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- one of the myths perpetuated by the Dawn article below and secularists in India
is that V D Savarkar was amongst others the first to talk about the 2 nation
theory. After the Mutiny of 1857 when the Muslims & Hindus fought the British
together the Brits came down heavily on the Muslims. Starting 1860's Sir Syed
Ahmed Khan founder of the Aligarh Muslim University and the Brits worked
together hand in hand and laid the seeds of Muslims separatism. This was to
culminate in the Creation of separate electorates for Muslims around 1906 and
the Partition of Bengal in 1905. These decisions were meant to accentuate the
Hindu Muslim divide. Please read Syed Ahmed's speeches and the role played by
the Brits in an article titled 'Aligarh Muslim Movement and British role' on
esamskriti link below.
http://www.esamskriti.com/html/new_i...cid=412&sid=99,
Find below two of his speeches that will give yu an idea of what I am saying.
1. At a speech at Meerut on 16/03/1888 Syed Ahmed refers to the Hindus and
Muslims not only as two nations, but as two warring nations who could not lead
a common political life if ever the Brits left India. He said, "Now suppose
that all the Brits were to leave India, then who would be the rulers of India?
Is it possible that under these circumstances these nations, the Muhammadan and
the Hindu could sit on the same throne and remain equal in power. Most certainly
not. It is necessary that one of them should conquer the other and thrust it
down. To hope that both could remain equal is to desire the impossible and the
inconceivable". Sachin Sen pg 42. Extract from History and Culture of the
Indian People by the Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan.
2. Quoting from Indian Controversies by Arun Shourie pg 112 Syed Ahmed said "And
first suppose that all the Muslims vote for a Muslim and all the Hindus vote for
a Hindu, it is certain that Muslims will have four times as many votes since
their population is four times as numerous. And then how can the Muslim guard
his interests? Now I ask you, O Muslims! Weep at your condition! Have you such
wealth that you can compete with the Hindus? In the whole nation there is no
person who is equal to Hindus in the fitness for the work!" Will the Hindus
stop criticizing themselves?
- It should be worthwhile to examine these statements
closely and put them to a test of facts.The first man to talk of Hindus and
Muslims as separate nations was V.D. Savarkar who coined the word 'Hindutva' in
a book with the same title in 1923. Other Hindu leaders who accepted the
two-nation theory were Dr Moonje of the Hindu Mahasabha, Pandit Madan Mohan
Malaviya, founder of the Benares Hindu University, Lala Lajpat Rai, Bhai
Parmanand and Swami Shraddhanand.
Eminent Bengali writer Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay also supported the notion."
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Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.
