Pakistan Day (Youm-e-Pakistan) 2020 – History and Facts
Every year on 23 March Pakistan Day is observed to commemorate the passage of the Lahore Resolution on this day in 1940, when the subcontinent’s Muslims set the agenda for a separate homeland.Pakistan Day is also called as “Pakistan Resolution Day” or “Republic Day of Pakistan” as in 1956 Pakistan formulated its first constitution on 23rd March.The constituent assembly passed the constitution for country on February 28 1956 but it was decided to bring it into effect on 23rd March ,1956.
Muhammad Zafarullah Khan wrote and prepared the Lahore Resolution and was presented by A. K. Fazlul Huq who was then Bengal’s prime minister. The resolution called for independent states . Below is the key statement mentioned in the Lahore Resolution:
” The geographically contiguous units are demarcated regions that should be formed, with such territorial changes as may be appropriate to divide the areas in which the Muslims are numerically in the majority as in the North Western and Eastern Zones of (British) India into ‘ independent States ‘ where the constituent units should be autonomous and sovereign. “
During 1938-39 the notion of separation from British India had gained ground strongly. In October 1938, the Sindh Provincial Muslim League Conference held its first session in Karachi, adopting a resolution which proposed that the All India Muslim League formulate a constitutional scheme under which Muslims would achieve full independence. Bengal provincial premier, A. K. Fazal-ul-Haque, who was not a member of the All India Muslim League, was pretty convinced of separation.
The word “Pakistan” was not formally adopted until the Lahore Resolution was passed but it began to be widely used after the resolution. Word “Pakistan” was proposed by Choudhary Rahmat Ali first time in his Pamphlet which was written and published on 28 January 1933. Pamphlet was circulated to the delegates of the Third Round Table Conference in 1932.
The pamphlet demanded that “India’s Five Northern Units “— Punjab, Northwest Frontier Province (Afghan Province), Kashmir, Sindh, and Baluchistan become a state independent of the Indian Federation being proposed.
Pakistan is the first nation to earn Islamic Republic title in 1956, followed by the transition of the Dominion of Pakistan to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
Every year Pakistan Day is celebrated with great zeal and enthusiasm, After Fajr prayers special prayers are offered in mosques for the country’s development and prosperity with National flag hoisted on all major government buildings. This day’s main feature is the parade that displays cultures from all four provinces. Also,the main attraction in the ceremony is the showcase of cultures and traditions from Sindh, Punjab, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir.
Pakistan Armed Forces organizes a Grand Military Parade to display Nation’s military strength. Every year different contingents from Azerbaijan, Bahrain, China, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka and Turkey are invited to take part in the Parade.Pakistani troops usually exchange sweets and greetings with Indian troops on LoC sides on these type of Occasions.
