The metamorphosis of the Identity of “Self” and “Other” in Iqbāl-e Lāhorī's Thought

The purpose of this article is to analyze the evolution of the concept of self and the other in Iqbāl-e Lāhorī's political thought and action. Iqbal is not only a great thinker of the subcontinent but also a selective poet of Persian and one of the revivers of Islamic identity and at the same time one of the founders of the Pakistani government. The main question is what the evolution of 'self' and 'other' identity was in Iqbāl-e Lāhorī's intellectual and political thought. The main hypothesis of the paper is that Iqbal's political thought evolved from the mystical 'self' to the Sufi isolationist 'other' and the individual identity to the collective identity. Iqbal's own social identity meant first to British colonialism and then to Islamic identity to Indian identity and then to nationalist identity. Iqbal's ideas have shaped Pakistan. The ambiguity between the identity of self and other that was in Iqbal thought was inherited to the Pakistani government.