ADDRESS OF G. M. SYED DELIVERED ON ALL-INDIA MUSLIM LEAGUE THIRTY-FIRST SESSION HELD IN KARACHI, DECEMBER 24 to 26, 1943
The Thirty-first Session of the All-India Muslim League commenced amidst scenes of great enthusiasm. A very large number of delegates attended, and almost 10,000 visitors were present at the start. The whole pandal was brilliantly illuminated. Seated on the dais were the leading personalities of the ‘Muslim League, including three League Premiers, namely, Sir Ghulam Hussain Hidayatullah, Malik Khizar Hayat Khan Tiwana and Sardar Aurangzeb Khan.
At the outset, Mr. Yusuf Haroon, General Secretary of the Reception Committee, introduced some of the most prominent delegates. Among the delegates present were: Syed Abdur Rauf, President, C.P. Provincial Muslim League; Hon’ble Abdul Matin Chaudhri,—Minister of Assam; Haji Abdus Sattar Sait, M.L.A., Member of the All-India Muslim League Working Committee; Hon’ble Mr. Tamiz-ud-Din, Education Minister, Bengal; Hon’ble Mr. Abdur Rab Nishtar,—Minister, N.W.F.P.; Mohammad Bahadur Khan (formerly Nawab Bahadur Yar Jang), President, All-India States Muslim League; Pir Sahib of Bharchundi; Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan, M.L.A., General Secretary, All-India Muslim League; Hon’ble Moazzam-ud-Din,— Minister of Bengal; Nawab Iftekhar Husain Khan of Mamdot, President, Punjab Provincial Muslim League.
Mr. Jinnah entered the pandal at 9.45 p.m., accompanied by Miss Jinnah, Mr. G.M. Syed, Chairman of the Reception Committee, Mr. M. Hashim Gazdar, Minister, Sind, and a body-guard. He was greeted with loud shouts of ‘Quaid e Azam Zindabad’, ‘Pakistan Zindabad’, and ‘Conqueror of Congress Zindabad’.
Complete silence prevailed in the huge pandal when Mr. Jinnah occupied the beautiful silver chair sent specially for the occasion by the Sardar of Domkis from Jacobabad.
The proceedings commenced with a recitation from the Quran. Mr. Anwar Qureshi, the well-knovm Urdu poet, recited the thrilling tarana of Iqbal, holding the audience spell-bound for minutes.
Address of Chairman Welcome Committee delivered on the occasion of 31st Annual Session for All India Muslim League held at Karachi in 1943.
G.M. Syed, Chairman of the Reception Committee read his address of welcome in Urdu on behalf of the Reception Committee of the Thirty-first Session of the All-India Muslim League,
I welcome you all to the land of Sindhu. By Sindhu I mean that part of the Asian Continent that is situated on the borders of the river Indus and its tributaries. In past ages, Sind and Hind have been considered separate entities; and Sind included Kashmir, the North-West Frontier Province, the Punjab, Baluchistan, and the present Province of Sind. But as time went on, the name began to connote a smaller and smaller area until now it is assigned only to that part of the land which is watered by the tail end of this great river. Today again, fully aware of this fact, we are moving to weld together those different parts into one harmonious whole, and the new proposed name, Pakistan, connotes the same old Sindhu land.
Friends, Destiny ordained the past of this land to be glorious, and we hope its future will be as bright. In many ways the history of this land is unique. It is the seat of a very old civilization to which Mohenjo-Daro and Taxila bear testimony. Many a race have intermixed here. Traces of Dravidian, Aryan, Semitic and Mongol traits can be easily seen at a glance. It is not only the racial comingling—in no part of the world has the fusion of philosophies and religions taken place in such profusion as in this land. The religion of Buddha, though boom on the soil of Hind, did thrive nowhere better than on this soil. The people of this land have not yet forgotten the lesson of Nirvana (the Doctrine of Renunciation) as taught by Gautama Buddha. When Islam reached this land. Buddhism was still prevalent, and Islam added only Isba’at (Realization) to its teachings. Nowhere have the Vedantic teachings and Vahdaniyat influenced each other more than on this land. On the one hand, Vahdaniyat influenced the Hindu Yogi, and worship of idols began to wane; on the other hand, the Muslim Dervishes used Sanyasi methods and music to their own advantage, and the Hindu and Muslim beliefs came nearer to each other. The teaching of Guru Nanak is a specific result of this. The Sufi Muslims of this land, topped by the great poet Shah Abdul Latif, always endeavored to bring about religious unity. The practical proof that the people of this land have given in effecting unity is a well-established fact, and the non-touch ability that exists elsewhere with a vengeance is nowhere less prominent than in this land.
Centre of Many Civilizations
Nowhere has Nature attempted to weld different civilizations together as it has done here on this soil through the medium of trade and commerce. The port of Daibul was a center of sea trade, on the one hand, and on the other, caravans reached Bukhara and Samarkand from here to carry on the international trade. In turn, the fertility of the soil of the River Indus attracted many a race to migrate to Sindhu, and many of these races took up their permanent abode in the land. To this, too, ancient archaeological finds, on the one hand, and the historical records, on the other, bear abundant testimony.
From the political point of view, this land has always been the battle¬ field of many people. The fertility of this soil has often tempted virile races to come down to this land of Sindhu; and if a few of them, satisfied with plunder, returned to their homes, many, after their arrival here, were not willing to leave the soil. In this way, new blood has ever been pouring into its veins. As it is, the political influence of Babylon, Egypt, Iran, Greece, Arabia, and Afghanistan are easily traceable here. In comparison to these, the influence of Southern India is almost negligible. I have narrated this short history of this land and its past glory with a view to reminding those who, under the dominant influence of Hind, have forgotten or are prepared to forget the splendor and ascendancy of their homeland. Having related some chapters of the glorious past of this land to refresh your memory, I now shall humbly put before you some ideas about its future, as I conceive it.
The Message from the Arabian Desert
The man from his commencement has advanced toward one ultimate object that of the humanity of thought and action. His different religious, political, and economic endeavors and aspirations are merely different attempts to reach that common goal. On every page of history, you will clearly see this evolutional process in progress. In the beginning, mankind is divided into small families. In time the families are welded and assume the shape of tribes the tribes combine and form themselves intonations. The basis of the union is various to mention a few: habitat, language, mode of life, and ideas have been some of the factors. In course of time, the materialistic basis for union grew less and less prominent. It was the idea that grew to gain more and more importance; and at this juncture, a new voice from the desert of Arabia was heard, which welded nations into one whole in a way no other attempt up to our times has ever succeeded. It discounted all the old forms of a union based on race, color, mode of life, habits, language, etc.
The great poet of Islam, Allama Iqbal says:
اپنی مِلّت پر قیاس اقوامِ مغرب سے نہ کر
خاص ہے ترکیب میں قومِ رُسولِ ہاشمی
اُن کی جمعیّت کا ہے مُلک و نسَب پر انحصار
قوّتِ مذہب سے مستحکم ہے جمعیّت تری
دامنِ دیں ہاتھ سے چھُوٹا تو جمعیّت کہاں
اور جمعیّت ہوئی رُخصت تو مِلّت بھی گئی
Although the influence of this voice, in the beginning, was felt by most parts of the ancient world; later the world once again began to revert to its old modes of thought. The result of this was that the Unity of Millat was broken and the peoples that represented this idea began to separate and became apparent to many observant minds, such as Shah Walliullah, Syed Ahmad, and Jamal-ud-Din Afghani, They endeavored to re-animate their co-religionists with the forgotten lesson that Islam had brought. God be praised, today the poet of the East, Allama Iqbal has re-echoed the same voice in a new phraseology, by the blessings of which we can observe a new vital spirit in this Millat, At the same time, the West, after a lot of bloodsheds, has begun to feel that it will not go well with the world unless the foundations of so-called nations are completely altered. ‘Ideology’ is the fashion of today. But defective and outworn ideologies are being retired, and they inevitably fail and lead to great war after war. Partial solutions superficially conceived are being paraded under different names, and these mushroom growths rise and wither within years which count no more than moments in the history of man.
The great poet of Islam, Hazrat Allama Iqbal says:
اقوامِ جہاں میں ہے رقابت تو اسی سے
تسخیر ہے مقصودِ تجارت تو اسی سے
خالی ہے صداقت سے سیاست تو اسی سے
کمزور کا گھر ہوتا ہے غارت تو اسی سے
اقوام میں مخلوقِ خدا بٹتی ہے اس سے
قومیّتِ اسلام کی جڑ کٹتی ہے اس سے
Although the drive towards universal brotherhood has commenced, real unity and permanent peace will not be achieved unless a satisfactory solution to the world’s present divergent political, economic, and religious theories is found. For this, a special environment and intellectual training based on historical traditions is a necessary condition. For the fulfillment of the above mission, the people of Sindhu are better suited than most. Ancient records bear testimony as to how races, civilizations, religious philosophies, and political methods of governance have mingled in this country. In the establishment of new world order, and in uniting the East and the West, Sindhu has to give a special message—and I have already been observing indications thereof. The synthesis must be conceived here. If America and Russia can jointly endeavor to bring nearer a new world order (although their political and economic ideologies are contradictory to each other), there will be no wonder then if Malik Khizar Hayat Khan and Sir Chhoturam could join and Submit the above-mentioned message and set an example.
Artificial Unity of India
But it is regrettable that Some inhabitants of Hind, with a view to bringing about temporary combinations, have been misleading the people of this land; and their nefarious propaganda has already affected some of our Muslim and non-Muslim countrymen who have closed their eyes against history and hard facts. They have been raising slogans of ‘One Nation’ and ‘United India’. Sindhu wants not only to unite India but the whole world. But this objective cannot be achieved by the methods adopted by these people. May God Almighty guide them to the right path. But if they do not extricate themselves from the trammels and allurements of the self-interested politician of Hind, an unnecessary discord will ensue.
The majority of the inhabitants of the land of Sindhu are now awake, and with a view to contributing their share towards the world order, they must be made free from extraterritorial influences.
Muslim Commerce
I again appeal especially to my non-Muslim countrymen that they should join us and help us to free our land and make it independent. Our cry of ‘Buy from Muslims’ has raised an uproar amongst them. That is one certain proof that a true sense of nationalism is lacking in them. Instead of encouraging the less industrious and poorer countrymen with an effort to bring them to their, level and lay the surest foundation of the democratic government and prosperity of their land, they take exception even when Muslims attempt to raise up their Muslim countrymen. They fail to see that their action only connotes a lack of the national sense—a narrow-mindedness that is destructive of the very hope of an international concord.
In spite of this, if they insist on their course of action, the only way left to us will be to depend upon God and do our best for ourselves. I must then appeal to the Muslims of Hind that the non-Muslims of this land, in spite of the fact that they share common interests with us, are joining hands with the non-Muslims of Hind and want to make the inhabitants of this land slaves-— solely for the reason that the majority of the inhabitants are Muslims. Under the circumstances, it is the duty of every Muslim of Hind to help us to make our native land free and independent. I, of course, greatly appreciate the efforts that the Muslim^ of Hind have put forth in furtherance of the Pakistan Movement, but I think these are not enough. The independence and progress of a people cannot be achieved by passing resolutions and indulging in paper propaganda. For our purposes, the best endeavors and heavy sacrifices are needed. The people of this land are prepared to make sacrifices, and the conditions here are favorable; all we need is sincere workers and capital.
Industrial and Economic Revolution in Pakistan
By sincere workers, I mean those men and women who, for the sake of a great ideal and the Millat, would come to this land to work for the political and social advancement of the Millat and be prepared to strive for our object. By capital, I mean, that from now on well-to-do Muslims of Hind should please direct their activities in the field of trade and commerce to this land, so that it may, in the future, become economically independent and self-supporting. You can help us greatly in meeting these two needs. History bears witness that in the past you have sent such gentlemen as Syed Brelvi and Ismail Shaheed for these purposes. Have you no Ahmad or Ismail among you now? I am sure you have, but possibly their activities in Hind do not permit them to direct their attention elsewhere.
If people from Gujrat and Bombay could go out to the Frontier to establish Hindu dominance there, could we, too, not repose some hope in your friends? Our future is interwoven with your future. Whatever high stations in Hind you may occupy, I am sure, they will not be permanent without the stability of our homeland. Your integrity in India will mainly depend upon the stability of our National State.
Program for National Organization
In order to prepare the nation to reach its desired goal, the following three things are necessary:
(1) To organize the dispersed and disorderly elements in the nation and create unity of action.
(2) To improve the economic condition of the land and make it self-sufficient.
(3) To build the future political program on the equality and fraternity that Islam enunciated.
The first requirement will be fulfilled only when the spirit of independence has been infused in the entire people, and every adult is enlisted in the organization of the National Guard.
In fulfilling the second requirement, you Muslims of India can help us a lot. The inhabitants of this land mostly belong to the agricultural profession and are very backward in trade and industry. Your money and experience could remove this drawback. We are prepared to afford every facility for this with a view to making your way easier. We have already started the campaign of ‘Buy from Muslims’ so that Muslims may be encouraged to take to trade. Thanks to Almighty God, this movement has produced good results, and now only experience and capital can perfect this scheme. It is hoped that you would be good enough to extend your helping hand to us in this direction. Organization of Muslim Laborers and Farmers
The opposition, at the present moment, seeing the Millat gather at one place, and with a view to creating a rift, has started to divide and weaken the nation on the issue of setting the poor against the rich. Unfortunately, several simple people have succumbed to that tactic and are working as its agents. Under the guise of sympathy for the poor of the nation, they have been dragging it towards civil war and ruination. It is possible that poor and illiterate people might get entangled in the hidden snare of the hunting opposition. Therefore, it is very necessary that, with a view to solving the problem in a satisfactory manner, immediate steps should be taken in this direction. Sincere workers amongst us should endeavor to bring the poor agriculturist and laborers under the flag of the Muslim League, making every effort to better their economic and political conditions, so that the insidious and mischief¬ making activity of the opposition may be nipped in the bud.
Friends, from a historical point of view, great significance attaches to this conference. Until now, the Muslim League has been endeavoring to unite the Millat on the theory of an independent, sovereign State of the Sindhu Nation. By the grace of God, Muslims are now united on that issue. Now the nation has reached the stage when steps for action have become necessary. This will be the beginning of a new phase in the political history of the Millat.
In the end, I welcome you all and thank you for coming here from long distances to this city to join us at the conference. We have tried our best in our humble way to provide for the requirements of our guests. But nothing human is perfect, and I hope your love and regard will cover our shortcomings because after all, love is what really counts, and in the best resort is decisive?
The Hon’ble Mr. Hashim Gazdar then garlanded the President, Mr. Mohammad Ali Jinnah, with a beautiful gold lace garland.
Reference:
“Foundation of Pakistan Vol II” by Sayed Sharif Uddin Pirzada, pp. 441-448, National Publishing House Ltd. Karachi. 1970”
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