Atish-i-Chinar-- Autobiography of Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah An Analysis- VI  

K L Swarup  

After giving full marks to Gandhiji for pursuing the policy of "rapprochement with the Muslim League and striving for removing the misgivings of Muslims"; and criticizing Congress leadership of the period for treating Mohammed Ali Jinnah and Dr BR Ambedkar shabbily, Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah devotes the remaining part of Chapter XXXII of his autobiography to criticize Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel for "looking at every issue with a Hindu point of view", having no "confidence in Muslims", "encouraging Hindu communalists during Hindu-Muslim riots", and the like.

The Sheikh also criticizes Jawaharlal Nehru "who considered himself an agnostic" but "was a lover and admirer of that ancient India which is replete with details of Hindu revivalism and Hindu Raj" The Sheikh says that Jawaharlal Nehru "would consider himself as an instrument for establishing such an ancient empire" based on historical views "cherished by Hindu revivalists like K.M. Munshi and Dayanand Saraswati" Some excerpts

Sardar Patel

"Maulana Abul Kalam Azad was at a prominent place in the line of leaders. From scriptural point of view, no Muslim had better virtues than him.. But it is an irony of the situation that in the matter of Muslim leadership, he could not stand before Jinnah Sahib-an advocate brought up on western style. In reality his temperamental make-up was not that of a public leader. He was very reserved in his habits and behaviour. He would prefer a life of solitude to the fact of facing people's problems in the field Maulana found himself in peculiar circumstances. Communalist Hindus would not rely on him as he was a Muslim and the Muslims would consider him a show-boy of the Hindus......... Sardar Patel and Maulana Azad could never see eye to eye with each other. Stamp of Hindu revivalism was distinct on Sardar Patel. He was in the habit of looking at every issue from Hindu point of view. Hindu Communalist Organisations had complete faith in him. Both from political and economic points of view he was a staunch rightist, with little connection with progressive parties. In fact he would not like these parties. Sardar was an out-spoken man and would not hide his inner feelings. As far as possible he would be aggressive to his opponents. He had no confidence in Muslims and during the course of Hindu-Muslim riots he would encourage Hindu Communalists. Once when I was sitting beside him he said that there was only one way to annihilate Pakistan and that was to push as many Muslims as possible to Pakistan so that it would crumble down by their weight and approach India for help. In all the Hindu-Muslim riots in Delhi and in its nearby localities Sardar Patel's hand was evidently in the background. In those days he delivered a very venomous speech at Lucknow against the Muslims. When Mahatma Gandhi came to know about it, he was very much annoyed. Once when I was sitting by the side of Gandhiji, this speech of Sardar Patel came under discussion; Gandhiji broke down and said that Patel has thorns in his tongue. Gandhiji later admonished Patel for this speech.

"There was a difference of hell and heaven between the views of Sardar and Jawaharlal.

Jawaharlal's birth and training had taken place in a family which was a centre of joint culture of Hindus and Muslims. His father, Motilal Nehru, was a scholar of Urdu and Persian........ On the other hand, Sardar was trained in a purely Hindu environment. Sardar was considering himself the deserving candidate for Prime Ministership as a representative of the aspirations of the Hindus. He was senior in age to Jawaharlal. For these reasons, he would consider appointment of Jawaharlal as Prime Minister as an encroachment on his rights and was therefore very bitter. But one has to admit that while Jawaharlal was a dreamer, Patel was a shrewd administrator and a strong realist. Sardar would not consider only Jawaharlal as his opponent but his friends and admirers also. I and Jawaharlal had Kashmiri blood in our veins. We were very close because of identical views and thoughts. So Patel never liked this kinship and he would consider me as one of his opponents.........

"The book 'My years with Nehru' authored by B.N. Malik gives an idea about the enmity which Sardar bore with me. This man had later risen to the post of Director, Central Intelligence Bureau. The Sardar had briefed Malik to the hilt against me as a result of which he started submitting false reports against me to the Centre. In fact this was the time when the seeds of the conspiracy of 1953 were sown and Jawaharlal was poisoned against me. Sardar Patel and his factotums in the Central Home Ministry started working to remove me (from the political field) and building up a parallel leadership. In those days, Sardar Patel and his clique adopted Bakhshi Ghulam Mohammad politically and began to woo him up..........

"Khan Abdul Gafar Khan had said time and again that the responsibility for establishment of Pakistan and division of the country should be owned by the Congress and its leadership more than that of Jinnah Sahib. According to him the Congresses in their heart of hearts wanted emergence of a Hindu State and they would not like a sizeable section of Muslims with them. So under the cover of Jinnah Sahib's demand for Pakistan which was actually a bargaining counter for securing the rights of the Muslims, the Congressites entered into a sort of un-written and silent mental agreement with Jinnah Sahib and did everything to facilitate his work. Even after the emergence of Pakistan this sort of mentality continued which became not only a cause of pushing a huge number of the Muslims to Pakistan but also emerged before us in the form of martyrdom of Gandhiji who was renunciation personified and had not (mentally) accepted the fact of the division (of the country). "It is a matter worth considering that the Congress leaders while holding the Muslims responsible for the division of the country ignore the fact that in their ranks Gandhiji was the only honourable exception who did not surrender before Two-Nation Theory. On the other hand amongst Muslims, Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad, Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan and scores of nationalist Muslim leaders opposed the division of the country with their full might".

Jawaharlal Nehru

"Jawaharlal was another attractive star of this fateful leadership. He was adept in doing tasks and overcoming situations but he was a riddle as well. In his person merits and demerits were present in such a manner that it is difficult to form a final opinion about him. He was originally a Kashmiri and was, therefore, quite attractive physically. His red cheeks would remind one of Kashmiri apples. He was brought up in an aristocratic environment and trained along with the English gentry. So mentally he held liberal views. He had become a part of the liberal tradition of England and would think in English only. For this reason when he would deliver a speech in Hindustani one would feel that it was a free translation of some English theme in which fluency and clarity were not to be found. According to Maulana Azad he would even dream in English. The English socialists of late nineteenth century had influenced him. He was fond of Marx who had tempered his liberalism with the result that he was neither a staunch liberal nor a staunch socialist........

"Jawaharlal had a great scholar hidden in him. His powerful English prose bears testimony to this fact. He would consider himself an agnostic; but he was a lover and admirer of that ancient India which is replete with the details of Hindu revivalism and Hindu Raj Occasionally his Discovery of India', though unwittingly, touches the shores of the views of history cherished by Hindu revivalists like K M. Munshi and Dayanand Sarawati. He would think of himself as an instrument for establishing such an ancient empire. So in his ideology Michiavellian policy and diplomacy would also find its place. It is for this reason that this disciple of an awakened soul like Mahatma Gandhi was also a great admirer of ancient India's famous politician, Chanakya. According to his (Nehrus) own admission he would keep his book ArthaShastra containing tricks of diplomacy under his pillow. Jawaharlal applied this Michiavellian type of diplomacy to us in Kashmir, to Pakistan also and on international level in Hungary Jawaharlal was also a sentimental type of person. The magic and magnetism of his personality would hardly leave anybody un bewitched. In fact, the impact of that civilization which has English finess, Hindu tastefulness and Muslim gentleness as its constituents was distinct in him. He had received his training on this meeting place of civilizations and he was the best and brilliant sample of that civilization. In the matter of friendship, he could go to any extent but only when it was not at the cost of his nation or personal interest. When he had such apprehensions, he was a different person. When I was not useful to him, he sent me to gallows.

"Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad betrayed his benevolent master and the nation at his instance. But when Nehru found him (Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad) of no use, he threw him away like a rotten fruit. Similarly Krishna Menon was only advocating and practising his policy but when his (Nehru's) position was endangered (because of Menon) the poor Krishna Menon whom I had never liked was made a scape-goat and thrown out of the Cabinet unceremoniously. He (Nehru) was very short-tempered but his anger would come down instantaneously. He would feel repentent in such a loving manner that one wished such a situation to arise again and again....... Jawaharlal would tremendously get influenced by fair sex. He had a weakness for pretty faces and their attractive conversation and would feel excited in their company. On so many occasions it so happened that when his mood was off, an attractive woman, would change his seriousness into cheerfulness....... but such women besides their attractive physical features used to be talented also and could be intellectual rivals of the wise man hidden in Jawaharlal Names of Sarojini, Padmaja Naidu, Mridula Sarabhai, Lady Mountbatten and scores of others can be counted in this behalf.

 

"Jawaharlal spent his life boldly like a young sportsman. But in his last days he was overtaken by despair and anguish. The 'Chanakaya' in his inner self made him miserable. So far as China was concerned he did not only receive a political wound from her but carried the injury with him for long. As a political heir to Gandhiji he claimed the moral leadership of the world but the Kashmir episode made this leadership doubtful After 1953 when he allowed his followers to indulge in political machinations inside Kashmir, it proved to be the cause of the impairment of his image. During his last days he ardently desired to atone for the sins of commission and omission with regard to Kashmir. He, therefore, used the axe of Kamaraj Plan on Bakhshi Ghulam Mohammad and isolated him from Kashmir politics. In 1964 after my release he expressed his anguish and regrets and in good faith wanted my help in cutting the gordian-knot, but history is merciless. Before he could adopt any remedial measures, he was handed over to Death itself

Courtesy:- K L Swarup and December 1994 Koshur Samachar

DISCLAIMER: 

The views expressed in the Article above are Author’s personal views and kashmiribhatta.in is not in any way responsible for the opinions expressed in the above article. The article belongs to its respective owner or owners and this site does not claim any right over it. Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing."