AR Bhat
To know how this comparison pans out it needs to be understood from a viewpoint which covers geopolitics in a larger perspective. Thereby urging us to know each entity separately. Pluralism in a way is embedded in the DNA of our country stretching back to the demise of Harrapans, Hindu culture was interwoven with Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Islam, Zoroastrianism all living in a form of eternal harmony, this has left many countries in utter disbelief as to how a country with so many ideological differences was able to stand the test of time.
Many attacks, campaigns were thwarted to safeguard this beautiful architecture and many shed their blood to upkeep it. This has not only led us to a unique seat on the global stage but also strengthened our firm belief in harmony. Every single person has his/ her own rights to exercise any religion they wish to worship without any form of compulsion to convert. This had been a biggest cause of fight amongst many ancient empires having not only ideological but, theological differences too.
When we look at the Byzantine Empire and the Holy Roman Empire, both were Christian but had theological differences which caused a sad demise of Byzantine at the hands of Islamic caliphate. India held on through all these turmoil which gripped the nations elsewhere. This tells us of the mature mindset of our ancient civilizations and why it’s revered a lot. If we look onto the “2 Nation theory” it was based upon the religious division of lands and was promulgated in the division of British East India. Firstly voiced at the second round table conference in London, 1930 this was the sole decisive strike of the British before they parted their ways. Sowing the seeds in the minds of then All India Muslim League leader Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
This decision would soon turn out to be the spark of the religious tension amongst Hindus and Muslims. This theory wanted separate land for Muslim majority population and was meant to be ruled by the Islamic Shariah, which further was twisted by knaves to support their own biases. As soon as this theory took to fruition, it was paralysed by civil war as the populace were moving from one place to another, from their lands which they called home for centuries, leaving everything behind. This wrecked the complete peace of Indian subcontinent and never to be brought back again. With the borders, cracks began to appear and animosity rose between the two formed countries. This led to series of destructive wars from 1947-48, 1965, 1971, 1999 followed by 2008 Mumbai attack.
If we look at both of the nations, one kept on holding its pluralism intact and other a staunch “2 nation theorist”. It is clear that India by and large has outdone it’s neighbour in the past 75 years. Thus it is evident from the history and the present situation that the theory of Jinnah never ever came to fruition, rather destroyed and displaced lives of millions. On the contrary, India has jumped leap bounds. The Indian army has been the beacon of this pluralism in every front, from guarding its people to fighting till last breath, it has taken all measures to upkeep our national interest as well as harmony.
