Ancient history

Opposition to Jinnah and Proposed Pakistan by Maulana Azad

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad in his book India Wins Freedom has expressed his views in opposition to the principle of creation of Pakistan at many places. He was born in Mecca in 1988. He was a renowned scholar of Arabic, Urdu, Hindi, Sanskrit, and English. He was educated at Al Azhar in Cairo.

Maulana was counted among the most intelligent Muslim leaders of his time. They wanted to live not in Jinnah's Pakistan, but in Gandhi's India. He wanted to see the Muslims of India enjoying all the natural resources of vast India instead of the limited resources of future Pakistan. They knew which bread had more butter on it!

At one place he writes- 'I have thought-about the plan of Muslim League for Pakistan from every point of view. What will be the effect of the status of Hindustani on the entire unit of the country in future, we have looked into it. As a Muslim, what effect it can have on the fate of the Muslims of India, we have guessed it. Having looked into all the aspects of this scheme, I have come to the conclusion that it is harmful not only to the whole of India but to the Muslims in particular and in fact it creates more issues than it solves. '

Whenever Muhammad Ali Jinnah opposed the appointment of a Muslim representative of Congress in any government committee or minister in the government, it had a direct impact on Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. Because he was a Muslim member of the Congress and Jinnah could have allowed any Muslim to join the government on the condition that he was not a member of the Congress but a member of the Muslim League. That is why Maulana Abul Kalam Azad was always opposed to Jinnah. Maulana asked Jinnah for the future separate country of Muslims 'Pakistan' Opposed the name.

On 15 April 1946, he published a statement which said-

'This name is against my health. It means that some part of the world is pak and the rest is impure. To divide the world into pure and nefarious parts in this way is to prove the spirit of Islam wrong. There is no scope for such division in Islam because Hazrat Muhammad has said – God has made the whole world a mosque for me.

Furthermore, Pakistan's plan seems to me to be a symbol of defeat, which has been modeled on the demand of the Jews. It is to be assumed that the Muslims in the entire unit of India will not be able to stand on their feet, so they will find peace by being confined to a safe corner. The demand of the Jews for a national residence can be sympathized with because they are scattered all over the world and cannot play a significant part in the discipline anywhere, but the condition of the Muslims of India is quite different.

Their numbers are about 90 million and their numbers and their merits are so important in the life of India that they can influence all questions of discipline and policy in a very and effective manner. Nature has also helped them by concentrating them in some areas. In such a situation, Pakistan has no power left. As a Muslim, at least I cannot give up the right to consider the whole country as my own, to take part in the decision of its political and financial life. To me it seems to me to be a sure proof of cowardice to give up what we have inherited and to be content with a piece of it. '

Maulana prepared a formula and got it approved by the Congress Working Committee. It had all the good things of Pakistan's plan but its bad things were avoided. Especially with the exchange of population. Not many of Azad's Hindu companions, but Azad had realized that one of the great fears of Muslims was that if the whole of India got independence, then the Hindu-dominated government at the center would put pressure on the minority-Muslims, would interfere, would give bandarghudki. , economically persecuted and politically crushed.

To allay this fear, Maulana's plan was that both sides should accept a solution in which the Muslim-majority territories are free to develop their own internal affairs, but at the same time, in matters where the question of the whole country arises, the center has its own rights. to make an impact.

Maulana has written- 'The condition of India is such that every attempt to establish a centralized and unitary government will be unsuccessful. Similarly, an attempt to divide India into two will have the same result. After considering all the aspects of this question, I have come to the conclusion that there can be only one solution which is present in the Congress formula which has potential for development of both the state and the country.

……. I am among those who consider this chapter of communal riots and bitterness to be a period of a few days in the life of India. I firmly believe that when India will take over the reins of its own destiny, this danger will end.

I am reminded of a Gladstone saying - If you want to remove the fear of water from a man's mind, throw that man in the water. Similarly, if India takes up its own responsibility and starts handling its work, then only this atmosphere of fear and doubt will be completely removed. When India achieves its historical goal, the present chapter of communal suspicion and opposition will be forgotten and it will face the problems of modern life in a modern way.

Distinctions will remain even then, but not communal but economic. There will also be opposition between political parties, but it will be economic and political, not religious. In future, alliances and partnerships will be based on class, not on the basis of sect and policies will be determined in the same way. If it is argued that it is only my belief which will be proved wrong by future events, then I have to say that nine crore Muslims cannot be ignored and they are powerful enough to save their destiny.'

Thus Maulana never wanted a separate country of Muslims. He wanted the Muslims to see their future in India. Despite the opposition by the Maulana, both the Congress and the Muslim League were moving rapidly towards Pakistan. The only difference was that the Congress was moving towards the creation of a weak Pakistan so that it could be destroyed before it could be created while the Muslim League was looking for a strong Pakistan, a Pakistan that would last for ages, rivaling India. And every Muslim of India should be a citizen of that Pakistan.