Beware of Vote Beggars Public Speech at Peshawar, April 27, 1970

A constitution will be framed, but it will be no magic wand. We have tried constitutions. The mere ushering in of a constitution will not bring prosperity and end the troubles of the common man. Other countries have their constitutions. We have tried constitutions in the last 23 years. If a Pakistani child is dying of hunger in a poor man’s family and his father does not have the money to feed him, the constitution cannot serve as food for that child. It cannot serve as a school for the education of the children. It cannot be a substitute for employment or for a house. A constitution is the fundamental law. We certainly need it. Those who say that Bhutto does not want a constitution are wrong. I certainly shall strive for a constitution, but a constitution alone will not solve the economic problems of the people.

We also want democracy. We have struggled for it more than anyone else. We launched the campaign against Ayub Khan who was a dictator. It was because we believed in democracy. We faced the dictator and offered many sacrifices. We were with the people and we emerged victorious. We shall fight for democracy again, but please remember that so long as there is no basic economic change in Pakistan, there can be no progress and your troubles will go on increasing. Please remember that there is no difference of opinion on the question of constitution or democracy or religion. The only difference is that some people stand for the capitalist system which is a system of exploitation. The capitalists who are sucking the blood of the people and increasing the number of their mills want to perpetuate this system. They want to continue to exploit us. They do not want a change in your conditions. On the other hand, there are those who want equality and an end to exploitation. They want that poverty should go along with capitalism. This is how the forces are arrayed: the capitalists and their stooges on the one side and the patriots and the poor people of Pakistan on the other.

We are all Muslims and this is a Muslim country. It would not have come into being were we not Muslims. It is my strong faith that Islam can never be in danger in Pakistan. It is an eternal religion and will be there even after the Day of Resurrection. May I ask you a simple question? If there had been a danger, a threat, would you not have felt it. If someone tries to kill you, you sense the danger. Do you feel any danger to Islam? It is not Islam which is in danger. It is the capitalists and their stooges who feel threatened. Such danger calls have been given very many times. These people dubbed the Quaid-i-Azam as a ‘kafir.’ They did the same to Allama Iqbal and Sir Syed Ahmad. In fact no one with progressive ideas has escaped their ‘fatwas’. Why do not they issue these edicts against exploitation and against the capitalists?

Gentlemen, you need not worry about this because this bogey has fizzled out. Islam is not in danger. It cannot be in danger anywhere in the world. When Hindus and the British were opposing Pakistan and Quaid-i-Azam, our opponents were in the enemy ranks. They did not side with the Quaid-i-Azam. They are still against Pakistan. They cannot openly oppose it now. Therefore, they are trying to weaken it. Why do they not serve the Muslims if they want to serve Islam? True service to Islam means Muslims should be served and justice provided to them, and their misery brought to an end? No more prophets will be sent by God because our Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) was the last of them, and with him the revelation of religion was complete. Islam is a complete religion and cannot be in danger. The people who have exploited you and oppressed you cannot come to you and enumerate any services. They can only raise the slogan of “Islam in danger”.

If Islam is a complete code of life, why does one of these gentlemen keep talking about the 1956 Constitution? Why do we need a constitution then, especially the 1956 Constitution? Where is the parliamentary system provided for in Islam? It is not mentioned in any verse of the Holy Quran or in the Hadith. This is a system formulated by the British. Have they ‘Islamised’ it by translating it into Urdu? If they accept a system formulated by the British, why do they oppose ‘Musawat’? They say that they do not want any ‘ism’ because there is no scope for any ‘ism’ in Islam. Why do they accept capitalism, feudalism and imperialism? Why are they opposed to socialism alone, which is nothing but an English word for “Musawat.”

I am not the first one to demand Islamic Socialism. Quaid-i-Azam Mohamed Ali Jinnah was the first to promise that Islamic Socialism would prevail in Pakistan. I can assure you as a Musalman that we want to introduce Islamic Socialism in Pakistan. We do not want the Chinese or the Russian system in our country; we want Islamic Socialism in keeping with the spirit of our religion. Equality is one of the basic principles of Islam. When the fertile lands of Egypt, Iraq and Syria were captured by the Muslims, they were not turned into feudal estates. They were nationalized and given to the tillers. The treasure captured in the war was equally divided between the commander and the soldiers. Justice does not mean that a few should enjoy all the luxuries and comforts while the poor die of hunger.

Our party stands for establishing a system of equality. We have come out with this objective. Our opponents are afraid of us. They are worried about the revolution to come, but no one can stop the revolution.