Why target Jinnah now?

There can be no question that in the brilliant, charismatic, single-minded Mumbai lawyer Mohammed Ali Jinnah, the British colonialists found their perfect instrument for partitioning India and creating Pakistan. And yet there can be little question that a Hindu communal outfit in Uttar Pradesh has taken upon itself the task of removing a portrait of Pakistan’s founder from the Aligarh Muslim University Students Union office for purely political and electoral ends. The portrait has been there for decades, along with those of other historical figures, and its existence in no way signifies approval for the Partition of India.

A veritable campaign has been launched to “eliminate” Jinnah from AMU. A big prize has been offered. Chief minister Yogi Adityanath has declared Jinnah has no place in India. Recently, Hindu right rowdies barged into the AMU campus and a big police force had to be called in. Now it appears Jinnah photos have been plastered in public toilets in UP. At the same time, a portrait of AMU founder Sir Syed Ahmed Khan was displaced from a state guest house.

All this is in line with the RSS ideology of fighting history. When a high-intensity election battle is on in Karnataka, it’s hard to escape the inference that this is part of a well-thought out bid to communalise voters in the southern state. This is specially in light of the UP CM’s energetic campaigning in Karnataka, from which only communal messages emanated. The Jinnah episode also serves to demonise a particular community at election time since AMU is a minority institution. That is singularly unfortunate.