04-10-2004, 10:37 AM
PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION
The problem of Pakistan has given a headache to everyone, more so to me than to anybody else. I
cannot help recalling with regret how much of my time it has consumed when so much of my other
literary work of greater importance to me than this is held up for want of it. I therefore hope that this
second edition will also be the last I trust that before it is exhausted either the question will be settled
or withdrawn.
There are four respects in which this second edition differs from the first.
*[f1] The first edition contained many misprints which formed the subject of complaints from many
readers as well as reviewers. In preparing this edition, I have taken as much care as is possible to
leave no room for complaint on this score. ,The first edition consisted only of three parts. Part V is an
addition. It contains my own views on the various issues involved in the problem of Pakistan. It has
been added because of the criticism levelled against the first edition that while I wrote about
Pakistan I did not state what views I held on the subject. The present edition differs from the first in
another respect. The maps contained in the first edition are retained but the number of appendices
have been enlarged. In the first edition there were only eleven appendices. The present edition has
twenty-five. To this edition I have also added an index which did not find a place in the first edition.
The book appears to have supplied a real want. I have seen how the thoughts, ideas and arguments
contained in it have been pillaged by authors, politicians and editors of newspapers to support their
sides. I am sorry they did not observe the decency of acknowledging the source even when they
lifted not merely the argument but also the language of the book. But that is a matter I do not mind. I
am glad that the book has been of service to
Indians who are faced with this knotty problem of Pakistan. The fact that Mr. Gandhi and Mr. Jinnah
in their recent talks cited the book as an authority on the subject which might be consulted with
advantage bespeaks the worth of the book.
The book by its name might appear to deal only with the X. Y. Z. of Pakistan. It does more than that.
It is an analytical presentation of Indian history and Indian politics in their communal aspects. As
such, it is intended to explain the A. B.C. of Pakistan also. The book is more than a mere treatise on
Pakistan. The material relating to Indian history and Indian politics contained in this book is so large
and so varied that it might well be called Indian Political What is What.
The book has displeased both Hindus as well as Muslims though the reasons for the dislike of the
Hindus are different from the reasons for the dislike of the Muslims. I am not sorry' for this reception
given to my book. That it is disowned by the Hindus and unowned by the Muslims is to me the best
evidence that it has the vices of neither and that from the point of view of independence of thought
and fearless presentation affects the book is not a party production.
Some people are sore because what I have said has hurt them. I have not, I confess , allowed
myself to be influenced by fears of wounding either individuals or classes, or shocking opinions
however respectable they may be. I have often felt regret in pursuing this course, but remorse never.
Those whom I may have offended must forgive me, in consideration of the honesty and
disinterestedness of my aim. I do not claim to have written dispassionately though I trust I have
written without prejudice. It would be hardly possibleâ1 was going to say decentâfor an Indian to
be calm when he talks of his country and thinks of the times. In dealing with the question of Pakistan
my object has been to draw a perfectly accurate, and at the same time, a suggestive picture of the
situation as I see it. Whatever points of strength and weakness I have discovered on either side I
have brought them boldly forward. I have taken pains to throw light on the mischievous effects that
are likely to proceed from an obstinate and impracticable course of action.
The witness of history regarding the conflict between the forces of the authority of the State and of
anti-State nationalism within, has been uncertain, if not equivocal. As Prof. Friedmann*
[f2] observes:â
" There is not a single modem State which has not, at one time or another, forced a recalcitrant
national group to live under its authority. Scots, Bretons, Catalans, Germans, Poles, Czechs, Finns,
all have, at some time or another, been compelled to accept the authority of a more powerful State
whether they liked it or not. Often, as in Great Britain or France, force eventually led to co-operation
and a co-ordination of State authority and national cohesion. But in many cases, such as those of
Germany, Poland, Italy and a host of Central European and Balkan countries, the forces of
Nationalism did not rest until they had thrown off the shackles of State Power and formed a State of
their own . . . . . "
In the last edition, I depicted the experience of countries in which the State engaged itself in
senseless suppression of nationalism and weathered away in the attempt. In this edition I have
added by way of contrast the experience of other countries to show that given the will to live together
it is not impossible for diverse communities and even for diverse nations to live in the bosom of one
State. It might be said that in tendering advice to both sides I have used terms more passionate than
they need have been. If I have done so it is because I felt that the manner of the physician who tries
to surprise the vital principle in each paralyzed organ in order to goad it to action was best suited to
stir up the average Indian who is complacent if not somnolent, who is unsuspecting if not
ill-informed, to realize what is happening. I hope my effort will have the desired effect.
I cannot close this preface without thanking Prof. Manohar B. Chitnis of the Khalsa College,
Bombay, and Mr. K. V. Chitre for their untiring labours to remove all printer' sand clerical errors that
had crept into the first edition and to see that this edition is free from all such blemishes. I am also
very grateful to Prof. Chitnis for the preparation of the Index which has undoubtedly enhanced the
utility of the book.
1st January 1945,
22, Prithviraj Road,
B.R.AMBEDKAR
New Delhi.
The problem of Pakistan has given a headache to everyone, more so to me than to anybody else. I
cannot help recalling with regret how much of my time it has consumed when so much of my other
literary work of greater importance to me than this is held up for want of it. I therefore hope that this
second edition will also be the last I trust that before it is exhausted either the question will be settled
or withdrawn.
There are four respects in which this second edition differs from the first.
*[f1] The first edition contained many misprints which formed the subject of complaints from many
readers as well as reviewers. In preparing this edition, I have taken as much care as is possible to
leave no room for complaint on this score. ,The first edition consisted only of three parts. Part V is an
addition. It contains my own views on the various issues involved in the problem of Pakistan. It has
been added because of the criticism levelled against the first edition that while I wrote about
Pakistan I did not state what views I held on the subject. The present edition differs from the first in
another respect. The maps contained in the first edition are retained but the number of appendices
have been enlarged. In the first edition there were only eleven appendices. The present edition has
twenty-five. To this edition I have also added an index which did not find a place in the first edition.
The book appears to have supplied a real want. I have seen how the thoughts, ideas and arguments
contained in it have been pillaged by authors, politicians and editors of newspapers to support their
sides. I am sorry they did not observe the decency of acknowledging the source even when they
lifted not merely the argument but also the language of the book. But that is a matter I do not mind. I
am glad that the book has been of service to
Indians who are faced with this knotty problem of Pakistan. The fact that Mr. Gandhi and Mr. Jinnah
in their recent talks cited the book as an authority on the subject which might be consulted with
advantage bespeaks the worth of the book.
The book by its name might appear to deal only with the X. Y. Z. of Pakistan. It does more than that.
It is an analytical presentation of Indian history and Indian politics in their communal aspects. As
such, it is intended to explain the A. B.C. of Pakistan also. The book is more than a mere treatise on
Pakistan. The material relating to Indian history and Indian politics contained in this book is so large
and so varied that it might well be called Indian Political What is What.
The book has displeased both Hindus as well as Muslims though the reasons for the dislike of the
Hindus are different from the reasons for the dislike of the Muslims. I am not sorry' for this reception
given to my book. That it is disowned by the Hindus and unowned by the Muslims is to me the best
evidence that it has the vices of neither and that from the point of view of independence of thought
and fearless presentation affects the book is not a party production.
Some people are sore because what I have said has hurt them. I have not, I confess , allowed
myself to be influenced by fears of wounding either individuals or classes, or shocking opinions
however respectable they may be. I have often felt regret in pursuing this course, but remorse never.
Those whom I may have offended must forgive me, in consideration of the honesty and
disinterestedness of my aim. I do not claim to have written dispassionately though I trust I have
written without prejudice. It would be hardly possibleâ1 was going to say decentâfor an Indian to
be calm when he talks of his country and thinks of the times. In dealing with the question of Pakistan
my object has been to draw a perfectly accurate, and at the same time, a suggestive picture of the
situation as I see it. Whatever points of strength and weakness I have discovered on either side I
have brought them boldly forward. I have taken pains to throw light on the mischievous effects that
are likely to proceed from an obstinate and impracticable course of action.
The witness of history regarding the conflict between the forces of the authority of the State and of
anti-State nationalism within, has been uncertain, if not equivocal. As Prof. Friedmann*
[f2] observes:â
" There is not a single modem State which has not, at one time or another, forced a recalcitrant
national group to live under its authority. Scots, Bretons, Catalans, Germans, Poles, Czechs, Finns,
all have, at some time or another, been compelled to accept the authority of a more powerful State
whether they liked it or not. Often, as in Great Britain or France, force eventually led to co-operation
and a co-ordination of State authority and national cohesion. But in many cases, such as those of
Germany, Poland, Italy and a host of Central European and Balkan countries, the forces of
Nationalism did not rest until they had thrown off the shackles of State Power and formed a State of
their own . . . . . "
In the last edition, I depicted the experience of countries in which the State engaged itself in
senseless suppression of nationalism and weathered away in the attempt. In this edition I have
added by way of contrast the experience of other countries to show that given the will to live together
it is not impossible for diverse communities and even for diverse nations to live in the bosom of one
State. It might be said that in tendering advice to both sides I have used terms more passionate than
they need have been. If I have done so it is because I felt that the manner of the physician who tries
to surprise the vital principle in each paralyzed organ in order to goad it to action was best suited to
stir up the average Indian who is complacent if not somnolent, who is unsuspecting if not
ill-informed, to realize what is happening. I hope my effort will have the desired effect.
I cannot close this preface without thanking Prof. Manohar B. Chitnis of the Khalsa College,
Bombay, and Mr. K. V. Chitre for their untiring labours to remove all printer' sand clerical errors that
had crept into the first edition and to see that this edition is free from all such blemishes. I am also
very grateful to Prof. Chitnis for the preparation of the Index which has undoubtedly enhanced the
utility of the book.
1st January 1945,
22, Prithviraj Road,
B.R.AMBEDKAR
New Delhi.