Quaid’s 11 August (1947) Address Be made Substantive Part of the Constitution

Since long, a controversy has been raging as to what kind of state Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah wanted Pakistan to be: a religious state or a secular state. Fortunately, that controversy precludes certain extremes, for instance, it is generally understood and admitted that Quaid never wanted Pakistan to be a theocratic or a socialist state. That amounts to saying that the controversy focuses mainly on whether it was an “Islamic” state or a “secular” state that Quaid may have envisioned.

That controversy has its roots in what Quaid himself said, that is, the speeches and addresses he delivered on various occasions. Both of the camps quote and cite inconsistent statements and argue for their case. That’s what makes the controversy complicate manifold.

Apart from such dishonesties with the help of which concocted statements are attributed to Quaid; or out of the context meanings are drawn from his statements; or this …