I would like to take this opportunity to share with your esteemed readers an important topic that is crucial in our current time. March 23 is a significant day as it commemorates the historic decision made by the Muslims of the South Asian subcontinent to shape their own destiny with honor and peace. This decision was made when the Lahore Resolution of 1940 was adopted during a general body meeting of the All India Muslim League, which was chaired by Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah.
Muslims had ruled the Indian subcontinent for centuries, but they never behaved in an imperialistic manner towards the diverse population. Unlike the British colonizers, they utilized Indian resources for the benefit of Indians, regardless of their religion, language, color, caste, or creed, and did not take away anything to their regions of origin.
In the known history of the subcontinent, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan was the first to realize the danger of majority rule in the subcontinent. He described India as a continent where several nations lived, which was the first exposure of Muslims as a separate nation in India. This was followed by the eminent Urdu poet Dag Dehalvi, who floated the concept of a separate homeland for Muslims in his poetic narrative.
The political journey of Indian Muslims reached a crucial point in 1930 when poet-philosopher Allama Dr. Mohammad Iqbal proposed a Muslim national homeland in India during the Muslim League’s session held in the city of Allahabad, situated in a Muslim minority province of Uttar Pradesh.
It would be pertinent to note that the entire Muslim population of the subcontinent including of minority provinces had exercised their right of self-determination for Pakistan thus Pakistan came into being from concept to reality.
MAHFOOZUN NABI KHAN,
Karachi.
