Mohammed Ali Jinnah, a Bombay lawyer, was the second great advocate of a distinctive Muslim Indian identity.
Rejected British majority democratic system:
Time and Tide of London published an article by Jinnah on January 19, 1940 under the caption “The Constitutional Future of India”. He maintained: “Democratic systems based on the concept of a homogeneous nation such as England are very definitely not applicable to heterogeneous countries such as India.” He called the Hindus and the Muslims “two different nations” with different religions and different social codes
Refuted Indian Nationhood:
He refuted the claim of All Indian Nation Congress that India had only one single nation, in the name of Indian by the following statement, “a thousand years of close contact, nationalities which are as divergent today as ever cannot at any time be expected to transform themselves into one nation merely by means of subjecting them to a democratic constitution.”
Renewed Iqbal’s dream into Political struggle:
He summarized his life’s struggle in a historic address at a mass meeting in Lahore on March 22, 1940, that set forth the logic of Pakistan, echoing Alberuni’s observation 900 years earlier:
“The Hindus and Muslims belong to different religious Philosophies, social customs and literatures. They neither intermarry nor interdine together and indeed they belong to two different civilizations which are based on conflicting ideas and conceptions. Their concepts on life and of life are different. It is quite clear that Hindus Muslims derive their inspiration from different sources of history. They have different epics, different heroes and different episodes. Very often the hero of one is the foe of other and likewise, their victories and defeats overlap. To yoke together two such distinct nations under a single state, one as a numerical majority and other a minority, must lead to a growing discontent and final destruction…….”
On the basis of Two-Nation Theory All-India Muslim League passed its Lahore Resolution on 23rd March, 1940 which made the achievement of Pakistan as great for the political struggle by the Muslims. After the passage of Lahore Resolution, there was only one main chant by the Muslims i.e.
Ban Ke Rahega Pakistan
Le Ke Rahenge Pakistan.
Henceforth, the Jinnah’s life mission was to explain to the people, to the British government and to the Indian National Congress leaders the concept of the Two-Nations. Keeping in view Two-Nation theory at Ahmadabad, on 28th December 1940, Quaid-e-Azam declared:
“India should be partitioned so that Hindus and Muslims may live as friends and good neighbors and develop according to their own genius.”
Later on, in 1944, during his talks with Gandhi, Quaid-e-Azam clearly said;
“We hold and maintain that the Hindus and Muslims are two major nations by any definite or a taste of a nation. We are a nation of a hundred million and what is more we are a nation with our own distinctive culture and civilization, language and literature, art and architecture, names and nomenclature, sense of values and proportions, legal laws and moral codes, customs and calendar, history and traditions, aptitude and ambitions. In short we have our own distinctive outlook on life and of life. By all canons of international law we are nation.”
In an interview with the British journalist Beverley Nichols, he said in 1943:
“Islam is not only a religious doctrine but also a realistic code of conduct in terms of every day and everything important in life: our history, our laws and our jurisprudence. In all these things, our outlook is not only fundamentally different but also opposed to Hindus. There is nothing in life that links us together. Our names, clothes, food, festivals, and rituals, all are different. Our economic life, our educational ideas, treatment of women, attitude towards animals, and humanitarian considerations, all are very different.”According to Quaid-e-Azam the Islamic state of Pakistan embraces the qualities of an ideal secular state which guarantees religious freedom to every citizen and which without distinction of religion or race will work for the welfare of all citizens. On August 11, 1947 during the presidential address to the Constituent Assembly the Quaid-e-Azam said:
“You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to mosques or to any other place 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 . . . We are starting with this fundamental principle that we are all citizens and equal citizens of one State.”
“It has been taken for granted mistakenly that Muslims are a minority, and of course we got used to it for such a long time that these settled notions sometimes difficult to remove. The Muslims are not a minority; the Muslims are a nation by every definition. By all canons of international law we are a nation.” 23rd March 1940
Conclusion
The fundamental concept of the ideology of Pakistan is that Muslims are separate nation having their own culture, literature, religion and way of life. They cannot be merged in any other nation. They should be able to develop their culture and religious traditions in an Islamic State and they should be able to create a true Islamic society for themselves.Thus the ideology of Pakistan which developed through the period of Mohammad Bin Qasim and others and followed by political leaders like Quaid-e-Azam was materialized in 1947.
For complete Pakistan Affairs notes click here.
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