{MODERATOR'S NOTE: The following is the complete text of the speech
delivered by Mr. M. A. Jinnah, while inaugurating the Constituent
Assembly of Pakistan. This speech (in text as well in the audio visual
format)no longer appears, in full, in the Pakistani media. Only
censored versions of it are made available for public consumption.}
Mr. Jinnah's presidential address to the Constituent Assembly
August 11, 1947 (Complete Text)
Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen!
I cordially thank you, with the utmost sincerity, for the honour you
have conferred upon me - the greatest honour that is possible to
confer - by electing me as your first President. I also thank those
leaders who have spoken in appreciation of my services and their
personal references to me. I sincerely hope that with your support and
your co-operation we shall make this Constituent Assembly an example
to the world. The Constituent Assembly has got two main functions to
perform. The first is the very onerous and responsible task of framing
the future constitution of Pakistan and the second of functioning as a
full and complete sovereign body as the Federal Legislature of
Pakistan. We have to do the best we can in adopting a provisional
constitution for the Federal Legislature of Pakistan. You know really
that not only we ourselves are wondering but, I think, the whole world
is wondering at this unprecedented cyclonic revolution which has
brought about the clan of creating and establishing two independent
sovereign Dominions in this sub-continent. As it is, it has been
unprecedented; there is no parallel in the history of the world. This
mighty sub-continent with all kinds of inhabitants has been brought
under a plan which is titanic, unknown, unparalleled. And what is very
important with regards to it is that we have achieved it peacefully
and by means of an evolution of the greatest possible character.
Dealing with our first function in this Assembly, I cannot make any
well-considered pronouncement at this moment, but I shall say a few
things as they occur to me. 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.
The second thing that occurs to me is this: One of the biggest curses
from which India is suffering - I do not say that other countries are
free from it, but, I think our condition is much worse - is bribery
and corruption. That really is a poison. We must put that down with an
iron hand and I hope that you will take adequate measures as soon as
it is possible for this Assembly to do so.
Black-marketing is another curse. Well, I know that blackmarketeers
are frequently caught and punished. Judicial sentences are passed or
sometimes fines only are imposed. Now you have to tackle this monster,
which today is a colossal crime against society, in our distressed
conditions, when we constantly face shortage of food and other
essential commodities of life. A citizen who does black-marketing
commits, I think, a greater crime than the biggest and most grievous
of crimes. These blackmarketeers are really knowing, intelligent and
ordinarily responsible people, and when they indulge in
black-marketing, I think they ought to be very severely punished,
because the entire system of control and regulation of foodstuffs and
essential commodities, and cause wholesale starvation and want and
even death.
The next thing that strikes me is this: Here again it is a legacy
which has been passed on to us. Along with many other things, good and
bad, has arrived this great evil, the evil of nepotism and jobbery. I
want to make it quite clear that I shall never tolerate any kind of
jobbery, nepotism or any influence directly of indirectly brought to
bear upon me. Whenever I will find that such a practice is in vogue or
is continuing anywhere, low or high, I shall certainly not countenance
it.
I know there are people who do not quite agree with the division of
India and the partition of the Punjab and Bengal. Much has been said
against it, but now that it has been accepted, it is the duty of
everyone of us to loyally abide by it and honourably act according to
the agreement which is now final and binding on all. But you must
remember, as I have said, that this mighty revolution that has taken
place is unprecedented. One can quite understand the feeling that
exists between the two communities wherever one community is in
majority and the other is in minority. But the question is, whether it
was possible or practicable to act otherwise than what has been done,
A division had to take place. On both sides, in Hindustan and
Pakistan, there are sections of people who may not agree with it, who
may not like it, but in my judgement there was no other solution and I
am sure future history will record is verdict in favour of it. And
what is more, it will be proved by actual experience as we go on that
was the only solution of India's constitutional problem. Any idea of a
united India could never have worked and in my judgement it would have
led us to terrific disaster. Maybe that view is correct; maybe it is
not; that remains to be seen. All the same, in this division it was
impossible to avoid the question of minorities being in one Dominion
or the other. Now that was unavoidable. There is no other solution.
Now what shall we do?
Now, if we want to make this great State of Pakistan happy and
prosperous, we should wholly and solely concentrate on the well-being
of the people, and especially of the masses and the poor. If you will
work in co-operation, forgetting the past, burying the hatchet, you
are bound to succeed. If you change your past and work together in a
spirit that everyone of you, no matter to what community he belongs,
no matter what relations he had with you in the past, no matter what
is his colour, caste or creed, is first, second and last a citizen of
this State with equal rights, privileges, and obligations, there will
be on end to the progress you will make.
I cannot emphasize it too much. We should begin to work in that spirit
and in course of time all these angularities of the majority and
minority communities, the Hindu community and the Muslim community,
because even as regards Muslims you have Pathans, Punjabis, Shias,
Sunnis and so on, and among the Hindus you have Brahmins, Vashnavas,
Khatris, also Bengalis, Madrasis and so on, will vanish. Indeed if you
ask me, this has been the biggest hindrance in the way of India to
attain the freedom and independence and but for this we would have
been free people long long ago. No power can hold another nation, and
specially a nation of 400 million souls in subjection; nobody could
have conquered you, and even if it had happened, nobody could have
continued its hold on you for any length of time, but for this.
Therefore, we must learn a lesson from this.
You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go
to your mosques or to any other place or 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.
As you know, history shows that in England, conditions, some time ago,
were much worse than those prevailing in India today. The Roman
Catholics and the Protestants persecuted each other. Even now there
are some States in existence where there are discriminations made and
bars imposed against a particular class. Thank God, we are not
starting in those days. We are starting in the days where there is no
discrimination, no distinction between one community and another, no
discrimination between one caste or creed and another. We are starting
with this fundamental principle that we are all citizens and equal
citizens of one State. The people of England in course of time had to
face the realities of the situation and had to discharge the
responsibilities and burdens placed upon them by the government of
their country and they went through that fire step by step. Today, you
might say with justice that Roman Catholics and Protestants do not
exist; what exists now is that every man is a citizen, an equal
citizen of Great Britain and they are all members of the Nation.
Now I think we should keep that in front of us as our ideal and you
will find that in course of time Hindus would cease to be Hindus and
Muslims would cease to be Muslims, not in the religious sense, because
that is the personal faith of each individual, but in the political
sense as citizens of the State.
Well, gentlemen, I do not wish to take up any more of your time and
thank you again for the honour you have done to me. I shall always be
guided by the principles of justice and fairplay without any, as is
put in the political language, prejudice or ill-will, in other words,
partiality or favouritism. My guiding principle will be justice and
complete impartiality, and I am sure that with your support and
co-operation, I can look forward to Pakistan becoming one of the
greatest nations of the world.
I have received a message from the United States of America addressed
to me. It reads:
I have the honour to communicate to you, in Your Excellency's capacity
as President of the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan, the following
message which I have just received from the Secretary of State of the
United States:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On the occasion of the first meeting of the Constituent Assembly for
Pakistan, I extend to you and to the members of the Assembly, the best
wishes of the Government and the people of the United States for the
successful conclusion of the great work you are about to undertake.
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