Feelings About the Father of the Nation

By G.C. Contreras

At the beginning of this Congress I would like to greet its authorities and all the delegates gathered here. As with colleagues who come from every corner of Pakistan, the delegates who have come from all corners of the world are here to pay homage to the Quaid-i-Azam, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Father of the Nation, on the first hundredth anniversary of his birth. I want to make this homage extensive, as undoubtedly he would have deserved it, to the people of Pakistan, who endowed with an unbreakable will have achieved the greatness of their nation, thirty years after her beginning.

We know by experience that young nations like my own, Mexico, or like Pakistan, when they relinquish a colonial past, go through difficult and hazarduous moments for the first years of their independent life, moments full of weaknesses and dangers which test the reserves and potential energy of their human material.

Not only the culminating moment when the new nation, product of a long ideological and political struggle, has begun her life is decisive, but the daily process of maintaining her alive ensuring that she prevails against all contingencies. Notwithstanding, when a community has the will for becoming a nation, armed with its high ideals and the wish of an independent life, her place among the free peoples is assured. Of you, I can say, in the very words of Jinnah, “Pakistan has come to stay and no power on earth can destroy it.”

Muhammad Ali Jinnah was a man of great wisdom, strong ideals, an enemy of injustice who fought so that his community could exercise its due rights. His strong determination through a long and difficult struggle for the Independence of the Indian Subcontinent led him inevitably, within the historical circumstances, to the ideal of the creation of Pakistan as a free and sovereign nation.

Jinnah’s Last Message

It was, therefore, with a sense of supreme satisfaction at the fulfillment of his mission that Jinnah told the nation in his last message on 14 August, 1948:

" 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". 

In accomplishing the task he had taken upon himself on the morrow of Pakistan's birth, Jinnah had worked himself to death, but he had, to quote richard Symons,

"contributed more than any other man to Pakistan's survivial". 

He died on 11 September, 1948. How true was Lord Pethick Lawrence, the former Secretary of State for India, when he said,

"Gandhi died by the hands of an assassin; Jinnah died by his devotion to Pakistan".

A man such as Jinnah, who had fought for the inherent rights of his people all through his life and who had taken up the somewhat unconventional and the largely misinterpreted cause of Pakistan, was bound to generate violent opposition and excite implacable hostility and was likely to be largely misunderstood. But what is most remarkable about Jinnah is that he was the recipient of some of the greatest tributes paid to any one in modern times, some of them even from those who held a diametrically opposed viewpoint.

The Aga Khan considered him  

"the greatest man he ever met" 

Beverley Nichols, the author of `Verdict on India', called him  

"the most important man in Asia", 

Equal treatment to all - Assurance to minorities ( 3rd Feb 1948)

Speech in reply to Address of Welcome presented to Quaid-e-Azam and Miss Fatima Jinnah by the Parsi community of Sind at the Katrak Parsi Colony, Karachi: February 3, 1948.

I am thankful to you for your Address of Welcome and the kind words you have spoken about me and Miss Fatima Jinnah. I deeply appreciate your offer of loyal co-operation with the Government of Pakistan and I assure you that Pakistan means to stand by its oft-repeated promises of according equal treatment to all its nationals irrespective of their cast and creed. Pakistan, which symbolizes the aspirations of a nation that found itself in a minority in the Indian sub-continent, can not be unmindful of the minorities within its own borders. It is a pity that the fair name of Karachi was sullied by the sudden outburst of communal frenzy last month and I can not find words strong enough to condemn the action of those who were responsible for it. Government is determined in its resolve to root out lawlessness and to see that there is no recurrence of such incidents.

As you may be aware, the Government has been making genuine efforts to allay the fears and suspicions of the minorities and if their exodus from Sind still continues, it is not because they are not wanted here but because they are more prone to listen to people across the border who are interested in pulling them out. I am sorry for these misguided people for nothing but disillusionment awaits them in their promised land.

I realized that during the last few months there have been encroachments on private right of property but you should not judge Government's action too harshly. Accomodation could not be provided for the large number of Pakistan officials and foriegn legations without disturbing some of the local residents. The problem was further complicated by the influx of a large number of refugees - whose tempers had been frayed by the suffering undergone by them. These unfortunate people require sympathetic handling, and your assistance in resettling them will be most welcome.

Parsis as a community have fortunately escaped the ravages of the recent internecine conflict that has brought so much suffering to other communities, and, I see no reason why the future should hold any terror for them. They have already established a place for themselves in this country by their organizing ability, spirit of enterprise and hard work. Pakistan will provide and ample field for the outlet of their genius particularly in the realm of trade, commerce and industry and they should come forward and play their role as true citizens in making Pakistan one of the greatest nations and a land of prosperity and plenty.

Eid Greetings to the Muslim World (27th Aug 1948)

Message to the Nation on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr on 27th August, 1948.

On this day of rejoicing I send my greetings to Muslims all over the world and wish them very happy Eid.

For us the last Eid-ul-Fitr, which followed soon after the birth of Pakistan, was marred by the tragic happenings in East Punjab. The blood bath of last year and its aftermath–the mass migration of millions–presented a problem of unprecedented magnitude. To provide new moorings for this mass of drifting humanity strained our energies and resources to breaking point. The immensity of the task very nearly overwhelmed us and we could only just keep our heads above water. The brief span of 12 months was not sufficient to see all the Mohajreens settled in profitable employment in Pakistan. Considerable progress has been made in resettling them but a good many remain to be rehabilitated. We cannot rejoice till every one of them has been put on his feet again. I am sanguine that by next Eid this formidable and intractable problem will have been solved and all the refugees absorbed in Pakistan’s economy as useful members of society.

The history of the last 12 months has been one of continuous struggle against heavy odds, but what sustained us during these dark days, was our unity of purpose and firm resolve to see that our young State did not founder under the blows of our enemies. We have weathered the worst storms and the safety of the shore, though distant, is in sight. We can look to the future with robust confidence provided we do not relax and fritter away our energies in internal dissension. There never was greater need for discipline and unity in our ranks. It is only with united effort and faith in our destiny that we shall be able to translate the Pakistan of our dreams into reality. You are celebrating Eid today after a month of fasting. Why was fasting enjoined upon Muslims if it were not to teach them discipline and orderliness? These are the virtues to cultivate and in that lies your salvation and that of the nation.

My Eid message to our brother Muslim States is one of friendship and goodwill. We are all passing through perilous times. The drama of power politics that is being staged in Palestine, Indonesia and Kashmir should serve an eye opener to us. It is only by putting up a united front that we can make our voice felt in the counsels of the world.

Let me, therefore, appeal to you–in whatever language you may put, when the essence of my advice is boiled down, it comes to this–that every Mussalman should serve Pakistan honestly, sincerely and selflessly.

Pakistan Zindabad

Reorientation of education (27th Nov 1947)

Message to The All-Pakistan Educational Conference,
held in Karachi on 27th November, 1947

I am glad that the Pakistan Educational Conference is being held tomorrow in Karachi. I welcome you all to the Capital of Pakistan and wish you every success in your deliberations, which I sincerely hope will bear fruitful and practical results.

You know that the importance of education and the right type of education cannot be over-emphasized. Under foreign rule for over a century, in the very nature of things, I regret, sufficient attention has not been paid to the education of our people, and if we are to make any real, speedy and substantial progress, we must earnestly tackle this question and bring our educational policy and program 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.

There is no doubt that the future of our State will and must greatly depend upon the type of education and the way in which we bring up our children as the future servants of Pakistan. Education does not merely mean academic education, and even that appears to be of a very poor type. What we have to do is to mobilize our people and build up the character of our future generations. There is immediate and urgent need for training our people in the scientific and technical education in order to build up future economic life, and we should see that our people undertake scientific commerce, trade and particularly, well-planned industries. But do not forget that we have to compete with the world, which is moving very fast in this direction. Also I must emphasize that greater attention should be paid to technical and vocational education.

In short, we have to build up the character of our future generations which means highest sense of honor, integrity, selfless service to the nation, and sense of responsibility, and we have to see that they are fully qualified or equipped to play their part in the various branches of economic life in a manner which will do honor to Pakistan.