Is This The Pakistan That Jinnah Wanted ? – Pakistani Meem
Pakistan came into being on 14th August, 1947, it was a dream come true, the Muslims were jubilant to secure a separate homeland for themselves where they would be free from the subjugation of a majority, Pakistan was created for a minority that felt insecure in India, Quaid e Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah realized this very well and he wanted all citizens of Pakistan to be equal citizens therefore on 11th August, 1947, he addressed the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan, he said :
“You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place or 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”
These words spoke aloud that he wanted Pakistan to be an egalitarian state, he left us on 11th September, 1948 and since his death we left the path that our Quaid wanted us to follow, just a few months later on 12th March, 1949, Objective Resolution was presented in the constituent assembly which asked for Islamization of Pakistan, the only member to object it was Mian Iftikharuddin, who pointed out at the above words of Quaid but he was ignored, there are many who say Jinnah wanted Pakistan to be a secular state, then there are many who argue that he wanted an Islamic state, this battle between the seculars and the islamists continues till date, the islamists even allege that these are not the words of Quaid e Azam but the history has been distorted by Justice Muhammad Munir, their allegations don’t hold weight for two reasons, one that this speech is present in all history books written in and outside Pakistan, they can also go and read the Jinnah papers if they wish to confirm it, second reason that also nullifies their claim is that had Jinnah wanted a Pakistan according to their wishes, they would have never called him “Kafir e Azam” nor would they have ever opposed the creation of Pakistan.
It was after Pakistan was founded these mullahs started to lobby for an Islamic country where they could rule, in 1953, Anti- Ahmediya riots broke out in Lahore, around 200 Ahmadis were killed, martial law was imposed in Lahore, martial law authorities awarded death sentences to Madoodi and his accomplices but they were later converted into life sentences, here the state totally gave in to the Mullahs, later on a dictator like Ayub was forced to amend the constitution of 1962, because the name of the country did not contain the word “Islamic Republic”.
In 1974 the state declared Ahmadis to be non-Muslims and during Zia’s Islamization era, we witnessed a massive increase in radicalization, a new breed of “Muslims” was prepared, it was in this era that an ordinary mullah from Jhang, who according to the people of Jhang used to roam on a cycle with an axe on the backseat made a career out of slogans like “Kaafir Kaafir Qadiani Kaafir” , “Mushrik Mushrikh, Barelvi Mushrik” and then finally sticked with “ Kaafir Kaafir Shia Kaafir”, the 80s witnessed a new tide of killings and persecution, the Ahmadis were already being persecuted by the state, but then came the Shias for whom it has been open season since the 80s, they today call it Shia Genocide, hardly a day passes in this country when a Shia is not shot dead for being a Shia.
The state has always been numb and never showed a concern about the killings of Shias, when a few are shot dead, no one cares, when a big number is killed in a bomb attack, the President, the Prime Minister would just condemn it by sending a message to the Press Information Department that would forward it to the media channels, no one is sure whether they even know of these incidents or is it just their press secretary who forwards a message on their behalf, the response of leaders of other political and religious parties is quite the same, and then we have a Jamat e Islami that can only protest for the Rohingyas of Burma, Morsi of Egypt, for JI in Bangladesh but can’t condemn the killings of their fellow countrymen.
Today the Ahmadis are not allowed to call themselves Muslim, they are not allowed to call their worship place a mosque, they are not allowed to call the call for prayers azaan, they are not allowed to preach and propagate their faith, they are taken to courts on the simple allegations like they have a Holy Quran in their worship place, their sacrificial animals are snatched away, many have been maimed and killed for the mullahs keep on inciting hatred against them.They are not even allowed to rest in their graves which are often desecrated by the bigots.
The tale of the Hindus and Christians is no different, they are very poor and backward, the state didn’t do anything to uplift them, they are persecuted under the blasphemy laws, they are forcibly converted, their daughters are kidnapped and forced to marry the influential while the state shows no concern, in 2011 the minister for Minorities, Shahbaz Bhatti was shot dead in broad daylight in Islamabad for he wanted to bring into light the misuse of blasphemy laws, he had always been a defender of the rights of minorities but in this country sane voices are silenced, all dissenters are killed, Salman Taseer, the governor of Punjab was killed by a policeman who was supposed to protect him and should have been ready to die for him, Taseer’s only crime was to show his support for a Christian lady who was accused of blasphemy.
The case of Ramsha Masih is still fresh in our memories, we all remember how a mullah used the blasphemy to law to accuse a Christian girl who was 11 years old and suffered from down’s syndrome, according the law of Pakistan, a child under the age of 12 years can not be held responsible for a crime that he committed because he is not sane enough to understand the fact that what he did is a crime, so many alleged she was 14 or 16 and some even alleged that she was 21, well even if we ignore her age, the girl suffered from down’s syndrome which again means the girl was not mentally sound to understand what she did but the reality is that she did nothing, the mullah in order to get the Christians driven out of that area in Islamabad, put a few burnt pages of Noorani Qaida (a small booklet to learn to understand arabic) in her bag.
What happened in Joseph Colony, Lahore is not an event of the past, the poor Christians of that area lost their houses after a fight between two drunk men belonging to Christian and Muslim communities, the Muslim alleged that his Christian friend had insulted Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), what happened later throws light on the amount of intolerance that the new breed of Muslims that was prepared in the Zia era suffers from, later on it was learnt that Joseph Colony was situated in an industrial area and the industrialists had been trying to buy that land and their involvement in this arson can not be ruled out.
The Hindus of Sindh are considered to be the original inhabitants of Sindh, they have been living here from time immemorial but today, they are leaving the country, most of them are moving to India and seeking asylum there, they say Pakistan is not a country where they consider themselves safe, their concerns are genuine, their daughters are kidnapped and forcibly converted and married, they don’t get police protection, neither they find the courts helpful, forcible conversion of Hindus has become a norm of the land. They also blame extremism and discrimination among the major factors behind their migration.
The Barelvis or the Hanfis make up a majority of Pakistanis, they were the followers of the Sufi tradition and were the staunch believers of the message of peace and co-existence, they are also being killed by the takfiris and one can not ignore the fact that they too have radicalized, their support for the murderer of Salman Taseer points at the direction they are going, but despite this, they are pacifists whereas the Takfiri Deobandis are just killing every dissenter, they want to enforce their agenda, they want Pakistan to be a Wahabi Republic instead of an Islamic Republic, the state has been silently approving all their acts and today the government is under their influence, a large number of youngsters are under the influence of Takfiri Deobandis because they own around 70% of the total madressas in Pakistan while their percentage in total population is not even 20%.
Looking at this alarming situation, one wonders when a minister and a governor can be shot dead in Islamabad in broad daylight, a Christian girl can be accused of blasphemy by making a false case against her by the mullahs, a Hindu girl can be abducted, forcibly converted and married and no one cares, Shias are killed on daily basis because the mullahs call them Kaafir, Ahmadis face a general hatred and their persecution has been legalized by the laws, all this points at the road we are going on.
Today in Pakistan the people blindly follow the mullah, even the sighting of the moon has to be decided by them and that too is not always a unanimous decision, they don’t consider a DNA test to be a conclusive evidence in a rape case but they wish to meet 4 witnesses who actually saw the commission of the offence, how hard is it to understand that rape was not known back in those days and the Ayat in the Holy Quran that asks for 4 eye witnesses was specifically revealed for Qazf (wrongfully accusing a lady of having an extra-marital intercourse) but no, we have just surrendered everything to these mullahs, so we should just shut up and listen to them.
Looking at the Pakistan of today and the Pakistan that Jinnah actually wanted, I am forced to say that we have redefined his words and today they are:
“You are free, you are free to go to your madressas. You are free to keep your beards long and your pajamas/shalwars short. You are free to kill Shias, Ahmadis, Hindus, Christians, and Barelvis. You are free to perpetuate genocide in this State of Pakistan. You may murder any minority you want — that has nothing to do with the business of the State”
The current situation has been beautifully depicted in this cartoon by Sabir Nazar, a well known satirist of Pakistan.
PML-N MNA Malik Riaz led the attack on Christian community in Lahore
https://lubpak.com/archives/249475
I disagree with the article. Just like I refuse to adhere to the false Sunni-Shia paradigm , I also refuse to believe in this false Religious vs Secular divide. Secular is a word that applies to Christianity not Islam since Islam does not encourage the rule of the clergy or church unlike Christianity
Secondly Islam and Islamist means loving all human beings and treating people equally. Don’t let sectarian bigots and religious extremists taint the image of Islam. Islamic political system , economics and judicial law are very balanced, modern and beneficial. Ofcourse it is also superior to extremes like Democracy and Dictatorship and Capitalism and Communism and it effectively finds a middle ground. Implementation is difficult but not impossible
Lastly , both the so called ”sides” have good and bad points. They have their own arguments but both arguments are incomplete. Some of the seculars are anti Islam while some are balanced. Again we need to reform the entire debate and discussion, otherwise we keep going in useless circles, its amazing people haven’t caught on how useless the so called debates are getting.
Just some of my ideas.
Therefore the beautiful statement of August 11th by Quid E Azam and the Objectives Resolution COMPLEMENT each other not CONTRADICT each other. Islam is peaceful, loving and inclusive, its not a religion of arrogance, don’t judge it by its followers. Liaqat Ali Khan was a great man who understood Jinnah and they both saw the merits of Islam and the importance of including all minorities. Btw, if I am not mistaken, not that it really matters but Liaqat Ali Khan was Shia, therefore he wouldn’t side with people who called Quid E Azam ”Kafir E Azam”
Lastly, I condemn the oppression of any human being in Pakistan and I don’t like the way minorities are oppressed. Its a shame for all of us.
Also not all mullahs are bad, most are curropt and ignorant but there are a few bright minds within Islamic scholarship today who genuinely represent the beauty of Islam and they come from a variety of backgrounds and sects.
I think by and large this is a good article or historical survey that expresses the main problem/s facing Pakistan and the slaughter of minorities and sectarianism also, within appropriate contexts.
I also agree with Mr ‘Mustafa’ above , to some extent, that this slaughter is certainly condemnable on human level– but I dont agree with many other views expressed.
Thank you so much for sparing the time to read my article and agreeing with it 🙂
@ Mustafa
first of all i would like to thank you for taking some time to read my article, you can refuse to accept my views but i have with all my honesty tried to draw a picture of the Pakistan of today that is quite different from what the father of the nation wanted it to be, here are some answers to the objections that you raised.
Islamic concept itself is secular in nature, it gives religious freedom to everyone.
Seculars are not anti-Islam or Islamphobes, they only advocate egalitarianism.
For your kind information, it was the Objective Resolution that opened the doors for the clergy to have a say in all affairs of the state.
and Liaqat Ali Khan was not a Shia.
@Pakistan Meem: I am not objecting to your article, I am just giving my views.
Also appreciate your responses.
1 I agree that Islam does not discriminate any human being based on religion, ethnicity or color so we both agree on that
2. I only said some secular minded, not all. A lot of them are open minded people who have their own viewpoints but a few of them (like some on TV and social media) are total bigots and they are very rude and don’t tolerate other people’s viewpoints.
3. Maybe LAK was not a Shia , but he did understand Quid E Azam very well
Thing is maybe the objectives resolution did as you said, but that was not its purpose, there is nothing wrong with the text or ruling itself, its only how it has been misused that’s the problem.
The issue is that a lot of people take extreme viewpoints on these issues, they either go to one extreme or the other.
yes, people do take extreme view points but i am pretty sure no one hates Islam, its the role of clergy that people hate and on the text of Objective Resolution, i agree with you, though its text wasn’t much of a problem but the way in which the state surrendered to authority of the mullahs caused a lot of damage and one can not deny that it was the Objective Resolution that paved the way for it.
join me @ https://www.facebook.com/pakistani.meem
An honest opinion can be an ignorant opinion. Keeping all good views on the honesty of the article, it must be noted that a part of the speech of 11th of August (of which the content and its interpretation is itself debatable and being debated), Quad-e-Azam had also given more than 100 statements on different occasions in which he unequivocally described what sort of country he wanted. I am not going into details and expect you to read them in detail and write another article.
Indeed Quaid-e-Azam wanted an progressive and liberal society not defined by Western thoughts, but purely on Quranic and Sunna terms ( I can provide you the specific statements of Quaid with reference if you fail to find them).
Indeed Quaid-e-Azam wanted a country with full of religious harmony and social justice (obviously not what we are seeing now). But records should be straight. Facts, laws and throught processes must not be vague and obscure. Like you said secularism is in synch with Islam. What can be said except a humble request to read further on the topic trusting your honesty. Secularism does not allow any interference of Devine laws and guidance in the socio-politico-economic order of the country. Means in social, political and economic level secularists think that human mind and intellect has reached to that level where he should not pay heed to Quranic principles.
But Quaid-e-Azam did not think like that. The only brand new department Quaid-e-Azam had made after the birth of Pakistan was “Department of Islamic Reconstruction” under head of Allama Muhammad Asad a reverted Muslim from Judasim. I can provide you some publications of this department before it was closed after the Quaids demise.
I hope we haven’t forgotten yet the famous speech of Quaid an the inaugural of the new building on State Bank.
So are we progressing towards that Pakistan? Do you hear any voice from seculars and so called liberals to March towards that Pakistan?
I know there are huge, very huge gaps in understanding and deed of majority of religious leaders and so called Islamists in the country but same goes with the liberal scholar and intellectuals. We all should strive to bridge gaps and that can only be achieved through unbiaded independent, thorough, across the board struggle of learning.
As mentioned earlier we have to be true to our beliefs and oaths (if we really believe and took ownership of what we own which in nutshell is “La Ilaha IllaAllah Muhammad ur Rasool Ullah”)
Please forgive me for some strict sentences in the flow.
Best Regards
I am sorry but its a total waste of time… completely biased article, ignoring historical facts in regards to the Quaid views and kind of a country he wanted to built. We are a nation on decline which is reflecting in every aspect of society, liberals and secularists are not immune to this downfall.
Some “Intellectuals” in this country consider themselves free thinkers but they cant see beyond western secularism …… they are not so different from Mullas.
BUT
نہیں ہے نااُمید اقبال اپنی کشت ویراں سے
ذرا نم ہو تو یہ مٹی بہت زر ضیز ہے ساقی