Chapter 2 Initial Problems of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan

Chapter 2 Initial Problems of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Study notes for class 12. 2nd Years Pakistan studies Notes for KPK Board.

Initial Problems of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan notes

FA/FSC Notes Pakistan Studty Chapter No 02.

Pakistan studies short questions 2nd-year chapter 2

Q. 2Write a note on the issue of settlement of refugees.

The partition of India created many issues and one of the major issues was the settlement of refugees. According to an estimate, about 5.5 million people migrated from Pakistan to India and 6.5 million from India to Pakistan at the time of partition. The rehabilitation of refugees and the provision of basic needs for them was an enormous problem. Therefore, Quaid-e-Azam established a “Refugee Relief Fund.” In this way, the problem was soon overcome through the personal efforts of Quaid-e-Azam.

3)   Quote one statement of the Quaid-e-Azam (RA) regarding national integrity.

Answer:

The enemies of Pakistan tried to spur regional, linguistic, and provincial differences among the people of Pakistan. Quaid-e-Azam visited all the four provinces and impelled the people to stand united. He declared:

“Let us trust each other …….. Let us work in a double shift if necessary to make our country really happy, really united, and really powerful.”

4)    Enlist Quaid-e-Azam’s (RA) important steps for the rehabilitation of refugees.

Answer:

About 6.5 million people migrated from India to Pakistan during the process of partition. The Quaid-e-Azam himself looked after the process of rehabilitation. He established a “Refugee Fund” and made an appeal to the people to contribute generously to this fund. They were provided homes and jobs in a few years’ time and this was possible due to the personal efforts of the Quaid-e-Azam.

5)  What attitude, the Quaid-e-Azam (RA) thought, public servants, should adopt.

Answer:

The responsibilities of the public servants, civil and military were greatly increased in the post-independence period. Quaid-e-Azam encouraged and advised them to work tirelessly for the cause of nation-building. While addressing the public servant, he said, “You do not belong to the ruling class, you belong to the servants. Make the people feel that you are their servants and friends, maintain the highest standard for honour, integrity, justice and fair play.”

6)    What piece of advice the Quaid-e-Azam (RA) gave to the students.

Answer:

On October 31, 1947, the Quaid-e-Azam addressed the students at Dacca and gave an excellent piece of advice to them. He said:

“My young friends! I look forward to you as the real makers of Pakistan, do not be exploited and do not be misled. Create among yourself an example of what youth can be, in fairness to yourself, in fairness to your parents, in fairness to the state, to devote your attention to your studies.”

7)    The Quaid-e-Azam (RA) rendered his message in four words, quote.

Answer:

The Quaid-e-Azam put the golden principles in brief four words. He said:

“It is now up to you to work, work and work and we are bound to succeed and never forget our motto Unity, Discipline, and Faith.” 

8)    State briefly the Quaid’s ideas regarding the economy.

Answer:

After the creation of Pakistan, Quaid-e-Azam took some great steps to establish the economy of Pakistan. The Quaid-e-Azam criticized the ‘Western’ economic system very bitterly because it did not suit the Islamic state. He also stated that the adaptation of Western economic theory and practice would not help us in achieving the goal of creating a happy and contented people. Muslims must work their destiny in their own way and present to the world an economic system based on the true Islamic concept of equality, manhood and social justice. Therefore, he inaugurated the State Bank of Pakistan on July 1, 1948. 

9) What confidence-building measures did the Quaid-e-Azam’s (RA) take immediately after Partition?

Answer:

The division of subcontinent India caused great unrest among the people of Pakistan. They were greatly demoralized and disappointed due to the sufferings that had come in the way of migration. Moreover, the negative propaganda by Pakistan’s enemies created many problems. They were trying to assure that Pakistan was not going to last long. Therefore, Quaid-e-Azam approached the people in the remotest parts of the country to dispel the negative effects of this propaganda. He gave the people courage and hope and assured the people that Pakistan was born to live, it will last forever, and the conspiracies of the enemies of Pakistan will soon die out.

10)    What were the causes that gave rise to the issue of the accession of states after Partition?

Answer:

There were 580 big and small princely states in India at the time of partition. These states had a special constitutional status and did not form a part of British India. Under the partition plan, these states were given an option to accede with either one of the two states, Pakistan or India. Most of the states had decided their future until August 5, 1947. However, the states of Kashmir, Hyderabad, and Junagadh could not make timely decisions. Therefore, the Radcliffe Award with the coalition of Lord Mountbatten included these states in Indian territory, which raised the issue of states. 

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Pakistan studies Long Question 2nd year chapter 2

1)   Give an account of the injustices done by Radcliffe on the issue of demarcation of boundaries. How did Pakistan suffer due to these injustices?

Answer:

The Radcliffe Award has a great significance in the history of Pakistan. It was provided in the Third June Plan that a Boundary Commission would be set up to demarcate the boundaries and Provincial Assemblies were given an option to join either of the two states, i.e. Pakistan or India. The majority of Punjab and Bengal assemblies decided to join Pakistan. However, separate commissions were set for the demarcation of boundaries in two provinces under the chairmanship of Cyril Radcliffe as the joint chairman of both commissions. Sir Radcliffe announced his Award on the demarcation of boundaries, on August 17, 1947. However, the provisions of the Award in the demarcation of boundaries were unjust for Pakistan such as:

1. The area of Gurdaspur, Ferozepur districts and Zira and Fazilka Tehsils in Punjab was given to India by flouting the pronounced partition principles. 
2. Likewise, the city of Calcutta, district of Murshidabad and the Nadia areas were annexed with India. 

The member of the Boundary commission Justice Muhammad Munir later disclosed that Radcliff had agreed to include Ferozpur, Zera, and Tehsil Fazilka Headworks in Pakistan in his original plan but when the Award was announced on 17^th of August, all these areas were included in India. Apart from these areas, ‘The Pakistan Times’ indicated injustices were also done in certain areas and were given to India, e.g. Tehsil Batala was a 55 percent Muslim majority area. In addition, the city of Batala had a strong industrial base dominated by the Muslim industrialists. Similarly, Tehsil Ajnala and the Amritsar district had sixty percent Muslim majority.

Results of the Injustice done in the Partition:

The results of the injustice done in the partition were:

1.    The Kashmir Issue:

The first problem resulted by the Radcliffe Award was the Kashmir Issue. The inclusion of Gurdaspur gave India access to Kashmir that was the only land route that connected India with Kashmir through Pathankot, which was a Tehsil of district Gurdaspur. If Gurdaspur was not made a part of India, there would be no land access for India to reach Kashmir.

2.    The Fate of Calcutta:

The city of Calcutta was the largest industrial city in India, which consisted of 25 per cent Muslims and 60 per cent outcast Hindus (Achhoots). These low caste Hindus wanted their city to be included in Pakistan but Radcliff included the city in India against the will of the citizens of Calcutta.

3.    Problems created by the  Migration:

The division of Punjab was sudden and unexpected. Therefore, a large number of Muslims were evacuated from East Punjab for which no arrangements had been made. During the time of migration to Pakistan, thousands of refugees were attacked, maltreated, and assassinated by the Sikh militants, which brought misery and sorrow for the refugees and created innumerable economic and cultural problems.

4.    Canal Water Dispute:

One of the major problems that originated from the unjust partition was the canal water dispute. The canals irrigating the Indus Basin worked in an integrated network in the British period. At that time, it was considered the biggest and most efficient system of irrigation throughout the world. As a result of partition, the heads of the three rivers, i.e. Sutlej, Ravi, and Beas and many other Headworks were given to India. Towards the end of the year 1947, the upper parts of the two Pakistani rivers, i.e. Chenab and Jhelum were taken over by India, which assumed full control over Pakistan’s waters. In April 1948, India cut the water supplies in the canals irrigating the area near Lahore, which resulted in the destruction of thousands of ripe crops. In this way, India showed its negative potentials of posing real threats to Pakistan’s economy.

Conclusion:

The Radcliffe Award pleased no one except Lord Mountbatten and India because he demarcated the boundaries according to the wishes of Hindus and included many Muslim majority areas in India and also deprived the state of Pakistan of the River Sutlej, Bias, and Ravi. Thus, the defective and unjust planning of Radcliff created many problems for Pakistan.

2)    Give an account of the administrative problems faced by Pakistan immediately after partition.

Answer:

Pakistan came into existence on 14 August 1947 as the biggest Islamic state. This was a great victory for Muslims because the British rulers at last surrendered before the long struggle of Muslims of India and accepted the demands of the partition of India. The Hindus, however, did not accept the partition wholeheartedly and created many administered problems for Pakistan with the support of the British that it could not survive as an independent and sovereign State.

Administrative problems:

Pakistan had to face many administrative problems in its early days e.g.

1. Lack of officers:
   Most of the government functionaries and senior officers serving in the army were Hindus who migrated to India after the partition was announced. Therefore, those officers were then replaced with raw hand and inexperienced functionaries.
2. Non-availability of the Muslim Army Officers:
   The British officers were employed due to the non-availability of the Muslim army officers.
3. High Posts were given to Britishers:
   The most of the high executive officers, senior bureaucracy i.e. the Governors, Chief Secretaries and Secretaries including the army chiefs were Englishmen. 
4. The issue of Kashmir:
   The non-Pakistani officers created Enormous problems, for example, the Quaid-e-Azam ordered the Commander-in-Chief to deploy the Pakistan army in Kashmir, but he declined to obey the orders.
5. The Capital of Pakistan:
   The city of Karachi was designated as the capital of the newly born state of Pakistan, which lacked even the most essential facilities required for the running of a government. 
6. Temporary settlements of Offices:
   The offices were set up in military barracks and tents. The Indian government withheld Pakistan’s share of stationery items and office equipment, even paper was not available for office use.
7. The absence of Records:
   The extremists Hindus spoiled the office record when it was being transferred to Pakistan from India and after the partition, the Hindu functionaries spoiled the office record before leaving Pakistan. 
8. The problem in Reshuffling:
   India refused to rent out its planes for airlifting the officials who had opted for Pakistan. Therefore, the Government of Pakistan hired British planes for airlifting the record and the personnel.

Conclusion:

The Hindus accepted the Partition as impractical and the existence of Pakistan as transitory. Therefore, they created such great troubles for Pakistan that the new state would collapse. However, the supervision of Quaid-e-Azam and other Muslim Leaders lead the people of Pakistan to overcame these problems very soon and stabilized its economy. 

3)  Write a note on the Indian Government’s attitude regarding the distribution of military equipment and other assets after partition.

Answer:

1)    Division of the military assets:

The process of division of the military assets began with the partition. At first, India did not want to share any military assets with Pakistan. However, later he gave these assets in worse condition to Pakistan.

i)    Division Formula:

Liaquat Ali Khan demanded that a transparent formula for the division of the armed forces and their assets should be devised. It was decided that the armed forces would be divided into two parts in July 1947.

ii)    Defence Committee:

A committee under the leadership of Field Marshal Auchinleck was formed to implement the scheme. The Indian government did everything to flout the Auchinleck Committee’s efforts for a just division of assets. The departure of the committee gave India a free hand to fulfil its designs.

iii)    Army:

The Indian government gave Pakistan only a small part of its share in the military assets. Even that was not in working condition and was badly mutilated.

iv)    Airforce:

The aircraft and ships sent to Pakistan were not in working condition.

v)    Ordnance Factories:

At the time of partition, there were sixteen ordnance factories in the subcontinent but they all went to Indian share. Thus, Pakistan started its new life with a small military force and little resources.

2)    Division of Assets:

The division of India also generated the issue of division of assets e.g.

i)    Reserve Currency:

At the time of partition, the total currency reserves for United India was estimated at Rs. four billion.

ii)    Shared Amount:

However, according to the partition formula, the share of Pakistan was estimated to be Rs. one billion but the Indian government agreed to pay only Rs. 75 crore out of it to aggravate the economic crises in Pakistan. After the payment of Rs. 20 crores, the balance was withheld on one pretext or other. Later, on the insistence of Gandhi, another amount of Rs.50 crore was paid. However, the balance amount of 5 crores was never paid to Pakistan.

iii)    Pakistan’s Liability:

On the other hand, 20 per cent of the total debt, which the government of United India owed, was made Pakistan’s liability.

iv)    Spoiled Official Record, equipment, and factories:

The functionaries spoiled the official record and mutilated the factories and the military equipment before leaving for India. They did not spare even the hospital equipment which was to be used for the treatment of the patients.

4)    Write a note on the Kashmir issue.

Answer:

Background:

The British Indian Empire was divided into two independent sovereign states of India and Pakistan in 1947 and it was resolved that the Muslim majority areas would constitute Pakistan and the non-Muslim majority areas India. The issue of Kashmir started just after India’s independence and the birth of Pakistan in 1947. At the time of the partition, there were 580 big and small princely states in India. These states had a special constitutional status and did not form a part of British India. Under the partition plan, these states were given an option to accede with either one of the two states, Pakistan or India. Most of the states had decided their future until August 5, 1947. However, some of these states could not make timely decisions. The state of Kashmir was also one of them which was forcibly annexed with India. 

The Kashmir Issue:

The Congress leaders and the Rajas of the states neighbouring Kashmir, especially those of the Patiala and Kapurthala started exerting pressure on the Maharaja of  Kashmir for the accession of Kashmir to India immediately after the Partition Plan was announced.

Viceroy’s Interference:

The Viceroy himself interfered in India’s favour. The Maharaja had disarmed the Muslim population of Punch and Jammu even before the declaration of independence. The Raja’s army took control of these areas. In order to expedite the movement of the Indian Army new roads were built very quickly in the southern-eastern part of Kashmir.

Non-Muslims Armed Rebellions:

These events caused great unrest among the Muslim population of Kashmir. By the month of August, the armed rebellion broke out in Poonch and Jammu. The Hindus and the Sikhs started killing the Muslims and within a short span of five weeks’ time, five hundred thousand Muslims were driven out of this area.

Kashmir Liberation Movement:

The Kashmir Liberation Movement was started by a group of the local freedom fighters. However, when the situation got worse, they sent their representatives to the NWFP for procuring arms and ammunition.

Tribal Militant reinforcement:

In this way, the stories of Maharaja’s atrocities were revealed to the valiant Pathans living in the tribal areas and thousands of the tribal militants took arms and made their way to Kashmir. The news of tribal reinforcement was broken at Delhi, therefore, the British Governor-General and the Indian leaders forced the Maharaja to sign a formal request for Kashmir’s accession to India. In this way, a larger portion of Kashmir territory was made a part of India, against the will of the majority of her population.

Quaid-e-Azam’s Steps:

Although Quaid-e-Azam was fully preoccupied with the problem of Refugee rehabilitation, yet he ordered the British Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan forces to deploy Pakistani troops in Kashmir, which he declined to obey. Pakistani armed forces were later moved to Kashmir when it was too late. The tribal militants reached Siri Nagar at a time when the first plane carrying Indian troops had already landed there.

The referendum in Kashmir:

In January 1948, India took the issue to the United Nations and made a commitment to hold a referendum in Kashmir. Both countries agreed to the ceasefire on the United Nations request. The Security Council declared plebiscite as the only solution to decide the fate of Kashmir. Pakistan was convinced that Muslim masses would vote in its favour in the plebiscite. However, India adopted delaying tactics and practically never agreed for elections. The Security Council sent various missions but Indian leadership dubbed Pakistan as an aggressor and showed no intention to resolve the issue of Kashmir. At last, Sir Dixon announced the failure of the Mission. This gave India an excellent opportunity to strengthen its position in the valley of Kashmir.

Conclusion:

India never wanted to accept the Muslims as a separate nation and to divide the subcontinent. Therefore, when India was divided into two parts, he started to make hurdles for the Muslims and the newly created Pakistan. The Kashmir issue was also the result of the injustice of the Radcliffe Award and Hindu leaders. The Kashmir Conflict is a great burden for India, Pakistan and the people of Jammu Kashmir and the whole of South Asia. The United Nations, India, and Pakistan should resolve the issue of Kashmir by considering the self-determination for those living in Kashmir.

5) What important steps were taken immediately after Partition regarding constitution-making and formation of the government?

Answer:

Pakistan came into being as an independent state on 14 August 1947.  It was the first country, which had been created to enforce the Islamic system of life. On August 15, 1947, Quaid-e-Azam took an oath of the first Governor-General of Pakistan. Pakistan had to face gigantic problems of administration, social and economic matters soon after its birth. Therefore, opponents had always predicted that Pakistan will not be administratively and financially stable, and it will soon collapse like the house of cards. The problems faced by Pakistan were massive and a time came when it was sensed that the predictions of anti-Pakistan pundits would come true. However, due to the fervour and zeal of the nation and the able guidance of Quaid-e-Azam and the hard work he put for nation-building and with the blessing of Allah Almighty, these heavy odds were overcome within a short period.

Important steps for Constitution Making:

The efforts made for the solution of problems for Constitution-making were:

First Constituent Assembly:

The constitution is the fundamental law of a state and no state can be run without a constitution. The first session of Constituent Assembly was called by the Quaid-e-Azam on August 11, 1947, three days before the creation of Pakistan. The Assembly consisted of the legislative members who were elected in the 1945-46 elections from the Muslim majority areas that later became the part of Pakistan.

Policy Statements by Quaid-e-Azam:

Addressing the Assembly, Quaid-e-Azam gave a policy statement regarding the principles followed by the state of Pakistan in the future such as:

i)    Islamic Principles:

The future constitution of Pakistan would be based on Islamic principles.

ii)    Democratic Nature:

Pakistan will not be a theocracy state. It will be democratic in nature.

iii)   Equal Rights:  

The Muslim and non-Muslim citizens shall enjoy the equal civil and political rights

iv)   No discrimination:

No discrimination shall be made based on religion.

v)    Completion of Task in minimum possible time.

He also directed the Assembly to complete its task of constitution-making within minimum possible time.

Interim Constitution:

The Government of India Act 1935 was adopted in an amended form as the Interim Constitution and the Quaid-e-Azam was elected the first President of the Constituent Assembly.

Formation of the Government:

The Quaid-e-Azam was made the first Governor-General of Pakistan and Liaqat Ali Khan was the first Prime Minister. Under the guidance of Quaid-e-Azam, the Prime Minister formed a five-member Cabinet who had outstanding abilities. The Quaid-e-Azam as Governor-General was not supposed to interfere in the Cabinet’s affairs, yet due to his exalted position and meritorious services for the cause of Pakistan, the Cabinet decided to seek guidance from him and gave him the power to veto the Cabinet decisions. Quaid-e-Azam strongly desired that the constitution of Pakistan should be modelled on high moral ideals and should reflect the true spirit of Islamic nationhood. Unfortunately, Quaid-e-Azam passed away in September 1948. Therefore, his successors were entrusted with a responsibility, which in the years to come proved too enormous for them to fulfil.

conclusion of early problems of Pakistan:

The constitution is an important step to run the government of a state, which should be based on the ideology of the country. Pakistan after its independence did not have any constitution so the leader of Pakistan, Quaid-e-Azam decided to adopt the Government of India Act 1935 as an Interim Constitution until the formation of the new constitution and took the various steps for the formation of the Constitution. Thus, in the Constitution-making process, it was kept in mind on the instructions of Quaid-e-Azam that it would be a reflection of Islam and Islamic Nationhood.

Read more: Pakistan Studies Notes | Chapter 1 | Genesis of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan

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