23rd March 1940 is a day of special importance in the history of Pakistan as it was the day when a memorable gathering of the All India Muslim League, a political party representing all Muslims of British India took place at the Minto Park, Lahore and the resolution for an independent Muslim homeland for the Muslims of the British India was passed, known as the Lahore Resolution which later came to be known as the Pakistan Resolution. The place where the resolution was passed now stands a beautiful minaret known as the Minar-e-Pakistan, minaret of Pakistan, to remind the future generations of the importance of this historic place.
On this historic day, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan and known as the Quaid-e-Azam, made this historic speech, “Muslims 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”.
Due to the efforts of the leaders of the All India Muslim League under the leadership of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, that the British conceded to the legitimate demands of the Muslims and allowed partition of the British India into two independent countries of Pakistan and India on 14th August 1947.
23rd March 1956 is also another day in the history of Pakistan and the entire Muslim world when on this day Pakistan became the first Muslim republic of the world. Thus the day combines two important events in the history of Pakistan and is celebrated with national pride and commitment. The day is observed as a public holiday and a military parade is held on the occasion in Islamabad. However due to the commitment of the Pakistan Army in the War on Terror, the parade has been suspended for the time being.
The day commences with a 21 gun salute as a salute and tribute to all those who worked for the independence of Pakistan and those who died and laid their lives to acquire this country and preserving its integrity. On this day, let every Pakistani make a resolve to work towards making Pakistan as one of the greatest nations of the world, as pledged by Jinnah and make an all out endeavour to make this country peaceful, progressive, tolerant and accommodative for all people of Pakistan, irrespective of their religion, caste and creed. We must also make a resolve today to rid this country of the menace of militancy and extremism, which has plagued this country for the last so many years.
Related Reading:
Muhammad Ali Jinnah (Pakistanpaedia)
Struggle for Pakistan (Pakistanpaedia)
1 comments:
Well said! Very informative.
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