By Michelle Chaudhry
It was on this day 65 years ago that the Founding
father of Pakistan, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah gave to us - the
religious
minorities, vision and hope, by assuring us that all religious
minorities would enjoy equal rights and complete religious freedom in the State
of Pakistan.
This was emphasized by him in his historic address to the
Legislative Assembly on 11th August 1947; and I quote. “You are free; you are free to go to your
temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place of worship in
this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed that
has nothing to do with the business of the State”
This was not the first time that Mr Jinnah had expressed
equal rights for minorities in Pakistan, similar views were expressed by him in
a press conference on 14th July, 1947, in New Delhi when he stated and I quote
again “minorities to whichever community
they may belong, will be safeguarded. Their religion, faith or belief will be
secure. There will be no interference of any kind with their freedom of
worship. They will have their protection with regard to their religion, faith,
their life, their culture. They will be, in all respects, citizens of Pakistan
without any distinction of caste or creed. They will have their rights and
privileges and no doubt, along with it goes the obligation of citizenship”
Hence Mohammad Ali Jinnah envisioned a Pakistan where
religious equality, justice and the rule of law would prevail.
Pakistan was created to respect human dignity, religious
freedom, equality of minorities’ rights, sovereignty of parliament and an
independent judiciary. Mr Jinnah did not envision Pakistan to become a
theocratic state. He envisioned a country where all citizens would be equal
despite difference in religion, sex, color and creed. He wanted a country where
religious minorities had complete religious freedom.
However, Mr Jinnah’s dream for Pakistan was short lived and
his vision disintegrated with his death, the rights of the religious minorities
were neglected, discriminatory laws were implemented by the succeeding governments
and military regimes. Non-Muslims have suffered tremendously and are facing
discrimination and brutality under
the rigidity of these tyrannical laws. Religious minorities have been
considered second class citizens, have been discriminated against at every
level and are constantly being victimized at the hands of Islamic extremists.
It was not by a fortunate turn of events that the
non-Muslims opted for Pakistan. At the time of Partition Mr Jinnah required two
crucial votes to secure the homeland called “Pakistan” - the birth of Pakistan
hung on two votes. It was the Christian
leaders who came forward and assured Mr Jinnah their support; they played the
decisive role and voted in favor of Pakistan. Therefore it was our historic
vote that that changed the course of history; Pakistan was created.
We have shed our blood and given sacrifices for this
country.
Having pledged complete allegiance to Pakistan not only did
we contributed decisively towards its creation but have continued to contribute
towards its development. It is undoubtedly a fact that it was the religious
minorities, the Christian community in particular, who soon after partition set
out to build Pakistan. The Pakistan railways, Customs, Post and Telegraph,
Police, Foreign office, Schools, Colleges, Courts of Law, Hospitals, Health and
Sanitation (just to name a few) began to take shape, with Pakistani Christians
at the rudder.
In the Armed Forces of Pakistan outstanding performances and
exceptional levels of professionalism have been attained by the Christian
officers. During the two major wars this country has fought it has been the
Christian officers who have not only excelled in efficiency but have laid down
their lives to defend the country they so deeply loved.
Therefore is equality and justice not our inherent
right?
Today Pakistan stands in the grip of terrorism, sectarian
violence, religious intolerance and discrimination, this is not the Pakistan
our founding father envisioned, neither is this the Pakistan for which our
ancestors laid down their lives.
Despite the dangers, adversities and hardships we
have struggled, we face extremely dangerous times. We need
support from all those who respect human rights, we need to join hands in order
to make an impact on the forces who are responsible for this situation. We need
to make our society a tolerant and civilized society.
A
time comes in the life of any nation when there remains only two choices -
submit or fight. Today we stand at crossroads; we can either
succumb to fundamentalism or fight against it.
We choose to fight, we do not believe in surrendering, we
refuse to give in and become victims of religious discrimination.
Despite the adversities and hardships, we must resolve
to stand firm, united and committed to strive for our rights, with a strong
belief that it is us and only us who can liberate ourselves from the clutches
of religious discrimination and attain the status of equal citizens in the
country of our birth.
Therefore today every single non-Muslim citizen of
Pakistan must commit to strive to create peace, harmony and religious tolerance
within our homeland, to attain equal rights for all non – Muslims, to empower
our people with confidence, self respect and dignity, in order to not only
enable them to live fulfilled, successful and safe lives but to also enable our
generations to come.
I cannot talk about 11th August without
mentioning two most prominent leaders of the Religious Minorities of Pakistan
Group Captain Cecil Chaudhry and Shaheed Shahbaz Bhatti. Whose unfaltering
belief in Jinnah’s Pakistan brought to the light the historic speech of 11t
August 1947. It may be noted here that this speech of the Quaid’s was declared
controversial by the succeeding Governments and was removed from all official
documents of Pakistan.
It was Group Captain Cecil Chaudhry and Martyr Shahbaz
Bhatti who were successful in unearthing this speech and brought it back to
light by contacting the Management and Editors of Dawn Newspapers who were the
first and the only Newspaper to publish the actual speech of the Qauid’s. Cecil
Chaudhry and Shahbaz Bhatti were successful in convincing the Dawn Newspaper
Editors who then published this Speech again in its full letter and spirit and
are doing it to date. That is how this speech was brought out of the dark
annals of history.
Group Captain Cecil Chaudhry a national hero, a highly
decorated war veteran, a legend of the Pakistan Air Force, a bold and fearless
human rights activist, a beacon of light and inspiration for thousands of
Pakistanis lived by the principle of Humanity. He often said “By faith Im a
Christian but my religion is Humanity”. He believed in equality, and promoted
Jinnah’s Pakistan at every level, where every citizen would have complete
religious freedom, equal rights regardless of cast, creed and religion; a
complete separation of state from religion. Cecil Chaudhry firmly believed and
advocated separation of State from religion. He worked tirelessly to make
Pakistan the Pakistan that Jinnah had envisioned. He launched and led the campaign for the
restoration of joint electorates in Pakistan – a landmark achievement indeed.
Till the end of his life he fought for the rights of the
downtrodden and marginalized communities in Pakistan.
It was with nothing but an unfaltering belief in “Jinnah’s
Pakistan” that Shaheed Shahbaz Bhatti left his hometown twenty nine years ago
to strive for the rights of minorities, religious harmony and tolerance within
communities, to raise a voice for the oppressed, marginalized and the
downtrodden.
He
dedicated his entire life to the struggle of the religious minorities of
Pakistan; fought against discrimination, intolerance and religious disharmony,
he cherished the idea of interfaith harmony, tolerance and equality in a free
society, in which all persons live together in harmony with equal opportunities
and it is for this vision that he lived and hope to one day see it realized,
but if the need ever arose it was this ideal for which he was prepared to die.
Federal Minister for Minorities Shahbaz Bhatti was brutally assassinated for
speaking out against the misuse of Pakistan’s notorious blasphemy laws, hence
paying the ultimate price for “Jinnah’s Pakistan”.
Let us then take
the legacy of these great men forward and pledge today to make every effort to
restore the Quaid’s vision and make Pakistan what he envisioned. We face the
future with optimism - religious discrimination and intolerance is not
unconquerable. With God’s blessings and our united efforts let’s continue to
strive to turn hatred into love, intolerance into tolerance and violence into
peace.
I end with the words of Nelson Mandela “I have walked that
long road to freedom. I have tried not to falter; I have made missteps along
the way. But I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one
only finds that there are many more hills to climb. Our march to
freedom is long and difficult, but we stand determined - liberation being our
final destination”.
May God bless the white in the Pakistani flag as it
continues to enlighten the green!
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