THIS is with reference to the article ‘Separation’ (Dec 15), which mentioned an often quoted statement by Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah in the erstwhile East Pakistan in response to a demand for Bengali to be given the status of a national language. It is said that the Quaid stated in very unequivocal terms that Urdu was going to be Pakistan’s sole national language.

This quote has been mentioned and documented frequently, including the article, ‘Time to revisit Jinnah and the issue of language’, that was part of a special supplement (Dec 25, 2022).

However, there is one curious element that has been missed by almost everyone quoting this incident. Jinnah was a governor-general, and not the prime minister. It was not the Quaid’s position to make such a policy statement on his own. His record with regard to political principles, constitutionalism and law is known almost universally as absolutely unblemished. So why did he make that statement when he was not supposed to?

I may be wrong, but I have read it somewhere that a committee of the then Constituent Assembly had considered the matter of the national language, and had decided to give that status to Urdu alone. I would like to imagine that the committee would surely have had an appropriate representation from the then East Pakistan.

So, in practical terms, Jinnah was merely repeating a decision that had been made by the committee in question.

Furthermore, the proposal until then was just a recommendation of the said committee becasue a constitution had not been adopted by then. If that was the case, Jinnah’s statement would definitely appear to be in a very different light.

The separation of East Pakistan, in my opinion, was a tragic result of a series of wrong perceptions and actions of our leaders, beginning with Ayub Khan and culminating so tragically with Yahya Khan who followed the former at the helm of the country’s affairs.

It is not correct to blame the Quaid and shifting the responsibility from the real culprits. I hope someone will be able to find the time to undertake a bit of research and clarify the situation further to end this debate once and for all.

Nadir Abbas
Karachi

Published in Dawn, January 4th, 2024