Karachi, 13 April: Oxford University Press teamed up with the Mohatta Palace Museum to present a talk by one of the most prominent names in India’s public life and in the world of diplomacy, Jaswant Singh. The talk titled ‘Jinnah: India–Partition–Independence’ constituted the fourth in the series of lectures ‘Culture, Politics and Change in South Asia’ being organized by the Mohatta Palace Museum. Jaswant Singh is a Member of Parliament, in the Lok Sabha, having successfully contested the 2009 elections. Jaswant Singh’s experience as a minister responsible for the conduct of India’s foreign policy, managing the country’s defence (concurrently), had been uniformly challenging (Lahore Peace Process; betrayed at Kargil; Kandahar; the Agra Peace Summit; the attack on Jammu and Kashmir Assembly and the Indian Parliament; coercive diplomacy of 2002; the peace overtures reinitiated in April 2003). Uniquely, he has also been the country’s Finance Minister.
Based on his book which created quite a stir in India last year, Jaswant Singh’s talk raised questions about why the Partition took place at all and who was responsible for it–Jinnah, the Congress party, or the British? He explored where and when the questionable thesis of ‘Muslims as a separate nation’ first originate and lead the Indian subcontinent to. He examined in detail Jinnah’s political journey from ‘an ambassador of Hindu-Muslim unity’ to the ‘sole spokesman’ of Muslims in India and eventually the creator of Pakistan, the Quaid-i-Azam. Jaswant Singh was firmly of the view that for the return of lasting peace in South Asia, there is no alternative but to first understand what made it ‘abandon’ us in the first place. Until we do that, we will never be able to persuade peace to return.
In her introductory remarks, Ameena Saiyid, Managing Director, Oxford University Press, said that Jaswant Singh’s courage and quest for an honest assessment of Jinnah will inspire more people, both in India and in Pakistan to view history impartially, abjuring deep-rooted prejudices. She added that if it contributes to putting historiography on a straightforward path in both our countries, it can be seen as a blessing. Nasreen Askari, Director, Mohatta Palace Museum, and Hameed Haroon, Managing Trustee, Mohatta Palace Museum, also spoke on the occasion.
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