Book review
Even after the lapse of over fifty years, the question of how and why India was divided remains unresolved; various theories are propounded; not all historians are agreed. Some blame Gandhi and the Congress for not having been realistic enough to settle the Hindu-Muslim dispute amicably; others hold the Muslim league guilty for vitiating the atmosphere by its pernicious Two-Nation theory and taking the hostility between them to a breaking point. The British no doubt played their divisive role and all through kept the two communities apart. Nevertheless, there is unanimity that, irrespective of the causes, it was Jinnah who finally brought about the division; Nehru and Patel failed to resist him. Why did Jinnah do it? What was his motive? He galvanised the Muslims to take the separatist path in the name of Islam. He convinced them, that unless and until they separated themselves from the Hindus, they would forever be under the latter's subjugation. Why did he do this? Did he do it because of his love for Islam? Was it indeed to free the Muslims from Hindu domination? Although he got Pakistan, he put two-thirds of the Muslims permanently under the Hindus. Then, was it his ego which drove him to carve out an independent kingdom for himself?

The celebrated author of international repute, Dr. Rafiq Zakaria, traces the chequered career of Jinnah from his birth to death, probes every aspect of his political life, and gives a lucid and penetrating insight into his relentless pursuit of power which eventually resulted in the division of India and the bloody and disastrous aftermath that followed in its wake and which has continued to destabilise South Asia ever since.

An additional chapter appears at the end of the new edition with the title: Afterword: Musharraf's do or die challenge; it gives a graphic account of what Jinnah's Pakistan has become today.


About the author Dr.Rafiq Zakaria has had a distinguished career in fields as varied as law, education, journalism, politics, and Islamic studies. He is a Chancellor's gold medalist of the Bombay University and Ph.D. with distinction from London University. He was called to the Bar from Lincoln's Inn. From his student days, he was active in the freedom struggle, both at home and abroad. After a successful legal career, he served as a cabinet minister in Maharashtra for fifteen years. In 1978, he became deputy leader of the ruling Congress Party in Parliament. He has held important assignments including that of Prime Minister's Special Envoy to the Muslim world in 1984.He has represented India thrice at the United Nations, in 1965, 1990 and 1996. Dr.Zakaria is a scholar of international repute. He has authored more than fifteen books, including 'A Study of Nehru'. His rejoinder to Salman Rushdie, entitled 'Muhammad and the Quran', published by Penguin International, has become a world classic. Two of his books, 'Price of Partition' and 'Gandhi and the Break-up of India', received rave reviews.His monumental work 'Discovery of God' brought him the highest laurels from all over the world.