| 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.
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