(LETTER) Expressing his satisfaction on Congress-League unity in the Central Assembly, Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru is reported to have said: “If I were Muslim, I would never have asked for such a thing as Pakistan.” …

Responding to the call of Mr. Gandhi in the memorable days of the Congress Khilafat combination, hundreds of Sindhi Muslims bid farewall to their hearths and property worth lakhs of repees and went to Afghanistan on Hijarat. Similarly, they readily responded to the second call of Mr Gandhi for boycotting Schools and Colleges so much so that they even refused to take Government aid as in the case of Aligarh University. Thus the constant refusal would have ultimately resulted in the close down of the only Muslim University in British India, while the great leader simultaneously gave his blessings to open a strong Hindu University at Benares which we see flourishing today.

Really, it would have been more graceful on the part of Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru were he to ask … “What would Hindus have given to the Muslims had they not asked for Pakistan?” when even conceding to the right of self-determination to Muslims is considered a “sin”?

Yours etc., A.K. Jatoi, Karachi — Dawn Delhi

Published in Dawn, April 17th, 2019