The Role of Christians in the Freedom Movement of Pakistan.

 

 

 The Role of Christians in the Freedom Movement of Pakistan.

 Abstract .

The aim of this study is to investigate into the role of the Christians in the  freedom  movement  in  the  sub-continent  in  general  and  in  the  creation  of  Pakistan  in  particular.  For  this  purpose  their  contribution  in  the  deliberation  of  the  All  India  National  Congress  and  All  India  Muslim  League  has  been  examined.  Furthermore  at  the  verge  of  partition,  the  support  provided  by  the  Christians  for  the  creation  of  Pakistan  has  also  been  viewed  and  analyzed.  It  is  concluded  that  the  support of the Christians for the cause of Pakistan was based on their belief  that  the  Muslim  society  in  its  nature  was  more  secular  than  the  cast ridden Hindu society hence more permissive for the rights and safe guards of the religious minorities.

 

 

 Freedom  Movement;  All  India  National  Congress;  All  India  Muslim  League; Pakistani Christians; All India Christian Association .

 If  we  carefully  examine  the  history  of  the  Freedom  Movement  in  the  sub-continent,  it  appears  that  the  Indian  and  British  Christians  played  a  pivotal  role  in  the  process  of  political  socialization  in  India.  Their  inclusion  in  the  functioning  of  the  political  system,  and  their  exposure  towards  western  style  of  education  made  them  familiar  with  the  concept  and  practice  of  the  parliamentary  democracy  as  it  was  understood by the British themselves.  The spread of western education led to the spread of the western concepts of democracy, liberty, equality and nationalism in India. The 19thcentury  saw  the  consolidation  of  British  rule  and  the  impact  of  western  ideas  on  the  social,  political  and  religious  life  of  India  through  the  English  education,  which  was  basically administered by Christians. The rise of these ideas gave a great impetus to the growth of political consciousness in India. The Indian Christians Educational Institutions played  a  very  significant  role  in  the  political  awareness  and  training  of  all  renowned  leaders of the freedom movement. The  Christians  strongly  supported  Quaid-e-Azam  and  Muslim  League  at  that  critical  time  when  there  was  lot  of  opposition  to  the  formation  a  new  Muslim  state.  All  India  Christian  Association  assured  unconditional  full  cooperation  to  the  founder  of  Pakistan.  This  crucial  role  of  Christian  population  of  the  region  was  recognized  by  the  founder of Pakistan and All India Muslim League at all levels. These Christians   played very  strong  role  in  the  creation  of  Pakistan.  The  leaders  of  All  India  Muslim  League  promised  to  give  more  privileges  to  the  minorities  especially  to  Christian  community  in  the  newly  established  Muslim  state.  The  Christians  vote  before  Boundary  Commission  was the only decisive vote for the true foundation of Pakistan. Christian leaders voted for Pakistan  because  they  believed  that  Quaid-e-Azam  would  be  the  real  protector  of  their  rights and interests. 

 Christians and the Birth of the Indian National Congress   As the British were alien and strangers to India, hence they needed the support and cooperation  of  the  natives  to  run  their  colonial  administration.  Inclusion  of  the  natives  through Patron Client relationship made them to introduce the Act of 1861. By that time the Indian Youth was demanding more participation in the affairs of the country. At that juncture  a  British  Christian  Allen  Octaviam  Hume  with  the  blessing  of  the  Viceroy  established  All  Indian  National  Congress  in  1885.  The  first  president  of  the  Indian  National Congress was a Bengali Christian Mr. Banerjee. It is worth noting that the All Indian  National  Congress  was  established  and  nourished  by  the  Christians.  Indian  National Congress being a secular Party in Principle attracted youth from all the religious communities1.The party demanded more and substantial participation of the natives in the affairs of India under the leadership of the British and Indian Christians.

Apart  from  the  establishment  of  the  Indian  National  Congress  many  Christian  leaders put their efforts in the deliberation and activities of the Freedom Movement. Sir Joseph  Burr  was  the  member  of  the  viceroy’s  council  and  advisor  of  the  Nawab  of  Bhopal  Mr.  Paythan  Joseph  was  the  editor  of  the  Hindustan  Times”  and  B.G  Harmony  edited the Daily Dawn. Being a friend of Mr. Jinnah he supported the Muslim Cause and for his these activities were exiled for five years. Sir Samuel Ranganadhar, while serving as High Commissioner in London, had close ties with Mr. Jinnah. Mrs. Annie Besant was founder  and  president  of  the  theosophic  society  (1875)  and  due  to  her  substantial  contribution  towards  the  freedom  Movement  she  was  elevated  to  the  presidency  of  the  Calcutta  Congress  in  1917.  Along  with  Bal  Gangadhar  Telak  she  pioneered  the  home  rule  agitation  which  gained  considerable  support  in  India.  She  was  a  great  progressive  thinker,  speaker  and  writer  who  founded  “The  New  Indian  Daily”  and  was  also  the  founder of the Home League. Rai Bahar pioneer Sakoran, was another eminent Christian leader who contributed a great deal towards the Indian Freedom Movement. K.L. Kundan Lal, a Christian MLA from Punjab was the president of All India National Congress. Raj kumari  Amrit  Kaur  a  converted  Christian  and  the  princess  from  the  Kapurthala  royal  family,  Raja  Ragbir  Singh  MLA  and  leader  of  the  All  India  Christian  Association,  Rev.  M. Andrews, Mr. John Bright and Irish Christian Mr. Alfred are a few glaring examples of active participation in the Freedom Movement. It is interesting to note that Mr. Jinnah often quoted from the speeches of Mr. Bright. Moreover a renowned Christian professor Eric Siperian was an active member of the Communist party of India and worked for the well  being  of  the  peasants  and  workers.  Mr.  F.E  Chaudary  a  photographer  journalist  of  the  Pakistan  Movement  is  the  living  proof  of  the  Christian’s  contribution  towards  the  movement. Another well known Christian leader Joshua Fazal-ul-Din wrote in the Daily “Inqilab”  that  Pakistan  having  relationship  with  the  Central  Asia  was  a  separate  country

 and had no connection with the rest of India and that he was in harmony with Choudhry Rehmat  Ali  regarding  the  separation  of  this  territory  from  India  as  it  was  in  accordance  with the voice of God3. It is worth noting that at the time when the idea of Pakistan was considered  as  the  Brainchild  of  Ch.  Rehmat  Ali  and  many  prominent  Muslim  leaders  treated  it  as  childish  and  impracticable,  Ch.  Rehmat  Ali  impressed  by  the  statement  of  Joshua Fazal-ul-Din wrote in a latter article that Pakistan would be a democratic country and  all  of  its  citizens  irrespective  of  their  colour,  race  or  religion  would  be  equal  in  the  affairs of the government. When  the  Government  of  India  Act  1919  was  incorporated  three  seats  were  reserved  for  the  Christians  in  the  Punjab  Legislature  Assembly  Dr.  W.C.A  Overman  (European) W.R. Mafferson (Anglo-Indian) and K.L Ralia Ram (Indian) were nominated against  these  seats.  They  participated  very  actively  and  efficiently  in  safe  guarding  the  rights of the people of India.

 Freedom Movement and Role of the Christian Educational Institutions    

The Christian Educational Institutions played a very significant role regarding the training  of  the  Hindu,  Muslim,  Parsi,  schedule  caste,  Buddhist  and  Christian  youth  in  Connection with the freedom movement in India. The record shows that many leaders of the   Movement   belonging   to   these   communities   were   educated   by   the   Christian   Educational   institutions.   The   Christian   Educational   Institutions   which   provided   education,  training  and  awareness  to  the  several  leaders  of  the  freedom  movement  included C.M.S school Karachi, Bandera Convent School Bombay, St. Stephens College Delhi,   Murray   College   Sialkot,   Gorden   College   Rawalpindi,   F.C   College   Lahore,   Kinnard College for women Lahore and Edwards College Peshawar. An over whelming majority of the leaders of the Pakistan Movement were educated by the said Educational Institutions.  Philosopher  poet  Dr.  Sir  Muhammad  Iqbal,  the  founder  of  Pakistan  Mr.  Jinnah,  Ch  Rehmat  Ali  who  coined  the  word  “Pakistan”  and  Sir  Muhammad  Zafarullah  were product of these institutions.

 In 1928 all parties conference was summoned to deliberate about the future constitutional arrangement in India which could be acceptable to all concerned. This was after the failure of the Simon Commission and declaration by the British Government that since the different communities of India had failed to agree on a constitutional formula hence the British Government had no option but to give its own verdict. The said all parties conference met in Calcutta. This conference appointed a committee known as Nehru Committee headed by Moti Lal Nehru (Father of Jawar Lal Nehru) to propose a constitutional formula which could achieve agreement of all the communities. The committee presented its report which is known as Nehru Report in the history of the freedom movement. According to the provision of this report, Hindus by virtue of their overwhelming majority could dominate all other communities. Mr. Jinnah rejected this report and presented his Fourteen Points formula instead. All India Christian Conference along with other minorities also rejected this report expressing their disbelief in Hindu leadership and supporting the stance of Mr. Jinnah. Well before the presentation of the Nehru Report when Iqbal was claiming that “Hindustan is the best in the whole world; we are its nightingales and it is our home” and Jinnah was portrayed as “Ambassador of the Hindu-Muslim unity” by Mrs. Sarojni Naido,  at  that  the  moment  a  Christian  leader  Joshua  Fazal-ud-Din  was  very  much  clear  and said that those believing in Hindu-Muslim unity were living in a fool paradise as any such attempt would make India a war place.

Second Round Table Conference and Christian-Muslim Unity 

At  the  verge  of  the  Second  Round  Table  Conference,  all  the  minorities  except  Sikhs signed an agreement known as “Agreement of Minorities” under the leadership of Sir Agha Khan. This agreement was signed by the Muslims, Anglo Indians and European Christians. This is an ample example of the Christians support for the stance of Muslims in the history of the freedom movement. When the congress ministries elected under the 1937 elections resigned in 1939 as an  act  of  non-cooperation  towards  the  war  effort,  Mr.  Jinnah  called  the  Muslims  to  celebrate  the  “Salvation  Day”  on  22nd  December  1939.  All  the  oppressed  communities  participated in the celebration. Though some of the historians have not mentioned about the participation of the Christians in the said events, nevertheless a renowned journalist of “Paisa  Akhbar”.  Maqbool  Anwar  Dadu  reported  that  on  the  salvation  day  not  only  the  Muslims but also the Christian, Parees and Millions of the scheduled castes participated.4The  Lahore  Resolution  was  passed  in  Lahore  on  the  23rd  of  March  1940.  According  to  the  Muslim  League  sources  some  Christians,  Sikhs  and  scheduled  caste  leaders were especially invited as observers. Joshua Fazal-ul-Din, Chaudhry Chandu Lal and  Dewan  Bahadar  S.P.  Singha  were  prominent  among  the  invitees.  It  is  believed  that  paragraph No. 2 of the resolution was included to represent their sentiments.

The  All  India  Christian  Association  was  established  by  Dewan  Bahadur  S.P.  Singha in 1942. This association contributed a lot towards the effort and deliberation of the freedom movement. On the 18th November 1942 at the annual convention of the All India  Muslim  League  Punjab  convened  in  Faisalabad  (then  Lyall  Pur)  which  was  attended  by  Mr.  Jinnah  and  Miss  Fatima,  All  India  Christian  Association  presented  a  spasnama  assuring  its  unconditional  and  full  co-operation  to  Mr.  Jinnah  in  connection  with his efforts for the freedom of India. At  the  time  of  the  partition  of  India  the  Christians  opposed  the  partition  of  the  Punjab and demanded that whole of Punjab be included in Pakistan. Joshua Fazal-ul-Din in a news statement warned the Congress that the division of the province would make it suffer  and  that  the  partition  of  the  Punjab  since  the  time  of  Raja  Poris  had  produced  nothing but crisis.5The  historical  meeting  held  on  23rdjune  1947  to  decide  the  fate  of  the  united  Punjab  was  chaired  by  Dewan  Bahadur  S.P  Singha,  a  renowned  Christian  and  the  last  speaker  of  the  United  Punjab  Legislative  Assembly  and  the  first  speaker  of  the  West  Punjab  Legislative  Assembly  after  1947.  The  Christians  had  decided  to  vote  for  the  inclusion of the whole Punjab in Pakistan in a pre-party meeting held on 21st of June at the residence of S.P. Singha when the resolution was voted upon on the 23rd June 1947.

Christians stand Before the Boundary Commission 

When  the  proceedings  of  the  Boundary  commission  took  place,  Christian  leaders  Dewan  Bahadur  s.p  Singha,  C.E  Gibbon  and  Fazal  Elahi,  in  their  recorded  statement,  demanded  that  for  the  demarcation  of  the  Boundaries  Christian  population  be  included  and  termed  as  Muslim  population.  Chaudhary  Chandu  Lal  served  as  a  lawyer  for  the  Christian community.6 Moreover  he  visited  Pathan  Kot  and  Gurdas  Pur  districts  and  got  a  resolution  passed  by  the  Christian  population  to  the  effect  that  they  wanted  to  be  included  in  Pakistan. Mr. C-E Gibbon appeared before the commission to demand that Lahore must be part of the Western Punjab and that all the Anglo Indian Christians be transported to Pakistan  as  it  was  considered  to  be  their  final  destiny.  When  the  Red  Cliff  award  was  announced in August 1947, it was taken by the Christian as a tailored decision aimed to create  problems  for  Pakistan  economy  while  facilitating  Indian  occupation  of  Kashmir.  Diwan  Bahadur  S.P.  Singha  raised  his  voice  against  the  Red  Cliff  award  saying  that  as  the principle of majority had been brutally crushed hence it was one sided and unfair to Pakistan. In  the  last  days  of  the  United  India  Mr.  Jinnah  visited  Lahore  as  a  part  of  his  campaign  to  fetch  the  support  of  the  minority  community  for  Pakistan.  He  met  the  Christian  leader  Ch.  Chandu  Lal  and  sikh  leader  Giani  kartar  Singh.  The  sikh  leader  turned down his offer while Chandu Lal declared unconditional support of the Christians for Pakistan. When the resolution to join Pakistan or India was moved and voted upon in the  Punjab  Legislative  Assembly,  the  three  Christian  members  voted  in  favour  of  Pakistan  and  saved  the  situation.  88  and  91  votes  were  casted  in  favour  of  India  and  Pakistan respectively.7  In  this  way  the  three  Christian  votes  decided  the  fate  of  the  province. 

Unconditional Support of Christian Leaders for the Creation of Pakistan  

 The Christians supported Mr. Jinnah and All India Muslim League when there was substantial opposition in and outside the country. Some Muslims especially the religious leaders  did  not  hesitate  to  dub  Mr.  Jinnah  as  the  British  agent.  The  Christians  paid  no  heed to these remarks and continued supporting Mr. Jinnah at the cost of opposing their own  British  co-religionists.  The  leaders  who  played  a  significant  role  in  the  Pakistan  Movement  were  Dewan  Bahadur  S.P.  Singha  (speaker  of  the  united  Punjab  Assembly  later  speaker  of  the  western  Punjab  Assembly)  Advocate  Chaudhry  Chandu  Lal,  Mr.  Fazal Elahi, photographer journalist Mr F.E Chaudhry and B.L Ralia Ram. The Christian community  as  an  expression  of  affection  with  Mr.  Jinnah  arranged  many  historical  receptions in his honor for supporting his cause. On the 19th of November 1942 a grand reception in his honor was arranged at the king’s Garden Faisalabad (then Lyall Pur). The very next day another reception was hosted at the large Hall of Loring Hotel in Lahore. Miss  Fatima  Jinnah,  Sir  Sikandar  Hayat  Khan,  Nawab  of  Mamdot  were  also  present  on  that occasion. Mr. Jinnah said “we will never forget your favour if you have co operated with  us.”8  On  the  21st  of  November  1942  Dewan  Bahadar  S.P  Singha  who  was  the  Register  of  the  University  of  the  Punjab  arranged  a  grand  reception  in  the  honor  of  Mr.  Jinnah hosted by the staff Union in which he was assured about the unconditional support for  Pakistan. 

The  teachers  and  students  of  the  Forman  Christian  College  also  expressed  their confidence in Mr. Jinnah’s leader ship. In July 1946 Mr. Ameer-ud-din, a prominent Muslim Leaguer and the president of Anjuman-e-Himayat-e-Islam contested the election for  the  Mayer  ship  of  Lahore.  In  this  election  some  Muslim  Leaguers  betrayed  him  whereas  he  became  successful  with  the  support  of  the  Christians9.  When  the  general  elections  of  1946  were  held  in  India,  the  Christians  supported  Mr.  Jinnah  and  contested  the  election  side  by  side  with  the  Muslim  League.  Mr.  Fazal  Elahi  and  Dewan  Bahadur  S.P Singha were elected to the Punjab Legislative Assembly. After achieving substantial success in 1945-46 election, the All India Muslim League emerged as the sole spokesman of  the  Indian  Muslims  but  was  denied  the  same  status  by  the  congress  and  the  British  Government.  At  that  juncture  the  Christian  Leader  Joshua  Fazal-ud-Din  issued  a  news  statement saying that “When the Muslim League had achieved importance it was the duty of the British Government to accept that fact. Moreover the congress alone would bring instability in the country. During  the  freedom  movement  Mr.  Jinnah,  time  and  again  expressed  his  firm  belief in the equal citizenship for all irrespective of colour, caste, race and religion in the forthcoming  independent  and  sovereign  state  for  the  Indian  Muslims.  He  fulfilled  his  pledge and while addressing to the first constituent Assembly of Pakistan on 11th August 1947 he categorically repeated his faith in the equal citizenship of all. He said “Pakistan is  not  a  theoretical  state  we  would  treat  the  people  of  other  religions  with  tolerance,  we  welcome  all  persons  irrespective  of  caste,  colour  or  creed  as  being  equal  citizens  of  Pakistan.”10Moreover a scheduled caste Hindu Jugandar Nath Mandal was appointed as the first Law Minister of Pakistan.

 Conclusion 

 The above discussion makes it amply evident that the Christian community of the British   India   vehemently   supported   the   cause   of   Pakistan   and   made   substantial   contribution  towards  it  during  the  freedom  movement.  They  opposed  the  dominance  of  the Hindu majority after the lapse of the British Raj and put their lot with the Muslims to constitute a part and parcel of the future Muslim state consisting of the Muslim majority areas of the sub-continent. They denounced and condemned the unfair distribution of the Punjab  province  more  forcefully  even  than  the  Muslims  and  tried  their  best  to  get  the  Districts of Pathan Kot and Gurdas Pur included in the western Punjab. After the creation of  Pakistan  they  have  participated  in  all  the  constitutional  deliberations  to  their  best  and  have  always  stood  side  by  side  with  their  Muslim  co  patriots  through  every  thick  and  thin.