Ustad Daman’s birth name was Chiragh Deen son of Mian Mir Baksh. He was born on 3 September 1911. Ustad Daman was introduced originally as part of the struggle for independence from British rule. A tailor by profession, in 1930, he stitched a suit for Mian Iftikharuddin, who got impressed by his inspiring poetry verse, when the two met each other at his shop. He invited Ustad Daman to recite his poem at a public meeting organized by the Indian National Congress, where Ustad Daman became an instant hit. Pandit Nehru, who was present at that public meeting, dubbed him the ‘Poet of Freedom’ after listening to his revolutionary anti-imperialist poetry. After this meeting. he became a regular participant in these meetings. At the time of 1947 Partition of British India, his shop and house were burned down by rioting mobs and his wife and young daughter were killed. However, Ustad Daman decided to stay in Lahore and the newly created country of Pakistan. He then never remarried and lived the rest of his life in a small room in the ‘Old Lahore’. He remained, throughout his life, a fierce opponent of dictatorship, civilian or military, and all corruption and hypocrisy. His work and poetry were published as ‘Daman De Moti’ after his death by his devoted followers and admirers. The poems he wrote are still widely quoted in the Punjab as well as in other regions of Pakistan.

Pakistani poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz was one of his admirers and occasionally used to visit him in Taxali Gate area of Lahore, Pakistan

Bulleh Shah’s father, Shah Muhammad Darwaish, was well-versed in Arabic, Persian, and the Quran. Due to uncertain reasons, he had to move to Malakwal, a village of Sahiwal. Later, when Bulleh Shah was six years old, his family moved to Pandoke, which is 50 miles southeast of Kasur. Bulleh Shah was schooled by his father, along with the other children of the village. Most sources confirm that Bulleh Shah had to work as a child and adolescent herder in the village. It is confirmed that he received his higher education in Kasur. Some historians claim that Bulleh Shah received his education at a highly reputed madrassa run by Hafiz Ghulam Murtaza where he taught for some time after his graduation. After his early education, he went to Lahore where he met Inayat Arian, and became his disciple