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History is about reconstruction of the
past with anatomical precision. Jinnah’s tale is the greatest irony
in the history of Indian subcontinent.
Lucknow accord stands testimony to
Jinnah’s influence as the member of Indian National congress and
Muslim League during 1915-16. Naturally, Jinnah believed that he
would be ‘the leader’ after Tilak, in his own right and deservingly
so. But Gandhiji’s return from South Africa would change the scheme
of things.
In 1919 when the antisedition Rowlett
Bill was enacted, Gandhiji advocated Satyagraha and non cooperation.
Though both Jinnah and Gandhiji shared a common passion against the
British Raj, Jinnah could not reconcile to the principle and details
of Gandhiji’s program. Jinnah’s support to Gandhiji’s efforts was
not unconditional.
As Lucknow accord faced stiff
opposition in the Congress, the Delhi Proposal was put forth in 1927
asking for one third of representation of the Central Assembly to
Muslims and agreeing to give up the demand for separate Muslim
electorate .But the Nehru committee headed by Motilal, agreed to
give only one fourth of the representation of the Central Assembly
to Muslims and proposed a strong Central Authority, not to the
liking of Jinnah. Both parties were unyielding.
Though Congress had in its ranks tall
Muslim leaders like Abul Kalam Azad, it failed to capture the
imagination of Muslim masses. That the Congress was aware of this
inadequacy was evident from Nehru’s speech on 19th March
1937, “Only in regard to Muslim seats we did lack success…we failed
because we had long neglected working among Muslim masses…”
Muslim League had grown in stature as
the single largest Muslim formation under the leadership of Jinnah.
But the Congress refused to accord the status of the sole
authoritative and representative organization of Indian Muslims, to
the Muslim League. This became the official parting of ways, but the
Raj recognized the sentiments of Jinnah and utilized it to its
advantage.
In a letter to ‘Time and Tide’, Jinnah
wrote of two nations who would share the governance of their common
Motherland so that India might take its place among the great
nations of the world, obviously proposing ‘power sharing’ not
‘partition’.
Lord Mountbatten’s uncanny knack and
diplomatic skill played a decisive role in partition. According to
Chaudari Mohammed Ali, “Mountbatten won the confidence of both the
Congress and Muslim League by denouncing one to the other”.
That the role of Jinnah’s wounded
spirit, fighting for its rightful place in the history of the
subcontinent eventually led to partition, is undeniable. Jinnah was
not overtly religious in his attire or attitude, secular in outlook,
his zeal to free the motherland unquestioned, but ended up authoring
the religious Pakistan. Pundit Nehru, the popular leader of the
masses, atheist and socialist by ideals, secular to the core, and
his commitment to Mother India unchallenged, finally yielded to the
Pakistan demand. Unfortunately these great men stood on either side
of the divide.
However, the historic speeches they
delivered on the eve of Independence of the new nations, spoke of
their convictions.
In his Tryst with Destiny speech
Pundit Nehru declared, “All of us, to whatever
religion we may belong, are equally the children of India with equal
rights, privileges and obligations. We cannot encourage communalism
or narrow-mindedness, for no nation can be great whose people are
narrow in thought or in action.” Undoubtedly India vows a lot to
Pundit Nehru, for the secular democratic footing it is standing on
now.
Unfurling Pakistan’s
flag Jinnah spoke. “Now…you will find that in course of time Hindus
would cease to be Hindus and Muslims would cease to be Muslims, not
in the religious sense, because that is the personal faith of each
individual, but in the political sense as citizens of the State.” On
a subsequent occasion Jinnah said, “I am Attorney General of
Minorities of Pakistan”.
Mahatma
Gandhi aloof from the festivities of independence, attending to the
birth pangs of the bleeding nation in Calcutta, remarked to the new
Cabinet members of Calcutta who came to seek his blessings, “Strive
ceaselessly to cultivate truth and non-violence. Be humble; Be
forbearing; Beware of power, power corrupts...” It seems the Mahatma
understood the ailment, but it was very late.
The
writer is consultant neurosurgeon, Billroth Hospitals, Chennai
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