When George Orwell wrote, “The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history”, our rulers took a fine cue from it and warped our understanding of History posing culprits as innocents and the victims as culprits.
This is the story of Muslim Problem in Indian Politics and history. A subject, understanding of which the ruling elites of this country wanted to shape in accordance to their suitability of politics. All sorts of narratives are thrown to shield the Indian Muslim community who clamoured for Pakistan, but stayed in India: like, (a) Not all Muslims were given voting rights (b) Not all muslims subscribed to Muslim League (c) All those who wanted Pakistan moved to that country and Indian Muslims opted for India (d) Muslim ulema class was against partition etc.
These narratives were shaped to shield the dichotomy of Muslim excitement for the Idea of Pakistan and the reality of their staying back in India to protect muslim land and property.
The voting rights, role of ulema in Partition and role of their leaders have been dealt with in detail in my previous article “Partition 1947” https://www.buymeacoffee.com/Crystal_x_Clear/indian-muslims-1947-after-seeking-pakistan-played-innocence which busts all the myth around Muslim innocence in Partition and their love for this country.
Here I want you to expose to the reaction of common muslim masses, writers, intellectuals and politicians on the eve of Partition of this country, which will demonstrate to you the culpability of Muslim class in Partition.
At the outset, let me remind my readers that none of the muslim leaders who spoke against Partition of this country, did so on account of their love for India, but for the sake of Islam. To substantiate this, what better evidence could be placed here than Maulana Azad, who himself wrote in his autobiography “India Wins Freedom”, that “If partition happens, Muslims will awaken overnight and discover that they have become alien and foreigners. They will be left to the mercies to what would become an UNADULTERATED HINDU RAJ”.
So the Pan-Islamist Maulana, to whom our historians have endowed the title of Nationalist Muslim, did not have any love left for India or even his Congress Party. He spoke of Congress like Jinnah, an Unadulterated Hindu Raj.
To further substantiate my claim, let me expose my readers to the writings of Muslim Historian of that time, Mohammad Habib, who stayed back in India. When Master Tara Singh, an Akali Leader, demanded in 1947 that Muslim peasantry from Western Uttar Pradesh be transferred to Pakistan to compensate for the losses the Sikh peasantry has suffered in West Punjab, Mohammad Habib sharply reacted to it. His statement is reported in the newspaper The Leader on 10th Oct 1947, wherein he says, “No power on Earth can make UP muslims Punjabi or Pakistani. UP muslims were thoroughly repentant of the League vote of 1945 and stand aghast at its consequences. With Partition UNITY OF ISLAM WOULD BE BROKEN FOREVER IN INDIAN SUB-CONTINENT”.
A smart secular historian of India would direct your focus to his words “No power on earth can make UP muslims Punjabi or Pakistani” and bring forth Indian Muslim’s distaste for Pakistan. Probably you will go gaga over it. But the true intent of Habib is in his lamentation about the Partition dividing the Unity of Muslims in three parts i.e. India, West & East Pakistan. There is no love for India or its geographical sanctity but the anxiety is for Muslim Unity.
Moving on in this direction, let me ask you a question, “did all muslims who subscribed to the Idea of Pakistan go to Pakistan?” and if they did not go what was their reaction to the new reality of staying back in India?
You will be ashtonished to know that Indian Muslim leaders and karyakartas who were staunch members of Muslim League went to Pakistan in December 1947 to attend the All India Muslim League Annual session, where Muslim League was split and the Indian Section formed Indian Union Muslim League under the leadershi of Mohammad Ismail and participated in the deliberations of Constituent Assembly of India. But the case of UP muslims was different. Many top leaders from UP went to Pakistan and several middle rung and lower level leaders and their cadres remained in India. Very smartly, Maulana Azad held an Azad Conference in Lucknow in Dec 1947 and imported all these Pakistan lovers in Congress Party from the back door.
One such leader was Z.H.Lari who hailed from Gorakhpur constituency, supported Pakistan Resolution, participated in Pakistan movement whole heartedly and despised the Hindu Raj of Congress. He was instrumental in propagating the Pirpur Report of Muslim League against Congress Ministry in 1938, where Congress was portrayed as fascist Hindu Raj party persecuting Muslims under its rule. The Vande Mataram controversy that the singing of it was against the tenet of Islam was one important plank of Muslim League, echoes of which we here even till today. Lari supported the anxiety of Muslims against this song. Lari was helped by Azad to get elected to Constituent Assembly, post-partition. Though he joined as an Independent but it was Congress who assisted his election. With Partition, he changed his views. Now he has no problem with Vande Mataram, now he laments those who say so. In fact he states that “An unnecessary fuss has been created about the song. I have read and re-read the first two stanzas of the song and found nothing objectionable or repugnant to the principles of Islam”. (Reported in The Pioneer, 31st Aug 1947)
What is more ashtonishing that such Pakistan subscribers were not only given a new lease of Political life but brought in the Constituent assembly, participated in its debates, dealt mostly with securing Minority Rights in India and then ran away to Pakistan.
And he is not the only one to do so. The case of stalwart Muslim Leaguer Khaliquzzaman is stunning, who fought tooth and nail for Pakistan, who asked muslims to fight the 4th battle of Panipat against Hindus in 1946 election, who invoked Quran to advise muslims to not part with swords and horses which were the sources of defence for Muslims. He stayed back in India, seconded the Nehru’s Independence Resolution on the night of 14th Aug 1947, was one of the four speakers who delivered Independence speech that night, participated in Constituent Assembly debates, fought for minority rights and then took a flight for Pakistan and ran away.
When you consoled yourself that only these two Muslim leaders ran away to Pakistan, you find another one doing the same. Raghib Ahsan from West Bengal was a Muslim Leaguer, joined Constituent Assembly of Independent India, fought for Minority rights in India and then ran away to the then Pakistan (Dhaka) and assisted in making of Objective Resolution of Pakistan which denied all the minority rights to Hindus, Christians and Ahmadiyyas.
But intoxicated with Secular historiography in India, you would jump to conclusion that it is the big leaders and zamindars and business class who fought for Pakistan. The common Muslim masses had nothing to do with it. So my dear readers, let me expose you to the reactions given by common Muslims on the eve of Independence and partition.
To undeestand the psyche of common muslims of that time the quote of Vahid Ahmad in his book “Musalman Kya Kare?” comes very handy. He advises Muslims who stayed back in India after Partition, “Withdraw from Politics, return to Islamic learning and improvement. This is what Muslims have done following the Treaty of Hudaibiya (629AD), Downfall of Mughal Empire (1706-1740) and defeat at Balakot (1857)”.
In these lines, there are no evidences for the love of this country, but an exhortation to the Muslims to lay low, bide time and gain strength. The Two Nation theory persisted in Muslim minds both across the border and inside of it, one with violent resonance while the other with silent subscription respectively.
There are numerous evidences to show you how so many of them subscribed to the Idea of Pakistan and stayed back in India. Take a note of this, reported in The Pioneer newspaper on 10th September 1947 that, “200 Railway men from Eastern Indian Railways who had opted for Pakistan and now wanted to revoke their choice, publicly swore that ‘India was their home and tgey would desicate themselves to the services of their country without the slightest tinge of communalism’.
They are not alone in this endeavour, just see what Dildar Hussain, a member of Barabanki municipal board UP said in his letter to editor and published in The Pioneer on 14th Oct 1947. After partition, he says, “I now finally realize my blunder in supporting the demand for Pakistan….I appeal to the better sense of my co-religionists and implore them to fully rally behind Congress and strengthen the hands of two most human of men Mahatma Gandhi and Nehru..I would request my brother muslims not to sacrifice cows on Id festival as atonement for our past blunders and as gesture of our love towards the other nationals of India’.
These are just few of the evidences which I have shared, if you visit the Home department of Union govt for archival records you will find tons of such apology letters by Muslim government officials and others.
There are also other forms of reaction amongst Muslims who stayed in India which may baffle your understanding of Muslim psyche. Look at what a lecturer at Aligarh Muslim University, Qamaruddin Khan, had to say about what muslims should now do after staying back in India post-partition. He categorically writes, published in Dawn on 13 June 1947, “The first battle has been won by Muslims (indicating 3rd June Plan and creation of Pakistan Dominion), but the 5 crore muslims who have been forced to remain in Hindu India will have to fight another battle for freedom”. He advises muslims to start their work of converting the UNTOUCHABLES to Islam and become a potent force electorally. He further advises North Indian Muslims to congregate in Western UP and North East Bihar & Bengal to merge West & East Pakistan.
Considering all these evidences, you will understand that Muslims not only clamoured for Pakistan, but when circumstances forced them to stay back in India they did not reconcile with their status as weak minority in Hindu India. Not only this, the ruler class and their Court Historians painted a rosy picture of Indian Muslim’s hate for the Idea of Pakistan and gave baseless evidences and arguments to support their claims.
Whether it is Common muslim masses, professional class, intellectual luminaries or even political leaders and religious ulemas, none of them had any affinity to India rather concern for Islam, Unity of Islam and garnering minority righs in Independent India. The tags like Nationalist Muslim, The Secular Muslim, The Deobandi Muslim, The Jamati muslim etc were all smoke screen to oresnt to us a filtered view of History. No wonder just after the death of Nehru in 1964, they all got together on a Communal Platform called Majlis-e-Mushawarat and clamoured for all those rights which could maintain their separate identity in this land.
As Napolean once said, “History is bundle of lies agreed upon by many”, this chapter of history too suffers from the same disease. The bundle of lies has been agreed upon by so many of us that we ignore to see the stark evidences gleaning in our face. This wrong understanding has lead us to this place of confusion, contestatiin and anarchy. Let us rewire ourselves to understand our past in a better way to fight today’s battles.
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