Lahore resolution

The Lahore Resolution ( Urdu قرارداد لاہور, Qarardad-e-Lahore ; Bengali লাহোর প্রস্তাব , Lahor Prostab ) was adopted on March 23, 1940 by the All-Indian Muslim League under the leadership of Ali Jinnah in Lahore (then British India , now Pakistan ). It is seen as an important milestone on the way to the division of British India and the establishment of the State of Pakistan in 1947. The resolution called for a separate state for Indian Muslims on the basis of the two-nation theory . In addition to economic and religious independence from the Hindus , the political sovereignty of Muslims should also be secured. The resolution was passed at a time when British colonial power was focused entirely on the war in Europe.

Representative of the All India Muslim League in Lahore

The crux of the resolution, which included sharp attacks on the Indian National Congress , was the finding that British India had not one but two "nations": that of the Hindus and that of the Muslims. A common constitution for all of India makes no sense, since this would mean the permanent rule of the majority, ie the Hindus, over the minority of Muslims. Federalization at the provincial level would also not make sense, since the problem mentioned would then arise at the provincial level. Instead, British India must be divided into two large administrative territorial units, one for the Hindus and one for the Muslims.

The resolution has been widely interpreted as a call for the establishment of an Islamic state of Pakistan on Indian soil. The resolution was practically unanimously rejected by the Hindus as a call to partition India. On the Muslim side, too, there was not only approval. The All India Azad Muslim Conference , which met in Delhi in April 1940 under the presidium of Khan Bahadur Allah Bakhsh , then Chief Minister of Sindh Province, advocated an independent but united India.

In Lahore, a minaret ( Minar-e-Pakistan ) was built on the site of the resolution .

March 23rd is today a national holiday in Pakistan.

Web links

• Lahore Resolution and Timeline 1940–1947 (at www.storyofpakistan.com ; English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Qasmi, Ali Usman; Robb, Megan Eaton: Muslims against the Muslim League: Critiques of the Idea of ​​Pakistan . Cambridge University Press, 2017, ISBN 978-1-108-62123-6 , pp. 2 , doi : 10.1017 / 9781316711224 (English).