New Delhi
9 June 2005
Leader of Opposition Lal Krishna Advani may not have had much
success in exorcising the ghost of Jinnah just yet or in convincing his extended Parivar
comprising the RSS and the VHP about the secular credentials of the founder of Pakistan
but historians are game for a debate. The cascading effect of Mr Advani's comment on
Jinnah could also be seen in the way the sale of titles on Jinnah have picked up lately
even as backroom boys and speechwriters pour over tomes to come up with talking
points for their political masters.
The vice chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia, Prof Mushirul Hasan, sees in the
whole controversy an opportunity to raise the level of debate on such issues and to
introduce a reappraisal of Muhammad Ali Jinnah's role in the nationalist movement.
"Rhetorical questions like whether Jinnah was secular or not create more confusion than
clarity," he told The Asian Age.
"We should instead ask about his role and legacy and try to locate Jinnah in the
right perspective," Prof Hasan contended. "His role should be discussed in the context
of the colonial government. We have not looked at what extent the colonial government
created a Jinnah of the 1940s, which was different from the Jinnah of the 1920s and
1930s," he explained.
Asserting that the terms of reference need to be recalibrated, Prof Hasan said:
"We should stop idealising or demonising of Jinnah." Another noted historian, Prof Irfan
Habib observed that it is difficult to say whether Jinnah was non-communal because he
was also a nationalist. "His demand for Pakistan may be communal but we must not
forget he was also a lieutenant of Gokhale," he said.
Prof Arjun Dev, in turn, observed that Jinnah was a secular, liberal person for
most of his life was not a new discovery. Alluding to Mr Advani's comment, he said:
"Perhaps it is time to legitimise the BJP's view of secularism or redefine secularism
because in some way Jinnah's secularism was of the same type as Savarkar's. To that
extent, there could be commonalities between the two."
If Mr Advani has accepted the fact of Partition and he would like others to do the
same, and if he has consciously tried to distance BJP from the notion of Akhand Bharat,
Prof Dev says, it should be welcome. But, he adds, for Pakistan to be respected as an
independent, sovereign state he should be able to convince others particularly the RSS
and certain other organisations.
Meanwhile, a spurt could be seen in the sale of books on Jinnah in the Capital.
Booksellers are stocking up on the titles to satiate the curiosity of readers. "We have a
full section on Jinnah with 100-odd titles. Jinnah has always been popular but [the recent
controversy] has made people curioser ... it is a topic of intrigue," said Mr Anuj Bahri
Malhotra of Bahrisons.
Mr Advani's comments also seems to have caught some of his political rivals off-
guard. "There is a dearth of readily available literature on this ... we have sought certain
titles from Indian Council of Historical Research to glean information about Jinnah and
his speeches," said an aide to Railway Minister Lalu Prasad as he browsed a book on
the life and times of the founder of Pakistan.
To cash in on the sudden demand for literature on Jinnah, a Delhi-based
publishing house has decided to come out with a paperback edition. "We have decided
on a paperback edition of Rutti Jinnah (Muhammad Ali Jinnah's wife) which will hit the
stands next week," Mr Ashok Maheshwari of Rajkamal Prakashan told this newspaper.
The book has been written by Chief Commissioner of Income Tax, Mumbai, Mr Virendra
Kumar Baranwal.
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