Sir — This refers to the article, “Separate electorates reduxIJ” (July 3) by Prafull Goradia. I would like to commend the historian in the writer for bringing out the historical facts concerning the birth, rise and success of Muslim separatism in India.
Those who have followed the history behind India’s Partition, would agree that the Congress had quite some role to play in it. In this connection, one would do well to recall what philosopher George Santayana had said: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”; the Congress continued with its erstwhile attitude towards the issue even after the failure of its policies resulting in creati-on of a separate country for Muslims of India. The Partition was a unique affair because of the fact that although the country was divided on communal lines, both political parties, the Congress and Muslim league, involved in the negotiations claimed to represent the Muslims with the Hindus figuring nowhere in their scheme of things.
Two ‘ifs’, therefore, come to mind as to what would have been the end result if these ‘ifs’ would have happened. First, if the Congress had not insisted on continuing with its claim of representing the Muslims by conceding that space to Muslim league, seeing the reality of the situation, and had put up the Hindu point of view.
Second, if Gandhiji would have accepted the challenge thrown by MA Jinnah in 1940 of coming as a Hindu to meet him saying: “Why not come as a Hindu leader proudly representing your people and let me meet you proudly representing the Mussalmans.” May be then, Hindus and Muslims would have buried their hatchets by open-hearted talks in the spirit of ‘give and take’ so as to avoid the catastrophe.