New Delhi, Aug 16 (PTI) The Congress on Saturday alleged that the partition of India happened because of the ‘jugalbandi’ of the Hindu Mahasabha and the Muslim League, as it accused the ruling BJP of interfering in institutions while trying to distort the country’s history.
The Congress also dubbed the RSS as “the biggest villain” in the country’s history, and said that the coming generations would not forgive them.
The Congress said that as a special NCERT module to mark the “Partition Horrors Remembrance Day” held Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the Congress and the then Viceroy Lord Mountbatten responsible for India’s partition.
Congress spokesperson and head of party’s media and publicity department Pawan Khera said the book does not mention anything about the Hindu Mahasabha for forming coalition governments with the Muslim League and both propagating, in pre-partition days, that Hindus and Muslims cannot live together in one country.
“The partition happened because of the Hindu Mahasabha and Muslim League’s ‘jugalbandi’. If there is anyone which is the biggest villain in history, it is the RSS. Generations will not forgive them for the contribution,” Khera told reporters when asked about the NCERT book.
“The manner in which they are trying to interfere in institutions and are trying to distort the history, we would not sit quiet. Can they remove these pages of 1938, 1940 and of 1942?” he asked.
The Congress leader said L K Advani had gone to the Mazar of Mohammad Ali Jinnah to pay his respects, as the Hindu Mahasabha and the Muslim League were “together in seeking partition”.
Khera claimed that in 1938, the Hindu Mahasabha held its annual convention on the banks of Sabarmati in Gujarat, where it was clearly stated that Hindus and Muslims cannot stay together in one country.
In 1940, he said, in its Lahore convention, the Muslim League took this forward and repeated this statement, but the NCERT module does not mention about them.
“When the Quit India Movement was launched in 1942, Congress leaders resigned from the provincial Assembly and took to the streets. At that time, the Hindu Mahasabha and the Muslim League entered into a coalition and jointly formed governments in NWFP, Bengal and Sindh.
“Has the NCERT module written this that the Hindu Mahasabha and the Muslim League formed joint coalition governments?” the Congress leader asked.
“Put that book in fire if all that which is history has been not been written in it,” Khera asserted.
The NCERT module has also noted that post-Partition, Kashmir emerged as a new problem, which had never existed in India before and created a challenge for the country’s foreign policy.
It also flagged that some countries keep giving aid to Pakistan and exert pressure on India in the name of the Kashmir issue.
“India’s Partition happened due to wrong ideas. The party of Indian Muslims, the Muslim League, held a conference in Lahore in 1940. Its leader, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, said that Hindus and Muslims belong to two different religious philosophies, social customs, and literatures,” the module said.
In a section titled “Culprits of Partition”, the NCERT module said, “Ultimately, on August 15, 1947, India was divided. But this was not the doing of any one person. There were three elements responsible for the Partition of India: Jinnah, who demanded it; second, the Congress, which accepted it; and third, Mountbatten, who implemented it. But Mountbatten proved to be guilty of a major blunder.
“He preponed the date for the transfer of power from June 1948 to August 1947. He persuaded everyone to agree to this. Because of this, complete preparations could not be made before the Partition. The demarcation of the Partition boundaries was also done hastily. For that, Sir Cyril Radcliffe was given only five weeks.” PTI SKC MNK MNK
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