Bilawal, Ishratul Ebad, Qaim Ali Shah visit Quaid's mausoleum in Karachi. PHOTO: EXPRESS/FILE
KARACHI: Paying tribute to the founder of Pakistan, the nation celebrates 136th birth anniversary of Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah on Tuesday.
The day began with the Change of Guard ceremony at the Quaid’s mausoleum in Karachi. The ceremony and parade were led by Commandant Pakistan Military Academy (PMA) Major General Sadiq Ali.
A contingent of cadets from the PMA mounted the guard at the mausoleum.
Sindh governor Dr Ishratul Ebad Khan, Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari paid a visit to the mausoleum. Bilawal also wrote his comments in the visitors’ book.
The government declared the day a national holiday.
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@Foolitics: " ... To my fellow Indian friends, the mindset associated with Pakistan and its people would have been different if there had been a united India. ... "
This would have worked if everybody was ready to submit to a one person one vote regime irrespective of one's religion. Clearly the Muslims of Central India, Sindh and Bengal, in their infinite wisdom, thought otherwise.
@Supariwala: "... India to this day has socio-economic problems of the masses, but lets not forget the communalism that still lives in the country with growing fascist instincts through the rise of Narendra Modi and Shiv Senics. ... "
Shri Narendra Modi finds support amongst the people - not because he promises to build a Somnath Temple in every state in India, but his semi-authoritarian style hold the promise of fast-tracking development in India.
@Enlightened: "It is no longer Jinnah’s but Zia’s Pakistan who injected the country with doctrine of militancy, hatred and intolerance amongst various communities which has now spread like cancer in the whole country."
Zia was a product of Jinnahs Pakistan. Zia has become a convenient scapegoat for all things bad in Pakistan. But I understand. Each society has psychological laziness on certain topics. For example, India's laziness is to blame everything bad about the country on politicians without any explanation of why society would create such politicians in the first place and vote them into power and Pakistanis have Zia to blame for everything. Societies never take responsibility for their collective failures.
@TrueBlue43: "@Zalim singh: my apologies to have addressed you dude …… u didn’t deserve that …… your “sikhness” is difficult manage ….. cheers"
Not all Singhs are Sikh but anyways Singh is still king. Since this article about Jinnah and you brought up Sikhs, here is a very interesting piece abut what went on between Sikh leaders and Jinnah in the context of the demand for Pakistan. A gripping read since its nt fiction but about real life.
http://www.sikh-history.com/sikhhist/personalities/sewadars/tarasingh.html
What a grave mistake to create a country where feudal goons, army fools and mullah tools have made it a laughing stock of the world.
Instead of creating halo around Mr.Jinnah based on myth and not on reality, people should really study all the statements he has made and actions he has taken and put it in the context of that time. My personal opinion after studying his political life is that he is a very westernized man most of his life with western liberal elite political ideas and got power hungry at the end of his life and the feudals exploited that flaw. If you had studied his statements, its clear that he did not believe in mass action protest like Nehru or Gandhi when he was a congress man(this changed after he started demanding Pakistan as shown by his call to direct action day at the very end of his life). He was one of the few leaders who has not seen the insides of a jail during the freedom movement. He believed that India can get freedom by having a political dialogue with the British ruler and there is no need to have mass protests which disturbs public order. He might actually have been a great leader for united India if he had been younger like nehru and not been influenced by feudals. His time in the role of senior leadership in the congress had already passed by 1947. He was just too old like Gandhi to lead the country. But he was well respected for his intellect and may have played a major senior statemen role in united India after independence. To my fellow Indian friends, the mindset associated with Pakistan and its people would have been different if there had been a united India. The foundation of the rot in todays Pakistan is due to the explicit religious identity used as reason for its creation which allowed other external political forces in religious garb to shape and mould its people's mind.
@mes:
Relevance of 1971 here is invalid ..... People of East Pak were betrayed by the then politicians of West Pak (no denying this fact) but when there are such frictions among two groups of a country, problem resolution come into play which could not be effectively managed given the unique geography of the then Pakistan ...... i am not blaming India here ..... as an enemy, i would have pounced on any such opportunity too ...... so did you ..... though our army was all powerful even during that time .......
Here, we have a faction in Pakistan using Islam's name for their ulterior motives with minority support while majority of the population is peace loving, hardworking patriot people .... & then there is the geographical advantage for these guys which has historical precedence of "never been conquered" ...... it is a big problem ..... it is leaking blood daily ..... but it doesn't require some out of this world noble leader to resolve this issue ..... some commitment & seriousness on the part of the govt. coupled with majority general public support & army shall be able to gradually eradicate this issue ...... unfortunately, the existing political setup is too fragile to take them on ...... Musharaf had the guts, so he did it ...... with elections & a new government in place in a few months, we are definitely looking forward to start resolving this issue .......
Just look at SriLanka ...... it took them 3 decades (n dat too with India's support) ......
u have to wait "a bit" my friend ...... :)
@ J T: u r one in a million in dat case ...... it was indeed the shot of the match ....... though India needed a few more of those ...... ;)
@Zalim singh: my apologies to have addressed you dude ...... u didn't deserve that ...... your "sikhness" is difficult manage ..... cheers
@TrueBlue43: "as to Indians’ looooong awaited “logical end” for Pakistan, u might have to wait “a little” more e.g. FOREVER …… " the 'loooong wait' and the 'FOREVER" you are talking about has come and passed by, if you know what happened in 1971. you have already lost almost half your territory, and that 'logical end' has happened almost 4 decades back. we are just waiting for the second 'logical end' to take its natural course. it's been long delayed,not because of the so called 'resilience' or the usual 'Pakistan Zindabad', it's because you have a powerful military which is doing its best to keep the country from meeting its second 'logical end'.
"yes Pakistan is going through a bad phase as a country, just like India was during Khalistan movement …… but this situation is not like rape of girl which can’t be reversed ……." tell me a time when Pakistan was actually going trough a good phase, in almost all its six decades of history, its been one failure from other.All your politicians have either fled in to exile to save them self, some were hanged, some were shot dead and the story goes on. Pakistan stands more isolated than it has ever been in history. The society can endure 'rape', not day to day killing.
@ TrueBlue43
I agree. Just 2% minority Sikh Population controlled majority of Pakistan for more than 200 years. I refer to the garbage value you guys would have been to the nation. One Sikh is equivalent to savva lakh.
@TrueBlue43: Apart from the false equivalences you just made, I am not one of those Indians who have been "long waiting" for the end. I wish good for the country and hope you folks take the necessary steps to change things. P.S. Yuvraj just hit a huge six off Afridi. Cheers ;-)
@Indian: did i ..... ouch!!!!
@TrueBlue43:
I was just waiting for some reply and you got the point in my words buddy.....
@FactCheck: the selection of the analogy depicts your majestic upbringing ...... :)
@J T: my focal point was not Islamic Supremicism (though i understand your irk with the term v well) ....... i was rather trying to tell Zalim Singh that we Pakistanis are not that "zaalim" as he is fearing us to be ...... and if he still insists, %ages don't matter for rulers ...... as to Indians' looooong awaited "logical end" for Pakistan, u might have to wait "a little" more e.g. FOREVER ...... yes Pakistan is going through a bad phase as a country, just like India was during Khalistan movement ...... but this situation is not like rape of girl which can't be reversed ....... best of luck with today's match ....... cheers
@roadkashehzada:
and Pakistan is country where bombs go off daily wherever people assemble. Pakistan is a country where no one other Sunni Muslims can live in peace.
Admire your penchant for isolated examples which occurs in every democratic country across the world but, you wouldn’t know that, you don’t know democracy.
Didn’t someone get burned alive by muslims fanatics for blasphemy. How many bombs are going to go off between now and the new year?
@ranjit:
Comparing Gandhi and Nehru to Jinnah is like comparing Elephants to Rats. One, a great spiritual and philosophical leader respected all over the world. The second, a great statesman and nation builder. Many don’t like Nehru but, if you step back and read some of his books, you will quickly realize without, Nehru, Patel, et. al, India would be no where near as united it is today or to have become a respected democracy in the world.
How many people outside of India and Pakistan heard of Jinnah?
Biggest benefactor of Hindus in Modern History ,Thank you Mr Jinnah .Partition was a blessing in disguise and it was not possible without you.
@TrueBlue43: These notions of islamo-supremacism have led your country to where it is today. Kindly carry on and take your country and people to the logical end now.
note one thing in comments from pakistan, hope note one thing in comments from indians, hate for pakistan. baba was right
@Zalim singh: You should be more worried about the plight of your women nowadays, trafficking and rape has become a culture in "mera pyara bharat".
@Farrukh Jawed:
His legacy is one of Megalomania and you Pakistani’s have capitalized on it for long. Finally, the world got tired of it and not going placate Pakistan any more.
2013 is defining moment for Pakistan when the ISAF troops return to their countries. Declining $ for transportation, increased terrorism and a state not able to cope with any of its problem due to lack of intellectual ability, and will to tackle its problems. In the meantime politicians will get as much money as they can into their foreign accounts.
Why would anyone celebrate this man? ON all accounts, he accomplished nothing other than serving his grotesque ego. He was merely a pawn in the hands of the Zamindars of Sindh and Punjab that is exactly what you got.
In 65 years, the country known as Pakistan, The Land of the Pure has become a pariah country on earth, can’t support itself. Jinnah was right on nothing, the Americans will always pay because of Pakistan’s geography. But, modern technology is making geography a moot point.
Only Pakistan will celebrate an absolute zero like Jinnah, THE FAKE.
we are very fond off paying tribute to Quaid on his every occassion,will his soul be happy the country he made is without Unity,Faith&Discipline.
Happy birthday Quaid, u were the best modern "political" leader muslims have ever got. though am sorry on the same side that we couldnt accomplish your dreams of progressive pakistan, but INSHALLAH that dream is in transition now!!
@Satish: u r portraying a picture of india right from incredible india documentaries which exclude millions of people living in slums. a country who is enemy of its neighbours but close friend of its neighbours' neighbours (enemy of pakistan but friend of afghanistan, enemy of china but friend of russia etc) a country where a person alleged (not convicted coz he silenced the opposition with state machinery) of mass killings of muslims, has come back to public office and is getting ready to be the prime minister of secular india. india is a country where mob roasted an australian priest with his two sons in a car, where mob killed thousands of muslims in gujrat, where thousands of sikhs were killed by state machinery, where farmers suicide is one of the major concerns for the government. you get favourable treatment from west because u can drink alot more cokes and eat alot more big mac(veg) than us purely due to huge population. we r in a mess being frontline state in the war on terror for more than a decade. before that pakistan was far better than india in terms of economy, international stature and respect. and we will be back. anyway, enjoy the game today
We indians thank you.....without your vision we would not have been a member of G20 and BRICS.................
The comments by the Indian posters are in really bad taste, especially the sarcastic ones thanking him..........I am sure if people made such remarks about Gandhi on his birthday, we would take offense........Mr. Jinnah was the main leader of Indian muslims at that point in time......lets respect that and let bygones be bygones........he did what he felt was necessary for his community at that time based on the circumstances he was facing.........remember we are talking about a time when there was no economy and the only decent job was a government job......would you like to live as a permanent minority if you faced such a situation, especially when the majority didnt like you?......
No one could have predicted how India would turn out............heck, until 1990, India was a complete basket case with no economy, license raj, pseudo socialism, massive poverty, huge communal and caste conflicts......no one wanted to live there if they could avoid it........it is only in the past 20 years that things have turned around dramatically for India.........given that India and Pakistan are now in a trajectory of reconciliation, lets just move on.........
@Zalim singh: these percentages don't matter my friend ...... leadership is in the blood ...... sub-continent was ruled for centuries by a minority (using your minority by religion approach) ....... going by history, you should be afraid of even 20% ...... lets thank the great person together ....... ;)
Thank you Mr.Jinnah, for saving India. Without you, India would have been a mess. Good that you demanded a separate nation for your people. India would have been 50% plus Muslim and an Islamic nation by now.
Happy Birthday sir... we promise we'll make this country a better place, a country on which u should be proud of !!!
From an Indian, thank you Qaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, for Partition and Pakistan. Really. All four of my grandparents lost everything, including brothers and sisters, except for their own lives, fleeing from Dera Ismail Khan, Sialkot, Gujranwala and Lahore respectively, in August-October 1947, while you were the Governor-General of Pakistan. But India would never have survived with a 35% Muslim population. We're happy that you got your own "country for Muslims", which evolved into today's Islamic state where you can have your death for blasphemy laws, with your anti-Ahmadi laws, your bans on non-Muslims becoming your President or Prime Minister. My ancestors may have been very rich in pre-1947 Punjab, and I may be a only middle-class young professional today, but at least I live in a country where all citizens are legally, officially, constitutionally equal, and where no holy book makes the law. Secularism can only survive in a country where most people support it. In my country I can be an atheist and still aspire to the top constitutional posts. And in my country no one will kill me for talking about atheism in public, as I do on college campuses.
Salute to the greatest man of the 20th century.
He brought his dream to the reality, our generations would be thankful to this man.
@Satish Its very easy to be a troll sitting in your room and moving your fingers on the keyboard criticising a man who struggled for a separate land without raising a gun, and shaped the course of history.
Its very difficult to actually read unbiased people, and while you talk about "writing books", please do us all this favour of reading http://www.amazon.com/Jinnah-Partition-Independence-Jaswant-Singh/dp/0195479270 . I could've recommend other authors but since you guys call yourself really "democratic", I recommended a wrote by "democratically elected" former FM of yours. (who was ousted so undemocratically)
All an all, a simple simple statement to sum up with is; the history will remember Quaid as one of the great leaders, politician, lawyer, founder of a nation... on the other hand, no one cares about who the heck Mr. Satish is and what he thinks or doesn't think of Jinnah.
@Indian: everyone knows how thankful you are to him mate ...... :)
It is no longer Jinnah's but Zia's Pakistan who injected the country with doctrine of militancy, hatred and intolerance amongst various communities which has now spread like cancer in the whole country. All successive govts and military after Zia's rule are also guilty of continuing his ideology which cannot be reversed under any circumstances as the roots of fanaticism and militancy have reached the foundation of the structure making it so unstable that collapse appears to be imminent.
Although our nation failed to capitalize on his legacy yet, what he achieved in his personal capacity still inspires millions including me.
Happy Birthday father of the nation!!!
Happy Qaid-e-Azam birth anniversary to Pakistanis. Many Pakistanis (and Indians interested in Pakistan's history) try to derive a set of principles or political philosophy from Jinnah's original statements. The problem is, unlike Gandhi or Nehru or Ambedkar, Jinnah wrote no books. He had no real political ideology except the political plank of asking for a separate country for Muslims. So he can be quoted as being pro-"secularism" (though he never uttered the word secular, unlike Nehru or Gandhi who used it all the time) but he can also be quoted as being pro-Islamist, talking about "martyrdom for Islam" and running the country based on "Islamic principles". So with the greatest respect to Pakistanis who idolize him, I would say that Jinnah was a hardcore politician, who said mutually exclusive and contradictory things to different people based on the political need of the moment. If Pakistan has an ideology, it is that of the poet Iqbal (which any secular person would strongly reject) But the basic point that I think all the evidence points to is that Mr. Jinnah had very few, if any, actual core ideological beliefs himself. I think the best and most accurate way to remember him is as a successful lawyer who won a very big case. Of course, any secular person would strongly disagree with and even condemn him for his case, but this day is not the day for that.
Love you Quaid! I pray the upcoming generations will make Pakistan a country you dreamt of and inshallah it will happen. Love this country and this land of ours.
Happy Birthday to the FATHER OF NATION Quaid-e-AZAM MUHAMMMAD ALI JINNAH!
Thank you Jinnah for asking for a separate nation.
i love Qaid-e- Azam for his brave insight into the birth of Pakistan. God bless his soul.
Dear Quaid-e-Azam, may you RIP and we are sorry for what we have done to your dream
Dear Quaid , if you would be alive then i would ask , was the partition right idea ? the people who opposed you then, are the champions of Pakistan today ! u said everyone is free to go to the place of his/her worship while they say this country is the castle of "their version" of islam so no one should have even the mosque belongs to any other sect
We are still struggling to find the path to reach where you wanted this nation to be. Hope has not been lost though. All we need is a good leader who can get rid of these morons in power.