آج 25 دسمبر ہے ۔ اس دن معمارِ پاکستان قائد اعظم محمد علی جناح آج سے 137 سال قبل کراچی میں پیدا ہوئے تھے ۔ گو اس موضوع پر میں بہت پہلے بھی لکھ چکا لیکن آج خیال آیا کہ قائد اعظم کے اس خطاب کے اس حصہ کی مزید وضاحت کی جائے جسے بنیاد بنا کر اپنے آپ کو روشن خیال اور عالِم سمجھنے والے کچھ لوگ عرصہ ایک دہائی سے قائد اعظم پر تہمت لگاتے ہیں کہ اُنہوں نے پاکستان کو ایک لادینی (Secular) ریاست بنایا تھا

کسی نے صرف دس جماعتیں ہی پڑھی ہیں تو یہ کہانی ضرور پڑھی یا سُنی ہو گی کہ کسی زمانہ میں بندرگاہ پر تعینات ایک اہلکار رشوت لئے بغیر کسی جہاز کو لنگر انداز نہیں ہونے دیتا تھا ۔ ایک جہاز کے کپتان نے انکار کیا اور اپنا اہلکارا بادشاہ کے پاس بھیج دیا ۔ بادشاہ نے لکھ کر دیا ” روکو مت آنے دو “۔ اُس اہلکار نے پڑھا تو کہنے لگا ” دیکھو ۔ لکھا ہے روکو ۔ مت آنے دو“۔اِن پڑھے لکھے روشن خیال ہموطنوں کا استدلال بھی کچھ اسی طرح ہے

پاکستان کی پہلی اسمبلی سے قائد اعظم کے پہلے خطاب (11 اگست 1947ء) کا متعلقہ حصہ من و عن نقل کر رہا ہوں ۔ اسے غور سے پڑھ کر دیکھیئے کہ اس میں پاکستان لادینی ریاست ہونا کہاں سے آ گیا ؟ مکمل تقریر یہاں کلک کر کے پڑھی جا سکتی ہے اور آخر میں قائد اعظم کا واضح بیان بھی پڑھ لیجئے

Para 6. I know there are people who do not quite agree with the division of India and the partition of the Punjab and Bengal. Much has been said against it, but now that it has been accepted, it is the duty of everyone of us to loyally abide by it and honourably act according to the agreement which is now final and binding on all. But you must remember, as I have said, that this mighty revolution that has taken place is unprecedented. One can quite understand the feeling that exists between the two communities wherever one community is in majority and the other is in minority. But the question is, whether it was possible or practicable to act otherwise than what has been done, A division had to take place. On both sides, in Hindustan and Pakistan, there are sections of people who may not agree with it, who may not like it, but in my judgement there was no other solution and I am sure future history will record its verdict in favour of it. And what is more, it will be proved by actual experience as we go on that it was the only solution of India’s constitutional problem. Any idea of a united India could never have worked and in my judgement it would have led us to terrific disaster. Maybe that view is correct; maybe it is not; that remains to be seen. All the same, in this division it was impossible to avoid the question of minorities being in one Dominion or the other. Now that was unavoidable. There is no other solution. Now what shall we do? Now, if we want to make this great State of Pakistan happy and prosperous, we should wholly and solely concentrate on the well-being of the people, and especially of the masses and the poor. If you will work in co-operation, forgetting the past, burying the hatchet, you are bound to succeed. If you change your past and work together in a spirit that everyone of you, no matter to what community he belongs, no matter what relations he had with you in the past, no matter what is his colour, caste or creed, is first, second and last a citizen of this State with equal rights, privileges, and obligations, there will be no end to the progress you will make.

Para 7. I cannot emphasize it too much. We should begin to work in that spirit and in course of time all these angularities of the majority and minority communities, the Hindu community and the Muslim community, because even as regards Muslims you have Pathans, Punjabis, Shias, Sunnis and so on, and among the Hindus you have Brahmins, Vashnavas, Khatris, also Bengalis, Madrasis and so on, will vanish. Indeed if you ask me, this has been the biggest hindrance in the way of India to attain the freedom and independence and but for this we would have been free people long long ago. No power can hold another nation, and specially a nation of 400 million souls in subjection; nobody could have conquered you, and even if it had happened, nobody could have continued its hold on you for any length of time, but for this. Therefore, we must learn a lesson from this. You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place of worship in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed that has nothing to do with the business of the State. As you know, history shows that in England, conditions, some time ago, were much worse than those prevailing in India today. The Roman Catholics and the Protestants persecuted each other. Even now there are some States in existence where there are discriminations made and bars imposed against a particular class. Thank God, we are not starting in those days. We are starting in the days where there is no discrimination, no distinction between one community and another, no discrimination between one caste or creed and another. We are starting with this fundamental principle that we are all citizens and equal citizens of one State. The people of England in course of time had to face the realities of the situation and had to discharge the responsibilities and burdens placed upon them by the government of their country and they went through that fire step by step. Today, you might say with justice that Roman Catholics and Protestants do not exist; what exists now is that every man is a citizen, an equal citizen of Great Britain and they are all members of the Nation.

Para 8. Now I think we should keep that in front of us as our ideal and you will find that in course of time Hindus would cease to be Hindus and Muslims would cease to be Muslims, not in the religious sense, because that is the personal faith of each individual, but in the political sense as citizens of the State.