THIS refers to the letter `Jinnah & Gandhi: music and cinema` (Dec 31) by S.S. Pirzada.
Quaid-i-Azam led the Muslims of India to a separate state not because of their faith alone but also becuase he was convinced that they could never be equal citizens in an independent India in which they were outnumbered by Hindus four to one. In addition, they were economically depressed and even in their majority provinces felt oppressed.
Jinnah struggled for a Pakistan in which Bengal, Assam and Punjab were to be its part in full. The division of all three was not envisaged. Confronted with a l Radcliffe`s blatantly dishonest verdict has been exposed by many, including Sir Zafarullah Khan, who was selected by Jinnah himself to argue the Muslim League`s case before the commission headed by Radcliffe.
For a full account of the proceedings before the Boundary Commission the readers could dono betterthanread Zafarullah`s account in his autobiography Tehdise Nemat, which has been translated into English by this writer.
The root-cause of Pakistan`s break-up leading to the emergence of Bangladesh lay in the partiality of the Radcliffe tribunal`s verdict. Yet it appears that the wrong flowing from it has not come to an end with the separation of East Pakistan. The people still have to be vigilant.
