Daily Times

Minar-i-Pakistan is standing aloft in the Iqbal Parks across the road from the historic and majestic Badshahi Masjid and the Fort in the city of Lahore symbolizing the spirit and struggle launched by the Muslims under the inspiring and principled leadership of Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah for the creation of a separate homeland.

The concept of a separate homeland for the Muslims, presented by the great thinker and poet Allama Mohammad Iqbal in the late 1930s’, was reduced in black and white at the historical session of the All India Muslim League presided over by the Quaid-i-Azam at the then Minto Park from March 22 to 24, 1940 and the dream so visualized was translated into reality within a short span of just seven years. Minar-i-Pakistan has been constructed to commemorate as well as pay tributes to the Muslim men, women and children who struggled and sacrificed their lives for its creation at the same place where the Resolution was presented and adopted on March 23 way back in 1940. To mark the great historical event and subsequently its implementation in the form of an independent and free Pakistan, March 23 has since been declared Pakistan Day and is celebrated by the people every year quite befittingly and enthusiastically through meetings, seminars and rallies topped by a quite impressive and important parade at Islamabad wherein all three armed forces of Pakistan Army, Air Force and Navy demonstrate their strength and determination to safeguard and secure nations’ freedom, security and solidarity at all costs.

A visit to the Minar-i-Pakistan any time and day throughout the year particularly in March quite obviously rekindles the spirit of sacrifice, struggle and revives the determination for continuing working hard and still harder for realizing the cherished objectives for which the Resolution was adopted and a free, sovereign and independent state of Pakistan was carved out on the world map out of nowhere for existence for centuries together with continued blessings of Almighty Allah.

The Minar-i-Pakistan can easily be called a living symbol of national integration and solidarity

Only a visit to the Minar-i-Pakistan clears certain things and ambiguities. Generally, the Resolution adopted on March 23, 1940, is taken into consideration in the context of Pakistan Day celebrations every year on this historically important date. The clarifications made in the original Resolution for removing certain misgivings and misconceptions through the Delhi Resolution some six years later are somehow little known and hardly read with the March 23, 1940, original resolution.

To duly appreciate and understand the true spirit and objective of the March 23 original resolution and April 9, 1946, Delhi Resolution clarifications should be read together. Both the texts of the March 23 Resolution and the operative part of the April 9 Resolution are inscribed on the Minar-i-Pakistan quite prominently which no visitor can ever miss to notice, read and understand and also to make some pledges under the tall Minar-i-Pakistan as well as a determined and committed Pakistani.

The Pakistan Resolution, also known as the Lahore Resolution, and the operative part containing some clarifications of the Delhi Resolution must be reproduced here for the benefit and information of everyone and in particular for the younger generations who mostly need to know the background of the creation of Pakistan before being swayed away by some otherworldly attractions and interests.

Indeed March 23 has assumed a unique significance and importance in the annals of history as a red-letter day, it was on this day way back in 1940 that the Muslims of the sub-continent had formally resolved to struggle and achieve a separate homeland of their own Pakistan where they could live freely and independently, perform their religious duties and obligations and also be economically their own master. The Lahore Resolution, as it is known, was surely a semblance of the aspirations of the Muslims of the sub-continent.

Resolved at the Lahore session of All India Muslim League held on22nd-24th March 1940

While approving and endorsing the action taken by the Working Committee of the All India Muslim League as indicated in their resolutions dated the 27th of August, 17th and 18th of September and 22nd of October 1939 and 3rd February 1940 on the constitutional issue, this session of the All India Muslim League emphatically resolves that the scheme of federation embodies in the Government of India Act 1935 is unsuited to, and unworkable in the peculiar conditions of this country and is altogether unacceptable to the Muslims India.

“Resolved that it is the considered view of this session of the All India Muslim League that no constitutional plan would be workable in this country or acceptable to Muslims unless it is designed on the following basic principle, namely that geographically 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 a majority as in the North-Western and Eastern Zones of India, should be grouped to constitute “The Independent States” in which the constituent units shall be autonomous and sovereign.

“That adequate, effective and mandatory safeguards should be specifically provided in the Constitution for minorities in these units and in these regions for the protection of their religious, cultural, economic, political, administrative and other rights and interests in consultation with them; and in other parts of India where the Muslims are in a minority, adequate, effective and mandatory safeguards shall be specifically provided in the Constitution for them and other minorities for the protection of their religious, cultural, economic, political, administrative and other rights and interests in consultation with them.

This session further authorizes the Working Committees to frame a scheme of the constitution in accordance with these basic principles, providing for the assumption finally by the respective regions of all powers such as defence, external affairs, communications, customs and such other matters as may be necessary”.

As stated above already, the Pakistan Resolution of March 23, 1940, was further clarified by a resolution unanimously passed by the Muslim League Convention held under the presidentship of the Quaid-i-Azam at Delhi on April 9, 1946.

Among other things, the said Resolution also specified that :

“The zones comprising Bengal and Assam in the North-East and Punjab, North-West province, Sind and Balochistan in the North-West of India, namely Pakistan Zones, where the Muslims are in a dominant majority, be constituted into a sovereign independent State and…

The writer is Lahore-based Freelance Journalist, Columnist and retired Deputy Controller (News) Radio Pakistan Islamabad and can be reached at zahidriffat@gmail.com