Unfinished agenda

Sir, - For Pakistan the completion of the unfinished agenda of partition is by hook or by crook to annex the entire Jammu and Kashmir from us. And so, the Agra summit with the Pakistani President, Gen.Pervez Musharraf, is nothing but one of the several aspects of our attrition postures with them. The derailment of the summit talks does not give us any disappointment.

Our President, Mr. K. R. Narayanan, in his scholarly welcome speech at the banquet hosted by him in honour of the visiting guest described the term ``unfinished agenda of partition'': to live in peace in friendly relation with the aim of prosperity for the people of both countries.

Mr. Khaliquazzam Chowdhury, a leading Muslim League leader of those times said that the two nation theory was nothing more than an ideological smokescreen for achieving political ends: ``Mr. Jinnah took the earliest opportunity to bid goodbye to the two nation theory in his speech on 11.9.1947 as the Governor-General designate of Pakistan and President of the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan: ...We should begin to work in that spirit and in course of time all these angularities of the majority and the minority communities, the Hindu community and the Muslim community because even as regards Muslims you have pathans, Punjabis, Shias, Sunnis and so on and among the Hindus you have Brahmins, Vaishyas, Khatris, also Bengalis, Madrasis and so on - will vanish. Indeed, if you ask me, this has been the biggest hindrance in the way of India to attain freedom and independence and but for this we would have been a free people long ago.... You may belong to any religion, caste or creed, that has nothing to do with the business of the state.'' (Khaliquzzaman, Pathway, p.320).

K. Ramani,

Chennai

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Opinion
Previous : Saving Silent Valley
Next     : Orphaned by self