In Pakistan unfortunately many liberals thinks that the two nation theory is now irrelevant and we must do away with this. Pervez Hoodbhoy, a physicist openly criticize the two nation theory and said “Pakistan is in state of confusion because it was born in a state of confusion”. He also referred to the 1971 war that “state of confusion should have ended in 1971 war when the two nation theory went into the Bay of Bengal. We should have gotten rid of it. It is nonsense today”.

The 1971 tragedy is not the death of two nation theory. Bangladesh is neither a secular country nor a Hindu state, it is a Muslim state. Though Indra Gandhi went on to claim that Quaid’s two nation theory had been sunk in the Bay of Bengal and we have taken revenge of 1000 years of slavery referring to Muslim rule over sub-continent. Liberals too claim after creation of Bangladesh the theory has been proved wrong. The creation of Bangladesh has more to do with politics and control from West Pakistan. Certainly, the two nation theory would have been discarded if Bengali Muslims have opted to join India. Nehru was worried about the Hindus in East Pakistan and looked at them as a part of the Indian nation and negotiated with Government of Pakistan for their welfare and sercurity. It is clear that the partition of India was not under compulsion rather it was based on the two nation theory, It is for the pseudo intellectuals and liberals to understand that Jinnah was a secular with liberal credentials as he started his political career with Congress and was great advocate of Hindu-Muslim unity. However, he adopted the two nation theory for the Muslims after fearing that Indian nationalism had become Hindu nationalism as Hindu considered Muslims as invaders and outsiders. The two nation theory is the basis of creation of Pakistan that Muslims and Hindus are two separate nations, they belong to two different religious philosophies, social customs therefore Muslims should have separate home in Muslim majority areas. The demand for a separate homeland for the Muslims of sub continent was justified because the way the Muslims were treated in sub continent at that time.

On 05th August 2019 BJP Government scrapped article 370 at 35A which granted Kashmir a special status after deploying additional two lac troops in IOK. On 31st August 2019 BJP led Government excluded nearly two million Muslims from citizenship list in the north eastern state of Assam. On 09th November 2019, the Indian supreme court awarded the control of Babri Masjid to the party who demolished it in 1992. India has also passed a controversial bill, the Citizen Amendment Bill, according to it, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhist, Jains, Parsis and Christians who has entered India illegally can apply for citizenship if they can prove that they came from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. The real essence of CAB is to target Muslims and this act vindicates Jinnah’s two nation theory. Muslims are increasingly facing discrimination and violence since 2014 when BJP came in to power. Hundreds of Muslims have been attacked, killed and lynched by Hindu mobs. US state department recently issued a statement that religious intolerance and violence has increased against the minorities in India under BJP Government. Modi has given a boost to the two nation theory due to his anti Muslim policies.

According to India’s former vice president Muhammad Hamid Ansari there is feeling of unease, a sense of insecurity is creeping in because of vigilantism and intolerance”. Indian politician Shashi Tharor said that CAB will be victory of the thoughts of Jinnah over Mahatma Gandhi. He further said that “the first advocate of the two nation theory was actually Savarkar who as head of Hindu Mahasbha called upon India to recognize Hindus and Muslims as part of two separate nations three years before the Muslims league passed the Pakistan Resolution in 1940.” Indian Journalist Sagurika Ghose wrote in Times of India that the current situation in Indian Occupied Kashmir it is a sign of triumph of Jinnah’s two nation theory. Jaswant Singh former Indian finance and external affairs minister in his book, Jinnah: India, Pakistan Independence, compared Gandhi and Jinnah wrote “Gandhi had almost entirely religious provincial flavour while Jinnah was doubtless imbued by a non sectarian nationalistic zeal”. The book created massive controversy and BJP leadership expelled Jaswant Singh from the party for praising Jinnah. Violence against Muslims have surged since passing controversial CAB across India.

Today Delhi is burning and Modi’s sanghis attacking places of worships, erecting safron flags on mosques. Over 50 innocent Muslims martyred and hundreds injured. There is hardly any coverage by international media as the silence of deafening. Video clips of violence are on circulation on social media, showing attacks, burning mosques/shrines, buildings and injured Muslims being dragged through streets of so called secular capital of largest democracy, Delhi. The two nation theory is still valid today and we are indeed fortunate to be living in a free country where everyone enjoys freedom in his and her religious belief and culture.