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The Lahore Resolution (Qarardad-e-Lahore), commonly known as the Pakistan Resolution (Qarardad-e-Pakistan), was a formal political statement adopted by the All India Muslim League at the occasion of its three-day general session on 22-24 March 1940 that called for greater Muslim autonomy in British India. This has been largely interpreted as a demand for a separate Muslim state, Pakistan. The resolution was presented by A. K. Fazlul Huq.
Although the idea of founding the state was introduced by Allama Iqbal in 1930 and the name Pakistan had been proposed by Choudhary Rahmat Ali in his Pakistan Declaration in 1933, Muhammad Ali Jinnah and other leaders had kept firm belief in Hindu-Muslim unity. However, the volatile political climate and religious hostilities gave the idea stronger backing.
Background
In 1939, the Viceroy of India Lord Linlithgow declared India's entrance into World War II without consulting the provincial governments. In this situation, Jinnah called a general session of the All India Muslim League in Lahore to discuss the circumstances and also analyze the reasons for the defeat of Muslim League in the Indian general election of 1937 in the Muslim majority provinces.
Proceedings
The session was held between 22 March and 24 March, 1940, at Minto Park (now Iqbal Park), Lahore. The welcome address was made by Nawab Sir Shah Nawaz Mamdot. In his speech, Jinnah recounted the contemporary situation, stressing that the problem of India was no more of an inter-communal nature, but manifestly an international. He criticised the Congress and the nationalist Muslims, and espoused the Two-Nation Theory and the reasons for the demand for separate Muslim homelands. According to Stanley Wolpert, this was the moment when Jinnah as the ambassador of Hindu-Muslim unity totally transformed himself into Pakistan's great leader.
Sikandar Hayat Khan, the Chief Minister of the Punjab, drafted the original Lahore Resolution, which was placed before the Subject Committee of the All India Muslim League for discussion and amendments. The Resolution text unanimously rejected the concept of United India on the grounds of growing inter-communal violence and recommended the creation of an independent Muslim state.
After the presentation of annual report by Liaquat Ali Khan, the Resolution was moved in the general session by A.K. Fazlul Huq, the Chief Minister of Bengal and was seconded by Choudhury Khaliquzzaman who explained his views on the causes which led to the demand of a separate state. Subsequently, Maulana Zafar Ali Khan from Punjab, Sardar Aurangzeb from the NWFP, Sir Abdullah Haroon from Sindh, and Qazi Esa from Baluchistan, and other leaders announced their support. In the same session, Jinnah also presented a resolution to condemn the Khaksar massacre of 19 March, owing to a clash between the Khaksars and the police, that had resulted in the loss of lives.
The statement
The principle text of the Lahore Resolution was passed on 24 March. In 1941 it became part of the Muslim League's constitution. In 1946, it formed the basis for the decision of Muslim League to struggle for one state for the Muslims. The statement 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.
Additionally, it stated:
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.
Commemoration
- To commemorate the event, Minar-e-Pakistan (Lighthouse of Pakistan), a 60 meters tall distinctive monument in the shape of a minaret has been built at the site in Iqbal Park Lahore, where the resolution was passed.
- 23 March is a national holiday in Pakistan, celebrated as Pakistan Day to commemorate Lahore Resolution as well as the day in 1956 when the country became the first Islamic Republic in the world.
See also
References
- Francis Robinson (1997), The Muslims and Partition, History Today, Vol. 47, September
- Shafique Ali Khan (1987), Iqbal's Concept of Separate North-west Muslim State: A Critique of His Allahabad Address of 1930, Markaz-e-Shaoor-o-Adab, Karachi, OCLC 18970794
- Choudhary Rahmat Ali, (1933), Now or Never; Are we to live or perish forever?, pamphlet, published 28 January. (Rehmat Ali at the time was an undergraduate at the University of Cambridge)
- Ian Talbot (1999), Pakistan: a modern history, St. Martin's Press, ISBN 0312216068
- Reginald Coupland (1943), Indian Politics (1936-1942), Oxford university press, London
- Lahore Resolution (1940), Story of Pakistan website, Retrieved on 23 April, 2006
- Stanley Wolpert (1984), Jinnah of Pakistan. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195034127
- Khan Abdul Wali Khan in his book Facts Are Sacred claims the resolution was drafted by Sir Muhammad Zafrullah Khan
- Muhammad Aslam Malik (2001), The Making of the Pakistan Resolution, Oxford University Press, Delhi. ISBN 0-19-579538-5
- Syed Iftikhar Ahmed (1983), Essays on Pakistan, Alpha Bravo Publishers, Lahore, OCLC 12811079
- Nasim Yousaf (2004), Pakistan's Freedom & Allama Mashriqi: Statements, Letters, Chronology of Khaksar Tehrik (Movement), Period Mashriqi's birth to 1947. page 123. AMZ Publications. ISBN 0976033305
- I H Qureshi, (1965), Struggle for Pakistan, Karachi
- ^ I H Qureshi, (1992), A Short History of Pakistan. University of Karachi, Reprint of 1967 edition. ISBN 969-404-008-6
- Stanford M. Mirkin (1966), What Happened when: A Noted Researcher's Almanac of Yesterdays, I. Washburn, New York. OCLC 390802 (First published in 1957 under title: When did it happen?)
External links
- The Pakistan Resolution, Government of Pakistan Official website. (Retrieved on 23 April, 2006)
- Lahore Resolution (1940) at Story of Pakistan website. (Retrieved on 23 April, 2006)
- Lahore Resolution at Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.(Retrieved on 23 April, 2006)
- Pakistan Resolution or Muslim League's Search For Survival
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