Remembering the Quaid
To understand Jinnah, you must understand the composition of his cabinet. It was a rainbow.
“Few individuals significantly alter the course of history. Fewer still modify the map of the world. Hardly anyone can be credited with creating a nation-state. Mohammad Ali Jinnah did all three.” — Stanley Wolpert
How vividly I remember that the Quaid found the time to inaugurate my grandfather’s hospital in Bantva. I was the flower boy. All flower boys have a very pleasant duty. This duty is to present the flowers to the chief guest. This was my reward for being the flower boy. He placed his hand on my forehead and said, “My son, it is for you that I have created this nation. Go and prosper. This is your country. May God bless you.” It brings tears to my eyes when I recollect this moment.
Fatima Jinnah was his favourite sister and most ardent supporter. When the Quaid passed away she was the heir. She was a constant visitor to our home. She shared our joys and sorrows. She was lonely but she was courageous. The likes of Ayub Khan could never have destroyed the spirit and dedication of this brave woman if we, the people of Pakistan, had not abandoned the vision of the founder. The question I want to raise for this nation today is the age-old one. It is what Julius Caesar said to Brutus, his killer, “Et tu, Brute?”
Those who have betrayed the Quaid are now preaching again — they will never give up their fascination for describing democracy and the Constitution and legal rights. I am by nature a sourpuss. I like to throw cold water on their deeply cherished notions. I would like the champions of constitutional law to educate me on this. What merit is there in the Constitution if it does not mandate that power belongs to the people and not to the politicians? I would like to define the terms ‘de facto’ and ‘de jure’. Some of my learned friends are so fond of these terms that they throw them at us at every opportunity. I believe these terms need to be reviewed. I would substitute the word ‘de facto’ with ‘de fected’. It’s a defected system that does not understand that sovereignty belongs to the people and not to the rulers. This is why I am constrained to ask the people of Pakistan, Et tu, Brute? This Betrayal is extraordinary and complete. I ask you now the People of Pakistan, Et tu, Brute?
Mountbatten was not prepared to give Jinnah more than ‘a truncated Pakistan’ while Jinnah was not interested in accepting “a moth-eaten Pakistan”, and insisted on having a ‘full Pakistan’. What a price we have paid for the politicians’ blind support to militants.
It was only after the Quaid’s death that these politicians bartered the future of Pakistan. Children are dead and the dead conscience of the people has been aroused. They want the hang-man to do the dirty work and punish. Would this have happened on the Quaid’s watch, he to whom the protection and promotion of minorities were a life’s work, his only priority? Would Jinnah have slept in peace while children were being slaughtered? Too soon, the murdered children will have been forgotten and it will be life as usual for the politicians. Would Jinnah have watched the massacre of Christians? Would he not have condemned the destruction of temples? Would he not have embraced the Hazaras and fought with them for their rights?
“You are free; you are free to go to your temples. You are free to go to your mosques or to any other places of worship in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion, caste or creed — that has nothing to do with the business of the State.”
What inspiring leadership, what vision, what a definition of secularism. No one could have said it better and I doubt anybody ever could find the words to express this thought. To understand Jinnah, you must understand the composition of his cabinet. It was a rainbow. No section of what constituted Pakistan was ignored. These were all good men, tried and tested and faithful to the Quaid and his dream.
Finally I ask, Would Jinnah not have embraced Malala and said to her what he did to me many years ago, “My child, it is for you that I have created this nation. Go and prosper. This is your country. May God bless you.”
Published in The Express Tribune, December 25th, 2014.
How vividly I remember that the Quaid found the time to inaugurate my grandfather’s hospital in Bantva. I was the flower boy. All flower boys have a very pleasant duty. This duty is to present the flowers to the chief guest. This was my reward for being the flower boy. He placed his hand on my forehead and said, “My son, it is for you that I have created this nation. Go and prosper. This is your country. May God bless you.” It brings tears to my eyes when I recollect this moment.
Fatima Jinnah was his favourite sister and most ardent supporter. When the Quaid passed away she was the heir. She was a constant visitor to our home. She shared our joys and sorrows. She was lonely but she was courageous. The likes of Ayub Khan could never have destroyed the spirit and dedication of this brave woman if we, the people of Pakistan, had not abandoned the vision of the founder. The question I want to raise for this nation today is the age-old one. It is what Julius Caesar said to Brutus, his killer, “Et tu, Brute?”
Those who have betrayed the Quaid are now preaching again — they will never give up their fascination for describing democracy and the Constitution and legal rights. I am by nature a sourpuss. I like to throw cold water on their deeply cherished notions. I would like the champions of constitutional law to educate me on this. What merit is there in the Constitution if it does not mandate that power belongs to the people and not to the politicians? I would like to define the terms ‘de facto’ and ‘de jure’. Some of my learned friends are so fond of these terms that they throw them at us at every opportunity. I believe these terms need to be reviewed. I would substitute the word ‘de facto’ with ‘de fected’. It’s a defected system that does not understand that sovereignty belongs to the people and not to the rulers. This is why I am constrained to ask the people of Pakistan, Et tu, Brute? This Betrayal is extraordinary and complete. I ask you now the People of Pakistan, Et tu, Brute?
Mountbatten was not prepared to give Jinnah more than ‘a truncated Pakistan’ while Jinnah was not interested in accepting “a moth-eaten Pakistan”, and insisted on having a ‘full Pakistan’. What a price we have paid for the politicians’ blind support to militants.
It was only after the Quaid’s death that these politicians bartered the future of Pakistan. Children are dead and the dead conscience of the people has been aroused. They want the hang-man to do the dirty work and punish. Would this have happened on the Quaid’s watch, he to whom the protection and promotion of minorities were a life’s work, his only priority? Would Jinnah have slept in peace while children were being slaughtered? Too soon, the murdered children will have been forgotten and it will be life as usual for the politicians. Would Jinnah have watched the massacre of Christians? Would he not have condemned the destruction of temples? Would he not have embraced the Hazaras and fought with them for their rights?
“You are free; you are free to go to your temples. You are free to go to your mosques or to any other places of worship in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion, caste or creed — that has nothing to do with the business of the State.”
What inspiring leadership, what vision, what a definition of secularism. No one could have said it better and I doubt anybody ever could find the words to express this thought. To understand Jinnah, you must understand the composition of his cabinet. It was a rainbow. No section of what constituted Pakistan was ignored. These were all good men, tried and tested and faithful to the Quaid and his dream.
Finally I ask, Would Jinnah not have embraced Malala and said to her what he did to me many years ago, “My child, it is for you that I have created this nation. Go and prosper. This is your country. May God bless you.”
Published in The Express Tribune, December 25th, 2014.