August 14th is a day of remembrance. A day to recall the vision and dream of Iqbal who, as far back as 1930, spelt out the “destiny of Muslims at least of North-West India.” Said Iqbal: “I, therefore, demand the formation of a consolidated Muslim State in the best interests of India and Islam. For India it means security and peace resulting from an internal balance of power; for Islam an opportunity to rid itself of the stamp that Arabian Imperialism was forced to give it, to mobilise its laws, its education, its culture and to bring them into close contact with its own original spirit and with the spirit of modern times.”Ten years later in 1940 at Lahore, the “Pakistan” Resolution was passed. Thus spoke the Quaid: “Muslim India cannot accept any constitution which must necessarily result in a Hindu majority government. Hindus and Muslims brought together under a democratic system forced upon the minorities can only mean Hindu Raj. Mussalmans are a nation according to any definition of a nation, and they must have their homelands, their territory and their state. We wish our people to develop to the fullest our spiritual, economic, social and political life…in consonance with our own ideals and according to the genius of our people.”
In April 1946, 470 Muslim members of the Central and Provincial Assemblies met at Delhi under Quaid’s chairmanship and passed a resolution which interalia, stated:
“Whereas the Muslims are convinced that with a view to saving Muslim India from the domination of the Hindus, and in order to afford them full scope to develop themselves according to their genius, it is necessary to constitute a sovereign independent State comprising Bengal and Assam in the north-east zone and the Punjab, the North West Frontier Province, Sindh and Balochistan in the north-west zone.”[Jinnah of Pakistan
]Below are excerpts from Quaid’s statements on some of the challenges and tasks faced by the new state.
August 11, 1947 speech to the Constituent Assembly: “The first duty of a government is to maintain law and order, so that the life, property and religious beliefs of its subjects are protected by the State. One of the biggest curses from which India is suffering…is bribery and corruption. We must put that down with an iron hand. Black marketing is another curse. The evil of nepotism and jobbery….must be crushed relentlessly…you are free to go to your mosques or to any other places of worship in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed that has nothing to do with the business of the State. Now, I think we should keep that in front of us as our ideal and you will find that in course of time Hindus would cease to be Hindus and Muslims would cease to be Muslims, not in the religious sense, because that is the personal faith of each individual, but in the political sense as citizens of the State.”[The Sole Spokesman: Jinnah, the Muslim League and the Demand for Pakistan (Cambridge South Asian Studies)
]On the Foreign Policy of Pakistan: “Our object should be peace within and peace without. It is of vital importance to Pakistan and India as independent, sovereign states to collaborate in a friendly way to jointly defend their frontiers, both on land and sea against any aggression. If we can put our house in order internally, then we may be able to play a very great part externally in all international affairs.”
Towards Rapid Industrialisation (on September 27, 1947): “If Pakistan is to play its proper role in the world…it must develop industrial potential side by side with its agriculture and give its economy an industrial bias.”[Jinnah, Pakistan and Islamic Identity: The Search for Saladin
]Reorientation of Education (on November 27, 1947): “You know that the importance of education and the right type of education cannot be over-emphasised…if we are to make any real, speedy and substantial progress, we must earnestly tackle this question and bring our educational policy and programme on the lines suited to the genius of our people, consonant with our history and culture, and having regard to the modern conditions and vast developments that have taken place all over the world. Also I must emphasise that greater attention should be paid to technical and vocational education.”
About Civil Servants in an informal talk at Peshawar (August 14, 1948): “Putting pressure and influence on service people, I know, is a very common fault of politicians…maybe some of you may fall victims for not satisfying the whims of ministers. I hope it does not happen, but you may even be put to trouble not because you are doing anything wrong but because you are doing right. Sacrifices have to be made and I appeal to you, if need be, to come forward and make the sacrifice. If you will give me the opportunity of your sacrifices, some of you at least, believe me, we will find a remedy for that very soon.”[Jinnah, Pakistan and Islamic Identity: The Search for Saladin
]On Responsibilities of Youth (on April 12, 1948): “The duties required of you now are: develop a sound sense of discipline, character, initiative and a solid academic background. You must devote yourself whole-heartedly to your studies, for that is your first obligation to yourselves, your parents and to the State. Government welcomes constructive criticism. You can make a big contribution towards bringing about harmony and unity…”
On Women’s Role: “Your women are side by side with you. We are victims of evil customs. It is a crime against humanity to our women are shut up within the four walls of the houses, as prisoners.”
Address to the Tribal Jirga Peshawar (on April 17, 1948): “I am glad to note that you have pledged your loyalty to Pakistan. Pakistan has no desire to unduly interfere with your internal freedom. On the contrary, Pakistan wants to help you and make you…self-reliant and self-sufficient and help in your educational, social and economic uplift.”
On Balochistan (on June 13, 1948): “Now, you must have realised that Balochistan has been the most neglected part of this sub-continent all these years. In some respects it is criminal negligence on the part of those who were responsible for the welfare of Balochistan.”[Jinnah of Pakistan
]Responsibilities of Defence Forces (at Quetta on June 14, 1948): “…during my talks with one or two very high-ranking officers I discovered that they did not know the implications of the Oath taken by the troops of Pakistan. Of course, an oath is only a matter of form; what is more important is the true spirit and the heart…the spirit is what really matters. I should like you to study the constitution which is in force in Pakistan, at present and understand its true constitutional and legal implications when you say that you will be faithful to the constitution.”
On State Bank of Pakistan (at opening of the State Bank of Pakistan on July 1, 1948): “The economic system of the West has created almost insoluble problems for humanity…only a miracle can save it from disaster. It has failed to do justice between man and man…it was largely responsible for the two world wars in the last half-century. The adoption of Western economic theory and practice will not help us in achieving our goal of creating a happy and contented people. We must work our destiny in our own way and present to the world an economic system based on true Islamic concept of equality of manhood and social justice.”[In Quest of Jinnah: Diary, Notes, and Correspondence of Hector Bolitho
]Last quote: “Nature has given you everything: you have got unlimited resources. The foundations of your State have been laid, and it is now for you to build, and build as quickly and as well as you can. So go ahead and I wish you God speed!”[Mr. Jinnah: The Making of Pakistan [VHS]
]Quaid’s words as reproduced above, should be essential reading for all our decision-makers, planners, executives, teachers, lawyers, engineers and workers. The writer is a political and international relations analyst.
E-mail: pacade@brain.net.pkFurther Readings: Jinnah, Pakistan and Islamic Identity: The Search for Saladin
Jinnah was one of the biggest crooks ever and a highly confused person. He started dividing India an creating problems in the sub-continent on the basis of religion and today everybody can see the Pakistan that he dreamed of is lying in shambles and is universally accepted as a failed state. The same India which he refused on the base of secular principles developed into an emerging superpower. He and his party incited hatred amongst people and his dream has been shattered 60 years down the line. Allah has his own way of teaching humans a lesson for their mistakes and propagation of hatred.
ReplyDeleteRecent news headline in international news agencies all over the world:
Impact of Pakistan floods as bad as 1947 partition, says Pakistani prime minister.
Allah has made Paki economy to come round full circle in these 60 years while India has been acknowledged as a future superpower by all countries over the world. Though I have full sympathy for the flood affected victims but I would have to say that this is Allah's way of giving justice to a country based of division and hatred.
Zaman Bhai
ReplyDeleteU must go back & study history well, even die hard RSS leaders like Jaswant Singh now acknowledge that Nehru & Patel were responsible for Partition not Jinnah, he was driven to the wall. Plus read Indian Wins Freedom by Abul Kalam Azad with an unbaised mind. Lala Lajpat rai wrote 13 articles as early as 1913 in which he deliberated that Hindus & Muslims were different Nations hence can't live together so they must separate quite before Jinnah harped the so called two nation theory plus it was the time when Saroujni Naidu called him ambassador of Hindu Muslim unity & he was driving force in the 1917 Lucknow pact between Congress & Muslim League.
Reagding being failed state every state is a failed state & Pakistan despite being a small country developed Nuclear weapons which no muslim country could do & the claim that India is a Prosperous country i hope u r not aware of the Naxalite threat which can shatter India to pieces. To understand the same read "Red Sun Travels in Naxalite country" by Sudeep Chakravarti.
Next time before commenting keep all the facts before ur eyes.
Remember me in ur prayers.
Wasallam
Sikander Mushtaq
zaman, I agree with u upto a certain extent. Pakistan was created in a totally unnatural way. But Jinnah was the upholder of hindu muslim unity.Only after he felt danger from Hindu fanatics, and treachery of INC did he take a different approach. But it has happened. I do not understand why people idolize and worship humans when they claim to be muslims by considering them sacred. Pakistan is no Islamic state. It is a failed state.
ReplyDeleteZaman, are you paid by the indian government to comment everywhere? Dont you even find 1% wrong in what India is doing?
ReplyDelete@ all Here is my limited understanding on jinnah with facts n lessons from history ... check my new post on jinnah
ReplyDeletehttp://koshurpinta.blogspot.com/2010/08/jinnah-proponent-of-unity-and-peace-my.html
@ zaman dare to Comment as the history is in front of you which i guess you probably haven't read well in school ...
I will give you a few examples to prove the same:
ReplyDeleteJinnah during his freedom speech at first said that Pakistan should be a secular nation and was fully adamant on that. But later on he again said it must be an Islamic state. This proves his confusion and it seems somebody within the League has also been corrupting his mind.
Secondly, you will notice one more thing. Jinnah himself married a non-Muslim Rattanbai as you know. From the marriage, they gave birth to a beautiful daughter who served him all the time after her mother's death. But later on when she decided to marry a non-Mulsim like Jinnah himself did she was disowned by Jinnah. I could have understood that action if Jinnah had not done so but as he had married a non-Muslim he had no right to disown her for doing the same. This shows his confused mind too.
Third instance. Jinnah demanded that the Indian nation should become a loose confederation of provinces where the provinces would have the most power. This was rejected by Indian National Congress as it wanted a strong center which makes sense. But if you notice when Pakistan became a different country Jinnah seems to have forgot his same concept of loose confederation and instead opted for a strong center in Pakistan rather than a loose democracy. This also shows his cunning attitude (this time I wont say confused because it does not seem he is confused in this act)
To be frank nearly every politician was/is crooked (except Mahatma) but Jinnah was a person who sacrificed millions of lives for his own political ambitions.
Pakistan is a failed state and it does not take a huge deal for a nation to take nuclear weapons. Especially when you have Prime Ministers like in Pakistan who are ready to eat grass to make nuclear weapons. I believe you know about Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's comment where he declared "that we'll eat grass, but we'll make a nuclear bomb". So, you can imagine their mentality. And this mentality has also resulted in their doom. If instead of eating grass to develop nuclear if they had concentrated on more constructive fields like education and teaching good lessons then they would not have been in their current state.
India is developing and Insha Allah will develop even further. India has a few problems and I am not saying that we are perfect. We have problems like Maoists, problems in Kashmir, problems in North East etc. and economic disparities amongst the rich and poor. But we are trying to bridge everything and even today PM said that we Indians are ready to help and work for economic development of everyone who is ready to leave violence and accept peace. To be frank, we were an extremely divided nation when we got independence. One reason why I respect Patel a lot is because he was one of the pivotal person in unification of India at the start even though he used force on many occasions. Even after that we were still very divided. South India wanted a separate state at first. Then came Punjab and then came states of the North East one by one. All these differences were removed through mutual consent and development and if needed with force and everybody gradually accepted the Indian Union. And upto the 90s we were still busy in stabilizing the nation rather than work much on development. It is only in a decade that we have achieved this much and Insha Allah we will soon reach the prediction of world economists of turning into a superpower in the next couple of decades.
continued ......
We are extremely flexible people and are ready to respect everyone. Here you also do not need to worry about military coup or something unlike Pakistan as our constitution is strong enough and wont let that happen. We just want everyone to respect our nation and cooperate with us and we will help everyone for sure. That goes for every citizen and region of India as well as every outside nation too.
ReplyDeleteToday PM Manmohan Singh said "I believe that India's democracy has the generosity and flexibility to be able to address the concerns of any area or group in the country." and that holds true in every spirit. Every part is an integral part of India and Indian constitution does not allow secession and within the ambit of the constitution we are ready to discuss on any aspect as we are a country which believes in peace and harmony and will take measures for the same. There should be economic development, education and progress of every part of India and we are also trying to do the same and believe on the same principles.
There are differences for sure but only by remaining united and through discussion can any differences be removed as it has been done in the past.
Regards,
Zaman
@Mushtaq Ul Haq Ahmad Sikander
ReplyDeleteI do not disagree with you completely. Partition was a result of the political ambitions of not only Jinnah but also Nehru, Patel and Liaqat and there is no doubt about it. To be frank the only true freedom fighter whom I regard completely unbiased was Gandhiji.
I also agree about your religious tolerance part of Jinnah. He initially believed in unity but if you study his life you will also realize that Jinnah turned away from his principles later on. I would say he became extremely confused and was not a man of principles maybe due to his closeness later on with fanatics like Liaquat.
I will give you a few examples to prove the same:
@Anonymouse and @Shakeeb
ReplyDeleteI am not denying that Jinnah was a proponent of religious unity at the start. I know that pretty well and perhaps have read it better than most others as I have read most aspects of Indian freedom movement.
But he had changed his principles later on and that is a known fact. Also I gave some points above to prove how he was either confused, misguided or pathetic himself. Maybe he was misguided or maybe it is due to differences but that is a different matter. But you dont call such people great. Instead you call such people opportunist. Jinnah was an opportunist and so were Nehru and Patel whereas Gandhiji was the only person who never diverted from his principles ever since he joined the freedom movement. Jinnah also knew that millions might die to due to his acts but he was happy to do so. He tried to play his politics by dividing India. On the other hand, Nehru and Patel were also political opportunists but they played their politics while uniting India. That is the difference and hope that makes more sense with your history lessons in school ;)
The person whom I respect the most and every Indian does is Gandhiji and there is no doubt about that. But after independence Nehru and Patel also played in uniting the nation while Jinnah initiated the death of millions and created hatred amongst people that is also a fact.
@Qazi Mamoon
ReplyDeleteYou seem to be a Paki backed dog who continues with your anti-India rhetoric. Dont dare to point fingers as I am not pointing fingers at you. I believe in what is right and will always support it. India comes above everything else for me and I will always support it even if I need to give my life for the same.
When did I say there is nothing wrong. I seriously doubt you actually checked my comments anywhere if you are saying so. I have always said that there might be problems and I always accept that. But I reiterate that it is not one-sided and whenever there is wrong there are wrongs from both sides. It is same as Newton's third law of motion.
At the same time, I know my country and people quite well and know what can happen and under what circumstances. I was born in a part of India (Assam) where laws such as Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) was implemented a lot before it was implemented in places like Kashmir. There were problems after such acts but I have also seen nearly all army getting withdrawn as soon as peace returned. And peace returned with economic development and progress. But at the same time, no civilian has ever protested against the Indian govt. even during those times unlike in Kashmir.
Peace, education and development is the solution to every problem and although there are problems but everything can be solved through peace, education and development.
To be frank, India is still ready to discuss any problems within the ambit of the Indian constitution and PM Manmohan Singh reiterated that even today. India was one and will remain one and every part of India is an integral part of India. Rest we are ready to discuss for anything else within the ambit of the Constitution and I think every Indian is clear on that. But we and our nation should also be respected and peace should remain. Development, education and economic progress will follow automatically once these are fulfilled.
Regards,
Zaman
"I will always support it even if I need to give my life for the same."
ReplyDeleteThat points out you dont like justice. I can twist the words in any manner, which hopefully might appear wrong to you.
"I will always support Hitler even if I need to give my life for the same."
"I will always support corruption even if I need to give my life for the same."
"I will always support Pakistani Cricket Team even if I need to give my life for the same."
"I will always support Windows even if I need to give my life for the same."
"I will always support crime even if I need to give my life for the same."
Its good, you have passion about something, but try to be just. I am not pro-Pakistan, I am not anti-India either. Infact, even Shakeeb Bhai knows I support the Indian Cricket Team. My question was
" Dont you even find 1% wrong in what India is doing to the people in Kashmir. "
Its like Britishers ruling over India, only worse.. I wish Britishers had never left. Can you see the point? Or you are just blinded by patriotism...