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Opinion
Can It Be The
Beginning of
The End of Partition?
by Amulya Ganguli
There was
reason enough for Pakistani journalists to leave the official media
briefing in Islamabad shaking their heads in disbelief. What they had
just heard from foreign ministry spokesperson Tasleema Aslam was
unprecedented in the country's short, 59-year history.
She told the incredulous scribes that Pakistan had no claims on Kashmir,
omitting to mention - and no one reminded her - what the 'K' in Pakistan
stood for.
However, the stunning announcement was not totally surprising to those
who have been following recent trends.
In fact, it was no more than a sequel to President Pervez Musharraf's
earlier equally astonishing observation in an interview with NDTV's
Prannoy Roy that Pakistan was no longer insisting on a plebiscite in
Jammu and Kashmir although Islamabad continues to regard Kashmiris as
the third party in the dispute.
These dramatic turnarounds may have been meant to facilitate a positive
Indian response to Musharraf's other statements on Kashmir -
demilitarization, making Line of Control (LoC) irrelevant and joint
administrative supervision of parts of the state.
But there are more surprises in the new Pakistani attitude besides these
path-breaking initiatives on domestic and foreign issues.
What is perhaps most amazing is the Pakistani decision to cut out all
references to the two-nation theory in textbooks although it was - till
now - the raison d'etre of partition.
Instead, the textbooks will now ascribe the division of the
sub-continent to the religious and economic insecurity of the Muslims in
pre-1947 India - an assessment no different from the recent Rajinder
Sachar report on minorities commissioned by the Manmohan Singh
government.
Two other developments in Pakistan are worthy of note in this context of
major changes in official attitudes. One is the passage of a law for the
protection of women from the ambit of draconian traditional customs, a
step that has aroused the ire of the fundamentalists in the legislatures
and outside.
The other is Musharraf's declaration that minorities in Pakistan have
the same rights as those enjoyed by the majority - a remarkable
departure from the tenets of an Islamic state that has also angered the
ultra-conservatives.
The last two measures may be in keeping with Musharraf's preference for
a policy of 'enlightened moderation'. But so far as India is concerned,
the dropping of the two-nation theory and the elevation of minorities in
Pakistan to a position of equality with the majority have a special
resonance.
Not surprisingly, Musharraf mentioned Mohammed Ali Jinnah's vision while
making these announcements.
The founder of Pakistan envisaged a country where "you are free; you are
free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any
other place of worship ... you may belong to any religion or caste or
creed - that has nothing to do with the business of the state".
Continuing, the Quaid-e-Azam had said: 'We are starting with this
fundamental principle that we are all citizens and equal citizens of one
state ... I think we should keep that in front of us as an ideal and you
will find that in course of time Hindus would cease to be Hindus,
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 the citizens of the state."
While Pakistani historian Ayesha Jalal compared the speech with the
Magna Carta and Akbar S. Ahmed called it Jinnah's Gettysburg address,
the director of the Quaid-e-Azam Academy, Sharif-ul-Mujahid, thought
that it was "a serious lapse on his (Jinnah's) part".
If this "lapse" becomes the Magna Carta of today's Pakistan, it will
usher in a dramatic transformation in India-Pakistan relations.
First, the adoption of the modern concept of the separation of church
and state will be a severe blow to the fundamentalists in Pakistan, who
thrive on the theocratic ideals of the superiority of their religion.
Secondly, this delinking of religion from citizenship is in tune with
the abandonment of the two-nation theory with its emphasis on faith
constituting the basis of nationhood. A corollary to this is the
forsaking of Pakistan's claim on Kashmir, whose acquisition it regarded
earlier as marking the completion of the unfinished business of
partition.
If Pakistan sincerely implements Jinnah's dream of citizens of all
faiths being equal, which is the essence of secularism as practiced in
India, then one can also understand why LoC can become irrelevant, an
idea which was first floated by Manmohan Singh and has now been echoed
by Musharraf.
It follows that if an international border in one state becomes
irrelevant, the borders elsewhere will also lose their relevance.
Will such a turn of events mark the beginning of the end of partition?
No one can say, but one thing is undoubtedly true. If Musharraf can push
through his revolutionary idea, then there is bound to be a dramatic
improvement in mutual ties. The scrapping of the two-nation theory -
ironically in the centenary year of the Muslim League's formation - may
pave the way for the end of Hindu-Muslim animosity, which was the basis
of the theory.
But the obstacles are obvious. First, the genuineness of Musharraf's
intention will have to be tested along with his capacity to convince his
own countrymen about such a seminal change in outlook.
Secondly, the baggage of nearly six decades of antipathy between the two
countries, especially between their official establishments if not the
people, will have to be shed.
(Amulya Ganguli is a political
analyst. He can be reached at aganguli@mail.com)
December 24, 2006
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Opinion
The Week of December 24, 2006
Indo-Pak
Peace Talks: Moving on the Wrong Track by Rajinder Puri
2006 : The Year of Indian Diaspora by Aroonim
Bhuyan
Bloody 2006: No End to Violence in 2007 by
Col. Rahul K. Bhonsle
Words Meaning Changes and Misuse by Bush & Bin Laden
by Gaurang Bhatt, MD
In 2006, Courts Put the Fear of Law in the High
and Mighty by Rana Ajit
Can It Be The Beginning of The End of Partition?
by Amulya Ganguli
A Bold Judiciary Augurs Well for the Nation by
Maxwell Pereira
A Samuel Pepys of Emergency India by V.
Sundaram
Which God's Own Country by J. Ajithkumar
Communist Turnaround : From 'Land to Tiller' to
'Land to Tatas' by Amulya Ganguli
Communalism or Affirmative Action by Ram
Puniyani
Counting on People by Swapna Majumdar
A Tribute to a Poet by V. Sundaram
Urban Floods: Bane for
the People by VK Joshi
Tackling the
Water Crisis by Mini Sharma
In Quest of Space Colonization by Subra
Narayan
Psoriasis by Dr. Savitha Suri
Toxic Blood by Yasmin Rimi
Investing in Indian Real Estate: Is Your Checklist
Complete? by Sandeep Donald Shah
Why is Literature Indispensable for Human Life?
by TA Ramesh
Three Cheers for Thuggee Raj! by V. Sundram
Recognition for NARI's Work - A Report
The Village Bride of Beverly Hills a Book
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A Lonely Christmas in Jerusalem Shoshana
Kordova
Exposing the Hidden Half by Devindra Kohli
Porn & Mainstream Media Boundaries have become
Blurred by Elsa sherin Mathews
Mothers' Help: Home Surveillance Systems by
Gagandeep Kaur
Kerala's Feisty Fisherwomen by Nilanjana Biswas
Maternal Mortality: Civil Societies Call for Action
by Anil Gulati
The Olympics in London by Rajesh Talwar
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