IT is always useful to revert to the nation’s origins, the source of identity itself. Although Pakistanis have inherited rich and ancient history, the two men who encapsulated its founding myths are its founding fathers Sir Allama Iqbal and the Quaid-i-Azam. In 1947, the Quaid created the largest Muslim nation in the world. The Quaid and his advisors selected a national anthem and a capital, Karachi. Yet, as the Quaid said, it was a “truncated” and “moth-eaten” state. On sheer willpower alone, and in failing health, the Quaid gave all he had to the new nation. There were many crises. There was the influx of millions of refugees who came at partition and the 1-2 million people who died in the process, the situation in Kashmir, and an administrative and defence structure that was in tatters.
India refused to send Pakistan the agreed-upon division of assets. Indeed, in the first winter after the creation of the state, a group of military officers assured the Quaid that they would follow him “through sunshine and fire.” The Quaid replied, “Are you prepared to undergo the fire? We are going through fire, the sunshine has yet to come.” Pakistanis disheartened by the state of chaos today should recall the challenges the first Pakistanis faced in 1947; and those confused by Pakistan identity should recall the two speeches the Quaid gave in August 1947 that outlined his vision for the new nation of Pakistan. I refer to these two seminal speeches as the Quaid’s “Gettysburg Address.” The first was on 11 August at his election as GG by the Constituent Assembly, and the second was on 14 August, at the creation of Pakistan itself.
In the Quaid’s 11 August speech, he said: “Now, if we want to make this great State of Pakistan happy and prosperous we should wholly and solely concentrate on the well-being of the people, and especially of the masses and the poor. If you will work in co-operation, forgetting the past, burying the hatchets, you are bound to succeed. If you change your past and work together in a spirit that every one of you, no matter to what community he or she belongs, no matter what relations he or she had with you in the past, no matter what is his or her colour, caste or creed, is first, second and last a citizen of this State with equal rights, privileges and obligations, there will be no end to the progress you will make. I cannot emphasise it too much. We should begin to work in that spirit and in course of time all these angularities of the majority and minority communities, the Hindu community and the Muslim community – because even as regards Muslims you have Pathans, Punjabis, Shias, Sunnis and so on and among Hindus you have Brahmins, Vashnavas, Khatris, also Bengalis, Madrasees and so on – will vanish. Indeed if you ask me this has been the biggest hindrance in the way of India to attain the freedom and independence but for this we would have been free peoples long long ago.”
The Quaid continued with a strong message of religious inclusion: “You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your 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 in the days when there is no discrimination, no distinction between one community and another, no discrimination between one caste or creed and another. We are starting with this fundamental principle that we are all citizens and equal citizens of one State.” If the citizens of the new nation could follow these ideals, the Quaid saw a bright future. He pledged: “My guiding principle will be justice and complete impartiality, and I am sure that with your support and co-operation, I can look forward to Pakistan becoming one of the greatest nations of the world.” The second speech, was given on 14 August to the Constituent Assembly, when the Quaid spoke alongside Lord Mountbatten, the Viceroy of India. In his speech, Lord Mountbatten sighted the example of Akbar the Great, the Mughal Emperor, famed for his interfaith tolerance, as a model of wise Muslim leadership.
The Quaid said:”The tolerance and goodwill that great Emperor Akbar showed to all the non-Muslims is not of recent origin. It dates back thirteen centuries ago when our Prophet (PBUH) not only by words but by deeds treated the Jews and Christians, after he had conquered them, with the utmost tolerance and regard and respect for their faith and belief.
The whole history of Muslims, wherever they ruled, is replete with those humane and great principles which should be followed and practiced.” The Quaid was well aware of democracy drawbacks, and believed it was the best system available. He unequivocally did not envision a Pakistan run by the clergy. In a February 1948 Radio broadcast, he stated: “In any case, Pakistan is not going to be a theocratic State to be ruled by priests with a divine mission.
Much of the Quaid’s thinking about Pakistan was influenced by Allama Iqbal, who the Quaid would cite as his mentor. Iqbal’s notions of a Muslim homeland in South Asia, the development of an Islamic destiny, the discovery of an Islamic identity and a pride in Muslim culture and tradition were all taken up by the Quaid. As the Quaid wrote in his foreword to the published correspondence between himself and Iqbal, “His views were substantially in consonance with my own and had finally led me to the same conclusion as a result of careful examination and study of the constitutional problems facing India.” At the end of his life, between 1936 and 1937 Iqbal wrote eight letters to the Quaid. In one famous letter from 1937 Iqbal identifies the Quaid as the leader of the Muslims: “You are the only Muslim in India today to whom the community has a right to look up for safe guidance through the storm which is coming to North-West India, and perhaps to the whole of India.
—The writer is editor, book ambassador, political analyst and author of several books based in Islamabad.
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