy, especially Goethe, Heine and ietzsche.

After completing his doctorate on the "Development of Metaphysics in Persia" in Munich, he returned to Lahore in 1908.

For Allama Iqbal, his time at Heidelberg was considered as beautiful, as he himself put it, in letters to his German teacher Emma Wegenast. Looking back on his sojourn in Heidelberg, he wrote: "My stay in Heidelberg was like a beautiful dream" The introduction of the Professorial Fellowship named after Muhammad Iqbal at the South Asia Institute of Heidelberg University is not only testimony to Iqbal's enthusiasm for Heidelberg but also continues his efforts to foster exchange between the East and the West.

The Government of Pakistan supports the Allama Iqbal Professorial Fellowship at the South Asia Institute. Its tenure is set at three years with the possibility of extension. Similar fellowships are in place at the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge, Berkeley and Columbia.

The Iqbal Fellowship was established in order to deepen the co-operation between Pakistan and Germany. It contributes to the extension of research in Pakistan in the areas of modern literature, political science, history, geography and the natural sciences.

To commemorate his stay in Heidelberg, one of the street on the banks of the river Neckar, in the Heidelberg district of Bergheim, was named after him "Iqbal-Ufer" on February 14, 1969, in the presence of then Pakistani Ambassador to Germany. Moreover, there is a small stone monument on which his poem "Ek Sham Nekar ke kinare" (An evening spent on the bank of the Neckar) is engraved.

On 70 Years of Diplomatic Relations Between Pakistan and Germany (1951-2021), Pakistan Post is issuing the Commemorative Postage Stamp of Rs 20/- denomination on November 9, 2021.