Dec 22, 2024
Dec 22, 2024
When this columnist propagates the compelling need to undo the spirit of the Partition his critics mock him for being a romantic. They do not appreciate the logic of history. If a historical trend starts it will not stop till it reaches its logical end. The movement of history may be slow or fast. It may be interrupted or hastened. But unless its direction is consciously changed by new policy the final result remains inevitable.
| Ominously, the loss of real national identity has deranged political thinking to increase threat of national disintegration. |
Historical trends cannot be halted. They must be reversed. The spirit of the Partition needs to be undone not for romantic sentiment but because our future as a nation depends upon it.
On August 15, 2011, I wrote:
“For centuries the inhabitants of this subcontinent lived in what was called Hindustan … The Prophet Mohammed (sixth and seventh centuries) had also referred to Hind. The people of Hindustan fought for independence against colonial Britain … Instead the nation was partitioned… As a result Hindustan disappeared to give way to Bharat and Pakistan … Since 1947 there remain no Hindustanis. We are Indians and Pakistanis, Hindus and Muslims, Shias and Sunnis, Brahmins and Dalits, Punjabis and Bengalis, forwards and backwards – we are anything but Hindustanis. When people don’t know who they are, how can they know what they must do? This then is the issue of identity.”
Once we lost our real identity history started on its new trend. After the 1947 Partition Pakistan was partitioned to carve out a sovereign Bangladesh. The separatist movements in Kashmir and Baluchistan continue to simmer and splutter. There are separatist movements in India’s northeast.
What is more ominous, the loss of real national identity has deranged political thinking to increase threat of national disintegration. Consider the policy of reservation based upon separate identities. It has resulted in sharp social divisions. Currently there are protests by Jats and Gujjars that become periodically violent. That is not all.
Consider the fulminations of Mr. Raj Thackeray in Mumbai. He labels migrants from Bihar as “infiltrators” and issues threats against them. It is fragrant violation of law but no action is taken against him, neither by the Maharashtra government nor by the central government nor by the Governor and nor by the President.
Are we any longer an Indian nation?
Consider the actions of the Tamil Nadu politicians among whom Mr. Vaiko is the most belligerent. They make demands and issue threats to the Sri Lankan government as if the Tamils of Sri Lanka are not citizens of that country. They justify this interference by pointing out that a particular segment of the Sri Lankan population is Tamil speaking. But when Sri Lankan pilgrims, among who are a substantial number of Tamil speaking people, arrive in India the same politicians stone them and threaten them with violence demanding their expulsion. They justify this by stating that they are the citizens of Sri Lanka. These Tamil politicians identify Sri Lankans as Tamils when it suits them, Sri Lankan when it doesn’t! Does it not seem that they “don’t know who they are, (therefore) how can they know what they must do?”
This divisive trend will continue to escalate. There has been a violent phase of separatism in Punjab. It can revive as can movements in the northeast and Kashmir. That is why I also wrote on August 15, 2011:
“We must reclaim our identity not by undoing the Partition but its spirit. Fortunately that can be accomplished by establishing a South Asian Union in which present sovereignties of its member nations may remain intact.”
A South Asian Union will be recreation of Hindustan.
Trust me, this is not romance. It is realism.
Read Also:
Reclaiming India's Real Independence
Plea for Introspection
Image from 'Atlas de Toutes les Parties Connues du Globe Terrestre'
by Guillaume Raynal (1713-96), published Geneva, 1780. (c) Gettyimages.com
07-Sep-2012
More by : Dr. Rajinder Puri
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I disagree with Mr puri on the question of greater "Hindustan".The arguments he puts forth for the merger is idiotic and fake.The partion is real, the 3 countries which have been carved out of one is real.There is now an identity which each country has built up.There is no use dreaming about bringing back what has been divided.I do come across this theme from time to time but when I look at those who propagate this idea, one fact that comes out starkly.All these proponents are displaced hindus from Lahore.It is time I want to tell them that it is better they get back to Lahore and live their dreams.We have enough problems of our own not to add 150 million mullas from the west and 100 million mullas from the east.Thank you very much.Now let us get on with proper rule based administration where the crooks are put firmly in jail.India can afford to build many Tihars, even if all the central cabinet ministers and their entourage need to be accommodated there. |
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Arabs, with billions and billions of oil money, will never allow India, Pakistan and Bangladesh to make Hindustan once again. Such a scenario threatens their very existance. Without the cheap manpower from the so-called Hindustan, none of the modern Arab nations can sustain themselves. They will use the deadly ideological weapon of Islam to sabotage all efforts in this direction. In addition, they will go to any extent to spread Islam in Asia and keep it always subordinated to Arabic needs, so long as the oil lasts. |
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Mr. Bohre, I have consistently affirmed that Hindu culturalism is the very soul of the nation. I am the only one to point out that in no Islamic nation but in India, thanks to the Hindu way of life (not the VHP way!), the substantial population of Shias lives in peace and harmony with the Sunnis. |
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The real identity of Hindustan is Hinduism. (readers please hold on, I am not making a 'communal remark' here, these days we are very touchy about anything that talks about religion). Akbar got Mahabharata translated in Persian language, named "Razmnameh", so that he and his Muslim fellow rulers can study it. Several Mughal rulers banned Cow slaughter during their rule. India has been influenced and inspired by Hindu-sanatan-dharma as main stream, be it in the form of epic stories of Mahabharata, Ramayana or other Puranas or by the daily lifestyle of Hindus. It was acceptable to all by and large, because Hinduism in core itself is liberal, inducts and promotes tolerance and is progressive (and scientific too). A Mughal emperor banning cow slaughter and Hindus Kings respecting religious sentiments and practices of Muslims can hardly be found anywhere else in the world history (in terms of acceptability and tolerance). Consider the fact that French speaking Canadians (in Quebec province) and English speaking Canadians talk about getting separated, Quebec getting separated from Canada just because of the difference in Language. Although, both are European languages (French and English), both are Christians, both are whites and both are part of so called 'modern western industrial culture'. Yet, they feel the need to be separated ! It is the Hinduism, that teaches tolerance, acceptability and respects individual identity unlike any other culture in the world. The loss of identity has the root cause in deviation from sense of belongingness to Hinduism. And the problem did not start in 1947, it started recently - after private video media spread across the nation seriously started inflicting the existing culture by indirectly influencing people's mind. After all, the TV has direct reach to ones bedroom. To support my argument in above paragraph, I ask - would Mr. Puri consider writing the same article in year 1997 or in year 1970 ? If not, then what has changed in recent years ? Indeed the direction was set in 1947, but not because of the partition, rather by disassociating the governance and educational system completely from Hinduism (in order to embrace 'secularism', but those leaders didn't understand that the Hinduism itself was secularism !). I am disgusted to notice that many elites (including Dr. Abdul Kalam, referring to one of his books (I think "The wings or fie")) fail to recognize this, often they fail short of accepting publicly that it is Hinduism that perpetuates secularism that existed in this land for millennia. Either get back to Hinduism (as a culture) or wait for 400 / 500 years to establish a new identity. I am doubtful what kind of benefits can be expected from the second possibility. |