Pakistan emerged on the world map on map on August 14, 1947 after the great freedom stuggle of the Muslims of South-Asian subcontinent for about 90 year. The journey of the freedom of Indo-Pakistan subcontinent dates back to the war of independence in 1857
when the movement of Muslims to regain their power was ruthlessly crushed by the British and they became the target of the wrath of their English rules.
Historically, the story begins with the entry of British owned East India Company which was granted trading rights and permission to establish a factory at Surat in 1600 A.D by Moghul emperor Akber. The said company gradually expanded its activities on very large scale during the next century. It had constructed forts at madras and Calcutta and also created a private para-military force on the pretext of providing protection toits ships, trade and colonies by the middle seventeenth century.
With the passage of time, its influence and involvement in the public and administrative affairs had increased to the extent of controlling at all levels. Therefore, tor rhe first time in the battle of Plassey in 1757, the British scorded its first major victory against an Indian ruler Nawab Siraj-ud-Dula.
The victory at plassey foreshadowed the rise of the british power in India. In 1764, the triumph of the British arms at the battle of Buxer not only confirmed their sovereignity over Bengal, but also extended it to cover Bihar and Oudh. Several minor wars followed Buxer, but the major one was Mysore war at seringa pattam in 1799, in which the British were finally able to oust from power, the brave Tipu Sultan who fell fighting with his sword in hand. The death of Tipu Sultan of Mysore made the British the supreme power in the whole of southern India.
In 1843, the battle at Miani, near Hyderabad ended the rules of the mirs of Sindh and opened the way for the extenion of British Power and influence in Baluchistan. Punjab, the North-west frontier region and Kashmir were added to the the british empire after the second Anglo-Sikh war during 1848-49 and within few years the kingdom of Oudh and several other states like Hyderabad, Bhawalpur, Khairpur and Bhopal were successfully pressurised into accepting British suzerainty and indirect control, while others lije jhansi, Sumbalpur, Katchela and Nagpur were annexed unser the doctrine of lapse, which down that any state or principality whose ruler had died childless would lapse to the British Govern ment. thus the entire subcontinent, from Kashmir to cape Commorin and from Gujrat to Assam had come under the over-lordship of the British East India Company by 1856.
During the course of time, shah Waliullah's ideals inspired the rise of the Mujahidin movement Founded by syed ahmed shaheed of rai Bareli who pronounced the twin principles of a free homeland aned a reformed islam He unfuled the banner of jihad against the Sikhs from the nortern heights in 1826 At one time in 1930 Syed Ahmed shaheed even captured peshawar, and proclaimed an islamc republic later, however he alongwith his many followers and lieutenants was killed in an encounter at balakot in 1831.
Fortunately, the movement, inspired by certain transcendent ideals, did not die out with him. It was reorganized with full strength, and with the cilapse of the sikh power in the Punjab, Kashmir and the dFrontier the Mujahidin waged a rather long and sustained struggle against its successor, the British. Thus, the Muhjahidin, who were the first to bread a spirit of revolution in ther Subcontinent became the forerunners of the independence war of 1857 which engulfed practically the whole of northern India in its reging flames and threatened the British rule in India.
However, this effort to throw off the British yoke could not succeed. This failute, at once both spectacular and dismal, spelled disaster for India and especially for Muslims.
The British economec, linguistic and administrative policies had generally discriminated against Muslims from the beginning. Its commetcial policies and likewise reduced Muslims artisans to a state of unmployment and penury. This general trend towrads the economic collapse of Muslims receced further impetus in the post-1857 period when the British was rather disparate, disparate, trady, unintegrated and somewhat group-oriented.
The man who dispassionately analysed the causes of this grave situation was Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, a scholat and an educationistwho understood the psychology of the British as well as that of the Hindus. He adopted secerel means to rrevitalize Muslims and to bring them out of the deep depression. His plans and their far reaching effects resulted in a new awakening in the shapae of Aligarh Movement in which Nawab Mohsinul Mulk, Nawab Viqarul Mulk, Maulana Altag Hussain Hali Allama Shibli ans Mulk, Nazir Ahmed also played the leading role.
The Aligarh Movement healed the beach betweeen the rule and broughet about a readjustment in theit mutual telationship. Sit Syed's jourmals were aimed at promoting a rational religious outlook, furthering the cause of education in western and otiental branches of learning, reminding Muslims of theit past glory and at disseminating new cultural values.
The time for political actoin camne a few ueats after Sir Syed's demise. in 1905, the partition of Bengal resulting in the creation of new predominantily Muslim province of "eastern Bengal and Assam" with the loge-neglected city of Dacca as its capital proved to a new era for the fulfilment of hopes and expactations of Begalo Muslims.
Next year a delegation of seventy Muslim leaders popularly knwn as Simla deputation headed by Sir Agha
khan met the viceroy and pleaded that the status of the Muslim should not be determined by ther numbers but by ther political weight and importance. delegation demanded separate electorate for the Muslims. The damand was accepted this propared ground for futher political moves, and et was decided to call a meeting of the leading Muslims in Dacca on December 30, 1906. At this historic meeting, foudation of All India Muslim league was laid. it was formed with the primary of protecting and advancing the political rights of the Muslim.
However, the things immediately took an ugly shape. the partirion of Bengal was annulled in 1912 result of widespread discontent among Hindus and also because of their terrorist movement. this spread great frustration among the Muslims. In 1913 the heavy toll of life taken by indiscriminate firing on a Muslim mod protesting against the demolition of a portion of the Cawnpore Mosque added fuel to the fire.
The first great war broke out in 1914. the ottoman khilafat became an ally of the Germans. This placed the Muslim on the crossroads -- whehter to support the British in their was effort or oppose them. They felt passionately for the Turks and agitated vigorusly. they launched the kilafat Movement. the top leaders of the Movement Mulana Mohammad Ali jauhar, Moulana Shoukat Ali and Moulana Zafat Ali khan courted prision and suffered great hardships. the Hindus took advantage of the displeasure of the british qith the Muslim. Hence, in
1916 when the congress and the League were holding separate sessions at Lucknow, there was an agreement arrived at between them which later came to be known as the Pact.
The defeat of the turks in the war and the burning desire of Muslims to get rid of tg British rule accelerated the khilafat Movement. the too took the part in the struggle, and the civil disobedience movement based on non_ violence was started. its purpose was to give up co - operation with the government in all ,matters.The movement gained such strength that the entire machinery of administration was paralysed and the British was forced to transfer some powers to the indians. the Muslim s were in the forefront in this struggle. Among those who were arrested, were eighty per cent Muslim. The Khilafat Movement was at its height when Mahatma Gandhi, making the voilent incident of Chorachori an excuse, called a halt to the Civi disobedience Movement.
Soon after this, Hindu politics assumed a militant outlook and gave birth to two movements, the shudi Movement, aiming at conversion of Muslims to sepa4rate militant platform. As a counter-blast to these, some Muslim leaders also started the Tabligh and Tanzeem movements but their impact was limited because most of the Muslim leaders were sincere nationalists and did not like to add to the bitterness. However, the Hindus continued their activites. That sharpened the the conflict to a degree that communal riots raged all over India and kind of civil war was started.
In Bengal alone, from 1923 to 1927, thirty five thousand women were abducted and countless incidents of immorality, burning people alive, murders and arson were witnessed.
In 1927, the British Government sent the Simon Commission to recommend reforms for the country. The All India Muslim League had decided that it had nothing to do with the Commission in any form. It was at this stage that Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah moved his famous resolution embodying his 14 points in the All Parties Muslim Conference held in 1929 under the Chairmanship of Sir Agha Khan.
The "Jinnah's 14 points" in clear-cut-terms, defined the safeguards necessary for the Muslims. The objects of these 14 points was to have five Muslim majority provinces as against the six Hindu majority provinces with a weak center, so that Muslims could not be dominated by non-Muslims.
In November 1930, the British government convened in London, a Round Table Conference of the political leaders of India in which Muslim leaders demanded adequate safeguards to be embodied in the constitution. It was about this time that the great leader and poet Allama Dr. Mohammad Iqbal, in his presidential address at the annual session of Muslim League in Allahabad, demanded the formation of a consolidated Muslim state.
Meanwhile, the second and third Round Table Conferences were held in London during 1931-32 where representatives of British Government and those of political parties in India discussed the future constitutional reforms. At this juncture a student of Cambridge University, Chaudhery Rehmat Ali, alongwith his companions met the Muslim delegates to the Round Table Conference and urged upon them to demand "Pakistan" rejecting the idea of an Indian federation. However, the Muslim leaders continued discussion on the basis of 14 points and since no agreement could be arrived at, the British Prime Minister Ramsay Macdonald announced the communal Award, the articles of which were incorporated in the 1935 Act. It gave Sindh, the status of a separate province, recognised Punjab and Bengal as Muslim Majority provinces, gave reforms to the N.W.F.P. and maintained the system of separate electorate.
By this time Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, who had temporarily settled down in London, was persuaded to return and take up the leadership of the Muslims From mid- Onwards, he undertook the task of reorganizing the Muslim League and transforming it into a most effective and powerful political platform for the Muslim of entire subcontinent.
The 1937 was a remarkable year in the history of the sub-continent. There were general elections. The congress gained a majority in the six Hindu majority provinces while the Muslim League could not obtain majority in a single province. However, in the League session held at Lucknow in 1937, the Punjab Chief Minister Sir Sikandar Hayat Khan, the Bengal Chief Minister Moulvi A.K. Fazlul haque and the Assam Chief Minister Sir Sadullah, alongwith their supporters gathered under the leadership of Quaid-e-Azam, thus a united Muslim from was forged. In the same session "Full independence" rather than "dominion status" was declared to be the ultimate goal of the Muslim League.
In 1939, the second world war began. The Congress decide not to cooperate with the British government in their war efforts and its ministries resigned. The was celebrated by Muslims as a Day of Deliverance throughout the subcontinent.
During the years of 1937-39, the Muslim League, under the determined and efficient leadership of Quaid-e-Azam and his sincere companions, had revised and finalized its aim and programme and at last, in March 1940, "The Pakistan Resolution" was passed at the historic session of Muslim League at Lahore. The great philosopher Allama Iqbal had died two years ago but now his concept and ideological lead was accepted by the 100 million Muslims of the Indo-Pakistan sub-continent.
In 1942, Sir Stafford Cripps Came to India to secure active cooperation of the Indians in war effort and offered a plan known as "Cripps Plan". The Muslim League rejected it since there was no clear assurance about Pakistan in that plan.
In 1946, soon after the second world war, there were held general elections in which Muslim League won all Muslim seats in the Central Assemble and 446 out of 495 Muslim seats in the provinces loosing power only in N.W.F.P. That proved beyond doubt that the Muslim League was the only representative body of the Muslims and that the Muslims had voted in support of Pakistan.
The same year a three-member Cabinet Mission came from England and proposed an Indian Union with control on defence, foreign affairs and communications The League accepted Cabinet Mission's proposals but the Congress backed out and the plan produced no results.
On 3rd June, 1947, Lord Louis Mountbatten, the Governor General of India announced the scheme for the partition of subcontinent and to hand over powers to the two successor states. Pakistan and India, on 14th August 1947.
After the announcement of the creation of Pakistan, hundreds of thousands of Muslims marched toward their new independent homeland wading through the river of blood. The partition plan spread great disappointment among the Hindus. They treated it cuttin into two of Mother India and started loot, arson, rape, destruction and murder of Muslims on an unprecedented scale and that all was so widespread that the history has no parallel to offer., More than one million Muslims were killed and more than ten million Muslim lost their homes and all belongings.
Thus the struggle that was started by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, strengthened by Moulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar, enriched by the vision of Allama Iqbal, guided and led by the Quaid-e-Azam Mohammd Ali Jinnah and supported by Liaquat Ali Khan and number of such other great freedom fighters, ended at last with the creation of Pakistan.