Justice katju
Why we must undo Partition
By Justice Katju
Our national aim must be to transform India ( in which I include Pakistan and Bangladesh, for we are really one country, only temporarily and artificially separated ) into a modern industrial giant, like another China
Unless we do that we can never hope to abolish our massive poverty, massive unemployment, appalling level of child malnutrition, almost total lack of proper healthcare and good education for the masses, and other great socio-economic evils which have plagued us for centuries.
I submit that we can never achieve that goal unless we undo that British swindle of 1947 called Partition, based on the bogus two nation theory that Hindus and Muslims are two separate nations, and reunite under a secular government led by patriotic, modern minded leaders.
I have often said that India, Pakistan and Bangladesh are really one nation. Pakistan is a fake, artificial country, which is really part of India, and is bound to be reunited with it
My statement that Pakistan is a fake country upset many Pakistanis, who protested to me. I responded that I will keep speaking what I believe to be the truth, even if it is uncomfortable to some, or hurts anyone. Saying that 2+2=4 might make some people unhappy, but I will not say 2+2=5 or 2+2=3 to please anyone. I am not a popularity seeker, and I have often said things which made me very unpopular, but which I believed to be true, and which I believed had to be said in my country’s interest.
I have consistently argued that the partition of India in 1947, based on the flawed two-nation theory and the creation of Pakistan as an Islamic state, was a fraud and a swindle by the Britishers to keep Hindus and Muslims divided, and keep us weak and backward and hostile to each other, even after the British left India.
This division was meant to prevent India from emerging as a unified modern industrial giant, like China, a potential rival to Western industries due to our huge pool of technical talent, immense natural resources, and most importantly, our cheap labour ( as explained in detail below ) :
Despite the partition in 1947, the cultural, historical, and linguistic ties that bind the people of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh remain strong. We share over 500 years of history under the Mughal Empire, we share many things in common ( despite what Gen Munir said recently ) e.g. similar food, dress and language, common love for Urdu poetry, common Hindustani classical music, etc.
When Indians and Pakistanis meet abroad, they socially interact and intermix as if no partition ever occurred. I believe a reunion under a secular government is inevitable, although it will face tremendous opposition from the developed countries, and will take time.
Some say that too much time has passed since the partition for reunification to be feasible. However, history shows us examples of reunification, such as West and East Germany, which were partitioned in 1945, but reunited in 1990, or Vietnam, which was partitioned in 1954 but reunited in 1975, proving that time is immaterial.
Without reunification, both countries will continue to waste precious resources in hostility with each other, and spend huge amounts in buying foreign weapons, rather than on the welfare of our own people.
Indians and Pakistanis ( along with Bangladeshis ), must now realize that we are not each other’s enemies, rather we are really one nation. We must join hands and launch a mighty united jan sangharsh ( people’s struggle ), which will be protracted ( maybe stretching over 10-20 years), and in which colossal sacrifices will have to be made, culminating in a jan kranti ( people’s revolution). This people’s struggle and people’s revolution must be led by modern minded, patriotic leaders, determined to set up a political and social order under which the country rapidly industrializes, and there is steady rise in the standard of living of the people, who will start getting decent lives.
An organization called the Indian Reunification Association has been formed, of which I am the Patron ( justicekatju@gmail.com), and Indervansh Chaddha ( harindrealtors@gmail.com );is the Chairman, to propagate the idea of Indian reunification
It must be clarified that the concept of IRA of a reunited India differs completely from the RSS concept of Akhand Bharat.
The latter envisages a reunited India under Hindu domination. On the other hand, the former wants a reunited India in which all communities are equal, and no one dominates over another
All patriotic people of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh are invited to join us in this sacred mission
I uphold the spirit behind Justice Katju’s opinion. What requires is the altogether abolition of national boundaries, so that a large share of world’s wealth wasted in weapon production can be diverted to the welfare humankind.
Instead of suggesting return to the day of a dysfunctional Empire it is much better to adopt the European model which is having sovereign, independent, small nation states cooperating with each other in an Economic Union without any one big power dominating its small neighbours.