Democratic Welfare State as Visualised by the Quaid-i-Azam

The Quaid-i-Azam, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, is known more for his political achievements than for his socio-economic thought. Last two decades, however, have seen a continuous flow of books containing his speeches, statements, messages, interviews, discussions in pre-independence legislative bodies and addresses in the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan. Even a cursory look at this vast literature shows that he was not only concerned with the political aspect of sub-continent’s independence movement but also consistently expressed his views regarding the socio-economic uplift of masses in general and Muslim society in particular. These views in their bare essentials reflect a remarkable continuity of approach from the earlier days of his political career to the period he occupied the position of Governor General of Pakistan. Actually, he became more and more expressive and forthright as the prospects of Pakistan coming into existence became bright. When Pakistan finally appeared as a sovereign nation on the map of the world, he openly rejected the prevailing economic system as having failed to do justice between man and man and to eradicate friction from the international field.