- Maulana Abul Kalam Azad: The Man Who Knew The Future Of Pakistan Before Its Creation. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad was an Indian Muslim scholar and a senior political leader of the Indian independence movement. He was one of the most prominent Muslim leader, who opposed the partition of India because he thought Muslims would be more powerful & dominant in united India. Abul Kalam Azad gave the following interview to journalist Shorish Kashmiri for a Lahore based Urdu magazine, Chattan, in April 1946. It was a time when the Cabinet Mission was holding its proceedings in Delhi and Simla. Azad made some startling predictions during the course of the interview, saying that religious conflict would tear apart Pakistan and its eastern half would carve out its own future. He even said that Pakistan’s incompetent rulers might pave the way for military rule. The Interview is printed only Shorish Kashmiri’s own book Abul Kalam Azad, which was printed only once by Matbooat Chattan Lahore. Former Union Cabinet Minister Arif Mohammed Khan discovered the book after searching for many years and translated the interview for COVERT. The interview is pretty much long therefore i have taken only few points in which Maulana Abul Kalam predicted the future of Pakistan. Maulana Says, "Now as I gather from the attitude of my own colleagues in the working committee, the division of India appears to be certain. But I must warn that the evil consequences of partition will not affect India alone, Pakistan will be equally haunted by them. The partition will be based on the religion of the population and not based on any natural barrier like mountain, desert or river. A line will be drawn; it is difficult to say how durable it would be. We must remember that an entity conceived in hatred will last only as long as that hatred lasts. This hatred will overwhelm the relations between India and Pakistan. In this situation it will not be possible for India and Pakistan to become friends and live amicably unless some catastrophic event takes place. The politics of partition itself will act as a barrier between the two countries. It will not be possible for the Hindus to stay especially in West Pakistan. They will be thrown out or leave on their own. The other important point that has escaped Mr Jinnah’s attention is Bengal. He does not know that Bengal disdains outside leadership and rejects it sooner or later. The environment of Bengal is such that it disfavours leadership from outside and rises in revolt when it senses danger to its rights and interests. The confidence of East Pakistan will not erode as long as Jinnah and Liaquat Ali are alive. But after them any small incident will create resentment and disaffection. I feel that it will not be possible for East Pakistan to stay with West Pakistan for any considerable period of time. There is nothing common between the two regions except that they call themselves Muslims. But the fact of being Muslim has never created durable political unity anywhere in the world. The Arab world is before us; they subscribe to a common religion, a common civilisation and culture and speak a common language. In fact they acknowledge even territorial unity. But there is no political unity among them. Their systems of government are different and they are often engaged in mutual recrimination and hostility. On the other hand, the language, customs and way of life of East Pakistan are totally different from West Pakistan. The moment the creative warmth of Pakistan cools down, the contradictions will emerge and will acquire assertive overtones. These will be fuelled by the clash of interests of international powers and consequently both wings will separate. After the separation of East Pakistan, whenever it happens, West Pakistan will become the battleground of regional contradictions and disputes. The assertion of sub-national identities of Punjab, Sind, Frontier and Balochistan will open the doors for outside interference. It will not be long before the international powers use the diverse elements of Pakistani political leadership to break the country on the lines of Balkan and Arab states. Maybe at that stage we will ask ourselves, what have we gained and what have we lost. I feel that right from its inception, Pakistan will face some very serious problems: 1. The incompetent political leadership will pave the way for military dictatorship as it has happened in many Muslim countries. 2. The heavy burden of foreign debt. 3. Absence of friendly relationship with neighbours and the possibility of armed conflict. 4. Internal unrest and regional conflicts. 5. The loot of national wealth by the neo-rich and industrialists of Pakistan. 6. The apprehension of class war as a result of exploitation by the neo-rich. 7. The dissatisfaction and alienation of the youth from religion and the collapse of the theory of Pakistan. 8. The conspiracies of the international powers to control Pakistan. In this situation, the stability of Pakistan will be under strain and the Muslim countries will be in no position to provide any worthwhile help. The assistance from other sources will not come without strings and it will force both ideological and territorial compromises. Strictly speaking, Muslims in India are not one community; they are divided among many well-entrenched sects. You can unite them by arousing their anti-Hindu sentiment but you cannot unite them in the name of Islam. To them Islam means undiluted loyalty to their own sect. Apart from Wahabi, Sunni and Shia there are innumerable groups who owe allegiance to different saints and divines. Small issues like raising hands during the prayer and saying Amen loudly have created disputes that defy solution. The Ulema have used the instrument of takfeer [fatwas declaring someone as infidel] liberally. Earlier, they used to take Islam to the disbelievers; now they take away Islam from the believers. Islamic history is full of instances of how good and pious Muslims were branded kafirs. Prophets alone had the capability to cope with these mindboggling situations." His full interview can be read at: siasat.pk/forum/showthread.php?67152-Maulana-Abul-Kalam-Azad-The-Man-Who-Knew-The-Future-Of-Pakistan-Before-Its-Creation
Posted on: Sun, 30 Jun 2013 05:58:54 +0000
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