Is two-nation theory still relevant?

After the independence in 1947, Gandhi sent to the Quaid-i-Azam a draft that said the two countries should issue a joint declaration that the purpose of the two-nation theory was the creation of Pakistan and since Pakistan had been created, the theory was no longer alive. Gandhi thought that with the pronouncement of the two-nation theory’s death the riots raging throughout the subcontinent would cease, says Prof Fateh Muhammad Malik in his latest book Fitna-i-Inkaar-i-Pakistan while quoting from Chaudhry Khaleeq-uz-Zaman’s book Pathway to Pakistan. According to Prof Malik, the Quaid-i-Azam refused to sign the statement saying that the two-nation theory was relevant and would remain so forever.

Pakistan was created on the basis of the two-nation theory, as we all know. The theory, initiated by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan in 1867 in the aftermath of the Hindi-Urdu controversy and enunciated later by other Muslim leaders such as Allama Iqbal and the Quaid-i-Azam, says that the Hindus and the Muslims are two separate and distinct nations with their own religions, traditions, social orders and cultural ways. Prof Fateh Muhammad Malik, in his article ‘Two-nation theory is alive’ included in the book, says that the basic facts pointed out by Allama Iqbal in his 1930 presidential address at Allahabad were:

1. The Muslims of the Indo-Pak subcontinent are not a minority but a separate nation unto themselves.

2. As per the right of self-determination, this separate nation has a right to create free and independent states in the regions where it has a majority.

And about 25 per cent of the Muslims who did not agree to the theory and believed in a common Indian nation instead, live in India today as a minority.

Some of us may feel that with the creation of Bangladesh in 1971, the two-nation theory had died and is no more relevant today. But Prof Fateh Muhammad Malik, a staunch supporter of the two-nation theory and a firm believer in the federation of Pakistan, thinks otherwise. He says the Pakistani and the Bangladeshi Muslims are living a life of independence in their own, separate and free countries as a majority. The Muslim Bengal and the Hindu Bengal live as two separate nations. The Muslim Bengal is a free and an independent state while the Hindu Bengal is a tiny part of the state of India. The existence of Pakistan and Bangladesh as independent, free and separate entities is a miracle created by the two-nation theory. The proclamation of the two-nation theory’s death is not only more than half a century old, it is false, too.

Prof Malik writes that we must not forget that the two-nation theory was born out of eternal truths and essential realities and denying it means accepting the so-called common Indian nation. He firmly believes that Pakistan’s geographical existence makes sense only in tandem with its ideological existence and after Pakistan’s ideological murder its geographical disintegration and merger with an integer (or ‘akhand’) India would be inevitable.

Author of many books, Prof Fateh Muhammad Malik is a critic, researcher and an intellectual and has for long been associated with the teaching of Urdu and Pakistan studies at the university level in Pakistan and abroad. He has also held many important posts such as heading the Pakistan Academy of Letters and the National Language Authority.

He finds the roots and the evolution of the two-nation theory in history as back as in the reign of Mughal emperors Akbar and Jahangir and feels that there have been three vital and developmental phases of the theory: first, it was Hazrat Mujaddid Alf-i-Sani who, during the reigns of Akbar and Jahangir, stood against the attempts of the unscrupulous elements that were trying to forge a common Hindu-Muslim religion and culture and the Mujaddid had to fight for the ideology of a separate Muslim religious identity. Then it was Sir Syed Ahmed Khan who, after failing to unite the Hindus and the Muslims of India, declared that these were two separate nations and warned the Muslims of India to steer clear of the All India National Congress. Then came Iqbal who reminded the Muslims of their one common identity that transcends geographical boundaries: Islam.

Published by Lahore’s Sang-i-Meel Publications, the book consists of articles published earlier in an Urdu daily and critically evaluates the notions and analyses of some of the American think-tanks and Indian and American intellectuals and writers. Prof Malik especially takes to task Stephen Cohen, the author of The idea of Pakistan and other books, and Aisha Jalal for their views on Pakistan and the two-nation theory. He has severely criticised those intellectuals, whether Indian or Pakistani, who favour Indian hegemony and formulating Pakistan’s policies so as to suit Indian and American designs meant to divide Pakistan. Another lot disliked by him are the Pakistani politicians who play to the Indian tune.

Prof Malik believes that the two-nation theory is still very much relevant as it is based on historical realities and the fall of Dhaka did not make any dent in it. You may or may not agree with him, but you have to admit that he does have a point and presents it quite forcefully.

Courtesy Daily Dawn Lahore/By Rauf Parekh