There was a prequel

Rohit posts an interesting excerpt from Muhammad Iqbal's speech. This speech is considered a turning point in political movement for establishment of Pakistan. However it was not the beginning of intellectual movement for Pakistan. That (dubious) honour goes to speech given in 1888 by Sir Syyed Ahmend Khan to a gathering of Muslim intellectuals, which in itself was a response to emergence of Congress, which was perceived by a prominent section of Muslim intelligentsia as a party of Hindus.

"At this time our nation is in a bad state in regards education and wealth, but God has given us the light of religion and the Koran is present for our guidance, which has ordained them and us to be friends. Now God has made them rulers over us. Therefore we should cultivate friendship with them, and should adopt that method by which their rule may remain permanent and firm in India, and may not pass into the hands of the Bengalis… If we join the political movement of the Bengalis our nation will reap a loss, for we do not want to become subjects of the Hindus instead of the subjects of the "people of the Book…"

Of course my intention is more than tracing a time line for Pakistan and certainly not to play gotcha. It is to emphasize that the Hindu-Muslim issue defies the simple narrative of Muslim League vs Congress (with Hindu Mahasabha as a convenient scapegoat), and goes much deeper to even more fundamental and perplexing question of defining the contour of nationhood.

I think that by refusing to discuss partition we do great disservice not only to general intellectual discourse but also and more importantly to the future of our nation.

Update: It is instructive that none of the triumvirate Sir Sayyed, Iqbal or Jinnah had a fundamentalist background as far as faith is concerned. I think it is more to do with the question of how identity is determined historically than orthodoxy.