Labeling Political Dissent as ‘Kafir’ (Infidel): A Historical, Emotional, and Intellectual Investigation" by Zabir Saeed Badar

Research 

 Title

"Labeling Political Dissent as ‘Kafir’ (Infidel): A Historical, Emotional, and Intellectual Investigation"

           ZABIR SAEED BADAR

Abstract

This paper examines the growing tendency in South Asia to brand political opposition as "kafir" (infidel) or "ghaddār" (traitor), tracing its roots in pre-Partition Muslim League rhetoric and its enduring psycho-political impact. Drawing on early leaders’ cautions (including Mian Muhammad Shahdin and Sir Mian Shafiʿ’s daughter Begum Jahan Ara Shahnawaz) and postcolonial theoretical frameworks, this study argues that unchecked emotional politics still harm contemporary public discourse. The goal is to open a refined academic conversation about why political disagreements are conflated with religious betrayal and to encourage deeper research in this neglected area.

Research Questions

1. What historical precedents in pre-1947 Muslim League discourse show political differences framed as religious disbelief?

2. How did early leaders like Mian Muhammad Shahdin address the rise of emotional political rhetoric?

3. What does the removal of Begum Jahan Ara Shahnawaz—daughter of Sir Mian Shafiʿ, one of the League's name-givers—tell us about prioritizing party politics over broader humanitarian agency?

4. Why has this framing persisted into modern Pakistani political discourse?

5. What is the research gap regarding emotionalism and religious labeling in South Asian politics?

Material & Methodology

Primary Sources:

Excerpts from pre-Partition speeches (e.g., Mian Muhammad Shahdin’s address to Anjuman-e-Himayat-e-Islam).

Statements from Begum Jahan Ara Shahnawaz, based on Ashish Kool’s 46-page peer-reviewed paper (W.A.L. – correct institution: Yale University).

Quotations from leaders and historians: Muhammad Ali Jinnah (Wallpert), Maulana Azad (India Wins Freedom), Dr. Mubarak Ali (Tārīkh aur Sīyāsat), Dr. Ayesha Jalal (The Sole Spokesman), and K.K. Aziz (The Murder of History).

Secondary Sources:

Postcolonial studies on “divide and rule” and the psychosocial legacy of British colonialism.

Methods:

Textual-critical analysis of speeches, memoirs, and party records.

Discursive analysis to see how “kafir/traitor” rhetoric emerges and is sustained.

Postcolonial theoretical lens.

Need for Research

To date, there has been no systematic academic study in Pakistani academia or South Asian studies on why political differences become religious accusations. While postcolonial theory highlights cultural divisions and emotional politics, no empirical examination has addressed this specific intersection: the labeling of political dissenters as religiously apostate. This research is a starting point to diagnose and resist this destructive trend in public discourse.

Key Findings (Preliminary)

Mian Muhammad Shahdin—later the first Muslim Chief Justice of  Colonial Punjab—warned:

 “It is wrong to claim that passion-filled hosannas or slogans in the Anjuman-e-Himayat-e-Islam conventions benefit anyone; we need conscious, wise, reflective activists—not an emotional mob.”

Begum Jahan Ara Shahnawaz, daughter of Sir Mian Shafiʿ (who proposed the name “All India Muslim League”), was expelled from the party after attending a Viceroy’s committee as a representative of women—not as a Muslim League delegate:

 “My affiliation with the League has always been lifelong—Muslim League is my father’s child. Yet I act for humanity—not party politics. This was a higher moral calling recognized by the Viceroy—but it was not accepted within party lines.”

According to Ashish Kool (Yale University, 46-page study):

 “…This was the turning point where League politics subordinated humanity to party loyalty. It shaped a sectarian, hierarchical, and academic shift in Pakistan’s post-Partition political psyche.”

Early League leaders like Jinnah attempted to curb this trend. Wallpert notes:

 “Jinnah was tolerant of dissent and used reasoned argument, yet he couldn’t fully restrain the emotional fervor among grassroots workers.”

Historians like Azad, Ali, Jalal, Mubarak, and Aziz document how Muslim League rhetoric toward dissidents institutionalized the practice of labeling political foes as religious apostates.

The study does not focus on the Indian National Congress or rising extremism in India, as their political ideology was not built on religious premises. Despite rising polarization in both countries, this paper exclusively concentrates on emotionalism and religio-political fusion within Pakistani political discourse.

Bibliography 

Azad, M.A. (1959) India Wins Freedom, Oxford University Press.

Jalal, A. (1985) The Sole Spokesman: Jinnah, the Muslim League and the Demand for Pakistan, Cambridge University Press.

Jalal, A. (1994) “Pakistan and Partition: The Long View.” American Historical Review, 99(4): pp. 1377–1393.

Mubarak Ali, Dr. (2001) Tārīkh aur Sīyāsat, Karachi: Sang-e-Meel.

Shahnawaz, F. (1966) Memoirs of Jahan Ara Shahnawaz, Lahore: Ilm-o-Irfan.

Shahdin, M.M. (1940) Speech at Anjuman-e-Himayat-e-Islam, Lahore.

Wallpert, S. (1972) Jinnah of Pakistan, London: Oxford University Press.

Wallpert, S. (1972) Jinnah and the Making of Pakistan, London: Macmillan.

Aziz, K.K. (1993) The Murder of History, New Delhi: Vikas Publishing House.

Footnotes

¹ Stanley Wolpert, Jinnah of Pakistan (Oxford University Press, 1984).

² Author’s  unpublished PhD thesis, Department of History and Pakistan Studies, University of the Punjab, Lahore.

³ Ashish Kaul, "Begum Jahan Ara Shahnawaz and the All India Muslim League,” published research paper, Yale University, USA.