Do Sikhs have an equivlent to allama iqbal

[genie]

For those who don't know who Allama Muhammad Iqbal was, he is widely known as Allama Iqbal, was a poet, philosopher and politician, as well as an academic, barrister and scholar in British India who is widely regarded as having inspired the Pakistan Movement. He is called the "Spiritual Father of Pakistan." and to this day islamist supremacist extremists in pakistan often quote his poetry when talking of muslim separatism.

Seeing how influential allama iqbal's poetry was and still is to the consciences of punjabi muslims back before partition and desire for separate nationhood.

Do we have such a figure a poet in our history or present times who captures the mood and struggles of the Sikh nation?

[puzzled]

Cant think of any poets, the only poet I know of is shiv kumar batalvi who was a punjabi hindu, he mostly wrote about heartbreak etc     iv got his loona story havent read it though. 

Creativity really isnt encouraged in our community... 

I was watching a panel discuss sikhs and art, it had rapper singh mahoon, inquisitive, taran3d and other artists  and they were discussing how sikhs dont appreciate art. They gave an example of how some sikh artist did a beautiful painting of harmandir sahib and someone offered him £5  yet when some gorah did a painting of harmandir sahib so many apne wanted to buy it that they started putting bids on it.  How disgusting is that attitude?  

I bet if a gorah writes a poem about sikhs it would go viral on social media. Sikhs love approval and a pat on the back 

[MisterrSingh]

The notable Sikh creatives of the last century seemed to have channelled their talents towards writing lyrics for folk singers. A brand new Maruti and a couple of acres of farmland seemed to be the extent of their ambition.

There are minor voices whose ideas and theories were published in Punjabi language newspapers, but it's all very obvious and typically partisan, and still unfortunately rooted in the mentality and the mood of the 1970s and the 1980s. There isn't that contemporary firebrand intellectual who can manage to fuse the spirit and the philosophy of the Sikh lehar with a wider ontological appreciation of history, civilisation, and culture. Sadly I don't think Punjab produces those kinds of people anymore. Generations of brainwashing and demoralisation and spiritual degeneracy tends to do that to a people. 

It would be nice to have someone who bleeds Sikhi but equally sees the bigger picture and doesn't rely on dogma and blind faith to propose solutions, because the average person that needs to be reached is so very far away from matters of spirituality. Enforcing dogma on someone who isn't prepared or dare I say humble and intelligent enough to realise its nuances, is akin to handing a grenade to a chimp. It never ends well for the chimp and anyone within the immediate vicinity.

[puzzled]

18 minutes ago, MisterrSingh said:

The notable Sikh creatives of the last century seemed to have channelled their talents towards writing lyrics for folk singers. A brand new Maruti and a couple of acres of farmland seemed to be the extent of their ambition

I think it's in the 70s and 80s that punjabi music became very degraded with the like of Mohamed sadiq, Didar sandu etc    most the songs are rude, maybe the songs were a imitation of rural punjabi life ...

But If you listen listen to punjabi songs of the 50s and 60s they are very poetic and have spiritual undertones. 

But even the likes of shiv kumar batalvi ended up resorting to writing songs for the cheap folk singers. 

Theres a song on youtube from the 70s or 80s written and sung by yamla jatts relative and he sings about popping open a bottles lid for the first time, and he ain't singing about a bottles lid ...   

[MisterrSingh]

18 minutes ago, puzzled said:

Theres a song on youtube from the 70s or 80s written and sung by yamla jatts relative and he sings about popping open a bottles lid for the first time, and he ain't singing about a bottles lid ...   

[puzzled]

27 minutes ago, MisterrSingh said:

[GurjantGnostic]

Well when Bani itself is the perfect poetry...

One, who needs more?

Two, people of poetic gift within the Sikh community probably often became Kirtanis and Ragis etc. 

I don't know anything about a lack of appreciation for art by Sikhs..by Sikhs.. but unfortunately I believe you.