08-25-2009, 09:22 PM
Jaswant Justifies Jinnah!
http://www.risingkashmir.com/?option=com_c...k=view&id=16147
Jinnah has the true stuff in him which made him the best ambassador of Hindu Muslim unity
Dr.Javid Iqbal
Jinnah was once asked, when and where did idea of Pakistan originate? He replied âwith the entry of first Muslim into Indiaâ! It was perhaps a bitter answer from one, who had in 1905 accompanied Gokhle to England to plead the cause of âSelf Ruleâ during British general elections.
Gokhle commented âhe has the true stuff in him and that freedom from all sectarian prejudice, which will make him the best ambassador of Hindu Muslim unityâ! Gandhi was then involved with his Satyagarah in South Africa. He landed in India in 1915. The two did not click; an Indian tragedy indeed! The greatness of either cannot be denied, as Jaswant makes out;<span style='color:red'> both held unity of India dear, believing wisely that in Indiaâs diversity has to be accepted and catered to, in order to work for its unity. Nehru and Patel differed on almost everything, yet they held that in a centralist India, diverse elements would eventually find their comfort level. </span>The assessment of Jaswant on Nehru and Patel is also aptly made up. The same approach marked Nehruâs approach to Kashmir, as the famed columnist A.G.Noorani has made out in his various columns on the subject. Kashmiris would eventually reconcile, seemed to be the Nehruvian plank; Noorani would have us believe!
Indian diversity carried a common thread. The common thread was evident to Jinnah, as it was to Gandhi. Jaswant Singh traces the convergence of their views on the desirability of unity in his book, as could be gauged by excerpts, appearing in print media and propagated in electronic media. However they did differ in their approach of making it possible. The common thread has historical roots and could be traced to immigration of Aryans from Central Asia, a millennium or two before another wave of Turko-Persians moved in. It started with Aibeks and continued until 16th century, when Indiaâs most glamorous dynasty of rulers, the Mughals moved in, precisely Babur in 1526. We are leaving out the mere incursions of Mohammad bin Qasim and Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni. Aibeks onwards everyone stayed, making India their home and hearth. <span style='color:red'>Earlier to Aryans, Dravidians of South India had immigrated into India and settled across Vindhyas. The original Indians âAboriginesâ living on banks of Jamna were relegated to lowest of the low, by the âCode of Manuâ. The âAboriginesâ were probably darker compared to fairer Aryans, so India might have started on a note of racial prejudice, religious prejudice came in later, leading to the divide, explored by Jaswant. </span>
Jinnah continued to work for Hindu Muslim unity, his differences with Gandhiâs approach, withstanding. In 1916 Sarojni Naidu, named him âambassador of Hindu/Muslim unity!â How did the âtrue stuffâ of Gokhle and Sarojniâs ambassador of unity turn into villain, as Sangh Parivar would have us believe?! It was prompted by the Sangh Parivar perspective to brand the later migrants foreigners because of a different religious hue. The earlier migrants took the name; original Indians! What suffered in the process was scientific interpretation of history. It did not occur to self styled original Indians that many of their own hue, the migrant Aryans had found their comfort level in the new religious garb adding to the numbers of Turko-Persian religious stream. Moreover pure Persian stock were Aryans too, who had stopped in Iran, while some of them moved ahead to Gangetic delta. Iqbal captures it deftly:
Aye Abrood Ganga, Who Dinn Hai Yaad Tujko
Utra Tera Kinaray Jab Caravan Hamara!
When a section of that caravan worked up the divide, by calling some amongst their own lot plus the later migrants, foreigners merely on the matter of religious belief, in exasperation the ones designated as foreigners accepted what was offered. That formed the crux of Jinnahâs answer, virtually meaning âforeigners you call us, foreigners, we stayâ!
Had Jaswant chosen to remain silent on Jinnah, blame Gandhi and Nehru for partition and left Sardar Patel out of purview, he would have been welcomed to âChintan Baithakâ [introspection session] in Simla. His erstwhile organization would have garlanded him for a historical discovery, they could play with, rather than show him out by a mere telephone call by the poster boy of RSS; Raj Nath Singh. Nehru, named âMaulana Nehruâ satirically by Patel, further calling him âthe only secular Muslim in Congressâ brought up in composite culture of Allahabad could never comprehend how far Jinnah had advanced. Gandhi could visualize it and had no hesitation in calling him Quaid-e-Azam. The greatness of Gandhi laid in managing to do business even with those, who differed from him. To his discomfort, wily Mountbatten and his charming wife, Edwina had worked up the divide by taking Nehru and Patel on board. Gandhi was talking in vacuum for the first time in life, by telling Mountbatten to offer the Prime Ministership of India to Jinnah and have him choose his own cabinet. It had no takers, nor did Viceroy convey it to Jinnah.
If jaundice had set in the Congress camp at a critical juncture, things were far from rosy in Muslim league. In Liaqat Ali Khan, Muslim league had their Patel, who had worked up untoward political compromises, which made Pakistan, where it stands today, on undesirable cross roads! The partition had quite a few socio-political shades and economic considerations, than what is often projected. That story would have to wait next Tuesdayâs column.
http://www.risingkashmir.com/?option=com_c...k=view&id=16147
Jinnah has the true stuff in him which made him the best ambassador of Hindu Muslim unity
Dr.Javid Iqbal
Jinnah was once asked, when and where did idea of Pakistan originate? He replied âwith the entry of first Muslim into Indiaâ! It was perhaps a bitter answer from one, who had in 1905 accompanied Gokhle to England to plead the cause of âSelf Ruleâ during British general elections.
Gokhle commented âhe has the true stuff in him and that freedom from all sectarian prejudice, which will make him the best ambassador of Hindu Muslim unityâ! Gandhi was then involved with his Satyagarah in South Africa. He landed in India in 1915. The two did not click; an Indian tragedy indeed! The greatness of either cannot be denied, as Jaswant makes out;<span style='color:red'> both held unity of India dear, believing wisely that in Indiaâs diversity has to be accepted and catered to, in order to work for its unity. Nehru and Patel differed on almost everything, yet they held that in a centralist India, diverse elements would eventually find their comfort level. </span>The assessment of Jaswant on Nehru and Patel is also aptly made up. The same approach marked Nehruâs approach to Kashmir, as the famed columnist A.G.Noorani has made out in his various columns on the subject. Kashmiris would eventually reconcile, seemed to be the Nehruvian plank; Noorani would have us believe!
Indian diversity carried a common thread. The common thread was evident to Jinnah, as it was to Gandhi. Jaswant Singh traces the convergence of their views on the desirability of unity in his book, as could be gauged by excerpts, appearing in print media and propagated in electronic media. However they did differ in their approach of making it possible. The common thread has historical roots and could be traced to immigration of Aryans from Central Asia, a millennium or two before another wave of Turko-Persians moved in. It started with Aibeks and continued until 16th century, when Indiaâs most glamorous dynasty of rulers, the Mughals moved in, precisely Babur in 1526. We are leaving out the mere incursions of Mohammad bin Qasim and Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni. Aibeks onwards everyone stayed, making India their home and hearth. <span style='color:red'>Earlier to Aryans, Dravidians of South India had immigrated into India and settled across Vindhyas. The original Indians âAboriginesâ living on banks of Jamna were relegated to lowest of the low, by the âCode of Manuâ. The âAboriginesâ were probably darker compared to fairer Aryans, so India might have started on a note of racial prejudice, religious prejudice came in later, leading to the divide, explored by Jaswant. </span>
Jinnah continued to work for Hindu Muslim unity, his differences with Gandhiâs approach, withstanding. In 1916 Sarojni Naidu, named him âambassador of Hindu/Muslim unity!â How did the âtrue stuffâ of Gokhle and Sarojniâs ambassador of unity turn into villain, as Sangh Parivar would have us believe?! It was prompted by the Sangh Parivar perspective to brand the later migrants foreigners because of a different religious hue. The earlier migrants took the name; original Indians! What suffered in the process was scientific interpretation of history. It did not occur to self styled original Indians that many of their own hue, the migrant Aryans had found their comfort level in the new religious garb adding to the numbers of Turko-Persian religious stream. Moreover pure Persian stock were Aryans too, who had stopped in Iran, while some of them moved ahead to Gangetic delta. Iqbal captures it deftly:
Aye Abrood Ganga, Who Dinn Hai Yaad Tujko
Utra Tera Kinaray Jab Caravan Hamara!
When a section of that caravan worked up the divide, by calling some amongst their own lot plus the later migrants, foreigners merely on the matter of religious belief, in exasperation the ones designated as foreigners accepted what was offered. That formed the crux of Jinnahâs answer, virtually meaning âforeigners you call us, foreigners, we stayâ!
Had Jaswant chosen to remain silent on Jinnah, blame Gandhi and Nehru for partition and left Sardar Patel out of purview, he would have been welcomed to âChintan Baithakâ [introspection session] in Simla. His erstwhile organization would have garlanded him for a historical discovery, they could play with, rather than show him out by a mere telephone call by the poster boy of RSS; Raj Nath Singh. Nehru, named âMaulana Nehruâ satirically by Patel, further calling him âthe only secular Muslim in Congressâ brought up in composite culture of Allahabad could never comprehend how far Jinnah had advanced. Gandhi could visualize it and had no hesitation in calling him Quaid-e-Azam. The greatness of Gandhi laid in managing to do business even with those, who differed from him. To his discomfort, wily Mountbatten and his charming wife, Edwina had worked up the divide by taking Nehru and Patel on board. Gandhi was talking in vacuum for the first time in life, by telling Mountbatten to offer the Prime Ministership of India to Jinnah and have him choose his own cabinet. It had no takers, nor did Viceroy convey it to Jinnah.
If jaundice had set in the Congress camp at a critical juncture, things were far from rosy in Muslim league. In Liaqat Ali Khan, Muslim league had their Patel, who had worked up untoward political compromises, which made Pakistan, where it stands today, on undesirable cross roads! The partition had quite a few socio-political shades and economic considerations, than what is often projected. That story would have to wait next Tuesdayâs column.