Vibha Sharma
New Delhi, August 14
The ruling BJP on Sunday tangentially targeted India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on the “Partition Horrors Remembrance Day”.
A video posted on the party’s social media accounts on the eve of the Independence Day tomorrow, narrated its version of events that led to the Partition, including “Nehru bowing to the demands of Muhammad Ali Jinnah-led Muslim League for the creation of Pakistan”.
The BJP which organised several events, including silent marches, to mark the day used archival footage and dramatised visuals set to haunting music. It also featured Cyril John Radcliffe, British lawyer known for his role in the Partition, to question how a person without the knowledge of Indian cultural heritage was allowed to divide India in three weeks. Visuals of Nehru appeared throughout the video while the narration recounted the horrors of partition.
“August 14, 1947, is the day when the ancient culture of India was divided by a few people by drawing lines on the paper and this tragedy left the soul of the country bleeding. Punjab torn, Sindh destroyed, Dhaka also spoiled, the courtyard which was ours till yesterday, who made the border there?
“People who had no knowledge of India’s cultural heritage, civilisation, values, its pilgrimages, drew the border between people living together for centuries in just three weeks.
“Where were those people at that time who had the responsibility of fighting against these divisive forces?” BJP tweeted along with the video.
Hitting back, Congress alleged the real intent of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to mark August 14 as Partition Horrors Remembrance Day was to use the traumatic events as fodder for his current political battles.
Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said the tragedy of Partition, cannot be misused to fuel hate and prejudice.
“The truth is Savarkar originated the two-nation theory and Jinnah perfected it. Sardar Patel wrote, ‘I felt that if we did not accept partition, India would be split into many bits and would be completely ruined’.”
“Will the PM also recall today Shyama Prasad Mookherjee, the founder of the Jan Sangh, who championed the Partition of Bengal against the wishes of Sarat Chandra Bose, and who sat in free India’s first Cabinet while the tragic consequences of Partition were becoming evident?
“The modern day Savarkars and Jinnahs are continuing their efforts to divide the nation. The Indian National Congress will uphold the legacy of Gandhi, Nehru, Patel and many others who were untiring in their efforts to unite the nation. The politics of hate will be defeated,” Ramesh wrote.
The BJP video also blames Indian communists for the partition, claiming their leaders backed the Muslim League and justified the demand for a separate Muslim country.
Meanwhile, Home Minister Amit Shah said “violence and hatred of Partition claimed millions of lives and displaced innumerable people”.
“This day will remind the young generation of the country about the torture and pain suffered by the people during Partition and will continue to inspire countrymen to maintain peace and harmony in the country forever,” he said.