The article “A case of mistaken paternity?” (Sept. 11) concludes by saying Mohammad Ali Jinnah ought to have known that Pakistan was not destined for secularity. More than the question of paternity, what is important is how the Pakistanis feel about Partition today. The warm reception for Jaswant Singh’s book on Jinnah in Pakistan implies that the people there recognise that Partition was a historical blunder, and are happy to see that non-Muslim leaders played a role in effecting it.
N.V. Sudarsanan,
Chennai
The article makes interesting reading. As one born just 80 days before Independence, I am fascinated by any article written on Partition by a Pakistani. The author has offered a new perspective to the roles played by Jinnah, Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Patel — and even Winston Churchill — in Partition. People on both sides of the border feel the pain and after-effects of Partition to this day.
K.H. Krishnan,
Shencottah
Reading Mahir Ali’s column in the Dawn has always been a treat. Jinnah’s speech in the Pakistan Constituent Assembly on August 11, 1947 in which he said an individual’s religion is not the business of the state was the biggest contradiction of his life. From the late 1930s, he fought tooth and nail for the Partition of India on religious grounds.
S. Narayanswamy,
Chennai
Blaming this or that leader for India’s Partition will serve no purpose. Partition was an inevitable historic necessity. One cannot belittle the aspirations of different ethnic groups. Imagine the Indian government trying to suppress the uprising in Swat and Peshawar, not to speak of battling the Taliban. If indeed our leaders did not have an idea of what Partition would entail, it only speaks to their lack of foresight, political wisdom and concern for the masses.
R.S. Pillai,
Kollam
