PAKISTAN: Islamic State

When India and Pakistan became independent states in 1947, each inherited a bristling minority problem. Twelve million apprehensive Hindus stayed in Pakistan; 43 million Moslems stayed in India. The Indian Parliament guaranteed its minorities equality, and Prime Minister Nehru conspicuously appointed Moslems and Christians to his Cabinet. But Pakistan, in framing its own constitution last week, chose the dark path which might lead to theocracy and fear. The Constituent Assembly ruled that the nation should become "the Islamic Republic of Pakistan" (presumably within the British Commonwealth, like India), in which:

¶ No law "repugnant to the Holy Koran" may be enacted by state or local assemblies.

¶ Only Moslems may serve as Chief of State.

¶ The state will make "the teachings of Islam known to people."

The Hindu members of the Assembly protested, then walked out. "We Hindus form about 14% of the population," said their leader, and the Assembly's bill "implies an inferior status for non-Moslems." In India there were demands that Moslems be subjected to similar treatment. But the prospects of Hindu agitation within their shaky state, and worsened relations with India, worried Pakistan's Moslem-Firsters not one bit. Pakistan means, literally: "The Land of the Pure."