Two Nation Theory

The Views of Jinnah and G.M Syed

The partition of the sub-continent on

the basis of the two-nation theory
was unnatural, inhuman and
unrealistic .....
says G. M. Syed

Muslims of India are ONE NATION .....

says M. A. Jinnah
 Two Nation Theory
The Views of Jinnah and G.M Syed

M. A. Jinnah's speech of August 11, 1947, to the Constituent Assembly, in which he had
said:

"…..I cannot emphasize it too much; we should begin to work in that spirit and in course
of time all these angularities of the majority community- the Hindu Community and the
Muslim Community - will become things of the past, because, even as regards Muslims,
you have Pathans, Punjabis, Shias, Sunnies and so on. Among the Hindus you have
Brahmans, Vaishnavities, Khatries, also Bengalies, Madrasies etc., soon will vanish
indeed, If you ask me, this has been the biggest hindrance in the way of India to attain
its freedom and independence and but for this we would have been free people long
ago, No power can hold another nation and especially a nation of 400 million souls in
subjection, no body could have conquered you, and even if it had happened, no body
could have its hold on you for any length of time, but for this (Applause), Therefore we
must learn a lesson from this.... You are free; you are free to, go to your temples. You
are free to go to your mosques or 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 (here, here)....

We are starting in the days when there is no discrimination, no distinction between one
community and another, no discrimination between one caste or creed and another....
We are starting with this fundamental principle that we are all citizens and equal citizens
of one stale (loud Applause), Now I think you should keep that introit of You as our
ideal, and you will find that in course of time Hindus would cease to be Hindus and
Muslims would cease to be Muslims, not in the religious sense, because that is the
personal faith of each individual, but in the political sense as citizens of the state."

(Source: Jinnah to Zia - pp. 29-30).

G. M. Syed’s views

Pakistan came into being on the basis of the two-nation theory but, history has proved
that those who used the Muslim nation and Islamic order slogans, had deceived the
Muslim masses in order to protect their own class interests.

The concept of Muslim nationhood is wrong and Pakistan’s solidarity and stability on its
basis is impossible. An Islamic, which is to say, a religious order is a huge fraud. . This
is not my [G M Syed] view alone. Noted religious scholars and intellectuals are of the
same opinion. Maulana Obaidullah Sindhi is a respected, Popular and political name in
Sindh and the subcontinent. He left India shortly before World War I and lived for 27
years in Afghanistan, Turkistan, Russia, Turkey and the Hejaz, On his return to Sindh,
he used to say that the Indian Muslims had a dreamy notion about their identity, which
had no basis in practical life. They had been thinking in terms of a party and a nation
about which they had no clear-cut idea in their minds. They had confined themselves to
a dream world and had isolated themselves from the struggles for independence in
other Muslim countries. Also, they did not have any agreed concept of a practical
ideology or way of life in the modern world (Malfuzat-i-Maulana Obaidullah Sindhi).

The conclusions arrived at by Maulana Obaidullah Sindhi can be summarized as under:

1. Muslims all over the world have no clear concept of a true Islamic society and no
Muslim government is being run on the basis of such a concept.

2. Because of the current international situation and the backwardness of the Muslim
countries, no pan-Islamic movement is possible. Therefore, Muslim countries will run
themselves on the basis of modern nationalism.

3. The peoples living in the sub-continent are different nations on the basis of their
ancient geographic boundaries, language, culture and politico-economic interests.
In this regard, the noted scholar of Sindh and my spiritual mentor,

Allama 1. I Qazi was against the creation of Pakistan on the basis of religious hatred.
One of his statements was published by me Sindhi paper, Qurbani, on January 22,
1939, parts of which are being excerpted here: "We have been brought to the Muslim
League platform. We had hoped that we would be able to work shoulder to shoulder
with each other for doing good work. Sadly, it does not look as if this hope would be
realized. The Organization is like the man who gathers all people together and throws
bombs on them to kill everyone at one go. Bringing the Muslims of India on one platform
is a matter of some concern but more tragic is the fact that not only are the Muslims of
India being destroyed but the standards and objectives of the Holy Qura'an are also
being obliterated. This will be a loss not only for the Muslims but also for all humankind.
It is being said that efforts will be made to save the Islamic order through Pakistan. But
what has the Holy Qura'an to say on Pakistan and our concept of it? Consider the
following injunctions:
1. Spread in all corners of the world.
2. Step out and see the world around,
3. The world is a wide-open place. Go everywhere to serve the people.
4. (The Muslims) will set examples for all of humankind.
5. You (the Muslims) are the righteous Ummah for and among all humanity.

According to these injunctions, the Muslims were to be an example for the rest of the
world to follow. They bad to spread to the four corners of the world and give the lead to
other peoples everywhere, Until the fifteenth century A.D., the Muslims did exactly that
and spread to the four corners of the world. They were above personal considerations,
and food, I housing, comfort and security aside, they were not afraid even of death. It
his to be kept in mind above everything else that in doing their duty, they did not look at
things from majority-minority considerations and were never afraid of the superior
strength of their foes. The ‘Pakistani’ isolationists should pause and ponder over the fact
how far removed they are from the Quranic objectives. Pakistan is being created so that
Muslims from here there and everywhere should take refuge in it and save themselves
from death and other losses. But to leave a place only for fear of death and other losses
is nowhere near the Islamic concept of life. Had Alberuni and Ibn Batuta been alive
today, what would have they thought of this tendency to run away from fear)? The entire
policy of the Muslim League has been based on the fear of the Hindus. A Muslim today
trembles at the very mention of a Hindu.

Since the day we went over to the Muslim League, we have been shouting that we are
afraid of the Hindus and that they would do us in, any moment. Are these the Muslims
who used to claim that they were not afraid of death? The principle used to be if you are
true, challenge death. Will the present leader of the Muslims, Mr. Jinnah, tell us whether
he is of the opinion that the Muslims today have nothing to do with the spirit of Islam
and that they are no longer capable of spreading to the four corners of the world and
that their security lies in bringing them to a protective home or orphanage? Does he
think that the Muslims are so sick and poor that if they are not brought together at one
place, their spirit will die, and since they are sick, they need constant nursing? Does he
think that they are mentally retarded and physically ill, and that they have lost wisdom
and courage and have become weak and lazy, and that they are constantly awaiting
death? If such indeed is the state of the Muslims, then even the fortress of Pakistan
cannot save them. For instance, let us look at the Sindhi part of Pakistan. Is this an
example of the protective house called Pakistan? The situation that has been created
here is amazing. Instead of becoming a protective home or Pakistan, Sindh has been
turned into a graveyard in which every Quranic precept is being trampled underfoot. It
appears as if the colorful and attractive name of Pakistan is being used only to hide the
real facts. It is like calling a sickhouse a hospital or naming a sweeper the Mehtar (the
Chief). If by Pakistan we mean what has been created in Sindh, then there will be no
chance for inmates of this sickhouse even in the new country. And they (the Sindhis)
will perhaps be obliterated. To make the demand for Pakistan for fear of the Hindus is
against all tenets of the Holy Qura'an. (Pakistan, Mazi, Haal Ain Mustaqbil, p. p 22-27

Source: The Case of Sindh - G.M. Syed’s deposition in court.

Muslims of India are ONE NATION
"Mussalmans (Muslims) came to India as conquerors, traders and preachers and
brought with them their own culture and civilization. They reformed and remoulded the
sub-continent of India. Today, the hundred million Mussalmans in (British) India
represent the largest compact body of Muslim population in any single part of the world.
We are civilization, language and literature, art and architecture, names and
nomenclature, value and proportion, legal laws and moral code, customs and calendar,
history and traditions, aptitude and ambitions, in short we have our distinctive outlookof
life and on life. By all canons of international law we are a nation."

M. A. Jinnah addresses at ML conference in 1940 at Lahore.

Comments on Quaid’s views:

Which culture mussalmans brought with them, of Afghanistan, of Central Asian states,
of Iran, or of Arab.

We are civilization (there exists no muslim civilization, nowhere in the world. It is indus
civilization, egypt civilization, ), language (muslims have no single language. muslims of
india even have many languages like punjabi, sindhi, pushto, baluchi, urdu, gujrati,
kathiawari etc) and literature (in which language. every language has its own literature.
distinction on the basis of religion can not be made in literature. for example muslim
sindhi poetry and hindu sindhu poetry seems very funny) and , art and architecture (has
no religion) , names (typical sindhi names are much more different from names of
people from UP, CP, Bengal, Bihar and even from closer states of Punjab and NWFP)
and nomenclature, value and proportion (Values of sindh are very different from those
of UP, CP and other muslims of india. Karo kari rasam for example, though condemned
today, is not present in muslims of UP, CP and Bihar), legal laws and moral code,
customs and calendar (local Sindhi and Punjabi calenders are solar based ahereas
arab calender is lunar based), history and traditions (history of Sindh, Punjab, NWFP,
Baluchistan, Bengal and that of the every part of india and of the arab peninsula is
different) aptitude and ambitions( every community that joins even muslim league had
their own ambitions and priorities), in short we have our distinctive outlook of life (not all
muslims of india have a single distict feature. one can very easily distinguish between
people of different parts of Pakistan and those from India) and on life. By all canons of
international law we are a nation (there is no such law or definition that recognises 'a
nation' on the basis of religion) .