From Scroll.in:Â
Excerpted from A Man For All Seasons: The Life of KM Pannikar, Narayani Basu, Context/Westland
Some excerpts:
Panikkarâs political thoughts in the early 1940s are interesting, if deeply fatalistic. The archival correspondence of the national movement suggests that, in general, nobody was in favour of Partition before 1946. Even then, it was always seen as a decision born from having been left with no choice. Yet, as early as 1941, Panikkar appears to have not only accepted that Pakistan would be a reality but also that it was the only reality worth considering.
In a letter to his old friend Syed Mahmud from his Aligarh days, Panikkar wrote, âI have for a long time now, been a Pakistanist. Without the separation of Pakistan, a central government will not be possible in India. The fear of Hindu majority at the centre, whatever safeguards you may create and wherever pacts you may work out, will drive the Muslims to unreasonable madness.â He continued, âI have no terrors about even the exchange of population. But the âtwo eyes theoryâ and a central government cannot work together. So let us, dear Mahmud, foreswear our past. Consider ourselves failures for having dreamed of a united India.â