RSS attacks Jaswant, commends Congress

Updated on Monday, August 24, 2009, 23:40 IST Tags:Jaswant, Jinnah, Congress, BJP
New Delhi: In a veiled attack on expelled BJP leader Jaswant Singh, RSS has said Mohammed Ali Jinnah is a "hate figure" in the collective Indian conscience and any attempt to change his image in the country is "destined to be doomed". At the same time, it defended Congress leaders for their "correct and nationalist stand of not accepting Muslim League as a sole representative body of the Muslims".
"Every nation has its unique ideas of history, sense of fair play and common memories of friends and enemies. So, in Britain, one cannot think of making a legend of Napoleon...it is so because trying to overturn these aspects is to insult the mass conscience," RSS mouthpiece 'Organiser' said in its editorial. Interestingly, the piece has no mention of Jaswant Singh nor any reference to his book 'Jinnah: India, Partition, Independence' which had stirred a hornet's nest. The journal said what historians and academics can attempt "perhaps becomes taboo for politicians. So, wise men avoid treading the area where only fools rush in". The editorial titled "No Jinnah for India" said that in the collective conscience of India, Jinnah "is a hate figure like Mahammad Ghori...Jinnah is disliked more because his actions are fresh in memory and millions of victims of his hate campaign are still alive". The 'Organiser' editorial said Congress proved "in polls after polls before Partition that it enjoyed the support of more Muslims than Jinnah...Jinnah cruelly and constantly insulted and heaped abuses on Gandhiji, Nehru and other Congress leaders for their correct and nationalist stand of not accepting Muslim League as the sole representative body of the Muslims". It claimed even if Congress wanted, "the nation would not have accepted Jinnah as the first prime minister of India". In a veiled reference to Singh's book, it said a number of books on Jinnah have been published in India. "Only time will tell if these efforts will succeed in de-demonising Jinnah in Indian public perception." It claimed since Pakistan does not have many national heroes, its "eagerness" to project Jinnah as a great leader is understandable. "But that will not change Jinnah's image in India. Every exercise in that direction is destined to be doomed," it added. Bureau Report


Jinnah is not a one-off figure of Indian history. He symbolizes separatism that continues to be propagated by the likes of Huriyat Conference leaders in Kashmir. Eulogizing the symbol of separatism is to justify more partitions in India. Freedom of expression is fine, but not at the cost of India's integrity - never mind what secular intellectuals like Arundhati Roy may say. (Remember her support for independent Kashmir?)

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