BJP Nervous about Jinnah!
Troubled Galaxy Destroyed Dreams, Chapter 344
Palash Biswas
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BJP narrow minded, limited: Jaswant Singh
Email this story RSS chief advocates scrapping of article 370 in J&KIndopia - 45 minutes ago Jammu , Aug 23 RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat today strongly advocated scrapping of article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, saying it has given rise to separatism whose ... RSS to support demand for central university in Jammu Thaindian.com BJP should get younger leaders, says RSS chiefTimes of India - Aug 18, 2009 At 59, Mohan Madhukar Bhagwat is the youngest RSS sarsangchalak after the organisation founder KB Hedgewar. His words would make him appear diffident: "My ... BJP should look for a younger leader: RSS chief Daily News & Analysis RSS chief signals: Younger generation must take over Indian Express RSS Chief breaks his silence Times Now.tv Top Article: From Idols To IdeologyTimes of India - 1 hour ago In the eyes of the BJP, and of its RSS mentors, Jaswant Singh committed not a crime but something worse: he was guilty of apostasy. ... RSS set to restore party 'ideology'Times of India - Aug 19, 2009 JAIPUR: The RSS is keeping a close watch on the recent tiff between the BJP leadership and state party leader Vasundhara Raje. Though it denies intervening ... BJP conclave leaves many questions unanswered The Statesman BJP's Jaswant impact? Raje mellows, may resign IBNLive.com Raje meets Rajnath, Advani Press Trust of India RSS must also introspect about their organisation: JaswantHindustan Times - Aug 19, 2009 Calling RSS pracharaks as suvidhavadi, Singh also said that RSS should introspect about their organisation. Meanwhile, the ripples of fracas in BJP has been ... Video: The Jinnah smokescreen  NDTV.com RSS disagrees with Jaswant Singh's views on Jinnah Times of India RSS missile to BJP oldies hits Jaswant Daily News & Analysis Jaswant calls on Vajpayee, says former PM blessed himIndian Express - 2 hours ago Entire world knows Hindus and RSS are peace loving. Many millions of Hindus support BJP, RSS or tother organisations. Your readers comments as publised in ... LK, RSS chief meet ahead of baithakTimes of India - Aug 12, 2009 NEW DELHI: Did RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat suggest to LK Advani that he should give some thought to his successor? Advani has sharply denied media reports to ... RSS pushes with exit sign, Advani resists Calcutta Telegraph RSS chief says he did not instruct Advani on succession Press Trust of India Didn't ask Advani to quit: RSS chief Hindustan Times ePaper RSS looks to increase activities in collegesEconomic Times - - Aug 18, 2009 The RSS has launched "software shakhas" in a move to induct young, upwardly mobile IT professionals into its fold. IT Milans aren't typical shakhas ... 'Convenient' RSS khaki shorts may changeTimes of India - Aug 15, 2009 PTI 15 August 2009, 05:41pm IST CHENNAI: The RSS, known for the khaki shorts, white shirts and black cap worn by its activists, has no plans to change the ... RSS chief says he has issued no 'directive' to Advani to quit Business Standard Stay up to date on these results: |
Sudheendra, however, maintained that his decision had nothing to do with the expulsion of Jaswant Singh over his book "Jinnah: India, Partition, Independence".
Jaswant Singh said the contention in his controversial book, "Jinnah- India, Partition, Independence", that the founder of Pakistan was a "great man" and had been "demonised" in India was based on facts, and wondered that it should upset his party leadership.
"I didn't think the party is so narrow-minded...so nervous about Jinnah and Patel and to get so riled at what I have written. I have a feeling, which I voiced also, that perhaps my former colleagues had not really read the book when they passed the sentence," he said on a television channel.
Singh, who has handled external affairs, defence and finance portfolios in the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government, was unhappy that the party did not distinguish between Jinnah's personal attributes as a human being and his politics while taking a decision to expel him.
"I decided to end my association with the BJP several weeks back. My decision has nothing to do with the unfortunate incident of Jaswant Singh-ji," Kulkarni told Times Now. He said he would continue to be a well-wisher of the party and added: "I have the highest regard for Advani-ji and Atal Bihari Vajpayee-ji, whom I have worked with for 13 years."
Kulkarni, who began his political activism as a Communist, worked in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) during Vajpayee's time and served as his speech writer, media adviser and political aide. "From now on I will be totally independent. I will work with like-minded members of other parties...," Kulkarni told the news channel.
BJP vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said that his dissociation from the BJP or its leaders is not going to have any effect on the party. "Kulkarni is not a member of BJP or an office-bearer of the party," he said.
After BJP's debacle in the Lok Sabha polls, Kulkarni had been critical of the party's election campaign strategy and management as also Varun Gandhi's hate speech. He had incurred the wrath of the RSS when he wrote about Sangh Parivar "interference" in BJP's functioning.
In a newspaper article yesterday, Kulkarni had been highly critical of the way Jaswant Singh was expelled from BJP at its Shimla conclave. On whether his step was triggered by the manner in which Singh was removed, he said, "I would like to clarify that my decision has nothing to do with his removal. I had taken this decision several weeks back and communicated it to Advaniji."
He said Advani was "extremely sad" when he conveyed his decision. "I continue to have the highest respect for both Advaniji and Vajpayeeji," he said and thanked them for supporting him.
When asked about his future plans, Kulkarni said, "I will continue to be active in public life and work closely with like-minded people in all political parties to make my humble contribution to the promotion of good governance and towards building a national consensus on major national issues".
Reacting to his decision, BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said Kulkarni was not a member of the BJP since 2005. "He was associated with election-related work. The whole election mechanism was wound up immediately after the Lok Sabha polls by party president Rajnath Singh," he said.
Another BJP spokesperson Balbir Punj described Kulkarni as a "valuable colleague" but said, "If Kulkarni feels that he is uncomfortable in BJP and he has taken a decision to leave the party, well, that is his decision."
Kulkarni, an IIT graduate and a columnist, was national secretary of BJP when Advani was the party president. However, he resigned in 2005 in the wake the controversial statement made by Advani in Pakistan, where he described Mohammad Ali Jinnah as "secular". That speech of Advani was reportedly written by Kulkarni.
But Kulkarni continued to serve the party through his close association with Advani. He had served as director and later as an Officer on Special Duty in the PMO under Vajpayee. During the recent Lok Sabha elections, Kulkarni was active in the election campaign management and was even seen defending the party on news channels and through his columns.
However, he embarrassed the BJP soon after the poll results when he wrote a piece in a magazine where he took a very critical view of the party's election campaign strategy. He even stated that Advani had failed to assert himself during crucial times in the course of the campaign.
The party had distanced itself from his views when senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj described Kulkarni as an "independent journalist" who was free to air his opinion. She had said the views expressed by him in the article were not that of the party. Since then, Kulkarni has been virtually inactive within the BJP.
Jaswant pays price for telling the truth
23 Aug 2009, 1255 hrs IST, Swaminathan S Anklesaria Aiyar, TNN For decades, Congress and BJP have jointly nurtured the myth that Britain teamed up with Jinnah to impose Partition on India, to institutionalise 
Jaswant Singh
divide-and-rule even after leaving. No, says Jaswant Singh in his new book. Partition was largely due to Nehru and Sardar Patel, who insisted on a centralised India and vetoed the loose federation favoured by Jinnah.
The BJP has expelled Jaswant, and, outrageously, banned his book in Gujarat. He wonders why the party is upset by his expose of Patel/Nehru. He should have known that his expose would damage the anti-Muslim ideology of the BJP more than that of Congress.
Historically, India was a land of a thousand warring kings, along with divisions of language, region and religion. Division was a fact of life: the British did not have to invent it. Rather, as Maulana Muhammad Ali said to the British, ''We divide and you rule.''
British rule consolidated a hitherto fragmented India. Even so, British India covered only half the area and two-thirds of the population of the sub-continent. The rest lay with 600-odd princely states. Had Britain wanted to continue divide-and-rule - and Churchill certainly did - it just had to stand by its treaties with the 600 princes, who wanted independence. But the Labour Party that came to power in 1945 was against such imperial games. Mountbatten, the last Viceroy, told the princes they must join India or Pakistan. This helped create two countries out of 600 princedoms.
Jaswant portrays Jinnah as a secularist wanting a loose federation of states, each with substantial autonomy. A loose federation was initially proposed by Mountbatten but rejected by Nehru, who said it would Balkanize India. Nehru wanted a strong federal government for unity. Jinnah said this was a cloak for Hindu hegemony.
Jaswant is perhaps too soft on Jinnah, who had a communal streak as well as a secular one. His insistence that only the Muslim League could speak for Muslims was pure communalism. At one time he favoured a loose federation, but ultimately insisted on a separate Pakistan.
The interim government of 1946-47 included Congress and the Muslim League. Jinnah quarrelled daily with Congress on issue after issue to deny it legitimacy.
Liaquat Ali of the Muslim League was finance minister in the interim government, and had the power to block any expenditure. He constantly queried and blocked spending proposals of Congress ministers. Patel said he could not even appoint a chaprasi without Liaquat's approval, which took ages.
| Jaswant Singh |
The BJP has expelled Jaswant, and, outrageously, banned his book in Gujarat. He wonders why the party is upset by his expose of Patel/Nehru. He should have known that his expose would damage the anti-Muslim ideology of the BJP more than that of Congress.
Historically, India was a land of a thousand warring kings, along with divisions of language, region and religion. Division was a fact of life: the British did not have to invent it. Rather, as Maulana Muhammad Ali said to the British, ''We divide and you rule.''
British rule consolidated a hitherto fragmented India. Even so, British India covered only half the area and two-thirds of the population of the sub-continent. The rest lay with 600-odd princely states. Had Britain wanted to continue divide-and-rule - and Churchill certainly did - it just had to stand by its treaties with the 600 princes, who wanted independence. But the Labour Party that came to power in 1945 was against such imperial games. Mountbatten, the last Viceroy, told the princes they must join India or Pakistan. This helped create two countries out of 600 princedoms.
Jaswant portrays Jinnah as a secularist wanting a loose federation of states, each with substantial autonomy. A loose federation was initially proposed by Mountbatten but rejected by Nehru, who said it would Balkanize India. Nehru wanted a strong federal government for unity. Jinnah said this was a cloak for Hindu hegemony.
Jaswant is perhaps too soft on Jinnah, who had a communal streak as well as a secular one. His insistence that only the Muslim League could speak for Muslims was pure communalism. At one time he favoured a loose federation, but ultimately insisted on a separate Pakistan.
The interim government of 1946-47 included Congress and the Muslim League. Jinnah quarrelled daily with Congress on issue after issue to deny it legitimacy.
Liaquat Ali of the Muslim League was finance minister in the interim government, and had the power to block any expenditure. He constantly queried and blocked spending proposals of Congress ministers. Patel said he could not even appoint a chaprasi without Liaquat's approval, which took ages.
20/08/2009
The real story behind Jaswant Singh's expulsion
His 'adulation' of Jinnah was the cause celebre, but differences have been building up between him and the BJP.
His 'adulation' of Jinnah was the cause celebre, but differences have been building up between him and the BJP.
Jaswant Singh, defence, finance and foreign minister in successive Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) governments and a member of the Parliamentary Board, the party's highest body, was today stripped of primary membership of the BJP.
The proximate reason for the expulsion was Singh's evaluation of Mohammad Ali Jinnah, considered the father of Pakistan, in a book that was released earlier this week. The book, described as "adulatory" of a hate object of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), was strongly criticised by large sections of the BJP.
20/08/2009
Key excerpts from Jaswant's controversial book
Excerpts from Jinnah: India-Partition-Independence by Jaswant Singh, the veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader whose views on the Pakistan founder led to his expulsion from the party Wednesday:
* "The basic and structural fault in Jinnah's notion remains a rejection of his origins; of being an Indian, having been shaped by the soil of India, tempered in the heat of Indian experience. Muslims in India were no doubt subscribers to a different faith but that is all; they were not any different stock or of alien origin."
* "It is in this, a false 'minority syndrome' that the dry rot of partition first set in, and then unstoppably it afflicted the entire structure, the magnificent edifice of an united India. The answer (cure?), Jinnah asserted, lay only in parting, and Nehru and Patel and others of the Congress also finally agreed. Thus was born Pakistan".
* "His opposition was not against the Hindus or Hinduism, it was the Congress that he considered as the true political rival of the Muslim League, and the League he considered as being just an 'extension of himself'. He, of course, made much of the Hindu-Muslim riots (1946; Bengal, Bihar, etc.) to 'prove the incapacity of Congress Governments to protect Muslims; and also expressed fear of "Hindu raj" to frighten Muslims into joining the League, but during innumerable conversations with him I can rarely recall him attacking Hindus or Hinduism as such. His opposition, which later developed into almost hatred, remained focused upon the Congress leadership' (M.R.A. Baig, Jinnah's secretary)."
* "Religion in all this was entirely incidental; Pakistan alone gave him all that his personality and character demanded. If Mr. Jinnah was necessary for achieving Pakistan, Pakistan, too was necessary for the fulfilment of Mr. Jinnah."
* "However, it has to be said, and with great sadness, that despite some early indications to the contrary, the leaders of the Indian National Congress, in the period between the outbreak of war in 1939 and the country's partition in 1947, showed in general, a sad lack of realism, of foresight, of purpose and of will."
* "As (Maulana Azad) wrote in his memoirs, he had come to the conclusion that Indian federation should deal with just three subjects: defence, foreign affairs and communications; thus granting the maximum possible autonomy to the provinces. According to the Maulana, Gandhi accepted this suggestion, while Sardar Patel did not."
* "For, along with several other there is one central difficult that India, Pakistan, Bangladesh face: our 'past' has, in reality never gone into the 'past', it continues to reinvent itself, constantly becoming our 'present', thus preventing us from escaping the imprisonment of memories. To this we have to find an answer, who else can or will?"
Source: Agencies
http://news.in.msn.com/national/article.aspx?cp-documentid=3158280
Sudheendra Kulkarni quits BJP, cites 'ideological differences'
New Delhi: Reeling under internal bickering and controversy surrounding Jaswant Singh's expulsion, the BJP today suffered further embarrassment when Sudheendra Kulkarni, who was a close aide of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L K Advani, decided to quit the party.
52-year-old Kulkarni, an erstwhile speech-writer of Advani, said he was ending his "active association" with the party as he wanted to have the "freedom to express" his views but insisted that his decision has nothing to do with the ouster of Jaswant Singh.
"I have, after 13 years of being a full-time activist of BJP, decided to end my active association with the party. I continue, however, to be its well-wisher," he told PTI.
When asked what prompted his decision, Kulkarni, a former journalist and a one-time CPI(M) card holder, said, "I have concluded that I cannot make any meaningful contribution to the party any more as I have ideological differences with it as it stands today."
"I want to have the freedom to express my views and be sincere to my convictions. At the same time, I respect the discipline of the party and, therefore, I have stepped out."
BJP vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said that his dissociation from the BJP or its leaders is not going to have any effect on the party. "Kulkarni is not a member of BJP or an office-bearer of the party," he said.
After BJP's debacle in the Lok Sabha polls, Kulkarni had been critical of the party's election campaign strategy and management as also Varun Gandhi's hate speech. He had incurred the wrath of the RSS when he wrote about Sangh Parivar "interference" in BJP's functioning.
Kulkarni, who began his political activism as a Communist, worked in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) during Vajpayee's time and served as his speech writer, media adviser and political aide.
"From now on I will be totally independent. I will work with like-minded members of other parties...," Kulkarni told Times Now news channel.
In a newspaper article on Saturday, Kulkarni had been highly critical of the way Jaswant Singh was expelled from BJP at its Shimla conclave.
On whether his step was triggered by the manner in which Jaswant was removed, he said, "I would like to clarify that my decision has nothing to do with his removal. I had taken this decision several weeks back and communicated it to Advaniji."
He said Advani was "extremely sad" when he conveyed his decision. "I continue to have the highest respect for both Advaniji and Vajpayeeji," he said and thanked them for supporting him.
When asked about his future plans, Kulkarni said, "I will continue to be active in public life and work closely with like-minded people in all political parties to make my humble contribution to the promotion of good governance and towards building a national consensus on major issues".
Reacting to his decision, BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said Kulkarni was not a member of the BJP since 2005. "He was associated with election-related work. The whole election mechanism was wound up immediately after the Lok Sabha polls by party president Rajnath Singh," he said.
Another BJP spokesperson Balbir Punj described Kulkarni as a "valuable colleague" but said, "If Kulkarni feels that he is uncomfortable in BJP and he has taken a decision to leave the party, well, that is his decision."
Kulkarni, an IIT graduate and a columnist, was national secretary of BJP when Advani was the party president. However, he resigned in 2005 in the wake of the controversial statement made by Advani in Pakistan, where he described Mohammad Ali Jinnah as "secular". That speech of Advani was reportedly written by Kulkarni.
But Kulkarni continued to serve the party through his close association with Advani.
He had served as director and later as an Officer on Special Duty in the PMO under Vajpayee.
During the recent Lok Sabha elections, Kulkarni was active in the election campaign management and was even seen defending the party on news channels and through his columns.
However, he embarrassed the BJP soon after the poll results when he wrote a piece in a magazine where he took a very critical view of the party's election campaign strategy.
He even stated that Advani had failed to assert himself during crucial times in the course of the campaign.
The party had distanced itself from his views when senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj described Kulkarni as an "independent journalist" who was free to air his opinion.
She had said the views expressed by him in the article were not that of the party. Since then, Mr. Kulkarni has been virtually inactive within the BJP.
Source: PTI, IANS
| Vasundhara sets terms | ||
| OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT | ||
New Delhi, Aug. 22: The impasse in the BJP could not be resolved this evening as Vasundhara Raje set conditions for her resignation as Opposition leader while assuring party president Rajnath Singh of her readiness to abide by his directive. Vasundhara today called on Rajnath and L.K. Advani. Sources claimed Vasundhara was not quarrelling with Rajnath for her own survival but was expressing her determination to fight for an honourable exit. The central leaders will now have to discuss the demands of the former Rajasthan chief minister and get back to her before expecting a solution. The tug-of-war has come a day after Rajnath's muscle-flexing in Shimla that culminated in a declaration that no act of indiscipline would be tolerated. Vasundhara had indicated that she was not going to bow out of office without a respectable bargain. Even after the party's decision to expel Jaswant Singh, Vasundhara had not betrayed any signs of nervousness and her aides had kept referring to the support of majority of MLAs. Sources said she argued her case before Advani and Rajnath armed with letters of support from over 50 legislators. Sources close to her had maintained that she would not relinquish office unless the central leaders displayed a sense of accommodation. Her belief that she was being hounded out for no fault of hers had not changed despite the sustained pressure from the high command. She reluctantly agreed to avoid a confrontation but only on condition that she had a say in the changes in the Rajasthan unit. The post of state unit president has already gone to one of her detractors and she does not want to vacate the space in the Assembly in favour of a rival. She has firmly told the high command that the legislature party leader must be from her camp. She also wants her loyalists who had been suspended reinstated. MP book cry The Congress has borrowed a leaf from Narendra Modi's book and demanded a ban on Jaswant Singh's Jinnah: India, Partition, Independence, adds our special correspondent in Bhopal. Madhya Pradesh Congress spokesperson K.K. Mishra issued a statement asking for ban on the book across the state. But chief minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan, heading a BJP government, has adopted a cautious stand. Asked if he would follow the ban imposed on the book by the Gujarat government, Chauhan said: "I do not think so. I do not see the need for it." The chief minister, however, insisted that he had the highest regard for Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel — the Gujarat government had cited critical references to him to ban the book. State Congress chief Suresh Pachauri, too, said: "We are yet to decide about it. So far, we have not demanded a ban on the book." |
| Gandhi and Jinnah — a study in contrasts | ||||
| An extract from the book that roiled the Bharatiya Janata Party and led to the expulsion of its author Jaswant Singh from the party | ||||
Comparing Gandhi and Jinnah is an extremely complex exercise but important for they were, or rather became, the two foci of the freedom movement. Gandhi was doubtless of a very different mould, but he too, like Jinnah, had gained eminence and successfully transited from his Kathiawari origins to become a London barrister before acquiring a political personality. Yet there existed an essential difference here. Gandhi's birth in a prominent family — his father was, after all, a diwan (prime minister) of an Indian state — helped immeasurably. No such advantage of birth gave Jinnah a leg up, it was entirely through his endeavours. Gandhi, most remarkably, became a master practitioner of the politics of protest. This he did not do by altering his own nature, or language of discourse, but by transforming the very nature of politics in India. He transformed a people, who on account of prolonged foreign rule had acquired a style of subservience. He shook them out of this long, moral servitude. Gandhi took politics out of the genteel salons, the debating halls and societies to the soil of India, for he, Gandhi — was rooted to that soil, he was of it, he lived the idiom, the dialogue and discourse of that soil: its sweat; its smells and its great beauty and fragrances, too. Some striking differences between these two great Indians are lucidly conveyed by Hector Bolitho in In Quest of Jinnah. He writes: 'Jinnah was a source of power'. Gandhi... an 'instrument of it... Jinnah was a cold rationalist in politics — he had a one track mind, with great force behind it'. Then: 'Jinnah was potentially kind, but in behaviour extremely cold and distant.' Gandhi embodied compassion — Jinnah did not wish to touch the poor, but then Gandhi's instincts were rooted in India and life long he soiled his hands in helping the squalid poor.
Not so Jinnah: for having been uprooted repeatedly in his childhood, then moved too frequently, he neither easily belonged nor did he relate with comfort. Besides being the quintessential constitutionalist, he had to follow a different course; for him to adapt to the changing times, to the dusty trails of rural India, was not at all easy. That is why he found it so difficult, by around 1920, to maintain his position at the national level given Gandhi's arrival and rapid ascendancy. Besides, there was no province, not one, not then, not later, that he could rely upon totally as his exclusive parish. His lack of ability to adapt to the integrative politics of the masses always remained a problem. Whereafter, his status as a Muslim, it must be accepted, further handicapped his position at the national level, for in nationalist politics the scene had already got crowded; as a Muslim, yes, there was a role for him to play but only in the second rank. For Jinnah, a secondary status was galling; what he had always sought and mostly attained was the centre stage; yet, now how could he, when so many factors constantly kept pushing him to the periphery of it? * * * Gandhi andJinnah: The two incompatible kathiawaris We have earlier, though very briefly, considered these two great but incompatible Indians, both born of Kathiawari trading communities but not endowed with much other similarities. One was devoutly and expressly Hindu, the other but a casual votary of Islam. One shaped religion to his political ends; the other shunned it on grounds of principle. Gandhi in a very real sense was deeply under the influence of Tolstoy (it is after Tolstoy that he had named his settlement in South Africa) and Henry David Thoreau; Jinnah recognised the political impress only of Dadabhai (Naoroji) and (Gopal Krishna) Gokhale. Gandhi led his personal life publicly; Jinnah led even his public life close to his chest. These two, in one fashion or another, not just deeply influenced events of those momentous decades of India's freedom struggle but actually shaped them. Gandhi admitted failure in his quest; Jinnah, it is apocryphally suggested, boasted that 'he won Pakistan with the help of just a typewriter and a clerk.' It is a fascinating theme, a study of these two great Indians. This sub-chapter can attempt no more than an outline sketch. Although the families of both Jinnah and Gandhi had once lived just about 40 miles or so apart in Kathiawar (Gujarat), this adjacency of their places of origin did nothing to bring their politics close together. At their very first meeting, at the Gurjar Sabha in January 1915, convened to felicitate Gandhi upon his return from South Africa, in response to a welcome speech, with Jinnah presiding, Gandhi had somewhat accommodatingly said he was 'glad to find a Muslim not only belonging to his own region's sabha but chairing it.' Gandhi had singled out Jinnah as a Muslim, though, neither in appearance or in conduct was Jinnah anywhere near to being any of the stereotypes of the religious identity ascribed by Gandhi. Jinnah, on the other hand, was far more fulsome in his praise. Gandhi had reached India by boat in January 1915 when many leaders, including Jinnah and Gokhale, went to Bombay to give him an ovatious welcome. By this date Jinnah had already engaged as an all India leader and was committed to attaining his stated goals of unity, not just between the Muslims and the Hindus, Extremists and Moderates, but also among various classes of India. To receive Gandhi, Jinnah had forsaken attending the Madras Congress meet of 1914. Gandhi, upon reaching Bombay, had been warmly welcomed by Jinnah who wanted to enlist his services for the cause of Hindu-Muslim unity. It was because of his popularity and standing that Jinnah had been invited to preside over a garden party given by the Gurjar Sabha, an association of the Gurjar (Gujar) community, arranged to welcome Mr and Mrs Gandhi, on his arrival on 13 January 1915.
In his presidential address, Jinnah 'welcomed... Mr and Mrs Gandhi, not only on behalf of Bombay but on behalf of the whole of India.' He impressed upon Gandhi that the greatest problem was 'to bring about unanimity and co-operation between the two communities so that the demands of India (from Imperial Britain) may be made absolutely unanimously.' For this he desired 'that frame of mind, that state, that condition which they had to bring about between the two communities, when most of their problems, he had no doubt, would easily be solved.' Jinnah went to the extent of saying: 'Undoubtedly he [Gandhi] would not only become a worthy ornament but also a real worker whose equals there were very few.' This remark was greatly applauded by a largely Hindu audience, accounts of that meeting report. Gandhi, however, was cautious and somewhat circuitous in his response. He took the plea that he would study all the Indian questions from 'his own point of view,' a reasonable enough assertion; also because Gokhale had advised him to study the situation for at least a year before entering politics. This, too, was all right but then, needlessly, he thanked Jinnah for presiding over a Hindu gathering. This was an ungracious and discouraging response to Jinnah's warm welcome and had a dampening effect. Gandhi, somewhat hesitant at first, could, in that early phase, see no other route but of following Gokhale, Jinnah and some of the other moderate leaders. This was also because (Bal Gangadhar) Tilak had also, by then, come around to the moderate line. Gandhi did cooperate with all of them, but only until about 1920, after which he clearly became the prominent voice and position. Besides, by then (1920) Gandhi had won acceptance from the British government too, even though that was through the good offices of Gokhale, who 'exerted the full weight of his prestige and influence upon the Viceroy, Lord Hardinge, to bring the Government of India solidly behind Gandhi.' This was the period when the British government, very concerned about Jinnah, his Hindu-Muslim unity moves, was endeavouring hard to keep the All India Muslim League away from the Indian National Congress. In a sense Jinnah's position goes back by a year, to May 1914, when he had led a Congress delegation to England to lobby with the secretary of state and other members of Parliament for opening up the Council of India to at least three non-official Indians, who could be elected by the Imperial and Provincial Legislative Councils. He appeared then as a kind of potential political heir to the great trio of the early years of the twentieth century: Naoroji-Mehta-Gokhale; and, of course, of the leadership of the Congress, too, certainly in India's West. The India Office, however, rejected these demands outright. It was in any event an ill-timed initiative for just about then the First World War had broken out. While Jinnah was so engaged, Gandhi, upon the outbreak of war, urged his countrymen to 'think imperially.' He also took the lead in organising a Field Ambulance Training Corps, in London, to help the Allies. One hears echoes of similar efforts by him in South Africa and during the Boer war, but this was in a sharp contrast to Gandhi's approach and policy during the Second World War. In any event, Gandhi's leadership at this time had almost an entirely religiously provincial character. Jinnah, on the other hand, was then doubtless imbued by a non-sectarian, nationalistic zeal. |
Jaswant Singh
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the Indian Army commander, see Joginder Jaswant Singh.For the Indian author, see Lt Col Jaswant Singh Marwah.| Jaswant Singh | |
| | |
| Succeeded by | P Chidambaram |
|---|---|
| Constituency | Darjeeling |
| | |
| Born | January 3, 1938 (1938-01-03) Rajasthan |
| Religion | Hindu |
| Website | http://www.jaswantsingh.com |
Jaswant Singh (born January 3, 1938) is an Indian politician and member of parliament from Darjeeling parliamentary constituency. He is from the Indian State of Rajasthan and was an officer in the Indian Army in the 1960s and is an alumnus of Mayo College and the National Defence Academy (India), Khadakwasla. He served as Finance minister in the short-lived government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, which lasted just from May 16, 1996, to June 1, 1996. After Vajpayee became Prime Minister again two years later, he became Minister for External Affairs of India, serving from December 5, 1998 until July 1, 2002. Responsible for foreign policy, he dealt with high tensions between India and Pakistan. In July 2002 he became Finance Minister again, switching posts with Yashwant Sinha. He served as Finance Minister until the defeat of the Vajpayee government in May 2004 and was instrumental in defining and pushing through the market-friendly reforms of the government. Known for his moderate political views, he is a self-described liberal democrat even though the Bharatiya Janata Party is often described as a right-wing nationalist organization. He was conferred the Outstanding Parliamentarian Award for the year 2001. On 19 August 2009, he was expelled from BJP after criticism over his remarks in his book Jinnah - India, Partition, Independence.[1]
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[edit] Career
He is one of the few Indian politicians to have been the Minister for Defence, Finance and External Affairs.
He started the new government of Vajpayee, which lasted its full term, as the External Affairs Minister and later on switched his ministry to Finance with Yashwant Sinha. He was also the Defence Minister when George Fernandes was forced to resign after the Tehelka exposure.
Mr. Singh is widely regarded for his handling of relations with the United States which were strained after the 1998 Indian nuclear tests but which ameliorated soon after culminating in the visit of U.S. President Clinton to India. His skill as a negotiator and diplomat during talks with the United States has been well acknowledged by his U.S. counterpart Strobe Talbott.
Jaswant Singh is also the most influential person in the BJP not from a RSS background.
Jaswant Singh has been criticized by Political parties frequently for escorting terrorist to Kandhar, Afghanistan who were released by Government of India in exchange of passengers from the hijacked Indian Airlines plane. However, an all party meeting was called by the Indian government during that time and the decision taken was mutual by bringing all political parties in confidence.
In 2009 general election, he won as a candidate of BJP from Darjeeling parliamentary constituency under the state of west Bengal. He replaced the already declared candidate of BJP Mr. Dawa Sherpa, an ex IPS officer.
His candidature was the outcome of long political discussion between BJP and Gorkha Janamukti Morcha(GJM), an outfit demanding separate statehood for Hilly and Foothills of Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts in the name of Gorkhaland.
The outfit, presumably having good support base in hills, offered its support in the election to different political wings including Indian National Congress, BJP or NCP of Mr. P A Sangma in Darjeeling. In return, they wanted inclusion of the demand of separate Gorkhaland statehood in the parties Election Manifesto. They have also put an additional condition for BJP to replace their declared candidate Mr. Sherpa.
After lot of turmoils and discussion, on the 2nd April late evening, finally BJP declared its decision to go with GJM. It was also accepted to give sympathetic consideration to Gorkhaland issue. Against this, GJM offered their support to BJP in two additional adjoining PCs in foothills- Alipurduar and Jalpaiguri.
[edit] Books and controversies
In July 2006, Singh released a book titled A Call to Honour: In Service of Emergent India.[2] A controversy erupted immediately after the release of the book, in which Singh insinuated that a mole had existed in the Prime Ministerial Office during the tenure of Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao, who had leaked information to American sources. Soon after, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh challenged him to name the mole. In response, Singh sent a letter to him. The letter, Singh said later, had no signature, and no name of any mole. Jaswant Singh then backed off, saying his views on the subject were based on a "hunch".[2]
Controversy hovered him again when on 17 August 2009 his another book titled Jinnah: India-Partition-Independence was released in which he claimed Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru's centralised polity was responsible for partition.[3] He was later expelled from the primary membership of BJP as a result of the ensuing controversy [4]. In interviews with media he quoted BJP as narrow minded and to have limited thought[5]. His book was later banned in Gujarat[6].
[edit] See also
| Preceded by Manmohan Singh | Minister of Finance of India 1996–1996 | Succeeded by P. Chidambaram |
| Preceded by Yashwant Sinha | Minister of Finance of India 2002–2004 | Succeeded by P. Chidambaram |
| Preceded by Atal Behari Vajpayee | Minister for External Affairs of India 1998–2002 | Succeeded by Yashwant Sinha |
| Preceded by George Fernandes | Minister for Defence of India 2000–2001 | Succeeded by George Fernandes |
[edit] References
- ^ "Jaswant Singh expelled over Jinnah remarks". Jai Bihar. 2009-08-19. http://jaibihar.com/jaswant-singh-expelled-over-jinnah-remarks/11454/. Retrieved 2009-08-19.
- ^ a b ""I am bewildered: Jaswant"". The Hindu. http://www.hindu.com/2006/07/28/stories/2006072820621700.htm. Retrieved 2006-07-29.
- ^ "Nehru not Jinnah's polity led to partition". Jai Bihar. http://jaibihar.com/nehru-patel-conceded-pakistan-to-jinnah-jaswant/11301/. Retrieved 2009-08-19.
- ^ "Jaswant Singh expelled over Jinnah remarks". Jai Bihar. 2009-08-19. http://jaibihar.com/jaswant-singh-expelled-over-jinnah-remarks/11454/. Retrieved 2009-08-19.
- ^ "Walk The Talk with Jaswant Singh". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KXg0qOPUfk. Retrieved 2009-08-23.
- ^ "Book ban: timing calculated, says Congress". Indian Express. 2009-08-21. http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/book-ban-timing-calculated-says-congress/504755/. Retrieved 2009-08-21.
[edit] External links
- Modi govt bans book, says it's a bid to tarnish Sardar image
- Book ban: timing calculated, says Congress
- Jaswant Singh expelled over Jinnah remarks
- Nehru not Jinnah's polity led to partition
- Personal Website
- "In Service of Emergent India"
- "Against Nuclear Apartheid"
- "Jaswant Singh Darjeeling LS Candidate"
BJP narrow minded, limited: Jaswant SinghIBNLive.com - 2 hours ago PAST TENSE: Former BJP leader Jaswant Singh says the party has no sense of history. ibnlive.com is on mobile now. Read news, watch videos be a Citizen ... Vajpayee may have dealt differently with Jaswant Singh: Sharif Hindustan Times Top Article: From Idols To Ideology Times of India Jaswant meets VajpayeeCentral Chronicle - 11 minutes ago Expelled BJP leader Jaswant Singh today met former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to seek his blessings and greet him on the occasion of Ganesh ... Video: The Jinnah smokescreen NDTV.com Expulsion of Jaswant Singh unwarranted: Tushar G Express Buzz Raje expected to move to DelhiTimes of India - 18 hours ago Party sources pointed out that expulsion of Jaswant Singh has been in her favour as he was seen as her arch opponent. However, leaders who did not take ... Vasundhara sets terms Calcutta Telegraph Vasundhra Raje agrees to obey Daily News & Analysis bjp's Jaswant impact? Raje mellows, may resign IBNLive.com Advani: Sardar banned RSS at Nehru's behestTimes of India - Aug 21, 2009 NEW DELHI/SHIMLA: Expelled BJP leader Jaswant Singh's jibe that he could not understand how Sardar Patel, who as home minister banned the RSS, ... RSS has nothing to do with Jaswant decision: Bhagwat Indian Express Soorpanakha SinghHindustan Times - - 22 hours ago Thank Shri Ram, Jaswant Singh has been expelled and we've managed to protect our ideological chastity. I shudder to think of what would have happened had he ... Jaswant stays away from BJP leaders in ShimlaTimes of India - Aug 18, 2009 Some BJP leaders are expected to raise the issue of Jaswant Singh praising Jinnah at the conclave. The BJP has already distanced itself from Jaswant Singh's ... BJP meet discuss roadmap for future Zee News Through the Third Eye Economic Times BJP needs young blood: RSS Deccan Herald Action against Jaswant Singh justified: Kalraj MishraBusiness Standard - Aug 21, 2009 "Jaswant Singh's views on Mohammad Ali Jinnah is against the party's core ideology and amounts to grave indiscipline. The party's move to expel him is ... Brickbats for Manmohan in Pak media over terrorTimes of India - Aug 19, 2009 NEW DELHI: Jaswant Singh is getting bouquets. But Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is receiving brickbats from the Pak press after his Monday remark about ... Editorial: People-to-people contacts with India Daily Times Naidu rubbishes Jaswant claims on Vajyapee's offer to quitHindustan Times - Aug 22, 2009 Jaswant Singh, who was unceremoniously ousted from BJP for 'attacking' the party's 'core ideology', had described the saffron organisation as "an open field ... :. Travesty of truthKashmir Watch - 5 hours ago Why should truth become a casualty when the visionary leader Mr. Jaswant Singh, the ex-foreign minister of India ,tries to be vocal in his assertion for ... |
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