Let us make all creators of 1947 partition accountable

From: Cdr Alok Mohan < >

Let us make all writers of 1947 partition make accountable

During 1947-1948, a tragedy had cast its gloom on this subcontinent. Hindu families were torn asunder, lives were shattered. the situation in Punjab and Bengal was heart wrenching.

 

To some people, freedom had been won during 1947, but millions of Hindus had cried as the short-sighted Gandhi and Nehru had caused a biggest human tragedy in this region.

The flurry of emotions consequent to uprooting and loosing nears and dears have always flowed among Punjabi Hindus till date.

 

Mohammad Ali Jinnah had wanted partition of India based on religion. Else why had he ordered to cut water and electricity supply from Hindu majority areas of Lahore just prior to 1947 partition. He became secular consequent to hearing reports of back lash from Hindu and Sikh majority areas He changed his colors and started speaking language of secularism i. e. the language of Mahatma Gandhi.

 

Those were the days when massive violence against Hindus had led to total ethnic cleansing of west Pakistan, and Gandhi was far-far away from Delhi, both physically and psychologically.

Let us make all writers of 1947 partition make accountable one by one.

 

Role of Congress:

 

Congress had committed several mistakes by granting concessions after concessions to Muslims i.e. it had adopted   a policy of Muslim appeasement. The Lucknow pact, separate electorates, the communal award all these were accepted by congress one by one. These moves of Congress strengthened the hands of Jinnah.

 

Another gross failure of Congress was its failure to project any Muslim congress leader as a counter of Jinnah thereby giving him an opportunity to become a self-proclaimed mass leader of Muslims. In other words, it was Congress that created Jinnah. By 1940s Jinnah and his coterie had become too strong, and congress leadship was responsible for this.

 

Congress had no choice to accept the partition as the party was keen to make Nehru prime minister of India by hook or by crook.

 

Role of Jinnah/ Muslim League:

 

As a former congress member, he had played a great role in shaping the Lucknow pact of 1916. European in life style and aristocratic in upbringing, Jinnah resigned from congress in 1920. When congress refused to incorporate Muslim League members in the governments in provinces after 1937 elections, he realized that he will never be able to enjoy political power in congress dominated united India where a Hindu majority will dominate. It was more about the political ambitions of Jinnah and those of his ilk which guided them to ask for a separate Pakistan. Muslim League afterwards kept on moving from one demand to the next one. British in a bid to divide the nation caused by driving a wedge between Hindu and Muslims and congress in desperate efforts to keep India united, kept on conceding those demands.

 

First came separate electorates and there after communal award then 14-point program to safeguard Muslim interests. By 1940 all legitimate and important demands of Muslim league had been fulfilled. From here on only a separate Muslim nation could have been next logical step for Jinnah and Muslim league.

 

In 1940, Muslim league embraced ‘two nation theory’ and passed Pakistan resolution in its Lahore session. By this time, Jinnah and Muslim league had decided that a separate Pakistan is their ultimate goal.

 

The knee jerk resistance from Nehru and Gandhi only hardened their resolve.

 

In their quest to achieve Pakistan, the evil genius of Jinnah became their most potent weapon as Muslim league leadership barring Jinnah was not as gifted and capable as that of congress. In the end, Muslim league resorted to outright blackmail by resorting to cold blooded massacres/ massive violence and rioting.

 

Role of Britishers:

 

Rattled by Hindu Muslim unity in the mutiny of 1857, the British found it detrimental for the continuation of Raj. A constituency of loyalist and careerist Muslim leaders was raised to counter the congress claim of being the representative of all Indians. They continued to raise the bogey of ‘interest of minorities’ to spread a notion that their security will be imperiled if the British left India. The covert motive was to weaken the Indian nationalism. Their policies such as partition of Bengal (1905), Minto-Morley reforms (1909) which provided for separate electorates for Muslims, inviting various communal and divisive organizations in the round table conferences, including the Muslim league, as a counter to congress, the communal award of 1932 were only instruments of this motive. Since 1940, in almost all arrangements of transfer of power (Shimla conference, Cripps mission, cabinet mission plan & Mountbatten plan, by acknowledging that Muslim league was the sole representative of Indian Muslims they eliminated any possibility of a united India.

 

The seed of communal division had been sown by the Britishers long ago. The Muslim League and Jinnah provided a constituency of politicians who were to benefit by the partition.

 

It was neither the congress nor Muslim league but the innocent Hindus of Muslim dominated areas of West Punjab who became the ultimate victim due British, due communal politics of Jinnah, and due to ultimate stupidities of Gandhi and Nehru.