Prof Dr. Javed Iqbal Saani, [email protected]
and
Samina Yaqoob, [email protected]
Muhammad Ali Jinnah coined the theoretical argument to support his viewpoint while the Muslims of subcontinent were struggling for a political status. The argument was known as famous two nation theory. In net shall, it means that if people of British India were to divide into two groups in terms of population, it was 400m in total, off them Muslims were 120m and Hindus were 270m. So, it looked like 30% and 60% respectively. There were Sikhs and Christians but they were small in numbers. Sikhs were a sect of Hindus and Hindus perceive them as such, Christianity could not gain ground in the continent despite of a long spell of Christian dominated government. Because religions are not coined by political support. Islam flourished in the Arab Peninsula without such crunches, also in the subcontinent itself and in the Far-East.
Second argument in the support of the theory could be that in the recent history of India two nation governed the region. Muslims governance stared in 711 CE when Muhammad bin Qassim laid the foundation of the Muslim rule in the country. But they were on the looser end when British batsman won over them, unfortunately. The Third argument could be that modern countries are formed on the bases of religious affiliations. Israel, South Sudan and East Timor are some example, Kosovo and Bosnia from the European slice. However, most of them born after the emergence of Pakistan. If we further elaborate the point, we can say culture of the nation was also a factor, language may be another element etc.
The concluding argument of the Muslims were that they are a separate nation. A potential political freedom should be based upon the fact, otherwise the majority would discriminate the minority. The minority was a significant part of the region. As a matter of fact, two nations were geographically apart as well: Muslims were concentrated in the Northern India and Eastern part of it. It implies it was practically possible to divide the country into two nations.
The timeline also provided evidence of the theory. There was a British journalist who visited India and worked in the British Indian government, wrote a book in 1944. I noticed three factors of his treatise: Jinnah is the only person who could be called a leader despite the existence of Gandhi. He was promoted by Hindu majority as the Masiha of the people of subcontinent. Secondly, he said Hindu religion is based upon illogical arguments. For instance, one of the gods is called Ganesh: it is a statue mode of an animal and a human. The third aspect of his book was that Pakistan should come into existence.
The second argument in support of the theory was the election of 1946 when Muslims manufactured Pakistan, practically. They hide behind Jinnah and his colleagues. Muslim League, the political wing of Muslims snatched the political power of all competing players. Therefore, the fate of the nation was decided.
The third point was 1940 resolution was the mass migration that took place when the new nation emerged on the global map.
The fourth argument for the support of the theory was the behaviors of Hindu majority country, so called India. The country had demonstrated the behaviors which Jinnah was expecting and arguing about. The British India was divided on the principle that Muslim majority areas will be included in Pakistan and Hindu majority will join Hindu India. Hindu India annexed on the gun point the former state of Hyderabad and Junagadh. One may argue that geographically they were entrenched by Hindu India. But Hindu India also captured Kashmir which was the home of 90% Muslims and geographically attached with Pakistan. People of Kashmir are suffering from Hindu−Raj since then despite of asking for the plebiscite which Hindu country promised on the table of the United Nations in 1948.
The fifth argument for two nation theory was the creation of Bangladesh by dissecting Pakistan into two parts. There might be some political argument in support of the new country but it was made possible only with Hindu India’s military intervention after only two decades of Pakistan’s life. Then Hindu India’s prime minister MS Gandhi boasted on the fall of Dhaka “we have sunk the two-nation theory today in the Bay of Bengal”. Sinking Pakistan since its birth was one of the strategic objectives of Hindu nation. Previously (at the birth of the country), they had made serious efforts to sink Pakistan economically but the efforts were unsuccessful. The subject already placed in the books of history in reasonable details. Here, we are trying to indicate glimpses of the reality.
The next episode is being played since many years. Hindu India wanted to farther by bifurcate Pakistan. He formed soft corner in Baluchistan and elsewhere. The people of the province are being seduced to get rid of rest of the country with tribal and sectarian weapons. However, they are failing rapidly with the initiations of prosperity, peace, and economic development in the region.
As we described earlier, the election of 1946 became the cornerstone of regeneration of Muslim state in the subcontinent. I am not using the word “independence” because Muslim were not liberated; their political power was returned to them. It was snatched of them; they were legal owner and guardian of the subcontinent. It was Hindu who was liberated of British rule. The British rewarded them a separate country as a reward for the assistance they had put forward against Muslims. The spirit of 1946 is still alive, rather augmented. There are scores of examples.
But the people of the world can see the spirit at flag ceremony at Wahga every day. It is in addition to a range of wars imposed upon them from the old enemy. We have guarded ourselves from Russian and American aggression on the western borders. Israeli and Hindu India on the eastern borders. We sacrificed uncountable lives in 1947, 1965, 1971 and beyond.
We have proved that there were two nations in British India. Over ancestors and beloved leader’s assumptions were not mere assumptions. They were realities which are coming true with the passage of time. Some of them are indicated in the above paragraph. Let see some of the recent examples.
World Happiness Report was released in March 2017. According to which, Hindu India has been placed at 122 while Pakistan captured the 80th position. Since 2016, the former last 4 points and the later gained 6 points. Another American organization ranked Pakistan the 20th strongest nation in the world. Till 2004 the economic development was faster in Pakistan than the Hindu nation. We are far ahead of Hindu India in nuclear and missile technology. All that is being done despite we are at war since 1979 when Soviet Union invaded in Afghanistan. We are constantly fighting against foreign planted terrorism.
International organizations ranked Pakistan’s infrastructure better than its arch competitors. Motorways, irrigation system and many more dimensions made it possible to stand out against those who objected the creation of Pakistan.
I met few Indian Muslim brothers in Makkah in 2009, they were from business community and came for Hajj. They said the government is hesitant to accept the true population of Muslims in the country. They said Muslims are 400 million but the Hindu government says they are only 170 million. They are less represented in the government and political arena. International media says the condition of Muslims in Hindu India is worse; poverty, illiteracy and insecurity are some aspects where the Muslims and the largest minority is well behind the Hindu majority.
The people of Kashmir are being killed, persecuted with the help of 500,000 army personnel. The recent evidence is published in The Guardian, a well-known British Newspaper. The title of the article is “Is India Losing Kashmir”. The author described the story of persecution started in 1989 and the resistance of people. Young people which is a significant number of the population are throwing stones to the armed forces because they have only stones in their hands.
The theory of TWO nations seems to me truer today than ever not to speak of 70 years ago when our ancestors argued about the reality. Economic, political and social conditions of Indian Muslims are far worse than our leaders were expecting or fearing of. We people of Pakistan are proud of our country and we are better off our Muslim brothers residing under the Hindu oppression.