The Quaid: a brilliant statesman

A leader with consciousness of the social, cultural and economic conditions of the people and world vision approaches innermost feelings of the masses and successfully leads them in their pursuit of political freedom, economic independence, evolution of vibrant society, achievement and progress in various facets of life. Pakistan, the beacon of hope for the Muslims of South Asia and beyond, was created under the leadership of Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. He was not a traditional politician but a great leader, brilliant statesman and a master strategist, who fought the case for Pakistan so well that he not only frustrated the designs of the British that wished to see the subcontinent united in one form or another till the last moment, but also made the brute Hindu majority believe that division of the subcontinent had saved it from some bigger catastrophe.

In Pakistan, there is an ongoing debate for the last sixty-one years about the purpose and rationale behind the creation of Pakistan. Different schools of thought interpret Quaid-i-Azam's speeches to serve their ends, but the Quaid had envisioned Pakistan to be a modern progressive state, rooted in the eternal values of Islam, and at the same time responsive to the imperatives of constant change.

In his presidential address at the All India Muslim League session at Delhi on April 24, 1943 Quaid-i-Azam outlined his vision about Pakistan: "I have visited villages; there are millions and millions of our people who hardly get one meal a day. Is this civilisation? If that is the idea of Pakistan I would not have it." In the same speech he said: "A lot of mischief is being created. Is it going to be Islamic Government? The constitution and the government will be what the people will decide."

He envisaged a free, progressive, humane, and modern Pakistan, ruled by just laws, where everybody irrespective of religion, colour, creed or cast would be equal before law. Unfortunately, efforts were made to distort his speeches even when he was alive, and the vested interest had tried to remove his August 11, 1947 speech before the Constituent Assembly from the record.