14 August is the Day of reckoning—the day the subcontinent’s geostrategic spectrum changed. Indeed, we should be thankful to Allah for His mercy and bounty in granting the land back to Muslims after 100 years of British rule. This holds true for East Pakistan as well; there would not have been a Bangladesh without Pakistan. Our Bengali brothers would have been subject to perpetual Hindu majority rule, as is happening in Bharat today. It is an eye-opener. Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, along with Allama Iqbal, clearly conveyed to the Muslims of India that their struggle was not only for independence from the British but also to avoid perpetual slavery under the Hindus.
Unfortunately, the right-wing Muslim parties that were bought by the Congress opposed the idea of Pakistan, propagating instead for a united India, claiming that united Muslims would have more strength. Seventy-eight years down the line, whether under a Congress government or, for the last 14 years, the BJP, one thing is very clear: both have sought the elimination of Muslims from Indian soil—either through assimilation into Hinduism or total ethnic elimination, as is happening in Gaza today at the hands of the Israelis. In 1938, after the elections, Muslims in India felt the full weight of Hindu majority rule, not only in administration but also in schools and colleges wherever Congress governments were formed. It became mandatory for all students in the morning to stand before a temple and recite Vande Mataram.
Muslim persecution was evident in government offices and in all walks of life. In the Congress-ruled states, the doors of government jobs were closed to Muslims, who had already been crushed after the 1857 defeat by the British. Muslims were considered the main culprits in the War of Independence. Intellectuals, nobility and right-wing preachers were arrested and killed, while Muslim women were enslaved in the houses of British colonial rulers. It was the darkest period for Muslims. In this darkness, figures like Sir Syed Ahmed Khan emerged, opening a school that later became Aligarh University. Responding to his call, many other stalwarts took up the cause of Muslim emancipation from Hindu dominance, alongside the struggle for independence from the British.
The value of the soil beneath your feet is only truly felt when it is gone. This was narrated to me by the granddaughter of Afghan King Zahir Shah, who was in exile in the USA. She said the people of Pakistan do not value the price of independence. 14 August is not an ordinary day—it marks the reemergence of Muslim rule in the subcontinent on 14 August 1947, a revival after it was extinguished with the defeat of 1857 on the evening of November 1, 1858. The ruler of India, Bahadur Shah—nominal though he was—was arrested and deported to Burma, where he died in a sorry state in the garage of the Commissioner of Rangoon. All efforts by Mohammad Ali Jinnah to create Hindu-Muslim unity—whether through his 14 Points, later negotiations or ultimately the Cabinet Mission Plan—were rejected by the Congress leadership. They simply could not tolerate any Muslim or any form of Muslim supremacy in any part of India, whom they always regarded, and now in RSS vocabulary still regard, as foreigners.
The present Indian registration act and nationality act incorporated by the BJP government is a step in that direction to declare the Muslims of India aliens. RSS created a munch, an organization, to study how to marginalize Indian Muslims. A Spanish model was also examined. It is ironic that every effort of Pakistani rulers whether civilian or the military to forge friendship with Indian leadership was rejected both by the Congress as well as BJP governments. As far as the BJP is concerned, they have gone step forward and in their RSS manifesto elimination of Muslim is chapter being implemented by way of various schemes and laws to ensure that gradually the Muslims become irrelevant. It’s very unfortunate that they have found traitors within the Muslims who are now a part of the MRM, Muslim Rashtriya Manch towing the BJP line in lieu of plums given to them.
During the presidency of Zia-ul-Haq, Pakistan proposed a no-war pact with India, which was rejected by the Congress government. Instead, they demanded a comprehensive peace agreement that effectively stipulated Islamabad become a fiefdom of the Indian government. I had the opportunity to see the draft of the Indian proposal, which President Zia outrightly rejected, saying, “What do they think of us?” Later, during President Pervez Musharraf’s tenure, similar proposals were also sabotaged by the Indians. Under the present BJP rule, the Indian government’s attitude has become not only unfriendly but extremely hawkish, with stated goals to capture Pakistan-administered Kashmir and dismember Pakistan through a proxy war still ongoing in parts of Balochistan and KP, while simultaneously spreading propaganda in world capitals accusing Pakistan of perpetuating terrorism. The fact remains that Pakistan has been the victim of Indian state-sponsored terrorism, subversion and proxy wars.
Indian leadership did the same in 1971 in Bangladesh and later supported the TTP and other anti-Pakistan organizations with money, planning and execution. This year, India attacked Pakistan in May following the Pahalgam incident—a deep Indian plot. They immediately accused Pakistan without providing any evidence, and Mr. Modi threatened to take revenge and target areas in Pakistan where, according to the Indians, terrorists were allegedly being trained. This was a total lie and false narrative, as Pakistan had repeatedly proved that such organizations were proscribed, banned, and that some of their members were already behind bars. In a false sense of superiority, the Indians went ahead with a false-flag operation, followed by a full-fledged attack on 6 May 2025, violating Pakistan’s sovereignty, fully convinced that Pakistan was in a weak position. What followed over the next four days—by way of their defeat, not only in the air but also on the ground—put India to shame and made it a laughingstock worldwide.
The strategic balance of South Asia changed overnight and the world at large acknowledged it. It also proved that Pakistan is neither a small country nor a weak military power in the conventional sense. Pakistan does not need to resort to its nuclear arsenal, as it can match Indian conventional forces. This has resulted in a complete change in the strategic milieu. The fact remains that today India is an injured snake, calling for revenge. It is unfortunate that the State of Israel is abetting them in their designs because of its anti-Muslim stance. The methodology and philosophy of both countries are synonymous in their aim to eliminate Muslims. The time has come for Pakistan to reorganize itself, prepare for the next round and ensure its economic and political affairs are set in order with the people’s support. Wars can only be won when nations stand firmly behind their forces. History has shown that those who stand united in purpose and resolve can turn the tide of destiny in their favour.
The author is a Brigadier Retired, a decorated officer with 32 years of active combat experience, 30 years in corporate sector as MD/COO. A column writer, Researcher and TV analyst.
