Lahore Resolution-1940

From March 22 to March 24, 1940, the All India Muslim League held its annual session at Minto Park, Lahore. This session proved to be historical.

On the first day of the session, Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah narrated the events of the last few months. In an extempore speech he presented his own solution of the Muslim problem. He said that the problem of India was not of an inter-communal nature, but manifestly an international one and must be treated as such. To him the differences between Hindus and the Muslims were so great and so sharp that their union under one central government was full of serious risks. They belonged to two separate and distinct nations and therefore the only chance open was to allow them to have separate states.

Minar-i-Pakistan, Lahore, the landmark where the historic Pakistan Resolution was passed

In the words of Quaid-i-Azam: "Hindus and the Muslims belong to two different religions, philosophies, social customs and literature. They neither inter-marry nor inter-dine and, indeed, they belong to two different civilizations that are based mainly on conflicting ideas and conceptions. Their concepts on life and of life are different. It is quite clear that Hindus and Muslims derive their inspiration from different sources of history. They have different epics, different heroes and different episodes. Very often the hero of one is a foe of the other, and likewise, their victories and defeats overlap. To yoke together two such nations under a single state, one as a numerical minority and the other as a majority, must lead to growing discontent and final destruction of any fabric that may be so built up for the government of such a state".

At the All India Muslim League Working Committee, Lahore session, March 1940

He further said, "Mussalmans are a nation according to any definition of nation. We wish our people to develop to the fullest spiritual, cultural, economic, social and political life in a way that we think best and in consonance with our own ideals and according to the genius of our people".

On the basis of the above mentioned ideas of the Quaid, A. K. Fazl-ul-Haq, the then Chief Minister of Bengal, moved the historical resolution which has since come to be known as Lahore Resolution or Pakistan Resolution.

Quaid-i-Azam is presiding over the session while Chaudhry Khaliquzzaman is seconding the Resolution

It further reads, "That adequate, effective and mandatory safeguards shall be specifically provided in the constitution for minorities in the units and in the regions for the protection of their religious, cultural, economic, political, administrative and other rights of the minorities, with their consultation. Arrangements thus should be made for the security of Muslims where they were in a minority".

Quaid-i-Azam, Liaquat Ali Khan and Nawab Muhammad Iftikhar Hussain Khan of Mamdot at the Lahore Session, March 1940

The Resolution repudiated the concept of United India and recommended the creation of an independent Muslim state consisting of Punjab, N. W. F. P., Sindh and Baluchistan in the northwest, and Bengal and Assam in the northeast. The Resolution was seconded by Maulana Zafar Ali Khan from Punjab, Sardar Aurangzeb from the N. W. F. P., Sir Abdullah Haroon from Sindh, and Qazi Esa from Baluchistan, along with many others.

The Resolution was passed on March 24. It laid down only the principles, with the details left to be worked out at a future date. It was made a part of the All India Muslim League's constitution in 1941. It was on the basis of this resolution that in 1946 the Muslim League decided to go for one state for the Muslims, instead of two.

Pakistan as visualized by Chaudhry Rahmat Ali

Having passed the Pakistan Resolution, the Muslims of India changed their ultimate goal. Instead of seeking alliance with the Hindu community, they set out on a path whose destination was a separate homeland for the Muslims of India.

Begum Ra'ana Liaquat Ali Khan

Begum Ra'ana Liaquat Ali Khan

Begum Ra'ana Liaquat Ali Khan was born at Almora in the United Provinces and was educated at Lucknow. She obtained a first class Masters degree with honors in economics from the University of Lucknow in 1929.

Begum Ra'ana began her practical life as a teacher in the Gokhale Memorial School after completing the Teachers Diploma Course from the Diocesan College, Calcutta. She was later appointed as Professor of Economics in the Indraprstha Girls College, Delhi.

In April 1933, she was married to Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan.

After the reorganization of Muslim League, Begum Ra'ana devoted herself to the task of creating political consciousness amongst the Muslim women. Her struggle for emancipation continued till independence of Muslims of India in 1947.

The wife of the first Prime Minister of Pakistan, Begum Ra'ana took the lead in starting the women's voluntary service in 1948. Women were encouraged to take up responsibilities in administering first aid, organizing food distribution, dealing with health problems, epidemics and clothing, and above all, in providing moral and emotional support. Ra'ana Liaquat Ali also took the initiative of introducing defense training for women. This step was not well received. On her own initiative, she formed the Pakistan Women's National Guard (P. W. N. G.) and the Pakistan Women Naval Reserve (P. W. N. R.) in 1949. Begum Ra'ana was the Chief Controller of both, with the rank of a Brigadier. Viewed in the perspective of the partition massacres, where helpless women had been brutally treated, the idea was not entirely unrealistic. The P. W. N. G. and P. W. N. R. could not survive for long and were disbanded soon after Ra'ana Liaquat Ali went abroad as Pakistan's Ambassador.

In 1949, Begum Ra'ana arranged a conference of over 100 active women from all over the country. The conference announced the formation of a voluntary and non-political organization for the social, educational and cultural uplift of the women, named as All Pakistan Women Association (A. P. W. A.). She was nominated as its first President.

Liaquat Ali Khan was assassinated in 1951. Begum Ra'ana continued her services for the social and economic uplift of women of Pakistan till her death.

Lady Ghulam Hussain Hidayatullah

Lady Ghulam Hussain Hidayatullah

Real name Sughra Begum, Lady Ghulam Hussain Hidayatullah was born in 1904 in a feudal family of Shikarpur. Though brought up in strict purdah, Begum Sughra was given a liberal education, especially in religion, Urdu, Sindhi and elementary English. In 1919, she married Sir Ghulam Hussain Hidayatullah, a prominent political leader of Sindh.

Lady Ghulam Hussain Hidayatullah aimed her life towards helping her husband in his social and political activities. She began her political life in 1938 as a worker of the All India Muslim League. The same year she was taken on by the Women's Central Subcommittee. It was due to her efforts that various branches of the Provincial Subcommittee were formed in different districts of Sindh such as Hyderabad, Nawabshah and Dadu. In December 1943, on the occasion of the annual session of the All India Muslim League held at Karachi, she was elected President of the Women's Reception Committee.

In February 1947, Sughra Begum came to Lahore and took part in political processions, urging the Government to accept the League's demands. She led a grand procession that marched towards the Civil Secretariat at the end of February 1947. This was the same day that Sughra Begum hoisted the Muslim League flag on the secretariat building. During the Partition riots, she actively worked with the refugees to relieve their sufferings. Her services in the Women's Refugee Relief Committee were commendable.

Begum Shah Nawaz

Begum Shah Nawaz

Begum Jehan Ara Shah Nawaz was the daughter of the famous Muslim League leader, Sir Muhammad Shafi. Born in April 1896, she was educated at the Queen Mary College, Lahore. She was married to Mian Shah Nawaz.

With the emergence of the All India Muslim Women's Conference, Begum Shah Nawaz devoted all her efforts towards its cause. She was successful in moving the organization to pass a resolution against polygamy in its session held at Lahore in 1918. She was also associated with the education and orphanage committees of the Anjuman Himayat-i-Islam, Lahore. She was an active member of the All India Muslim Women's Conference and remained president of its provincial branch for seven years. She was vice-president of the Central Committee of the All India Muslim Women's Conference.

Besides being a member of the Lahore Municipal Committee, she was also associated with several hospitals, and maternity and child welfare committees. She was the first woman to be elected as vice-president of the Provincial Executive and was a member of the All Indian General Committee of the Red Cross Society. She was a woman delegate to the Round Table Conference. In 1935, she founded the Punjab Provincial Women's Muslim League. In 1937, she was elected as a member of the Punjab Legislative Assembly and was appointed Parliamentary Secretary for Education, Medical Relief and Public Health. In 1938, she joined the Women's Central Subcommittee of the All India Muslim League. In 1942, the Government of India appointed her as a member of the National Defense Council. Meanwhile, the Muslim League called upon the League members to resign from the Defense Council. Upon refusing to abide by its decision, she was dismissed from the Muslim League.

In 1946, she rejoined the League and was elected as a member of the Punjab Assembly. The same year, she was sent along with M. A. H. Isphahani on a goodwill mission to the United States of America. Their mission was to explain the Muslim League's point of view. She played an important role during the Civil Disobedience Movement in Punjab in 1947, and was arrested along with other Muslim League leaders.

She passed away on November 27, 1979, at the age of 83.

Begum Viqar-un-Nisa

Begum Viqar-un-Nisa Noon

Begum Viqar-un-Nisa Noon, an Austrian by birth, was married to Sir Feroz Khan Noon in 1945. She and her husband left Delhi for Lahore the same year after Sir Noon resigned from the Viceroy's cabinet. Because of her husband's leading role in Indian politics, Begum Noon had the opportunity of studying the prevailing political situation and public opinion very closely. She organized election campaigns and became a member of the Punjab Provincial Women's Subcommittee. She organized a band of girl students and other women volunteers and toured other districts of the province for promotion of the cause of the Muslim League.

During the Civil Disobedience Movement in Punjab, Begum Noon was one of the leading women leaders responsible for successfully organizing the processions and demonstrations against the Khizar Ministry backed by the British, and courted arrest on three occasions.

During the period of mass transfer of population after the Partition, she rendered invaluable assistance to various refugee committees and camps. She had been closely associated with Red Cross and represented Pakistan on various occasions. She also opened a school and a college for girls at Rawalpindi.

After a protracted illness, she passed away on January 16, 2000, in Islamabad.

Lady Abdullah Haroon

Lady Abdullah Haroon

Real name Nusrat Khanum, Lady Abdullah Haroon was born in 1886, in Iran. Her parents migrated to India and later settled in Karachi where in 1914 she married Sir Abdullah Haroon. She took keen interest in female education and started a school at her home. She also founded a female organization known as Anjuman-i-Khawateen to improve the social and economic condition of the women of Sindh.

In 1919, she entered the political arena and worked as an ardent supporter of the Khilafat Movement in her province.

In 1938, she was nominated to the Women's Central Subcommittee of the All India Muslim League and was also elected President of the Sindh Provincial Women's Subcommittee. Actually, this organization owes its existence to Lady Haroon, who through her untiring efforts was able to bring the Muslim women under the banner of the Muslim League. She also made commendable contributions during the 1946 elections for the Muslim League.

Lady Haroon was a successful housewife. Her husband once stated that Nusrat had completed his life and that he was the happiest, luckiest and most content man on earth.

Begum Tasadduque Hussain

Begum Tasadduque Hussain

Real name Salma Mahmuda, daughter of Mian Fazal Ilahi Bedil, was born in August 1908 at Gujranwala. Brought up and educated in a scholarly atmosphere, Begum Tasadduque began to understand the value of art and literature early in life. In 1922, she was married to Dr. Tasadduque Hussain, Bar-at-Law. She continued her studies even after her marriage and completed her graduation from the University of Punjab. With the formation of the Punjab Provincial Women's Subcommittee, she became its most active member and in 1940 she was elected as one of its Secretaries. She helped in opening up primary schools and industrial homes for girls at Lahore.

In 1941, she was nominated to the Council of the All India Muslim League. In April 1943, she was taken on by the Central Subcommittee of the All India Muslim League. She played a leading part in the Bengal Relief Fund Committee. In 1944, she was nominated as a member of the working committee of the Punjab Provincial Muslim League.

She rendered valuable services during the elections of 1946. She successfully contested on the Muslim League ticket for the Punjab Provincial Assembly seat from the inner Lahore constituency, winning by an overwhelming majority. The same year she was again taken on by the working committee of the Punjab Provincial Muslim League.

She worked very hard during the Bihar riots, helping the Bihar refugees in their camps, and staying for nearly two months in the affected areas. She brought refugees from Bihar and provided accommodation to many of them at her residence.

In 1947, as Secretary of the Women's Subcommittee, she was heavily occupied with the organization and management of women's possessions. She participated in some processions and was eventually arrested along with other Muslim League members of the Punjab Assembly. Her activities did not remain confined to Punjab; she also took personal interest in the affairs of other provinces. When the Civil Disobedience Movement spread to the N. W. F. P., she went there with her colleagues and assisted in the organization of processions.

During the Partition riots, she was appointed Refugee Relief Secretary in the provincial Muslim League office and her duties were to receive the refugees from other areas and make arrangements for their boarding and lodging in Walton and other camps.

In the field of literature, she has attained a remarkable position as a writer and poet. Her poems and short stories have appeared in the leading Urdu journals. The translation of 'Cleopatra' into Urdu is one of her achievements.

She died on August 7, 1995.