Knowledge at Work.

India gained its independence on August 15^th 1947. However at the same time the Dominion of Pakistan was formed too. There are several causes for the formation of Pakistan but the man mainly responsible for it is Jinnah (from article). Was there a need for the formation of Pakistan, I do not think so. Today people from all different religions reside in India without any conflict. Why then should Jinnah want to create a new country by splitting not only the country on bases of geography but also splitting the people on bases of who are Hindus and Muslims? This rift developed in the 1940’s has caused countless terrorist attacks in both countries by fanatics.

The article is biased towards Hindus but also gives evidences to prove its bias. The author at the beginning of the article has said that following the speech on July 19, 1946 there was a great massacre of Hindus in Calcutta. This clearly influences the reader’s perception by attacking his or her emotions.

There is no reason given in the article of why Jinnah wanted the partition but it is clearly shown that he was an extremist and wanted it at any cost. He was responsible for the ‘great Calcutta killings’ in 1946. He aroused his fellow Muslims but did not even know how to speak Urdu. Jinnah was not a true Muslim. He was more of a Catholic than a Muslim. “He changed his birthday from 20 October to Christmas Day. As a student at Lincoln's Inn, he anglicized his name from Jinnahbhai to Jinnah.” Jinnah is portrayed as a selfish leader who can resort to any sort of violence to get his way.

The article gives the only the point of view of the different Hindu leaders and subtly criticizes Jinnah’s actions while praising the RSS. Syama Prasad Mookerjee was the leader of the Hindu Mahasabha. He plays around with words and uses it effectively to target the people’s emotion to trigger anti- Muslim sentiments- “Jinnah is out to destroy the very soul of India.” This statement encourages people to become patriotic as well as pro-Hindu. He reasons out that a partition is not the answer for India, and not just propagate it-

“Hindus regard this country as their sacred and holy land. Irrespective of provincial barriers or the diversity in faiths and languages there exists a remarkable economic and cultural unity and inter-dependence which cannot be destroyed at the will of persons and parties who think it beneath their dignity to regard India as their motherland. We must live and die for India and her liberty.”

This article is a subtle propaganda for the RSS. The author is artfully telling the reader that he is associated with the RSS and feels that the change in the views of the Bharatiya Janata Party is wrong. He feels that the RSS is right in its views about being an extremist pro-Hindu party.

The author has spoken about Hindu leaders who I have not heard of and glorified them, he has on the other hand he has given Gandhi, a person every Indian has heard of less prominence. Gandhi was a pacifist and the extremists did not agree upon his methods.

I feel the partition was just an excuse for Jinnah to gain some importance and make sure he is remembered for a long time. I feel that there was no logical need for a partition to occur. Why should there be any kind of war between people living in the same country when a third party (the British) can be root cause of it and also take advantage.