04-10-2004, 06:00 AM
PAKISTAN OR THE PARTITION OF INDIA
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Contents
Part III - WHAT IF NOT PAKISTAN ?
Chapter VII : Hindu alternative to Pakistan
Chapter VIII : Muslim alternative to Pakistan
Chapter IX : Lessons from abroad
Part III
WHAT IF NOT PAKISTAN ?
Having stated the Muslim case for Pakistan and the Hindu case against it, it is necessary to turn to
the alternatives to Pakistan, if there be any. In forming one's judgement on Pakistan, one must take
into account the alternatives to it. Either there is no alternative to Pakistan : or there is an
alternative to Pakistan, but it is worse than Pakistan. Thirdly, one must also take into consideration
what would be the consequences, if neither Pakistan nor its alternative is found acceptable to the
parties concerned. The relevant data, having a bearing on these points, are presented in this part
under the following heads :â
1 Hindu alternative to Pakistan.
2 Muslim alternative to Pakistan.
3 Lessons from abroad.
CHAPTER VII
HINDU ALTERNATIVE TO PAKISTAN
I
Thinking of the Hindu alternative to Pakistan, the scheme that at once comes to one's mind is the
one put forth by the late Lala Hardayal in 1925. It was published in the form of a statement which
appeared in the Pratap of Lahore. In this statement, which he called his political testament, Lala
Hardayal said:â
" I declare that the future of the Hindu race, of Hindustan and of the Punjab, rests on these four
pillars: (1) Hindu Sangalhan, (2) Hindu Raj, (3) Shuddhi of Moslems, and (4) Conquest and
Shuddhi of Afghanistan and the Frontiers. So long as the Hindu nation does not accomplish these
four things, the safely of our children and great-grandchildren will be ever in danger, and the safety
of the Hindu race will be impossible. The Hindu race has but one history, and its institutions are
homogeneous. But the Musalmans and Christians are far removed from the confines of Hindustan,
for their religions are alien and they love Persian, Arab and European institutions. Thus, just as one
removes foreign matter from the eye, Shuddhi must be made of these two religions. Afghanistan
and the hilly regions of the frontier were formerly part of India, but are at present under the
domination of Islam..... Just as there is Hindu religion in Nepal, so there must be Hindu institutions
in Afghanistan and the frontier territory; otherwise it is useless to win Swaraj. For mountain tribes
are always warlike and hungry. If they become our enemies, the age of Nadirshah and Zamanshah
will begin anew. At present English officers are protecting the frontiers; but it cannot always
be....... If Hindus want to protect themselves, they must conquer Afghanistan and the frontiers and
convert all the mountain tribes."
I do not know how many Hindus would come forward to give their support to this scheme of Lala
Hardayal as an alternative to Pakistan. 1[f.1]
In the first place, Hindu religion is not a proselytising religion. Maulana Mahomed Ali was quite
right when, in the course of his address as President of the Congress, he said:
" Now, this has been my complaint for a long lime against Hinduism, and on one occasion,
lecturing at Allahabad in 1907,I had pointed out the contrast between Musalmans and Hindus, by
saying that the worst that can be said of a Muslim was that he had a tasteless mess which he called
a dish fit for kings, and wanted all to share it with him, thrusting it down the throats of such as did
not relish it and would rather not have it, while his Hindu brother, who prided himself on his
cookery, retired into the privacy of his kitchen and greedily devoured all that he had cooked,
without permitting even the shadow of his brother to fall on his food, or sparing even a crumb for
him. This was said not altogether in levity; and in fact, I once asked Mahatma Gandhi to justify this
feature of his faith to me. "
What answer the Mahatma gave to his question, Mr. Mahmed Ali did not disclose. The fact is that
however much the Hindus may wish, Hindu religion cannot become a missionary religion like
Islam or Christianity. It is not that the Hindu religion was never a missionary religion. On the
contrary, it was once a missionary religionâindeed could not but have been a missionary religion,
otherwise it is difficult to explain how, it could have spread over an area so vast as the Indian
continent. 2[f.2] But once a missionary religion, Hinduism perforce ceased to be a missionary
religion after the time when the Hindu society developed its system of castes. For, caste is
incompatible with conversion. To be able to convert a stranger to its religion, it is not enough for a
community to offer its creed. It must be in a position to admit the convert to its social life and to
absorb and assimilate him among its kindred. It is not possible for the Hindu society to satisfy this
prerequisite of effective conversion. There is nothing to prevent a Hindu, with a missionary zeal, to
proceed to convert an alien to the Hindu faith. But before he converts the alien, he is bound to be
confronted with the question: What is to be the caste of the convert ? According to the Hindus, for a
person to belong to a caste he must be born in it. A convert is not born in a caste, therefore he
belongs to no caste. This is also an important question. More than political or religious, man is a
social animal. He may not have, need not have, religion ; he may not have, need not have, politics.
He must have society; he cannot do without society. For a Hindu to be without caste is to be
without society. Where there is no society for the convert, how can there be any conversion ? So
long as Hindu society is fragmented in autonomous and autogenic castes, Hindu religion cannot be
a missionary religion. The conversion of the Afghans and the frontier tribes to Hinduism is,
therefore, an idle dream.
In the second place, Lala Hardayal's scheme must call for financial resources the immensity of
which it is hardly possible to compute. , Who can furnish the funds necessary for the conversion
of the Afghans and the Frontier Tribesmen to Hinduism ? The Hindus, having ceased to convert
others to their faith for a long time, have also lost the. zeal for conversion. Want of zeal is bound to
affect the question of finances. Further, Hindu society being moulded in the cast of the
Chaturvarna, wealth has, from very ancient times, been most unevenly distributed. It is only the
Baniya who is the heir to wealth and property among the Hindus. There are, of course, the
landlords who are the creation of foreign invaders or native rebels, but they are not as numerous as
the Baniya. The Baniya is money-made and his pursuits are solely for private gain. He knows no
other use of money except to hold it and to transmit it to his descendants. Spread of religion or
acquisition and promotion of culture do not interest him. Even decent living has no place in his
budget. This has been his tradition for ages. If money is expected, he is not much above the brute in
the conception and manner of life. Only one new service, on the expenditure side, has found a place
in his budget. That service is politics. This happened since the entry of Mr. Gandhi as a political
leader. That new service is the support of Gandhian politics. Here again, the reason is not love of
politics. The reason is to make private gain out of public affairs. What hope is there that such men
will spend money on such a bootless cause as the spread of Hindu religion among the Afghans and
Frontier Tribes ?
Thirdly, there is the question of facilities for conversion that may be available in Afghanistan. Lala
Hardayal evidently thought that it is possible to say in Afghanistan, with the same impunity as in
Turkey, that the Koran is wrong or out of date. Only one year before the publication of his political
testament by Lala Hardayal, i.e., in 1924; one Niamatullaâa follower of Mirza Ghulam Ahamed of
Quadiyanâwho claimed to be the messiah and Mahdi and a prophet of a sortâwas stoned to death
3[f.3] at Kabul by the order of the highest ecclesiastical tribunal of Afghanistan. The crime of this
man was, as reported by a Khilafat paper, that he was professing and preaching ideas and beliefs,
inconsistent with Islam and Shariat. This man, says the same paper, was stoned to death according
to the agreeing judgements of the first Shariat (canon) Court, the Central Appellate Court and the
Ulema and Divines of the final Appellate Committee of the Ministry of Justice. In the light of these
difficulties, the scheme must be said to be wild in its conception and is sure to prove ruinous in its
execution. It is adventurous in character and is too fantastic to appeal to any reasonable man except
perhaps some fanatical Arya Samajists of the Punjab.
_______________________________________________________________
Contents
Part III - WHAT IF NOT PAKISTAN ?
Chapter VII : Hindu alternative to Pakistan
Chapter VIII : Muslim alternative to Pakistan
Chapter IX : Lessons from abroad
Part III
WHAT IF NOT PAKISTAN ?
Having stated the Muslim case for Pakistan and the Hindu case against it, it is necessary to turn to
the alternatives to Pakistan, if there be any. In forming one's judgement on Pakistan, one must take
into account the alternatives to it. Either there is no alternative to Pakistan : or there is an
alternative to Pakistan, but it is worse than Pakistan. Thirdly, one must also take into consideration
what would be the consequences, if neither Pakistan nor its alternative is found acceptable to the
parties concerned. The relevant data, having a bearing on these points, are presented in this part
under the following heads :â
1 Hindu alternative to Pakistan.
2 Muslim alternative to Pakistan.
3 Lessons from abroad.
CHAPTER VII
HINDU ALTERNATIVE TO PAKISTAN
I
Thinking of the Hindu alternative to Pakistan, the scheme that at once comes to one's mind is the
one put forth by the late Lala Hardayal in 1925. It was published in the form of a statement which
appeared in the Pratap of Lahore. In this statement, which he called his political testament, Lala
Hardayal said:â
" I declare that the future of the Hindu race, of Hindustan and of the Punjab, rests on these four
pillars: (1) Hindu Sangalhan, (2) Hindu Raj, (3) Shuddhi of Moslems, and (4) Conquest and
Shuddhi of Afghanistan and the Frontiers. So long as the Hindu nation does not accomplish these
four things, the safely of our children and great-grandchildren will be ever in danger, and the safety
of the Hindu race will be impossible. The Hindu race has but one history, and its institutions are
homogeneous. But the Musalmans and Christians are far removed from the confines of Hindustan,
for their religions are alien and they love Persian, Arab and European institutions. Thus, just as one
removes foreign matter from the eye, Shuddhi must be made of these two religions. Afghanistan
and the hilly regions of the frontier were formerly part of India, but are at present under the
domination of Islam..... Just as there is Hindu religion in Nepal, so there must be Hindu institutions
in Afghanistan and the frontier territory; otherwise it is useless to win Swaraj. For mountain tribes
are always warlike and hungry. If they become our enemies, the age of Nadirshah and Zamanshah
will begin anew. At present English officers are protecting the frontiers; but it cannot always
be....... If Hindus want to protect themselves, they must conquer Afghanistan and the frontiers and
convert all the mountain tribes."
I do not know how many Hindus would come forward to give their support to this scheme of Lala
Hardayal as an alternative to Pakistan. 1[f.1]
In the first place, Hindu religion is not a proselytising religion. Maulana Mahomed Ali was quite
right when, in the course of his address as President of the Congress, he said:
" Now, this has been my complaint for a long lime against Hinduism, and on one occasion,
lecturing at Allahabad in 1907,I had pointed out the contrast between Musalmans and Hindus, by
saying that the worst that can be said of a Muslim was that he had a tasteless mess which he called
a dish fit for kings, and wanted all to share it with him, thrusting it down the throats of such as did
not relish it and would rather not have it, while his Hindu brother, who prided himself on his
cookery, retired into the privacy of his kitchen and greedily devoured all that he had cooked,
without permitting even the shadow of his brother to fall on his food, or sparing even a crumb for
him. This was said not altogether in levity; and in fact, I once asked Mahatma Gandhi to justify this
feature of his faith to me. "
What answer the Mahatma gave to his question, Mr. Mahmed Ali did not disclose. The fact is that
however much the Hindus may wish, Hindu religion cannot become a missionary religion like
Islam or Christianity. It is not that the Hindu religion was never a missionary religion. On the
contrary, it was once a missionary religionâindeed could not but have been a missionary religion,
otherwise it is difficult to explain how, it could have spread over an area so vast as the Indian
continent. 2[f.2] But once a missionary religion, Hinduism perforce ceased to be a missionary
religion after the time when the Hindu society developed its system of castes. For, caste is
incompatible with conversion. To be able to convert a stranger to its religion, it is not enough for a
community to offer its creed. It must be in a position to admit the convert to its social life and to
absorb and assimilate him among its kindred. It is not possible for the Hindu society to satisfy this
prerequisite of effective conversion. There is nothing to prevent a Hindu, with a missionary zeal, to
proceed to convert an alien to the Hindu faith. But before he converts the alien, he is bound to be
confronted with the question: What is to be the caste of the convert ? According to the Hindus, for a
person to belong to a caste he must be born in it. A convert is not born in a caste, therefore he
belongs to no caste. This is also an important question. More than political or religious, man is a
social animal. He may not have, need not have, religion ; he may not have, need not have, politics.
He must have society; he cannot do without society. For a Hindu to be without caste is to be
without society. Where there is no society for the convert, how can there be any conversion ? So
long as Hindu society is fragmented in autonomous and autogenic castes, Hindu religion cannot be
a missionary religion. The conversion of the Afghans and the frontier tribes to Hinduism is,
therefore, an idle dream.
In the second place, Lala Hardayal's scheme must call for financial resources the immensity of
which it is hardly possible to compute. , Who can furnish the funds necessary for the conversion
of the Afghans and the Frontier Tribesmen to Hinduism ? The Hindus, having ceased to convert
others to their faith for a long time, have also lost the. zeal for conversion. Want of zeal is bound to
affect the question of finances. Further, Hindu society being moulded in the cast of the
Chaturvarna, wealth has, from very ancient times, been most unevenly distributed. It is only the
Baniya who is the heir to wealth and property among the Hindus. There are, of course, the
landlords who are the creation of foreign invaders or native rebels, but they are not as numerous as
the Baniya. The Baniya is money-made and his pursuits are solely for private gain. He knows no
other use of money except to hold it and to transmit it to his descendants. Spread of religion or
acquisition and promotion of culture do not interest him. Even decent living has no place in his
budget. This has been his tradition for ages. If money is expected, he is not much above the brute in
the conception and manner of life. Only one new service, on the expenditure side, has found a place
in his budget. That service is politics. This happened since the entry of Mr. Gandhi as a political
leader. That new service is the support of Gandhian politics. Here again, the reason is not love of
politics. The reason is to make private gain out of public affairs. What hope is there that such men
will spend money on such a bootless cause as the spread of Hindu religion among the Afghans and
Frontier Tribes ?
Thirdly, there is the question of facilities for conversion that may be available in Afghanistan. Lala
Hardayal evidently thought that it is possible to say in Afghanistan, with the same impunity as in
Turkey, that the Koran is wrong or out of date. Only one year before the publication of his political
testament by Lala Hardayal, i.e., in 1924; one Niamatullaâa follower of Mirza Ghulam Ahamed of
Quadiyanâwho claimed to be the messiah and Mahdi and a prophet of a sortâwas stoned to death
3[f.3] at Kabul by the order of the highest ecclesiastical tribunal of Afghanistan. The crime of this
man was, as reported by a Khilafat paper, that he was professing and preaching ideas and beliefs,
inconsistent with Islam and Shariat. This man, says the same paper, was stoned to death according
to the agreeing judgements of the first Shariat (canon) Court, the Central Appellate Court and the
Ulema and Divines of the final Appellate Committee of the Ministry of Justice. In the light of these
difficulties, the scheme must be said to be wild in its conception and is sure to prove ruinous in its
execution. It is adventurous in character and is too fantastic to appeal to any reasonable man except
perhaps some fanatical Arya Samajists of the Punjab.