Aamir Mughal Mr Zia’s first question was about challenging the popular narrative, that is, the Two-Nation Theory, in the book, which he termed was not for the faint-hearted. The writer said the chapter the host was referring to was thought of in 1997 when he (Mr Ayaz) met a BBC journalist who was doing a story on the 50 years of Pakistan’s independence. Answering a question of the foreign journalist, he mentioned that we (Muslims) had ruled India for eight centuries but when the question of democracy was raised, suddenly we realised we were a separate nation. He said the demand for a separate land primarily had to do with Indian Muslims’ economic and political rights. Even in the famous ‘14 points’ there was only one point on religion and the emphasis was not on Islam but on Muslims’ rights. To get the support of the masses, the ruling classes of Punjab and Sindh exploited religion. In 1937, the Muslim League had lost the elections so they used religion as a means to an end. They didn’t realise that the means started dictating another end. So the mullahs took over. The space that terrorists today got had the same narrative, he said.
Posted on: Sat, 17 Aug 2013 06:31:29 +0000
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