faiz the communist ...

The Rawalpindi Conspiracy (also known as the Rawalpindi Conspiracy Case) was an attempted Soviet-backed coup d'état against the government of Liaquat Ali Khan, the first Prime Minister of Pakistan, in 1951. The conspiracy was the first of many subsequent coup attempts against elected governments in the history of Pakistan.^[1] The coup was planned by Major-General Akbar Khan, a senior commander in the Pakistani army, in conjunction with other military officers and left-wing Pakistani politicians.^[1]

Main causes of Rawaplindi conspiracy case (busted on 9 March 1951) were three. One, a general discontent of Army's Pakistani Officers with the performance of the Liaqat Ali Khan's Government, whom they thought of as corrupt and incompetent. Two, many of the high ranking Pakistani Generals viewed the continuing presence of British Army Officers in the army as a security threat, as well as an impediment to their speedy promotions. Third, and most immediate cause was their discontent with Liaqat regime's handling of the Kashmir war with India (1948). Army officers thought Government's acceptance of UN mediation and ceasefire, as a 'tame surrender' and 'flouting an opportunity to capture whole of Kashmir'. It is to be noted that several Pakistan Army officers who had fought the Kashmir war, were ethnic Kashmiris and owned land over there. Maj. General Akbar Khan (who was the master mind behind the Rawalpindi Conspiracy) had communist leanings, which explains why he enlisted the support of communist/leftists intellectuals of Pakistan. e.g. Faiz Ahmed Faiz and Syed Sajjad Zaheer (Secretary General of Pakistan Communist Party). Whether USSR was actively involved in this conspiracy is not supported by any evidence. This conspiracy had no connection with Pakistan's joining SEATO or CENTO, as both these international bodies came into being much later (in 1954 and 1955, respectively).^[2]

Faiz was released in 1955, after 4 years of imprisonment and found himself to be in a totally changed nation. Pakistan was firmly on the American side of the Cold War. Censorship was normal. Trade unions were suppressed. CPP and Progressive Writers Association were banned. Faiz returned to his job as the editor of the Pakistan Times. In 1958, Faiz was attending the Conference of Afro-Asian writers at Tashkent, when the Pakistani Army took over the reins of power under General Ayub Khan. Friends and well-wishers pressurized Faiz not to return to Pakistan. The rebel in Faiz prevailed; he chose to return and was arrested. The jail term would last six months. Faiz found it frustrating to be a journalist under a military dictatorship and ventured into teaching. Then in 1962, the unexpected happened. Faiz was awarded the Lenin Peace Prize. International recognition followed. Things went on well for Faiz until 1969, when a new military dictatorship under General Yahya Khan, threatened civil society in Pakistan.

“Human ingenuity, science and industry have made it possible to provide each one of us everything we need to be comfortable provided these boundless treasures of nature and production are not declared the property of a greedy few but are used for the benefit of all of humanity… However, this is only possible if the foundations of human society are based not on greed, exploitation and ownership but on justice, equality, freedom and the welfare of everyone… I believe that humanity which has never been defeated by its enemies will, after all, be successful; at long last, instead of wars, hatred and cruelty, the foundation of humankind will rest on the message of the great Persian poet Hafez Shiraz: Every foundation you see is faulty, except that of Love, which is faultless.” -Faiz, in his acceptance of the Lenin Peace Prize.

Nisar mein

Go tell the Spartans, stranger passing by,
That here, obedient to Spartan law, we lie.

If I asked what comes to mind when I said "Thermopylae", you'd likely quote the epitaph of the Spartans by Simonides, a contemporary poet.

Ὦ ξεῖν’, ἀγγέλλειν Λακεδαιμονίοις ὅτι τῇδε
κείμεθα, τοῖς κείνων ῥήμασι πειθόμενοι.

There are several ways to render this in English. Translating poetry is often a trade-off between strict accuracy and capturing the effect of the original, but the best in my opinion goes:

Go tell the Spartans, oh stranger passing by
That here, obedient to their laws we lie.

I cannot read or recite that without my eyes watering.

This epigram was engraved on a stone and placed on the hill where the Spartans and the allies that stood with them made their last stand. The original has been lost, but a new stone was placed there in modern times. Near it is another, engraved with the words of King Leonidas to the envoy of the Great King when he demanded that they surrender their arms:

Μολών λαβέ (Molon labe) "Come and take them!"

Simonides epigram has inspired some pretty good knock-offs. The Battle of Kohima in WWII, credited with saving India from a Japanese invasion, has this memorial:

When You Go Home, Tell Them Of Us And Say,
For Their Tomorrow, We Gave Our Today