Shrouq Tariq
The initial stamps of Pakistan were issued on July 9, 1948, 11 months after the independence of Pakistan. Pakistan’s Independence Day on those stamps is clearly printed as of August 15, 1947.
Puzzled right?
Senior citizens who were part of the Pakistan freedom movement and those who witnessed partition share that Pakistan became independent on the 27th night of Ramadan and that the day Pakistan became independent was the holly day of Jumu’ah al-Wada ‘.
However, looking at the calendar of August 14, 1947, this does not seem to be true since it shows Thursday in the Hijri calendar the 26th of Ramadan.
The Indian Independence Act of 1947, which was passed by the British Parliament and ratified by the British Emperor George VI on 18 July 1947 in this regard becomes a very important document.
It states that on 15th August 1947, two independent states will be established in India under the names of India and Pakistan respectively.
The British government announced that both Pakistan and India would be free at the same time, on 15 August 1947 at zero hours, but the problem was that Lord Mountbatten visited India in New Delhi on the night between 14 and 15 August 1947.
A copy of this law was later sent to Quaid-e-Azam on 24 July 1947 by the Secretary-General of Pakistan, Chaudhry Muhammad Ali (who later became the Prime Minister of Pakistan).
From all documentary evidence, it is clear that Pakistan came into being not on August 14, but on August 15, 1947.
This is further reinforced by the fact that on 19 December 1947, the Home Department of Pakistan, in its letter 17/47, declared the annual holidays of 1948 to be 15 August 1948 ahead of the Pakistan Day holiday for 1948.
Then why the first anniversary of Independence Day was celebrated on 14 August 1948?
In a meeting of the Cabinet held in Karachi on Tuesday, June 29, 1948, under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan.
The meeting decided that Pakistan’s first Independence Day celebrations should be held on August 14, 1948, instead of August 15, 1948.
The main reason behind this was that the day was special for Muslims in Pakistan as August 15 was the last Friday of the Islamic month of Ramzan that year. Therefore, the Independence Day for an Islamic country for Muslims was an added reason for a bigger celebration. This may be the reason many in Pakistan still believe that the August 14 was the last Friday of the month of Ramzan in 1947.
The practice of celebrating Pakistan’s Independence Day on August 14 instead of August 15 continues to this day and it has gradually it was established that Pakistan became independent on August 14, 1947, not August 15, 1947.
However, a study of the documents cited above largely confirms that Pakistan’s first cabinet did not change Pakistan’s history of independence but only decided to celebrate Pakistan’s Independence Day on August 14 instead of August 15 each year. The Quaid-e-Azam had also ratified the decision.
Shrouq Tariq is the Research Analyst and writer at Matrix Media. Her work has been published in number of national and international newspapers . She’s also a member of the Matrix Media editorial board. She is currently completing her MPhil in Defense and Strategic Studies from Quaid-i-Azam university.
