News Analysis India

Tag: Partition Horrors Remembrance Day

  • PM using traumatic events of partition as fodder for his political battles: Congress

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Congress on Sunday alleged that the real intent of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to mark August 14 as Partition Horrors Remembrance Day is to use the traumatic events as fodder for his current political battles.

    Congress general secretary, communications, Jairam Ramesh said the tragedy of partition, cannot be misused to fuel hate and prejudice.

    He said the politics of hate will be defeated and the Congress will continue its efforts to unite India while upholding the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Sardar Vallabhai Patel.

    Prime Minister Modi had announced last year that August 14 will be observed as Partition Horrors Remembrance Day in memory of the struggles and sacrifices of people.

    “The real intent of PM to mark August 14 as Partition Horrors Remembrance Day is to use the most traumatic historical events as fodder for his current political battles. Lakhs upon lakhs were dislocated and lost their lives. Their sacrifices must not be forgotten or disrespected,” Ramesh said in a series of tweets.

    “The tragedy of partition, cannot be misused to fuel hate and prejudice. The truth is Savarkar originated 2-nation theory and Jinnah perfected it. Sardar Patel wrote, ‘I felt that if we did not accept partition, India would be split into many bits and would be completely ruined’,” he also said.

    The Congress leader also asked, “Will the PM also recall today Shyama Prasad Mookherjee, the founder of the Jan Sangh, who championed the Partition of Bengal against the wishes of Sarat Chandra Bose, and who sat in free India’s first Cabinet while the tragic consequences of Partition were becoming evident?”.

    Alleging that the “modern day Savarkars and Jinnahs” are continuing their efforts to divide the nation, Ramesh said the Indian National Congress will uphold the legacy of Gandhi, Nehru, Patel and many others who were untiring in their efforts to unite the nation.

    “The politics of hate will be defeated,” he asserted.

    Prime Minister Modi on Sunday paid homage to all those who lost their lives during partition, and applauded the resilience as well as grit of those who suffered during that tragic period of history. Pakistan was carved out as a separate country after the division of India by the British in 1947.

    Millions of people were displaced and many lakhs of them lost their lives in the communal violence that followed.

    NEW DELHI: The Congress on Sunday alleged that the real intent of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to mark August 14 as Partition Horrors Remembrance Day is to use the traumatic events as fodder for his current political battles.

    Congress general secretary, communications, Jairam Ramesh said the tragedy of partition, cannot be misused to fuel hate and prejudice.

    He said the politics of hate will be defeated and the Congress will continue its efforts to unite India while upholding the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Sardar Vallabhai Patel.

    Prime Minister Modi had announced last year that August 14 will be observed as Partition Horrors Remembrance Day in memory of the struggles and sacrifices of people.

    “The real intent of PM to mark August 14 as Partition Horrors Remembrance Day is to use the most traumatic historical events as fodder for his current political battles. Lakhs upon lakhs were dislocated and lost their lives. Their sacrifices must not be forgotten or disrespected,” Ramesh said in a series of tweets.

    “The tragedy of partition, cannot be misused to fuel hate and prejudice. The truth is Savarkar originated 2-nation theory and Jinnah perfected it. Sardar Patel wrote, ‘I felt that if we did not accept partition, India would be split into many bits and would be completely ruined’,” he also said.

    The Congress leader also asked, “Will the PM also recall today Shyama Prasad Mookherjee, the founder of the Jan Sangh, who championed the Partition of Bengal against the wishes of Sarat Chandra Bose, and who sat in free India’s first Cabinet while the tragic consequences of Partition were becoming evident?”.

    Alleging that the “modern day Savarkars and Jinnahs” are continuing their efforts to divide the nation, Ramesh said the Indian National Congress will uphold the legacy of Gandhi, Nehru, Patel and many others who were untiring in their efforts to unite the nation.

    “The politics of hate will be defeated,” he asserted.

    Prime Minister Modi on Sunday paid homage to all those who lost their lives during partition, and applauded the resilience as well as grit of those who suffered during that tragic period of history. Pakistan was carved out as a separate country after the division of India by the British in 1947.

    Millions of people were displaced and many lakhs of them lost their lives in the communal violence that followed.

  • Mere symbolism won’t remove pain of partition: Shiv Sena

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: The Shiv Sena on Monday said the pain of partition will not go away by mere symbolism, days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that August 14 will be observed as Partition Horrors Remembrance Day.

    “The present day rulers must take care that seeds of another partition should not be sown from the earlier pain,” an editorial in the Sena mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ said. It said the pain of partition remains even after 75 years, and BJP’s L K Advani is the only leader who is a witness to it.

    “The pain of partition will not go away by mere symbolism, but a definite action is needed,” the Marathi publication said.

    It said if Kashmiri Pandits were given their rights and homes in the Kashmir Valley, a lot could be achieved.

    “Just like the two countries were divided, hearts were also divided. (Former Indian prime minister) Vajpayee tried to bridge the divide by taking a bus to Lahore for peace.

    Even Narendra Modi made an unscheduled stop in Pakistan to meet the then PM Nawaz Sharif, which means he also wanted to forget the the past and make peace. But, now he has reopened the old wounds,” it said.

    It would have been better if there was an introspection on whether to rekindle the partition horrors or whether to permanently bury those memories by “teaching a befitting lesson to those who inflicted the wounds”, the edit said.

    The Sena, which shares power with the Congress and NCP in Maharashtra, said only (former prime minister) Indira Gandhi had managed to take “revenge” of the pain of partition by dividing Pakistan and destroying the “two-nation concept” on the basis on which the neighbouring country was carved out.

    The editorial claimed the seeds of the two-nation theory were sown first by Sir Syed Ahmed when he said “Hindus and Muslims were two separate nations”.

    This was supported by the Muslim League later, it said, adding that even a staunch “Hindutvawadi” like Veer Savarkar propagated the two-nation theory.

    The editorial said among the many reasons the Congress leaders supported the partition was that it could resolve the Hindu-Muslim conflict.

    “But that didn’t happen. The partition wasn’t part of any politics or agreed upon happily. The partition was due to the divide and rule policy of the British and unavoidable to secure freedom from the British rule,” it said.

    The Marathi daily noted that Hindus and Muslims had shed blood to make India free of the British rule.

    Poet Iqbal, who played a role in the creation of Pakistan, wrote the immortal words of the song ‘Saare Jahan Se Achha Hindustan Hamara’, it said.

    “Barrister Jinnah was also a prominent freedom fighter and a supporter of (Lokmanya) Tilak. Justice (Gopal Krishna) Gokhale was the political guru of Mahatma Gandhi and even Jinnah. But, the Hindu-Muslim divide grew once independence from the British rule neared and resulted in the formation of Pakistan,” it said.

  • CPM hits out at Modi government over its decision to observe Partition Horrors Remembrance Day

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The CPI(M) on Friday hit out at the government after Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for observing August 14 as Partition Horrors Remembrance Day in memory of the struggles and sacrifices of people, alleging that it appears to translate into reality a “mirror image” of Pakistan which is in negation to the Constitution.

    The government has said the decision would be a fitting tribute to all those who lost their lives due to the partition of the nation and were displaced from their roots.

    CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said that while the partition was the most horrendous experience and the largest human trans migration in peace time, India still maintained its secular fabric.

    “Even as millions were displaced and killed, India refused to be a mirror image of Pakistan’s Islamic State to become a Hindu Rashtra. India chose to be a secular democratic republic to move ahead and repair the horrors of partition,” he said.

    He said this is embedded in the Constitution of India, strengthening it and its foundation.

    “This is the answer to the horrors of partition. Instead we see a destruction of our Constitution which means reliving these horrors.

    “This decision of the government appears to translate into reality a mirror image of Pakistan which is in negation to our Constitution,” he said.

  • CPM hits out at govt over its decision to observe Partition Horrors Remembrance Day

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The CPI(M) on Friday hit out at the government after Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for observing August 14 as Partition Horrors Remembrance Day in memory of the struggles and sacrifices of people, alleging that it appears to translate into reality a “mirror image” of Pakistan which is in negation to the Constitution.

    The government has said the decision would be a fitting tribute to all those who lost their lives due to the partition of the nation and were displaced from their roots.

    CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said that while the partition was the most horrendous experience and the largest human trans migration in peace time, India still maintained its secular fabric.

    “Even as millions were displaced and killed, India refused to be a mirror image of Pakistan’s Islamic State to become a Hindu Rashtra. India chose to be a secular democratic republic to move ahead and repair the horrors of partition,” he said.

    He said this is embedded in the Constitution of India, strengthening it and its foundation.

    “This is the answer to the horrors of partition. Instead we see a destruction of our Constitution which means reliving these horrors.

    “This decision of the government appears to translate into reality a mirror image of Pakistan which is in negation to our Constitution,” he said.

  • ‘Divisive, diversionary politics’: Congress on PM’s call to observe Partition Horrors Remembrance Day

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Congress on Saturday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of playing “divisive and diversionary politics” after he called for observing August 14 as Partition Horrors Remembrance Day in memory of the struggles and sacrifices of people.

    The government has said the decision will be a fitting tribute to all those who lost their lives due to the partition of the nation and were displaced from their roots.

    Congress chief spokesperson RandeepSurjewala, however, said that while on one side the prime minister congratulates Pakistan on their Independence Day, on the other side he indulges in Pakistan-bashing the moment elections are near.

    ALSO READ | After PM’s announcement, Home Ministry notifies August 14 as Partition Horrors Remembrance Day

    “The divisive duplicity of the prime minister stands exposed,” he said in a statement.

    “When there are no elections, the prime minister exhibits his love for Pakistan and congratulates the neighbouring country on March 22, the day Muslim League passed the ‘Partition Resolution’ in 1940, and congratulates it on every August 14.

    But when elections near, he starts diversionary politics at home,” Surjewala said.

    The Congress leader also shared the prime minister’s congratulatory letters to Pakistan on August 14 and tweets on March 22.

    Prime Minister Modi on Saturday announced August 14 will be observed as Partition Horrors Remembrance Day, saying the pain of Partition can never be forgotten.

    He said the day will keep reminding the country of the need to remove the poison of social divisions and disharmony and further strengthen the spirit of oneness.

    Pakistan’s independence day falls on August 14.

    India will celebrate its 75th Independence Day on Sunday.

  • After PM’s announcement, Home Ministry notifies August 14 as Partition Horrors Remembrance Day

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Union Home Ministry on Saturday issued a notification declaring that August 14 will be observed as Partition Horrors Remembrance Day to salute those who sacrificed their lives during the country’s partition, hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi made the announcement to this effect.

    The prime minister has said that August 14 will be observed as Partition Horrors Remembrance Day in the memory of the struggles and sacrifices of people, saying the pain of partition can never be forgotten.

    Union Home Minister Amit Shah has welcomed Prime Minister Modi’s decision to observe August 14 as Partition Horrors Remembrance Day.

    “The wound of the partition of the country and the grief of losing loved ones cannot be described in words.

    I am sure that Partition Horrors Remembrance Day will strengthen peace, love and unity by eliminating the ill-will of discrimination and malice from society,” he said in a tweet in Hindi.

    In a notification, the Home Ministry said the people of India, while celebrating ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’, will salute those sons and daughters of the country who had to sacrifice their lives during the partition of India.

    “The Government of India has decided to declare 14th August as Partition Horrors Remembrance Day in remembrance of the people who lost their lives during the partition.

    “Therefore, the Government of India declares 14th August as Partition Horrors Remembrance Day to remind the present and future generations of Indians of the pain and suffering faced by the people of India during the partition,” the notification said.

    Modi has also noted that millions of people were displaced and many lost their lives due to mindless hate and violence caused by the partition.

    Pakistan was carved out as a Muslim country after the division of India by the British colonial ruler in 1947, and millions of people were displaced and many lakh of them lost their lives as large scale rioting broke out.

    India will be celebrating its 75th Independence Day on Sunday.

  • Rightful tribute to those who suffered due to Congress’ ambition: BJP on Partition day announcement

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The BJP on Saturday lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the decision to observe August 14 as ‘Partition Horrors Remembrance Day’, saying it is a “rightful tribute” to the struggles of people who were a casualty of the “Congress’ ambition and tunnel vision”.

    A day before the 75th Independence Day of the country, Prime Minister Modi, in a tweet on Saturday, announced that in memory of the people’s struggles and sacrifices during the Partition, August 14 will be observed as ‘Partition Horrors Remembrance Day.

    Modi said it will keep reminding the country of the need to remove the poison of social divisions, disharmony and further strengthen the spirit of oneness.

    ALSO READ | ‘Modi is not King of India’: BJP’s Subramanian Swamy says he is against PM’s economic, foreign policies

    Hailing the decision, BJP leader and Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said that the Partition remains a “gaping hole” in the soul of India.

    “Announcing August 14 as Partition Horrors Remembrance Day is a rightful tribute to the struggles and sacrifices of our people who were a casualty of the Congress’ ambition and tunnel vision,” he said.

    Thanking the prime minister for his announcement, senior party leader and Union Minister Rajnath Singh in a tweet said that this decision to remember the sacrifice of the people during the Partition is a “testament to his sensitivity”.

    Former BJP chief and Union Minister Amit Shah congratulated the prime minister for his “sensitive decision” while asserting that the wound of the Partition and the grief of losing loved ones cannot be described in words.

    “I believe that Partition Horrors Remembrance Day will strengthen peace, love and unity by eliminating the ill-will of discrimination and hatred from society,” Shah tweeted.

    Underlining that generations were torn apart during the Partition and for many the scars will never heal, BJP leader and Union Minister Smriti Irani said on this day, “we resolve to ensure – never again shall we be divided. Never Again shall we come apart and Onwards, together to build a New India.”