Pakistan and the World

Introduction to the Speaker:
Liaquat Ali Khan was born on 1st October, 1895 and died on 16 October, 1951. He was the right hand man of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. He became the first Prime Minister of Pakistan in 1947 after the creation of Pakistan. He was educated at the Muslim University of Aligarh, the University of Oxford and Inner Temple, London He worked as Honorary General secretary of the All-India Muslim League.

Background of the Speech:
'Pakistan and the Modern World' is a text of the speeches of Liaquat Ali Khan. During his visit to the United States of America in 1950, he delivered this speech to acknowledge the conferment of an honorary degree upon himself by the University of Kansas. In his Speech he acquainted the world with Pakistan how Pakistan came into existence. Before it came into existence, it was only an ideal and longing. He emphasised that Pakistan's strength would be a happy augury for peace.
Summary
"Pakistan and the Modern World" is the text of a speech of Liaquat Ali Khan, the first Prime Minister of Pakistan and the right-hand man of Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. He delivered this speech to acknowledge the conferment of an honorary degree upon himself by the University of Kansas during his visit to the United States of Amercia in 1950.
In his speech Liaquat Ali Khan acquainted the world with Pakistan how Pakistan came into existence and how it feared during the early years of independence. Before it came into existence, it was only an ideal and a longing. In South Asia where present day Bharat and Pakistan are situated and where the British held sway, there lived one hundred million Muslims who for for centuries had made this part of world their  homeland. They lived side by side with three hundred million others-mostly Hindus who had come to this continent in an earlier era.

When the day of freedom for these four hundred million people drew near, it became obvious that at the end of the British rule the one hundred million Muslims would have to live their new life as a perpetual political minority. They knew that under a dominating majority of three to one, freedom from British rule would mean to the Muslims not freedom but merely a change of masters.
It was not only the difference of religion that made the Muslims a separate nation but also there were some other differences which separated the Muslims from the Hindus. The Muslims believed in and worshipped only one God whereas the Hindus believed in and worshipped many gods. The Muslims believed in the Prophet of Arabia and in Chris and the prophets of the Old Testament, whereas the Hindus did not. The differences were even more pervasive than this and created a maladjustment between the two peoples in almost every situation of their daily lives. The Hindus believed in a caste system but the Muslims  believed in the equality of all men. Their economic outlooks were also different. The Muslims believed in the right of Private ownership for everyone and had laws of inheritance and economic institutions, whereas the Hindus did not have such laws and institutions. In addition to these differences, the Muslims feared that under the Hindu domination, the culture of the Muslims would suffer a great setback and would perhaps be totally eclipsed. Furthermore, the Muslims were more backward than the Hindus economically and industrially. Thus to the Muslims freedom from British rule meant practically  nothing unless it meant freedom from the domination of the Hindu majority also. It was for these reasons that the Muslims demanded for a country of their own. To many, this demand sounded unreasonable at that time. But it was a reasonable demand.
The Muslims were numerous enough to constitute a nation bigger than most nations in the world. There were large enough areas where the Muslims were in a majority. The demand of the Muslims fro a separate homeland in British India was based on human and geo-political grounds. The creation of Pakistan has by itself dissolved what would have been a perpetual danger zone in Asia. But Pakistan has done more than that. Almost in every country of Asia there is intense nationalism. great backwardness, impatience with colonial rule. In most of the Asian countries there are internal strains, moral doubts, ideological conflicts, wavering, hesitation and confusions. In the midst of these Pakistan stands unified because the Pakistanis are free from mental confusion and moral doubts. They have chalked out for themselves simple, practical and clear-cut beliefs and decisions. They believe in the  supreme sovereignty of God, in the equality of men, in democracy, in individual destiny, in the fundamental freedoms of every man and woman, in the sanity of human life and human liberty, in the sanctity of the home, in universal peace, in resisting aggression, tyrant and exploitation. The Muslims of the sub-continent founded a state i.e. Pakistan because they wanted to practise there beliefs without being checked by their neighbours and without being thwarted by other conflicting ways of life.
The Western World must demonstrate that true democracy is international. Liaquat Ali Khan is certain that the vast majority of the American people regard the emergence of the democracy of Pakistan and its progress and future development, as of great importance in Asia, for they are convinced that Pakistan's strength will be a happy augury for peace.
Tags: Pakistan, The Countries, The History, World