What would happen if Muhammad Ali Jinnah became the prime minister of India instead of Jawaharlal Nehru?
What would happen if Muhammad Ali Jinnah became the prime minister of India instead of Jawaharlal Nehru?
In an interview in Goa, the fourteenth Dalai Lama stated, “India would have remained a united country if Jinnah had become the first prime minister.” He further added, “I think Mahatma Gandhi was very much willing to give the prime ministership to Jinnah, but Pandit Nehru refused. I think Pandit Nehru was a bit self-centered.” This news by NDTV blew up on social media. Later in 2019, BJP candidate Gumansingh Damor also said, “Had Jawaharlal Nehru not been so obstinate at the time of Independence, India would not have been divided,” while campaigning for his party for the ongoing Lok Sabha Elections. This raised the question among the public, ‘What if Jinnah became the first prime minister of India?’
Muhammad Ali Jinnah was a barrister, politician, and founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until Pakistan’s creation on 14 August 1947, and then as Pakistan’s first Governor-General until his death. He was known for his ideology of the Two nation theory. According to this theory, Muslims and Hindus are two separate nations by definition; both the communities have their customs, religion, and tradition, and from social and moral points of view, Muslims are different from Hindus; and therefore, both should be able to have their separate homeland in which Islam is the dominant religion, being segregated from Hindus.
A lesser-known fact is that he was an advocate of the united India theory before losing hopes on the Indian National Congress. But even though he was a flag bearer of the partition, he was way tolerant towards the Hindus. This was very evident in a speech just days before independence. He said, “You are free to go to your temples; you are free to go to your mosques or any other place of worship in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed- that has nothing to do with the business of the State.”
One could agree that India and Pakistan would have remained united if Jinnah became the prime minister of India, but at what cost.
The initial planning of running the government would have been way smoother, and we wouldn’t have lost so many lives in the partition. But considering that Jinnah died just a year after independence, the situation would be worse than what it is right now. Though Jinnah was considered one of the best leaders in Pakistan, gradually the government almost rejected his vision of Pakistan. Democracy, tolerance towards other religions, equal rights, vanished in due course of time. Nepotism in politics would still prevail. The congress would be the ruling party, gaining the majority only on religious grounds. We would be calling it the Indian civil war instead of calling it the Indo-Pak war. Instead of 21 months, the Emergency would last for years. The University of the Nationalist Democracy, which led to the rise of parties like BJP, would have never existed. Most of the prime ministers in Pakistan never completed were either assassinated or they left their office before the end of their tenure. If India and Pakistan were untied, none of our prime ministers would have completed their tenure. Instead of Hindi imposition, we would have had Urdu imposition. Many believe that the catchphrases “anti-national”, and “go to Pakistan” would never exist. And most importantly the world would have associated India with terrorism. After the Jacobins in the French Revolution, post-independence India would be considered the Reign of Terror. In conclusion, making Jinnah the prime minister would do no good and might have intensified the situation.
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Could be or couldn't be. No one knows as people might have knows who's better leader irrespective of religion.
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