Jaswant Singh was expelled from BJP on the charge of praising Mohammad Ali Jinnah in his recently published book. Many of us, who keep tab of media reports and political controversy, would hardly forget that the present opposition leader in parliament and the BJP stalwart Shri Lal Kirihsna Advani too, had praised Jinnah in Pakistan in a political meeting not even long ago. The dust of that controversy has not settled fully and yet another controversy cropped up about Jinnah called the moderate leader. Jinnah was seen by many during freedom struggle as the hardliner and was hell bent on dividing India for Pakistan. Well, we all have read history in India and almost all the books of history have called Jinnah the man behind creating a separate nation out of undivided India. Few history books do talk about the reason behind Jinnah’s intention for a separate nation, but these books are mostly become the reference materials for historical researches. In general, people in India, hardly has any interest in the life and times of a leader who went away taking a part of the country during the independence.
Fact remains obvious as India is largely divided on the basis of caste, region, and religion. Politicians knowing these weaknesses have utilized the inherent sentiment of the people and made these factors sensitive for their vote bank politics. After independence, the ruling party congress chose to be a secular force, while the hindu hardliner, right wing political force remain non-secular in principal to safe guard the interest of majority population of the country and envisioned India to make a hindu nation. Considering the fact that the breakaway Pakistan became an Islamic democratic country after partition, why shouldn’t India with its majority hindu population be a hindu country.
Time and again the right wing hindu organization like Hindu Maha Sabha, Viswa Hindu Parishad, the RSS, and the Bajrang Dal have always showed allegiance to the political force, which remained loyal to the vision of India being a hindu nation. During independence, Jan Sangh became the political opponent of secular force and kept on improving its number of Member of Parliament in subsequent general elections. For reference, in 1977, when Jan Sangh merged with Janata Party, it had 101 MP in Lok Sabha, the lower house of the parliament.
The experiment of Janata government, its debacle and breaking away is now a folk lore in the Indian political history. Everyone knows, to go along with Janata Party experiment was the will and wish of Shri Atal Bihari Bajpayee and everyone would certainly vouch that it was timely and was in the interest of the nation during the emergency. There were leaders in the party who did not buy the philosophy of Bajpayee, coaxed him and moved away. One among them was Balraj Madhoke who blamed Bajpyee alone for the loss of Party’s face value after Janata Party’s failure. Truly the sacrifice of Jan Sangh went futile and it suffered major setback. From Break away Janata Party again emerged a party with the same ideology but a different name called Bhartiya Janata Party, in short the BJP.
Lal Krihsna Advani became the architect of BJP and people would never forget how he brought back the lost pride of the party by simulating the sense of hindutava and benefiting his party forming even the government with support of other parties. Though, he remained the powerful person in his own party, he was never an acceptable face with alliance partner. This is when Atal Bihari Bajpayee took the center stage and subsequently three BJP led government was run under his leadership. BJP fought all the election under his leadership and own because of his charm and charismatic character. Bajpayee had announced his intension to step down in the general election of 1994. In the same election, when it looked that BJP led government once again is going to be in power, the internal tussle revealed the weaknesses of the party which showed allegiance to Advani but was not sure of his leadership. Resultantly, it suffered a loss.
Advani, after 1994 election, remained the opposition leader in the parliament and senior leader in the party and with this capacity he had praised Jinnah in Pakistan. It was not taken in the good light in the party during that time, however, everyone in the party reconciled and he was pardoned. But for the same reason, another senior leader is crucified and expelled from the party. I don’t know how the political analyst view this situation, but one thing is very clear, even in organization like BJP, some are equal and some are more equal. Why is this dual policy and different yardsticks? Is there a fear in BJP, no Advani, and no BJP? Then why blame Nehru family alone?
It looks very ideal that you support your senior leader to show solidarity of the party but somewhere down the line, two senior leaders of a hindu right wing party coming to a conclusion to rake the chapter of history after 62 years of India’s independence in support of Jinnah raises lots of questions. First and foremost, is BJP no more a party which believes in its non-secular nature and trying to shift its stand from a hindu hardliner face to a more widely acceptable face by all the community. But being Advani and the holy alliance of RSS, Bajrang Dal and others in whelms of BJP affairs, it can never be possible. Then what made Advani praise Jinnah in Pakistan? Perhaps by praising Jinnah, he wanted to point finger on Congress, Gandhi and Nehru for deceiving Jinnah on several occasion which made him seek a separate nation. But before it could ring the bell in the congress party, his own people messed up.
Perhaps Advani could not manage sharing the underlying facts with the party leaders before he made that into public speech. Or is it that after debacles of 1994 general election, he realized that Bajpayee’s moderate approach only will make the way for the party to come again in power. And hence, the beginning of praise towards Jinnah was the soft stand towards muslim community. If so, Jaswant was doing another good to the party, why to snub him.
The revelation made by Jaswant Singh after expulsion from the party even raises more serious questions about the intent of Advani, citing the instances when Bajpayee wanted to question Narender Modi about Godhra riots. Advani kept everything under the carpet and pacified Bajpayee. By doing that, surely Advani did not want to buy Bajpayee’s philosophy of secularism. Then, is it simply a face mask to surprise the minority community. Advani lied in case of Kandhahar hijack when Jaswant Singh had gone to bring back the kidnapped civilians. Why did he try to distance himself from the fact?
News report reveals that Jaswant after the loss of party in the 2009 general election wanted a retrospective analysis done. This could be one of the reasons, what Advani wanted to avoid, not to take the blame on him. By doing that, once again he proved that he can not be as brave as Bajpayee who could ask pardon in public if he would do something wrong.
Jaswant Singh’s expulsion also calls wrath because VallavBhai Patel is mentioned in bad light in the book. Gujarat government is banned the circulation and sale of book in the state. What hypocrisy! Vallavbhai Patel always supported Nehru and he had resigned from the post of president of congress for Nehru during independence year of India. It was well evident that even Gandhi had succumbed to the wishes of Nehru to be the first Prime-Minister even at the cost of dividing India. Vallavbhai Patel strongly supported seeing that no one can stop the inevitable. History also speaks the love of Gandhi towards Nehru, which made Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose resign from the post of president of Congress party when Gandhi had once uttered that defeat of Nehru was his own defeat. Reader of history could perceive what kind of treatment even Jinnah would have got from Gandhi. Obviously, the idea of Pakistan would have emerged much before independence and that is a part of the history now.
Although, in private life, Jinnah being Muslim, it is not know that he practice Islam staunchly. Dominiuqe Lapiere and Larry Collins in their book’ Freedom at Midnight’ have thrown some light on his life, which reveals that he was totally a modern personality but was perceived differently in public. May be the political compulsion might have made him do so.
The last question what haunts me loudly is Jaswant Singh’s own soul searching towards the party’s ideologies and its future. Is it a hint that BJP will no more be able get back to the power with continuing Philosophy of Hindutava and it is imperative that bring all caste and religion into its fold to make it a truly national party? Was he trying to set the platform along with Advani to revamp the image of the party?
All this episodes, indicates that Advani was in all likelihood, looking at Jaswant Singh as next inheritor of position in party and above all Jaswant Singh even had blessings of Bajpayee in this regard. But Advani do not seem to be in hurry leaving the party in anyone else’s hand. So, he took the advantage and turned the tide in his favour. But this has created a vacuum in the party, an uncertainty about the leadership, and posed a question about the culture of the party. Above all, it has also created a weak opposition in parliament which is not good for democracy.
The battle in the BJP is on and the murmur of the different camps can be perceived through media though in a limited extent. What unfolds in the coming days and months will reveal the future of BJP. But to be an Indian, I would wish BJP to become a truly secular national party and concentrate on India’s development as electoral issues rather than caste, region, and religion. We have lots of other challenges to deal with such as, poverty, hunger, drought, and sanitation and health. In the twentieth century the aim of the nation is ‘Kaam Kaj’ and not the ‘Ram Raj’. Strong opposition gives an opportunity to the people to have options in the electoral franchise. For the good health of Democracy, I would like BJP to resurrect once gain and come out of the crisis.
