09-10-2004, 03:19 AM
Partition: A retrospective
Ruby Nishat
In the letter, "Misplaced assertions" (August 11), Mr KR Phanda has endeavoured to coin his theory that the Muslims demanded Pakistan and that those who feel deprived among them can undertake hijrat to that country. In the same issue, Mr DK Mittal, in his letter, "Possibly harmful intent", wrote that the status of Muslim women is woeful and the madarsas are a threat to the country. Such judgemental views display the writers' ignorance and their deep-seated phobia against Indian Muslims.
Starting with Partition, it may surprise many that a majority of Muslims were in the favour of undivided India. In Punjab and NWFP, where the first elections were held under the Government of India Act, 1935, the Muslim League lost badly to the Congress, though in both the states Muslims were in majority. It was only in Uttar Pradesh, the League won some 26 out of the 64 provincial Assembly seats reserved for Muslims.
We must remember that there was no adult franchise then and less than 10 per cent of propertied class people had the right to vote. Therefore, only 3.3 per cent of the Muslims had voted for the Muslim League, who later migrated to what is today Pakistan and Bangladesh. Muslims who remained in India had never voted for Pakistan. The Congress had many Muslim leaders like Maulana Azad, Rafi Ahmed Kidwai, Moinul Haq, etc., who strongly opposed the creation of Pakistan.
<b>Indeed, much before the Muslim League, it was Lala Lajpat Rai who had pleaded for the division of Punjab and Bengal on communal lines in a series of 13 articles in The Tribune (November 26 to December 17,1924). Later even the Hindu Mahasabha advocated the theory. </b>The copy of Hindu Mahasabha's memorandum to Stafford Cripps can be found in Government records. Therefore, it is not fair to hold Muslims solely responsible for Partition.
Coming to the issue of family planning, Muslim couples in the child bearing age practicing family planning in 1970 was nine per cent (Hindus 14 per cent) and in 1980 it was 22.5 per cent (Hindus 36.1 per cent) (Operation Research Group, Baroda 1981). Thus, the number of additional Muslims taking to family planning is keeping pace with the number of Hindus doing the same. As regards the status of Muslim women, they are much better than Hindu women because of lesser percentage of child marriages, lesser instances of divorce, absence of practices like sati, devdasi, maitrikaran, and beejdaan, etc.
<b>Cases of bride burning, female foeticide, female infanticide etc., are hardly heard among Muslims. Further, the ratio of Muslim female for every 1000 Muslim male is 935 against 930 among Hindus (Census Report 1991). According to the Report of Department of Welfare, Ministry of Education & Social Welfare (1975) during the decades 1941-51 and 1951-61 the percentage of polygamy among Hindus was 7.15 and 5.06 per cent whereas for Muslims it was found to be 7.06 and 4.31 per cent. Further, as per Census Report 1961, the polygamy percentage among Muslim was 5.7 per cent while among Hindus it was 5.8 per cent. </b>
As for madarsas, these played a vital role in the freedom struggle. <b>Deobandi ulemas stood equal with other leading freedom fighters. Many ulemas were close to Gandhi and Nehru. There were others who travelled widely in Europe soliciting support for the cause of India's freedom.</b> If madarsas are breeding ground for terrorism, then why the erstwhile NDA Government did not prosecute even a single madarsa for doing so?
Ruby Nishat
In the letter, "Misplaced assertions" (August 11), Mr KR Phanda has endeavoured to coin his theory that the Muslims demanded Pakistan and that those who feel deprived among them can undertake hijrat to that country. In the same issue, Mr DK Mittal, in his letter, "Possibly harmful intent", wrote that the status of Muslim women is woeful and the madarsas are a threat to the country. Such judgemental views display the writers' ignorance and their deep-seated phobia against Indian Muslims.
Starting with Partition, it may surprise many that a majority of Muslims were in the favour of undivided India. In Punjab and NWFP, where the first elections were held under the Government of India Act, 1935, the Muslim League lost badly to the Congress, though in both the states Muslims were in majority. It was only in Uttar Pradesh, the League won some 26 out of the 64 provincial Assembly seats reserved for Muslims.
We must remember that there was no adult franchise then and less than 10 per cent of propertied class people had the right to vote. Therefore, only 3.3 per cent of the Muslims had voted for the Muslim League, who later migrated to what is today Pakistan and Bangladesh. Muslims who remained in India had never voted for Pakistan. The Congress had many Muslim leaders like Maulana Azad, Rafi Ahmed Kidwai, Moinul Haq, etc., who strongly opposed the creation of Pakistan.
<b>Indeed, much before the Muslim League, it was Lala Lajpat Rai who had pleaded for the division of Punjab and Bengal on communal lines in a series of 13 articles in The Tribune (November 26 to December 17,1924). Later even the Hindu Mahasabha advocated the theory. </b>The copy of Hindu Mahasabha's memorandum to Stafford Cripps can be found in Government records. Therefore, it is not fair to hold Muslims solely responsible for Partition.
Coming to the issue of family planning, Muslim couples in the child bearing age practicing family planning in 1970 was nine per cent (Hindus 14 per cent) and in 1980 it was 22.5 per cent (Hindus 36.1 per cent) (Operation Research Group, Baroda 1981). Thus, the number of additional Muslims taking to family planning is keeping pace with the number of Hindus doing the same. As regards the status of Muslim women, they are much better than Hindu women because of lesser percentage of child marriages, lesser instances of divorce, absence of practices like sati, devdasi, maitrikaran, and beejdaan, etc.
<b>Cases of bride burning, female foeticide, female infanticide etc., are hardly heard among Muslims. Further, the ratio of Muslim female for every 1000 Muslim male is 935 against 930 among Hindus (Census Report 1991). According to the Report of Department of Welfare, Ministry of Education & Social Welfare (1975) during the decades 1941-51 and 1951-61 the percentage of polygamy among Hindus was 7.15 and 5.06 per cent whereas for Muslims it was found to be 7.06 and 4.31 per cent. Further, as per Census Report 1961, the polygamy percentage among Muslim was 5.7 per cent while among Hindus it was 5.8 per cent. </b>
As for madarsas, these played a vital role in the freedom struggle. <b>Deobandi ulemas stood equal with other leading freedom fighters. Many ulemas were close to Gandhi and Nehru. There were others who travelled widely in Europe soliciting support for the cause of India's freedom.</b> If madarsas are breeding ground for terrorism, then why the erstwhile NDA Government did not prosecute even a single madarsa for doing so?