NEW YORK - A leading American newspaper Monday published a tribute for  Ahmed Faraz, calling the Pakistani poet, who died in Islamabad last month, a "revolutionary" and a "passionate voice for change and progress". Writing in The New York Times, Haresh Pandya, an Indian writer, said Faraz's name was synonymous in South Asia with modern Urdu poetry. "Popular among both the cognoscenti and the general public, he was one of the few poets from the subcontinent whose verses were read as well as sung. He was in great demand at the mushaira, social gatherings " usually after dusk " at which Urdu poets recite their poems," said Pandya, who contributes regularly to The Times. Pandya wrote, "Often compared to legends of the past like (Allma) Mohammad Iqbal and Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Mr. Faraz was as popular in India as he was in his own country. "He enjoyed a near cult status in the pantheon of revolutionary poets. In India and other countries outside Pakistan, he was best known for his ghazals " poems expressing the writer's feelings, especially about love " which were popularized by leading singers like Ghulam Ali, Mehdi Hasan, Runa Laila and Jagjit Singh. "A passionate voice for change and progress, Mr. Faraz was usually at his best when writing the poetry of love and protest. His romantic poetry made him particularly beloved by the young; the establishment was not so fond of his verses mocking and at times exposing the authorities. "An advocate for the poor and downtrodden, Mr. Faraz raised his voice against capitalists, usurpers and dictators. In the 1980s he went into a six-year self-imposed exile in Canada and Europe during the era of Gen. Mohammad Zia ul-Haq, whose military rule of Pakistan he had condemned at a mushaira and whose power seemed to drive him to heights of inspiration... "Mr. Faraz, who was also closely associated with Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and his Pakistan People's Party, wrote some of his best poetry in exile, including 'Dekhtay Hain' ("Let Us Gaze') and 'Mohasara' ('The Siege'). In 'all, he had written 13 volumes of Urdu poetry."