{"id":30244,"date":"2020-01-30T14:01:39","date_gmt":"2020-01-30T22:01:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/masihitv.com\/?p=30244"},"modified":"2021-02-08T14:54:22","modified_gmt":"2021-02-08T22:54:22","slug":"christian-votes-made-pakistan-possible","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/masihitv.com\/?p=30244","title":{"rendered":"Christian Votes Made Pakistan Possible"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Christian Votes Played Important Role\" width=\"984\" height=\"554\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ZzVO6zYgY44?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Perhaps the name of Pothan Joseph is no household word in our \ncountry. But journalists, such as those on the editorial staff of this \npublication, would know it. An Indian Christian, Joseph was one of the \nearliest and greatest journalists in our Subcontinent. He was also a \nstaunch opponent of British rule and an indomitable freedom fighter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With the aid of his typewriter and his journalistic skills, he \npromoted the views of many notable people of his time, such as Annie \nBesant, Mahatma Gandhi, Sarojini Naidu, Motilal Nehru, and, most \nsignificantly for us in Pakistan, Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah. \nJoseph started or developed 26 different newspapers, including the <em>Hindustan Times<\/em>, the <em>Indian Express<\/em> and the <em>Deccan Herald<\/em>. In 1941, when the Quaid decided to establish the daily <em>Dawn, <\/em>he recruited Pothan Joseph as its first Editor.<ins><\/ins><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>When the proceedings of the Boundary Commission took \nplace, the Christian leaders, led by Singha, recorded their statement \nthat for the demarcation of the boundaries, the Christian populations \nshould be included with, and in fact termed as, Muslim populations<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Yes, the Sole Spokesman of the Subcontinent\u2019s Muslims, with the \nhistoric Lahore Resolution only recently passed, chose a Christian \neditor to be his mouthpiece in projecting the Muslim cause and the \nPakistan concept.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Is this so surprising? Scarcely. It was entirely consistent with the \nsensibility of the leader who would deliver his famous \u201cYou are free to \ngo to your churches\u201d speech less than six years later. It was also \nentirely consistent with the political inclinations of the Christian \ncommunity to which Pothan Joseph belonged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thefridaytimes.com\/tft\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/tft-6118c-i.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-39156\"\/><figcaption>F.E. Chaudhry<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Let me introduce those of my readers who may be unfamiliar with the \nname to Dewan Bahadur S.P. Singha, a prominent Christian leader of \npre-Partition Punjab. Hailing from Pasrur, near Sialkot, Singha moved to\n Lahore. He rose to Registrar of Punjab University before entering \npolitics. Elected to the Punjab Assembly in 1937,Singha would emerge as a\n staunch supporter of the Pakistan Movement. Moreover, he forcefully and\n courageously used his position as Speaker of the Punjab Assembly to \nfurther the cause of Pakistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There is a context that we who live in this country today urgently \nneed to grasp. At a time when many of the so-called Ulema were \ncategorically opposed to the Pakistan concept, to the Muslim League, and\n especially to Mr. Jinnah, the leaders of the Christian community were \nconsistently strong supporters of the Quaid-e-Azam\u2019s vision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thefridaytimes.com\/tft\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/tft-6118c-k.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-39154\"\/><figcaption>Mr. Jinnah chose veteran journalist Pothan Joseph as editor of the newspaper that he founded<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In 1942, the All India Christian Association assured unconditional \nfull cooperation to the founder ofPakistan. The leaders of the Church in\n the Punjab strongly endorsed the Pakistan concept and advised their \nbrethren to move to Pakistan when it would come into existence. The \nevolution of the Pakistan concept saw an intellectual like Joshua \nFazluddin write in the daily <em>Inqilab<\/em> that the region of \nPakistan, with its connection to Central Asia and its own distinctive \nhistory, was a separate country from the rest of India. Fazluddin \nconsidered himself in harmony with Chaudhry Rehmat Ali (who devised the \nname Pakistan) regarding the separation of this territory from India \u201cas\n it was in accordance with the Voice of God\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some other examples are Chaudhry Chandu Lal, Fazal Elahi, journalist \nElmer Chaudhry (the latter was the father of Squadron Leader Cecil \nChaudhry, celebrated Pakistani war hero and educationist) and B.L Ralia \nRam. The Christian community, as an expression of admiration of Mr. \nJinnah and support for the Pakistan cause, arranged a number of \nreceptions in his honour. On November 19, 1942, a grand reception was \narranged at the King\u2019s Garden, Lyallpur (now Faisalabad). The very next \nday, another reception was hosted at the large hall of Lorang\u2019s in \nLahore, which was attended amongst others by Miss Fatima Jinnah, Sir \nSikandar Hayat and Nawab Mamdot. On that occasion, Mr. Jinnah said, \u201cWe \nwill never forget your favour as you have cooperated with us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thefridaytimes.com\/tft\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/tft-6118c-l.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-39153\"\/><figcaption>S. P. Singha<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>To return to Dewan S.P. Singha and his historic role, following \nMountbatten\u2019s June 3 Plan, when the Partition of India was announced, \nDewan Singha and the Christian community in Punjab expressed their \nopposition to the Partition of Punjab and demanded that the whole of \nPunjab be included in Pakistan. Joshua Fazluddin, in a news statement, \nwarned the Congress that the division of the province would result in a \nhuman disaster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A meeting of the Punjab Legislative Assembly was held on the 23rd of \nJune, 1947, to consider whether the Province, still undivided at the \ntime, should be part of Pakistan or of India. The three Christian \nmembers of the Assembly had met the night before at Singha\u2019s Davis Road \nhome and had decided to vote for the inclusion of the whole of Punjab in\n Pakistan. On the morning of the meeting, Master Tara Singh, leader of \nthe militant Sikh Akali Dal Party, stood on the broad flight of steps in\n front of the Assembly with a bared <em>kirpan<\/em>, threatening to use \nit on any member who would vote in favour of union with Pakistan. Coming\n up the steps, Dewan Bahadur Singha confronted the armed Sikh leader, \nannouncing that he indeed intended to vote for Pakistan, and challenged \nhim to do his worst. A scuffle broke out, but violence was prevented by \nother members.<ins><\/ins><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The vote itself was 88 for remaining with India and 91 for joining \nPakistan. The three votes (actually four) which created the majority \nwere the three votes of Christian members Dewan Bahadur Singha, Mr. \nCecil Gibbon and Mr Fazal Elahi, plus Singha\u2019s additional vote as \nAssembly Speaker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And thus it was decided that Punjab would be part of Pakistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But the division of Punjab itself \u2013 the Great Tragedy of the \nPartition \u2013 now came to the fore. When the proceedings of the Boundary \nCommission took place, the Christian leaders, led by Singha, recorded \ntheir statement that for the demarcation of the Boundaries, the \nChristian populations should be included with, and in fact termed as, \nMuslim populations.<ins><\/ins><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Chaudhary Chandu Lal served as a lawyer for the Christian community, \ninter alia visiting Pathankot and Gurdaspur districts to obtain a \nresolution from the Christian populations there that they wished to be \nincluded in Pakistan. Mr. Cecil Gibbon appeared before the Commission to\n demand that the city of Lahore must be considered as part of Western \nPunjab. (Some of the readers of this piece may be surprised to learn \nthat the fate of that historic city was ever at issue, but it had been!)\n Gibbon additionally desired that all the Anglo-Indian Christians in \nPunjab should be transported toPakistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When the horror that was the Radcliffe Award was announced shortly \nafter Independence, one of the first voices raised in concern was that \nof Dewan Bahadur Singha, who asserted that the Plan was tailored so as \nto wreck Pakistan\u2019s economy while facilitating Indian occupation of \nKashmir.<ins><\/ins><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Clearly, the Christians had supported the cause of Pakistan in the \nbelief that a Muslim society by its nature would be more secular and \nfairer to them than the caste-ridden Hindu society that would inevitably\n emerge in India. Pakistan, they believed, would be more concerned for \nthe rights of minorities. Observing the deadly antics of the <em>Hindutva <\/em>mobs presently prevailing in India, that assessment, it seems, was at least partly correct.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But, for the other part? Well, in August 1947, Dewan Bahadur S.P. \nSingha became the first Speaker of the new West Punjab Assembly, an \noffice he endeavoured to fulfill with dignity. However, after the \npassage of the Objectives Resolution in 1949, he was obliged to step \ndown as it was now felt that a non-Muslim should not preside over a \nMuslim House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And today? The oppressed condition of the great mass of Christians \nhas improved not a bit and they suffer the same caste-based strictures \nand prohibitions at the hands of Muslims as of Hindus. The better \neducated Goans and Anglo-Indians, fearing or experiencing discrimination\n in their jobs and businesses, have been trickling out of the country \nand a special cultural strand is being lost to us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Even worse, violence against Christians has become the order of the \nday. Churches have been attacked, the homes of Christians have been \ntorched, and innocents are being viciously targeted. Punjab is the \nprovince where Christians are targeted the most. The vast majority of \nattacks against Christians have taken place in the very Province that \nDewan Bahadur S. P. Singha had struggled to make a part of Pakistan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Perhaps the name of Pothan Joseph is no household word in our country. But journalists, such as those on the editorial staff of this publication, would know it. An Indian Christian, Joseph was one of the earliest and greatest journalists in our Subcontinent. He was also a staunch opponent of British rule and an indomitable freedom fighter. With the aid of his typewriter and his journalistic skills, he promoted the views of many notable people of his time, such as Annie Besant, Mahatma Gandhi, Sarojini Naidu, Motilal Nehru, and, most<a href=\"https:\/\/masihitv.com\/?p=30244\" class=\"read-more\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30245,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30244","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pakistan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/masihitv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30244","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/masihitv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/masihitv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/masihitv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/masihitv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=30244"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/masihitv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30244\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30246,"href":"https:\/\/masihitv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30244\/revisions\/30246"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/masihitv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/30245"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/masihitv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=30244"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/masihitv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=30244"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/masihitv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=30244"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}