08-28-2009, 10:52 AM
Advani, Jaswant should explain Jinnah glorification: Congress
PTI
New Delhi, August 27, 2009
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has said attempts were being made to vilify Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru in the wake of expelled BJP leader Jaswant Singh's book on Mohammad Ali Jinnah and said it was a malicious campaign to distort history for narrow partisan interests.
He also attacked attempts to make out that Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, the leader of the Hindu Mahasabha, the progenitor of the latter day Jana Sangh and BJP, and Jinnah had no role in partition.
Mukherjee made sarcastic references to senior BJP leader L.K. Advani's controversial visit to Pakistan in 2005 and Jaswant Singh's book on Jinnah and said they should explain the psychology behind glorifying Jinnah.
"BJP leaders should explain. When Advani will go to Pakistan, he will discover that Jinnah is secular. Jaswant Singh suddenly discovered that he was not responsible (for partition). He wanted a united India. These are not historically correct," he said in the first high-level reaction from Congress to Singh's book.
"This is mudslinging and vilification. An attempt is being made to vilify Jawaharlal Nehru by accusing him of being responsible for the partition of India. This is a malicious campaign completely ignoring the facts pertaining to the partition and an attempt to distort history for narrow partisan interest," Mukherjee said.
Mukherjee said his point was that Nehru's evaluation would be done by history.
"He has left behind a strong, vibrant, functional parliamentary democracy and a well laid-out Constitution which is regarded as the Magna Carta of the socio-economic transformation," he said.
The minister said all the effective institutions to support democracy like an independent election commission, free media, independent judiciary and all the institutional arrangements were made by Nehru.
"So he has left a legacy of democracy, liberalism. In international politics he has given the Non-Alignment Movement," he said.
Asked why Jinnah was being glorified periodically by BJP leaders, he said, "I am not going to analyse it but they should not do it. Every individual is free to express his opinion even in writing by writings books. But you cannot denigrate somebody which is not historically correct and factually acceptable."
To a query whether history was being made to suit domestic political ends, he said, after all these types of observations, Advani ultimately had to back out or at least he left them aside. He did not go further but he had to face criticism in his party, he said.
Mukherjee said it was a well-known fact that Jinnah's two-nation theory, vigorously propagated by Muslim League with the support of the then ruling colonial power, ultimately resulted in partition of India and creation of two countries - India and Pakistan.
"From the late 30s, Jinnah and Muslim League persistently pressurised the British government to concede to their demands to establish Pakistan," he said.
The minister said after the general elections to provincial assemblies in 1946 when Muslim League got absolute majority in undivided Bengal and Sindh Legislative Assemblies and fell short of majority in Punjab, the Muslim League stepped up their demand for Pakistan and declared that August 16 be observed as 'Direct Action Day' all over India for establishment of Pakistan.
On August 16, fierce communal riots broke out in Kolkata and continued for several days. This triggered off the worst communal riots in Bihar, Noakhali (Bengal), Punjab and many other parts of the country.
In that context, the Cabinet Mission appointed by the then British government along with Lord Mountbatten, Governor General of India, presented the plan of partition of India into two countries.
This was ultimately accepted by the political leadership including Congress, Muslim League, Hindu Mahasabha and others, he said.
PTI
New Delhi, August 27, 2009
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has said attempts were being made to vilify Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru in the wake of expelled BJP leader Jaswant Singh's book on Mohammad Ali Jinnah and said it was a malicious campaign to distort history for narrow partisan interests.
He also attacked attempts to make out that Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, the leader of the Hindu Mahasabha, the progenitor of the latter day Jana Sangh and BJP, and Jinnah had no role in partition.
Mukherjee made sarcastic references to senior BJP leader L.K. Advani's controversial visit to Pakistan in 2005 and Jaswant Singh's book on Jinnah and said they should explain the psychology behind glorifying Jinnah.
"BJP leaders should explain. When Advani will go to Pakistan, he will discover that Jinnah is secular. Jaswant Singh suddenly discovered that he was not responsible (for partition). He wanted a united India. These are not historically correct," he said in the first high-level reaction from Congress to Singh's book.
"This is mudslinging and vilification. An attempt is being made to vilify Jawaharlal Nehru by accusing him of being responsible for the partition of India. This is a malicious campaign completely ignoring the facts pertaining to the partition and an attempt to distort history for narrow partisan interest," Mukherjee said.
Mukherjee said his point was that Nehru's evaluation would be done by history.
"He has left behind a strong, vibrant, functional parliamentary democracy and a well laid-out Constitution which is regarded as the Magna Carta of the socio-economic transformation," he said.
The minister said all the effective institutions to support democracy like an independent election commission, free media, independent judiciary and all the institutional arrangements were made by Nehru.
"So he has left a legacy of democracy, liberalism. In international politics he has given the Non-Alignment Movement," he said.
Asked why Jinnah was being glorified periodically by BJP leaders, he said, "I am not going to analyse it but they should not do it. Every individual is free to express his opinion even in writing by writings books. But you cannot denigrate somebody which is not historically correct and factually acceptable."
To a query whether history was being made to suit domestic political ends, he said, after all these types of observations, Advani ultimately had to back out or at least he left them aside. He did not go further but he had to face criticism in his party, he said.
Mukherjee said it was a well-known fact that Jinnah's two-nation theory, vigorously propagated by Muslim League with the support of the then ruling colonial power, ultimately resulted in partition of India and creation of two countries - India and Pakistan.
"From the late 30s, Jinnah and Muslim League persistently pressurised the British government to concede to their demands to establish Pakistan," he said.
The minister said after the general elections to provincial assemblies in 1946 when Muslim League got absolute majority in undivided Bengal and Sindh Legislative Assemblies and fell short of majority in Punjab, the Muslim League stepped up their demand for Pakistan and declared that August 16 be observed as 'Direct Action Day' all over India for establishment of Pakistan.
On August 16, fierce communal riots broke out in Kolkata and continued for several days. This triggered off the worst communal riots in Bihar, Noakhali (Bengal), Punjab and many other parts of the country.
In that context, the Cabinet Mission appointed by the then British government along with Lord Mountbatten, Governor General of India, presented the plan of partition of India into two countries.
This was ultimately accepted by the political leadership including Congress, Muslim League, Hindu Mahasabha and others, he said.