It is often remarked by Twitter and Marxist historians that the Britishers partitioned India as part of their devious plan of inflicting maximum damage while leaving the country. However, this theory conveniently shifts the blame upon the imperialists who merely exploited the fault lines, conceived years ago by the radical Islamists.
Often the blame of two-nation theory is levied upon Veer Savarkar as it fits the narrative of besmirching the pro-Hindutva voice — even in today’s contemporary times. However, we at TFI, bring to you the real story of Indian independence and who was the real mastermind behind the Two nation theory that caused the biggest human massacre and riot, the world has ever seen.
Sir Syed Ahmed Khan – the father of the two-nation theory
Cutting right to the chase, the father of the two-nation theory was Syed Ahmed Khan, who, in 1876, wrote, “I am convinced that Hindus and Muslims could never become one nation as their religion and way of life is quite distinct from each other.”
Syed Ahmed Khan argued for the two-nation theory even before Savarkar was born. Khan argued that Muslims should co-operate with the British Empire, rather than fighting them tooth and nail. He established Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College (now known as Aligarh Muslim University in 1875) to prepare the Muslims to serve the Imperial Civil Services (ICS).
AMU and its Pakistan loving alumni
AMU was instrumental in pushing for the ‘idea of Pakistan’. In fact, the role of AMU in the Pakistan movement was so instrumental that Jinnah once famously called AMU, “the arsenal of Muslim India”. The portrait of the Qaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah still hangs on the walls of JNU.
Almost all the prominent leaders of independent Pakistan, including first Prime Minister- Liaquat Ali Khan and first native Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Army, and second President- Ayub Khan were educated at AMU. If there is a single person and a single institution that could be blamed for bloody partition- – it is AMU and Sir Syed Ahmed Khan.
Allama Muhammad Iqbal – the man who popularized the two-nation theory
However, what may surprise the readers is that one of the biggest proponents of the two-nation theory other than Syed Ahmed Khan was Allama Muhammad Iqbal – the man who wrote ‘Saare Jahan se Accha’. Yes, the song often sung during national festivals to evoke a feeling of patriotism amongst the countrymen.
While many associate Iqbal with the song only, not many know that he was staunch Islamist and the one to propagate the idea of a separate nation for the Muslim ‘minority’.
Iqbal demanding Pakistan
It was on 29th December 1930 that Iqbal spoke about the need for a separate Muslim nation during the Presidential Address in the 25th session of the All India Muslim League in Allahabad. He laid the foundation of his ideas by distinguishing between Christianity and Islam.
Iqbal proposed “I would like to see the Punjab, North-West Frontier Province, Sind and Baluchistan amalgamated into a single State. Self-government within the British Empire, or without the British Empire, the formation of a consolidated North-West Indian Muslim State appears to me to be the final destiny of the Muslims, at least of North-West India”.
It was Iqbal who successfully pulled back Jinnah into mainstream Muslim politics. No sooner did Jinnah join mainstream politics, he started the fight for Pakistan and, was eventually successful in mobilizing the majority of Muslims, paving way for the two-nation theory to come to fruition.
Read More: Legacy of Jinnah: Partition, plunder, and birth of Pakistan
Iqbal — a radical Islamist who hated Hindus
Iqbal was a staunch Muslim League supporter and an anti-Congress. He believed that it was harmful to both Islam and Muslims if the latter chose to join the Congress party without any condition. The condition often put forth by those indoctrinated by Iqbal’s radicalism was that of a separate Muslim country or modern-day Pakistan.
Iqbal believed that the Ulemas (maulana) belonging to the Congress ideology were committing a big mistake by supporting the Hindus, they did not understand that if the people supported it, its result would be fatal for them.
Marxist historians continue to blame Savarkar
Despite overwhelming evidence suggesting that Syed Ahmed Khan and Allama Muhammad Iqbal pushed the two-nation theory – Marxist historians continue to attribute the theory to Vir Savarkar.
History distorter and darling of the left-liberal cabal, Ramchandra Guha had blamed Savarkar for the partition by tweeting, “Savarkar, 1943: “I have no quarrel with Mr Jinnah’s two-nation theory. We Hindus are a nation by ourselves and it is a historical fact that Hindus and Muslims are two nations”. The Home Minister, a professed Savarkarite, has no quarrel with Mr Jinnah’s two-nation theory either.”
Savarkar, 1943: "I have no quarrel with Mr Jinnah's two-nation theory. We Hindus are a nation by ourselves and it is a historical fact that Hindus and Muslims are two nations".
The Home Minister, a professed Savarkarite, has no quarrel with Mr Jinnah's two-nation theory either.— Ramachandra Guha (@Ram_Guha) December 10, 2019
Savarkar was misquoted
However, as it turns out, Savarkar was misquoted on that day (14 August 1943). He clarified that the press misquoted him and he never supported Jinnah’s Pakistan theory on the very next day. He appealed to the press to issue corrections to their bulletins. But they never bothered to correct themselves.
A week later (23 August 1943), Savarkar published another clarification stating, “I have been misquoted. I claimed that two nation theory exists. Instead of reporting this, journalists simply misreported that I accept two nation theory. A storm has been raised on this issue,”
Savarkar understood the intentions of Moslems
Moreover, six years prior (1937), Savarkar had mentioned that two Indias existed. Akin to Vir Das and his recent atrocious ‘Two India’ poetry, Savarkar understood that Muslims were never going to allow Hindus to create a homogenous society and thus he gave the two India’s remark.
He said in his presidential address at the All India Hindu Mahasabha convention in Karnavati, “India cannot be assumed today to be a unitarian and homogeneous nation, but on the contrary there are two nations in the main; the Hindus and the Moslems, in India.”
However, the vendetta driven politicians, and journalists enrolled on their payroll continued to perpetuate the lie about Savarkar. They say, a lie repeated a thousand times becomes the truth. Over the years, the Islamo-leftist cabal has managed to do the same by dominating the academia and expounding upon this one statement and twisting it to suit their agenda.
Thus, those eulogizing Iqbal based on a solitary song should pause a second and go through his life records, for he was a staunch fundamentalist, working through for the cause of radicals of the community.