ABDUL Sattar Pingar's letter, “Return to Jinnah's Pakistan” (Nov 15), followed the article by Ardeshir Cowasjee and my letter of Nov 8, both on the issue of “Reverting to Jinnah's Pakistan”.

The question of “Reverting to Jinnah's Pakistan” has been an issue which The Jinnah Society has been propagating since 1999.

Very recently following the launch of the 'Jinnah Anthology' at Karachi in April and at London in July 2009, the media covered the demand for a “Reverting to Jinnah's Pakistan” as a proposal floated on behalf of The Jinnah Society.

Very recently several persons have expressed views in these columns and have criticised the emphasis on one speech of Jinnah relied upon by Mr Pingar. This criticism would appear to be justified as we must look at all of Jinnah's statements and speeches both before and after the creation of Pakistan to understand and appreciate the reasons behind the creation of Pakistan and what Pakistan was expected to achieve.

The principles, ideals, values and vision of Jinnah on a wide range of issues have been available to this nation for the past 61 years but regrettably these guidelines were ignored.

This is what some persons of repute and standing have recorded in writing

“Heartfelt congratulations on the launch of the revised edition of the Jinnah Anthology. There could be no better time to remind every Pakistani and the rest of the world that Pakistan was founded by South Asia's greatest barrister, M.A. Jinnah, whose life was dedicated to the pursuit of justice for all mankind, and especially minority Muslims of British India.

“What Jinnah told your Constituent Assembly over 61 years ago 'that the first duty of a government is to maintain law and order, so that the life and property and religious beliefs of its subjects are fully protected by the state' is no less vital for Pakistan today.

“Small wonder that Jinnah remains reverred by all of us as the 'Quaid-i-Azam”. (Stanley Wolpert).

“The text in the Anthology, much of it about Jinnah and the rest of it from him, is indispensable for South Asia's historians. “Certainly scholars from India, and perhaps even some from Pakistan, will find new material in it.

“For those depressed by present-day realities, the text is a morale-booster, for it shows what was achieved by one individual who combined unshakable resolve with uncompromising integrity, private and public” (Rajmohan Gandhi).

“There has never been so great a need to revisit Mohammad Ali Jinnah's legacy as now, under the changed circumstances, to renew our resolve to adhere to his ideals, his principles and his vision of Pakistan.

“Nor has there been so much urgency to disseminate and popularise the political philosophy of Mr Jinnah — the Quaid-i-Azam to most of us — which has now largely been either ignored by the political community or hijacked by obscurantist forces and even distorted by Islamists to suit their designs.

“Given the atmosphere charged with narrow-minded religious zealotry in the country, not many would be willing to endorse Mr Jinnah's secular polity and accept that he created Pakistan not to establish a theocratic Islamic state, but a democratic and secular state.

“Equally disagreeable for many is the fact that he struggled for a separate homeland where Muslims would be able to live in accordance with their social customs and religious traditions — but the polity would be non-religious in which there would be no discrimination between a Muslim and a Hindu” (Dawn Books and Authors — A review).

“The demand of the present time is “Jinnah's Pakistan” and this view has emerged mot only in civil society, media but also at the government level and this is Pakistan's hope for change as the countries which forget the vision of their founding fathers end up as failed states” (Daily Asia, London).

There is no alternative except a return to Jinnah's values, principles, ideals and vision to get out of our present predicament. There is a need to clean the state of all the mess created over the years.

We need leaders in the role model of Jinnah with private honour and public integrity. We need to keep our national, not personal, interest at heart with unity and discipline in our ranks and faith in God and ourselves as Pakistanis.

LIAQUAT MERCHANT
Karachi

(II)

A. SATTAR Pingar's first letter (Nov 15) has invited a series of letters containing vast information about Mr Jinnah and creation of Pakistan.

I do not intend to add to this continuing stream, but only to point out a big mistake in Mr Pingar's logic when referring to Mr Akber Khan's letter wherein he had mentioned of Mr Jinnah's speeches made in the years 1935,1944,1945 in which Mr Jinnah had declared that Pakistan would be an Islamic state.

While accepting the correctness of Mr Akber Khan's information of contents of Mr Jinnah's speeches (viz that Pakistan would be an Islamic state), A. Sattar simply says that these speeches should be interpreted and looked in the context of time period and occasion when they were made.

Mr Jinnah, adds Mr Pingar, actually wanted Pakistan to be a secular state. In support of this Mr Pingar refers to the first speech made by Mr Jinnah in the first Constituent Assembly declaring Pakistan to be a secular state.

What I wish to point out is that Mr Pingar should have tried to find out reasons which made the Founder of the new country to change his stance.

Mr Pingar has also made a factual mistake in his earlier letter (Nov15) in which he writes that once Gandhi, Mountbatten and Nehru tried to bribe Mr Jinnah for giving up demand for Pakistan by offering him the prime ministership of the whole country (India).

The correct position is that in the last days before partition Gandhi communicated this offer to Mountbatten to be passed on to Mr Jinnah but Mountbatten instead passed this communication on to Nehru and Patel who kept it with them. Thus the offer never reached Mr Jinnah.

In the last I would say that it may be true that Mr Jinnah wanted Pakistan to be a secular state, but did the Muslims in India who voted for Pakistan also had the same objectives, a secular state?

In fact, the frenzy with which the Muslims of India, including those of Muslim minority provinces of Bihar, UP, Maharashtra, etc., strived was for an Islamic country and not a secular state. Mr Pingar may do some research on this or ask some seniors who were of age during the Pakistan movement.

MOHAMMAD RAFI
Karachi