Quaid-e-Azam’s birthday coincides with Christmas. The Quaid visualised Pakistan to be a democracy, not a theocracy where Christians minorities and other communities lived happily. In a broadcast addressed to the people of the USA (February 1948), he said, ‘In any case, Pakistan is not going to be a theocratic State to be ruled by priests [mullahs] with a divine mission. We have many non-Muslims, Hindus, Christians, and Parsees– but they are all Pakistanis. They will enjoy the same rights and privileges as any other citizen and will play their rightful part in the affairs of Pakistan’ When an over-ebullient admirer addressed him as `Maulana Jinnah’, he snubbed him. Jinnah retorted, “I am not a Maulana, just plain Mr. Jinnah.”
About minorities, the Quaid often reminded Muslim zealots “Our own history and our Prophet(PBUH) have given the clearest proof that non-Muslims have been treated not only justly and fairly but generously. He added, “I am going to constitute myself the Protector-general of the Hindu minority in Pakistan”. Till his last breath, the Quaid remained an ardent supporter of the rights of minorities as equal citizens of Pakistan. Our official dignitaries shun rituals and customs of minorities. But, the Quaid participated in Christmas celebrations in December 1947 as a guest of the Christian community. He declared: “I am going to constitute myself the Protector General of the Hindu minority in Pakistan.”
He hoped India and Pakistan would live in peace after Partition. In his Will and Testament. He bequeathed a part of his fortune to educational institutions in Aligarh, Bombay, and Delhi. He never changed his will as he hoped to visit India again.
One community with no discrimination
One member of his post-Partition cabinet was a Hindu. A Jewish scholar, Mohammad Asad, who embraced Islam, held important positions in the post-Partition period in Pakistan.
The following extracts from the Quaid’s speeches and statements as Governor-General of Pakistan epitomize his vision: “You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques, or to any other place of worship in this state of Pakistan…you may belong to any religion, caste or creed that has nothing to do with the business of the State…We are starting in the days when there is no discrimination, no distinction between one community and another, no discrimination between one caste or creed or another. We are starting with this fundamental principle that we are all citizens and equal citizens of the one State”.
The Quaid visualised that “in course of time Hindus would cease to be Hindus and Muslims would cease to be Muslims, not in the religious sense, because that is the personal faith of each individual, but in the political sense as citizens of the State”. A. K. Brohi, in his The Fundamental Law of Pakistan, argues that Pakistan is an Islamic state, but not a theocracy. Jinnah’s address to the Constituent Assembly on August 11, 1947, also, epitomises his vision.
He hoped India and Pakistan would live in peace after Partition. In his Will and Testament. He bequeathed a part of his fortune to educational institutions in Aligarh, Bombay, and Delhi. He never changed his will as he hoped to visit India again.
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A welfare state built by equal citizens
He wanted Pakistan to be a welfare state, not a plutocracy. In his speech at the 30th session of the Muslim League during the freedom struggle, he said, “It will be a people’s government. I should like to give a warning to the landlords and capitalists who have flourished at our expense by a system which is so vicious, which is so wicked, and which makes them so selfish that it is difficult to reason with them. The exploitation of the masses has gone into their blood. They’ve forgotten the lesson of Islam. Greed and selfishness have made these people subordinate to the interests of others in order to fatten themselves…If they’re wise they’ll have to adjust themselves to the new modern conditions of life. If they don’t, God help them; we shall not help them.”
Today, Christian minorities live all across Pakistan and India, particularly in South India and the southern shore, the Konkan Coast, and Northeast India. Through sheer hard work, Indian Christians developed niches in all walks of Indian national life. They include former and current chief ministers, governors, and chief election commissioners.
We see Christian luminaries in all walks of Pakistan’s life, particularly in healthcare and education.
Till his last breath, the Quaid remained an ardent supporter of the rights of minorities as equal citizens of Pakistan.
Rising Christian community in India
To the ruling Bharatya Janata party’s chagrin, Christians are the second most educated religious group in India after Jains. Christian women outnumber men among the various religious communities in India.
Christians now form a major religious group in three states of India: Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Nagaland with plural majority in Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh. Significant Christian population lives in Coastal Andhra, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Kanara (South India).
Disgusted with religio-economic extremism, more and more people, including Dalits (down-trodden), are converting to Christianity, a class-less community. Dalits are not allowed to enter even high-caste Hindu temples. Some Dalits were even killed at doorsteps of temples for daring to tread footsteps to temples. The Christian population includes 14 million Christian Dalits. Dalits are Hindu, Sikh, and Buddhist members of “untouchable” castes who convert to Christianity. The untouchable Christians are the most neglected community in India.
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Beginning of Christians’ persecution
India’s present Prime Minister Narendra Modi, chief minister of Gujarat state, and LK Advani could be called pioneers of the anti-Christian movement. They distributed Bharatya Janata Party (BJP) manifesto, which, inter alia, spoke of enacting an anti-conversion law in states including Gujarat. The laws against conversion are meant to persecute Muslim and Christian minorities.
In his interview with India Today (April 2005), K. S. Sudersan (Rashtrya Swayem Sevak Sangh) says, ‘Naxals have a safe base in Andhra Pradesh because Christian missionaries are with them. They attack mandir (temples) and other Hindu institutions but never attack a Church. Because the Chief Minister is a Christian, he has given them abhaydaan (freedom from fear) and crowds of two lakh or more they can gather’.
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We thank god that anti-minority laws are not being enacted in Pakistan like in India (anti-conversion and anti-love jihad laws). In India, even an Australian preacher and his two kids were slaughtered. In the past, there had been attacks on churches and nuns.
Let Christians and Muslims continue to live in eternal peace.
Mr. Amjed Jaaved has been writing free-lance for over five decades. He has served federal and provincial governments of Pakistan for 39 years. His contributions stand published in the leading dailies and magazines at home and abroad (Nepal. Bangladesh, et. al.). He is author of eight e-books including The Myth of Accession. He knows many languages including French and Arabic. The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Global Village Space.