Partition politics, the past is still present
India's second largest party, "Bharatiya Janata Party" translated in English means People's Party has been front page news, by expelling one of their senior members Jaswant Singh. He is one of the few Indian politicians to have been the Minister for Defence, Finance and External Affairs.
The Party decision on Wednesday 19th, August 2009 was triggered by his book release two days earlier; "Jinnah: India, Partition and Independence," in which he sympathizes with Mohammed Ali Jinnah, the founding father of Pakistan and describes of negatively portrayed in India. He also mentions Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Patel as key players in the Partition.
The controversy is causing a rift between its members and ideological views, crippling the party with internal disagreements. But book sales went soaring high after the news announcement, the buyers are interested to know why the party sacked its veteran politician and how the Partition came to be is still a heated topic of discussion and interest.
In the Times of India this headline caught my attention: “Don’t fix history, look at the future”, written by Chetan Bhagat (The underage optimist). In which he states that the media is fuelling a pointless debate about Mr. Jinnah and the book thereby failing to question instead the relevancy and whether we are electing leaders for the future or a history teacher. The article points out that the young generation is not passionate about politicians who live in the past, holding old believes and even promoting Muslim hatred rather than facing present more urgent matters such as, colleges, road planning, electricity. The RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) is a Hindu revivalist organization in India and the BJP’s backbone in defending the Hindu cause, it does not appeal to any educated, young, urban Indians and they are taking a skeptical view. The writer advocates for the RSS to do right move in promoting a Hinduism of tolerance and acceptance, which is more relevant in India of today.
One thing is for sure The Partition has ruptured the lives of more than 100 million Indians by displacing households and separating families, disappearance of craftsmanship, confined cultural knowledge. And the boundary issues, left unresolved by the British, have caused two wars and continuing strife between India and Pakistan. And even within its own borders the states behave as like the warring states in ancient China fighting for supremacy.
If India elderly leaders are stuck in the past, will young India be able to rise above, leaving history behind and start making a new course? - A true beginning of an universal believe about peace and harmony, begins by appreciating cultural differences of a multicultural society and embracing diversity, allowing people full expression of their thoughts and abilities-
Vision - It reaches beyond the
thing that is, into the conception of what can be. Imagination gives you
the picture. Vision gives you the impulse to make the picture your own.
Author: Robert Collier
