The ideology of Pakistan stems from the instinct of the Muslim community of South Asia to maintain their individuality by resisting all attempts by the Hindu society to absorb it. Muslims of South Asia believe that Islam and Hinduism are not only two religions, but are two social orders and have given birth to two distinct cultures and that there is no meeting point between the two. A deep study of the history of this land proves that the differences between Hindus and Muslims are not confined to the struggle for political supremacy but are also manifested in the clash of two social orders. Despite living together for more than one thousand years, they continue to develop different cultures and traditions. Their eating habits, music, architecture and script, all are poles apart. Even the language they speak and the dress they wear are entirely different.
The ideology of Pakistan took shape through an evolutionary process. Historical experience provided the base; Allama Iqbal gave it a philosophical explanation; Quaid-i-Azam translated it into a political reality; and the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan, by passing Objectives Resolution in March 1949, gave it legal sanction. It was due to the realization of the Muslims of South Asia that they are different from the Hindus that they demanded separate electorates. However when they realized that their future in a Democratic India dominated by Hindu majority was not safe, they changed their demand to a separate state.
The Muslims of South Asia believe that they are a nation in the modern sense of the word. The basis of their nationhood is neither territorial nor racial or linguistic or ethnic rather they are a nation because they belong to the same faith, Islam. On the same plea they consider it their fundamental right to be entitled to self-determination. They demanded that the areas where they were in majority should be constituted into a sovereign state, wherein they could be enabled to order their lives in individual and collective spheres in accordance with the teachings of Holy Quran and Sunnah of Holy Prophet (SAW). They further want their state to strengthen the bonds of unity among Muslim countries.
As early as in the beginning of the eleventh century Al Behruni observed that Hindus were differed from the Muslims in all matters and usage. He further elaborated his argument by writing that the Hindus considered Muslims Mlachha i.e. impure, and forbid having any connection with them, be it intermarriage or any other bond of relationship, or by sitting, eating and drinking with them, because thereby, they think they be polluted. The speech made by Quaid-i-Azam at Minto Park, Lahore on March 22, 1940 was very similar to Al Behruni thesis in theme and tune. He, in this speech, considered that Hindus and Muslims belongs to two different religious philosophies, social customs and literature. They neither intermarry, nor inter-dine together, and indeed they belong to two different civilizations which are based on conflicting ideas and conceptions. Their aspects on life and of life are different. He emphasized that inspite of passage of about one thousand years the relations between the Hindus and Muslims could not become even friendly. The only difference between the writing of Al-Behruni and the speech of Quaid-i-Azam was that Al-Behruni made calculated predictions, while Quaid-i-Azam had history behind him to support his argument.
The Ideology of Pakistan has its roots deep in history. History of South Asia is largely a history of rivalry and conflict between the Hindus and Muslims of the region. Both communities have been living in the same area since the early eighth century, the advent of Islam in India. Yet, the two failed to develop harmonious relations. In the beginning one could find the Muslims and Hindus struggling for supremacy in the battlefield. Starting with the war between Muhammad Bin Qasim and Raja Dahir in 712, armed conflicts between Hindus and Muslims run in thousands. Clashes between Mahmud of Ghazna and Jaypal, Muhammad Ghuri and Pirthvi Raj, Babur and Rana Sangha and Aurangzeb and Shiva Jee are a case in point.
When Hindus of South Asia failed to establish Hindu Padshahi through force, they opted for back door conspiracies. Bhagti Movement with the desire to merge Islam and Hinduism was one of the biggest attacks on the Ideology of the Muslims of the region. Diversion of Akbar from the main stream Islamic Ideology was a great success of the Hindus. However, due to the immediate counter attack by Mujadid Alf-i-Sani and his pupil, this era proved to be a short one. Muslims once again proved their separate identity during the regimes of Jahangir, Shah Jehan and particularly Aurangzeb. The attempts to bring the two communities close could not succeed because the differences between the two are fundamental and have no meeting point. At the root of the problem lies the difference between the two religions. So long as the two people want to lead their lives according to their respective faith they cannot be one.
With the advent of the British rule in India in 1858, Hindu-Muslim relations entered into a new phase. The British brought with them a new political philosophy commonly known as territorial nationalism. Before the coming of the British there was no concept of nation in the South Asia and the region had been never a single political unit. However, the British desire to weld the two communities in to a nation failed. The British concept of nation did not fit in the religio-social system of South Asia. Similarly the political system which the British had acquired from their experience in Britain did not suite the political culture of South Asia. The British political system commonly known as Democracy gave majority the right to rule. But unlike Britain the basis of majority and minority in South Asia was not political but religious and ethnic.
The attempt to enforce the British model in South Asia, instead of solving the political problems, further made it complex. The Hindus supported the idea while it was strongly opposed by the Muslims. The Muslims knew that implementation of the new order would mean the end of their separate identity and endless rule on Hindu majority in the name of Nationalism and democracy. No wonder the Muslims refused to go the British way. They claimed that they were a separate nation and the basis of their nation was common religion Islam. They refused to except a political system, which would reduce them to a permanent minority. They first demanded separate electorates and latter a separate state. Religious and cultural differences between Hindus and Muslims increased due to political rivalry under the British rule.
On March 24, 1940 the Muslims finally abundant the idea of federalism and defined separate homeland as their target. Quaid-i-Azam considered the creation of Pakistan a means to an end and not the end in itself. He wanted Pakistan to be an Islamic and Democratic state. According to his wishes and in accordance with the inspirations of the people of Pakistan the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan passed Objective Resolution. The adoption of Objectives Resolution removed all doubts if there were any about the ideology of Pakistan. The Muslims of Pakistan decided once for all to make Pakistan a state wherein the Muslims shall be enabled to order their lives in their individual and collective spheres in accord with the teachings and requirements of Islam as set out in the Holy Quran and Sunnah.
