The year was 1947. After decades of struggle to liberate itself from European imperialism, India, the 'crown jewel' of the British Empire, was set to gain its independence from foreign control. What ought to have been days of joy and celebration, however, turned to tragedy instead..
Upon leaving the subcontinent, Britain carried out a plan allowing for the creation of two new nations - West Pakistan and East Pakistan - the latter becoming Bangladesh in 1971. In regard to the former, it was ushered into existence by a line drawn through the Punjab in the northwest corner of India. West Pakistan (now Pakistan) embodied longtime aspirations of a significant number of Indian Muslims to have their own state. By August, two of the largest mass migrations in history were underway. While more than seven million Muslims relocated from India to Pakistan, a nearly equal number of Hindus and Sikhs left Pakistan for India.
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During this unprecedented population upheaval, religious and nationalist tensions ran high. A number of Hindus accused Pakistani Muslims of betraying 'Mother India'. In return, some Pakistani Muslims again criticized Hindu leaders for denying them equal rights as citizens of India - as they were the minority in many areas. In their view, separation was not a choice but a necessity to preserve their dignity. When anger turned to violence, hundreds of thousands of people died in sporadic slaughters along the border. These were scenes of utter horror.
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Since those tragic events, India and Pakistan have fought four major wars, several proxy wars and more than a few skirmishes. In 2001-02, New Delhi and Islamabad almost plunged the subcontinent into a nuclear holocaust. An eleventh hour diplomatic intervention by the United States and Russia barely averted disaster. Now, another terrorist attack on Mumbai, which occurred last week, threatens to throw Indo-Pakistani relations into crisis once again if evidence implicates one or more radical Muslim groups in Pakistan.
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After sixty-four years of conflict, it is time for India and Pakistan to make peace. Despite the existence of an artificially imposed border, the people of India and Pakistan share the same history, drink the same water, eat the same food, speak the same languages and belong to religions dedicated to tolerance and understanding at their best. On the subcontinent, it seems that many people have forgotten that Mohammad Ali Jinnah (1876-1948) and Jawaharlal Nehru (1889-1964), the respective founders of Pakistan and modern India, were not ideologues driven by the pursuit of power but rather - men committed to peace, hope and prosperity for all. To begin the process of reconciliation, it would be worthwhile for Indians and Pakistanis alike to review the content of their speeches delivered on the eve of independence. Hence, excerpts of these addresses of superior statesmanship are reproduced below with a subsequent comment.
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Mohammad Ali Jinnah: 'Presidential Address to the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan', 11 August 1947 (abridged)
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"The first observation I would like to make is this: You will no doubt agree with me that the first duty of government is to maintain law and order, so that the life, property and religious beliefs of its subjects are fully protected by the state.
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Now, what shall we do? Now, if we want to make this great state of Pakistan happy and prosperous, we should wholly and solely concentrate on the well-being of the people, and especially of the masses and the poor.
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If you will work in cooperation, forgetting the past, burying the hatchet, you are bound to succeed. If you change your past and work together in a spirit that everyone of you, no matter to what community he belongs, no matter what relations he had with you in the past, no matter what his colour, caste or creed, is first, second and last a citizen of this state with equal rights, privileges, and obligations, there will be no end to the progress you will make.
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You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place to worship in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed that has nothing to do with the business of the State."
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My guiding principle will be justice and complete impartiality, and I am sure that with your support and cooperation, I can look forward to Pakistan becoming one of the greatest nations in the world."
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Jawaharlal Nehru: 'A Tryst with Destiny' (a speech delivered to the Constituent Assembly of India, 14 August 1947 - abridged)
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"(The) future is not one of ease or resting but of incessant striving so that we may fulfill the pledges we have so often taken and the one we shall take today.
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The service of India means the service of the millions who suffer. It means the ending of poverty and ignorance and disease and the inequality of opportunity. And so we have to labour and work, and work hard, to give reality to our dreams. Those dreams are for India, but they are also for the world, for all the nations and peoples are too closely knit-together today for any one of them to imagine that it can live apart.
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Peace has been said to be indivisible; so is freedom, so is prosperity now, and so is disaster in this one world that can no longer be split into isolated fragments.
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We think also of our brothers and sisters who have been cut off from us by political boundaries and who unhappily share at present in the freedom that has come. They are of us and will remain of us whatever may happen, and we shall be sharers in their good and ill fortune alike.
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Whither do we go, and what shall be our endeavour? To bring freedom and opportunity to the common man, to the peasants and workers of India; to fight and end poverty and ignorance and disease; to build up a prosperous, democratic and progressive nation and to create social, economic and political institutions which will ensure justice and fullness of life to every man and woman."
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India and Pakistan: Two Nations, One People, One World, One Peace
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The similarity of these speeches is striking. Both Jinnah and Nehru emphasized unity and peace through diversity. Religious tolerance, freedom of expression and a commitment to helping those in need with compassion and charity were proclaimed paramount in realizing equal and total justice. Although Jinnah was a Muslim and Nehru was an agnostic atheist, each man spoke the highest truth of humanity by placing the welfare of human beings over personal ideology.
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Since 1947, mistrust, hatred and suspicion have been handed down from generation to generation in both countries. Many boys and girls of the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s, who have come to adulthood, harbor the same nationalist and religious prejudices. They have never questioned whether or not their fear of the other country or the Hindu or the Muslim is rational. It is not rational. Inside the hearts and minds of a great majority of Indians and Pakistanis and Hindus and Muslims lies a desire for reconciliation and peace. Yet, a climate of fear has been constructed by irresponsible religious leaders, unscrupulous politicians and a mass media more interested in getting ratings than presenting a professional discourse of ideas. In order to improve Indo-Pakistani relations, New Delhi and Islamabad will not only need to continue substantive diplomatic discussions but also construct programs to bring citizens of both nations together for a meaningful dialogue.
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The prospects for reconciliation and a lasting peace, however, ultimately depend on each and every individual in India and Pakistan. When one person decides to cast aside his or her fears and prejudices for hope, compassion, tolerance and understanding, it is not only a victory for that person - but also a victory for India, Pakistan and humanity.
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It is time for victory. It is time for peace.
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(Photo: Nehru and Jinnah)
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To read the full text of Jinnah's 11 August 1947 speech, please click onto the following link:
http://www.pakistani.org/pakistan/legislation/constituent_address_11aug1947.html
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To read the full text of Nehru's 'A Tryst with Destiny' speech on 14 August 1947, please click onto the following link: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1947nehru1.html
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For additional photos and a 1947 partition map of India and Pakistan, please click onto kleostimes.tumblr.com to the right and view the postings for 18 July
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J Roquen