Muhammad Ali Jinnah (1876 – 1948)
Muslim politician in the Indian subcontinent and leader of the All India Muslim League who founded Pakistan and served as its first Governor-General.
I have lived as plain Mr. Jinnah and I hope to die as plain Mr. Jinnah. I am very much averse to any title or honours and I will be more than happy if there was no prefix to my name.
The words are Jinnah’s; the thought and belief are an inheritance from the Prophet who said thirteen centuries before, “All men are equal in the eyes of God. And your lives and your properties are all sacred: in no case should you attack each other’s life and property. Today I trample under my feet all distinctions of caste, colour and nationality
My message to you all is of hope, courage and confidence. Let us mobilize all our resources in a systematic and organized way and tackle the grave issues that confront us with grim determination and discipline worthy of a great nation.
Think a hundred times before you take any decision, but once a decision is taken, stand by it as one man.
We should have a State in which we could live and breathe as free men and which we could develop according to our own lights and culture and where principles of Islamic social justice could find free play.
The most important man in Asia.
The great majority of us are Muslims. We follow the teachings of the Prophet Mohammed (may peace be upon him). We are members of the brotherhood of Islam in which all are equal in rights, dignity and self-respect. Consequently, we have a special and a very deep sense of unity. But make no mistake: Pakistan is not a theocracy or anything like it.
The first and the foremost thing that I would like to emphasize is this — remember that you are now a sovereign legislative body and you have got all the powers. It, therefore, places on you the gravest responsibility as to how you should take your decisions. The first observation that I would like to make is this: You will no doubt agree with me that the first duty of a government is to maintain law and order, so that the life, property and religious beliefs of its subjects are fully protected by the State.
You are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place of worship in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed. That has nothing to do with the business of the State.