The second book of the Bharat trilogy-India, Bharat and Pakistan-The Constitutional Journey of a Sandwiched Civilization was published in the summer of 2022.
The book is a power packed, well researched book tracing the movement of India through the lens of the two nation theory.
The author J Sai Deepak has done a great job in undertaking painstaking research.
This research has been on the controversial subject of the partition of India.
To begin with, the book traces the theoretical underpinnings of the two-nation theory.
Syed Ahmed Khan-The Original Propagator
The author in the first chapter has literally punctured the left wing narrative that Sir Syed Ahmed Khan was a paragon of Hindu-Muslim unity.
He argues that Khan was the individual who committed the original sin-he laid the seeds of the two-nation theory.
He states that the intention behind the formation of the Muhammedan Anglo Oriental College in 1875 was reform the Muslim elites.
That was one aspect.
The other aspect was to help his fellow Muslim brethren play catch up with their Hindu counterparts.
This was to be coupled with the goal of restoring Muslim power if the British ever left or were booted out of India.
Partition of Bengal
The author in chapter 3 focused on the idea that the partition of Bengal in 1905.
That would certainly serve as a prelude to the partition of India later on.
He extensively quoted R.C. Majumdar, Radhakumud Mukherjee on the nature of the Bengal partition.
He argued that Bengal was the nerve centre of the Indian nationalism and the Muslim separatist side did play into the British ploy.
What was the ploy?
It was granting the former ‘taste of political power’.
Path to the Partition
In the next eight-nine chapters J Sai Deepak delved on various phases of the Indian national movement.
The writer laid special emphasis on the First World War when the victorious Allied powers imposed opprobrious terms on the Sultan of Turkey.
He was looked upon as the Caliph of global Islam.
He notes, how the very premise of the non-cooperation was for an Islamist cause.
This was something which the Indian National Congress despite realising failed to stem the tide.
It’s goal was to rope in the support of the Muslim side.
This was to be done to legitimise its identity as a pan-Indian organization.
An organisation that can speak only on behalf of all Indians, including Muslims.
This continued till the partition of India.
The author has undertaken painstaking research on the movement of pan-Islamism commencing with Shah Walliullah Dehlavi of Delhi and his acolytes.
He quoted Ayesha Jalal’s Partisans of Allah-Jihad in South Asia extensively on this issue.
Atrocities on Hindus
The last chapter of the book was dedicated to five instances of inhuman atrocities on Hindus.
Especially moving was the Moplah rebellion of 1921.
Sai notes that the rebellion was not a ‘peasant rebellion’.
It was an out and out genocide of Hindus in the most atrocious manner possible.
Conclusion
The book India, Bharat and Pakistan is a brilliant reminder to the future generations of India that what was taught to you in your school history textbooks is nothing but an exercise in narrative brainwashing.
It will break your fundamental assumptions of some of our most revered personalities of the freedom struggle.