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A Hindu poet wrote Pak's first anthem

- by Jamsheed Basha 29 Sep 2009
This story has been read 5729 times.
Category: News
Topic: Should India resume talks with Pakistan?

WHAT A CONTRAST - INDIA'S FIRST NATIONAL SONG WAS WRITTEN BY SIR MOHAMMED IQBAL.

A news write-up appearing in a daily recently that Jinnah summoned Jagannath Azad, son of Lahore-based poet Tilok Chand Mahroom just three days before the creation of Pakistan to write the country's first national anthem, stirred up a debate in that country. The intentions were clear that Jinnah wanted Pakistan to be a secular country like India. He was as a matter of fact had sown the seed of secularism by inviting Jagannath Azad to write the country's first national anthem.

Incidentally, it was Sir Mohammed Iqbal, popularly known as a "Poet of the East" who penned India's national song, "Sare Jahan Se Acha, Hindustan Hamara" which had become the darling song of every Indian.

While India still cherish this poem, Pakistan chose to discard the anthem written by Azad in 1950 after the death of their Qaid-e-Azam in 1948. What a disrespect shown to the father of the nation by the Pakistanis. What was wrong with the anthem? It was well written in chaste Urdu and had all the ingredients to become that country's national anthem. The only problem with it was, written by a Hindu of that country.

This debate over the anthem came at a time when Pakistan were having a second look into the role of Jinnah during partition after a political biography written by India's ex-Foreign Minister and BJP's founder member, Jaswant Singh. This Book on Jinnah had already taken enough toll on the BJP leadership and its overall attitude towards players responsible for the great tragedy of the sub-continent. May be the write up on Azad's first national anthem, would create a fissure in Pakistan's political establishment.

Jinnah was secular as he was popularly believed to be even by Indian leaders and he was undoubtedly Gokhale's Ambassador of Hindu-Muslim unity. His first speech to Pak's national assembly soon after independence, is anything to go by, when he said the citizens of Pakistan would ceased to be Hindus, Muslims, Christians and Sikhs, though they would be free to go to their respective places of worship, only confirmed his credentials as a secular leader.

Since people here were so obsessed with his role in creating Pakistan after partitioning the country, they never ever dispassionately analysed Jinnah's personality vis-a-vis his role in the partition until Jaswant Singh cleared the air in his famous book on Jinnah that it was not Jinnah, but Nehru and Patel who were responsible for forcing partition of the country.

Like Jinnah who wanted a united India, Muslims of India also feel the same as Muslim constituting 33% of India's population, they would have been better off, had there been no partition. A debate is on whether all the three nations, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh would ever come together one day to become Akhan Bharat. Indians hope so.

Nevertheless, it was a clear message Jinnah intended to send to the countrymen that Pakistan would remain a secular state. Jinnah knew that he had left a majority of Muslims in India and that it would be in the interest of Paksitan to follow India's policy on secularism to keep the minorities in goodstead. But the later generation in Pakistan doubted his secular credentials and chose to discard secularism as a state policy. The result is anarchy.

Pakistan has become a hotbed of religious intolerance and extremism, producing Jihadis to cause unrest in the world. It has now become an epi-centre of terrorism of the world and a sanctuary for world's terror network including Al-Qaida. Its mainly becuase they did not follow their leader Jinnah's secular policy.

If Pakistanis have any regard to their Qaid-e-Azam and his vision, they must declare Pakistan a secular country and give full protection to the minorities living there. By doing this they can free themselves from the religious bigots. Jai Hind.
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SEE THE LATEST COMMENTS (77)
Ramchandar - Thailand on 10/6/2009 8:57:49 PM
Jaswant Singh says "Nehru believed in a highly centralized polity. That's what he wanted India to be. Jinnah wanted a federal polity. That even Gandhi accepted. Nehru didn't. Consistently, he stood in the way of a federal India until 1947 when it became a partitioned India," Jaswant Singh told Karan Thapar in "Devil's Advocate", which will be aired on CNN-IBN Sunday and Monday. Do we still have to blam Jinnah? By changing the facts we cannot denie our mistakes. Yes it was a mistake from Indian political leader. Because they were also following 'Divide and Rule' policy. If all Muslims of Pakistan, Bangladesh and India would be in one country, you can imagine the infrastructure we would be having. Whatever now, we need to work for harmony between Pakistan and India. If we are secular state we should prove it. I want to put a note here for Indian Media tv channels that dont promote only Diwali, do show Eid Programs also on Eid. We have not seen any Eid program on Any indian channel this Eid. Are we really secular country !!!!!???? Or Muslims have stopped celebrating Eid and only celebrating Diwali ?!?
 
bharat pathak - mumbai on 10/3/2009 5:30:28 PM
It is sad event of Indian history that Five thousand old culture was divided in the name of religion in to two nation. Two nation theory was promoted by Mr jinnah and over the sixty years it was proved a wrong theory. There is no sence in pouring salt in the wound of division. Hindu in India who migrated from pak are peacefully leaving with honour and Muslims migrated from india are fighting for their rights as "Muhajir" and leaving in constant fear
 
Sweety Shah - Surat on 10/3/2009 3:11:59 PM
A Hindu poet wrote Pak's first anthem
 
Suken Shah - Surat on 10/3/2009 3:11:05 PM
A Hindu poet wrote Pak's first anthem
 
Samir Shah - Surat on 10/3/2009 3:09:08 PM
A Hindu poet wrote Pak's first anthem
 


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