Child Protection Institute marks Independence Day with zeal
The event brought together children residing at the Institute, staff members, and the management for a day filled with national spirit and meaningful reflections.
The celebration began with the children waving national flags and singing popular national songs that echoed through the halls of the Institute. Their voices carried a mix of pride and excitement, setting the tone for the day. This was followed by a cake-cutting ceremony to mark the occasion, symbolizing unity and shared happiness.
To engage the young participants in Pakistan's history, CPI staff held a short quiz on the creation of Pakistan. The children eagerly answered the questions. They also explained the meaning of the national flag's colours, noting that green represents the Muslim majority, white symbolizes the rights of religious minorities, and the crescent and star signify progress and light.
Speaking to the gathering, the children shared their vision for the country they call home. They expressed their desire for a Pakistan free from poverty and hunger, where every child has access to quality education and opportunities to grow. 'We want a Pakistan where no child goes to bed hungry and where schools welcome every child,' one participant said, earning applause from others.
Director General of CPI, Rabeea Hadi, addressed the children with an inspiring message about the struggles endured during the creation of Pakistan. She spoke about the vision of a country founded on Islamic principles of justice, equality, and compassion. 'Pakistan was not created without sacrifice,' she reminded them. 'It was built on the dream of a place where every citizen is treated equally, without any difference of colour, caste, or religion — as Islam teaches us. This is the principle we must follow here in the Institute and in our lives.'
Hadi encouraged the children to dream big and work hard toward achieving their goals despite challenges. 'You may face difficulties, but never let them stop you. Hold onto your dreams with determination, and remember that you are the future of this country,' she said.
The event concluded with a renewed sense of pride among the children, who left with small flags in hand and hope in their hearts.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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The Lucknow Pact (1916) between the Muslim League and the Congress Party accepted constitutional guarantees for Muslim representation in the elected councils, cabinets and government jobs, weightage to religious minorities for representation in elected council. These guarantees were reiterated in Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah's Fourteen Points in his address to the Muslim leaders in 1929. The Muslim League and the Muslim elite demanded a federal system with autonomy for provinces in British India. They hoped that this would enable them to rule Muslim-majority provinces. When the above-mentioned demands did not materialize because of non-cooperative political disposition of the Congress Party, the Muslim leadership concluded that their political future as a distinct socio-cultural and civilizational identity would not be safe in an independent and untied India. They formally demanded a SEPARATE HOMELAND for them in March 1940, although the discussion on this idea started earlier. The change in the political strategy of the Muslims was the product of their political interaction with the majority Hindu community and the British government in India. Though the Congress Party agreed to constitutional guarantees for the Muslims in the Lucknow Pact (1916) it rejected these guarantees in the Nehru Report (1928) which prepared recommendations for the new constitution. Jinnah attempted to seek amendments in the Nehru Report for accommodation of Muslim political concerns, but his efforts did not succeed. He gave a rejoinder to the Nehru Report and outlined Muslim demands in his famous speech in 1929, described as Jinnah's Fourteen Points. The political divergence between the two communities increased in the course of the Roundtable Conferences in London in 1930-32. Though Jinnah and other Muslim League leadership were disappointed by the disposition of the Congress Party, they still hoped that a federal system with constitutional guarantees for the protection and advancement of Muslim identity, rights and interests could be achieved. What alienated the Muslim League leadership from constitutional guarantees and a federal system was their experience under the Congress Provincial Ministries in six provinces (1937-39). The provincial elections under the Government of India Act, 1935 were held in early 1937. The Congress Party formed government alone or in coalition in six provinces out of eleven. These provinces included Bombay, Madras, Central Province, United Province, Bihar and Orissa. Further, in the then NWFP, the Congress supported the KhudaiKhidmatgar government. Muslims had a bitter political experience in the Congress Party ruled six provinces. There were numerous complaints of discrimination against Muslims in recruitment to government jobs and Hindu cultural traditions were enforced in these provinces under the rubric of Indian culture. The school education was inundated with Hindu traditions, imagery and culture in complete disregard to the sensitivities of Muslims and other religious minorities. The Muslim League published three reports that outlined the mistreatment of Muslims and imposition of Hindu historical and cultural norms on them in the Congress-ruled provinces. All this alienated the Muslim elite altogether who believed that the Congress provincial government policies were a sample of how they would be treated under the Congress rule after the exit of the British rulers. When the Congress ministries resigned in October-November 1939, the Muslim League welcomed the development. On December 22, 1939, Muslims observed the 'Day of Deliverance' to celebrate the exit of the Congress party's provincial ministers. It was in 1938 that the Sindh Muslim League convention in Karachi, chaired by Quaid-i-Azam Jinnah, asked the All-India Muslim League to explore a new political option instead of a federal system for India. The speakers in the convention talked of the need of having a separate homeland. The Muslim political elite's political learning from their political interaction with the Congress led them to change their political strategy from federalism to a separate homeland. They learnt from their political experience that they would be overwhelmed politically and culturally by living under the Congress Party rule in an independent India. The Muslim League demand for a separate homeland was based on the argument that the Muslims of British India were a nation with their distinct cultural and civilizational identity shaped by the teachings and principles of Islam, and rights and interests. As a separate nation they needed a separate homeland in the regions where the Muslims constituted a numerical majority. Three sets of major developments shaped the Muslim struggle in the 1940s. First, the demand for a separate homeland was made in the annual session of the Muslim League, held at Lahore on March 22, 23 and 24, 1940. Second, the notion of a separate homeland was precisely defined in the next six years (1940-46) and the ambiguities in the March 1940 Pakistan Resolution were clarified. Third, the idea of a separate homeland was initiated by the Muslim League elite. They took this message to the common Muslims in the subsequent years and mobilized them in favor of a separate homeland of Pakistan. The results of the 1946 provincial elections showed that the demand for the establishment of Pakistan had become a popular Muslim demand which enjoyed the support of the Muslim populace. It was the determination of the Muslim League leaders under the leadership of Quaid-i-Azam Jinnah and the widespread support of the Muslim populace in British India that turned the demand for the establishment of Pakistan into a reality. It was on August 14, 1947, that the transfer of power ceremony for Pakistan was held at Karachi. Lord Louis Mountbatten, the last British Viceroy, represented the British government at the ceremony. However, Pakistan began to function as an independent nation-state on August 15, 1947, with the oath of Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah as the first Governor-General of Pakistan at 9AM in Karachi. This was followed by the oath of Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan and his cabinet, which was administered by Governor General Jinnah. To conclude, we can argue that the cultural and civilizational identity of the Muslims in British India acquired salience over their other identities and its political relevance increased to such an extent that its status got elevated to the level of the national identity of Pakistan. The notion of a separate homeland of Pakistan was initially articulated by the Muslim League leadership but it became a political reality when the Muslim populace embraced it and demonstrated their support through the democratic process of the 1946 provincial elections. The author is a Political Analyst who holds the PhD Degree from the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA. His latest book entitled 'Pakistan: Political and Constitutional Engineering' published in 2024. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
