(Passage from an important address by Syed Maududi after the East Pakistan tragedy; this serves as warning on the Pakistan Day)

When the Muslims made a decision in this very city of Lahore that we will get a separate piece of land. At that time it was the intention of all Muslims of United India that regardless of whether they can be a part of Pakistan or not a piece of land should be obtained in India in which Islamic ideology can be re-established, in which Islamic laws can be brought into law, and in which Muslim can live their lives according to their philosophy of life. This emotion was present in Muslim from the corners of north India to the corners of west India alike. This feeling was even present in those Muslims who knew that they could never be a part of Pakistan, this is the reason Pakistan came into existence.

If the thought of being Muslim had not been over powered everything else, if Muslims had not forgotten that we are Punjabi, Bangawli, Gujrati, Pathan and Sindhi and only one idea that we are Muslims and want to live in this world as Muslims had not persisted, Pakistan would have never come to be, instead the idea of Pakistan would never even have come to surface at all.

The idea Pakistan was dependent on our sentiment of being Muslim. The idea of Pakistan was dependent on the motivation to spend our lives according to Islam. These were the feelings of normal Muslims. I don’t know what were the feelings and plans of big leaders. Nothing can be said for sure what were the emotions of the elite and well-off class either. Also, I cannot comment on the emotions of the government officials who were posted on prestigious designations, and I cannot comment on what their thoughts were but a layman Muslims was thinking the same thing and knowing this, they sacrificed their lives and wealth. This was all done for the rule of Islam. The Muslims also knew that the Hindus of India would not rest until they get their revenge. They knew they the Hindus would have rivers of blood flowing and dignity and respect would be violated, their assets would be destroyed and taken, but regardless of all this they embraced all these dangers and struggled to create this state. But after Pakistan came into being was even a day spent working for the cause of Islam? The whole history is right in front of you.

After Pakistan was founded wavering started on the decision to declare Islam as the basis of the state. Although, after a lot of effort and demands the objective resolution was passed, and the constitution was based on it, it was only added as a preface to the constitution.

Along with this the most needed thing was to change the education system; to create understanding of Islam in the students and to develop them so that they can run their country on the basis of Islam. Despite attention being called towards this problem again and again nothing was done about it, and the education system was not changed. Similarly, the media and communication channels that were available which could have built people’s opinion, and which changed minds towards Islam; it was needed that these channels be used to enhance the Islamic spirit among Muslims as much as possible; because this spirit was the basis of our state and still is. As long this spirit is strong our country is strong and the weakening of this spirit means the weakening of our country. This ideology was not paid any attention to instead the mass communication and media channels were used to turn people away from Islam and these channels were used to spread all sorts of non religious ideologies.

After education the thing that was needed the most was to mold the Muslims’ etiquettes according to Islam because the base of an Islamic state, after Islamic ideology, is Islamic etiquette. If Islamic etiquette is combined with Islamic ideology a very strong and unbreakable Islamic state can be prepared. However, over neither Islamic thought nor Islamic etiquettes were strengthened here. Instead anything that could have been done to ruin the ideology and etiquettes was done. Before the separation there wasn’t such a surge of dance in music which became visible after the separation. Singers and dancers were not heroes of Muslims before the separation of the country however, they became role models afterward. The exchange of culture between the two countries after separation was the exchange of singers and dancers so it was thought that singing and dancing will make the country stronger. The English could not spread as much, drinking, bad habits and improper behaviour in 150 years within Muslims as was done in just a few years after the birth of Pakistan. This way our thinking and our customs were swayed away from Islam and attempts were made to uproot our basis which made us Muslims and gave us our Islamic pride. The education we were provided was anti-religion; it had everything but God; it had everything but HIS Prophet (PBUH) and HIS Book.

Consequently, the generations that were brought up in these circumstances became Nationalists; when they were in East Pakistan they developed a sense of being Bengali, and in West Pakistan they started becoming, Punjabi, Sindhi, Pathan, and Baluchi. Obviously when the sentiment is suppressed the most prominent sentiment to take over is localism and nationalism, and that is what happened.

The language, customs, and culture that were spread in Bengali Muslims connected them to the Hindus and disconnected them from Muslims. There Islamic sense was tried to be diminished and eradicated, resulting in Bengali nationalism and Hindu thinking developing in them. To the extent, that finally there was no differentiation between Bengali Muslim youth and Hindu youth. Not only in men, but in women as well, who obtained recent education, there was no obvious difference between them and a Hindu Bengali woman. Same were there customs, same were there opinions, and same was the singing and dancing.

You have seen the result of all this, that finally a movement started there, who’s organizers, who’s leaders, and who’s workers were not only devoid of the Islamic philosophy and had turned away from Islam, but they had developed animosity against Islam, they did not even want to hear the name of Islam. The hatred against West Pakistan had spread so much among them that finally they decided that even if they had to get help from non-Muslims, they will get separation from West Pakistan. You will rarely find such examples in history where Muslims sought the help of non-Muslims to fight Muslims; This example that was seen here that Muslims sought help from idol worshippers to get separation from a Muslim republic and to fight against their Muslim brothers. This is how, finally, East Pakistan was separated from us.

Obviously, East Pakistan had not become part of Pakistan through military force or through strength of weapons nor could it stay part of Pakistan through such forces. It had joined Pakistan due to Islamic sentiments, and the feeling of being Muslim. It had joined on its own will; no one conquered it and made it its part. When the feeling of being Muslim was suppressed the force of the army could not keep it attached to West Pakistan. The result is in front of you. When they realized that they could not stand up against the power of Pakistani military they asked for the help of India and separated with its help. Now only West Pakistan remains, which has the advantage of 1 in 11 over India before it was 1 in 5. Even here you will see the situation that will occur because of neglecting Islam. In this area as well Islamic education and culture is not prevalent instead Islamic ideas are repressed and non Islamic ideas are encouraged that’s why there will be atheism, socialism and other anti religious and moral ambiguity sentiments are able to flourish here.

As a result you can see that here the emotion of being Punjabi, Pathan, Sindhi and Balochi are coming out and the sentiment of being Muslims is diminishing. Now we will see this area being broken into pieces as well. If there was something to keep this piece of land together it was Islam and the thought of being Muslim. If this is not taken care of now this part will also scatter and once it is scattered no part of it will remain free. They will all be slaves and this slavery will be worse than the slavery that you had before the separation.

(Two Important Speeches of Maulana Maududi; Address to the Central Shura, February 16-17, 1962)