The Birth of Pakistan[August 14, 1947]
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The birth of Pakistan, 1947 |
Indian
Independence Act
British parliament on July 18, 1947 passed
the Indian Independence Act. The Act created two dominions: Indian
Union and Pakistan. It also provided for the complete end of British
control over Indian affairs from August 15, 1947.
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Quaid-i-Azam looks on while Nawabzada Laiquat Ali Khan signs the register as the first Prime Minister of Pakistan |
Indian Independence
Act
The Muslims of the sub-continent finally achieved an
independent state for themselves, but only after a long and
relentless struggle under the single-minded guidance of the Quaid.
The Muslims faced a gamut of problems immediately after
independence, however, keeping true to their traditions, they
overcame them after a while.
Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah was appointed the first Governor General of Pakistan and Liaquat Ali Khan became it’s first Prime Minister. Pakistan became a Dominion within the British Commonwealth of nations.
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Woman Freedom fighter Begum Hidayat Ullah |
Ideology of
Pakistan
The boundaries of Pakistan emerged out of the
sub-continent on the map of the world in 1947. This was accomplished
on the basis of Two Nation Theory, which held that there were two
nations - Hindus and Muslims - living in the territory of the
sub-continent.
Sir Syed Ahmad Khan was the first exponent of the Two-Nation theory. He believed that India was a continent and not a country, and that among the vast population of different races and different creeds, Hindus and Muslims were the two major nations on the basis of nationality, religion, ways of living, customs, mores, culture and historical condition.
Woman Freedom
fighter Begum Abdullah Haroon The
politicization of the Muslim community came about as a consequence
of three developments: a) Various efforts at Islamic reform and revival during the late
19th and early 20th centuries,
b) the impact of Hindu-based nationalism and,
c) the democratization of the government of British India.
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Woman Freedom fighter Begum Liaquat Ali |
Ideology of
Pakistan
While the antecedents of the Muslim nationalism in
India go back to the early Islamic conquers of the sub-continent,
organizationally it stems from the demands presented by the Simla
Deputation to Lord Minto, the Governor General of India, in October
1906, proposing separate electorates for the Indian Muslims. The
principal reason behind this demand was the maintenance of separate
identity of the Muslim nationhood.
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Woman Freedom fighter Begum Shahnawaz |
In the same year, the founding of the All-India Muslim League - a separate political organization for Muslims explained that the Muslims of India had lost trust in the Hindu-dominated Indian National Congress. Besides being a Hindu-dominated body, the Congress leaders, in order to win grass-roots support for their political movements used Hindu religious symbols and slogans thereby arousing Muslim suspicions regarding the secular character of the Indian National Congress.
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Meeting of the Muslim League Working committee, 1937 |
Ideology of
Pakistan
Events like Urdu-Hindi controversy (1867), partition
of Bengal (1905) and Hindu revivalism set the two nations - the
Hindus and the Muslim - further apart. Re-annulment of the partition
of Bengal in 1911 by the British government brought the Congress and
the Muslim League on one platform. Starting with the constitutional
cooperation in the Lucknow Pact (1916), they launched the
Non-cooperation Khilafat Movement to press upon the British
government to demand for constitutional reforms in India in the
post-World War I era.
Jinnah's idea
of a separate nation for the Muslims faced
opposition But after the collapse of
the Khilafat Movement, the Hindu-Muslim antagonism was in the air.
The proposals forwarded by the Nehru Report were rejected by the
Muslim League and they chose a separate path for themselves. The
idea for a separate homeland for the Muslims of Northern India as
proposed by Allama Iqbal in his famous Allahabad Address showed that
the creation of two separate states for the Muslims and Hindus was
the only solution. The idea was reiterated during the Sind
provincial meeting of the League and finally adopted as the official
League position in Lahore Declaration of March 23, 1940. Thus, these historical, cultural, religious and social
differences between the two nations accelerated the pace of
political developments, finally leading to the division of British
India into two states - India and Pakistan - on August 14, 1947, on
the basis of the Two-Nation Theory.
