Partition Responsibility
Posted : August 27, 2009 at 5:51 pm [IST]
BJP is on fire. Congress is pretty happy with BJP appearing to be disintegrating. However, if you look at BJP leaders who have revolted against the party rightly or wrongly are all ‘angrjidan’-Jaswant, Shourie, and Raje. But whatever is happening in BJP is very typical to the Indians who work with discipline only with strong leader even if it is dynastic and not democratic. However, I am talking here only about the book that appears to pin down the responsibility of the partition that caused the unprecedented human loss and large scale misery of the subcontinent.
Jaswant’s book started the debate on Jinnah’s role in partition. For many young men and women, it may be just a political episode. But for me who has some childhood experiences of the period around the partition time, it made an interesting reading. I still vividly remember the anxious moments when in 1946-47, my grandfather used to shift us to a residence of an acquaintance inside the walled and guarded factory near Calcutta by evening with rumour of possible communal attack in the night. Calcutta was burning with riots. Many left for their native places.
My first observations on Jaswant book presenting a different image of Jinnah were just my views based on my experiences of long years. But it appears I was pretty right. I never knew Gandhi wanted Jinnah to lead the interim government that was certainly very much against the ambition of Nehru.
The partition, it appears to me, must got expedited after the experiences of Congress and its leaders from the working of the interim government in which Muslim League was a major player with the ministry of finance with its Liaquat Ali Khan, the right-hand man of Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Muslim League ministers, particularly the finance minister used to block anything that the Congress ministers wanted to execute.
Liaquat Ali Khan presented the famous “poor man’s budget’ and put heavy taxes on the rich and threatened to investigate the activities of the great industrialists. It was regarded as an attack on the Indian National Congress, which the industrialists helped to finance. Industrialists of the time felt really bad about it. Some such as GD Birla who represented the business community was very close to both Nehru and Patel. Birla was a practical businessman. He would have certainly influenced the decision of going for partition instead of remaining as one country and working with Muslim League that would make their life miserable. Unfortunately, the business community as whole remained pretty unscrupulous and profit minded, particularly Hindu business men were having very bad image.
I think the country’s intellectuals were very much divided on the issue of the partition. Some were supporting Gandhi’s idea of an undivided India. But many were so much tired with the religious troubles and riots that they found favouring the partition as the better and practical solution. Jinnah was certainly not the only villain or Ravana. Many made him bitter against the Congress that he thought representing only the majority community.
It is funny that with Jaswant Singh, many have come out with their own views, be it the former chief of RSS K S Sudarshan considering Jinnah ”a true (Indian) nationalist” and secular in his outlook. Pranab Mukherji has brought in Syama Prasad Mukherji supporting partition.
The whole situation is just confusing for nothing. Let the historians take care of the debate. Why should not the country talk for taking care of the topmost priority of the day, the drought or large scale poverty?
- Indra
Category: Indian politics |
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