KARACHI: Noted intellectuals and human rights activists reflected on the transitional changes that transformed Pakistan from a “secular” state to a “religio-security” state while remembering the country’s first law minister, Jogendra Nath Mandal, on his 57th death anniversary at a programme organised by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) on Monday.

Speaking on the occasion, columnist, academic and social activist Dr Tauseef Ahmed Khan said that on August 10, 1947, the entire cabinet was sworn in by Mandal. “It also included the Quaid-i-Azam. Then Mandal, too, served as the first minister for law in Pakistan. But sadly, after the passing of the Quaid-i-Azam, he felt so helpless and frustrated during the persecution of Hindus and other minorities at the hands of Muslims that he resigned from his position and left Pakistan to settle in Calcutta [Kolkata],” he said.

Mandal was a Dalit activist and close aide of the Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, whose appointment reflected the “secular” ideals envisioned at the birth of the nation.

The discussion explored the way forward for building a country where no citizen faces discrimination on the basis of caste, religion or ethnicity.

Country’s first law minister Jogendra Nath Mandal remembered on his 57th death anniversary

Eye surgeon Dr Jaipal Chhabria, a member of the National Commission for Minorities, said that Mandal deserves to be celebrated.

“This is a country that realised after 50 years that Bhutto’s hanging was a mistake. Similarly, the state should also accept that it was a mistake to let a dejected Jogendra Nath Mandal go to India after accepting his resignation,” he said.

“He was a Hindu Bengali lawyer who belonged to the poor and scheduled caste, but he had a vision that he would be able to secure his community’s rights while working with Muslims. He looked up to the Quaid, and his secular vision also strengthened this belief,” he added.

Dr Chhabria also pointed out that it must be noted that Pakistan, according to the Quaid’s vision, was initially a “secular” state.

“To prove this claim, don’t forget that Jamaat-i-Islami, Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind and the Khaksar Tehreek opposed the creation of Pakistan. But Mandal, being a Hindu, was in favour of a separate homeland for Muslims in Pakistan.

Christians too, according to the Simon Commission, wanted areas with a majority Christian population to be included in Pakistan. They were not mad to want this; it was because of the Quaid-i-Azam’s vision of a secular state. His August 11 speech to the Constituent Assembly said it all. That Constituent Assembly was also presided over by Mandal. In my view, Jinnah’s speech on the occasion was the first Constitution of Pakistan. It should be brought back as the Constitution of Pakistan,” he said.

“He was also more popular than Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar in Bengal. Also, Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy’s government in joint Bengal in 1946 was not possible without Mandal’s support,” he said.

Minority rights activist Pervez Bhatti said that Mandal’s 10-page resignation to Liaquat Ali Khan was more like showing a mirror to Pakistan. “Resignation letters are not 10 pages long. But we never highlighted that letter in our course books. Even today, it can light up the path for us. It needs to be understood why he resigned and what made him leave Pakistan because this was the man who was committed to the Quaid-i-Azam instead of Gandhi,” he pointed out.

Senior member of civil society and council member of HRCP Mahnaz Rahman said that Mandal had a dream that Dalits, as a minority, would have equal rights in Pakistan but he was jolted from this dream.

“The Quaid-i-Azam made him minister for law and he performed very well, but after the demise of the Quaid he was dismayed at the killing of Dalits in East Pakistan, and Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan did not take any notice of his complaints. That’s when he resigned from his post and went to India,” she said.

HRCP’s chairperson Asad Butt said: “Our establishment used religious extremism as a tool. It has given way to so much intolerance that small misunderstandings are seen as blasphemy, and houses and entire villages are set ablaze because of it.”

About Mandal, he said that it was tragic to see him leave Pakistan. “But what was even worse was the way he was treated in India because there he was an untouchable Dalit despite his abilities and accomplishments. He was even blamed for the 1943 famine in Bengal,” he said.

Published in Dawn, October 7th, 2025