March 23 Resolution that is also known as Lahore Resolution of 1940, can be rated as one of the most unwavering political movements in the world history of the past and the present as it led to the creation of a separate homeland for Muslims of Indo-Pak subcontinent, the homeland that was destined to survive and thrive despite being confronted with innumerable conspiracies and intrigues hatched in rapid succession by the ill-wishing forces and agencies. The country, Pakistan, that came into existence seven years after the Resolution of March 1940 is a wonder in itself, given the fact that it fits well with the definition of a modern nation-state despite being created in the wake of sharp ideological divide that had heightened with the prejudiced conduct of Hindu leadership whose sole aim was to subdue Muslim fraternity after sub-continent’s Independence i.e independence from British colonial rulers. Inspired by the vision of Muslim leadership, especially the sagacity and farsightedness of ‘Shaayr-i-Mashriq (Poet of the East) Allama Muhammad Iqbal and Muhammad Ali Jinnah who is remembered to this day as Quaid-i-Azam (the Great Leader) and Founder of the Nation, the Muslims of the subcontinent soon realized that they might become a permanent minority in case India remained undivided after Independence. This realization was not based on mere apprehensions but solid calculations that in the emerging, post-Independence scenario, it would become almost impossible for the Muslims to protect their fundamental rights under the umbrella of Hindu majority whose leaders and elite had started exhibiting hegemonic attitudes which they could not camouflage even through shrewd hypocrisy. The Muslim population, during the years falling between the epoch-making adoption of Lahore Resolution and Independence, was just one-fourth of the total Indian population whereas Hindus were in majority. Given this situation, Muslims first demanded separate electorates with the idea of protecting their political, social and religious rights. However, due to the political developments that took place thereafter, they arrived at the conclusion that even the right of separate electorates would not be enough and they had to search for some other long term solution. The search for this long-term solution was further enlightened with the visionary ideas of Allama Muhammad Iqbal. The latter, in his famous Allahbad address made it clear that Islam has its own socio-economic system and in order to implement it, a separate, independent political entity was required. Guided by Iqbal’s vision, Muhammad Ali Jinnah started working in full swing to muster the support of the vast majority of the Muslims. Overwhelming support from the Muslim masses for his call to celebrate Day of Deliverance on December 22, 1939 was actually a vote of confidence given by the Muslim community in the leadership of Jinnah, whom they had started considering as their Quaid-i-Azam. The great leader of the Muslims, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, galvanized the Muslim masses whose mass mobilization soon transformed into Pakistan Movement that can be categorized as one of the most peaceful, organized and resolute movements on the global canvas. Jinnah’s speeches were highly morale-building which gave the Muslims the confidence to carve their own destiny. It was, in fact, the biggest manifestation of people’s will and support that ultimately triumphed over all the intrigues spearheaded by Hindu leadership of those times who did their utmost, in league with some British colonial functionaries, to resist the creation of an independent Muslim homeland. Quaid’s address to the Lahore Conference, which finally adopted the March 23 Resolution, motivated the multitudes of Muslims to launch a sustainable, unwavering movement for freedom. According to historical estimates, tens of thousands people took part in the Conference. Famous historian Stanley Wolpert says that Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s address to the Lahore Conference was the moment when Jinnah irrevocably transformed himself into a leader of the fight for a separate Muslim homeland. And those endeavours did bear fruit. The unanimously passed Resolution translated into a reality named Pakistan whose creation finds no parallel in the history of nation-states created on any basis, whether ideological, geographical or otherwise.

The venue of the Lahore Conference was Minto Park near Badshahi Mosque and Lahore Fort. According to another source, somewhat around 100,000 attended the public meeting. In the beginning of the session, the welcome address was presented by the Nawab of Mamdot. This was followed by the historical speech of Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. The Quaid, in his two-hour presidential address in English, narrated the events that took place in the past few months and concluded, “Hindus and the Muslims belong to two different religious philosophies, social customs and literature. They neither inter-marry nor inter-dine together, and, indeed, they belong to two different civilizations that are based mainly on conflicting ideas and conceptions. Their concepts on life and afterlife are different. It is quite clear that Hindus and Muslims derive their inspiration from different sources of history.

They have different epics, different heroes and different episodes. Very often the hero of one is a foe of the other, and likewise, their victories and defeats overlap. To yoke together two such nations under a single state, one as a numerical minority and the other as a majority, must lead to growing discontent and final destruction of any fabric that may be so built up for the government of such a state.” He further claimed, “Mussalmans (Muslims) are a nation according to any definition of nationhood. We wish our people to develop to the fullest, spiritual, cultural, economic, social and political life in a way that we think best and in Consonance with our own ideals and according to the genius of our People. During his speech, the Quaid also quoted the letter written by Lala Lajpat Rai in 1924 to C.R. Das in which he clearly mentioned that the. Hindus and the Muslims were two separate and distinct nations which could never be merged into a single nation. And when, on some occasion, Muslim notable Malik Barkat Ali claimed that Lala Lajpat Rai was a “Nationalist Hindu leader”, Quaid responded, “No Hindu can be a nationalist. Every Hindu is a Hindu first and last.”