By Yasser Latif Hamdani
Our part of the world, in the first half of the twentieth century, was defined by two great colossi: Jinnah and Gandhi, and their personality clash. Jinnah’s creation i.e. Pakistan today exists on the map as a testament to that titanic clash though it is in no shape or form that its founder would recognize it in. It so happened that one of the actors in this clash was a Muslim by birth and the other a devout Hindu which gave it a communal color- but in reality it was a much more fundamental clash than some religious or sectarian dispute as many people seem to think, using that awful device i.e. Occam’s Razor which has no application to the complexity of the study of history.
The point of dispute between Jinnah and Gandhi was not religion but modernity. Both Jinnah and Gandhi had spent their formative phases in England where both of them were called to the bar. But while Jinnah imbibed European modernity and perfected it, Gandhi revolted against it. In Jinnah’s world religion played little or no role and was largely a personal matter. Gandhi on the other hand came to see religion as the central point and the meaning of life. When Jinnah was increasingly getting molded in British liberalism, western individualism and the capitalist success ethic, Gandhi came to see virtue in poverty. When they finally came face to face as members of the Congress Party, Gandhi had transformed from the barrister he once was to the Hindu “Mahatma” though it took another few years for him to convince the masses of this. At the very first public meeting he pointed out that Jinnah – despite his dress and education- was from the “minority community”. This distinction between Indians on the basis of religion was something Jinnah had fought against with the conservatives of the Muslim League but to hear from Gandhi’s mouth must have come as quite a surprise. After all Jinnah at this time was at the top of his game- a highly paid barrister in addition to being a liberal and secular Indian nationalist agitating against the British to leave India.
Initially Gandhi stayed away from this nationalist sentiment opting instead to recruit for the British Army but when he did, he made religion and spirituality the central focus of the anti-British movement. Not only did he appeal to Hindu religion and culture but Gandhi cut across communal lines to make alliances with Muslim divines, thereby bringing Islam into politics. After this, Jinnah did not look back- taking Gandhi’s classification of him as a minority and ran with it, ultimately defeating his famous rival before both of them passed away in 1948. He wrested from Gandhi and the Congress a Muslim homeland against opposition not just from the Hindu majority but a majority of the religious divines of Muslims and the combined British sentiment against him. Yet today Pakistan – torn by ethnic conflict, religious extremism and military rule- is hardly something to proud of, especially not for the lawyer parliamentarian that Jinnah was – believing in rule of law and sovereignty of all people regardless of religion caste or creed. Pakistanis as a nation are the anti-thesis of the kind of man their founder was: He was disciplined and orderly, undisciplined Pakistanis today are in utter chaos. He was a man of action – Pakistanis are defined by their inaction. He believed in success through hard work – Pakistanis are always on the look for the eternal short cut. He believed in civilian supremacy in state affairs- Pakistanis have allowed themselves to be ruled by the military for more than half their existence as a nation. Jinnah was a modern minded man who believed in women’s rights and minorities rights- Pakistanis today are defined by their religious bigotry and misogyny. But above all Jinnah was considered incorruptible and un-purchase-able- Pakistanis have had the honor of being the second most corrupt country in the world for years. It is about time Pakistanis reverted to the great man that founded their country.
Meanwhile the India that Jinnah left behind in 1947 despite its many drawbacks and shortcomings seems to be going from strength to strength emerging as the world’s largest secular democracy. It is also an emerging economic power house which has the attention of the world. Yet is Modern India’s success Gandhi’s triumph and Jinnah’s defeat? No! Gandhi rejected materialism and romanticized poverty. He was willing to sink to the lowest level with others but not ready to pull his people out of dark desperate poverty which most of his people belonged to. The new India would have none of it. It is the India of billionaires – 40 and counting. It is the India of new world class companies founded and run by Indians ready to colonize the world, as they once were colonized themselves. It is the India of commerce and industry, of information technology and of Indian Premier League. This new India does not believe in looking for virtue in poverty but is today engaged in real poverty alleviation and this has meant quality lives not just for millions but hundreds of millions of people.
This is also the India which Jinnah’s daughter calls home, where his Parsi grandson Nusli Wadia thrives as a leading businessman without ever being pointed out as being “from the minority community” and Nusli’s wife Maureen Wadia runs the Miss India Pageant, where his grandson Ness Wadia and his wife-to-be Preity Zinta own and operate IPL teams. If Jinnah was to return to the subcontinent, it is anybody’s guess which country he would want to live in. Karen Armstrong once wrote that Jinnah wanted to make Pakistan so that Muslims would not be limited by their religious identity – increasingly India seems to be moving towards a destination where religion is taking a backseat. It is no longer the India defined by caste or creed or a romance with poverty. They say those who laugh last laugh the best. Whether Indians admit or not, in success they have emulated the man who has been demonized in their history books. Make no mistake about it: this new India is Jinnah’s India. More importantly however for South Asia and the world at large, it is an India that Pakistanis can learn from if they still wish to revive Jinnah’s Pakistan.
