The people who dub “secularism” as “pseudo-secularism” find repose in Mohammad Ali Jinnah when they decide to establish their secular credentials.

It has happened not once but twice. The first time when the Bharatiya Janata Party top leader Lal Krishna Advani paid a visit to Pakistan…he was all praise for Muhammad Ali Jinnah who was largely responsible for the partition of India. And, now, senior BJP leader Jaswant Singh praises Jinnah in his book “Jinnah—India, Partition, Independence” and criticizes Jawahar Lal Nehru and Sardar Patel for their roles in the partition of India.

The Bharatiya Janata Party has rightly condemned Jaswant Singh’s stand on these issues. But, the BJP president has displayed small mindedness by standing up for Sardar Patel (whose name the BJP was at one point of time trying to hijack) and keeping silent on Jawahar Lal Nehru with whom the greatest BJP leader to date, Atal Behari Vajpayee, was trying to draw comparisons with throughout his political career.

The fact of the matter is that Mahatma Gandhi, Jawahar Lal Nehru and Sardar Patel were all freedom fighters. All of them were congressmen. The BJP has not produced anyone so far who can measure up to any of them.

Gandhi was a missionary who helped India win freedom through a weapon hitherto unknown—non-violence. Nehru was a visionary who gave this world the “non-aligned movement” which gave nation states the option of remaining neutral towards the superpowers. He is also credited for his role in preparation of the blueprint for industrialization and development of independent India. And, Patel, was a great unifier who consolidated the map of independent India. All of them were great in their own ways. All of them were statesmen. All of them were stalwarts of their time. Jinnah cannot to measure up to any of these great men. He was a dwarf in front of them.

The trouble with India is that we erode the glories of our motherland through criticism. China annexed Tibet. But, do you find a single Tibetan criticizing the Dalai Lama for it?
Then, why criticize Gandhi, Nehru and Patel? Whatever else they did, they gave us the freedom to breath in the independent India. If you choose to peer through a telescope, you cannot see anything nearer home.

The BJP has to learn to be more magnanimous. It has to learn to respect our forefathers. We all make wrong decisions. We all make mistakes. But, those decisions are tied to a time period. Those decisions are tied so specific circumstances. We cannot judge them in hindsight. The BJP must understand that no disciple can hope to achieve enlightenment by criticizing his guru. We must learn to respect our leaders.

Look who is talking—Jaswant Singh—of all the people! There is an old saying: “Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones at others.”

Okay,…so Mahatma Gandhi, Jawahar Lal Nehru and Sardar Patel kept silent when India was being partitioned. But, they did not do what Jaswant Singh did.

Jaswant Singh accompanied the three dreaded Pakistani terrorists to Kandahar to free the Indian Airlines flight IC-814 and all aboard that flight in the dubious deal that brought shame to the nation. It was a slap on the faces of dozens of security personnel who sacrificed their lives to apprehend them. Was that a wise decision? Was that a right decision?

If we hold Gandhi, Nehru and Patel responsible for partition, we must hold Vajpayee, Advani and Jaswant Singh responsible for the irresponsible release of these dreaded terrorists. Much of Pakistani terrorism that we are facing today is the direct result of this deal. So many security personnel and people are still losing their lives in terrorist attacks.

As far as Jaswsant Singh is concerned, he is Rajput who deserted his battlefield in Rajasthan to take refuge in northeast India during the last elections. He could not even stand up to his opponents in his home state. What right does he have to criticize Indian statesmen?