India and Pakistan gained independence from British social rule in August 1947. The Independence Day of the South Asian neighbor falls on August 15 according to literal records. Why does it substantiation the literal event one day before than India? India and Pakistan are celebrating their 78th anniversary of Independence this month. During August 15, India celebrates a happy event, while its neighboring country celebrates it one day ahead. In August 1947, the British leaders divided India into two autonomous nations-India and Pakistan. Why does Pakistan celebrate independence a day prior? Let's delve into it.
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Creation Of India And Pakistan
The Indian Independence Act of 1947, legislated on July 18, 1947, led to the creation of India and Pakistan. In agreement with the Act, India and Pakistan will be established as two separate independent Dominions starting from August 15, 1947. It's apparent that August 15 marks Pakistan's Independence Day through the significant radio speech by Mohammed Ali Jinnah, the author of Pakistan, to the nation he'd just established. On August 15, Pakistan celebrates its birth as an independent and autonomous state.
Jinnah stated that it signifies the consummation of the Muslim nation's fortune, as they had made significant offerings in recent times to establish their motherland.
In 2016, Shahid Nazi, an elderly Pakistani intelligence officer, expressed to The Express Tribune that Pakistan should celebrate independence on August 15 using any form of sense. The Express Tribune reported that Jinnah and the Pakistan press actually swore their pledges of office on the morning of August 15, 1947.
Pakistan's initial special postage prints, issued in July 1948, also conceded August 15, 1947, as Pakistan's Day of Independence. August 15, 1947, was considered a significant day for Muslims because it fell on the final Friday of the Roman holy month.
Chaudhary Muhammad Ali, a former high minister of Pakistan, stated in his book The Emergence of Pakistan in 1967 that the 15th of August 1947 coincided with the final Friday of Ramadan- UL- Mubarak, a significant day in Islam, according to Dawn. Quiet- i- Adam (Jinnah) came the Governor-General of Pakistan on that special day, the press was sworn in, the star- and- crescent flag was raised, and Pakistan appeared on the global stage.
What took place on August 14, 1947?
On August 14, 1947, Viceroy Lord Mountbatten gave an address to the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan. He was listed to hand over power to India and Pakistan at night on August 15. Nonetheless, Mountbatten couldn't be present in both New Delhi and Karachi contemporaneously. Mountbatten handed over power to Pakistan in Karachi on August 14 before heading to New Delhi.
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Hushed Kamal Aziz, a well-known annalist from Pakistan, stated in his book Murder of History that the Viceroy, serving as the British King's only representative in India, had to tête-à-tête transfer power to the new countries. Lord Mountbatten was unfit to attend both Karachi and New Delhi at the same time.
He couldn't hand over control to India on the morning of August 15th and also snappily travel to Karachi, as he'd formerly be the Governor General of the new Indian Dominion. The only doable option for him was to hand over power to Pakistan. What was the reason for changing the date? Just as India does, Pakistan should commemorate its independence on August 15 annually.
August 14, 1948- Pakistan's Accepted Independence Day
Yet, Pakistan moved its Independence Day to August 14 in 1948. Explanations live for why this was carried out. As per a report by India Today, certain leaders in Pakistan asked to commemorate Independence Day ahead of India. A meeting was organized by a group of ministers led by the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Liana Ali Khan, at the end of June 1948.
The decision to shift Pakistan's Independence Day by one day was made during this meeting. The report indicates that Jinnah gave his concurrence to moving Pakistan's Independence Day to August 14. Still, not everyone is in agreement. Yasser Latin Haldane, the pen of Jinnah Myth and Reality, stated in 2013 to PTI that by August 1948, Jinnah was too ill to have altered the date of Independence Day.
Nonetheless, Haldane defended the decision to change the date, arguing that Pakistan was a fledgling country in need of establishing its own identity. The decision made by our (Pakistan) leaders to celebrate it on the 14th is a whole different story. Intelligencer Nazi told The Express Tribune that they probably preferred a day other than India for the event.