From Gandhi to Modi.

Byline: Dr Farid A Malik

The rise of Modi has made Gandhi controversial. Either Mohandas was fake or Nirander is real. Even in his life Gandhi was perceived differently by different people. Winston Churchill called him half naked 'Fakir'. Even Jinnah suspected the hidden intentions behind Gandhi's humanism and secularism. Ghaffar Khan was always in his camp which earned him the title of 'Sarhadi Gandhi'. The movie on his life and political struggle was an epic which Modi has washed away with his fascism.

Sheikh Abdullah the Sher-e-Kashmir was also won over by Gandhi and Nehru. Jinnah's straight talk could not convince him to come under one flag. In his lifetime the Sher-e-Kashmir realized his bhunder and now his entire family is behind the bars. The people of Kashmir are paying a heavy price for the folly of the Sheikhs.

The 'Lahore Resolution' of 1940 proved to be a major milestone in the partition of the Indian Sub-Continent. In the year 1944 Gandhi travelled to Bombay for parleys with Jinnah. While Gandhi wanted to keep India united with Muslim majority autonomous regions quite like Kashmir, Jinnah insisted on the two nation theory. Unable to convince the great leader, Gandhi returned empty handed. Modi is now trying to undo the partition of the Sub-Continent. He has gone a step further by revoking article 370 of the constitution which allowed autonomy to the only Muslim Majority state in the Indian Union.

The concept of a secular 'Indian Union' was the biggest hoax of the 20th century. Like Modi, Gandhi also desired a Hindu dominated state. Jinnah understood the Hindu mentality as he worked closely with the congress leaders in promoting religious harmony. After the frustration of his genuine efforts he left politics to practice law in UK. It was Allama Iqbal who convinced him to come back to the motherland to lead the movement for partition of the Sub-Continent.

Pakistan despite its problems is a reality, its defenses are impregnable. Where Gandhi failed, Modi will not succeed either in undoing the partition or cornering our freedom. Unity of India can only be ensured through secularism otherwise it will collapse. Minorities (Muslims, Sikhs, Christians) are insecure. Even the 'Dalits' are not treated well, they remain untouchables. For political advantage Gandhi brought the 'Dalits' into the Hindu fold but their inclusion into the mainstream of politics was just cosmetic.

Kashmir is a test case for the 'Indian Union' as conceived and...