My introduction

I was born on November 16, 1893 in village Balachaur, District Hoshiarpur, Punjab. I got my early education in Jalandhar and graduated from Islamia College, Lahore in 1919. In 1930, I left for Cambridge (England) for my postgraduate studies in Law. I finished my education obtaining M.A. LL.B., with honours from the University of Cambridge and Dublin respectively.
It all started in 1915 in my inaugural address to Bazam-i-Shibli, in these words:"North of India is Muslim and we will keep it Muslim. Not only that, we will make it a Muslim State. But this we can do only if and when we and our North cease to be Indian. For that is a pre-requisite to it. So the sooner we shed 'Indianism', the better for us all and for Islam". This idea was stuck in my mind and I worked on it for so many years. While, I was in England in 1930 when a series of Round Table Conference were held in London to devise a new Constitution for India and delegates of all communities and parties of whom about 26 were Muslims were invited to participate. On this occasion, I approached the Muslim delegates, and discussed with them the political and constitutional situation from Muslim point of view.

A new idea; Pakistan

In the early 1930s, I began writing about the formation of a Muslim nation in India. One day, while I was walking along with my friends Pir Ahsan-ud-Din and Khawja Abdul Rahim, I came up with the idea of the name ‘Pakistan’ but according to my secratary Miss Frost, I mentioned this idea to her while we were riding on a bus. Anyways, the idea is clear.

On January 28, 1933, I voiced my new idea in the pamphlet entitled "Now or Never; Are We to Live or Perish Forever?". The word 'Pakstan' referred to "the five Northern units of India, Viz: Punjab, (Afghanistan Province), Kashmir, Iran, Sind, Baluchistan and one North East unit of India Viz: Bengal ". By the end of the year, 'Pakistan' is becoming common vocabulary where an i was added to ease pronouncement (as in Afghan-i-stan).In a forthcoming book I will be discussing the etymology in further detail.

You must be wondering what is Pakistan? 'Pakistan' is both a Persian and an Urdu word. It is composed of letters taken from the names of all our Indian Sub-continent homelands; that is, Panjab, Afghanistan (Pashtunistan), Kashmir, Iran, Sindh (including Kach and Kathiawar), Tukharistan, Afghanistan, and Balochistan. It means the land of the Paks- the spiritually pure and clean. It symbolizes the religious beliefs and ethnical stocks of our people; and it stands for all the territorial constituents of our original Fatherland. It has no other origin and no other meaning; and it does not admit of any other interpretation. Those writers who have tried to interpret it in more than way have done so either through the love of casuistry, or through ignorance of its inspiration, origin and composition. While I was a leading figure for the conception of Pakistan, I have spent most of my life in England. I am inviting you to share your ideas or suggestions for this new creation that is Pakistan.