From
March 22 to March 24, 1940, the All India Muslim League
held its annual session at Minto Park, Lahore. This
session proved to be historical.
On
the first day of the session, Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad
Ali Jinnah narrated the events of the last few months.
In an extempore speech he presented his own solution
of the Muslim problem. He said that the problem of
India was not of an inter-communal nature, but manifestly
an international one and must be treated as such.
To him the differences between Hindus and the Muslims
were so great and so sharp that their union under
one central government was full of serious risks.
They belonged to two separate and distinct nations
and therefore the only chance open was to allow them
to have separate states.
In
the words of Quaid-i-Azam: "Hindus and the Muslims
belong to two different religions, philosophies, social
customs and literature. They neither inter-marry nor
inter-dine and, indeed, they belong to two different
civilizations that are based mainly on conflicting
ideas and conceptions. Their concepts on life and
of life are different. It is quite clear that Hindus
and Muslims derive their inspiration from different
sources of history. They have different epics, different
heroes and different episodes. Very often the hero
of one is a foe of the other, and likewise, their
victories and defeats overlap. To yoke together two
such nations under a single state, one as a numerical
minority and the other as a majority, must lead to
growing discontent and final destruction of any fabric
that may be so built up for the government of such
a state".
He
further said, "Mussalmans are a nation according
to any definition of nation. We wish our people to
develop to the fullest spiritual, cultural, economic,
social and political life in a way that we think best
and in consonance with our own ideals and according
to the genius of our people".
On
the basis of the above mentioned ideas of the Quaid,
A. K. Fazl-ul-Haq, the then Chief Minister of Bengal,
moved the historical resolution which has since come
to be known as Lahore Resolution or Pakistan Resolution.
The Resolution declared: "No constitutional plan
would be workable or acceptable to the Muslims unless
geographical contiguous units are demarcated into
regions which should be so constituted with such territorial
readjustments as may be necessary. That the areas
in which the Muslims are numerically in majority as
in the North-Western and Eastern zones of India should
be grouped to constitute independent states in which
the constituent units shall be autonomous and sovereign".
It
further reads, "That adequate, effective and
mandatory safeguards shall be specifically provided
in the constitution for minorities in the units and
in the regions for the protection of their religious,
cultural, economic, political, administrative and
other rights of the minorities, with their consultation.
Arrangements thus should be made for the security
of Muslims where they were in a minority".
Concept
of United India and recommended the creation of an
independent Muslim state consisting of Punjab, N.
W. F. P., Sindh and Baluchistan in the northwest,
and Bengal and Assam in the northeast. The Resolution
was seconded by Maulana Zafar Ali Khan from Punjab,
Sardar Aurangzeb from the N. W. F. P., Sir Abdullah
Haroon from Sindh, and Qazi Esa from Baluchistan,
along with many others.
The
Resolution was passed on March 24. It laid down only
the principles, with the details left to be worked
out at a future date. It was made a part of the All
India Muslim League's constitution in 1941. It was
on the basis of this resolution that in 1946 the Muslim
League decided to go for one state for the Muslims,
instead of two.
Having passed the Pakistan Resolution, the Muslims
of India changed their ultimate goal. Instead of seeking
alliance with the Hindu community, they set out on
a path whose destination was a separate homeland for
the Muslims of India. |