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Real culprits of the Two-Nation theory
- Author: Rakesh Sinha
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: March 27, 2002 -
The only subscriber of the pernicious Two-nation Theory, besides the All India Muslim League, was the Communist Party of India (CPI). No Hindu group supported or demanded Partition. When the constituent Assembly was discussing the future constitution and polity of the country, Hindu groups do not demand for a Hindu state. The manipulation and distortion of facts have always been the tools of ideological history to reproach adversaries keeping the present in the mind for any historical blunder. Indian historiography is barely free from such lapses on the part of "professional" historians. It is due to this, VD Savarkar or Dr Shyama Prasad Mookerjee, Hindu Mahasabha leaders, are equated with Mohammad Ali Jinnah and Liaquat Ali. In its political trajectory, at no point of time the Mahasabha, least to say the RSS, demanded Partition of the country.
Savarkar's work, Hindutva, indeed delineating that Hindus and Muslims are two different civilisations and cultures, should not and does not infer his advocacy for two nation theory. He also discussed racial and ancestral unity of both the communities. It should not be forgotten that he always emphasised common citizenship to the minorities in the independent India.
"Anti-Pakistan day" was a favourite programme of the HMS in 40s. Yet Marxist historians do not evaluate his philosophy in totality and only selective quotes have been used to equate him with Jinnah. Not only this, he is more hated personality in the secularist discourse than the founders of Pakistan.
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