Context:

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

Pakistan’s National Day: Diplomatic Outreach and New Beginnings with India

• 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.

Significance of March 23:  

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

Lahore Resolution 1940: Dividing Paths and Debates in India’s History

• 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