Islamia College Peshawar,
July 30, 1940
Remember! It is not a small job. It is the biggest job that you have ever undertaken in your life since the fall of the Moghal Empire. You realize that it requires all the necessary ingredients, do not be carried away by slogans. How is a nation made? When it has fallen, how is a nation revived? These are the questions.
We come under the category of the fallen. We have seen the worst days, although I am glad that there is a distinct and definite revival and renaissance of the Muslim nation in this country. We, therefore, are now in this position. We are just got that awake. We are just opening our eyes. We have just got hat consciousness when we are looking around. You are yet a sick man; you are still an invalid; you have got to go through the convalescent period before you can become perfectly healthy, strong and go-about. How are you going to make your people to come up to that stage and preparedness when you will be able to achieve your goal? There is no royal road. You must, my young friends, in the first instance, apply your minds to the nation-building departments. YQU will say, what is it? What are the nation-building departments? Let me tell you what they are. You see that there are at least three main pillars which go to make a nation worthy of possessing a tenitory and running the government.
One is education. Without education you are in the same position as we were in this pandal last night in darkness! With education you will be in the same position as you are in this broad daylight. Next, no nation and no people can ever do anything very much without making themselves economically powerful in commerce, trade and industry. And lastly, when you Thave got that light of knowledge by means of education and when you have made yourselves strong economically, commercially and industrially, then you
have got to prepare yourselves for your defence — defence against external aggression and to maintain internal security.
Therefore, these are the three main pillars upon which a nation rests and the strength of the nation remains in proportion to your readiness and your preparedness with these three main pillars. Today, in these three main pillars you are at the bottom of the class. Educationally there is a great deal of leeward to bc made up. Economically and financially the Muslim is poverty-stricken and on the verge of bankruptcy all over India. As to the defence, even the little opportunities that are available under the present system of government, the Muslims are very poor in number. Therefore, my young friends, I see you have got some resolutions which are very good resolutions indeed. You want to take up some of these matters along wjth your people. Here is the programme for you. Do not talk merely in a language, what shall I say, of bravado or arrogance, because I am convinced that we have no need to talking that language, and we have no need to talk in a language of threats. Why? Because, to begin with, our cause is honest, just and a right one. That is the first reason. The second reason is that those who are strong and those who have acquired self-confidence and self-reliance they do not need to indulge in unnecessary threats and arrogant language.
Let us, therefore, try as far as possible to reason and to persuade our opponents. Of course, I know that our reasoning and all our persuasion does not always succeed, but we must make every possible effort. Let us not create unnecessary bitterness against those who are at present the opponents of the Pakistan Lahore Resolution. Why should we? I am confident that those
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