The significance of March 23

The history of the Sub-Continent was changed with the passage of the Pakistan Resolution on March 23, 1940. On this day, the great Quaid Muhammad Ali Jinnah in his address at the Minto Park for the first time ever formally and passionately demanded a separate country based on the concept of the Muslim nationhood. The Pakistan Resolution was moved by the late Bengal Chief Minister A K Fazlul Haq and was seconded by Choudhry Khaliquzzaman. It stated: “No constitutional plan would be workable in this country or acceptable to Muslims unless it is designed on the following basic principle, namely, that geographically contiguous units are demarcated into regions which should be so constituted, … that the areas in which the Muslims are numerically in majority, as in the north-western and eastern zones of India, should be grouped to constitute independent states in which the constituent units shall be autonomous and sovereign…”

In his address, whose reverberations can be felt even today, the Quaid brimming with sense of honour and justice spurned the claims made by the Indian Congress that it was the sole representative of the whole of India’s population, including some 95 million Muslims. This came as a major shock for the Nehru-Gandhi duo, which was not ready to accept the Muslim demands and claimed to be the sole representatives of the Indian population. Thus their claim that there were only two parties i.e. the British and Congress who could settle the question of independence of the Sub-Continent was demolished once and for all. On this day, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, with his coherent insight and honest appraisal of the situation, donned the mantle of the Great Quaid and showed to the whole world that he was the sole representative of the Muslims of the Sub-Continent.

The Quaid, who set off in pursuit of a new country this day, well understood that Muslims could not prosper and live their lives in accordance with their religion, culture and ethos in an independent India dominated by the Hindu majority. He thus demanded a separate homeland for the Muslims where they would be free from Hindu prejudices of caste, culture and religion. It was a crucial decision on a momentous occasion marked by full support of the Muslims of the Sub-Continent.

Earlier, the poet-philosopher, Allama Muhammad Iqbal, in his address to the Muslim League at Allahabad in 1930, had envisioned a separate homeland for the Muslims. Since then, the idea had touched millions of Muslims and became a part of their heartbeats bestowed with renewed sense of purpose on March 23, 1940.

In retrospect, it is important to realise that the Quaid’s Two Nation concept did not revolve around a theocratic state but a country in the Muslim dominated areas where the Muslims could grow and prosper free from all Hindu dominance and biases and surmount the radical tide of bigotry.

Now as the time passes since the creation of Pakistan and the condition of Muslims and other minorities continues to worsen in India today, one can only endorse the eminently sensible vision of the great leader and underscore his stature as a world class statesman.

Thus, on March 23, we should reflect upon the gift of Pakistan at a time when many countries in the world face great turmoil, some of them even civil wars and are on the verge of disintegration. This day we should help raise awareness among the new generations about the struggle of the Muslims for their right to self-determination and how important it is to safeguard Pakistan’s solidarity and integrity. The day also calls upon us to cement the forces of cohesion and integration as cynics mount their campaigns in political opportunism.

On this day, we should reignite the spirit of the historic Lahore Resolution of 1940 by rejuvenating enthusiasm and spirit among our countrymen. The argument is simple and enduring: Pakistan with its great potential, negotiating the maze and complexities and overcoming all the significant challenges, is here to stay forever and make tangible and potentially sustainable progress.