Muhammad Ali Jinnah's 11 August Speech is a speech made by Muhammad Ali Jinnah, founding father of Pakistan and known as Quaid-e-Azam (Great Leader) to the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan. While Pakistan was created as a result of what could be described as Indian Muslim nationalism, [1] Jinnah was once an ambassador of Hindu-Muslim unity. [2] [3] [4] When the Partition of India finally occurred, Jinnah, soon-to-be Governor-General of the Dominion of Pakistan, outlined his vision of Pakistan in an address to the Constituent Assembly, delivered on 11 August 1947. He spoke of an inclusive and impartial government, religious freedom, rule of law ,and equality for all. [5] [6]
He opened by saying the Assembly had two tasks: Writing a provisional constitution and governing the country meantime. He continued with a list of urgent problems:
Next, he discussed at length the partition, saying many were dissatisfied with the details but a united India would never have worked. He urged forgiveness of bygone quarrels among Pakistanis, so all can be "[...] first, second and last a citizen of this State with equal rights [...]". Pointing out that England in past centuries had settled its fierce sectarian persecutions, he proposed that "in course of time Hindus would cease to be Hindus and Muslims would cease to be Muslims, not in the religious sense, because that is the personal faith of each individual, but in the political sense as citizens of the State."
He concluded by quoting a friendly, official message from the United States.
Quaid’s 11 August speech was not an ideological fence-jump but a tactical, one-off reconciliatory statement amid the bloodshed and massacre of migrating populations by Hindus and Muslims alike. Dilip Hiro says that "extracts of this speech were widely disseminated" in order to abort the communal violence in Punjab and the NWFP, where Muslims and Sikh-Hindus were butchering each other, which disturbed Jinnah on a personal level, but "the tactic had little, if any, impact on the horrendous barbarity that was being perpetrated on the plains of Punjab." [7]
Pakistan is an ideological state and the only country to have been created in the name of Islam. [8] [9] Indian scholar, Venkat Dhulipala, in his book Creating a New Medina, unequivocally attests that Pakistan was meant to be a new Medina, an Islamic state, and not merely a state for Muslims. It was meant to be ideological from the beginning, with no space for composite nationalism. In an interview, he also says that the speech "was made primarily keeping in mind the tremendous violence that was going on" and that it was "directed at protecting Muslims from even greater violence in areas where they were vulnerable," which was pure "pragmatism." Subsequently, a few months later, when asked about the prospect of opening the "Muslim League to all Pakistanis, irrespective of their religion or creed," the same Jinnah simply refused, saying, "Pakistan was not ready for it." [10]
In a reply to an American journalist, Margaret White, who was the first foreign correspondent to interview Quaid after independence, he boasted, "It’s not just the largest Islamic nation. Pakistan is the fifth-largest nation in the world!" He used the word "Islamic," not "Muslim." This interview was conducted just one month after the creation of Pakistan. [11]
Many of Quaid's post-partition speeches present irrefutable evidence about the Islamic posture of the future constitution. Addressing the Karachi Bar Association on 25 January 1948, he said, "I could not understand a section of people who deliberately wanted to create mischief and made propaganda that the constitution of Pakistan would not be made on the basis of Sharia." He continued, "Islamic principles have no parallels. Today, these principles are as applicable to life as they were 1,300 years ago." [12] [13]
Just a few weeks later, on 14 February 1948, at the Sibi Durbar, he reiterated his ideology of Pakistan, saying, "It is my belief that our salvation lies in following the golden rules of conduct set for us by our great lawgiver, the Prophet (PBUH) of Islam. Let us lay the foundation of our democracy on the basis of truly Islamic ideals and principles." [14]
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Governor-General of Pakistan
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2007 is the 60th anniversary of Jinnah's speech prompted the Pakistani religious minorities, including Christians, Hindus ,and Sikhs to hold a large rally to celebrate Jinnah's legacy at the Minar-e-Pakistan calling for the implementation of Jinnah's vision in letter and spirit. [15]
L K Advani, an Indian politician, visited Pakistan in June 2005. He created a scandal in India, by referring to Jinnah as a great leader and described his speech to the Constituent Assembly as a truly secular charter, worthy of emulation. In Jinnah's Mausoleum, he wrote:
There are many people who leave an irreversible stamp on history. But there are few who actually create history. Qaed-e-Azam Mohammed Ali Jinnah was one such rare individual. In his early years, leading luminary of freedom struggle Sarojini Naidu described Jinnah as an ambassador of Hindu-Muslim unity. His address to the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan on 11 August 1947 is really a classic and a forceful espousal of a secular state in which every citizen would be free to follow his own religion. The State shall make no distinction between the citizens on the grounds of faith. My respectful homage to this great man. [16]
Advani came under intense criticism from his party, the Hindu Nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, which has long blamed Jinnah for being solely responsible for India's partition along communal lines. Ultimately, Advani was forced to quit as party chief, despite vindication from the media.[ citation needed ]
Liaquat Ali Khan was a Pakistani lawyer, politician and statesman who served as the first prime minister of Pakistan from 1947 until his assassination in 1951. He was one of the leading figures of the Pakistan Movement and is revered as Quaid-e-Millat.
The Pakistan Movement was a nationalist and political movement in the first half of the 20th century that aimed for the creation of Pakistan from the Muslim-majority areas of British India. It was connected to the perceived need for self-determination for Muslims under British rule at the time. Muhammad Ali Jinnah, a barrister and politician led this movement after the Lahore Resolution was passed by All-India Muslim League on the 23 March 1940 and Ashraf Ali Thanwi as a religious scholar supported it.
Dina Wadia was the daughter of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founding father of Pakistan, and Rattanbai Petit. She belonged to the prominent Jinnah family through her father, the Petit family through her mother, and to the Wadia family through her marriage to Neville Wadia.
The Lahore Resolution, also called Pakistan Resolution, was written and prepared by Muhammad Zafarullah Khan and was presented by A. K. Fazlul Huq, the Prime Minister of Bengal, was a formal political statement adopted by the All-India Muslim League on the occasion of its three-day general session in Lahore on 22–24 March 1940. The resolution called for independent states as seen by the statement:
That geographically contiguous units are demarcated regions which should be constituted, with such territorial readjustments as may be necessary that the areas in which the Muslims are numerically in a majority as in the North Western and Eastern Zones of (British) India should be grouped to constitute ‘independent states’ in which the constituent units should be autonomous and sovereign.
The two-nation theory was an ideology of religious nationalism that advocated Muslim Indian nationhood, with separate homelands for Indian Muslims and Indian Hindus within a decolonised British India, which ultimately led to the Partition of India in 1947. Its various descriptions of religious differences were the main factor in Muslim separatist thought in the Indian subcontinent, asserting that Indian Muslims and Indian Hindus are two separate nations, each with their own customs, traditions, art, architecture, literature, interests, and ways of life.
The Dominion of Pakistan, officially Pakistan, was an independent federal dominion in the British Commonwealth of Nations, existing between 14 August 1947 and 23 March 1956, created by the passing of the Indian Independence Act 1947 by the British parliament, which also created an independent Dominion of India.
Events from the year 1947 in Pakistan.
Naseer Ahmad Malhi was a Pakistani politician, known for playing a pivotal role in the formation of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Malhi is recognised as one of the nation's activists of the Pakistan Movement.
Jinnah: India-Partition-Independence is a book written by Jaswant Singh, a former Finance Minister of India and an External Affairs Minister, on Pakistan's founder Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and the politics associated with the Partition of India. It is currently the latest book written by an Indian politician on the life of Jinnah. The book was released on 17 August 2009 and soon became the subject of controversy, subsequently leading to Singh's expulsion from the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP). It contains controversial opinions of Singh, claiming that Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru's centralised policy was responsible for partition, and that Jinnah was portrayed as a demon by India for the partition. The book launch ceremony was held at Teen Murti Bhavan in the presence of only a couple of BJP members.
The Constitution of 1956 was the fundamental law of Pakistan from March 1956 until the 1958 Pakistani coup d'état. It was the first constitution adopted by independent Pakistan. There were 234 articles 13 parts and 6 schedules.
Hussain Imam was a prominent politician of Bihar. He was a member of the Constituent Assembly of India in 1946. One of the key members of the Pakistan Muslim league, Hussain played a key role in the Pakistan movement towards the country’s foundation, and remained one of Jinnah's closest friends.
The concept of the Two-Nation Theory on which Pakistan was founded, was largely based on Muslim nationalism. Secularism in Pakistan went from being a matter of practice in law by the Government of Pakistan to a political movement opposing the Islamization policies of the military dictator General Zia-ul-Haq in the 1980s. The supporters of Islamisation on the other hand assert that Pakistan was founded as a Muslim state and that in its status as an Islamic republic, it must thereby implement Islamic laws, known as Shariat. And that the context of Jinnah's speech was true implementation of Islam in which all religions would have equal rights and live as free citizens as supported by the Islamic jurisprudence itself as distinguished from a religious oligarchy.
The Jinnah family was a political family of Pakistan. It has played an important role in the Pakistan Movement for creation of Pakistan, a separate country for Muslims of India. The family held the leadership of All-India Muslim League, and its successor, Muslim League, until it was dissolved in 1958 by martial law.
Pakistan Zindabad is a patriotic slogan used by Pakistanis in displays of Pakistani nationalism. The phrase became popular among the Muslims of British India after the 1933 publication of the "Pakistan Declaration" by Choudhry Rahmat Ali, who argued that the Muslim minority in British India—particularly in the Muslim-majority regions of Punjab, Afghania, Kashmir, Sindh, and Baluchistan—constituted a nation of an irrevocably distinct nature from the rest of India on "religious, social, and historical grounds" owing primarily to the issue of Hindu–Muslim unity. Ali's ideology was adopted by the All-India Muslim League as the "two-nation theory" and ultimately spurred the Pakistan Movement that led to the partition of British India. During this time, "Pakistan Zindabad" became a widely used slogan and greeting within the Muslim League, and following the creation of Pakistan, it was also used as a rallying cry by Muslims who were migrating to the newly independent state from India as well as by those who were already within Pakistan's borders. The slogan is commonly invoked by Pakistani citizens and Pakistani state institutions on national holidays, during times of armed conflict, and on other major occasions.
Muhammad Ali Jinnah was a barrister, politician and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the inception of Pakistan on 14 August 1947, and then as the Dominion of Pakistan's first Governor-General until his death.
Mohammad Amir Ahmed Khanراجا صاحب محمود آباد, titled as the Raja of Mahmudabad was a prominent politician and leader of the All India Muslim League, during the Pakistan Movement.
Nawab Sir Shahnawaz Khan Mamdot was a Punjabi landowner and politician of British India. He was a key supporter of the Pakistan movement and for some time, the largest landowner in undivided Punjab.
Opposition to the Partition of India was widespread in British India in the 20th century and it continues to remain a talking point in South Asian politics. Those who opposed it often adhered to the doctrine of composite nationalism in the Indian subcontinent. The Hindu, Christian, Anglo-Indian, Parsi and Sikh communities were largely opposed to the Partition of India, as were many Muslims.
Sharif al Mujahid was a Pakistani journalist, historian, author, and professor.
Jinnah's Birthday, officially Quaid-e-Azam Day and sometimes known as Quaid Day, is a public holiday in Pakistan observed annually on 25 December to celebrate the birthday of the founder of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, known as Quaid-i-Azam. A major holiday, commemorations for Jinnah began during his lifetime in 1942, and have continued ever since. The event is primarily observed by the government and the citizens of the country where the national flag is hoisted at major architectural structures such as private and public buildings, particularly at the top of Quaid-e-Azam House in Karachi.
Pakistan is unique among Muslim countries in its relationship with Islam: it is the only country to have been established in the name of Islam.
As British rule there drew to an end, many Muslims demanded, in the name of Islam, the creation of a separate Pakistan state.
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