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{{other uses|Jinnah (disambiguation)}}
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'''''Jinnah: India-Partition-Independence''''' is a book written by [[Jaswant Singh]], a former [[Finance Minister of India]] and an [[External Affairs Minister]], on Pakistan's founder [[Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah]] and the politics associated with the [[Partition of India]]. It is currently the latest book written by an Indian politician on the life of Jinnah.<ref>Acknowledgments;Jinnah:India-partition-Independence</ref>
'''''Jinnah: India-Partition-Independence''''' is a book written by [[Jaswant Singh]], a former [[Finance Minister of India]] and an [[External Affairs Minister]], on [[Muhammad Ali Jinnah]] (the founder of Pakistan) and the politics associated with the [[Partition of India]]. It is currently the latest book written by an Indian politician on the life of Jinnah.<ref>{{cite book | chapter=Acknowledgments | title=Jinnah: India-Partition-Independence}}</ref>
The book was released on 17 August 2009 and soon became the subject of controversy, subsequently leading to Singh's expulsion from the [[Bhartiya Janata Party]] (BJP). It contains controversial opinions of Singh, claiming that [[Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru]]'s centralised policy was responsible for partition, and that Jinnah was portrayed as a demon by India for the partition. The book launch ceremony was held at [[Teen Murti Bhavan]] in the presence of only a couple of BJP members.<ref name="th1">{{cite news|url=http://www.hindu.com/2009/08/18/stories/2009081856820100.htm|title=BJP fears Jaswant’s Jinnah book will re-ignite controversy |date= Aug 18, 2009|publisher=[[The Hindu]]|access-date=2009-08-20}}</ref><ref name="th2">{{cite news|url=http://news.rediff.com/special/2009/aug/18/special-the-case-for-and-against-jinnah.htm|title=At Jaswant Singh's book launch, the case for and against Jinnah|date=August 18, 2009|publisher=[[The Hindu]]|access-date=2009-08-20}}</ref> In response to the book, [[Nusli Wadia]], the grandson of Jinnah said: "My grandfather is my grandfather. You can't change the fact that I am his [Jinnah's] grandson, and I take extreme pride on being that."<ref>{{cite news|last1=Cover|first1=Story|title=Interview with Jinnah's Grandson, Nusli Wadia|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcy2gJdlavo|access-date=28 November 2016|publisher=Youtube|date=31 August 1989}}</ref>
The book was released on 17 August 2009 and soon became the subject of controversy, subsequently leading to Singh's expulsion from the [[Bhartiya Janata Party]] (BJP). It contains controversial opinions of Singh, claiming that [[Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru]]'s centralised policy was responsible for partition, and that Jinnah was portrayed as a 'demon' by India for the partition. The book launch ceremony was held at [[Teen Murti Bhavan]] in the presence of only a couple of BJP members.<ref name="th1">{{cite news|url=http://www.hindu.com/2009/08/18/stories/2009081856820100.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090826224843/http://www.hindu.com/2009/08/18/stories/2009081856820100.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=26 August 2009|title=BJP fears Jaswant's Jinnah book will re-ignite controversy |date= 18 Aug 2009|work=[[The Hindu]]|access-date=2009-08-20}}</ref><ref name="th2">{{cite news|url=http://news.rediff.com/special/2009/aug/18/special-the-case-for-and-against-jinnah.htm|title=At Jaswant Singh's book launch, the case for and against Jinnah|date=18 August 2009|work=[[The Hindu]]|access-date=2009-08-20}}</ref>


==Response==
== Response ==
Singh was expelled by the BJP following a party meeting chaired by [[L.K. Advani]] on 19 August 2009 stating that they will not "compromise on matters of ideology or discipline".<ref name="LiveMint">{{cite news|url=http://www.livemint.com/2009/08/19224542/BJP-expels-Jaswant-Singh-over.html|title=BJP expels Jaswant Singh over praise for Jinnah in his book|last=Joy|first=Santosh|date=Aug 19, 2009|publisher=LiveMint|access-date=2009-08-20}}</ref> The government of the Indian state [[Gujarat]] banned the book for allegedly having defamatory references towards India's first home minister [[Vallabhbhai Patel]].<ref name="BBC">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8211038.stm|title=India state bans book on Jinnah |date=20 August 2009|publisher=[[BBC]]|access-date=2009-08-20}}</ref> However, Gujarat lifted the ban on 4th September 2009 after a court struck it down. The Indian newspaper [[The Hindu]] claimed "[[Mark Tully]], [[Meghnad Desai]], [[Ram Jethmalani]], [[Natwar Singh]] and [[Hameed Haroon]] said a new appraisal of Jinnah’s role was needed and Mr. Singh had done a commendable job." {{citation needed|reason=Cited article has no reference to this claim|date=July 2016}}<ref name="th1" />
Singh was expelled by the BJP following a party meeting chaired by [[L.K. Advani]] on 19 August 2009 stating that they will not "compromise on matters of ideology or discipline".<ref name="LiveMint">{{cite news|url=http://www.livemint.com/2009/08/19224542/BJP-expels-Jaswant-Singh-over.html|title=BJP expels Jaswant Singh over praise for Jinnah in his book|last=Joy|first=Santosh|date=19 Aug 2009|publisher=LiveMint|access-date=2009-08-20}}</ref> The government of the Indian state [[Gujarat]] [[List of books banned in India|banned the book]] for allegedly having defamatory references towards India's first home minister [[Vallabhbhai Patel]].<ref name="BBC">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8211038.stm|title=India state bans book on Jinnah |date=20 August 2009|publisher=[[BBC]]|access-date=2009-08-20}}</ref> However, Gujarat lifted the ban on 4 September 2009 after a court struck it down. The Indian newspaper [[The Hindu]] claimed "[[Mark Tully]], [[Meghnad Desai]], [[Ram Jethmalani]], [[Natwar Singh]] and [[Hameed Haroon]] said a new appraisal of Jinnah’s role was needed and Mr. Singh had done a commendable job." {{citation needed|reason=Cited article has no reference to this claim|date=July 2016}}<ref name="th1" />
In response to the book, [[Nusli Wadia]], the grandson of Jinnah said: "My grandfather is my grandfather. You can't change the fact that I am his [Jinnah's] grandson, and I take extreme pride on being that."<ref>{{cite news|author=Cover Story|title=Interview with Jinnah's Grandson, Nusli Wadia|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcy2gJdlavo |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/lcy2gJdlavo |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|access-date=28 November 2016|publisher=Youtube|date=31 August 1989}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
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THE FOLLOWING IS A DIRECT COPY FROM THE WEB. THIS VIOLATES WIKIPEDIA POLICY. I LEAVE THE TEXT HERE, COMMENTED OUT, JUST IN CASE SOMEONE WANTS TO SUMMARIZE IT IN THEIR OWN WORDS WITH PROPER REFERENCING AND WIKILINKS.
'''Review of the Book by Ehsan Mehmood Khan'''


== See also ==
Jaswant Singh’s Book titled Jinnah, India, Independence and Partition, released on August 17, 2009, sixty years after the partition of Indo-Pak Subcontinent is an apt corrective by a top leader of an otherwise hard-line BJP to the make-believe history of partition. It speaks aloud and somewhat truly about the Indian mindset in defining moments of the mid-20th century. Without mincing his words, Jaswant Singh has squarely put the blame for partition of India in 1947 on Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and the Congress rather than Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. In his book, he evokes momentous episodes that set in motion the movement for partition of India besides the “epic journey of Jinnah from being the ambassador of Hindu-Muslim unity, the liberal constitutionalist and Indian nationalist to the Quaid-e-Azam of Pakistan”. The thesis followed by him, indeed, proves Jinnah not only the Quaid-i-Azam of Pakistan but also of the entire Subcontinent.
* [[Ayesha Jalal]], a Pakistani-American historian with similar views on Jinnah to Jaswant Singh.
Jaswant Singh came across questions from various segments of India society including media and polity even before his book in question was released. During an interview with Karan Thapar in a CNN-IBN exclusive, Jaswant Singh was expressive in upholding his viewpoint saying, “I was attracted by his (Jinnah’s) personality, which has resulted in a book. If I was not drawn to his personality, I would not have written the book… He [not only] fought the British for an independent India but also fought resolutely and relentlessly for the interest of the Muslims of India”. On a question to whether Jinnah was a great man, he said, “Oh yes, self made man who resolutely worked towards achieving what he had set for himself.” While referring to the plight of the Indian Muslims today, he said, “Look into the eyes of the Muslims that live in India and if you truly see through the pain in which they live in to [the] land which they belong; we treat them as aliens”.
Jaswant Singh maintains, “…He (Jinnah) created something out of nothing and single-handedly stood against the might of the Congress and the British who didn’t really like him...Gandhi himself called Jinnah a great Indian. Why don’t we recognise that? Why don’t we see (and try to understand) why he called him that?...I admire certain aspects of his personality; his determination and the will to rise. He was a self-made man. Mahatma Gandhi was the son of a Diwan. All these (people) – Nehru and others – were born to wealth and position. Jinnah created for himself a position. He carved in Bombay a position for himself. He was so poor that he had to walk to work…He told one of his biographers that there was always room at the top but no lift…and he never sought a lift”. Jaswant Singh goes on to say that the Indian leaders had not only misunderstood Jinnah but made a demon out of him. According to him the [[demonisation]] of Jinnah was a direct result of the trauma of partition. Singh also said that the view held by many in India that Jinnah hated Hindus was a mistake.
Comparing the leadership of Gandhi and Jinnah, the book says, “[Gandhi’s] had almost an entirely religious provincial flavour while [Jinnah’s] was doubtless imbued by a non-sectarian nationalistic zeal”. Jaswant Singh is certainly right to assert this difference between Gandhi and Jinnah on religious grounds. That’s why Gandhi is both hailed and hated in India – hailed by some for being a great Hindu leader and hated by the others, especially the Dalits, for being proponent of Hindu caste system. By yet others, he is abhorred for aiding the making of Pakistan, as they believe so. This third view is even stronger about Nehru amongst educated Indians. Jaswant Singh somewhat maintains the same tinge. Jinnah too has two opinions about his personality in Pakistan. Some think him to be a liberal who wanted Pakistan to be a secular state and often refer to his August 11, 1947 speech to the Constituent Assembly to support their conjecture. The others believe that he was a religious person who wanted Pakistan to be a purely Islamic state. They too have a lot to quote from his speeches and communiqués. At any rate, he is adored and not abhorred by any segment of Pakistani society.
Anyway, Jaswant Singh’s book would certainly occupy a principal place in the recorded history of partition of Indo-Pak Subcontinent. To note, he is not the only one from the BJP to have endorsed the Quaid and his feasts. Earlier while on a visit to the Quaid’s Mausoleum at Karachi in June 2005, L. K. Advani had inscribed following words in the Visitors’ Book, “There are many people who leave an inerasable stamp on history. But there are very few who actually create history. Quaid-e-Azam Mohammed Ali Jinnah was one such rare individual. In his early years, Sarojini Naidu, a leading luminary of India’s freedom struggle, described Mr. Jinnah as an “Ambassador of Hindu-Muslim Unity…My respectful homage to this great man”. When he received criticism back home, he said, “I have no regrets”. Likewise, on his visit to Minar-i-Pakistan on February 22, 1999, the then Prime Minister of India Mr. Atal Bihari Vajpayee had recorded these remarks in the Visitors’ Book, “From the historic Minar-i-Pakistan, I wish to assure the people of Pakistan of my country's deep desire for a lasting peace and friendship…I have said this before, and I say it again, that a stable, secure and prosperous Pakistan is in India's interest...India sincerely wishes the people of Pakistan well". He too received a lot of criticism back in India but this did not budge him from his stance even by an inch.
In reality, Indo-Pak relations suffer from the pitfall of historical memories of the partition and more so by the conjured description of the events by pseudo historian, intellectuals and self-seeking politicians with run of the mill approach towards the issues affecting the common populace. India-Pakistan affairs have been especially hostage to the cold-blooded communal leaders and a better part of Indian media, who keep the case of communal divide alive even at the cost of misery of hundreds of millions. If a realisation like Jaswant, Advani and Vajpayee takes root in India and people take lesson from whatever they expressed, albeit at the twilight of their political career, I am certain that India and Pakistan can soon take the road to reconciliation and thus resolution of everything that remains up in the air for last over six decades.


⚫
== References ==
Reviewed by: Ehsan Mehmood Khan
-->

==Other publications on Jinnah==
The first book about Muhammad Ali Jinnah titled ''Muhammad Jinnah: An Ambassador of Unity'' was also written by an Indian politician: [[Sarojini Naidu]]. It was published by University of Michigan Library on 1 January 1918, when India was still undivided and ruled by the [[British Empire]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Mahomed Ali Jinnah ambassador unity|url=https://www.amazon.com/Mahomed-Ali-Jinnah-ambassador-unity/dp/B0040SYONC/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1287776194&sr=1-1-fkmr0|access-date=2021-01-05|website=www.amazon.com}}</ref>

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==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}


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* Jinnah: India-Partition-Independence [http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6726938-jinnah]
* Jinnah: India-Partition-Independence [http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6726938-jinnah]
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[[Category:Indian non-fiction books]]
[[Category:2009 non-fiction books]]
[[Category:2009 non-fiction books]]
[[Category:Books about Muhammad Ali Jinnah]]
[[Category:Books about Muhammad Ali Jinnah]]

Latest revision as of 18:44, 27 December 2024

For other uses, see Jinnah (disambiguation).

Jinnah: India-Partition-Independence
AuthorJaswant Singh
LanguageEnglish
GenreBiography
PublisherRupa Publications India Pvt. Ltd.
Publication date
2009
Publication placeIndia
Pages658
ISBN978-81-291-1653-6

Jinnah: India-Partition-Independence is a book written by Jaswant Singh, a former Finance Minister of India and an External Affairs Minister, on Muhammad Ali Jinnah (the founder of Pakistan) and the politics associated with the Partition of India. It is currently the latest book written by an Indian politician on the life of Jinnah.[1] The book was released on 17 August 2009 and soon became the subject of controversy, subsequently leading to Singh's expulsion from the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP). It contains controversial opinions of Singh, claiming that Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru's centralised policy was responsible for partition, and that Jinnah was portrayed as a 'demon' by India for the partition. The book launch ceremony was held at Teen Murti Bhavan in the presence of only a couple of BJP members.[2][3]

Response

[edit]

Singh was expelled by the BJP following a party meeting chaired by L.K. Advani on 19 August 2009 stating that they will not "compromise on matters of ideology or discipline".[4] The government of the Indian state Gujarat banned the book for allegedly having defamatory references towards India's first home minister Vallabhbhai Patel.[5] However, Gujarat lifted the ban on 4 September 2009 after a court struck it down. The Indian newspaper The Hindu claimed "Mark Tully, Meghnad Desai, Ram Jethmalani, Natwar Singh and Hameed Haroon said a new appraisal of Jinnah’s role was needed and Mr. Singh had done a commendable job." [citation needed][2] In response to the book, Nusli Wadia, the grandson of Jinnah said: "My grandfather is my grandfather. You can't change the fact that I am his [Jinnah's] grandson, and I take extreme pride on being that."[6]

See also

[edit]
  • Ayesha Jalal, a Pakistani-American historian with similar views on Jinnah to Jaswant Singh.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Acknowledgments". Jinnah: India-Partition-Independence.
  2. ^ a b "BJP fears Jaswant's Jinnah book will re-ignite controversy". The Hindu. 18 August 2009. Archived from the original on 26 August 2009. Retrieved 20 August 2009.
  3. ^ "At Jaswant Singh's book launch, the case for and against Jinnah". The Hindu. 18 August 2009. Retrieved 20 August 2009.
  4. ^ Joy, Santosh (19 August 2009). "BJP expels Jaswant Singh over praise for Jinnah in his book". LiveMint. Retrieved 20 August 2009.
  5. ^ "India state bans book on Jinnah". BBC. 20 August 2009. Retrieved 20 August 2009.
  6. ^ Cover Story (31 August 1989). "Interview with Jinnah's Grandson, Nusli Wadia". Youtube. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
[edit]
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