Skip to main content

When Savarkar said he had 'no quarrel' with Jinnah’s two-nation theory

Savarkar
By Shamsul Islam*
The Hindu Mahasabha under the presidentship of VD Savarkar aligned with the British masters to crush the Quit India Movement in 1942. The Responsive Cooperation with the British was not only a theoretical commitment. It soon got concretized in ganging up of the Hindu Mahasabha with the Muslim League.
When all political organizations, including the Congress, were banned, only the Hindu Mahasabha and the Muslim League were allowed to function. And it was during this period that the Hindu Mahasabha led by Savarkar ran coalition governments with the Muslim League. Savarkar defended this nexus in his presidential speech to the Kanpur session of the Hindu Mahasabha in the following words:
“In practical politics also the Mahasabha knows that we must advance through reasonable compromises. Witness the fact that only recently in Sind, the Sind Hindu Sabha on invitation had taken the responsibility of joining hands with the League itself in running coalition Government.
"The case of Bengal is well known. Wild Leaguers, whom even the Congress with all its submissiveness could not placate, grew quite reasonably compromising and socialable as soon as they came in contact with the HM and the Coalition government, under the premiership of Fazlul Huq and the able lead of our esteemed Mahasabha leader Dr Syama Prasad Mookerji, functioned successfully for a year or so to the benefit of both the communities.” (VD Savarkar, "Samagra Savarkar Wangmaya: Hindu Rashtra Darshan", Vol 6, Maharashtra Prantik Hindusabha, Poona, 1963, pp 479-480.)
As explained by Savarkar in the Muslim League Bengal ministry, the second-in-command of the Mahasabha, Dr Syama Prasad Mukherjee was deputy to the Muslim League head of the ministry. Mukherjee also held portfolio of suppressing of the Quit India Movement.
The Hindu Mahasabha and the Muslim League, besides Bengal and Sind, ran coalition government in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) also during this period.
Savarkar joined hands with the League when the Congress opposed any dealing with the Muslim League. Dhananjay Keer in his biography of Savarkar, which is hailed as the most authentic by the Hinduvta icon's fans, admits that Savarkar had advised the Hindu leaders in the Muslim majority provinces to join ministries formed by the Muslim League.
In fact, both had been working in tandem for a couple of years. While addressing the Madura Conference of the Hindu Mahasabha (22nd session) in 1940, Savarkar admitted that his party was aligning with Muslim groups in different provinces in opposition to the Congress. His following words only corroborate the fact that Hindu-Muslim communalists had united against the Congress:
"At several places they (the Hindu Mahasabhaites) succeeded in inflicting defeats on the Congress candidates and today representatives of the Hindu Sanghatanist party form so influential minority in the provincial legislatures and some of the local bodies as to be able very often to hold the balance so as to influence the formation of the Moslem Ministries themselves. In addition to that, there are two to three Hindu Ministers in the (Muslim) Ministry itself who are pledged to the Hindu ticket. " (VD Savarkar, "Samagra Savarkar Wangmaya: Hindu Rashtra Darshan", Vol 6, Maharashtra Prantik Hindusabha, Poona, 1963, p 399.)
Jinnah

Savarkar's two-nation theory

For a complete appraisal of Savarkar's role in advancing two-nation theory in pre-Independence India, we must get acquainted with his words and deeds while he was a freeman, guiding the Hindu Mahasabha from 1937 to 1942. These are available under the caption, "Hindu Rashtra Darshan", published by the Hindu Mahasabha, Maharashtra. While delivering presidential address to the 19th Hindu Mahasabha session at Ahmedabad in 1937, Savarkar unequivocally declared:
"As it is, there are two antagonistic nations living side by side in India, several infantile politicians commit the serious mistake in supposing that India is already welded into a harmonious nation, or that it could be welded thus for the mere wish to do so. These were well meaning but unthinking friends take their dreams for realities.
"That is why they are impatient of communal tangles and attribute them to communal organizations. But the solid fact is that the so-called communal questions are but a legacy handed down to us by centuries of cultural, religious and national antagonism between the Hindus and Moslems...
"Let us bravely face unpleasant facts as they are. India cannot be assumed today to be a unitarian and homogenous nation, but on the contrary there are two nations in the main: the Hindus and the Moslems, in India." (VD Savarkar, "Samagra Savarkar Wangmaya: Hindu Rashtra Darshan", Vol 6, Maharashtra Prantik Hindusabha, Poona, 1963, p 296.)
Thus, Savarkar, long before Mohammed Ali Jinnah’s adoption of the two-nation theory in 1940, was preaching it. Both stood together against Indian nationalism. Importantly, when the League passed its Pakistan resolution in Lahore (March 1940) Jinnah specifically referred to the above words of Savarkar in defence his brand of the two-nation theory.
Savarkar was not to be left behind in this thanks giving exercise. While addressing a press conference in Nagpur on August 15, 1943, he went to the extent of saying, “I have no quarrel with Mr Jinnah’s two-nation theory. We, Hindus, are a nation by ourselves and it is a historical fact that Hindus and Muslims are two nations” (cited in "Indian Annual Register", 1943, Vol 2, p 10.)
Savarkar’s belief in two-nation theory led him also to believe that the Muslim League exclusively represented all Muslims and the Hindu Mahasabha exclusively represented all Hindus. Savarkar, in the course of his presidential address to the 22nd session of the Hindu Mahasabha at Madura, thanked,
"His Excellency the Viceroy for having deliberately and decisively recognized (sic) the position of the Hindu Mahasabha as… the most outstanding representative Hindu body and finally coming to the conclusion that the Moslim (sic) League represents the Moslem interests, the Hindu Mahasabha the Hindu interest…" (VD Savarkar, "Samagra Savarkar Wangmaya: Hindu Rashtra Darshan", Vol 6, Maharashtra Prantik Hindusabha, Poona, 1963, p 407.)
Dr BR Ambedkar, a keen observer and critic of the competitive Hindu-Muslim communal politics in pre-independence India, was candid in his belief that: 
"Strange as it may appear, Mr Savarkar and Mr Jinnah instead of being opposed to each other on the one nation versus two nations issue are in complete agreement about it. Both not only agree, but insist that there are two nations in India -- one the Muslim nation and the other Hindu nation. They differ only as regards the terms and conditions on which the two nations must live. (BR Ambedkar, "Pakistan or the Partition of India", Government of Maharashtra, Bombay, 1990 [reprint of 1946 edition], p142.)
If Savarkar with such anti-national ideas and practices to his credit can be awarded the highest national honour; Bharat Ratna, who can stop Mohammed Ali Jinnah from claiming the same?
---
*Well-known political science, formerly with Delhi University, Prof Islam's writings and video interviews/debates can be read here. Twitter: @shamsforjustice. Blog: http://shamsforpeace.blogspot.com/. Contact: notoinjustice@gmail.com

Comments

Nazrul Islam said…
Dear colleague:

You will be glad to know that my book, "Rivers and Sustainable Development" is getting published by the Oxford University Press. The book gives considerable coverage to the Narmada Bachao Andolon. In doing so it uses the image below

https://i2.wp.com/feminisminindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/narmada.jpg?fit=630%2C420&ssl=1

Credit for this image was given to Counterview. I would like to get the permission to use it in mya book above.

I couldn't find appropriate contact information in Counterview website about where to send this request. So I will appreciate if you kindly send it to whoever can give a response to this request. I will very much appreciate getting the permission.

Best regards,
Dr. Nazrul Islam
New York



October 25, 2019
Editor said…
Dear Dr Islam: Thanks for your interest. If I correctly remember, it is a photograph provided by NBA. We are a blog and not a formal, professional website. As for any formal permission, can you contact NBA leaders, especially Medha Patkar? Am sure, they will gladly agree. Thanks
October 25, 2019
Post a Comment

TRENDING

Grueling summer ahead: Cuttack’s alarming health trends and what they mean for Odisha

By Sudhansu R Das  The preparation to face the summer should begin early in Odisha. People in the state endure long, grueling summer months starting from mid-February and extending until the end of October. This prolonged heat adversely affects productivity, causes deaths and diseases, and impacts agriculture, tourism and the unorganized sector. The social, economic and cultural life of the state remains severely disrupted during the peak heat months.
Post a Comment
»

Stronger India–Russia partnership highlights a missed energy breakthrough

By N.S. Venkataraman*  The recent visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to India was widely publicized across several countries and has attracted significant global attention. The warmth with which Mr. Putin was received by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was particularly noted, prompting policy planners worldwide to examine the implications of this cordial relationship for the global economy and political climate. India–Russia relations have stood on a strong foundation for decades and have consistently withstood geopolitical shifts. This is in marked contrast to India’s ties with the United States, which have experienced fluctuations under different U.S. administrations.
Post a Comment
»

From natural farming to fair prices: Young entrepreneurs show a new path

By Bharat Dogra   There have been frequent debates on agro-business companies not showing adequate concern for the livelihoods of small farmers. Farmers’ unions have often protested—generally with good reason—that while they do not receive fair returns despite high risks and hard work, corporate interests that merely process the crops produced by farmers earn disproportionately high profits. Hence, there is a growing demand for alternative models of agro-business development that demonstrate genuine commitment to protecting farmer livelihoods.
Post a Comment
»

The Vande Mataram debate and the politics of manufactured controversy

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat*  The recent Vande Mataram debate in Parliament was never meant to foster genuine dialogue. Each political party spoke past the other, addressing its own constituency, ensuring that clips went viral rather than contributing to meaningful deliberation. The objective was clear: to construct a Hindutva narrative ahead of the Bengal elections. Predictably, the Lok Sabha will likely expunge the opposition’s “controversial” remarks while retaining blatant inaccuracies voiced by ministers and ruling-party members. The BJP has mastered the art of inserting distortions into parliamentary records to provide them with a veneer of historical legitimacy.
Post a Comment
»

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor*  This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.
Post a Comment
»

Why India must urgently strengthen its policies for an ageing population

By Bharat Dogra   A quiet but far-reaching demographic transformation is reshaping much of the world. As life expectancy rises and birth rates fall, societies are witnessing a rapid increase in the proportion of older people. This shift has profound implications for public policy, and the need to strengthen frameworks for healthy and secure ageing has never been more urgent. India is among the countries where these pressures will intensify most sharply in the coming decades.
Post a Comment
»

The cost of being Indian: How inequality and market logic redefine rights

By Vikas Gupta   We, the people of India, are engaged in a daily tryst—read: struggle—for basic human rights. For the seemingly well-to-do, the wish list includes constant water supply, clean air, safe roads, punctual public transportation, and crime-free neighbourhoods. For those further down the ladder, the struggle is starker: food that fills the stomach, water that doesn’t sicken, medicines that don’t kill, houses that don’t flood, habitats at safe distances from polluted streams or garbage piles, and exploitation-free environments in the public institutions they are compelled to navigate.
Post a Comment
»

Thota Sitaramaiah: An internal pillar of an underground organisation

By Harsh Thakor*  Thota Sitaramaiah was regarded within his circles as an example of the many individuals whose work in various underground movements remained largely unknown to the wider public. While some leaders become visible through organisational roles or media attention, many others contribute quietly, without public recognition. Sitaramaiah was considered one such figure. He passed away on December 8, 2025, at the age of 65.
Post a Comment
»

Bangladesh alternative more vital for NE India than Kaladan project in Myanmar

By Mehjabin Bhanu*  There has been a recent surge in the number of Chin refugees entering Mizoram from the adjacent nation as a result of airstrikes by the Myanmar Army on ethnic insurgents and intense fighting along the border between India and Myanmar. Uncertainty has surrounded India's Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport project, which uses Sittwe port in Myanmar, due to the recent outbreak of hostilities along the Mizoram-Myanmar border. Construction on the road portion of the Kaladan project, which runs from Paletwa in Myanmar to Zorinpui in Mizoram, was resumed thanks to the time of relative calm during the intermittent period. However, recent unrest has increased concerns about missing the revised commissioning goal dates. The project's goal is to link northeastern states with the rest of India via an alternate route, using the Sittwe port in Myanmar. In addition to this route, India can also connect the region with the rest of India through Assam by using the Chittagon...
Post a Comment
»