Pakistan has managed to stay relevant: Congress' Manish Tewari on faith-based states

New Delhi: Pakistan, whether we like it or not, has managed to "remain relevant", senior Congress leader Manish Tewari said, arguing that historically, faith-based states have not only "survived" but are "thriving".

Speaking at the launch of the final work of late Lord Meghnad Desai, 'Mohan and Muhammad: Gandhi, Jinnah and the Break-up of British India', on Wednesday, the Congress MP from Chandigarh reflected on the contradictions between his ideological belief -- which is pluralism -- and historical realities.

The 59-year-old cited the creation of Pakistan and Israel in the late 1940s, as part of the "retreat of the British Empire", as examples of states founded on religious identity that have remained significant on the global stage.

"Pakistan, by very deftly playing the geo-strategic game, has managed to remain relevant, whether we like it or not. And under those circumstances, to say that religion cannot be the basis of nationhood, while conceptually, as someone who believes in pluralism intrinsically, would agree with it, historical facts are to the contrary. Faith-based states have not only survived, but are thriving," Tewari said.

However, Tewari did bring out the inherent contradictions in Pakistan's creation.

He observed that while the nation was established on religious grounds, it fractured within 25 years when East Pakistan broke away to become Bangladesh in 1971 -- a split rooted in "linguistic" and "ethnic divisions", rather than religious ones.

"It's another matter that a state which was created in the name of religion, or a Partition which happened in the name of religion, ultimately unravelled 25 years later in the name of language. The West Pakistanis could not keep their East Pakistani brethren together," he said.

Talking about Pakistan's founder, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Tewari reflected on the paradoxes in his political philosophy, particularly citing Jinnah’s August 12, 1947, speech, in which he unexpectedly articulated a vision of a "secular Pakistan", despite having led a movement grounded in religious identity.

He argued that Jinnah's demand for Pakistan stemmed from a combination of political grievance, retribution, and ultimately, denial -- a belief that a partitioned subcontinent could still maintain open borders and harmony.

"Jinnah once said, 'It is I and my typewriter who created Pakistan'. That reflects a certain hubris. After leading one of the most traumatic episodes in South Asian history, he tried to suggest a secular and inclusive future. But after the horrors between July and September 1947, that was no longer realistic," the Congress MP said.

The launch of Desai's posthumous book also doubled as a tribute to the renowned economist and author, with the panellists, former Pakistan ambassador T C A Raghavan and cultural impresario Sanjoy Roy, fondly recalling his contributions in the field of economics, his vast intellect and inimitable sense of humour.

Desai's wife, noted author Kishwar Desai, recalled how even in the final days of his life, her husband remained engaged in what he loved the most -- "reading and writing".

"He had plans for many more books, but I'm sure wherever he is, he is writing one more chapter," she concluded.

Desai, who was nominated to the House of Lords in 1991 as a Labour Party peer and was also awarded the Padma Bhushan by the Indian government in 2008, passed away at the age of 85 in a hospital in Gurugram on July 30.

In "Mohan and Muhammad", published by Rupa Publications, Desai has taken two principal personalities -- Mohandas Gandhi and Muhammad Ali Jinnah, now thought to be the two principal antagonists of the struggle -- to bring out the similarities and parallels in their lives, their views and their interactions.