CALCUTTA: “I do not agree that because of Geography we will not get Pakistan,” observed Sir Nazimuddin referring to the Viceroy’s speech, wherein he has said: “No man can alter Geography.”

The occasion was a dinner held on Friday by the boarders of Bakers Hostel, Sir Nazimuddin being the chief guest.

Sir Nazimuddin said: “His Excellency mentioned Ireland where exactly the same state of affairs exists today which we claim for ourselves here. Provincial Government’s plight under the control of the Central Government could not have been better demonstrated than during the recent famine in Bengal. It has been clearly shown that to a large extent our misfortunes are due to the Central Government’s vacillating policy. … Those times are not long ago when anyone who spoke about Muslims’ rights, no matter however legitimate, was regarded as a traitor. This sort of nationalism was being preached by the so-called nationalist papers like ‘Amrita Bazar Patrika’ etc. Muslims had to suffer because then we did not have the ‘Star of India’, ‘Dawn’, ‘Azad’ or ‘Morning News’.…” — Dawn Delhi

Published in Dawn, February 21st, 2019