Jinnah wished a tolerant Pakistan

September 2, 2013

By Haroon Baloch

Referring to one of important speech-recordings of founder of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, which he delivered on Pakistan’s day of birth, 14th August 1947 in Karachi, he undoubtedly preached the nation for respecting all faiths and beliefs, and tolerance for each others’ religions.

Jinnah said, “The tolerance and goodwill great emperor Akbar showed to all the non-Muslims is not of recent origin. It dates back thirteen centuries ago when our Prophet (PBUH), not only by words and by deeds treated the Jews and Christians handsomely after he had conquered them.” He further said, “Prophet ensured to them the utmost tolerance, regard and respect for their faiths and beliefs.”

These lines uttered by Quaid-e-Azam are extracted from recently disclosed speech-recording of All India Radio (AIR), which has been decided by Indian government to hand over to Pakistan after a formal request made by the former Director General Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation, Murtaza Solangi in March 2012.

Murtaza Solangi being a veteran broadcaster has indubitably served for the nation’s greatest interest by taking bold initiative for the retrieval of missing links. Indian civil society in this regard has also played a commendable role for upholding the emblem of Right to Information, and Subhash Chandra Agrawal is one who fought for the retrieval of Jinnah’s speech-recordings.

The nation has just commemorated its 66th birthday and today, the ideology of Pakistan as portrayed by Jinnah in his speech of 14th August is fuzzy. The reason is not difficult enough to understand. We direly need to consult with Jinnah’s teachings because he knew exactly that what he desired the Pakistani nation to become. The nation had been pushed in a spam debate of being a conservative or secular state, which had actually been a moment of choice whether to put the country on a path of development or attaining a status of radical Islamic state.

Respecting each other’s views is not a matter of being secular, but it is the lucid wisdom of our religion Islam and what was also iterated by Muhammad Ali Jinnah. He discussed this issue in the Pakistan Constituent Assembly citing Prophet’s (PBUH) deeds.

“The whole history of Muslims wherever they ruled is replete with those humane and great principles and which should be followed and practiced by us”, Jinnah said adding “It will be our concerted efforts to work for the welfare and well-being of all the communities in Pakistan.”

In today’s Pakistan, it dates back to our radical legacy that those minorities who were ensured by Muhammad Ali Jinnah about their freewill to worship according to their wishes, have been passing through an undesirable circumstances.

Christian being the largest minority of the country has time and again been attacked in the name of disrespect of Islam, the religion which itself preaches for being tolerant.

Hindu girls are kidnapped in today’s Pakistan, and by hook or by crook, are converted to Muslims. Thousands of Hindus from Pakistan have been migrated to India just because of the adverse circumstance. Even the supreme judiciary of the country, as per the civil society, could not decide on merit in Rinkle Kumari’s case of forced conversion because of the pressure of mafia involved in such heinous activities.

In short, the percentage of minorities is shrinking in the country, which the radicals proudly voice as of triumph of their missionary efforts or “Tableegh”.

What type of Islam are we following, has been a debate of 66 years of our country’s independence. But the truth is that as nation we have changed our lords contrary to deemed objective of liberalizing our wisdom. Before 1947, it used to be the Britain imperialists and now are the radicals who decide about our social reality. We could not evolve as nation of Jinnah’s vision, for which the piece of separate land was triumphed from Hindustan. The independence was meant for a heterogeneous society where minorities were desired to lead their lives in a way they wish.

It is again the time for this generation to decide whether to become a Jinnah’s nation or let the things drive in a way they have been driving from the past 66 years.