Sikandar Noorani
TWO unforgettable 16 December tragedies, APS massacre and fall of Dhaka, despite being 43 years distant apart, deserve a deliberate introspection. Indian involvement in destabilizing Pakistan is too obvious to deny. Before analyzing the factors which led to painful and embarrassing separation of East Pakistan, it would be pertinent to recall that why our ancestors were compelled to demand an independent state for the Muslims? This question becomes more pertinent once history tells us that after the surrender ceremony in Dhaka, why Indian PM Indira Gandhi, instead of rejoicing military victory, preferred to jubilate the ideological victory by saying “Today we have drowned two-nation theory in the Bay of Bengal”. Let’s not forget that creation of Pakistan was, in fact, taken as disintegration of India by the so- called Secular stalwarts of Congress and extremist RSS cult. Interestingly, Jinnah, who started political career as flag bearer of Hindu-Muslim unity, was compelled, by prejudiced mindset of influential top ranked Congress’ leadership, to join the Muslim League.
Pakistan came into being on the basis of Two-Nation Theory, which was intellectually configured with prevailing modern political principles and tendencies by Allama Iqbal. How strange is the fact that Shaikh Mujeeb, once an activist of Pakistan Movement, lately became Bangla Bandhu and joined hands with India in breaking Jinnah’s Pakistan and sinking Iqbal’s two-nation theory on the drum beat of Bengali nationalism? Now with the rise of RSS cult in India, the concept of Bengali nationalism has miserably backfired and two-nation theory pleaded by Iqbal and Jinnah is getting validated on Indian soil. CAB has clearly spelled out that so-called Indian secularism treats the Muslims as a separate nation! Shashi Tharoor, as a Congress ideologue, is rightly mourning that CAB is in fact acceptance of Jinnah’s two-nation theory, which India had been denying and fighting since decades. If Bengali nationalism was valid, as perceived and pursued by Shaikh Mujeeb, then why BJP cult has abolished nationality of the Muslims of Assam?
Why Indian Bengal is not ready to accept the Muslim immigrants on the basis of language, culture and race? Time has proved that two-nation theory, once claimed to be sunken in Bay of Bengal by Indira Gandhi, has returned in Indian Parliament as a bitter reality. It is right time to analyze, that while being on the right side of history, why did Pakistan suffer the humiliation of dismemberment? Why did East Pakistan revolt? Why a political dialogue couldn’t take place between Mujeeb and Bhutto? Why the majority party of Mujeeb was not invited to form the government? Conversion of East Pakistan into Bangladesh was not an ideological defeat of two-nation theory, as the time has proved now. It was logical outcome of our collective blunders! History has yet to establish the true status of Mujeeb, Bhutto, Yahya and Ayub amid fall of Dhaka and Kashmir issue. Let’s admit that Jinnah’s Pakistan has never been run by those who believed in two-nation theory or ideology of Pakistan. Onus lies flatly on the shoulders of those politicians and men in Khaki with political ambitions, who had been on helm of affairs as rulers. The nation has seen enough of political circus in the name of socialism, linguistic or territorial-based nationalism and self style Islamization for decades. There is no other cure except returning to two-nation theory, which is re-emerging on Indian soil in a different scenario. We will not be a stable country without ruthless and unbiased introspection spread over past seven decades. We can not survive by remaining ignorant from Indian hegemonic designs. Tragedy of Dhaka had an obvious linkage with Kashmir issue!
Our blunders in the 60s encouraged India to exploit the nationalist fault line in East Pakistan by manipulating visionless and ambitious Mujeeb. Kashmiris under India are suffering because of being Muslims! So is the case with rest of the Muslims in India! Pakistan, as a sovereign state, is not acceptable to India because its existence reminds New Delhi about disintegration of Hindustan on the basis of two-nation theory. More or less, this is what Shashi Throhar of Congress has said in Indian Parliament. Precisely this was told by Indira Gandhi after fall of Dhaka! Rise of RSS cult does convey the same message in the loudest possible tone. This bitter lesson is being practically taught to us in the form of terrorism emanating from Afghanistan under Indian patronage. 16 December tragedies, may it be APS Peshawar massacre or Fall of Dhaka, have a traceable historical linkage. Pakistan’s survival and existence, as a nation, precisely depends upon that how well our decision makers draw pertinent lessons from those collective blunders which brought us the December tragedies.
—The writer is a retired army officer and a freelance columnist.
