Jinnah was once committed to a unified India: Sudarshan

Indore, Aug 25 (PTI) In the midst of a debate over
Mohammad Ali Jinnah's role in the Partition, former Rashtriya
Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief K S Sudarshan has said that the
Pakistan founder had "many facets" and that at one stage, he
was with Lokmanya Tilak and was committed to a unified India.

"There were many facets to Jinnah. If you read history
correctly, he was with Tilak and was committed to a unified
India. If (Mahatma) Gandhi had insisted that Partition would
not happen, then it wouldn't have happened," he said Monday on
being asked if the Muslim League leader was secular.

Recalling that Gandhi had started the Khilafat
movement with the idea that the fight was against the British
and if Muslims had joined in then, their support would have
helped gain independence, Sudarshan said.

"But at that time, Jinnah opposed it saying that if
the Caliph in Turkey has been dethroned what has India got to
do with it."

"Then nobody listened to him. This saddened him. So he
quit the Congress and left for England and only returned in
1927," he said.

On Jaswant Singh's expulsion from BJP, he said, "It is
an internal matter of the party."

When pointed out that the Sangh had taken a tough
stand during his leadership when L K Advani made his comments
on Jinnah in Pakistan, Sudarshan said he gave clarifications
on the matter later.

Asked if he was satisfied with the clarification, he
answered in the affirmative. PTI CORR
PMR