Much has been written on the subject in the Pakistani press, but the debate remains inconclusive. Two main groups are taking part in the debate; one states that Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah wanted Pakistan to be a secular state, and the other argues that he wanted it to be Islamic. Let us be honest and deal with the subject fairly. Following are three quotes from the speeches of Mohammad Ali Jinnah, which he delivered on different occasions:
In his Eid message in September 1945, he stated: “Everyone, except those who are ignorant, knows that the Quran is the general code of Muslims. A religious, social, commercial, military, judicial, criminal, penal code; it regulates everything from the ceremonies of religion to those of daily life; from the salvation of the soul to the health of the body; from the rights of all to those of each individual; from morality to crime, from punishment here to that in the life to come, and our Prophet (PBUH) has enjoined on us that every Musalman should possess a copy of the Quran and be his own priest. Therefore, Islam is not merely confined to the spiritual tenets and doctrines or rituals and ceremonies. It is a complete code regulating the whole Muslim society, every department of life, collectively and individually” (Message on Eid September 1945, page 175, Speeches and Writings of Mr Jinnah by Jamiluddin Ahmad).
In his address to the constituent assembly of Pakistan on August 11, 1947, Jinnah stated:
“I cannot emphasise it too much. We should begin to work in that spirit and in course of time all these angularities of the majority and minority communities, the Hindu community and the Muslim community, because even as regards Muslims you have Pathans, Punjabis, Shias, Sunnis and so on, and among the Hindus you have Brahmins, Vashnavas, Khatris, also Bengalis, Madrasis and so on, will vanish. Indeed if you ask me, this has been the biggest hindrance in the way of India to attain the freedom and independence and but for this we would have been free people long long ago. No power can hold another nation, and specially a nation of 400 million souls in subjection; nobody could have conquered you, and even if it had happened, nobody could have continued its hold on you for any length of time, but for this. Therefore, we must learn a lesson from this. You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place or worship in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed that has nothing to do with the business of the State. As you know, history shows that in England, conditions, some time ago, were much worse than those prevailing in India today. The Roman Catholics and the Protestants persecuted each other. Even now, there are some States in existence where there are discriminations made and bars imposed against a particular class. Thank God, we are not starting in those days. We are starting in the days where there is no discrimination, no distinction between one community and another, no discrimination between one caste or creed and another. We are starting with this fundamental principle that we are all citizens and equal citizens of one State. The people of England in course of time had to face the realities of the situation and had to discharge the responsibilities and burdens placed upon them by the government of their country and they went through that fire step by step. Today, you might say with justice that Roman Catholics and Protestants do not exist; what exists now is that every man is a citizen, an equal citizen of Great Britain and they are all members of the Nation. Now I think we should keep that in front of us as our ideal and you will find that in the course of time Hindus would cease to be Hindus and Muslims would cease to be Muslims, not in the religious sense, because that is the personal faith of each individual, but in the political sense as citizens of the State.”
Addressing the Sindh Bar Association on January 25, 1948, Jinnah remarked thus: “No doubt, there are many people who do not quite appreciate when we talk of Islam. Some of our non-Muslim friends, who do not quite appreciate when we talk of Islam. Islam is not only a set of rituals, traditions, and spiritual doctrines. Islam is a code for every Muslim, which regulates his life and his conduct in all aspects, social, political, economic, etc. It is based on highest principles of honour, integrity, fairplay and justice for all.”
Now readers, honestly decide for yourself if Jinnah wanted a secular state or an Islamic one? From the above quotes from his speeches, we can conclude that he wanted both! He gave the Eid message in 1945 in which he promised an Islamic state to the Muslims of India. The other one in which he referred to religion as the personal affair of each individual, he delivered just days before Pakistan was to formally emerge as a state.
Referring to Jinnah’s contradictions on the subject, Stanley Wolpert writes in his book Jinnah of Pakistan: “What a remarkable reversal it was, as though he had been transformed overnight once again into the old ‘ambassador of Hindu-Muslim Unity’ that Sarogni Naidu loved.”
Some friends almost fanatically pursue the argument that Jinnah wanted Pakistan to be a secular state. One wishes Jinnah was as clear on the subject. Therefore, the idea of a secular Pakistan, though desirable, cannot be promoted on the basis of his speeches. Secularism can be justified on firmer grounds than the sayings of an individual.
PS: General Ziaul Haq was the worst dictator in the history of Pakistan, but to put all the blame on him for the theocratisation of Pakistan is not fair. Theocracy was part and parcel of the Pakistani discourse even before the country came into being.
The writer is from Waziristan and can be reached at [email protected]