Vol. 8 · pages 151–155

126 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES Punjab agree to separate, true, they will not get more, but they will certainly not lose all. zz

PART III WHAT IF NOT PAKISTAN? Having stated the Muslim case for Pakistan and the Hindu case against it, it is necessary to turn to the alternatives to Pakistan, if there be any. In forming one’s judgment on Pakistan, one must take into account the alternatives to it. Either there is no alternative to Pakistan : or there is an alternative to Pakistan, but it is worse than Pakistan. Thirdly, one must also take into consideration what would be the consequences, if neither Pakistan nor its alternative is found acceptable to the parties concerned. The relevant data, having a bearing on these points, are presented in this part under the following heads :— 1 Hindu alternative to Pakistan. 2 Muslim alternative to Pakistan. 3 Lessons from abroad.

CHAPTER VII HINDU ALTERNATIVE TO PAKISTAN I Thinking of the Hindu alternative to Pakistan, the scheme that at once comes to one’s mind is the one put forth by the late Lala Hardayal in 1925. It was published in the form of a statement which appeared in the Pratap of Lahore. In this statement, which he called his political testament, Lala Hardayal said :— “I declare that the future of the Hindu race, of Hindustan and of the Punjab, rests on these four pillars: (1) Hindu Sangathan, (2) Hindu Raj, (3) Shuddhi of Moslems, and (4) Conquest and Shuddhi of Afghanistan and the Frontiers. So long as the Hindu nation does not accomplish these four things, the safety of our children and great-grand children will be ever in danger, and the safety of the Hindu race will be impossible. The Hindu race has but one history, and its institutions are homogeneous. But the Musalmans and Christians are far removed from the confines of Hindustan, for their religions are alien and they love Persian, Arab and European institutions. Thus, just as one removes foreign matter from the eye, Shuddhi must be made of these two religions. Afghanistan and the hilly regions of the frontier were formerly part of India, but are at present under the domination of Islam . . . . . Just as there is Hindu religion in Nepal, so there must be Hindu institutions in Afghanistan and the frontier territory; otherwise it is useless to win Swaraj. For mountain tribes are always warlike and hungry. If they become our enemies, the age of Nadirshah and Zamanshah will begin anew. At present English officers are protecting the frontiers; but it cannot always be ....... If Hindus want to protect themselves, they must conquer Afghanistan and the frontiers and convert all the mountain tribes.” I do not know how many Hindus would come forward to give their support to this scheme of Lala Hardayal as an alternative to Pakistan. In the first place, Hindu religion is not a proselytising religion. Maulana Mahomed Ali was quite right when, in the course of his address as President of the Congress, he said: “Now, this has been my complaint for a long time against Hinduism, and on one occasion, lecturing at Allahabad in 1907,1 had pointed out * See Times of India dated 25-7-1925, “Through Indian Eyes”.

130 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES the contrast between Musalmans and Hindus, by saying that the worst that can be said of a Muslim was that he had a tasteless mess which he called a dish fit for kings, and wanted all to share it with him, thrusting it down the throats of such as did not relish it and would rather not have it, while his Hindu brother, who prided himself on his cookery, retired into the privacy of his kitchen and greedily devoured all that he had cooked, without permitting even the shadow of his brother to fall on his food, or sparing even a crumb for him. This was said not altogether in levity ; and in fact, I once asked Mahatma Gandhi to justify this feature of his faith to me.” What answer the Mahatma gave to his question, Mr. Mahmed Ali did not disclose. The fact is that however much the Hindus may wish, Hindu religion cannot become a missionary religion like Islam or Christianity. It is not that the Hindu religion was never a missionary religion. On the contrary, it was once a missionary religion—indeed could not but have been a missionary religion, otherwise it is difficult to explain how, it could have spread over an area so vast as the Indian continent.* But once a missionary religion, Hinduism perforce ceased to be a missionary religion after the time when the Hindu society developed its system of castes. For, caste is incompatible with conversion. To be able to convert a stranger to its religion, it is not enough for a community to offer its creed. It must be in a position to admit the convert to its social life and to absorb and assimilate him among its kindred. It is not possible for the Hindu society to satisfy this prerequisite of effective conversion. There is nothing to prevent a Hindu, with a missionary zeal, to proceed to convert an alien to the Hindu faith. But before he converts the alien, he is bound to be confronted with the question : What is to be the caste of the convert ? According to the Hindus, for a person to belong to a caste he must be born in it. A convert is not born in a caste, therefore he belongs to no caste. This is also an important question. More than political or religious, man is a social animal. He may not have, need not have, religion ; he may not have, need not have, politics. He must have society ; he cannot do without society. For a Hindu to be without caste is to be without society. Where there is no society for the convert, how *On the question whether the Hindu Religion was a missionary Religion and if it was, why it ceased to be so, see my essay on Caste and Conversion in the Annual Number of the Telugu Samachar for 1926.