Shamim.anwarPakistan Idea

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The Pakistan Idea:A Challenge to Geographical,Racial and Lingual Nationalism


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The Pakistan Idea:A Challenge to Geographical,

Racial and Lingual Nationalism

Shamim Anwar

Toluelslam Trust (Regd.) .


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The Pakistan IdeaM. Shamim AnwarKhalid M. Naseem atAnnoor Printers & Publishers3/2 Faisal Nag-dr, Multan Road,P.O. Box 4190, Lahore - 25Tel: 042-7585826 & 7586841'l'olu-e-Islam Trust25-B, Gulberg-2, Lahore- 54660Tel: 879246Monir AhmedMonir Composing Centre,D-28, Wahdat Colony, LahoreTel: 042-75700561994

ISBN 969-8164-02-2Price:

(Total proceeds from T o l u ~ e - I s l a m Trust Publicationsis spent on dissemination of Quranic Teachings)


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( iii )Contents

Preface ....... IVIntroduction .......VB

Ch. I Definition of some ....... 1Quranic ConceptsCh. II Culture and civilisation ....... 9Ch. III Approach to History ....... 26Ch. IV Sir Syed Ahmed Khan ....... 35

-- The First Architectof PakistanCh. V The Two Nation theory ...... .42Ch. VI Dr. Muhammad Iqbal ....... 49

and the Human DestinyCh. VII Iqbal Finds a saviour in Jinnah ....... 61Ch. VIII The Ideological Battle -- Par t I ....... 75 .Ch. IX The Ideological Battle -- PartH ....... 97Ch.X The Genesis of the ....... 105

Ulema's opposition tothe Pakistan Idea

Ch. XI The Battle is won ....... 112Ch. XII Conclusion ....... 118

Bibliography ....... 125


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PrefaceIt has never been easy for anyone, great or small, to

present something new and fresh in the realm of ideasand concepts. Even if people may no longer be burnt orskinned alive for their convictions today, the bestthinkers of any country have to wait a long time to makethemselves heard above the noise and din of prevalentideas, leave alone reMcreating a new order and a newman. Each idea seems to go its full circle before theirwarnings are heeded, entailing so much suffering and somuch pain. And yet all this need not be necessary.

It has not been easy to present the "Pakistan Idea".In the uncritical onrush of man's march in a particulardirection, it is terribly out of step. It is all the moredifficult because here, as Dr. Muhammad Iqbal put it,"Islam is (being presented as) a protest against allreligions in the old sense of the word"M a word that,significantly has never been used in the Quran. Thuswhenever Iqbal uses the. word "religion" it is used in avery different context and background.

It has been noted during the writing of this littlebook that the Pakistan Idea can best be reconstructed onthe basis of the speeches and writings of the maincharacters, with Quranic concepts as the touchstone.


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\ v )mentor, Allama Ghulam Ahmad Parwcz. Indeed withouthim this book could never have been written.

Allama Parwez's greatest forte was clarity of thoughtand his knowledge of semantics. The way he clarifiedwords and concepts and the "Pakistan Idea" as no oneelse did, I developed a keen sensitivity to the fact that Imust write i t down. I also felt it so as a duty and aresponsibility, being a student of history, although in noway do I claim to be a writer or a historian. Also, duringhis public lectures and conversations, Allama Parwez"repeatedly warned that the Pakistan Movement can beput into perspective only if Jinnah's political career isstudied in two distinct phases--from 1906 to 1930 andfrom 1934 onwards. What happened during this period oftime between 1930 and 1934 is what makes all thedifference.

Secondly, Allarna Parwez emphasised that the"Toluelslam" magazine issues from 1938 to 1942,wherein the ideological battle was fought must beresearched, for it lies enshrined in these pages. Withoutreference to it, the challenges and responses of the"Pakistan Idea" will be overshadowed by controversiesand misinterpretations. In fact that is exactly what hashappened in the last four and a half decades, both thetheocratics and secularists trying to pull it in their owndirections. They have a right to project their views butno one has the right to distort history. I have picked upthe gauntlet and have attempted to write. Some of it was


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At the end one more point needs to be clarified. Thecontents of this book are not in the form of a narration,for I did not wish to repeat what already has beencopiously undertaken by qualified historians. Myemphasis is on the conceptu(}l and abstract principles.

I hope this small effort will be followed by betterefforts.S. A.


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IntroductionThe "Pakistan Idea" is not an original one 1 and yet

in the context of the present it is also very new anddifferent. To understand this proposition it will benecessary to briefly review the beginnings of theprevalent concepts and institutions and the norms thatEuropean experience has set for the rest of the world.Since the Renaissance, Europe has gone through agreat transformation from the concepts and institutionsof thl Middle Ages. Following a haphazard process oftrial and error, of action and reaction, new concepts andinstitutionshave been evolved, and it has not been easy.About six hundred years of history has seen manyearth-shaking upheavals in Europe, often painful andprolonged in terms of human suffering and man's span oflife. This is not surprising, for in the trial and errorprocess, this is but inevitable. The Reformation andcounter-Reformation, Age of Reason, French Revolution,the Napoleonic Wars, and Industrial and CommercialRevolutions - each in its tUrn has produced changes inthe thinking of the European Man and his pattern oflife. Rejection of the priestly Church Organisationdeveloped a scientific attitude of mind and also broke thefocus of a sense of Christian unity, giving rise tosecularism and the rejection of the king's will,introducing the concept of the "general will" and popularsovereignty; the rebellion ofthe people against Napoleon's


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profit-motivation, laissez-faire, and rugged individualism.The reaction to it swung the pendulum to the theories ofclass-war and scientific socialism and communism.

No doubt on the whole the changes have been forthe better, but no human efforts, however much animprovement on the past, can claim to be an undilutedblessing.

Freedom of the intellect from the organisedpriesthood and medieval scholasticism enabled thedevelopment of the scientific attitude and provideduninhibited opportunities for the flowering of the latenthuman potentials. From the inertia of the -Middle Ages,the European mind plunged into an adventure of ideasand a life of action and struggle. But in this rapidchanging scene, he has no foothold to stand on. Dr.Muhammad Iqbal points out: "It (society) must possesseternal principles to regulate its collective life; for theeternal gives us a foothold in the world of perpetualchange."l This eternal principle is missing in the prescntmodern set-up. Whatever defective value-systemChristianity may have had, it has not so far beenreplaced by another. Rene Guenon says: "The intellecthas a sharp eye for methods and tools but is blind to endand values. 2 The importance of "end and values" hasbeen clarified by Robert Briffault: "The real standard bywhich the worth of the human world is to be computed isa moral standard. It is in an ethical sense that the word


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Ux)eliminated from the public life of the people."Secularism", the pride of modern achievement, is inessence a divorce from morality. The politicians haveescaped the inhuman and unintellectual domination ofthe priest but now cannot but follow Machiavelli forwhom moral values existed only as an expediency. ToIqbal, life divorced from morality is "Changezism" underwhatever attractive cloak it may be hidden.

Rejection of monarchical despotism and feudalismhas introduced democracy, described often as the bestform of government. But Rousseau's "general will'" stillbegs definition. The best that has been discovered so farby way of practical solution is "indirect representation"and "majority vote" to decide what is right and wrong.For example, when by majority vote, the people of theUnited States of. America decided to go dry, drinking ofalcohol became "wrong", but when the majority decidedthat Uncle Sam's beard should go wet again, it became"right" to take alcohol. How much can one depend uponthe "majority vote" for "right thinking"? Experience hasshown that public opinion can be swayed one way oranother, or guided and modified by mere suggestions,psychologically induced. Meneken has well said:"Knowing very well as a cardinal article of their art, howlittle people in general are moved by rational ideas andhow much by mere hullaballoo, they make commoncause with every pressure group that comes along, andare thus maintained in office by an endless services ofpublic enemies." 1 Iqbal had therefore warned:

"Keep away from Democracy: Follow The


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l x IIn any case the majority vote cannot on any accountbe a universal or unanimous opinion. The minority isdone great injustice to, particularly when fundamental

issues of right and wrong are to be decided. In thisrespect, tyranny of the majority could be worse thantyranny of one man. Hence Iqbal again warned:

"The Democratic system of the West is the same oldinstrument,

Whose chords contain no note other than the voiceof the Kaisar,The Demon of Despotism is dancing in hisdemocratic robes,Yet you consider i t to be the Neelam Pari ofLiberty."The capitalist economy does depend a lot oninitiative, hard work and rugged individualism, qualities

that invite admiration. But the apparent affluence andprosperity of the industrially advanced countries pretendto hide the mutual hatred and suspicion that itengenders. Laissez-faire, material profit motivation,every man for himself and unlimited ownership has setman against man. This exploitation of the 'have-nots' bythe 'haves' repelled Iqbal. Thus, though he does notthink that "atheistic socialism" can solve the ills ofhumanity he hailed the revolution in these words:

"You witnessed that the hungry slaveafter all tore into pieces the shirt of thelandlord which was stained with his blood.


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Psychologically, capitalism is splitting man intoisolated units, unable to communicate and share, lonelyand atrophied within. This lonely crowd must be madeinto a "society" again. Once again Iqbal has describedthis melody in his very expressive style:

"The most depressing error of Materialism is thesupposition that finite consciousness exhausts itself." IThen further on he says:"He finds himself unable to control his ruthlessegoism and his infinite goldhunger, which is graduallykilling all higher striving in him and bringing him

nothing but life-weariness."zLike capitalism, terriwrial nationalism also creates

hatred and bitterness. "My country, right or wrong" is aslogan that can hardly be said to have led to civilisinginfluence. Aldous Huxley has well said that the('National Person is s u p e r ~ h u l l l a n in size and energy, butcompletely s u b ~ h u m a n in morality." It is this dualitythat Iqbal rejects. "The Nationalist theory of state,therefore, is misleading in as much as it suggests adualism which does not exist in Islam."3

Thus the European Man has reached a dead end inhis experiment. He has done well to overthrowpriesthood and traditional religion, but has not found av a l u e ~ s y s t e m to be guided by. He has overthrowndespotism, but wonders how to get rid of the tyranny ofthe majority vote. He has eradicated poverty, but isunable . to discover a motivation other than materials e l f ~ i n t e r e s t . He has rejected God, but replaced it by the


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matter of sheer unconscious reaction, both emotionallyand intellectually. that it kills curiosity and the ability toaccept and reject things on merit. This superioritycomplex allows only a patronising and condescendingattitude if the erstwhile slave says something clever. Butanything different startles them. There could not be anyother way, but the European way. Thus it is a pity that a"curtain of ignorance" (as Felix Greene describes it) hasbeen created over one of the most glorious experimenton an unprecendetal scale being made in China onhuman living. Nobody can of course claim that anyhuman situation can be perfect, but we are missing ajoyous experience of a quarter of humanity, even thoughwe may not totally agree with everything they do. In thesame way, the West was "startled" (in Richard Wheeler'se x p r e s s i o n ~ when Pakistan came into existence on basisunknown to them.

It was high time that somebody stood up andsincerely and boldly spoke the truth irrespective of whatthe "civilised nations" and "world opinion" thoughtabout him. And what is more, devised some means toexperiment his concepts and institutions to show to theworld that their can be other ways, other alternatives tothe exclusively western or the communist.

One such man was Dr. Muhammad Iqbal. He gave adifferent idea, today know as "Pakistan Idea," an ideathat was to be objectified in a sovereign state carved outin the fidian sub-continent It is the evolution of thisi d ~ a that forms the subject matter of this paper.Realising the difficulty in presenting the idea in the


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The readings on the Pakistan idea brought to light aremarkable consistency in the thoughts, attitudes andpractices of certain personalities. They are Syed AhmedKhan, Dr. Muhammad Iqbal, Mohammad Ali Jinnah andChulam Ahmed Parwez. Other personalities come andgo, but they lack the above qualities. For example, AbulKalam Azad expressedvery similar ideas to Iqbal duringthe Balkan Wars but in later life he catapulted into thecamp of the All-India National Congress and opposed"The Pakistan Idea" till the last moments of his life.Maulana Muhammad Ali, a very sincere leader, was anemotional agitator, who before his death in 1930confessed the mistakes he made, and so on and so forth.But the four mentioned above are personalities who havenever flinched or wavered from their path once theywere convinced of it. Hence the history of t.heir thoughtsand efforts is the history of the "Pakistan Idea".

At this stage it need hardly be emphasised that it isnot easy to present new and different concepts when theold ones are so deep rooted and internalised that theyhave become second nature. Thel'efore the first chapterwill be devoted to the definition of Quranic conceptswhich are in the words of Iqbal "a protest against allreligions ,in the old sense of the term" I and a protestagainst so many modern western terms. For the samereason, even if at the risk of slight repetition, chaptertwo "Culture and Civilisation" and chapter three"Approach to History" have been added. While theformer is a cause of considerable confusion, the latter,


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1

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Definition of someQuranic conceptsIn the light of what has been said in the introduction

it has become absolutely imperative that this researchpaper should begin with the definition of "Islam" andthe various concepts and terms that 8l 'e associated withit. In a world atmosphere charged with fanaticaladherence to certain concepts, so sacred that theycannot be questioned, those concepts that look in adifferent direction to these can on no account be leftundefined and ambiguous. In fact any ambiguity aboutconcepts that directly and in concrete form affect humanliving can be fatal to the human mind and hence fatal tothe very survival of that particular group who claims tolive by those concepts. Professor Whitehead has aptlystated that defining of a problem is a problem halfsolved. Herein lies the significance of this chapter.

ISLAM: The most important term is "Islam" itself.II' Surah: 3 Verse; 83 the Quran declares that every,object in the universe bows down before the laws thathave been so de:;;igned for them. The word "Islam" inthis verse means to "bow down". The same -word hasbeen made more explicit by using the word "sajda" inthe Surah 13, Verse 15. Whatsoever is in the universe"prostate" (yasjudun) before its Creator' (Allah's) Laws.Now, this "prostration" and "bowing down" is not based


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2universe. (16/49). They follow whatever is assigned forthem. (16/50).

AL-ISLAM: While all the objects are bound to obeybecause they have to, a human being has been createdwith a free will. It is left to him to obey or disobey thelaws that have been designed for him. These laws are oftwo kinds: Those that apply on his physical life incommon with the lower animals. I f these laws are obeyedit simply means that man will be healthy and strong.However, though physically a pleasant accomplishment,it has nothing to do with the nobility of humanity. Theselaws can be discovered in the same way as other laws ofNature through what is understood as the scientificprocess. Many were discovered through the pastcenturies and many more are being discovered all thetime today. The other categOly of laws are concernedwith the development of the human personality and therules and regulations of an organised society. These laws,the Quran claims, are enshrined in it, laws that werereceived through "Revelation';' (wahO. When a humanbeing bows down before these laws it is described as "AlIslam". Physical laws governing physical existencc maybe obeyed on the individual basis, and it is so done, but"AI-Islam" can be obeyed only within an organisedsystem. The Quranic word for any indefinite system is"Dccn", but when referred to the Quranic system then itbecomes a definite term and is described as "Ad-Deen".Hence in Surah 3, Verse 18, The Quran says that the"ad-Deen" according to Allah is "aI-Islam". This point


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3only in collective living within u system called ad-Deen.What in modern terminology is "a system of a state""the Quran defines it as ad-Deen. This word is also usedas the "laws of the government" in Surah 12, Verse 76 asfollows: "Yusufwished to detain his brother (Bin-Yamin),but he could not because it was against the laws of thegovernment." The QUl'an emphasises again and againthat sovereignty lies with Allah alone. He and no otherauthority must be obeyed, (12/40). Such a system aloneengenders streub-rth. Now it is obvious that for a system,the establishment of a state is a pre-requisite. "Thosewho are convinced of the truth of the Quranic laws andof Allah as their source and constructively harmonisethemselves with them, they establish a state andgovernment just as the people of yore who wereconvinced of the laws of Allah.' (2455). The purpose of itall is to establish ad-Deen which Allah has preferred forthe human beings. It is obvious from these Quranicverses that alIslam cannot be implemented without astate.

MADRAB: It is very important at this stage todefine the word "mudhab" translated as "religion" inEnglish, and now traditionally used to describe "a1Islam" as well. It is significant to note that Hmazhab"although an Arabic word, is a word that has not occulTedin the Quran for there is no such concept visualised by it."Madhab" or religion is considered to be a private affairbetween Man and God, manifested in wurship, anemotional devotion to God and some rituals and


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4and governments generally allow the "freedom ofreligion". For example the British Empire in India gavefreedom to all religious but it could not have givenfreedom to ad-Deen because it demands a state of its ownand that would have been a challenge to its e x i ~ t c n c e , Infact no state can give freedom tu ai-Islam as ad-Deen. Todraw a familiar parallel, in a country where capitalism isthe "deen", the "deen" of communism cannot beestablished and vice v e l ' ~ a . Hence today, aI-Islam asad-Deen does not exist aUjWhere, may it be the so-calledMuslim countries or in countries where the so-calledMuslims are given freedom of religion as a religiousgroup. I f "religious freedom" was all that Muhammad(P.B.U.H.) demanded, he could have acquired that in theold Meccan setup, But he had to go all the wuy 'toMedina to fulfill the pre-requisites of ad-Deen, asovereign state,

MUSLIM: A Muslim is one who obeys the Laws ofal-Islam as ad-Deen, Since there is no such state inexistence today, there is no Muslim as such either.STATE RELIGION: This is rather a vugue term,While an individual or group of individuals may clmm tohave some sort of personal relationship with God, it is

not clear as to how a state, an abstruction, hat;; t l l lSprivate religious link with God. A state may be at themost described as a piece of tenitory wherein a system isestablished. How is a system supposed to have a religion?This point is not clear. In any case, this is a non-Islamic


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6jungles. But "ad-Decn" an organised system demandscollective submission to the law. So "anyone who wishesto submit, must join the group" (2/43). AlHI it is "byjoining this group that one enters the heavenly society"(89/29-30).

ISLAMIC STATE: The Quran declares inunambiguous terms that "those who do 110t establishtheir government in accordance with the QUl'anicconcepts are kafirs (non-believers)" (5/44). In cunentpolitics a sovereign state is that which is absolutelyindependent of any kind of limitation. An Islamic state isfrcc only within the limits of the Quranic values. Heresovereignty lies in the authority of the Quranic values,not in anyone or mOl:e individuals. This does not meanthat an Islamic state is not sovereign. Every sovel'eignstate, although externally independent, has to acceptinternally the limitations of its own constitution. Thedifference lies in the fact that the Islamic state, as longas it aims at being Islamic, cannot violate the Quranicvalues; it takes decisions and makes by-laws \vithin theboundaries of the Quranic values. It is a harmoniousblending of permanence and change. An un-Islamic statedoes not accept limits of any such kinds.

SECULAR STATE: It has already been stated that"those who do not establish their government inaccordance with the Quranic concepts are kafil's (nonbelievers)" (5/44). In other words it is a "Secular" State,


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7We say that our morality is entirely subordinate to

the interests of the class struggle of the proletariat. Ourmorality is derived from the interests of the classstruggle of the proletariat. 1

"We do not believe in an eternal morality, and weexpose all the fables about morality."2However this definition of Secularism is not

restricted to Communism alone. Communist or nonCommunist, all states today are secular. Any system ofvalues is considered to be a matter of private affair ofeach individual. But these values have no control overthe policies of the state, internal or externaL This iswhat may be described as "dualis:rri" in humanbehaviour. Talking about this kind of state politicsC.E.M. Joad says:

"The practical effect of idealist theory in its bearingupon the relations between states, is, therefore, to createa double standard of morality. there is one system ofmorals for the individuals and another for the state sothat men who, in private life, are humane, honest andtrustworthy, believe that when they have dealings on thestate's behalf with the representatives of other states,they are justified in behaving in ways of which as privateindividuals, they would be heartily ashamed.

The same view has been stated by Cavour. He says:"If we do for ourselves what we do for our country, whatrascals we should be." 4 Iqbal has said in his well-known


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8divorced from morality, it is reduced toChangezism."

Such a state proudly gives the freedom of religionand even constitutional recognition of the personal lawsof the various religious groups, but in public and statepolitics they are Machiavellian lions and foxes. Inunequivocal terms the Quran condemns as verydestructive the attitude of those "who believe in someparts orthe Book and disbelieve in other palts" (2/85).

DEMOCRACY: It is in this context that thedistinction between modern western democracy andIslamic democracy can be understood. In the former thedecision of what is right and wrong is made by therepresentatives of the people by a majority vote. But inthe latter the limitations of right and wrong aremeasured in the Quran. The laws and uylaws can bemade only within its boundaries through consultationamongst the people according to the changing times.

Democracy, and other concepts described above, willbecome more understandable as the history of the"Pakistan Idea" unfolds and crystalises itself in thesucceeding pages.1


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2 Culture and CivilisationAmong the great human themes which have invitedprofound discourses among philosophers, historians,anthropoligists, sociologists and psychologists, one

theme that still bugs our minds and perhaps begs morediscourses is "culture and civilisation", Along withlingual and ethnic identities (more will be said about itlater) culture and ciVilisation, on a universal scale. isinflicting a deadly divisiveness among human kind, andall this at a time when we are leaping into the twentyrust century. But sadly, ODe has only to utter the wordftculture" , and it immediately generates centrifugaltendencies leading to more and more hatred,misunderstandings and bloodshed. In the nineteenthand early twentieth centuries Europe split into bits asthe Austrian-Hungarian and Ottoman Empiresdisintegrated; today, the socialist collapse is witnessinganother disintegration of Eastern Europe and the SovietUnion as a whole: one of the worst spots beingYugoslavia wherein Bosnians, Croats and Serbs are in adeathly grip.

Similar rumblings are being felt in south Asia, veryclose at home, and other parts of the world. At one pointin history, humankind set in motion a prolonged andtough_struggle to reject religion from public and political


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10"religious communalism" he retorted thus: "All nationsaccuse us of fanaticism. I admit the chargeM-I go furtherand say that we are justified in our fanaticism.Translated in the language of biology fanaticism isnothing but the principle of individuation working in thecase of a group. In this sense all forms of life are m,ore orless fanatical and ought to be so if they care for theircollective life. And as a matter of fact all nations arefanatical. Criticise an Englishman's religion, he isimmovable; but criticise his civilisation, his country 01'_the behaviour of his nation in any sphere of activity andyou will bring out his innate fanaticism. The reason isthat his nationality does not depend on religion; it has ageographical basis _ his country. His fanaticism then isjustly roused when you criticise his country,,,.Fanaticism is pat'riotism for religion; patriotism,fanaticism for country,"l We see therefore thathumankind is as fanatical or intolerant as before, onlyreligious intolerance is replaced by cultural and nationalintolerance. The situation is the same, only the subjectand emphasis has changed.

It is also interesting to note that the term"civilisation" is interchangeably mingled with "culture" intheir usage. Surely, as two distinct terms they must havedistinct definitions and implications, and theircorrelation, But this aspect is also ignored and the resultis a complete hotchpotch ending in confusion. Evenwriters of calibre and learning interplay on these wordscarelessly.


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11sensitivity in its implication as, if we were to use thewords men, women and children instead. Also, a slightchange in the shade of meaning can change the wholeperspective of life,.a whole world-view, Hence semanticsor science of words has gained tremendous significancein the modern world. The developing countries withtheir static societies have not given any attention in thisarea of research.

I t is now recognised that through evolutionaryprocess and the dynamics of experience the meaning ofwords change. However, there have also been negativeforces at work through the ages in all s o c i e t i e s ~ Thewords are retained, but the meaning and its relatednessto life is changed. This is a deliberate and concertedmeasure on the part of the priestcraft to suit the existingstatus quo and the vested interests. This is how greatrevolutionary movements are stalled and people startregressing. For instance "ibadat" (obedience to) of eitherPharaohs Laws or Allah's Laws is now understood as"worship." Similarly, "Service" (to humanity) has beennarrowed down to "service" in the church. Such examplescould be endless in all languages and rur..ong all pf:!ople ofdifferent regions. After this all that the rulers (kings orpoliticians of today) have to do is to pick up words andphrases out of context from the works of "anbiya" orgreat thinkers and scholars and beat them hollow byrepetitive slogan mongering. Great human concepts arethus lost to humanity and to posterity. It is thereforepre-requisite to progress to lay emphasis on the


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13

To this is added a whole array of saints and mystics,and of course the Mughal miniature paintings and minorarts and crafts of Multan and Bahawalpur pottery, and'muslin' of Dacca, wood and lacquer work, carpets andpaper mache of Kashmir, and so on and so forth. This isnot all. While speaking at the Islamic Colloquium inLahore in the late fifties as to what Islamic Art is, Dr.Richard Eithing Hausen, Research Professor of IslamicArt, University of Michigan, USA spoke thus: "IslamicArt, he said is charactrised by the "taaq", Candle"

the Arabian alphabet and "illuminations" inthe book". Supposedly then, it was to preserve thisculture that Pakistanis established a sovereign state! Inthis context the situation is inherently confusing andcontradictory. It would be worth quoting at length from atext book of Civics by which the citizens of tomorrow areeducated. Discussing the clash of cultures, the authorsays; "Clashes of culture exist wherever two ways of lifewithin the same area are so opposed that they cannotlive side by side. The very presence of the one means thesuppression of the other. Our own case is a goodexample. Muslims and Hindus represented two separateand distinct cultures in India. They could not livetogether or accommodate one another. This clashaggravated so much that India had to be divided so thatthe two cultures can have their own areas." In the VelYnext paragraph, on the same page he talks about thephenomenon of "cultural ambivalence." He argues that "aperson is caught between two opposing cultures. He doesnot know what to do. His whole life is split up." Havingexplained this the author gives an excellent illustration"


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oriental dress at home but outside we mostly usewestern dress. Our values are partly Eastern and partlyWestern. Basically our attitude is that of an orthodoxoriental but we are too prone to western polish. Theresult is that we have no culture of our own, or at leastnone that is worked out, peculiar to our genius anddistinct in shape or form",

Without blinking an eye, the author hascategorically declared that "we have no culture of ourown" and yet we achieved Pakistan according to himbecause we had a separate and distinct "culture" from theHindus!However, the confusion does not end here for many

of us have confused the terms "culture" and "civilisation",West Pakistan has witnessed a "fusion of cultures" saysone author. These cultures he argues, are Indus ValleyCivilisation, the Persian and Greek occupation of WestPakistan, the Saka and Kush.an Conquests, and ofcourse, the Turk, Mghan, and the Mughal rule in India.Pakistan may be a new country, hut she possesses acultural heritage that is 5,000 years old. It can be tracedback to the statuette of an unknown dancing girl inMoen-jo-Daro and the undeciphered script on theexquisite seals of the Indus Valley Civilisation, and notas recent as the Arab Conquest of Sind, which in anycase did not leave hehind any monument worth thename. I t is obvious that there is a great deal of confusionand it stems from our misconception of the termsculture and civilisation. Since such confusion has proved


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15Culture is none of the things mentioned above. Theculture of a people is basically on "attitude of mind", Il_world-view, a way of looking at Nature, at life itself.Culture is an idea in the mind that inspires people intoaction or inaction and mould their lives in a particular

pattern. It is something that happens inside a humanbeing, It is a human condition, an internal change,progressive or regressive as the case may be. It is thisinternal change that brings a transformation either w ~ y in the fundamental constitution of a people's mode ofthought. As-such, culture is abstract and philosophical,denoting a whole value system enconpassing all aspectsof life. Culture is not the extcrnalia of life, externaliawhich point out to the fashions of the day, habits andcustoms. Dr. Syed Abdul Latif has presented a very aptdistinction between the two. He saYl:l "In societies wherethis is not understood in its proper perspective, the term"culture" is at times confused with the term"refmement". In this indifferent or populor sense, theterm "culture" stands for the fashion of the day,primarily in the externalia of life, in dress, in drawingroom manners, the matelial amenities of living, therecreation of diverse forms catering for the senses, andthe similar signs of seeming or outward pulish. But sucha condition or state may not necessarily argue a refinedstate of mind, the hall-mark of hue culture. 'One maysmile and smile and be a villain' says Hamlet, and hedraws attention to what should not pass for "culture".


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is capable". Such is their relatedness. One is the "soul:the other "intellect" epitomised by Greece and Romerespectively. Culture is thus a creative process objcctitying itself in the society; it tries to perfect itself incivilisation, that is, in social, economic and politicalinstitutions, fine arts; scientific discoveries andinventions.

Due can see now that while culture is abstract,intangible, invisible and internal, civilisation is concrete,visible and external. But, and this is a very big but,during this creative process, the manifestation of culturein civilisation there is no common denomination. Theyare varied, diverse, ever changing. In other words, oneparticular culture can manifest itself in different formsof civilisations, thus making the civilisations historicaland regional as well. It would indeed be a dull andmorbid world if complete uniformity was imposed.Variety is the spice of life, making life so much morecolourful and rich. Local variation and touch must bepreserved even when the whole of mankind accepts oneculture. Ernest Cassirer in his "Essay on Man" hasrightly said that "here we seek not unity of effects butunity of action, not unity of products but unity of thecreative process. If the term "humanity" means anythingat all, it means that, in spite of all the differences andoppositions existing among its various forms, these are,nevertheless, all working towards a common end."

This is as far as the definition of "culture" and


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17

Islamic culture then is a culture that says YES tolife. It is a culture that places Adam (humankind) in aposition where the Malaika (laws and forces of Nature)prostrate before him; it is a culture that makesHumankind the co-worker of God. It is the spirit ofadventure and enterprise, the unquenchqable thirst forlearning and research, the prodigious intellectualcuriosity to unravel the Laws of Nature, and the sheerjoy of living in this beautiful, wonderful world which laysbefore humankind such immense possibilities. Thismotive force leads them on to exploit the unlimitedresources around them, control the forces of Nature andmake for themselves a heaven on earth. There is anoutburst of creative activity and the flowering of talent.Deeply imbued with this culture, no task is too great forhumankind, no obstacle unsurpssable, no challenge thatcannot be r'esponded to,The anti-thesis of this culture is the one that says

NO to life. It is a culture that condemns this world as astinking carcass fit for the dogs and vultures, Theinterest of the people, who are priest ridden, arediverted from this world to the other world. Instead ofcoustructing a heaven on this earth, their attention isfocussed solely on the heaven hereafter. Life on thisearth is not important; it is the life after death thatreally matters.

Poverty, disease, natural calamites, all are borne witha spirit of resignation and fatalism, the creative processis dead and the faculty of thought is suppressed and lost.


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18Thus basically there are only two cultures in theworld--one that says YES, and the other that says NO tolife. One is Islamic the other non-Islamic. Indeed any

nation at any time or place has an important ingredientof Islamic culture when she says YES to life. It is thisspirit that made Tariq burn his boats; i t was the samespirit that made Europeans explore the world, acrossdeserts and the high seas and discover new continents; itwere not the gods but just ordinary human beings whotraversed the deserts and who ventured into denseforests where wild beasts lurked and where unruly rivers iunleashed their fury; it is ordinary human beings againwho have conquered geography in places where it wasconsidered to be inimical to the spirt of activity andinitiative; and today the same spirit is moving into space,landing on the moon and pushing its way to other starsand planets. In a sense from ancient to modern times,emperors and dictators like Alexander the Great, JuliusCeasar, Changez Khan, Temur Lang and Hitler threwchallenges to others and accepted them from others inthe same spirit. Tyrannical they were but there was lifeand vigour. On the other hand, when the spirit dies itdegenerates into the culture of the opium eaters of prerevolutionary China' over which the yellow river ruled, orthe Hindu Indian fear, as recent as the nineteenthcentury, that sailing on the high seas makes themimpure resulting in the dissolution of theil: marriage!

However, the similarity between Islamic culture andthe examples given above ends here, for the survival of aculture depends upon how it uses and controls the


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19

Are they guided by purely material values or bypermanent human values? The Quran declares inunconditional terms that the culture that nourishes andguards humanity and harnesses its scientific power bythe reins of permanent values, alone con survive. Theduration of culture depends upon the extent of its aidingvalue to human life. Dr, Latif points out that "a nation ora social group may have attained a high standard ofmaterial progress, and the distribution of its benefitswithin its own circle may be equitable but it may prove adanger to humanity at large all the same," To this Iwould add that sometimes a wealthy nation might helpother nations for its own self-preservation, but even thatproves futile in the long run. The goal must be"humanity" and not the interest of ones own group. Thisis the test of survival and hence its veracity.

At this point, having defined "Islamic" culture,' theclarification of "Islamic" civilisatlOn, that is, how the twoterms relate and function together would be in order. Asalready stated above, civilisation is the objectifying ofculture in society in variegated and changcable forms. Inthis context it would be very erroneous indeed to say, asit is always being said that the minaret and dome, the"ghazal" and "qaseeda" are the monopoly of Islam. Thereis no reason why it cannot express itself equally well inthe pagoda and the steeple, the sonnet and the ballad.Again, if one speaks English or Chinese, builds his houseon American style and adopts western or any other dress,


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20

"pulaaa" and "Sheekh Kabab." Thinking in such termsmakes any group of people a laughing stock and what isworse, these so-called identifications with Islam or anyother philosophy of life makes it static and petrified.

This issue has become so confusing andretrogressive that it invites further clarification andrepetition. The QUl'an envisages a culture that isuniversal. To begin with, let us take the example of theSouth Asian sub-continent. The moment reference ismade to ancient Indian classical music and dance, the"Muslim" of this region balks at it. He has nothing to dowith it he says for it is dedicated to Hindu gods andgodesses. That is true, but what should matter to him isnot the themes but the form whic:h, no doubt, is a classby itself with a long and a great tradition. Even inBharat, there are groups of people who, though not veryeffective yet, are thinking in terms of themes other thanHindu mythology. While retaining ancient heritage; theclassic form, or for that matter, the folk traditional formas well can and must be used for modern themcs.Similarly, in Pakistan, issues that touch our heads andhearts, issues such as extremes of poverty and wealth,enslavement and freedom, health and education, war andpeace, status of women and many more can bechoreographed as ballets, becoming a very effectivemedium of creative process and change. Such abreakthrough was fIrst made by the famous Indiandancer, Uday Shankar. In Pakistan too, second only toUday Shankar was Mehr Nigar Masmor, who undcr the


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21

Talking of sartorial fashions, mny be climate, rawmaterial available, the convenience and utility of theform of dress in a given situation, all these play animportant role. Now, to keep on emphasising that"Shalwar-qamiz" and a sleeveless jacket for men, and a"doputta" for women is our identity and henceunchangeable, rejecting thereby trouser-suits, skirts and"saris" as alien is an unworkable proposition. If "sari" isSouthAsian, "shalwar-qamiz" is the modified form ofpre-Islamic Turkish dress. To wear "shalwar qamiz" as aconvenient regional dress is understandable, though howcpnvenient it would be for the army and police duties, isanother matter. Many also think that trouser-suit is as ~ t e r and more dignified dress, keeping one alert, ascompared to the laziness and shabiness that "shalwaI'qamiz" engenders. As for the identity, perhaps ourmemories are too short to recall that the sleevelessjacket is linked with the name of Nehru. Furthermore, ifHachkan" gains significance because Quaide.AzamJinnah wore it a few times, then it is a mistaken notion.

-The Quaid would not go in for such triviliaties; he was awelldressed person, and he carried whatever dress hewore v ~ r y gracefully. That is all there is to it. In theultimate analysis what matters is not the outward formbut the: Islamic cultural spirit of dignity and poise andmodesty for both men and women.S t r ~ t c h i n g further the sartorial issue, the form of

h e a d g e ~ s and beard all no beard is again fashion of thedfty and individual taste. If Raz!"at Muhammad (P.B.V.Rl


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22humanity is confronted with, demanding deep researchand hard work.

Another vast field that gets hogged down in so-calledculture is architecture. It seems as if the "dome" and the"minaret" were part of the blue-prints that dropped fromthe heavens! History of architecture informs us thesecharacteristics were already in existence in theByzantine and Sassunian civilisations. The former had itsimpact on Russia where a church with onion-shapeddomes still forms a land mark and a symbol of Moscow.In Paris a beautiful white church with domes is referredto as "eastern" architecture, meaning Byzantine ofcourse. Later, the Arabs adopted it, and varied shapeswere evolved in Moorish Spain, Central Asia and MughalIndia. I t is not the form, but the creating spirit behind itthat matters, If the building, for example, is spacious,open, sunny, airy and not closed, dark and dingy, it isIslamic in spirit, irrespective if the form is classic Gl'er::k,Byzantine, Gothic and Pagoda style. In fact, the waywalls go higher and higher in Pakistan with an allroundsense of insecurity is un-Islamic, compared to the housesin the western countries that have no walls,

Above some areas have been picked up to illustratewhat is cultural and what is civilisational, Many moreareas could he included but this should suffice to projectand clarify the confusion that is dividing humankind.Having illustrated and correlated the all important


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23different habits and fashions, but because they hadadopted a rlifferent attitude of mind and mode ofthought. They now represented a different culture,although civilisationally they were still the same. Thencame the confrontation on the plains of Badr. Whocommanded the army? Abu Jahal, Hazarat Omar'smaternal uncle. Also in the opposite camp were AbuBakr's son, Hazrat Muhammad's (P,RU.H) so"n_in_Iawand Ali's brothers. On the other hand, in HazratMuhammad's (P.B.U.H) camp were people like Bilal, theAbyssinian, Salman, the Persian and Suhaib, the Greek.It is totally a new orientation; a new grouping, a newfamily, bound by common thought processes rather thanblood kinship, race, colour, language or country. In moreancient times, as mentioned in the Qurnn, Noah and hisson, and Abrahim and his father belonged to oppositecamps. Thus families and ll'ations are made throughl i k e m i n ~ d n e s s , not biologically. This, we can see, is analliance that is as old as humankind, but today it appearsto be an idea that is far ahead of our times. Thissituation vindicates that human mind and purely manmade laws and institutions do not go beyond narrowlimits. A global human panorama is still a far cry in spiteof advanced technology. This is the biggest paradox ofour times.

Before this chapter is wound up, there is onepaiticular area that needs to be referred to. It was on thebasis of being likeminded as a binding factor that Quaid


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24Asian. All this is not only confusing, it once againnaITOWS the vision and curtails the universal dimensionof Islamic culture. History, so-called Muslim or nouMuslim, or for that matter, current events, are to beevaluated on permanent human values. An individual ora group of people should receive support and applause ifthey happen to harmonise with these values. I t is partingof the ways if these values are rejer;ted and deviatedfrom. Thus widening the canvaS, Islamic culture can belinked with the universal heritage, leave alone that ofSouth Asia only, Its spirit of adventure, curiositycreativity, independence, vigour and hard work alongwith partially or mostly in harmony with Permanentvalues, certain historical phases can be discribed ashaving imbibed certain characteristics of this culture, forexample, ancient Greece, early Roman Republic, ancientcivilisations of the Fertile Crescent, ancient China,Persia and India, European Rennaissance, and thepresent creative processes of North America, WesternEurope, Australia and New Zealand. Through trial anderror or the Directive Power of the Divine (wahi) thesehistorical phases came or have come quite close to thespirit of it. Since perfection is impossible in humanconditions, being always in the process of becoming, theclosest to Islamic Culture is the life and work of HazratMuhammad (P.B.D.H) himself and his immediatesuccessers.The situation becomes further clarified if examplesof opposite ways of life are enumeratedways of life and


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25

its claims and the biggest negation of the MuslimCulture today is the "Muslim".In the end it may be pointed out from the Quranicstance, that the test of survival of any culture ispermament values geared to welfare of "humanity"rather any just ones own group. Cultures do not rise andfall in an inevitable cyclic order as the Gl"eeks opined,nor does one idea or system change for the sake ofchange as Hegel and Karl Marx would have us believethrough their "dialectical materialism" and historicalnecessity". Neither is "Civilisation" the conclusion of"culture" as Spengler puts it, or "the thing become ofthing becoming", A culture declines if it is based on man-made laws of exclus'ive interests and narrow loyalties,but if founded on permanent human values, its creativeprocess continues, ever r r ~ o v i n g onwards and upwards.Islrunic Culture is unique in this respect. I t cuts acrossthe vicious cyclic ordpr in which humanity has beenentangled since the dawn of history. I t has liberated Manfrom the web of "recurrence" and given a new hope of aculture that will enable the full and free, continuous andconsistent development of his potentialities and talents.It rejects all theories of salvation and annihilation of theinJividual and emphasises the development ofpersonality. A nation that adopts this culture is acultured nation. A humanised mind is a refined mind,even though it may be outw.ardly uncouth. And thosewho are trying to destroy others are only destroying


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26

Approach to HistoryOld western imperial colonialism with its physical

of colonies and after its withdrawal the neomic imperialism filling in the so-called vacuum, hasand disinherited its victims and subjected i t toinferiority complex.Allover Asia and Africa in the widespread

oust calonialismnd the formation of nation-states, there is a continuousback to ancient times. This is followed \ly a

search for 'its roots and its revivalism withhas gainedfillip by Alex Haley's popular classic "Roots".

has always looked back to the Vedas, the Epics ofand Ramayana, the Mauryan Empire and

he Greater India under ,the Guptas; Firdausi'sand Iran under the Pehalwi Shahs dreamed

f Cyrus and Darius and their Achaeminian Empire;bent upon r e ~ e s t a b l i s h i n g its a ~ c i e n t frontiers

from the Nile to the Tigris; the "Muslim"about its fronties of yorethe Pyrenes to Sinkiang, from the River Indus to

I t is interesting to note that even Italy, which


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27With this universal imperial background, it is not

easy for humankind to move towards a democratic,participatory and equal set-up. Merit, and not birth asthe determining factor just does not click as yet with thethird world countries. Like the developed countries they,have to go a long long way to appreciate and experiencethe joy and security of these concepts. Monarchicalgrandeur with its kings and queens, princes andprincesses, palaces and parks, dynastic snobbi&hness andits divine right to rule--all this and much more stillhaunts the ruling classes of the d ~ v e l o p i n g countries.This attitude of the ruling classes has seeped d o ~ intothe attitudes of the man on the street, who dreamssimilar dreams. In Pakistan, every man is a Jahangir andShahjahan, every woman a Nurjahan. (its worth giving athought to the high sounding titles) And the way thepolitical leadership followed by the masses -crave toworship blue blood and revive dynastic loyalties, ispathetically dehurnanising. The Nehrus and Gandhis ofIndia are a classic case within what- is described a8 thebiggest democracy in the world. In Sri Lanka, Mrs.Bandaranaike's claim rested on being the wife of herhusband! Similarly in the Philippines, Mrs. Aqino andMrs. Marcos are clawing at each other for the samereason. Bangladesh is not far behind. Hasina and Khalidafought the election on the battle field of father andhusband respectively. In Pakistan, there are dynastiesgalore. The moment any individual, by hook or by crook,captures a position of power its family immediately


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28It is tremendously amusing to see the royul pose

that our elected rulers, supposedly servants of thepeople, strike, Seen in newspaper photographs or on themini-screen, there is a striking difference between thenatural, modest pose of foreign delegates and ourministers with their arms spread out on the arm chairs;the angle of the head and neck stiff and pompous, andlegs placed in a nondescript fashion. That is how theyfling themselves on their thrones, a crude imitation oftheir "glorious yesterday," Yes, that is the tragedy of thethird world, they live in "yesterday", today being nonexistent, and tomorrow unthought of. Facing anuncertain and a changeable tomorrow demands courage,strength and self-confidence. And this we do not posses.

Having said all this it cannot be gainsaid that apeople's attitude towards history establishes a baseeither for a flight into the the future or a relapse intothe past: Do people worship the past by putting it on apedestal or do they critically analyse it, identifyingthemselves ,"vith all that is positive in it and rejectingwhat is negative and backward looking? It would not bean exaggeration to -say that Europe's progress over thelast five hundred ;years owe a great deal to the way theyunderstood and wrote their histroy. This was possiblebecause every view point, every philiJsojJhy of history,was given free' rein or else such giants as Gibbon,Spengler, Karl Marx, H.G. Wells, Toynbee, Will Durantand many o t h e r ~ could not have written as they did.


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29being. By making them into idols, by re-gardingeverything they said and did as sacred, we are doing noservice to them or to ourselves. Indeed, ancestorworkship is escapist relief in a dead culture.

In our times, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan was the firstperson of consequence to have criticised the paat. Beforehe emerged as a national leader his main illterest washistory. This stood him in good stead later. His boldcriticism of the past is very refreshing and educative. Heeventually declared that whatever positive and creativeachievement of the past generations be, the presentgeneration cannot take credit for it. Every individual andevery generation will be judged according to its ownachievements and failings, Another individual, thoughlesser known to the common man was a product of theeducational movement launched by Sir Syed,Muhammad Habib, whose history of Mahmood of Ghaznimas a landmark and a good angury in history-writing inMuslim India. Aslam Jairajpur's "Tarik-h-e-Ummat" wasalso research with a difference from"'lhe traditionalhpproach. Ironically enough, that glaw of objectiveresearch soon faded away in the post-independence era.The trend is again towards glorification of the past 1,400years, uncritical and unresearched. Perhapoi. one shiningexception is a small book "Asbab Zawal-e-Ummat" byParwez, dealing with the subject philosophically, piercedthrough in the light of Quranic philosophy of hisLory.


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30

catagory or any other have not done their homework tobe able to rationally argue back any forthcomingcriticism. An unthinking nation has nothing to say, and aweak case or no case always results in suppression andabuse of dissent. However, the issue is a serious one forour quality of life tomorrow and I shall attempt to projecta point of view on our past as dispassionately as possible.I t is high time the issue is thrashed out.

Taking the 1400 years in full sweep, the first andforemost issue is that of original source material. Ascientific and objective researcher is cautious and waryof using even the contemporary sources, but for thetimes of Hazrat Muhammad (P.B. U.HJ and hisimmediate successors, even original sources are notavailable. The so-called original sources, Al-Tabri'shistory and Ibn-Ishaq's biography of Hazrat Muhammad(P.E. U.H) and the collected traditions were written morethen 200 years after the event, without any previouswritten record. Whatever happened to this previousrecord is perhaps a story by itself (was it destroyed toeliminate all e v i d ~ c e ? ) ~ p . i c h needs to be researched.The funny thing is that subsequent historians andbiographers continued to refer to these, so-called"original" sources and till to-date no historian Muslim ornon-Muslim has questioned the autenticity of AI-Tabriand Ibn Ishaq.

Secondly, it needs to be emphasised that the


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32When the Abbasides (who were of the Hashemite stock)overthrew them, the vendetta was terrible. A generalmassacre ensued and even the graves of the dead kingswere dug up and their skeletons gibbeted on the high-'ways. This is the scenario in which the historians wroteabout the Ummayads as evil Godless people, and Hajjajbin Yusaf among others became the devil incarnate,Talking about Hajjaj bin Yusaf, it would be in order tomention his South Asian connection, especially whenvoices are raised now and then against Arab invasion asimperialism, thereby making Raja Dahir a hero againstMuhammad bin Qasim. Without intending to defend orrationalise imperilism, for in any case imperialism isrejected by the Quranic worldview, I would like to drawthe attention of objective and scientific historians, thatSt vere attacks on Hajjaj bin Yusaf were bound to castaspersions on Muhammad bin Qasim who was hisnephew and sonin-Iaw. Moreover, "Chachnama" thesource material on this phase of history suffers from twoflaws in the light ofwhaL has already been said above: .Ltis not an original and contemporary source, because itwas written much later under the Abbaside rule,secondly it has the background of clannish hatred andr-evenge. As for those who defend and identifythemselves with Raja Dahir, do so more on the basis ofgeographical nationalism. The Quranic approach is tocriticially oValuate everyone justly on the touchstone ofpermanent human values. This point has already beendealt with briefly elsewhere.


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33touchstone alone, ended with Hazl'at Umar'sassasinatiollj at least it was the beginning of the end.According to Aslam Jairajpuri, HaZrat Muhammad's(P,B.u'H) life-time and what he accepted as "two and ahalf Khilafats" namely, Abu Bakr, Vmar and the first sixyears of Usman's administration alone as "Islamic". Thelast six years of Usman and five years of Ali's Khilafatexperienced nothing but conspiracies and civil wars.(Why and how this happened-is another stOlY.) From~ m m a y a d s onwards the Abbasides, the Ottomans, theMughals, etc till to date is not Islamic history. Thesecenturies were characterised by monarchical despotism,feudalism, class and caste system, disparity of wealth,women's subjugation, slavery, obscurantism, and aboveall, imperialism. Till Usman's first half of Khilafat thewars were. defensive. Hazrat Umar, who had been forcedto fight back, had cried out in anguish; I f only the RiverTigris was a river of flames, the Sassanians would havebeen kept at bay, they could not have crossed it. On thewestern front he tried hard to contain the boundaries onthis side of the Red Sea, but the Byzantines and theSassanians gave him no respite. However laLer history isa record of imperial exploits pure and simple. It is no useclosing our eyes to this ugly historical reality. Bothdomestic and foreign policies of these empires were outof the pale ofIslamic values, and most of the time theseempires and kingdoms were pitted against each other.Muhammad Habib has drawn our attention to thefact that if Mahmud of Ghazni was fighting a "Jehad"against Hindu kingdoms in India almost every winter


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34fanaticism. Worse still, by identifying this histOlY withIslam we sanctify it, placing it above criticism.Furthermore, by identifying ourselves with everythingthey said and did we not only perpetuate it, hut becomenervous, emotional and jittery at the mere suggestion ofcriticism. We cannot go on like this and yet live. Wemust realise we are not responsible for what happened inthe past. Be he Muhammad bin Qasim, Mahmud ofGhazni, Baher or Aurangzeb, they were all imperialists.In fact it is incumbent on liS, it is our Quranic duty toreject anything that is inhuman in our past or thepresent anywhere in the world, for that m.atter, "Muslim"or non-Muslim. It is also our Pakistani duty to criticise itbecause according to Dr. Iqbal's 1930 Allahabad Address,the purpose of the Pakistan Idea was tu build a societywhich could wipe out "the stamp of Arab Imverialism"from Islam. This sentence is enough to remove the fogthat envelops our minds and our critical faculties. Itclarifies our thought processes. I am surprised thatleaders, scholars, and journalists have not givenattention and probed deeper into this chullcnge thrownby Iqbal. It is not too late even now.


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4

35

Syed Ahmed Khan -- the firstArchitect of PalrlstanWe have seen that a "Muslim" is a "nation" (ul11l11ah)unto himself. As such he stood on his own ground, hisown identity throughout his thousand years of rule in

the Indian sub-continent. Although numerically in aminority, Muslims never faced a crises of nationalidentity for the simple reason that they were rulers ofthe country, Right upto the year 1857, although theMughal Empire had disintegrated, the last MughalEmperor, powerless within the four walls or the Red Fortin Delhi, remained the focus of his identity as a separatenation. But after the suppression and failure of the firstWax of Independence (the so-called mutiny) in 1857, thedethronement and exile of Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafarand the declarution of Queen Victoria as the Empress ofIndia, the situation totally changed. The Muslims werenow helpless not only before the new British Rule, butalso the vast majority of Hindus, their erstwhile subject:mation. The fanner regarded them ns a mere "rebelliousreligious group" and the latter as "untouchables". Even assuch they were being crushed out of their identity,illiam Hunter in his book "The Indian Mushnans" hasiven a graphic description of a people who were oncerulers "superior not only in stoutness of heart andtrength of arm, but in power of political government."ut now" all sorts of employment, great and smull are


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36nation thus lay politically and economically prost.rate,pessimistic and helpless about their future, looking backat their glorious past as all fallen 11l]lion:5 are wont to,Out of these ashes emerged, phoenix like, Sycd Al1med'Khan, uften, and rightly, described as the "first. urchitectof Pakistan," The story of how he renewed the selfconfidence of his nation, giving them u new hope andturning their gaze from yesterday to "tumurrow", ofsteadily educating them and preparing them fol' theultimate struggle that was to come, of attempting to,extricating them from the centuries old t h r u l l d o m o f t h e ~ priesthood (the so-called "Ulemus"), I1mi of' c o u r a g c o u s l ~ fighting against the discrimination and cn:clLy of the[British, is an epic by itself. IIml it noL UCCll for h i m , ~ there would have been no Iqbal, no Jinnah nntiParwez. However, this paper being concerned lJuo.icall}twith the "Pakistnn Idea", the ~ u b j c d has to bu rcsll'lcte& :to it.

The real threat to Muslim existence came from thwestern concept of nationalism. The Hindu mind hadeagerly taken to this concept. The idea that "anyolllliving in India is an Indian" irrespective uf allY otherconsideration, suited them vcry well. With a l1l


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37

corporations in 1882 by Lord Ripon, were two practicalinstances which could not escape as a threat to thepolitical acumen of Syed Ahmed Khan. He thereforeimmediately warned and dissuaded the Muslims fromjoining the Congress. Already in 1867 in answer to aquestion put by Mr. Shakespeare, the Commissioner ofBenares, he had declared: "I am convinced that the twonations can never heartily participate in any kind ofwork. This is only the beginning; as time passesopposition and hostility will manifest itself particularlyon the prut of those who are described us "educated"Hindus. Those who live till then will be witnes5es towhat I say." This was said in 1867. In the years 1882 and1885, it was already being manifested. Challengingterritorial nationalism he explained: "Some reflection isrequirea to grasp the nature of Muslim nationality. Fromtime immemorial, common ties have been held togetherby ties of common descent or common homeland .Muhammad (P.B.U.H) obliterated all territorial andancestral conventions and laid the foundations of a broadand enduring kinship which comprehends all those whosubs.cribe to the formula of faith ..... This tribe divineassimilates all human beings regardless of colour or placeofbirth.H I This is a close rendering of the Quranic versesquoted in the previous Chapter and exactly what Iqbal,Jinnah and Panvez will repeatedly proclaim from theplatform and in their writings in the coming years.Advising the Muslims to keep aloof from the politics ofthe Indian National Congress, he gave them a separateplatform in 1886 _ "The Educational Conference," and


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38Regarding representation Syed Ahmed reasonedagainst wholesale extension of representativegovernment to India. He pointed out that majority

Government was possible only where voters belonged toa homogeneous nation. Where they were not, as in thecase of India, which was a continent and 110t a country,this would spell disaster to the Muslim minority. Onceagain it is significant that he was advancing the sameviews as Jinnah and others advocated Inter. In thisconnection the most notable contribution of his in thecapacity of a member of the Governor General'sLegislative Council from 187883 was his successfulinsistence that Muslims should receive separatenomination to the municipalities of the local self-government institutions introduced by Lord Ripon in1882. This was the only way to safeguard the interests ofthe Muslim nation if the representative system was to be'adopted at all. Later this, that is, separate electorateswas the main plank of the All India Muslim League,founded eight years after his death, the main plank fromwhich the Pakistan Movement took off.

And then, the more we go into the genesis of the"Pakistan Idea" the more it is realised that it was thecontinuation of the Aligarh School of Thought. Theschool was founded in 1876 and the College in 1877.When laying the foundation of the Aligarh

Educational Institution he addressed the students safollows:"Remember! You are the followers of the "Kalima".


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39This manifesto was externally manifested by adistinctive outward mark of the Aligarh man, a modified

form of European dress with a red fez. To make itdifferent from the Hindu garb was deliberate on the partof Syed Ahmed. I t was symbolic of the concept thatMuslims are a separate nation. The Aligarh Universityhad,s tremendous impact as such. By adding the affixWig" to their names, the students declared theirseparateness and their identity with a particular schoolof thought. Many Muslim League leaders were the oldstudents of the Aligarh University. Mr. M.A. Jinnahmmnly relied on the students of Aligarh during his masseampaign in the late thirties and the forties. The Alignrhmovement had a tremendous impact on other parts ofIndia. In Lahore, "Anjuman-e-Hamayat-e-Islam" was itsdirect off-shoot. Many schools and the well-knownls1amja College of Lahore was founded by it. Iqbal whogave a definite shape to the movement of Pakistan gavehis patronage and his name to the Anjuman, and thestudents played a role that was second only to Aligarh.

While students were being educated in theinstitutions, Syed Ahmed Khan did not neglect theeducation of people outside those institutions. In 1866he had already started a paper called "Aligarh InstituteGazette" and "Tahzib-ul Akhlaq" in 1870. Theystimulated the readers intellectually and morally andSpread his message far and wide.

This chapter would be incomplete without


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40successfully agitating against the use of Urdu in Bengaland then Behar. When the agitation spread in what wasformerly known as Oudh and later United Provinces(now Uttar Pardesh) Syed Ahmed Khan stood against itas a rock, and argued that the issue was political, noteducational, and must be decided accordingly. Hetriumphed, and the issue was dropped for the timebeing. This Hindu move had deep portents against theinterest of the Muslim future, and the controversy wasraised again and again during the independence struggle.More will be said in the later chapters. What isimportant to note here is the political insight of SyedAhmed Khan at the vely inception of this antiUrdumove and at a time when the Muslims as n whole werefruo:>l1'alcd and inert. with their eyes still gazing back atthe past that was no more.

Achicvlllg all thi.s was no easy task. He faced allkinds of problems, but perhaps the worst kind came fromthe Vlema who wrote against him, called him "Kafir", an"atheist", a "Kristan" (Christian), and issued "fatwas" of"Kufr" against him. But the most impOltant questionthat he posed to all the groups conceilued was a questionfor which the Vlemns 1 never had an answer. "Nowsuppose that all the English .. we're" to: leave India: ... ,'then who would be rulers of India? Is, it possible thatunder these circumstances two nations the Muslim andH i n d u ~ c o u l d sit on the same throne and remain equal in,power? Most certainly not. It is necessary that one of


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41them rule the other? Could anyone of them allow itselfto be crushed and enslaved? It is important at this stagete discuss the "Two-nation Theory" which shall form thesubject-matter of the next chapter, before we proceed tothe next phase of the evolution of the Pakistan Idea. Inthe meantil}le we conclude in Percival Spear's admissionwhen he jftys: "In his (Syed Ahmed) whole attitude wasimplicit the concept of Pakistan. It only needed theprospect of British withdrawal, something which in hisday still seemed remote, to bring it to the surface."l


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42

5 The Two-Nation theoryGeographical nationalism as understood today iscomparatively a recent development in Europe, in fac;t as

recent as the post-Napoleonic era The conquest ofEurope by Napoleon let loose forces against him andagainst French domination. The people becameconscious of themselves as Germans. Italians, Spanishand English as against the French. As a result of this,movements got afoot for the unification of Italianspeaking and German speaking peoples. So, for the firsttime "Nation-states" called "Italy" and "Germany" cameinto existence in the latter part uf the nineteenthcentury. This pattern became widespread and capturedall Europe, then North-America, and ultimately movedout to change the outlook of the non-western world andLatin America.

Actually the roots of a "Nation-state" orgeographical, lingual and racial nationalism go as far,back as the days of Martin Luther and the state ofChristianity during his times. In the words of Iqbal: '1Europe Christianity was understood to be a purelmonastic order which gradually developed into a vaschurch organisation."l Now this church organisation haa tremendous influence and control over the lives of thpeople and their thoughts, but there was nu concept ofstate, of law, of politics and of economics in the the


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43justified in rising in revolt against this organisation .. ."lSo far so good. But protest against the church also meantthe rejection of any value-system that Christianity held.This value-system was important because it was thesymbol of unity in Christendom. If it was to be l'ejectedfor what it was, it should have been replaced by anotherset of values. But no such thing happened. In the wordsof Iqbal again: "I think, he (Luther) did not realize thatin the peculiar conditions which obtained in Europe, hisrevolt would eventually mean the complete dispbcementof the universal ethics of Jesus by the growth of aplurality of national and hence narrower systems ofethics. Thus the upshot of the intellectual movementinitiated by such men as Rousseau and Luther was thebreakup of the one into mutually illadjusted many, thetransformation of a human into a national outlook,requiring a more realistic foundation, such as the nationor country, and finding expression through varyingsystems of polity evolved on national lines i.e. on lineswhich recognize territory as the only principle ofpolitical solidarity."2 The epitome of this analysis is thatterritorial nationalism has replaced Christianity as afocus of cohesion. This territorial nationalisrn is the newgod, the new religion, the new symbol for which it isconsidered worth living and dying. This new nationaloutlook is based on the nonhuman in man; that part ofhim which is linked with his attachment to the soil, hisphysical features and the colour of his skin, and thelanguage he first spoke as a child. All these factors, over


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44units and loyalty gets narrower and narrower, I t is not'understandable 8S to how this narrowness of outlook canbe described as progress and a salutary developmentfrom the previous conditions. It is also notunderstandable how inter-national conflicts and bloodydevastating wars are nobler than the wars fought tor.Christianity. The Christian wars were fought for aloyalty to an idea, however, defective i t may be, butloyalty to the soil and race is,a retrogression to the tribalsociety. Nationalism, at best, is an extension of tribalism.I t is only larger in scale but the quality and nature of thedivision is the same, This kind of tribal loyalty isimmediately rejected by the Quran, the book thatinspired Syed Ahmed Khan and later on Iqbal in theirconcept of human divisions. In the Sur;ili 11, verses 45and 46, this point.is brought home profoundly: Allah hadpromised Noah that those of his household would besaved from the flood. So when the floods came, Noah 'cried out "My Rab! La my son is of my household! SurelyThy promise is the Truth and Thou art the Most Just ofJudges. He said: 0 Noah! La! he is not of thy household,he acts unrighteously, so ask not of Me that whereofthou has no knowledge. I admonish thee lest thou beamong the ignorant." Thus Noah's son was not of hishouse-hold simply because he was his son. The kinship isof conduct, not blood. I t is "Eiman"l in the conduct, invalue-system, in good against evil that creates twoparties or two nations, or "ummah".2 Surah eleven in theQuran recapitulates the past histOlY to substantiate the


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45verse 24 the Quran says: "The similitude of the twoparties is as the blind and the deaf and the seer andhearer. Are they equal in similitude? Will ye not then beedmonished?" After defining the two parties thus theQuran mentions those who had "Eiman" in Noah's,Hud's, Saleh's, Shuaib's and Moses message to humanityone nation as against those who did not have "Eiman",lThe situation is further crystalised by addressing thetwo nations as ''You'' and "We". It says: "And say untothose who believe not: Act according to your power. La!too are acting," Again: "And wait! La! We too arewaiting."2 As is natural in this differentiation of "you" and"'We", trust and friendship is possible only within eachgroup. "And the believers, men and women, Breprotecting friends ODe of another."3 "Your friend can beonlY' Allah, and His Messenger and those who b e l i e v e . " ~ o ye who believe! Take not for intimates others thanyour own folk, who would spare no pains to ruin you;they love to hamper you. Hatred is revealed by theutterance of their mouths, but that which their breastshide is greater. We have made plain fur you ourrevelations if ye will understand,"5 "Thou will not findfolk who believe in Allah and Last Day loving those whooppose Allah and His Messenger even though they betheir fathers or their son& or their brethren or theirclan."6 Just as Noah, Hud, Saleh, Shuaib and Moses(P;B.U.T) made a flew nation through harmony of ideas,SO did Muhammad (P.B.D.R). From amongst the Arabs,incidentally ever so proud of their language and race,


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46language and geography. There were members of hisown family and his own townsfolk, the Meceans, whospoke the same language as him, belonged to the samerace as him, and the same land as him, but who lined upagainst him in the opposite camp and fought battle afterbattle even though Muhammad (P.B.U.H) had left Meccapeaceful1y for Medina. On the other hand, withMuhammad (P.B.D,H) the Arab, were lined up Salmanthe Persian, Bilal the Abyssinain, and Suhel the Roman.They together formed one "ummah", This is the twonation theory. Even when there is no state' to put thistheory in practice, the theory remains the Truth. Evenwhen there is only one man to uphold it or none at aU,the fact remains. For example to tell a lie is bad, and tospeak the truth is good. Even if no one speaks the truth,the speaking of truth will ever remain the eternalprinciple. The two-nation theory is in the same way theeternal principle.

Iqbal had talked about "freeing the outlook of manfrom its geographical l i m i t a t i o n s , ~ l and had warned:"Remember, man can be maintained on this earth onlyby honouring mankind, this world will remain a bllttleground of ferocious beasts of prey unless and until theeducational forces of the whole world are directed toinculcating in man respect for mankind."2 The bestthinkers of the West are coming to the same conclusion.Frederick Hertz says: "History shows that for the greaterpart the quarrels between several nations had scarcelyany other occasion than-- that these nations weredifferent combinations of people and called by diffel'ent


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48that the Jews, in whichever country they may live, m;e apart and parcel of that nation. But the very need felt forthe state of Israel, and its establishment gives a lie tosuch a supposition. In fact the Nazi claim to racialsuperiority under Hitler, however atrocious and barbaricin thought and deed, was a very logical climax to theevolution of racial and territorial nationalism.

The western amazement at language and racial"riots" or even tribal rebellions in the nonwestern worldis 8 severe contradiction in their reactions to suchevents. These nonhuman forces have been let loose bythe very concept of western nationalism. According to it,neither India, nor Nigeria, for example, should be onestate. They aught to split into so many lingual divisionsas Europe has divided itself. Unless there is a supra-lingual, racial a n ~ geographical focus of loyalty andcohesion, we haVe no right to expect anything differentfrom the prevalent conditions. To expect it is to create apainful dichotome in the people concerned. The only wayout of this dichotome is to build nationalism on theconcept of man as man. There is no other way.


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49

Dr. Muhammad Iqbal andthe Human DestinyWhen Syed Ahmed lG1un died in 1898, Iqbal was 3young man of about 22 years. With a brilliant academic

farcer and already showing signs of great poetic talent,he had still to go some distance tu be able to discover hismission in life. In the meantime important politicalcpa!1ges were taking place. We have noted in chapter W,that Syed Ahmed Khan had spoken against therepresentation by election in the Governol'-Gencral;sCouncil in 1883. In a country where one group iS'very~ n i n l l ilUmerically, he said "The larger community wouldtotally over-ride the interests of the smaller cOl,nmunity."This issue became an immediate ono and a livjng onewhen Lord Morley in his budget speech in the House ofCommons on the 26th of July 1906 foreshadowed arepresentative form of government for India. NawabMohsinul Mulk, an old co-worker of Syed Ahmed readMorley's speech and realised its momentous, ,consequences. He decided to seck an interview with theGovernor-General Lord Minto in Simla. Thus on the 1stof October, 1906 a deputation, led by the Agha Khan, andcomposed of Syed Ahmed Khan's co-workers of theAligal'h School of thought, met tIle, GOVel"nor-General.This was the historical "Simla Deputation", perhaps themost important event uf the century until Iqbal's


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50important factor in the state .. it cunnot be denied thatwe Muhammadans are a distinct community withadditional interests of our own which are not shared byother communities, and these have hitherto sufferedfrom the fact that they have not been adequatelyrepresented." 1 This move proved to be very successful,for in 1909, when the Indian Council's At of 1909,generally known as the MorleyMintu Reforms, waspassed, the demand for separate electorutes to theMuslims was conceded, aiLiet, unwillingly and amidstopposition of several members.

Separate electorates was a major stepping-stone inthe creution of Pakistan and hence jealously guarded bythe Muslims throughout their struggle. Anotherdevelopment WjlS the necessity that was felt aftermeeting the Governor-General in funning a politicalassociation. Thus at the conclusion of the annual sessionof the All India Muslim Educational conference at Dacca,the Muslim leaders held a political meeting under theprcsidentship of Nawab Viqarul Mulk on the 30th ofDecember, 1906. Nawab Salimullah of Dacca moved aresolution which prepared the formation of an all-IneliaMuslim League. Thus came into existence the All IndiaMuslim League, which was to playa vital role in theMuslim struggle for a separate homeland for theMuslims of the sub-continent. Whilo all thesedevelopments were taking place Iqbal was going througha formative phase that was to prepare him as a worthy


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51

concepts that have swept the pcopI..: u a ~ H L ' I I - W l : ' ~ 111 LllUEast often uncritically and blindly. lie sang songs ofnationalism and worship of the native lund.

"In every graven image you fancied Goel: I socIn each speck afmy country's poor dust, divinity."In an ode to the Himalayas (Kohi-Ibmalu) he wrote:"Oh Himalayas! Ye ramparts of the Indian realm,The Heavens stoop to kiss your forehcm1 bright."His national anthem ( T a r a n i ~ I I i n d ) was:"Of all countries, my country, India, is the best,We are all Indians and India is our country."One would have thought that after three years

stay in Europe it would make him even'enthusiastic about this kind of EuroJlcanisation.ut there he had a chance to sec and live the concepts

in practice and their results already manifest andHe read voraciously in the liLraries ofand Berlin and di:scusscd \vith

savants and scholars. His outlook on life andundelwent a total transformation. While

the life of action and struggle in the West, heas disgusted with its obsessive preoccupation with

the all and be all of existence; with thematerial competition that set man against man;

the divorce of human values from politics and


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52of the political troubles of Europe. Glurification ofgeography, race, colour and blood cut U(;1'088 humanbrotherhood, dividing the human race into innumerablehostile warring groups, the basis of whose division wasthe same as the tribal society. Thus by the Lime he leftEurope his songs had an entirely different perspective tohis earlier ones,

He now sang:"Our reality is not confined to some place;Its strong wine is not confined to a cup."Then again:

"As they made 'native land' the candle ofthe assembly, qlC human race has beendivided into tribes and teams."

Before he l'eturncd to India he warned Europe mthese words:

"Your civilisation is going to commitsuicide with her own dagger, the nestwhich is made on frail bough cannut butbe insecure."

And this was said when the World War I was somedistance away and World War II a lot further.

On return home he realised the short-sightendnessand narrow vision of his compatriots who had beencaught in the web of territOlial nationalism just as he


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53According to his own professed verdict, his source of'inspiration was the Quran. That is why he often claimed

to be a "teacher of the Quran" !'ather than a philosopheriQ the ordinmy sense of the word. It was the value-,system of Islam that welded Muslims into a nution,ijence territorial nationalism was a threat to this kind tocohesion:"The biggest among the new gods is 'native land',To be sure, its attire is the shroud of 'Deen'."Then again:"It divides the people afCod, into nations,It cuts at the root ofIslamic nation-hood,"He emphasised this danger again and again:"Whosoever shall resort to the distinction of colour

and blood &hall perish,Even though he be a Turk residing in majestic camp,

or a high pedigreed Arab."And:"Thy skirt is free fmm the dust of locale,

Thou art a Joseph and every Egypt is thyCanaan."Iqbal repeated this message throughout the rest of

life. In 1911 he wrote: "It is not the unity of languageor country or the identity of economic interests thatconstitutes the basic principles of one nationality. It is~ c a u s e we all believe in a certain view of the universe,


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54the character and genius of a particular people. In itsessence, it is non-temporal, non-spatial."lAll his life he was deeply involved in politics. Hisworld view did not permit division of life into water-tightcompartments _ that of a poet and that of a politician.While still in London he was elected member of thecommittee of the Muslim League branch formed there in1908. On his return to India he took deep interest in thePunjab Muslim League. He was f11so the SeCl'etary of theAnjuman-i-Hamayat-i-Islam and later its President anddid for it what Syed Ahmed Khan had uOlle for AligarhMovement. But unlike Jinnah he WW:I not verycomfortable in practical politics. He was basically andtempramentally a man of the pen. The only time heperforced entered practical politics was in the years1923-1935 about which more will be said later. There wasanother reason for keeping aloof from it in the yearsbetween 1910 and 1923. "During this pCl'iod Muslimpublic opinion wus ,moving with tremendous force indirections of which Iqbal did not a p p r o v e . " ~ After 1909,the year of the concrete' achievement uf separateelectorates, even the All India Muslim League did no

Shamim.anwarPakistan Idea

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