Pre and post colonial Punjab

Gandhi’s grandson stirs up a history that does not sit well with many in Punjab

Grandson of one of the most revered political giants in the culminating part of the Indian subcontinent’s struggle for Independence, Rajmohan Gandhi has a deep understanding and knowledge of the history and culture of the land. An eminent writer and historian, he has written extensively on the Indo-Pak movement, its leaders, politics and relations. His latest offering chronicles the state of Punjab from the decline of the Mughal Empire to the fall of the British colonials.

Rajmohan has already produced a range of masterpieces in the past, especially those written about his grandfather, Mahathma Gandhi. Readers expected this work to be as enthralling and awaited a historical picture painted with novel ideas and records. Unfortunately, his latest book failed to break the monotony that is so often associated with historical books and did not stir the interest of readers as his previous works did. As an experienced researcher and historian, he successfully dug up some interesting facts and records, yet failed to deconstruct colonial historiography and wrote along the lines of a biased historian. Furthermore, this book also devotedly guards and defends the actions of his grandfather instead of analytically discussing his political career.

He reiterates the words of the so-called ‘colonial masters’ and calls Ranjeet Singh a ‘Sikh’, instead of a Punjabi ruler, which is not expected of a prolific historian of his like. The book gives a detailed historical account of the subcontinent following the fall of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. This was the time when powerful kingdoms across the subcontinent were falling and regional powers were emerging from them: Marhatas in the south, Nawabs in Bengal and Nadir and Ahmad Shah across Indus, while warriors like Adina Baig Khan (a famous Arain ruler of Sharaqpur), and Ranjeet Singh in Punjab were rising symbols of those new powers. The tussle between the French and English over the subcontinent, however, not only subdued that rise but also restrained its transformation towards a nation-state phenomenon. Interestingly, in 1809, Charles Metcalfe came to Lahore to reach a pact with Ranjeet Singh, the Lion of the Punjab, with the hope of securing safe passage for the British Indian army towards Afghanistan and beyond. Sadly, the strategic significance of Punjab regarding the Silk Road and Afghanistan is another aspect overlooked by the author.

Strangely, Rajmohan failed to challenge the Khilafat Movement, most probably due to his grandfather’s involvement in it.

Partiality towards the Indian National Congress can be viewed in the author’s writing when he exaggerates the account of the 1857’s War of Independence. Disappointingly, he neither described the role of the Royal Bengal Army (composed of UP, CP and Bengali soldiers) in annexation of Punjab in 1849, nor mentioned the importance of the three historic wars (1846-9) fought by the Punjab. In his account of anti-colonial resistance, there is no mention of a government that single-handedly resisted the British for 50 years [Ranjeet Singh’s Lahore Darbar, from 1799-1849].

The book discusses how during last decade of the 19^th century the British were in a hurry to tackle the rise of Germany under the Prussian statesman Bismarck, and how consequently the British had to put an end to the cold war with the Tsar of Russia. This led to the creation of the Durand line in 1894 at the frontier of the Punjab, the result of an agreement between Mortimer Durand representing the British Powers and Amir Abdur Rehman Khan of Afghanistan, to guard the boundaries of their respective spheres of influence and to improve diplomatic ties and trade relations between the two lands. After seven years, in order to condense the buffer zone, the agreement resulted in the creation of another province by extracting six districts from the Punjab and was named the North West Frontier Province.

Strangely, Rajmohan failed to challenge the Khilafat Movement, most probably due to his grandfather’s involvement in it. He off-handedly mentioned Allama Iqbal and Mian Fazl-e-Hussain showing political maturity in their reluctance to support the Khilafat Movement. In fact, there were many other leaders including Annie Besant, KM Munshi and Mohammad Ali Jinnah, who demonstrated distinguishable political maturity by opposing misleading movements like Khilafat, Hijrat and non-cooperation, but the author failed to acknowledge their resistance. Additionally, he failed to understand and delve into the trick that Congress played at the Cabinet Mission Proposal; a plan favouring provincial autonomy. He mentioned many Punjabi leaders involved in the Indo-Pak movement, including Mian Iftikharuddin, President of the Punjab chapter of the Congress who left the party in the 1940s to join hands with Jinnah by becoming a member of the Muslim League. The author, instead of analysing the Congress’s anti Punjab policies, blamed all those “who saw which way the wind was blowing and went over to the League”.

The story of Punjab still needs an unbiased researcher who has the ability to wash the grime spread by opinionated intellectuals, court historians, old masters and resistance giants.

Like Hamza Alvi, the author failed to comprehend and express why Punjab and Bengal did not support the Congress even during the 1937 elections. Like others before him, Rajmohan just explained how Jinnah won the support of Punjab and Bengal in his fight to create Pakistan. Further in the course of the book, the author reproduced the working committee’s demands of the Congress put forth on March 8, regarding the division of Punjab on religious basis. He shockingly writes, “When the League asked for a division of India, the Congress had said no. Now… the Congress was demanding a division of Punjab”. He further writes, “Was the INC accepting the two nation theory?”

The book also mentions how in order to stop future communal killings, Mahatma Gandhi came up with an inimitable idea in April 1947. He proposed that Jinnah should head an interim government, yet Gandhi’s Congress friends rejected his proposal. Moreover, Raj Mohan reproduced his grandfather’s letter of April 11, 1947 to Viceroy Lord Mountbatten in which Mahatma admitted his defeat.

The story of Punjab still needs an unbiased researcher who has the ability to wash the grime spread by opinionated intellectuals, court historians, old masters and resistance giants. It may require a team who can unlearn colonial interpretations first and then have a detailed and impartial view regarding the pitfalls and strengths of the pre- and post-colonial Punjab.

Punjab: A History from Aurangzeb to Mountbatten

By Rajmohan Gandhi

Publisher: Aleph Book Company New Delhi

2013

Pages: 436; Price: Rs1395/-

Available at Readings