October 5, 2022

Savarkar versus Gandhi on the compulsions of Two Nations

It was Savarkar who wanted two nations – one for Hindus and a second for Muslims; according to him, Muslims had no place in the Nation for Hindus because they could not live together. Jinnah and Savarkar were of the same mould – only Savarkar was the mirror image of Jinnah. On the other hand, Gandhi always stood for inclusivity and a secular India – not a majoritarian State – according to him and according to his closest colleagues (viz. Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel ..), both Hindus and Muslims could live together with exactly the same rights. Gandhi never envisioned Hindus and Muslims having exclusive States based on religion. Gandhi rejected Jinnah’s ideas and certainly, Savarkar’s ideas were an antithesis of his.

Nowadays a canard is being peddled that Gandhi stood for partition of India. Gandhi did not single handedly gain India its independence but there is no doubt that Gandhi was a major contributor to India’s independence and also the value system independent India adopted in its constitution.

Author : Anil Srivastava

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