It refers to the unnecessary controversy created on the photo of Mohammed Ali Jinnah at Aligarh Muslim University (AMU). Photo of Jinnah is there at AMU not as the founder of Pakistan but in a capacity of his being life-member of AMU. Even founder of AMU Syed Ahmed Khan was a big vocal supporter of the creation of Pakistan and not getting independence in case partition of the country was not implemented. By this logic, even photos of Syed Ahmad Khan should also be removed.
Top Indian leader with the biased support of king-maker was equally responsible for the partition of India mainly to become Prime Minister bypassing democratically elected Sardar Patel. Same was the ambition of Jinnah who would not have demanded Pakistan in case he would have been crowned as first Prime Minister of undivided India. But unfortunately nobody talks about removing photos of such Indian leaders who also were equally responsible for the partition of the country. Nobody talks of prominent pre-independence leaders of Congress who deliberately did not intervene to stop hanging of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev.
But there are some more evils in respect of AMU. Word Muslim in name of AMU spreads communalism and must not be there also because University runs from public-exchequer. It will be better if some movement may be launched for renaming AMU as Dr APJ Abdul Kalam University. Jinnah House at Mumbai should be converted into a heritage hotel.
Subhash Chandra Agrawal
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
