PLML-N MPA Hina Butt has submitted a resolution to include the minority heroes in the school curriculum in Punjab Assembly.
Equality before the law: A fundamental right
“According to the Constitution of Pakistan, all citizens have equal rights. In Pakistan even today the people of the minority community are performing the most important services in various fields. Pakistan has made history all over the world by giving this right to the Sikh community. Therefore, the Assembly demands that the hero of minorities be included in the curriculum. Encourage Pakistan’s minority community by including minority heroes in the curriculum,” the resolution said.
The resolution submitted in Punjab Assembly to include minority heroes in the school curriculum referred to the extraordinary measures made by the state of Pakistan to facilitate the Sikh community. Now, the inclusion of minority heroes in the curriculum would be another significant step in honoring and respecting them.
Calls have been made on social media to commemorate August 11th as the Equal Citizenship Day instead of National Minority Day in Pakistan, on social media.
August 11 should be celebrated as #EqualCitizenshipDay instead of #NationalMinorityDay because our Quaid Mohammad Ali Jinnah has promised equal citizenship to #Hindus, #Christians, #Sikhs & believers of other faiths.The word "minority" minoritizes & otherises us.#PakistanForAll
— Kapil Dev کپل دیو (@KDSindhi) August 10, 2020
Several notable members from minority communities have played a leading role in the progress and development of Pakistan since its inception. Some of the notable personalities like Pakistani scientist Abdus Salam and others who made significant contributions in building Pakistan.
Abdus Salam: The Pakistani Scientist
Mohammad Abdus Salamwas a Pakistani theoretical physicist. He belonged to the Ahmadi community. Salam shared the 1979 Nobel Prize in Physics with Sheldon Glashow and Steven Weinberg for his contribution to the electroweak unification theory. He was the first Pakistani to receive a Nobel Prize in science and the second from an Islamic country to receive any Nobel Prize (after Anwar Sadat of Egypt).
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Salam was a science advisor to the Ministry of Science and Technology in Pakistan from 1960 to 1974, a position from which he was supposed to play a major and influential role in the development of the country’s science infrastructure. Salam contributed to developments in theoretical and particle physics. He was the founding director of the Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO), and responsible for the establishment of the Theoretical Physics Group (TPG) in the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC). As Science Advisor, Salam played a role in Pakistan’s development of the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and may have contributed as well, via Project-706, to development of the atomic bomb project of Pakistan in 1972 for this, he is viewed as the “scientific father” of this program.
Salam heavily contributed to the rise of Pakistani physics to the physics community in the world. Even until shortly before his death, Salam continued to contribute to physics and to advocate for the development of science in Third-World countries.
Jogendra Nath Mandal: The first law minister of Pakistan
He was a Dalit Hindu who played a pivotal role in the establishment and growth of Pakistan. He belonged to the lowest tier in the Hindu caste system. He was a trusted and close aide of Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Mandal represented Muslim League as a minister in the 1946 pre-partition political setup of India.
Following the creation of Pakistan, Jogendra Nath Mandal was the first Law and Labour Minister of Pakistan. He presided the famous speech of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah in the Constituent Assembly on August 11th, 1947. Quaid-e-Azam wanted him to preside the session to give a strong message of equality for minorities in Pakistan. Since after the creation of Pakistan, Hindu became the minority community in the country.
73 year ago on this day #Jinnah sb made famous #August11 speech in the Constituent Assembly presided over by a #Hindu MP #JogindraNathMandal —
also the first law minister of Pakistan.In order to revive Jinnah's #Pakistan, we should celebrate this day as #EqualCitizenshipDay. pic.twitter.com/iis7d056AU
— Kapil Dev کپل دیو (@KDSindhi) August 11, 2020
Sir Muhammad Zafarullah Khan
He did his LL.B. from King’s College London, in 1914. Khan practiced Law in Sialkot and Lahore and became a member of Punjab Legislative Council in 1926. He belonged to the Ahmadi community. He chaired the Delhi meeting of the All-India Muslim League in 1931. He championed the cause of Indian Muslims. He participated in the Round Table Conferences held from 1930 to 1932.
Sir Zafarullah lead the Muslim League in 1947 before the Radcliffe Boundary Commission and presented the case of Muslims. He was made the first Foreign Minister of Pakistan in 1947. He represented the delegation of Pakistan at the UN from 1947-54.
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Sir Zafarullah Khan during his representation at the UN called for the liberation of he of occupied Kashmir, Libya, Northern Ireland, Eritrea, Somalia, Sudan, Tunisia, Morocco, and Indonesia. He also championed the cause of Palestine. In 1953, the King of Jordan, His Majesty the late King Hussein bin Talal, awarded him the highest honor of the kingdom. In 1954, he became a judge at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, a position he held until 1961. From 1962 to 1964, he was also the President of the UN General Assembly. He is the only Pakistani to have served as the president of the International Court of Justice, which he did from 1970 to 1973.