Quaid’s
Motto: Don’t Alter History
By Col. Riaz Jafri
(Retd)
Rawalpindi, Pakistan
According to the June 2005th
issue of monthly ‘Concept’, the Prime
Minister has ordered – on being pointed
out by the veteran Federal Minister Mr. Mamud
Ali - to use the correct order of the wording
of Quaid’s motto as FAITH, UNITY and DISCIPLINE
on all government stationary and other public
places, instead of the prevailing Unity, Faith
and Disciple. In the same issue of the magazine,
Mr. Rizwan Ahmed, chairman of the Quaid-i-Azam
Foundation, in his article ‘Importance of
Faith’ has tried to show, though not very
convincingly, the Quaid’s reasons for choosing
‘Faith’ for the motto and that he
(Quaid) implied EEMAN by it.
The learned writer, however, could not help mentioning
Allama Iqbal’s “Yaqeen Muhkam Amal
Paihem Fateh-e-Alam” but has inserted (means
strong Faith) within the parenthesis after Yaqeen
Muhkam in the couplet. I am, however, surprised
that Mr. Rizwan has chosen to omit Quaid’s
meeting some students in 1946 to whom he had explained
the meaning of ‘Faith’ in his motto.
Quaid had told them, “Have Faith in yourself,
Have Faith in your destiny – Pakistan and
Have Faith in Allah”. To Quaid faith was
‘faith’ (Yaqeen) and not the Muslim
faith (Eeman).
The 'Faith' of Quaid's motto was gradually baptized
(Islamised) after the passing of the ‘Objectives
Resolution’ on behest of the mullahs in
1954. Later, Zia completed the tally. And now
we are sort of stuck with it - in the name of
the Islamic Republic of Pakistan – which
was incidentally not the name given to the new
born dominion on the night of 14/15 August 1947.
I am 75 and was a young man of 17 and a college
student at the time of partition. I heard the
Quaid first on June 3rd 1947 on the All-India
Radio and thereafter read him in the papers and
heard him many a time on the radio. I was fortunate
to see and hear him in person in April 1948 when
he addressed us in our Edwardes College Peshawar
and the next day in the Islamia College in the
same city. All along these years and even much
later, the Urdu rendition of the Quaid’s
motto had been “Ittehad, Yaqeen, Nazm”
and in this very order. In 1951 when Liaquat Ali
Khan brandished his fist to the Indians, Yaqeen
turned into Yaqeen-e-Muhkam. Nazm (discipline)
was at times mixed up incorrectly with Tanzeem
which means Organisation .
By changing Yaqeen into Eeman aren’t we
keeping the minorities of Pakistan out of the
ambit of the Quaid’s motto? Was this motto
not meant for them? Or was this motto only for
the Muslims of Pakistan?
Please do not alter history so soon. There are
still some eye-witnesses around to testify to
the original motto.
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