Abdullah Adnan - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Abdullah Adnan

The Muslim World, 2006

he emergence of Pakistan towards the middle of the twentieth century was an historic event. Those... more he emergence of Pakistan towards the middle of the twentieth century was an historic event. Those who participated in the Pakistan movement, or sympathized with the idea of a distinct Muslim identity and the need to protect and preserve it, would assert that Pakistan was the 'product' of the circumstances and a response to the aspirations of the Muslim population of the Subcontinent. However, those who either stood for a united India or did not see the need for a separate state for Muslims for the protection of their identity or promotion of their values viewed its creation as "temporary madness" and an "aberration" of history. In this article I examine the circumstances that led to the demand for a separate state for Muslims. We will also consider questions about the Pakistan movement, such as: Why, after all, were Muslims agitating? What made them call for a "different constitutional arrangement"? Were there not chances of reconciliation between the leaderships of the Hindu and Muslim populations, or, more truly, was it because the leaders of the two major communities could not reconcile with each other? We will also explore questions that have been raised about the nature and objectives of this state: Was Pakistan to be a state for Muslims, or an "Islamic state"? Did Jinnah wish for a theocracy or a democracy? What did the founding fathers of this new state think of relations with the Muslim and non-Muslim world, especially India? And, very briefly, is antagonism between India and Pakistan to last forever, or is it only a "temporary madness" and "frenzied reaction" to the creation of Pakistan that has bedeviled relations between the two countries? In order to understand the circumstances that led to the demand for and ultimate creation of Pakistan, it is useful to determine the views of the leaders of the Muslim people who faced these circumstances, analyzed them, and shaped them to define the destiny of their people. Among these luminaries, three are most prominent: Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, founder of the Aligarh University, who examined the causes of Muslim unrest in 1857 and championed

The Muslim World, 2006

he emergence of Pakistan towards the middle of the twentieth century was an historic event. Those... more he emergence of Pakistan towards the middle of the twentieth century was an historic event. Those who participated in the Pakistan movement, or sympathized with the idea of a distinct Muslim identity and the need to protect and preserve it, would assert that Pakistan was the 'product' of the circumstances and a response to the aspirations of the Muslim population of the Subcontinent. However, those who either stood for a united India or did not see the need for a separate state for Muslims for the protection of their identity or promotion of their values viewed its creation as "temporary madness" and an "aberration" of history. In this article I examine the circumstances that led to the demand for a separate state for Muslims. We will also consider questions about the Pakistan movement, such as: Why, after all, were Muslims agitating? What made them call for a "different constitutional arrangement"? Were there not chances of reconciliation between the leaderships of the Hindu and Muslim populations, or, more truly, was it because the leaders of the two major communities could not reconcile with each other? We will also explore questions that have been raised about the nature and objectives of this state: Was Pakistan to be a state for Muslims, or an "Islamic state"? Did Jinnah wish for a theocracy or a democracy? What did the founding fathers of this new state think of relations with the Muslim and non-Muslim world, especially India? And, very briefly, is antagonism between India and Pakistan to last forever, or is it only a "temporary madness" and "frenzied reaction" to the creation of Pakistan that has bedeviled relations between the two countries? In order to understand the circumstances that led to the demand for and ultimate creation of Pakistan, it is useful to determine the views of the leaders of the Muslim people who faced these circumstances, analyzed them, and shaped them to define the destiny of their people. Among these luminaries, three are most prominent: Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, founder of the Aligarh University, who examined the causes of Muslim unrest in 1857 and championed