ABSTRACT
Pakistan emerged as a Muslim-majority state on the Indian subcontinent on 14 August 1947 as a result of the north-western and north-eastern zones — where the Muslims were in a majority in contiguous areas — being separated from the rest of India. The basic argument put forth by the Muslim League, a party of the Western-educated modern Muslim elite that spearheaded the struggle for Pakistan, was that Indian Muslims, by virtue of their religion, constituted a nation separate and distinct from Hindus and other religious communities of India. Therefore, they were entitled to a separate, independent and sovereign state, where they could practise their way of life freely.
