Colonial History of India

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Letters in pioneer..

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Who brought Partition
Mr Irshad Alam’s missive, “Symbol of integrity” (October 9), was a rejoinder to my letter, “Factually in the dark” (October 1). The letter is both surprising and intriguing. I only said that the Hindu Mahasabha and the RSS had no role to play in the entire drama of Partition enacted by the trio of Jinnah, Mahatma Gandhi and the British. If Mr Alam considers it a praise of the RSS and Savarkar then he is obviously hallucinating. In fact, all three considered these organisations non-entities. My letter was devoted to demolish, point by point, the false assertions made by Mr Jamal Ansari in his article, “Bargain for Partition” (September 7). Mr Ansari had claimed that Jinnah’s demand for Pakistan came as a reaction to the rising tide of Hindu revivalism. Mr Alam, however, has made no comments on the facts I supplied in my letter. I am grateful to him because his letter will prompt readers to go back to mine. I recommend all baiters of the RSS to read the anti-Hindu remarks of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan. The following is the reply made by Sir Syed in regard to Hindu-Muslim relations in a conversation with then British commissioner of Benaras as he recounted it to his biographer Hali, “I replied I was convinced that the two communities (Hindus and Muslims) were incapable of putting their heart and soul into anything requiring mutual effort and even though the opposition was not yet as serious as it might be, I thought that would increase. I assured him that anyone who lived long enough would see the truth of my prediction...” (Hali’s Hayat-e-Javed, translated by KH Qadiri and David Matthews,1979, page 199, Idarah-e-adabiyat-e-Delhi, Qasimjan Street, Delhi). Muslim separatism was carried further in the 20th century by the AMU and the Muslim League. The British pitted these organisations against the Hindu Congress. Lord Minto instigated the Muslim elite to form the Muslim League in 1906. Within three years of its formation, Muslims were granted separate electorate status. The foundation stone for Pakistan was laid. Savarkar and the Hindu Mahasabha emerged much later. They did protest, but their agitation was ineffectual before the Congress, League and British. The three were makers of India’s destiny who brought about Partition.
Roopa Kaushal
Hauz Khas, New Delhi<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Who is Roopa Kaushal. If possible can we get the articles she mentions in her letter ?