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Does Akhilesh Yadav Seriously Think Invoking Jinnah Will Win Him Votes?

By Linus Garg
First publised on 2021-11-01 15:25:31

About the Author

Sunil Garodia Linus tackles things head-on. He takes sides in his analysis and it fits excellently with our editorial policy. No 'maybe's' and 'allegedly' for him, only things in black and white.

Akhilesh Yadav is being taken to ask for equating the founder of Pakistan, Mohammed Ali Jinnah with the icons of Indian freedom struggle like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Patel. Yadav said that "Sardar Patel, Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Jinnah studied at the same institute and became barristers. They became barristers and they fought for India's freedom. They never backed away from any struggle." 

The BJP, the BSP and pointedly, Asaduddin Owaisi of the AIMIM, criticized Yadav for speaking of Jinnah in the same breath as Mahatma Gandhi and others. While the BJP accused Yadav of Muslim appeasement, Owaisi advised him to "read some history" before making such intemperate comments and Mayawati alleged that it was an attempt to polarize voters. 

UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath said that "his divisive mindset came to the fore once again when he tried to glorify Jinnah by equating Sardar Patel with him. It's the Talibani mentality that believes in dividing. The Samajwadi national president should apologize for this."

BSP supremo Mayawati said that "the politics of the SP and BJP have been complementary to each other. Since the thinking of these two parties is casteist and communal, they depend on each other for their existence. That is why when SP is in power, the BJP becomes strong; when the BSP is in power, the BJP becomes weak". She alleged that what Akhilesh Yadav said and how the BJP responded to it points to the fact that both parties want to polarize voters ahead of the Uttar Pradesh polls.

But Asaduddin Owaisi was pained that by equating Jinnah with Indian freedom fighters, Yadav was rubbishing the choice of the forefathers of Indian Muslims who had made a conscious decision to remain in secular India and not side with Jinnah's two-nation theory and a separate country for the Muslims from undivided India. Owaisi said "Akhilesh Yadav should understand that Indian Muslims have nothing to do with Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Our elders rejected the two-nation theory and chose India as their country." He also advised Yadav to "read some history" and change his advisors.

There is no doubt that up to a point Jinnah was associated with the Congress and participated to free India from the British. But after that, he did not fight for India but for Pakistan. In that avatar, he was against India and was bent on dividing it to achieve his dream of a separate nation for the Muslims from undivided India. Hence, he can never be said to have been a part of freedom struggle in India as he and his inflexible attitude were solely responsible for the Partition and the horrors that followed. Akhilesh Yadav is wrong in speaking of him in the same breath as Gandhi, Nehru and Patel. 

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