Pakistan : A definition : A Pakistan blogger

Singh

Phat Cat
Super Mod
Joined
Feb 23, 2009
Messages
20,311
Likes
8,403
Country flag
Pakistan : A definition



noun

[pak-uh-stan, pah-kuh-stahn]

A republic in S Asia, between India and Afghanistan: formerly part of British India; known as West Pakistan from 1947–71 to distinguish it from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). 310,403 sq. mi (803,881 sq. km). Capital: Islamabad.

- Source : Dictionary.com

The question of the century.

What really defines a nation? Is it defined in a geographical context as done by Dictionary.com? Is it defined by the people that make up this nation? Or is a nation defined by an abstract idea, based on speculative socio-political developments and analysis based on extrapolating the plight of one community?

Unfortunately for the nation of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the first two probabilities fail to exist. Our reality is an idealistic one, our existence was a Utopian struggle more than a nationalistic or regional struggle.

Can an idea fail? Is a man made idea too holy to discredit? These are some of the questions that can get you a public beating or at least a cringe-worthy meme or two if you happen to be realist political analyst of slight fame.

But you can't always question the idea, too. Sometimes there is fault somewhere else. Sometimes there is fault not in the idea, sometimes there is fault in execution or general "perception" of the idea. You don't always see the cogs of thought process meshing together to churn out an idea that can change the lives of millions of people for better or worse. You can't question the intentions, but yes, you can analyse the blunders in judgements during or after the idea was getting a C-section.

Like any invention of man, the best description of the "Invented" can only be given by the "Inventor". The sad thing about this nation is that we got entangled so much in trying to market how wonderful the product was that we forgot what the product really was supposed to do. Whether it was done intentionally or this fact was a product of negligence is another debate.

To dissect the concept that is Pakistan is going back to 11th August, 1947. No matter how much Iqbal is quoted in determining the direction Pakistan ideologically had to go after independence, you cannot ignore Mr. Jinnah's presidential address to the inaugural constituent assembly of Pakistan. It logically "should have" become the foundation of a Pakistani state, but logic is something that has been at large in this region, an escaped convict, a nuisance for the sanctity of the State of Pakistan as envisioned by our Pakistan Studies courses and our gloriously Holy constitution.

I know there are people who do not quite agree with the division of India and the partition of the Punjab and Bengal. Much has been said against it, but now that it has been accepted, it is the duty of everyone of us to loyally abide by it and honourably act according to the agreement which is now final and binding on all. But you must remember, as I have said, that this mighty revolution that has taken place is unprecedented. One can quite understand the feeling that exists between the two communities wherever one community is in majority and the other is in minority. But the question is, whether it was possible or practicable to act otherwise than what has been done, A division had to take place. On both sides, in Hindustan and Pakistan, there are sections of people who may not agree with it, who may not like it, but in my judgement there was no other solution and I am sure future history will record its verdict in favour of it. And what is more, it will be proved by actual experience as we go on that was the only solution of India's constitutional problem. Any idea of a united India could never have worked and in my judgement it would have led us to terrific disaster. Maybe that view is correct; maybe it is not; that remains to be seen.

This is one of the most interesting and thought provoking bits of that famous speech. These bits are interestingly left out of every mention of that speech. Everything nowadays taught to impressionable teenagers is contrary to the words of the man on all the cash. It busts a lot of myths about Pakistan as envisioned by Jinnah.

Myth # 1 : Pakistan was a unanimous Muslim demand. It might've been a majority idea in some parts of the subcontinent, but as Jinnah points out, it was far from getting unconditional love from people on both sides of the border.
Myth # 2 : Pakistan is something Holy, and talking about any post-British sub-continent without a Pakistan in it is blasphemous and punishable by death. It might've been a great idea to many people. But it was far from divine intervention. An inventor is hopeful, but you have to deal with ideas in a very realistic manner. Jinnah knew it was an idea that could go either way. "Maybe that view is correct; maybe it is not; that remains to be seen." Jinnah just casts a mortal doubt to the concept of Pakistan in his very speech. It is not something holy or divine. It is an idea conceived by a mortal man. Jinnah being a realist, was smarter and greater than most of the propaganda baboons who wrote our textbooks, he realized the weight of the task he was about to undertake, of the possibility of failure. It shows Jinnah wasn't blinded by success, but burdened by the responsibility of undertaking something he cannot undo if it becomes a blunder (that it kind of is now).

What Jinnah goes onto state next just falsifies Pakistan's reality as an Islamic Republic and discredits the Halwa Raj since Zia.

I cannot emphasize 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.

Jinnah goes onto give some of the most important and historical lessons for any country struggling to make a mark in the world. It's a pity that this isn't taught anywhere.

Lesson # 1 : Pakistan cannot be defined by religion. "Just deal with it bitches". If pieces of land are defined by religious affiliations, nations fail. Jinnah goes onto state that the reason for British Raj was religious discrimination. Ladies and gentlemen, the father of our great nation, the person living in that time, differs from the authors of our textbooks. Our textbooks defame Hindus for conniving with the British to take some sort of revenge by helping the British to power. But the father of our Nation doesn't do that. Strange. I guess authors in the Education boards know better. Jinnah blames divisions, both on part of Muslim community and Hindu community and now after independence, he asks these people to move on. To not become like you used to be before. Little did he know.
Lesson # 2 : "You may belong to any religion or caste or creed that has nothing to do with the business of the State." This sentence lays the foundation of the concept of "Separation of Church and State". It lays the foundation that declaring the State of Pakistan, an Islamic Republic, was never the intention of the founders. After the Independence of Bangladesh, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto laid the precedence for state interference in religious matters my amending the Holy Constitution of 1973 to declare Ahmedis non-muslims and also to define the term "Non-Muslim". It is something I attributed for a large part to Zia, but little did I know. Strange legislation from someone who drank pretty casually. Hypocrisy? Let's not go there. But Bhutto just went against Jinnah. Now let's sit down and debate who has more say in what Pakistan should and shouldn't be.
Lesson # 3 : "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." This is also an interesting part. Although it comes first in the overall topic, I left it for last because it is important to understand the wisdom and insight Jinnah had on issues related to minorities and how right he was. Summing up, Jinnah basically says, if you can't live in peace with Hindus, soon you will come to realize the differences among the Muslim community and be equally intolerant among yourself. Shia and Sunni divide will grow, Punjabi and Pathan divide will grow. It will be a product of your overall intolerance. Because there is no limit to the stupidity of fighting for an identity, when that identity is not your Nation. And this has happened. The Hindu Muslim fight has evolved to a Shia Sunni fight and that in turn has evolved to a regional Punjabi, Mohajir, Sindhi, Pathan fight. He also foresaw the intolerance will lead to a Bengali, rest of Pakistan divide. What brilliant and hair-raisingly perfect analysis, sadly.
Lesson # 4 : "Amreeka ki Ghulami Na Manzoor?" Simple, stop the ----ing intolerance you dumb pieces of shit.

It's sad and hilarious, everything Jinnah said in his speech on 11th August, has been shown the middle finger by the Islamic Republic of Pakistan of today. Does it mean that the idea was flawed? The idea was ----ing brilliant in all it's sense. It was revolutionary. It was the greatest foundation a state could get. What happened? Well Pakistan was, is and will remain a KKG(Obscene Urdu version of Bad Luck Brian). Jinnah could not live long enough to make sure Pakistan stays true to Jinnah's ideals. We study Jinnah, the inventor, extensively, yet every Government authorised publication fails to mention the User Guide written by the inventor. It's like we open a manual, take the manufacturer profile, and toss the manual down the drain. A flawed idea it may not be if taken in context of the speech of Jinnah, but certainly a botched execution. Somewhat like Misbah's shot in the World Cup final. Great idea, poor execution.

It's sad to read the speech and think what the state could've been.

"Maybe that view is correct; maybe it is not; that remains to be seen."

Dear Jinnah, as of 2013, we are losing, the Halwa is winning.

Pakistan : A-definition — whispersofatraitor.wordpress.com — Readability
 

Bhadra

Professional
Joined
Jul 11, 2011
Messages
11,991
Likes
23,758
Country flag
Mr. Jinnah's presidential address to the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan

August 11, 1947


http://www.pakistani.org/pakistan/legislation/constituent_address_11aug1947.html

Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen!
I cordially thank you, with the utmost sincerity, for the honour you have conferred upon me - the greatest honour that is possible to confer - by electing me as your first President. I also thank those leaders who have spoken in appreciation of my services and their personal references to me. I sincerely hope that with your support and your co-operation we shall make this Constituent Assembly an example to the world. The Constituent Assembly has got two main functions to perform. The first is the very onerous and responsible task of framing the future constitution of Pakistan and the second of functioning as a full and complete sovereign body as the Federal Legislature of Pakistan. We have to do the best we can in adopting a provisional constitution for the Federal Legislature of Pakistan. You know really that not only we ourselves are wondering but, I think, the whole world is wondering at this unprecedented cyclonic revolution which has brought about the clan of creating and establishing two independent sovereign Dominions in this sub-continent. As it is, it has been unprecedented; there is no parallel in the history of the world. This mighty sub-continent with all kinds of inhabitants has been brought under a plan which is titanic, unknown, unparalleled. And what is very important with regards to it is that we have achieved it peacefully and by means of an evolution of the greatest possible character.

Dealing with our first function in this Assembly, I cannot make any well-considered pronouncement at this moment, but I shall say a few things as they occur to me. The first and the foremost thing that I would like to emphasize is this: remember that you are now a sovereign legislative body and you have got all the powers. It, therefore, places on you the gravest responsibility as to how you should take your decisions. The first observation that I would like to make is this: You will no doubt agree with me that the first duty of a government is to maintain law and order, so that the life, property and religious beliefs of its subjects are fully protected by the State.

The second thing that occurs to me is this: One of the biggest curses from which India is suffering - I do not say that other countries are free from it, but, I think our condition is much worse - is bribery and corruption. That really is a poison. We must put that down with an iron hand and I hope that you will take adequate measures as soon as it is possible for this Assembly to do so.

Black-marketing is another curse. Well, I know that blackmarketeers are frequently caught and punished. Judicial sentences are passed or sometimes fines only are imposed. Now you have to tackle this monster, which today is a colossal crime against society, in our distressed conditions, when we constantly face shortage of food and other essential commodities of life. A citizen who does black-marketing commits, I think, a greater crime than the biggest and most grievous of crimes. These blackmarketeers are really knowing, intelligent and ordinarily responsible people, and when they indulge in black-marketing, I think they ought to be very severely punished, because the entire system of control and regulation of foodstuffs and essential commodities, and cause wholesale starvation and want and even death.

The next thing that strikes me is this: Here again it is a legacy which has been passed on to us. Along with many other things, good and bad, has arrived this great evil, the evil of nepotism and jobbery. I want to make it quite clear that I shall never tolerate any kind of jobbery, nepotism or any any influence directly of indirectly brought to bear upon me. Whenever I will find that such a practice is in vogue or is continuing anywhere, low or high, I shall certainly not countenance it.

I know there are people who do not quite agree with the division of India and the partition of the Punjab and Bengal. Much has been said against it, but now that it has been accepted, it is the duty of everyone of us to loyally abide by it and honourably act according to the agreement which is now final and binding on all. But you must remember, as I have said, that this mighty revolution that has taken place is unprecedented. One can quite understand the feeling that exists between the two communities wherever one community is in majority and the other is in minority. But the question is, whether it was possible or practicable to act otherwise than what has been done, A division had to take place. On both sides, in Hindustan and Pakistan, there are sections of people who may not agree with it, who may not like it, but in my judgement there was no other solution and I am sure future history will record is verdict in favour of it. And what is more, it will be proved by actual experience as we go on that was the only solution of India's constitutional problem. Any idea of a united India could never have worked and in my judgement it would have led us to terrific disaster. Maybe that view is correct; maybe it is not; that remains to be seen. All the same, in this division it was impossible to avoid the question of minorities being in one Dominion or the other. Now that was unavoidable. There is no other solution. Now what shall we do? Now, if we want to make this great State of Pakistan happy and prosperous, we should wholly and solely concentrate on the well-being of the people, and especially of the masses and the poor. If you will work in co-operation, forgetting the past, burying the hatchet, you are bound to succeed. If you change your past and work together in a spirit that everyone of you, no matter to what community he belongs, no matter what relations he had with you in the past, no matter what is his colour, caste or creed, is first, second and last a citizen of this State with equal rights, privileges, and obligations, there will be on end to the progress you will make.

I cannot emphasize 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 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.

Well, gentlemen, I do not wish to take up any more of your time and thank you again for the honour you have done to me. I shall always be guided by the principles of justice and fairplay without any, as is put in the political language, prejudice or ill-will, in other words, partiality or favouritism. My guiding principle will be justice and complete impartiality, and I am sure that with your support and co-operation, I can look forward to Pakistan becoming one of the greatest nations of the world.

I have received a message from the United States of America addressed to me. It reads:

I have the honour to communicate to you, in Your Excellency's capacity as President of the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan, the following message which I have just received from the Secretary of State of the United States:
On the occasion of of the first meeting of the Constituent Assembly for Pakistan, I extend to you and to the members of the Assembly, the best wishes of the Government and the people of the United States for the successful conclusion of the great work you are about to undertake.
 

Bhadra

Professional
Joined
Jul 11, 2011
Messages
11,991
Likes
23,758
Country flag
Last edited by a moderator:

srikanth

Regular Member
Joined
Jun 10, 2012
Messages
80
Likes
36
As long as idiots who claim Rig Veda is exclusively theirs I won't have any sympathy for Pakistanis.
 

Latest Replies

Global Defence

New threads

Articles

Top