Pakistan Resolution Day – 23rd March 1940

By Muhammad YaseenPublished On 04 Jan 2023

The people of Pakistan celebrate the 23rd of March, every year, with great zeal and enthusiasm, to commemorate the most outstanding achievement of sub-continent Muslims who passed the historic Pakistan Resolution on this day at Minto Park, Lahore in 1940.

The Lahore Pakistan Resolution also is known as "Qarardad-e-Pakistan" was indeed a landmark in the history for the Muslims of the sub-continent. Before this, the Muslims of the sub-continent had no goal and no future in view and Muslim politics remained in the hands of the individuals with conflicting interests and inclinations. As soon as Lahore Resolution was passed by the Muslim League, the Hindu press started criticizing the Muslim League and declared this resolution as Pakistan Resolution. The personality of Mohammad Ali Jinnah was also criticized by the Hindus and their prominent leaders. Mohammad Ali Jinnah got nationwide popularity after Lahore Resolution because the Muslims of India had a lot of expectations from him and he was the only source of inspiration for the Muslims.

The All India Muslim League played a vital role in the creation of Pakistan in the year 1940. Muslim League had become a stronger political party for the Muslims of Indo-Pak Subcontinent, under which the Muslims were struggling for a separate homeland for them. The great leader of the Muslims, Mohammad Ali Jinnah by the time had become the lining symbol of Muslim unity and Muslim politics and the Muslims had so completely centered on him that he had become almost an institution in himself.

The resolution which was passed at the session reads: “No constitutional plan would be workable or acceptable to the Muslims unless geographical contiguous units are demarcated into regions which should be so constituted with such territorial readjustments as may be necessary. That the areas in which the Muslims are numerically in majority as in the North-Western and Eastern zones of India should be grouped to constitute independent states in which the constituent units shall be autonomous and sovereign”.

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”.