During the time of the plague in Kolkata (1905), she helped the people in many ways—cleaning up the area, and encouraging the youth to partake in community service. While she can be termed as a social activist, there are some other aspects of Sister Nivedita which calls for a discussion.
Only Shamya Prasad Mukherjee gave the call for Partition and even went on to join Nehru’s first cabinet as the Industries Minister and even suggested that the Hindu Mahasabha be disbanded.
Did the Muslims of India subscribe to this theory? And did Jinnah’s Muslim League actually represents the bulk of Muslims of India, cutting across all socio-economic strata? The Muslim League was in effect an elitist party consisting of rich gentry and landowners. They did not represent the peasant and the working class and did not entertain women in their apex body.
Truth comes with its consequences and that is what happened with Manto too. The pain, agony and shame that he tried to reveal by stripping the unnecessary covers were assumed to be obscene by the society. Manto faced trials in Indian and Pakistan for obscenity for Dhua, Bu, Kaali Salwaar, Khol do, Dhanda Gosht and Upar Neeche Darmiyaan. To all the controversy, Manto’s answer was straight-forward:
“If you cannot bear these stories then the society is unbearable. Who am I to remove the clothes of this society, which itself is naked. I don’t even try to cover it, because it is not my job, that’s the job of dressmakers.”
― Saadat Hasan Manto
I am sure this is a matter of debate and discussion that has been doing its rounds for over decades in both India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. For many, the Partition may have satisfied the political ambitions of a select few, but if the idea was that people of different religions would live in peace thereafter,…