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Feature: Real-life heroes
Do you know who are the real heroes? No, not those who play leading roles in the movies, fight with the bad guys (villain) and often have charming girlfriends. Real-life heroes are those who struggle for some cause, and who make or change history, not movies. Such as those who changed ours, by giving us such a beautiful country that is now our homeland. These heroes faced hardships and difficulties but their determination won us this piece of land that we call Pakistan. What provoked these heroes to demand a separate land for the Muslim and why? Let’s take a quick glance at the background of the Pakistan Movement.
The history of the Pakistan Movement dates back to AD1600, when a British firm the East India Company was given permission to trade and establish a factory in India. Slowly and gradually the British started to gain strength and began to interfere not only in the public but also in the administrative sector as well. In 1757, came their first major victory, as they defeated Nawab Siraj-ud-Daula in the battle of Plassey. It opened for them the doors of sovereignty for almost one-and-a-half century.
The policies carved by the British government whether educational, economic, or administrative, were all targeted against the Muslims, thus creating unemployment and illiteracy among them. Muslim leaders of that time demanded that the British government should not treat Muslims as a minority, but their policies remained unchanged.
In 1906, all eminent Muslim leaders decided to join hands to fight against this injustice. But when even the Hindus turned their back on them, they were left with no option but to demand a separate Muslim state.
On March 23, 1940, a session of the All India Muslim League was held in Lahore in which a resolution was passed known as the 'Lahore Resolution'. It demanded a separate and autonomous state in majority Muslim areas of north-eastern and eastern India. The working committee of the All-India Muslim League emphasized that the scheme of federation embodied in the Government of India Act, 1935, was totally unsuited to, and unworkable in the peculiar conditions of the country and was unacceptable to the Muslims of India. "Mussalmans are a nation according to any definition of a 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", said Muhammad Ali Jinnah, while presiding over this session.
On the basis of these ideas of the Mr Jinnah, A. K. Fazl-ul-Haq, the then Chief Minister of Bengal, moved the historic resolution known as the "Lahore Resolution" or the "Pakistan Resolution"and was unanimously passed by the committee. This resolution united all the Muslims of the subcontinent to achieve one goal — a separate homeland for the Muslims.
At the end of World War II, the United Kingdom moved with increasing urgency to grant India independence. However, the Congress Party and the Muslim League could not agree on the terms for a constitution or establishing an interim government.
In June 1947, the British Government declared that it would bestow full dominion status upon two successor states — India and Pakistan. Consequently, a bifurcated Muslim nation separated by more than 1,600 kilometres of Indian territory emerged when Pakistan became a self-governing dominion within the British Commonwealth on August 14, 1947. West Pakistan comprised the Muslim-majority districts of present-day Pakistan; East Pakistan consisted of a single province, which is now unfortunately Bangladesh.
Some of the heroes of Pakistan movement:
A. K. Fazal-ul-Haq
Sher-i-Bengal, is the title that was given to A.K. Fazal-ul-Haq for his courageous and spirited contributions for the Pakistan Movement. He was, for almost half a century, at the forefront of all political activity that was part of this movement. He was one of the four persons who laid the foundation of a representative party of the Muslims of the subcontinent, All India Muslim League in 1906, which later on became the building block of Pakistan.
Muhammad Ali Jinnah
To the Pakistanis, Muhammad Ali Jinnah is revered, known as the Quaid-i-Azam, or the ‘Great Leader’ as well as the “Father of the Nation”. Besides being a brilliant lawyer, Jinnah by his eloquence and perseverance inspired the people. He rose to the forefront of the struggle for a Muslim homeland as India negotiated independence with Britain.
He began his political career in 1906 by joining the Indian National Congress, but gradually became disillusioned. After realizing that there was no hope for unity with the Hindus, he joined the All India Muslim League in 1913, and galvanized the Muslim League into a most dynamic party. It was his unshakable determination that brought successful fruition of the Muslim struggle in the form of Pakistan.
Sir Syed Ahmed Khan
One of the most eminent figures of the 19th century, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, was a person of great insight and intellect. He was the one who shaped the destiny of the Muslims of the subcontinent and transformed a mass of frustrated people into a nation with a very bright future. He was the fountainhead of the Aligarh Movement, that strived to create an awareness in the people. His contribution to the independence struggle is immense because after observing the policies of the Congress, he was the first to realize that Hindus and Muslims cannot live together anymore. So he propounded the “Two-Nation Theory”, which was the initial step towards the making of Pakistan.
Dr Mohammad Iqbal
Dr Mohammad Iqbal was a man of many qualities — a poet, philosopher, an active politician, teacher and was a barrister by profession. His outstanding speech in an All India Muslim League session at Allahbad, gave a new dimension to the Muslims of the subcontinent, the idea of their own homeland — Pakistan. This is the reason why we refer to him in Urdu as Mufakkir-i-Pakistan (the philosopher who idealized Pakistan).
He, through his poetry, contributed to the reawakening of the Muslim nation for freedom and liberty.
Choudhry Rehmat Ali
Choudhry Rehmat Ali was one of the most enthusiastic Muslim leaders who devoted himself earnestly to the creation of Pakistan. On January 28, 1933, he issued his first memorable pamphlet Now or Never — Are we to live or perish forever? He was the one who coined the word “Pakistan” for 30 million Muslims who lived in the five northern units of India; Punjab, North-West Frontier Province, Kashmir, Sindh and Balochistan. The pamphlet also gave reasons for the establishment of Pakistan.
Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan
Most of us know him as the first Prime Minister of Pakistan; he was also a key figure in the Pakistan Movement. He was in fact, Jinnah’s most trusted companion who referred to him as his “right hand”. Even after the death of Mr Jinnah, he fulfilled his responsibilities with determination and guided the country through thick and thin. He served Pakistan till his last breath; he was assassinated on October 16,1951, while addressing a huge crowd in Rawalpindi. He was given the title, “Shaheed-e-Milat” (Martyr for the nation) by the grief-stricken people.
Women on the front
Had it not been for those outstanding ladies, the Pakistan Movement wouldn’t have been so effective. They urged the Muslim women to join forces with men who were striving for liberty and support them in every possible way. Among them were Fatima Jinnah, Bi Amma, Begum Shaista Ikramullah, Begum Tasadduque, Begum Viqar-un-Nisa Noon, Begum Jehan Ara Shah Nawaz, and Begum Ra’ana Liaquat Ali Khan . They proved that women are as capable as men in any given field, even when it comes to politics or freedom struggle.
So the struggle that was started by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, strengthened by A. K. Fazal-ul-Haq, enriched by the vision of Dr Mohammad Iqbal, guided and led by the Father of the Nation —Mohammad Ali Jinnah — supported by Liaquat Ali Khan and a number of other freedom fighters, culminated in the creation of Pakistan.
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