The Founder’s Vision and Ideology

Sir Syed Ahmed Khan first mooted the idea of an independent Muslim nation in late nineteenth century. Subsequently Allama Sir Muhammad. Iqbal in 1930 proposed the establishment of an independent Muslim state in the northwestern part of the Asian Subcontinent. However the idea of Pakistan was first propounded by Mr Ch. Rehmat Ali in his pamphlet “Now or Never” in 1933. At that time the Muslim League leadership including Mr Jinnah did not support or even consider it. Up till that time Mr Jinnah was an ardent supporter of Hindu-Muslim unity in British India. The Manchester Guardian best describes his attitude and views of that period “Mr Jinnah’s position at the Round Table Conference was unique. The Hindus thought he was a Muslim communalist, the Muslims took him to be pro-Hindu, the princes deemed him to be too democratic, the British considered him an extreme nationalist, with the result that he was a leader without a following.”

Solidarity of Pakistan

The Historic Group Photograph of Quaid E Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah at his Last Visit to Islamia College, Peshawar, Pakistan (12.04.1948 CE) (Courtesy of Prof. Dr. Taskeen Ahmad Khan, Associate Dean, Associate Faculty of Urology, Khyber Medical University, Peshawar (nb: From the Personal Library File of Maj. Gen (Retd.) Anwar Sher Khan, Peshawar).

 

“Remember we are building up a State which is going to play its full part in the destinies of the whole Islamic World. We, therefore, need a wider look, an outlook which transcends the boundaries of provinces, limited nationalism, and racialism. We must develop a sense of patriotism which should galvanize us all into one united and strong nation. That is the only way in which we can achieve our goal, the goal of our struggle, the goal for which millions of Mussalmans have lost their lives.”

 

Islamia College, Peshawar,
12 April, 1948

Quaid-e-Azam’s Interview with Beverly Nichols, 1943

“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.

You must remember that Islam is not merely a religious doctrine but a realistic and practical code of conduct. I am thinking in terms of life, of everything important in life. I am thinking in terms of our history, our heroes, our art, our architecture, our music, our laws, our jurisprudence……. In all things our outlook is not only fundamentally different but often radically antagonistic to the Hindus. We are different beings. There is nothing in life which links us together. Our names, our clothes, our foods — they are all different; our economic life, our educational ideas, our treatment of women, our attitude to animals… …. we challenge each other at every point of the compass.

To yoke together two such nations under a single state, one as a numerical minority and the other as majority, must lead to growing discontent and final destruction of any fabric that may be so built up for the government of such a state.”

Still Heroes

Bronze statues of Quaid-e-Azam, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan and Allama Iqbal put on display at the Science and Technology Expo-2007 held at National Memorial Museum in Shakarparian in Islamabad.

Quaid-e-Azam being received at Lahore Airport by a PAF Officer

A previously unpublished picture of Father of the Nation, Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah being received at Lahore Airport by a PAF Officer.

Jinnah was not Secular

In the wake of frequent cultural and political exchanges between the two countries the supporters of secular Pakistan have increased their propaganda, have geared up their efforts and have created some forums to spread this notion. All those who subscribe to the secularistic view are bending backward to prove the Quaid as secular. They base their arguments on 11 August 1947 speech of the Quaid which he delivered in the first Constituent Assembly of Pakistan.

They quote this speech in support of their view but are guilty of misinterpreting the same. According to their perception and perhaps according to the agenda given to them, ‘they do not quote any other speech and are thus again guilty of omission and commission. Unfortunately, since its very inception, Pakistan is faced with a cultural invasion particularly from its Eastern neighbour and undoubtedly, this invasion has influenced some people and a feeling is growing that the nation’s commitment to its Islamic ideals set by our elders is getting diluted thereby eroding our ideology.

Four Stages of Jinnah’s Political Philosophy

By Prof. Dr. S. K. Alqama

For many decades now, Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s vision of Pakistan has been a point of contention, yet also a great source of inspiration. A careful examination of his long distinguished public service, spanning some 44 years (1904-48), can aid in defining how he perceived the future of Pakistan.

The Quaid’s political philosophy evolved in four distinct yet continuous stages. In the first stage of his public life (1904-20), his political credo was influenced by three main factors:

19th century British liberalism, first encountered during his legal studies in England from 1892 to 1896; the metropolitan flavour and mercantile milieu of Mumbai where he worked as a successful and respected member of the legal community; his close professional and personal contact with the Parsis, who taught him how a small religious group could - with the help of an entrepreneurial spirit, hard work and social cohesion - defeat racial prejudice and communal discrimination.

These three formative experiences led the Quaid to join the Indian National Congress. Modelled after European liberal parties, the Congress was at that time planning to take India on the difficult road to self-government through constitutional means. The Quaid’s evident human and professional qualities made him an ideal candidate for a leadership role in the Congress. He became its spokesman for its representation on the reform of the India Council in May 1914. During those days, he advocated gradual progress, evolutionary democratic politics and, not to forget, strict constitutionalism. When the Congress began to move away from these liberal principles in 1920 and favoured revolution and extra-constitutional methods, the Quaid left the party without ever looking back.

Impressions of Quaid-e-Azam

By Ian Stephens *

I am going to term the great man, whom we have come here to commemorate Mr. Jinnah, because that is what he was mostly known as, throughout the time I had glimpses of him. Glimpses, I say, I had not much more, certainly I do not claim I knew him at all well. However, on occasions I did see him and, on some, meet and talk with him; and this, too, which was lucky for me, over a span of about seventeen history-shaping years, unique in South Asian affairs, between 1931 and 1948. Furthermore, my memories of these occasions, or some of them, still seem vivid – which I hope means, as well, that they are largely true – a supporting practical reason for that being, of course, a fact realized I suppose by everyone here: that he was a very exceptional person, in body and mind.

My first sighting was brief, but remains perhaps the clearest. I was young and impressionable, in my twenties only; I had been in India little more than a year. But though I am now well into my seventies, and it happened so long ago, that brief incident still seems fresh.

Jinnah: The Burden of Leadership

by Lawrence Ziring

Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s capacity to overwhelm his staunchest adversaries is observed in the comments of Ved Mehta, a perceptive contemporary writer on the South Asian scene. Mahatama Gandhi, according to Mehta, was presented with his greatest challenge by Muhammad Ali Jinnah. None of the other personalities that sought to test his resolve, whether British, Boer or Indian, either deflected him from his purpose or threatened his will. Jinnah, however, caused Gandhi to search his innermost thoughts, to make himself “potent – physically, mentally and spiritually” so as to be able ‘to vanquish Muhammad Ali Jinnah” and foil his plans for partition and a free Pakistan state.1 Gandhi, of course, failed to either blunt Jinnah’s popularity or dim his determination. Hundreds of millions of human beings would be drawn to Gandhi, tens of millions would dedicate their lives to him, and thousands would die for him, but Jinnah was singularly unimpressed. And Gandhi knew it. Indeed, he understood that in Jinnah he had faced his ultimate test and had lost. Mehta sums up this decisive confrontation as follows:-

Pakistan was inevitable

By Prof Dr M Yakub Mughul

The Muslims were a political power in India for more than one thousand years. Muhammad Bin Qasim conquered Sindh in 712 AD and since then Sindh became the Gateway to Islam in India. Shahabuddin Muhammad Ghauri was the first Muslim warrior who was responsible for the establishment of Muslim rule in India. After the defeat of Pirthvi Raj in the second battle of Tarain in 1192, Sultan Mohammad Ghauri appointed Qutbuddin Aibak as his Viceroy to consolidate his empire. The last Muslim dynasty, which ruled in India was the Mughul dynasty. In 1857, the Muslims lost the War of Independence and last Mughul Emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar, was deposed and made prisoner, hence, the Muslims became subjects of British India. Thus, Hindus got new masters and the British needed for their support, against the Muslims, who favoured them in every walk of life. For about a century Indians remained under the British rule, who were not only deprived of their majority provinces in all respects but at the same time the Muslims were treated as second grade citizens. At the time of partition of India, Pakistan inherited only 34 Industrial units out of 921. This shows that when Pakistan was established, these areas were extremely backward economically and we had to work very hard to develop the country.