The acquisition of freedom has always been the keen desire of human-beings in every age to live in prestige and honour on the surface of earth. This concept arose in the minds of the South Asian Muslims after the initiation of British rule in India, which brought a sense of deprivation every field of life.
The Hindu majority appeared as a rival to the Muslims at that time. The Hindus acquired a good name in the books of the British rulers with their flexible attitude and anti-Muslim policy, due to which the British provided them full opportunity to control all sectors of human development. This worsened situation left the Muslims of India at the mercy of circumstances.
This backwardness of the Muslims of India caught the attention of their active leaders of the day who started thinking that the freedom was the only solution to their survival. The former Foreign Minister of India, Jaswant Singh also disclosed this historical reality in his book "Jinnah: India - Partition Independence", the news of which was appeared in Daily Dawn on 17-08-2009. His relevant quotations have been referred to at appropriate places in this article. Singh said, "Muslims saw at that time that unless they had a voice their own economic, political and social destiny, they would be obliterated".
There is no doubt that since the beginning of the war of independence, the Muslims of India have left no stone unturned to achieve the cherished goal of freedom but could not achieve success in this objective for lack of proper leadership. This single honour went to the Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah who made the establishment of Pakistan a true story, where every person is now free to lead his life without any fear. This is the historical achievement of the Quaid, which made him the successful the Father of the Pakistani Nation.
December 25 is a very popular day in the history of Pakistan, being the birthday of the Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, which is celebrated every year by the nation with great zeal and fervor to pay him glowing tributes on the acquisition of a separate Muslim State within India against the heavy odds of the British, Hindu, Sikh and obscurantist Islamic political parties.
The nation is celebrating the 134th birth anniversary of its great leader with a similar spirit and firm commitment to make Pakistan a prosperous, progressive and stable state.
Jinnah was the backbone of the Pakistan Movement, who opened his eyes with a natural capability of leadership in a mercantile family of Karachi on December 25, 1876. It was due to this reason that he did not agree with his father, Jinnah Poonja, to adopt the profession of his family business. He had different qualities from other children of his school in term of good habits, discipline and proper cleanliness. These outstanding qualities of his childhood made him a great man in the history of the world. Singh also highlighted similar type qualities of the Quaid in his famous book as:
1) Nehru and others - were born to wealth and position.
Jinnah created for himself a position.
2) Jinnah was so poor that he had to walk to work. He told one of his biographers that there was always room at the top but there is no lift And he never sought a lift.
3) Jinnah was a great man because he created something out of nothing.
After completion of his early education at home, he was sent England to by his parents for higher study at Law. During student days he kept himself abreast of the political atmosphere of India, where the Muslims were made the target of cruelty and injustice by the Hindu majority and alien rulers. Jinnah returned home in 1896 as a Barrister-at-Law, with a ray of hope for South Asian Muslims to remove their sense of deprivation. He married a non-Muslim girl, Ratan Bai on April 19, 1918 after her proper entrance into the religion of Islam. His bride was the daughter of Sir Dinshaw Petit who was a famous person age of the Parsi community. Jinnah soon became the father of a daughter namely Dina.
Young Jinnah joined the India National Congress in 1906, which was the beginning of his political career as a national leader of India. So, he worked hard at the last stage of his end for Hindu-Muslim unity to create a peaceful atmosphere and mental harmony between them. He was given the title of the "Ambassador of the Peace and Unity" by his opponents on this glorious role. A similar view was also expressed by Singh as: "Jinnah fought the British for an independent India, but also fought resolutely and relentlessly for the interests of the Muslims of India ... the acme of his nationalistic achievement was the 1916 Lucknow Pact of Hindu-Muslim unity".
It is a matter of great misfortunate that the continued malicious policies of the Hindus destroyed the noble wishes of the Quaid due to which he left the Congress and joined the All India Muslim League in October 1913 to lead the Muslims in the right direction.
Being a man of principle, Jinnah did not believe in any kind of violence in politics. It was due to this reason, his conflict arose with the main leader of the Congress, Mohandas Karamchand Ghandi in 1918 to acquire self-rule or independence for all South Asians through non-violent civil disobedience and Hindus values. It was the view of Jinnah that only a constitutional struggle could lead to independence. The voice of Singh presents a reflection of this: "Jinnah never hated or disliked Hindus. His principle disagreement was with the Congress Party".
The pillar of Hindu-Muslim unity fell after publication of the Nehru Report in 1928, which showed the animosity of the Congress towards Muslims and the Lucknow Pact of 1916 was torn into pieces.
During the entire period of British rule, Muslims witnessed an uncompromising attitude of Hindus on several occasions particularly through the Wardha Scheme, the Shuddi Movement, the rule of Congress in seven provinces of India between 1937 to 1939 and the claim of the Congress party to be the sole representative of the Hindus and Muslims, both in the presence of the British rulers and after their departure from India. This disappointing situation gave solid belief to the Indian Muslims that they could not live as a prestigious nation in a united India.
Thus, the theory of Two Nations, propounded by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, became the unanimous stand of the Muslims to get rid of British imperialism and Hindu dominance. This theory was later promoted by Allama Iqbal, Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan, Chaudhry Khaliquz Zaman, Bahadur Yar Jung, Sardar Abdul Rab Nashter and other Muslims luminaries with the passage of time to reach the destination of freedom.
At last, the Lahore Resolution of 23rd March, 1940 emerged as a final declaration of the all India Muslim League to form a separate Muslim State through the division of India. This demand was received with a big hue and cry by the opponents of the freedom movement but they gave in before the unique unity of the Muslims, who were gathered together under the banner of the All India Muslim League and acquired a new homeland in the name of Pakistan on 14th August, 1947, under the able and dynamic leadership of Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah.
The Quaid left this mortal world on September 11, 1948 after leaving behind him his unfinished mission to make our beloved homeland a model of a democratic state in the comity of nations preferably in accordance with the religion of Islam, which was main concept of the creation of Pakistan. Which would sole guarantee protection of life and property of the minorities, as well as human welfare and development, global love and peace, equality and justice, tolerance and fraternity, along with a path to success, not only in this mortal world but also in hereafter. The Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah once said in this regard.
"Pakistan means not only freedom from British and Hindus tutelage; it also means Muslim ideology".
On the auspicious occasion of the birthday of the Quaid, every citizen wonders that Pakistan has not yet witnessed a similar experience in its governance, since its inception to change the destiny of the nation.
There was also took place much military forays, disturbances, strikes, protests, religious intolerance and conflicts in politics, which did not allow an atmosphere of democracy to flourish in the country.
Reports of corruption are gaining popularity these days in the media, which shows the mismanagement and negligence of national interests. This irregularity has created a big hurdle in the way of mitigating the miseries of the people. Pakistan is denying the report of Transparency International, according to which it has reached the position of the 34th most corrupt country from 42nd.
There is no doubt that the democracy has returned to country after many years, but it has not yet brought about the desired change in the system to improve the standard of living of the people. Consequently, the Government is still struggling for relief of the common trying people, to control the problems of corruption, price hike, unemployment, poverty and lawlessness.
The Government should, therefore, review its proposal of imposing the Reformed General Sales Tax (RGST) under these circumstances, as it would break the backbone of the common man, who is already passing tough times under the heavy burden of multiple problems. The leaders of the major political parties and representatives of trade and industry are opposing this scheme to stop the price hike.
Every Pakistani is now seeking ways and means to come out of the whirlpool of the present crisis to live in an atmosphere of ease. It is, therefore, imperative for all of us to show national unity, honesty, sincerity, loyalty and fraternity as our forefathers had shown during the Pakistan Movement. Let us come forward to make a pledge today to follow the principles of "Be Pakistani, Buy Pakistani and show Pakistani" at every front, to prove before the international community that Pakistan is a peace-loving nation.