Regarding us
The history of minorities in Pakistan is fraught and difficult. This page explores key moments for minority communities in our nation.
Historical source exploration
In order to understand the experience of minorities today, we must look backwards into the history of minorities in Pakistan. The most significant moment in history for Pakistan’s minorities was arguably Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s speech to the inaugural Constituent Assembly of Pakistan.
Historical source exploration
In order to understand the experience of minorities today, we must look backwards into the history of minorities in Pakistan. The most significant moment in history for Pakistan’s minorities was arguably Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s speech to the inaugural Constituent Assembly of Pakistan.
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Historical source exploration
In order to understand the experience of minorities today, we must look backwards into the history of minorities in Pakistan. The most significant moment in history for Pakistan’s minorities was arguably Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s speech to the inaugural Constituent Assembly of Pakistan.
“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….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.
“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.
“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.
“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…
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.”
“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.
“I can look forward to Pakistan becoming one of the greatest nations of the world.”
Timeline
The subcontinent has been host to a rich amalgamation of ethnicities and religions for much of modern history. Our political atmosphere today can perhaps be traced back to the infamous British divide-and-rule policy that was first introduced following the events of the Great Indian Revolt of 1857-8. The categorisation of the subcontinent’s cross-cutting, multi-ethnic, multi-cultural population into divided communities by the British Raj is said to have given birth to the two-nation theory which ultimately resulted in the Pakistan Movement.
The timeline below traces the plight of the minority groups since 1857 in an effort to understand the events that have led up to the present treatment of religious minorities* in Pakistan. Major events** involving minorities and the history of Pakistan are included below.
*While the Shia sect of Islam is part of the Muslim majority, they are often subject to persecution and violence that other minorites face
** ’major events’ are defined by violence reported to injure over a dozen, significant media coverage, or large scale involvement from a community