Good fences make good neighbors ?
The Jinnah djinn is out to hound the BJP again. This time it is Jaswant Singh who’s courting ire from the Sangh Parivar for his book on Jinnah. Jaswant Singh’s work warrants appreciation but there’s been nothing but scorn from political circles. No politician worth his/her salt has stuck his head out favourably for Jaswant yet. Jaswant himself is an odd ball in the BJP, a liberal, secular, honest and scholarly personality, undoubtedly courageous. In his book, Jaswant is allegedly all praises for M.A Jinnah and instead holds Nehru and Patel largely responsible for India’s partition. Though his opinions are debatable and contentious, his work demands applause and appreciation. Jaswant has disturbed the hornet’s nest. Jinnah has been the most maligned and hated figure in India for six decades. But after Advani’s remarks a few years back and now Jaswant’s book, there’s some respite for Jinnah. Jinnah’s case is a peculiar one – how a pork eating, scotch/sherry drinking, chain smoking man who didn’t even know how to pay namaaz founded the first Islamic nation of the world. Whatever Jinnah may have been, he is certainly an iconic figure who changed the course of history. Also, it is an accepted fact that M.A Jinnah was a staunch secularist and a great advocate of Hindu-Muslim unity for a major part of his political life. His tectonic ideological shift must be carefully analyzed, as Jaswant has attempted. Jinnah along with Mohammad Iqbal were the two architects of Pakistan, and both were renowned for their patriotic and secular credentials. So, what prompted this ideological change ? Jaswant Singh claims that it was Nehru who stoked Jinnah’s anxieties when the Congress refused to share power with the Muslim League in United Provinces after elections of 1930. Jinnah was also at odds with Gandhian politics. He opposed many of Gandhi’s decisions and unlike other leaders refused to toe Gandhi’s line. In a way, Jinnah came to regard the Congress as a Hindu dominated party and if an anglicized person like Jinnah felt that way, one can gauge an ordinary Muslim’s viewpoint. Another haunting question is why such a large section of Muslims chose to follow Jinnah instead of the more illustrious Maulana Abul Kalam Azad ? The answer is simple. Azad was against partition on religious lines. He blamed both Hindus and Muslims for their strife and strained relations. He proposed introspection and correction. Jinnah’s was the easier way out.
Laying the blame squarely at Nehru’s doorstep is entirely false. Nehru had his own ideas for the nation. He was probably too much of an idealist who believed that religion wouldn’t matter in national politics. He wasn’t in favor of sharing power in the name of religion because he saw all as equal. You really can’t blame the man for what he believed in. Nehru was probably weary of the divisions such reservations would create in the society. Nehru saw the world the way he wanted it to be. He wanted to bring change in the world around him. He was a visionary. Jinnah and Nehru were two great men who had their own ideas. In the end, both fulfilled their own desires and executed their designs on India and Pakistan respectively.
So, what did the subcontinent gained from Partition ? Nothing really. Partition was supposed to solve the Hindu-Muslim animosity but it failed to do so. Indians and Pakistanis are still deeply resentful. And the Indian Muslims have to bear the brunt of this hatred regularly. This must act as a lesson to secessionists of India who believe that secession would solve their problems and they’ll still be able to live peacefully as neighbours. India and Pakistan haven’t been able to overcome the partition even after six decades and this hatred has held both the nations hostage.
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“Good fences make good neighbors ?”