The Hindu : Opinion / Editorials : Advani sets Jinnah among the parivar

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jun 09, 2005

Opinion

Opinion - Editorials

Advani sets Jinnah among the parivar

Opinion on Atal Bihari Vajpayee has always been divided. To some he embodied moderation in a party wedded to bigotry and right-wing extremism; others saw him as wearing a mask of geniality that slipped every so often. Lal Krishna Advani, on the other hand, was cast in an image that offered little scope for nuanced interpretation. The architect of the Ram rath yatra was the iron man who stuck resolutely to the positions he adopted, be it his unflinching commitment to Hindutva or his defence of the fanatical Narendra Modi. He was at once hero and villain: his followers saluted his "courage of conviction" while his critics accused him of spreading hatred and vitriol in the guise of promoting his ideology. Few in either camp believed the Bharatiya Janata Party chief when he said he was going on a peace mission to Pakistan. He actually went farther than anyone could have anticipated in promoting the cause of Indo-Pakistan friendship. So much so, the "ultra nationalist" whose jingoism once pushed India to the brink of war with Pakistan today stands accused by party and parivar of betraying India on Pakistani soil. Senior Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Giriraj Kishore may have apologised for Praveen Togadia's intemperate outburst but the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is not in any mood to call a ceasefire.

So what outrageous indiscretion did Mr. Advani commit in Pakistan that he has felt obliged to step down as BJP chief? He certainly made a well-thought-out, persuasive case for stable peace between the two countries. He made so bold as to go to the mausoleum of Mohammad Ali Jinnah (the first by an Indian leader) where, in his own hand, he recorded his glowing appreciation of the founder of Pakistan. The former Deputy Prime Minister described the Qaid-E-Azam as that "rare individual" who created history, indeed who stood for a secular Pakistan. Mr. Advani subsequently expanded on the theme in a speech to the Karachi Council of Foreign Relations, Economic Affairs and Law. Citing Jinnah's August 11, 1947 address to the Pakistan Constituent Assembly, he pointed out that the founder of Pakistan envisioned a state that guaranteed "equality of all citizens in the eyes of the State and freedom of faith for all citizens." This, the BJP president noted, "is what we in India call a Secular or Non-Theocratic State... [where] there is no place for bigotry, hatred, intolerance and discrimination in the name of religion...[and where] there can certainly be no place, much less State protection, for religious extremism and terrorism... " Mr. Advani can be faulted for ignoring Pakistan's subsequent erratic evolution into an Islamicist state. However, the commendation of Jinnah was in the specific and limited context of the August 1947 speech and a conversation Mr. Advani had a year ago with Swami Ranganathananda, head of the Ramakrishna Math, who drew his attention to the Jinnah speech, hailing it as "a classic exposition of a Secular State." The BJP chief has been pilloried by the Sangh Parivar for his praise of the Qaid-E-Azam; yet by daring to go beyond the demands of diplomacy, Mr. Advani appears to have won a substantial constituency for India in Pakistan. The parivar is shell-shocked, and understandably so. The Sangh ideology rests on the premise of the `other' — the enemy who must at all times be demonised. Until now, this role was fulfilled by Pakistan, and by India's Muslims. Mr. Advani has knocked the bottom out of this sinister theology.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Opinion

News Update

Stories in this Section

Advani sets Jinnah among the parivar

After eight years, opportunity missed

Baglihar, Neutral Expert and `differences'

Advani's Karachi speech decoded

Manmohan's visit offers a chance

Long wait for justice

Advani's resignation

Commendable