The issues of Dawn of Aug 18 till Aug 24, 1947 were dominated by the announcement of the Radcliffe Commission award, setting the formal boundaries of the dominions of Pakistan and India, while communal violence, and efforts to quell it on both sides, also featured prominently on the pages.
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violence → dominate → pages
In more welcome news, the bureaucracy in the nascent state rolled up their sleeves to take up the task of nation-building — which remains a work in progress, mind you — while congratulations continued to pour in welcoming Pakistan to the comity of nations.
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congratulations → roll → nations
“The decisions embodied in the reports very materially alter the boundaries as set forth provisionally under the national division and it is the Indian Union which gains all along the line at the expense of Pakistan.”
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which → embody → Pakistan
In a related report, Sardar Abdur Rab Nishtar, the Communication Minister, acerbically termed it “a parting kick of the British”.
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Nishtar → term → British
Clearly, the founding fathers felt His Majesty’s government had pulled a fast one on Pakistan.
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government → found → Pakistan
Aug 18’s lead editorial termed Sir Cyril Radcliffe’s decision “Territorial Murder”.
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editorial → term → decision
As the editorial noted, the decision had come like a “bolt from the blue.
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decision → note → blue
They represent the award of only one man, Sir Cyril Radcliffe, the Chairman [of the commission].
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They → represent → commission
The Muslim nation has been betrayed. …
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nation → betray → ?
Pakistan has been cheated of large areas in the Punjab, Bengal and the district of Sylhet which … belonged to it.
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which → cheat → it
This was, in the words of the Quaid-i-Azam, a “moth-eaten Pakistan”.
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This → eat → Azam
Communal bloodshed, particularly in Punjab, remained a major concern for both Pakistan and India.
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bloodshed → remain → Pakistan
As the lead story on Aug 19 noted, there were “widespread massacres in the Eastern Punjab, particularly in the Amritsar district.
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story → note → district
So serious were matters that Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan, and his Indian counterpart Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru were briefed on the security situation by Sir Claude Auchinleck, who was supreme commander of both dominions at the time.
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who → brief → time
The Quaid was also informed of the situation by the PM.
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Quaid → inform → PM
As the joy of living in a newly independent nation began to sink in, so did the gravity of the task of governing it.
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gravity → live → it
The Aug 20 edition noted that “about 5,000 Officers, typists and assistants, turned up for work.
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Officers → note → work
All the files have not yet arrived from Delhi.”
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files → arrive → Delhi
It added that “every means of conveyance was used” by the public servants of the new state to show up for duty; even “camel carts were not considered too undignified”.
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carts → add → duty
Can you imagine today’s babus showing up for work in carts drawn by animals, or even worse, using public transport like the rest of us plebeians?
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babus → imagine → plebeians
Meanwhile, as the Aug 18 issue reported, Pakistan submitted its application to the United Nations.
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Pakistan → report → Nations
“The formal letter of application arrived from Karachi at United Nations Headquarters today [Aug 16].
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letter → arrive → Headquarters
Interestingly, the UN Legal Department had decided that while the “new Dominion of India would continue to be an original member state” of the UN, “Pakistan, as a new State, would have to apply for membership.”
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Pakistan → decide → membership
Thankfully, Pakistan’s application was accepted in September 1947, with Afghanistan casting the sole vote against this country’s membership.
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Afghanistan → accept → membership
Pakistan greeted
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Pakistan → greet → ?
In the days after independence, numerous heads of state wrote to the Quaid congratulating Pakistan on its birth.
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heads → write → birth
For example US President Harry S. Truman assured Pakistan of the “firm friendship and goodwill of the USA.”
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Truman → assure → USA
French Foreign Minister Georges Bidault described the raising of Pakistan “to the rank of the great free nations as a step of great importance for the whole world.”
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Bidault → describe → world
Al-Haj Amin al-Husseini, Grand Mufti of Jerusalem (which had not yet been occupied by Israel) offered the “most sincere congratulations of your Palestinian brethren and their best wishes.”
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which → occupy → brethren
Haile Selassie, Emperor of Ethiopia, took “great pleasure in extending our greetings” to Pakistan while the Iranian Prime Minister Ahmad Qavam said: “May Pakistan become a great bulwark of freedom, peace and brotherhood in Asia”.
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Pakistan → take → Asia
Clearly, nations of the East and West had great expectations of Pakistan.
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nations → have → Pakistan
The Aug 23 issue contained a news item many current readers will find quite interesting, to say the least.
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readers → contain → least
As per a communique issued from Governor House Peshawar on Aug 22, “Dr Khan Sahib’s Ministry has today [Aug 22] been dismissed from office and the Governor has invited Khan Abdul Qayum Khan, Leader of the Opposition Muslim League Party in the NWFP Legislative Assembly to form a Ministry”.
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Governor → issue → Ministry
Dr Khan Sahib was the brother of Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, the “Frontier Gandhi”, who famously did not see eye to eye with Pakistan’s founding fathers.
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who → see → fathers
Dr Khan Sahib’s Congress Ministry had taken office in March 1946, and had faced a civil disobedience movement.
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Ministry → take → movement
An elected government in the NWFP (now KP) led by an opposition party was sent home by the centre at the birth of Pakistan.
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government → elect → Pakistan
With the advantage of hindsight, one has the opportunity to study the historical cycles in a nation’s life.
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one → have → life
Thanks to this newspaper’s unique, extensive archive of back issues, one can examine the major political, economic and social trends that have shaped Pakistan and the world over the last seven decades and counting.
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that → examine → decades
Cliched as it may sound, history repeats itself, and we — as a state and as a polity — largely refuse to learn from it.
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we → sound → it
Through this platform, we will look back at the ‘big’ stories that made it to the front pages of Dawn, as well as significant developments tucked away in the inside pages, from the birth of Pakistan onwards, and try to put them in perspective.
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that → look → perspective
…and 1 more, not listed.
The Aporia
