The Need For Pakistan

Although Pakistan is going through a lean period but the fact is that Pakistan was the need of the Muslims of the subcontinent after the end of the British rule. It was universally recognized that two nations living side by side for a millennium remained alien to each other.

It was a unique accident of history but then the historical change during the early modern age was very slow and Muslims had no desire to change as they were the dominant rulers. The land-based traditions, climate and their superior ruling status in the subcontinent blunted the intense mobility of Muslims coming from Central Asia but these conditions did not dampen their strong religious and cultural affinities.

It took Muslims almost two hundred years to reclaim their separate ruling status after losing effective power as rulers but throughout the British Raj they had the satisfaction of not being subjugated by the majority they ruled.

The Muslim separatist movement was inherent in their very composition. They were a race apart and a community having completely reverse sets of belief than the majority they inhabited with. The apprehensions of the Muslim minority were primarily focused on the fact that the concept of majority rule introduced and practiced by the British would result in them being overwhelmed by the ruthless Hindu majority that, being subjugated for centuries, would not grant any quarter to the minority.

It was also a fact that the majority community started exacting its revenge on the minority communities particularly Muslims whom they had a particular dislike. The Muslim community did try to mollify the vengeful tendencies of the Hindus but all efforts ended in vain. It soon became apparent to the Muslims that the majority community was not prepared to let the bygones be bygones and was bent upon reversing the historical trend and were even prepared to use force to attain its object.

The Muslims lost power to the British through the intrigues of the majority community and they were ever mindful of this fact. The Hindu community laid the entire blame of the 1957 uprising on Muslims although the mutiny was instigated predominantly by the Hindus resulting in great hardship suffered by them further strengthening their belief that it would be extremely difficult for both the communities to coexist. It was this intense apprehension that compelled Muslims to approach the British rulers for providing them a much-needed safeguard in wake of the growing intransigence of the majority community. The British by then had also woken up to the high-handed attitude of the Hindus who were quite confident that the British rule will not last longer and hence were creating chaotic situation. The violent reaction to a simple administrative measure, the partition of Bengal in 1905, convinced the British that the majority community could not be trusted any more. The Muslim leadership tried very hard to convince the Hindu community to soften their arrogant and hardline attitude towards Muslims but the Hindu leadership was adamant and refuse to accommodate legitimate Muslim demands.

The 37-member delegation of Muslims welcomed by Viceroy Lord Minto in Simla in 1906 was carrying with it proposals that highlighted the joint concerns of both the British and the Muslims. The Muslim delegation significantly comprised of Muslim leaders from the length and breadth of the subcontinent bringing to fore the extreme anxieties and reservations harboured over the high-handed and rigid attitude of the majority community towards them. By this time the British has also realized the obduracy of the majority not only towards Muslims but has also become aware of the hatred they harboured for the British.The British always tried to remain within the ambit of lawful possibilities and justified the Separate Electorate proposal presented by Simla delegation on the grounds that they recognise Muslims as being the legatees of Muslim rule and by virtue of it owning, per capita, decisively large land-holdings. As the subcontinent was a land-revenue generating entity therefore such a qualification immensely. The British also considered the high percentage of Muslims serving in the army because of their status as former rulers. Moreover, the British were aware of the existence of Muslim nation due to their contact in Crusades, six hundred years earlier then they started interacting with Hindus in 1600 AD.

The concerns of Muslims were further exacerbated when they noticed that Indian Congress most of the time denied either that the communal problem existed or that it was serious enough to warrant special safeguards for Muslims. The Congress believed in a roller-coaster policy as it believed that after British withdrawal the Muslim minority will be left with no option but to depend on its goodwill. There is no denying the fact that prejudices based on cast and creed were deeply rooted in Hindus and were at their extreme manifestation against Muslims during the entirety of the British rule.

The apparent manifestation of the hardline attitude of the Hindu majority was clearly visible during the litmus-test Congress ministries formed after the victory of the Congress in 1937 provincial elections. Congress refused to share power with Muslim League despite many protestations revealing their ultimate intentions. The hardships experienced by the Muslims during the short Congress rule convinced both the British and Muslims that there were starkly low chances of any future coexistence between the majority and minority communities.

That the Muslims concluded obtaining separate homeland after Congress Rule was not something out of the blue. It was the only solution available for a beleaguered nation. The reason for the creation of Pakistan was not to promote religious extremism but to defend the people’s right to freedom of belief and to save them from oppression and discrimination on that count. Congress Rule was the eventual turning point for the Muslims and they were convinced that their rights will not be protected under Hindu rule.

The inevitability of Pakistan could be gauged from the fact that even the acceptance proffered by Muslim League for Cabinet Mission Plan aimed at preserving geographical contiguity of the subcontinent came unstuck as Hindu intransigence again rocked the boat denying the British their cherished desire of keeping the country united. It again proved the point that self-serving intentions of the Congress overrode the concerns for keeping the country in one piece. The Muslim demand for Pakistan was once again vindicated as symptomatic of the rationale and object for the creation of Pakistan aimed at saving the persecuted Muslim minority from persecution by the Hindu majority.

Further proof of Pakistan’s inevitability lies in the extreme division in the interim federal government the British installed prior to their departure. It was very clear from the outset that both the representative parties could not get along as there was no unity in the cabinet and both parties employed their power in settling scores with each other. The intense rivalry between both the communities, given yet another chance to work together, failed at the altar of inflated opinions of the majority party that was absolutely unwilling to work out a joint formula for coexistence. Resultantly Pakistan became inevitable in the final analysis. It remains inevitable as there is no alternative to a vibrant Pakistan for Pakistanis and they realise the inevitability of their country.