6. United Province [U.P.] Muslims

ATTIA HOSEIN (AH): Now the difference between him [husband Ali Bahadur] and me, influenced by the Left, which later always kept changing its hue, was this: that perhaps totally idealistic and also because by now I had graduated in Politics and Economics, I said it doesn't make sense, you cannot talk of religion as the basis of a nation. It can not be, it is not logical, and it is not historical. If, I as a Muslim am supposed to be part of a nation, I should be in Arabia. Why I am not there? Why do they [the Arabs] not consider us one of them, if only Islam matters? Other points of view, yes, that now you are going to a have a democratic process and what is going to happen is this that somebody [the Hindus] will outvote me by sheer numbers and that is what you people are frightened of. Now, I am not a genius, of course we must be in a group, of course, I was influenced by the other Muslim thought, that was there.

In those early provincial Cabinets before that were formed the Congress - remember there had been the split about saying that you should keep - they had come to some kind of pact, Mr. Jinnah and the Congress people and it was all broken because of Nehru's saying mass appeal, that sort of thing happened. The mistakes that were made. But a person like me as I say, I am not perhaps a person you should take as an example of anything except someone who believed with all my heart that you can not, you can not, found a nation on religion.

Also I said, what happens to everybody who is here [in India]? I asked that question to Mr. Jinnah. I had the audacity to ask him that. As I say to you, he was kind to me, he used to listen to me, and I said what about the Muslims in the minority provinces? The majority provinces are fine wherever they are already, what about us in U.P.? He said sacrifices have to be made for a bigger cause and I said sacrifices you know, sacrificing the likes of me, any number of people, why do politicians talk in terms of abstractions? You see, I felt that. I said to my husband, you talk here, as you talk, you talk with every good intention, you have not lost any friends, we are still living our lives. I have heard when I sit amongst the people, I would go and sit with the servants to talk to them about it. [Urdu] Haan To Yeh Ho Ga, Keh Jub Hum Niklayn Gay Hum Aur Kalma Parhany Gay Aur Bandook Chiliye Jaye Gi, Humara Par To Koi Assar Hey Nehni Ho Ga [When we leave here, this will ahppen, that we recite the Kalma (Muslim prayer), and when they shoot at us, we will be invincible] . I said, you see what that means? Do you understand what you are saying? You don't know what you are tapping into, what emotions?

Q: But you thought they were sincere in their intent?

AH: Some of them. People like Mahmudabad certainly, absolutely, he really felt that there is a prejudice but all this prejudice did not matter when everybody could be going towards a common purpose. But when you say that I am going to count heads, and whoever gets the most votes is going to rule over me - then that was the whole basis of the Muslim League's success. That is finally when I would say anything, let us say I can't remember all my conversations I wish I had immediately recorded them as they were.

I used to ask him these questions and he said to me once, when I said, Please Mr. Jinnah, please tell me something, why is it that you don't accept the Cabinet Mission Plan [which sought to prevent the partition of India in 1945] ? For example? And then he said to me, you know that you have got to understand young woman, what about the center if it has great power? I mean the answer was always logical in terms of a political point of view. To me there was no logic in any point of view that was not human because I felt it is not true that anybody will feel that it is a nation only because it is my religion because there will be lakhs [hundreds of thousands] left behind [in India]. And what is their position, how do you mean 'sacrificed', to whom, and why?

Later on after it had happened [August 15, 1947] a very dear friend of mine was the Chief Secretary in U.P., and he said to me, 'now think about it for a minute. I had to give orders to shoot if there is a riot. I am a Hindu. Where are all those leaders of the Muslims? Why are they sitting across the border [in Pakistan] when this is happening? And I have to shoot Hindus.' Now that may be that maybe that something in my head as in the heads of many of us young people and older people, when I told people that whatever is being left to one's dragon's teeth of are you sowing of hate - and now look what are we being left to? - and now look at it, the crop has grown and is visible. >



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