We are a nation which is at war with itself; a country marred by all kinds of religious, sectarian and ethnic conflict
JUBAIL, SAUDI ARABIA: This year, the National Assembly reluctantly tried to honour the memory of its founder’s vision for a secular state, but this was no more than ceremonial. The assembly speaker read out a portion of the Quaid’s famous speech made on August 11, 1947, wherein he said: “You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or 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 the business of the state. We are all equal citizens of one state. In due course, Hindus would cease to be Hindus and Muslims would cease to be Muslims.”
Routine desk-thumping was done by several MNAs but members of the religious parties mostly sat silent. The reality of today’s Pakistan, something that we should realise on this August 14, is that we may use the words of the Quaid to glorify our speeches and articles but, as far as actions go, we will do nothing.
The Quaid died on September 11, 1948 and his vision for a democratic state died an official death in 1949 when the Constituent Assembly passed the Objectives Resolution, paving a way forward for theocracy, intolerance and religious fanaticism to ultimately take over the state.
And where do we stand today? We are a nation which is at war with itself; a country marred by all kinds of religious, sectarian and ethnic conflict. There is no possibility of improvement unless Jinnah’s vision for an enlightened moderate Pakistan gets a lifeline from politicians, lawmakers, the judiciary, the media, intellectuals, civil society and the military — and this has to be in letter and in spirit, not just mere routine desk-thumping.
Masood Khan
Published in The Express Tribune, August 14th, 2011.
