The Unclaimed Inheritance: Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and the Case for a Secular, Pluralist Pakistan

• Ishfaq Naveed

  Author

This research article critically examines Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s vision and policies regarding minorities within the emergent political and constitutional framework of Pakistan. Drawing upon archival speeches, constitutional proceedings, contemporary accounts, and legal analyses, this study explores Jinnah’s concerted efforts to create an inclusive, democratic, and pluralistic state. His political philosophy, deeply rooted in British-Indian constitutionalism, liberal ethics, and a secular worldview, aimed to transcend the very religious divisions that had necessitated partition. Through a close reading of Jinnah’s key speeches—most notably the Constituent Assembly address of 11 August 1947—this paper highlights his unwavering commitment to safeguarding the rights, dignity, and full citizenship of all religious and ethnic minorities. The analysis situates Jinnah’s ideals within the broader context of decolonisation and nation-building, arguing that his constitutional and moral imagination offered a coherent model of civic nationalism grounded in justice and participatory citizenship. The study, informed by an archival sensibility, underscores how Jinnah’s inclusive vision was deliberately set aside after his death, yet remains a critical point of reference for understanding Pakistan’s foundational ideals and its subsequent constitutional and political evolution.

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