CHAUDHARI REHMAT ALI

As early as 1933, 14 years before Indian independence, there was a movement for a separate Muslim nation within India. Ironically, Hindu India was never a nation in any sense of the word, but was a series of independent principalities much like Italy before its unification. However, with the Muslim conquest of the various Indian states, there was a central authority, ruler, and nation for the first time. Later the Muslims had to argue that India was not a country when it was they who had made it such. When the Muslim Emperors were in power, they argued that India was one country under their authority. But when they lost power, the Muslims argued the other side of the issue.

This quotation is often used as the antithesis of national pluralism. When India was partitioned, there were Muslims and Hindus both who subscribed to this view. The result was vicious interethnic slaughter and ethnic cleansing. However there was a large middle ground who did not accept this monocultural view of a nation. Many millions of Indian Muslims chose to stay in India as minorities and there were 200 million Muslims in India by the beginning of the 21st century. Modern India, is along with the United States, one of the leading ethnic and cultural pluralistic countries in the world. Pakistan was and still is totally monolithic. But it was India where Muslims have much more freedom than there Islamic brothers in Pakistan which although all Islamic constantly has better strife and killings over the degree of orthodoxy the State religion should take.

Ali was arguing that India should not be a single nation but each major ethnic group should have its own country. Pakistan was later to be separated out. However, the Akhoots, Christians, Dravidians and Sikhs did not have the same desire for separatism as the Muslims and stayed in India, and today India is a pluralistic nation which even includes about the same number of Muslims who have elected to be Indian citizens rather than Pakistani.

He coined the term “Pakistan.” “Stan” means “land of” and he saw the Paks as a people. However, the land eventually was that of the Muslims, Paks and non-Paks. He drew a map and even included Bangladesh and named it “Bangistan.”

This quotation is often used as the antithesis of national pluralism. When India was partitioned, there were Muslims and Hindus both who subscribed to this view. The result was vicious interethnic slaughter and ethnic cleansing. However there was a large middle ground who did not accept this monocultural view of a nation. Many millions of Indian Muslims chose to stay in India as minorities and there were 200 million Muslims in India by the beginning of the 21st century. Modern India, is along with the United States, one of the leading ethnic and cultural pluralistic countries in the world. Pakistan was and still is totally monolithic. But it was India where Muslims have much more freedom than there Islamic brothers in Pakistan which although all Islamic constantly has better strife and killings over the degree of orthodoxy the State religion should take.

Ali was arguing that India should not be a single nation but each major ethnic group should have its own country. Pakistan was later to be separated out. However, the Akhoots, Christians, Dravidians and Sikhs did not have the same desire for separatism as the Muslims and stayed in India, and today India is a pluralistic nation which even includes about the same number of Muslims who have elected to be Indian citizens rather than Pakistani.

He coined the term “Pakistan.” “Stan” means “land of” and he saw the Paks as a people. However, the land eventually was that of the Muslims, Paks and non-Paks. He drew a map and even included Bangladesh and named it “Bangistan.”

As early as 1933, 14 years before Indian independence, there was a movement for a separate Muslim nation within India. Ironically, Hindu India was never a nation in any sense of the word, but was a series of independent principalities much like Italy before its unification. However, with the Muslim conquest of the various Indian states, there was a central authority, ruler, and nation for the first time. Later the Muslims had to argue that India was not a country when it was they who had made it such. When the Muslim Emperors were in power, they argued that India was one country under their authority. But when they lost power, the Muslims argued the other side of the issue.