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Friday 25 March 2011

Pakistan Day - a day to celebrate the Islamification of Pakistan

We all know that Pakistan was officially given independence on the 14th August 1947, yet when I visited the Pakistan High Commission on the 23rd March I was surprised to see that the Embassy was closed and a loud function was taking place in a tent in their garden area.

Concerned that someone had broken into their compound I investigated and found a large marquee from which loud music was pumped into the local environment.

People were feasting and enjoying a period of merriment on a scale that I have never seen at the High Commission. The High Commissioner himself was dressed in fine apparel as were his senior men.

Apparently I had inadvertently entered a celebration the High Commission of Pakistan and it's nation hold dear to. The day is termed Pakistan Day and bizarrely and this might shock you, it is a celebration of the day that Iskander Mirza (first President of Pakistan)formed the constitution of Pakistan in 1956. This constitution reformed the nation from the Dominion of Pakistan into the more endearing Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Endearing for some I should say.....

Why should be shocked at what the celebration is about? I will clarify my point for you.

When I asked the High Commissioners staff about the derivation of Pakistan Day they tried to fob we off with a whimsical notion that the day was a commemoration of the Lahore resolution, yet the Lahore Resolution took place over 3 days from the 22-24 March 1940.

The Lahore resolution, for those of you that are a little discombobulated by this reference, called for greater Muslim autonomy in British India. However, although the term Pakistan was first mentioned by Choudhary Rahmat Ali in his Pakistan Declaration (A pamphlet calling for Muslim independence) in 1933. Mohammed Jinnah at the time of the Lahore Resolution was still committed to Hindu-Muslim Unity and Pakistan as a concept did not feature in the resolution.

Now some of you might say well why is the 28th January 1933 not celebrated as Pakistan day, as many would argue, the distribution of this pamphlet was the major trigger for Pakistani independence. If so, I believe most scholars would agree with you. Again the questions arises so what exactly is Pakistan Day meant to celebrate?

As I thought about the perplexing confusion around the celebration and in an attempt to make some sense of it all, I fell into a deep trance (figuratively speaking). I cleared away the opaque images in my mind and concentrated on what was around me, immediately a grave concern arose. I noticed that I could not see any Christians at the High Commissioner's event? Why is this I thought? The lack of any fellow Christians was disconcerting, especially considering that Pakistan has suffered the loss of a great Christian humanitarian. His death has sent shock waves around the globe yet during the celebrations the High Commission did not think of holding a 1 minutes silence. Perhaps they did not want to blemish the taste of the halwa puree?

Pakistani Christians have contributed well to British and Pakistani culture and society and were pivotal to it's creation. SP Singha speaker for the Punjab Legislative Assembly cast the deciding vote after a stalemate that included 4 Christian MP votes - yet even here in our egalitarian UK, Pakistani officials are placing class barriers in our way.


At times like this, I think about how fortunate those of us in the UK are... As a consequence of this behaviour the BPCA is joining the boycott of any Pakistan High Commission functions (unless they are memorials for Shahbaz Bhatti), it is clear that the High Commissioner and his cronies are providing lip service to our concerns about the treatment of minorities. Some in our community have for too long disrespected the work of Shahbaz Bhatti who forged Minorities day Pakistan, with great struggle I am sure.


This day recognises the achievements and contribution Christians and other minorities have made in and for Pakistan.

Some groups have protested on this date before and termed it "Black Day", I call on those groups to stop this diabolical activity which undermines Mr Bhatti's work and our communities in Pakistan - give our people back their day please!

Surely their can be no blacker day for our people than the day we were told that despite Jinnah's promise, we were to be made second class citizens and that it would be officially written into the Constitution of Pakistan.

Maybe global Christians outside Pakistan should unite and hold "Black Day protests to the fore of Pakistan High Commissions and Pakistan Embassies (outside Commonwealth), every year on the 23rd of March. Please share your thoughts...

8 comments:

  1. Seeing Pakistani christains in the U.K unite would be a beautiful thing...... However to see them on the same page in agreement is the real challenge... Here's a thought, form a U.K based charity to found elite academia christain students in pakistan.... I mean students with exceptional attributes who are passionate about there people... Over time when many take there positon & don't go astray with become role models for others to follow... Just a thought???

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  2. We don't want to hear as to who shouldn't and who wouldn't be there - but rather who would be there period.

    Lets, be all there and make it a joint effort to have our voice heard - if not be nailed to the point that it would be listened to.

    Raymond Wallace MacDurrani & Associates
    Central Committee Executive/Political Strategist
    Pakistan Christian Congress (Only registered political Christian Party in Pakistan)
    'Friends of Pakistan's Christian Nation' (While we care deeply about all minorities, our focus is Christian Nation who are partner in the formation of Pakistan)
    1 (905) 683-2341

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  3. Hello Wilson

    Sorry I've not been in touch for a while but just wanted to say I still look at the BPCA site regularly. My browser is not letting me put up a comment but this is perhaps better as I can then address you more directly.

    I'm relieved that you have finally 'seen the light' as far as the Pakistani High Commission is concerned. I did not want to say this before but there were far too many photo ops with the High Commissioner and other Pakistani government/PPP cronies. If the PPP were not in power at present and Shahbaz Bhatti had not been a member of the same party do you think you would have ever been invited to the High Commission ? (Sherry Rehman appears to be the only member of the PPP left who dares even suggest reform of the Blasphemy Law). The idea that the PPP was ever a progressive party is laughable when examining their record.


    You surely know that it was Z A Bhutto who in 1974 declared the Ahmadiya community as non-Muslim (in order to court the Mullahs) which has since then made them third class citizens and opened the door to the erosion of rights of all non-Muslims. His daughter also did nothing for non-Muslims when she had two chances in the 1980s and 1990s. The depressing fact is that the PPP is the 'lesser of evils' as far as mainstream Pakistani political parties are concerned and still they have done absolutely nothing to prevent the 'talibanization' of Pakistan.

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  4. I was fascinated when you referred to the significance of Pakistan Day i.e. 23 March. When I lived in Pakistan (this was reflected in the media and the school where I worked) Pakistan Day primarily marked the Lahore Resolution of March 1940 when for the first time Jinnah's party explicitly announced the possibility of a Muslim state or state(s) in the Indian subcontinent so it is seen as the start of the demand for Pakistan. At that time it was still a rather vague demand and it was not entirely clear until as late as 1946 whether this demand would be for a state inside or outside India. (If you have not already seen it I would strongly recommend the excellent documentary film 'Mr Jinnah The Making of Pakistan' which gives lots of clues as to why Pakistan is where it is today).

    However Pakistan Day did not become an official holiday until the 1950s when Pakistan finally got its first constitution in 1956. So yes the secondary reason for Pakistan Day is the 1956 constitution when Pakistan officially became an Islamic Republic but at that time Pakistan was a very different place to what it is today as there were far more non-Muslims (almost 25% of East Pakistanis were
    Hindus) and fewer religious fanatics so I doubt if the term 'Islamic Republic'
    had the same significance as it does 50 years later. In Pakistan this secondary reason is hardly ever mentioned on 23 March as the focus is always on the achievements of Jinnah.

    What I observed in Pakistan is that for most people this is just another holiday. Apart from the Muslim festivals I recall holidays for 'Kashmir Day', 'Iqbal Day' (he died a decade before Pakistan was even born), 'Defence Day' and of course 25 December was not Christmas Day in Pakistan but the birthday of Jinnah (!!!) and at that time there was a holiday to remember his death in September 1948.


    I'm surprised you were unaware of the High Commission being closed on 23 March as this is usually posted on their website, it is one of the main official holidays in Pakistan. Were you disappointed that His Excellency the High Commissioner had not invited you ? Strange that no non-Muslims were at the event
    so I can understand that you felt uncomfortable.


    The 1956 constitution cannot in any way be blamed on Ayub Khan as he did not take over until 1958. In fact history records him as one of the most modernizing rulers of Pakistan. He was far more secular and tolerant than later so-called democratic rulers (he abolished separate electorates which would have been more effective if he had allowed proper elections). Ayub Khan even went so far as to remove 'Islamic' and just refer to the 'Republic of Pakistan' in his 1962 constitution. Like a later military ruler (Musharraf) he also retreated when under pressure from the religious lobby and was forced in a 1963 constitutional amendment to reinstate Pakistan as an 'Islamic Republic'. I'm guessing that many people see Ayub in the same way they see Zia, both being military rulers. They both have different legacies as far as Pakistan is concerned.


    I'm glad you included S P Singha in your post as he was a very interesting and multi-faceted person in Punjab and Pakistan. I am currently doing some research on his life and if you know anyone connected with him (I believe some of his family members are in Scotland, his daughter died in Chandigarh some time ago) please let me know. It is about time people are made aware of the contribution of non-Muslims to both the creation and consolidation of Pakistan.

    Hope this email has not been too long or rambling but I wanted to respond to some of your points.

    I have attached articles from The Friday Times on Qamar David (I'm sure you know about his case) and Chaudhry Rehmat Ali who you mentioned in your post.

    Good luck with your campaign and glad you are highlighting the plight of Pakistani Christians.

    Best wishes

    Mundy Bowers

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  5. Wilson Chowdhry27 March 2011 at 10:38

    Hi Mundy,

    Thanbk you for your responses I have inserted the correct name for the President in 1956 who was the Last Governor General and first President Iskander Mirza.

    The reason many British Pakistani Christians are not aware of Pakistan Day, is because we have been disenfranchised as a community by our High Commission and have also absorbed into British culture almost entirely. We still hold a soft spot for the homeland however...

    Wilson

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  6. First Manady:

    His son lives in Winnipeg and his phone # is:
    1-204-589-1602 - he appears to be little disoriented these days - so be patient.

    Wilson: I hold no soft spot for Pakistan. I however do hold a soft spot for the members of the Christian Nation.

    Christian Nation have to get part of the land their 4 MPs and Speaker of the Assembly who broke the tie by voting for Pakistan to form their independent Province - consult the British Raj - while the Queen is still alive. Protest in front of her door. Let me know when and I will make an effort to show up.

    Raymond Durrani & Associates
    Central Committee Executive/Political Strategist
    Pakistan Christian Congress
    'Friends of Pakistan's Christian Nation' (While we care deeply about all minorities, our focus is Christian Nation which was partner in the formation of Pakistan)
    1 (905) 683-2341
    raymond.durrani@sympatico.ca

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  7. Raymond Durrani30 March 2011 at 09:37

    Wilson: I hold no soft spot for Pakistan. I however do hold a soft spot for the members of the Christian Nation. Christian Nation have to get part of the land their 4 MPs and Speaker of the Assembly who broke the tie by voting for Pakistan to form their independent Province - consult the British Raj - while the Queen is still alive. Protest in front of her door. Let me know when and I will make an effort to show up. Raymond Durrani & Associates Central Committee Executive/Political Strategist Pakistan Christian Congress 'Friends of Pakistan's Christian Nation' (While we care deeply about all minorities, our focus is Christian Nation which was partner in the formation of Pakistan)

    ReplyDelete