“The state ensures order, security, and justice,” says Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406) in his famous work Muqaddimah. Pakistan’s emergence on the world map was aimed at achieving order, security, and justice, particularly for Muslims. The country’s independence was the result of the relentless struggle of its founding father, Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, who, from 1940 to 1947, worked tirelessly to establish a separate homeland for Indian Muslims, ensuring their rights and identity. Jinnah’s political participation and speeches from 1940 onward emphasised the need for a Muslim state where justice could prevail, and order and security could be maintained in accordance with Islamic principles. He laid out an ideological blueprint in the Lahore Resolution, which he ultimately realised in 1947.
The Muslim League’s defeat in the 1937 provincial elections forced its leadership to reassess the party’s weaknesses. As Allama Muhammad Iqbal (1877-1938) famously wrote:
“Warriors fall in the battlefield,
How can a crawling child fall?”
This setback led to a momentous event in March 1940. The twenty seventh session of All India Muslim League (AIML) was held at Lahore under the presidentship of the Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah. The Pakistan Resolution, also known as the Lahore Resolution, was drafted by a four-member Subjects Committee headed by Muhammad Ali Jinnah, including Nawab Ismail, Malik Barkat Ali, and Sikandar Hayat Khan, and presented by A.K. Fazlul Huq at the Minto Park in Lahore on March 23, 1940. The Lahore Resolution formally introduced the concept of an independent homeland for Muslims. In his presidential address at the AIML session, Jinnah stressed the need to reorganise Muslims of the subcontinent as a separate nation and the Muslim League across India as their representative body. He also called for the active participation of women in the Pakistan movement. His speech, along with the Resolution’s original text, outlined the future struggle of the Muslims of the subcontinent.
The resolution stated:
“Geographically contiguous units are demarcated into regions which should be so constituted, with such territorial readjustments as may be necessary, that the areas in which Muslims are numerically in a 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.”
The demand for independent states marked a turning point in the Muslim leadership’s political stance.
In his presidential speech, Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah raised important questions:
“Why all these methods to coerce the British to overthrow the Muslims? Why this declaration of non-cooperation? Why this threat of civil disobedience? Why fight for a Constituent Assembly only to determine whether Muslims agree or disagree? Why not come as a Hindu leader proudly representing your people, and let me meet you proudly representing the Muslims? This is all I have to say regarding the Congress.”
Jinnah clearly stated that the All India Congress sought a Constituent Assembly for one community only-the Hindus. He believed that they disregarded the Muslim majority, attempting to assimilate it into a singular national identity. In his speech, Jinnah highlighted the biased political stance of the Congress and the challenges Muslims faced, solidifying the foundation for a separate homeland. He also referenced The London Times, which asserted that Hindus and Muslims were “entirely distinct and separate civilizations.”
After the Lahore Resolution of 1940, Lord Linlithgow introduced the August Offer, aiming to provide some political relief to Indian Muslims. However, Jinnah rejected the proposal, as it failed to meet his demand for a separate homeland. While the August Offer addressed political rights, Jinnah sought political freedom in the form of an independent Muslim state. Aristotle famously said in Politics, “The state is a natural growth, and it is necessary.” Similarly, the creation of a separate homeland for Indian Muslims became essential. Jinnah remained unwavering in his commitment to the Lahore Resolution throughout the journey to independence.
The All India Muslim League’s rejection of the Cripps Mission in 1942 further demonstrated its resolve not to accept any proposal that failed to uphold the demands of the Lahore Resolution. Sir Stafford Cripps struggled to negotiate Indian support during World War II, but his promises of political representation for Indians did not adequately address Muslim concerns.
The next crucial event in the journey from resolution to creation was the Gandhi-Jinnah talks in 1944. Mohan Chand Karam Chand Gandhi (Mahatma Gandhi) remained firm in his advocacy for a united India, while Jinnah insisted on the establishment of Pakistan. The talks ultimately failed. Over the next few years, various attempts were made to bridge the gap between the Congress and the Muslim League, such as the Simla Conference of 1945 and the Viceroy’s Executive Council (1946), but all failed due to Jinnah’s steadfast demand for a separate homeland.
Jinnah’s leadership and mobilisation of the Muslim masses led the Muslim League to secure 90% of the Muslim seats in the Central Legislative Assembly during the 1946 elections. His dedicated political efforts transformed the Muslim League into a powerful advocate for Muslim rights. With the failure of the Cabinet Mission Plan in 1946, the demand for an independent Muslim state became inevitable. Finally, on August 14, 1947, the long-standing dream of a separate homeland for Muslims was realised.
It took seven years for a political vision to become reality. Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah worked tirelessly to secure a separate homeland for Indian Muslims. Max Weber aptly described politics as “a strong and slow boring of hard boards. It takes passion and perspective.” The Lahore Resolution of March 23, 1940, was a defining moment, as Jinnah addressed the injustices of the Congress and laid out a roadmap for an independent state. The saying goes, “Where there is a will, there is a way.” Jinnah had the will, the Muslims provided the way, and Pakistan emerged as the final destination.
-The author is a PhD scholar in the Department of History, University of Karachi