The "Pakistan Declaration" (titled Now or Never; Are We to Live or Perish Forever?) was a pamphlet written and published by Choudhry Rahmat Ali, [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] on 28 January 1933, in which the word Pakstan (without the letter "i") was used for the first time and was circulated to the delegates of the Third Round Table Conference in 1933. [9]
The pamphlet was created for circulation to the British and Indian delegates to the Third Round Table Conference in London in 1933. [10]
It was addressed with a covering letter dated 28 January 1933 signed by Ali alone and addressed from 3 Humberstone Road. It states: [9]
I am enclosing herewith an appeal on behalf of the thirty million Muslims of PAKSTAN, who live in the five Northern Units of India—Punjab, North-West Frontier (Afghan) Province, Kashmir, Sind, and Baluchistan. It embodies their demand for the recognition of their national status, as distinct from the other inhabitants of India, by the grant to Pakistan of a separate Federal Constitution on religious, social and historical grounds.
The pamphlet started with this famous sentence: [11]
At this solemn hour in the history of India, when British and Indian statesmen are laying the foundations of a Federal Constitution for that land, we address this appeal to you, in the name of our common heritage, on behalf of our thirty million Muslim brethren who live in PAKSTAN—by which we mean the five Northern units of India, Viz: Punjab, North-West Frontier Province (Afghan Province), Kashmir, Sindh and Baluchistan.
The pamphlet asked that "the five Northern units of India"—Punjab, North-West Frontier Province (Afghan Province), Kashmir, Sindh (then part of Bombay and Sind) and Baluchistan (or Pakstan) [12] become a state independent of the proposed Indian Federation.
Ali's pamphlet had a clear and succinct description of the Muslims of his proposed 'Pakstan' as a 'nation', which was derived from the two-nation theory of Muslim reformer Syed Ahmed Khan
Our religion and culture, our history and tradition, our social code and economic system, our laws of inheritance, succession and marriage are fundamentally different from those of most people's living in the rest of India. The ideals which move our people to make the highest sacrifices are essentially different from those which inspire the Hindus to do the same. These differences are not confined to broad, basic principles. Far from it. They extend to the minutest details of our lives. We do not inter-dine; we do not inter-marry. Our national customs and calendars, even our diet and dress are different.
— Choudhry Rahmat Ali in January 1933 [13]
Ali believed that the delegates of the first and second Round Table Conferences committed 'an inexcusable blunder and an incredible betrayal' by accepting the principle of an All-India Federation. He demanded that the national status of the 30 million Muslims of the northwestern units be recognized and a separate Federal Constitution be granted to them. [13]
Professor Khursheed Kamal Aziz (K. K. Aziz) writes [14] that "Rahmat Ali alone drafted this declaration." [15] The word Pakstan was used for the first time in this pamphlet. To make it "representative", he looked for people who would sign it along with him. This difficult search among the firm grip of 'Indianism' on the young intellectual at English universities took him more than a month to find three young men in London who offered to support and sign it. [16]
After the publication of the pamphlet, the Hindu press vehemently criticized it, and the word "Pakstan" used in it. [17] Thus, this word became a heated topic of debate. With the addition of an "i" to improve the pronunciation, the name of Pakistan grew in popularity and combined with the philosophy of Muhammad Iqbal, the two nation theory of Syed Ahmad Khan and views of Jinnah led to the commencement of the Pakistan Movement, and consequently the creation of Pakistan as an independent state in 1947. [18]
In later pamphlets, other than Pakistan, Ali also suggested the establishment of several other Muslim states within the subcontinent, such as Bangistan and Osmanistan. He suggested the former Muslim provinces of Eastern Bengal and Assam in East India become Bangistan, an independent Muslim state for Bengali, Assamese and Bihari speaking Muslims. He also suggested the princely state of Hyderabad become an Islamic monarchy called Osmanistan. [19] [20]
After the Muslim League's acceptance of the British partition plan on 3 June 1947, he issued a statement six days later called "The Great Betrayal" in asking for the rejection of the British plan and the acceptance of his Pakistan plan. He was unhappy over a smaller Pakistan than the one he had conceived in his 1933 pamphlet Now or Never. [21] He condemned Jinnah for accepting a smaller Pakistan, [21] and is said to have called him "Quisling-e-Azam". [22] [lower-alpha 1] In the end the British plan was accepted, and Ali's was rejected. [23] Ali voiced his dissatisfaction with the creation of Pakistan for the rest of his life. [21]
The author of this pamphlet was Choudhry Rahmat Ali (16 November 1897 – 3 February 1951), a Muslim nationalist from Punjab, who was one of the earliest proponents of the creation of the state of Pakistan. He is credited with creating the name "Pakistan" for a separate Muslim homeland from Presidencies and provinces of British India. He had propagated the Scheme of Pakistan with a missionary zeal since its inception in 1933. [18] He also later founded the Pakistan National Movement [24] to propagate his ideas. Being a political thinker and an idealist, he wanted more than to accept a smaller Pakistan in 1947. [25]
After the partition and creation of Pakistan in 1947, Ali returned to Lahore, planning to stay in the country, but he was expelled from Pakistan by the then Prime Minister Liaqat Ali Khan. His belongings were confiscated, and he left empty-handed for England in October 1948. [26]
Ali died on 3 February 1951 in Cambridge. According to Thelma Frost, he was "destitute, forlorn and lonely" at the time of his death. [27] Fearing (correctly) that he may have died insolvent, the Master of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, Edward Welbourne, instructed that the College would cover the funeral expenses. He was buried on 20 February at Cambridge City Cemetery in Cambridge, England. [28] The funeral expenses and other medical expenses were repaid by the High Commissioner for Pakistan in November 1953, after what was described as a "protracted correspondence" between the London office and the relevant authorities in Pakistan. [29]
The History of Pakistan precedes the country's independence in 1947. Although Pakistan was created in 1947 as an independent country by the British through the partition of British India, the history of Pakistan extends much further back and is intertwined with that of Afghanistan, India, and Iran. Spanning the northwestern expanse of the Indian subcontinent and the eastern borderlands of the Iranian plateau, the region of present-day Pakistan served both as the fertile ground of a major civilization and as the gateway of South Asia to Central Asia and the Near East.
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 as pivotal to the consolidation of Pakistan as the Quaid-i-Azam, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, was central to the creation of Pakistan. He was one of the leading figures of the Pakistan Movement and is revered as Quaid-e-Millat and later on as "Shaheed e Millat".
The All-India Muslim League (AIML), simply called the Muslim League, was a political party established in Dhaka in 1906 when some well-known Muslim politicians met the Viceroy of India, Lord Minto, with the goal of securing Muslim interests in British India.
Choudhry Rahmat Ali was a Pakistani nationalist who was one of the earliest proponents of the creation of the state of Pakistan. He is credited with creating the name "Pakistan" for a separate Muslim homeland in South Asia and is generally known as the originator of the Pakistan Movement.
The Pakistan Movement was a 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 23 March 1940.
Sir Malik Feroz Khan Noon, best known as Feroze Khan, was a Pakistani politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Pakistan from 16 December 1957, until being removed when the President Iskandar Ali Mirza imposed martial law, though he himself got ousted in the 1958 Pakistani military coup.
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.
Sir Malik Khizar Hayat TiwanaKCSI, OBE (Punjabi: ملک خضرحیات ٹوانہ;, was an Indian statesman, landowner, army officer, and politician belonging to the Punjab Unionist Party. He served as the prime minister of the Punjab Province of British India between 1942 and 1947. He opposed the Partition of India and the ideology of Muslim League. He was eventually ousted from office by the Muslim League through a civil disobedience campaign, plunging Punjab into communal violence that led to the partition of the province between India and Pakistan.
Mian Iftikharuddin was a Pakistani politician, activist of the Indian National Congress, who later joined the All-India Muslim League and worked for the cause of Pakistan under the leadership of Muhammad Ali Jinnah. He was known for his left-wing politics and briefly served as the Provincial Minister for Rehabiilitation of Refugees in Punjab.
A cabinet mission went to India on 24 March 1946 to discuss the transfer of power from the British government to the Indian political leadership with the aim of preserving India's unity and granting its independence. Formed at the initiative of British Prime Minister Clement Attlee, the mission contained as its members, Lord Pethick-Lawrence, Sir Stafford Cripps, and A. V. Alexander. The Viceroy of India Lord Wavell participated in some of the discussions.
Khan Abdul Qayyum Khan Kashmiri was a major figure in British Indian and later Pakistani politics, in particular in the North-West Frontier Province, where he served as the Chief Minister from 23 August 1947 to 23 April 1953. He also served as the Interior Minister of Pakistan from 1972 to 1977.
Major Mian Kifait Ali was a pioneer of the Pakistan movement, his masterpiece book "Confederacy of India" published in 1939, under the pen name "A Punjabi" was the first to deal with political, economic and administrative aspects of Pakistan.
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 to the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan. While Pakistan was created as a result of what could be described as Indian Muslim nationalism, Jinnah was once an ambassador of Hindu-Muslim unity. 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.
When the All-India Muslim League was founded at Dacca, on 30 December 1906 at the occasion of the annual All India Muhammadan Educational Conference, It was participated by the Muslim leaders from Punjab, i.e., Sir Mian Muhammad Shafi, Mian Fazl-i-Hussain, Abdul Aziz, Khawaja Yusuf Shah and Sh. Ghulam Sadiq. Earlier Mian Muhammad Shafi organised a Muslim Association in early 1906, but when the All-India Muslim League was formed, he established its powerful branch in the Punjab of which he became the general secretary. Shah Din was elected as its first president. This branch, organised in November 1907, was known as the Punjab Provincial Muslim League.
The Pakistan National Movement was founded in 1933 by Choudhry Rahmat Ali who is also credited with creating the name "Pakistan", for a separate Muslim homeland in South Asia. After publishing the declaration Now or Never, he felt the need of putting up a co-operative effort to publicize and promote his ideas. He started the movement by publishing an eight-page pamphlet.
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 Republic of Pakistan's first governor-general until his death.
Paki is a derogatory ethnic slur originating from the United Kingdom, directed towards people of Pakistani and by extension South Asian descent, as well as Muslims or perceived Muslims in general. The references to Paki have been increasingly replaced by the euphemism "the P-Word".
Nawab Iftikhar Hussain Khan of Mamdot was a Pakistani politician and an advocate of the Pakistan Movement in British India. After Pakistan's Independence, he served as the 1st Chief Minister of West Punjab and later as the Governor of Sindh.
osmanistan hyderabad.
I am enclosing herewith an appeal on behalf of the thirty million Muslims of PAKSTAN, who live in the five Northern Units of India – Punjab, North-West Frontier (Afghan) Province, Kashmir, Sind and Baluchistan.
Works related to Now or Never; Are We to Live or Perish Forever? at Wikisource
