Pakistan’s National Day: Commemorating History, Rekindling Ties with India

GS Paper I Indian history

Context:

Pakistan to hold its National Day celebrations in New Delhi after a four-year gap.

Pakistan National Day is observed on March 23, the day the Lahore Resolution was adopted in 1940 by the Muslim League
The celebration is an attempt to restart its low-key and low-risk engagement with India by the new Pakistan government.

Republic Day: On March 23 1956, Pakistan officially adopted its first Constitution transforming the Dominion of Pakistan to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

All-India Muslim League (AIML):

Formation: It was founded on 30 December 1906 in Dhaka, Bangladesh during the annual meeting of the All India Muslim Education Conference in 1906.
The proposal was forwarded by the Nawab of Dhaka, Khwaja Salimullah to create a political party solely to protect the interests of Muslims in British India and seconded by Hakim Ajmal Khan.
Founding Members: Khwaja Salimullah, Vikar-ul-Mulk, Syed Amir Ali, Syed Nabiullah, Khan Bahadur Ghulam and Mustafa Chowdhury.
- Muhammad Ali Jinnah joined the league in 1913.
Importance: The party spearheaded the movement for the formation of a seperate nation for the Muslims since 1935 and achieved its objective with the formation of Pakistan.

Adoption: The Lahore Resolution was written and prepared by Muhammad Zafarullah Khan was a formal political statement adopted by the All-India Muslim League during its general session in Lahore from March 22 to March 24, 1940
Objective: It formally called for an independent state for India’s Muslims with Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s famous speech asserting the demand for two separate countries, one for Hindus and one for Muslims going forward.
Demands:
- For Muslim Majority Areas: The areas where there is Muslims Majority (North-Western and Eastern Zones of India) should be grouped to constitute “Independent States” in which the constituent units shall be autonomous and sovereign.
- For Muslim Minority regions of India: An adequate, effective and mandatory constitutional safeguards shall be provided for the protection of their religious, cultural, economic, political, administrative and other rights and interests in consultation with the Muslim League.
Response:
- The Lahore Resolution was criticised by many Indian Muslims, like Abul Kalam Azad and the Deoband ulema led by Husain Ahmad Madani, who advocated for a united India.
- The All India Azad Muslim Conference gathered in Delhi in April 1940 to voice its support for an independent and united India, in response to the Lahore Resolution.

News source: The Indian Express

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