NCERT sparks row with Partition module, blames Congress, Jinnah & Mountbatten

The NCERT has released a special module on the Partition, blaming Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Congress and Lord Mountbatten for the division of the nation. The module has also sparked a political row as the BJP and the Congress traded barbs over the issue.

Refuting claims made in the module, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera demanded that the module be burnt. He accused the Hindu Mahasabha and the Muslim League of “collaborating” for division of the nation into India and Pakistan.

“Set this book on fire, if it does not mention this. If history has the biggest villain, it is the RSS. Future generations will not forgive the role it played in spying, which it continued for 25 years. In that spying, there was collaboration with Muslims and Jinnah,” Khera said.

BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said, “We have come to know about the special module of the NCERT on Partition, but we cannot run away from facts. Who was at the helm at the time of partition -- Muslim League and the Congress, which was led by Nehru.”

“There are Nehru’s statements in favour of Partition. Besides, wrong steps taken in greed of power and appeasement politics, led to the deaths of lakhs of people, rape of thousands and displacement of crores,” he stated.

AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi demanded that the book ‘Muslims against Partition’ by Shamsul Islam should also be included in the NCERT curriculum.

"The truth is that the Partition happened because of the collaboration between the Hindu Mahasabha and the Muslim League. Set the book on fire if it does not mention all this. If history has the biggest villain, it is the RSS. It continued to play a role in spying for 25 years and collaborated with Muslims and Jinnah.” -- Pawan Khera, Congress spokesperson

"We cannot run away from facts. Who was at the helm at the time of the Partition -- the Muslim League and the Congress, led by Nehru. There are statements of Nehru in favour of division. Besides, wrong steps taken in greed of power and appeasement politics, led to the deaths of lakhs of people, rape of thousands and displacement of crores." -- Shehzad Poonawalla, BJP spokesperson

“This lie is told again and again about Partition. At that time, not even two to three Muslims had the right to vote, and today people blame us for the Partition. How were we responsible for that? There were those who fled from here, but those who were loyal stayed,” he added.

The new NCERT module has stated that just before Direct Action Day in August 1946, Muslim League leader Muhammad Ali Jinnah threatened, “Either a divided India or a destroyed India.”

It further mentioned that the “persistent” problem in Kashmir emerged after the Partition. The module stated, “The Kashmir issue, a new and persistent problem, emerged after the Partition. Pakistan has waged three wars to annex Kashmir and, after losing them, adopted a policy of exporting jihadist terrorism to inflict “a thousand cuts” on India from within. This has claimed thousands of lives, both civilian and military.”

“All of this is a consequence of Partition. Previously, Kashmir had always been a peaceful and stable part of India, rarely the subject of any political or economic concern,” the module said.

The book also quoted the July 1947 statement of Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Patel in favour of Partition.

The module stated that the Congress accepted the Partition mainly to avoid communal strife. As per the module, “Historically, three actors were responsible for Partition: Jinnah, who demanded it, the Congress, which accepted it, and Mountbatten, who formalized and implemented it. Thus, only when Jinnah remained adamant and Nehru and Patel reluctantly gave their consent did Mountbatten present Partition as a final solution.”

“The British government tried their best to preserve India as one until the end. Viceroys Linlithgow and Wavell had both maintained that Partition will not solve the Hindu-Muslim problem. In London, Prime Minister Clement Attlee’s government made various efforts to keep India united until May 1947. Even the Congress accepted Partition mainly to avoid such violence,” it added.

The NCERT module claimed that Mountbatten preponed the date for the transfer of power from June 1948 to August 1947.

“He persuaded everyone to agree to this. Because of this, complete preparations could not be made before the Partition. The demarcation of the Partition boundaries was also done hastily. For that, Sir Cyril Radcliffe was given only five weeks. In Punjab, even two days after 15 August 1947, millions of people did not know whether they were in India or in Pakistan. Such haste was a great act of carelessness,” the module added.