There
is no one more dedicated and sincere to Pakistan than us
– Altaf Hussain
Hyderabad – 25
December 2004
MQM
Founder & Leader Mr Altaf Hussain has stated that the very opponents of the
creation of Pakistan and those who collaborated with the British against the
Independence Movement are giving sermon to us on Pakistanism and the Two-Nation
Theory. There is no need for the prejudiced intellectuals from Punjab, to give
us sermon on Pakistanism because our forefathers created this country by
sacrificing millions of lives and there is no one more dedicated and sincere to
Pakistan than us. Its creators did not disintegrate Pakistan; in fact the same
former generals and politicians who conspired to call Bengalis as traitors and
today branding us as traitors fragmented it. The people of Sindh have now
awakened and will not become subservient. He was expressing these views on
Friday, while addressing the Eid Milan Party organised in Hyderabad. A large
number of MQM workers, elders and womenfolk of Hyderabad attended this
gathering.
Mr
Hussain said that our forefathers sacrificed millions of lives, abandoned their
homes, graves of their elders and their worldly possessions for the creation of
Pakistan. Today, the very opponents of the Pakistan Movement are lecturing the
children of the creators of Pakistan on Pakistanism. In 1857, when our ancestors
were fighting the War of Independence against the British in the Subcontinent
– those who were against the War of Independence, “informers” against the
freedom fighters, assisted in their arrests and execution and committing
treachery are today lecturing us on Pakistanism and the Two-Nation Theory. They
have become the Champions of the Two-Nation Theory. Mr Hussain said that Hindus
stood shoulder to shoulder with our forefathers during the 1857 War of
Independence. As a result of this united struggle, British were forced to
retreat but the people of West Punjab colluded with the British and the war was
lost. Furthermore, when the British were unable to recruit people from India to
conquer the Subcontinent and even the people of East Punjab refused to join them
– it was the people of West Punjab, i.e. today’s Pakistani Punjab, sided
with the British to foil the War of Independence. Citing an incident during the
World War I, Mr Hussain said that when the British Army reached Mecca in Saudi
Arabia, it was ordered to open fire on the holy Khana-e-Ka’aba. The British
Army personnel including the Hindus and Sikhs of East Punjab refused to accept
this order but to appease their masters, the Muslim army personnel belonging to
West Punjab without apprehension obeyed the order and open fire upon the Holy
Ka’aba. Today, they are defining what Islam is.
He
said that what kind of joke is this that the people, who were traitors and
allies of British forces against the struggle of independence, have become
champions of patriotism and Pakistanism and the history is being distorted in a
way that the children of the creators of Pakistan are being declared traitors.
Mr. Altaf Hussain said that when he raised factual question on two-nation
theory, the prejudiced intellectuals of Punjab are declaring that Altaf Hussain
has opposed the two-nation theory. He said that it is also strange that the very
people, who had opposed the two-nation theory, are teaching us that what is the
two-nation theory? He said that the two-nation theory was that Hindus and
Muslims are separate nations, their religion, way of living and society is
different from each other and they cannot live together anymore. As Hindus are
in majority and Muslims are in minority and Muslims will become slaves of Hindu
majority after the independence of the sub continent, therefore, there should be
a separate homeland for the Muslims, where they can live with liberty. Mr. Altaf
Hussain said that today, this is said that the two nation theory was not for the
Muslims of entire India but it was for only four provinces of today’s
Pakistan. He raised a question that according to the two-nation theory, were the
Muslims of minority areas not Muslims? Were only Muslims from the majority areas
were Muslims? He said that it is totally a different point that Pakistan was
supposed to be created, only in the areas, where Muslims were in majority but is
it right definition of the two nation theory that Pakistan will be only for the
people who live in the areas where Pakistan will be created? Has the two nation
theory been not negated by saying that Pakistan was for only the Muslims of
majority areas? Have the Muslims of
the Muslim minority areas of the Sub-Continent been not betrayed on the name of
two nation theory? He asked that the two nation theory was dishonoured by him or
those who are misguiding the nation and have become its advocates today? Mr.
Altaf Hussain said that the Jamaat-e-Islami and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Hind
(India) of Fazlur Rehman had opposed the creation of Pakistan and
Jamaat-e-Islami had declared Quaid-e-Azam a Kafir-e-Azam (the great dis-believer)
and no Pakistan to the Pakistan. But this is a joke that Jamaat-e-Islami and
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, who had opposed the creation of Pakistan, have become the
champions of Pakistan and two-nation theory. He said that he fought the case of
Pakistan at an international conference in India, where he spoke of people of
Kashmir, Palestine and Iraq. At the same time, being son of the soil of Sindh,
he presented the case of Sindh as well. Was it a sin? He said that the
prejudiced intellectuals of Punjab are saying that Altaf Hussain had gone to
India for the cause of Greater India but when the Chief Minister of Punjab went
to India and kissed the doorsteps of a Gurdwara (Sikh temple), it was said by
the same intellectuals of Punjab that a great job is been done and the separated
brothers have met each other today, the linguistic and cultural relations have
bonded again as the culture of both East and West Punjab was the same. He said
that he started his trip to India by praying at the shrine of Hazrat Khawajah
Nizamuddin Auliyah (RA) in New Delhi and there he visited the shrine of Hazrat
Khawajah Moin Uddin Chishti (RA) in Ajmer and prayed for the success of his
struggle. He said that he was sure that all the conspirators to crush MQM will,
finish themselves but the MQM will not finish. He said that the people who
created it did not dismember Pakistan but those former Army Generals and
politicians, who are distributing the certificates of patriotism and treason
today, dismembered it. He told to the prejudiced intellectuals of Punjab to not
teach us the lessons of Pakistanism as we know this better, because Pakistan was
created by our forefathers and they saw the brutal killings of their children,
for the sake of Pakistan and our forefathers had crossed rivers of blood and
fire for the creation of Pakistan. No one can love Pakistan more than we do. He
said that the history of Pakistan is being distorted and the Nation is taught
the distorted history of Pakistan. He said that it is a historic fact that in
the 2 elections held before partition, Muslim League lost in Punjab. Sindh was
the only province, where the assembly passed the resolution in favour of the
creation of Pakistan, which was tabled by late G. M. Syed, who was later
declared a traitor. Mr. Altaf Hussain further said that in 1946 elections,
Congress announced that if they were in power, they would abolish the feudal
system. At this announcement, all the feudal lords belonging to congress shifted
their allegiances to Muslim League overnight. That is how Muslim League won in
Punjab but due to Lotacracy (floor crossing), Unionist party formed the
government in Punjab instead of the Muslim League. No one protested against this
and the members of the Unionist Party were not declared traitors and they were
not blamed for opposing the two-nation theory. These British loyalists today are
labelling the people of Sindh, Balochistan and NWFP as traitors just because
they are demanding their due rights. He said that it is impossible that people
who are issuing certificate of treason can strangulate the voice of poor people
on the basis of their military power, because the oppressed masses are awakened
and they are determined not to accept the slavery at any cost. Mentioning the
problem of Khokhrapar border, Mr. Altaf Hussain said that if the people of Sindh
want to go to India to meet their separated family members, they first have to
go to Islamabad to get visas and then proceed to Lahore by train to go to India
via Wahgah border, where on the pretext of security check, they have to give
heavy bribes, they are harassed and intimidated. Therefore, while on his tour to
India, he had talked to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Foreign Minister Natwar
Singh, Congress President Ms. Sonia Gandhi and other Indian leaders on the topic
of people of Sindh wanting to travel to India, who face numerous problems and
hardships. Therefore, it is imperative that visa office in Karachi and
Khokhrapar border should be opened. He said that he had convinced the Indian
leaders and they are ready to open the visa office in Karachi and the Khokhrapar
border. This would help the people of Sindh in saving their time and money; it
would also eliminate most hardships of the journey. Not only that, the opening
of the border would also encourage opening of hotels and shops in the environs,
which would facilitate in providing job to thousands of people Sindh. He said
that this decision is in the interest of the people of Sindh but those so called
nationalists, who were on the payroll of the establishment are raising hue and
cry that if the Khokhrapar border was opened, than, lots of Muslims of India
would come and settle in Sindh. Mr. Altaf Hussain said that if Indian Muslims
wanted to come to Sindh to get settled down here, can’t they come to Sindh
through Wahgah? He said, this is all baseless propaganda, while the reality is
that Indian Muslims don’t want to come and settle in Pakistan because they say
that why should they settle in such a place where their innocent relatives were
being killed and considered as terrorists. He said that the so called
nationalists are trying to create division amongst Urdu speaking Sindhis and
Sindhi speaking Sindhis through baseless and negative propaganda, but both Urdu
speaking Sindhis and Sindhi speaking Sindhis have understood well the
conspiracies and they will not fight with each other anymore and will attain the
rights of Sindh. Mr. Altaf Hussain said that today, deliberately questions are
raised that we have abandoned the word Mohajir. He said that the word Mohajir
would remain with us as long as we live. Late GM Syed also migrated from Arab
but his life and death were attached to Sindh. We also migrated from India but
now, our life and death is for the soil of Sindh. We drink its water, we eat its
corps and we get buried here after death. The coffins and boxes of our dead
bodies are not sent to other provinces. He said, no conspiracy to divide Sindhi
speaking Sindhis and Urdu speaking Sindhis shall succeed as the awakened
educated, middle and lower middle class people of Sindh, including mothers,
sisters, young men and elders are joining Muttahida and the time will come when
all people of Sindh will unite under the banner of Muttahida and raise their
voice in unison for the rights of Sindh.