Lord Mountbatten opens the
newspaper a week back and as a habit he reads the news from India first. After
all he was the one who was entrusted with the task of a handover from British
India to an independent India. Handover he did, but not before approving a
surgical procedure of dividing the country into two, India and Pakistan
resulting in the death of millions of citizens of erstwhile British India in
the name of religion and region.
The news about formation of
Telangana, the 29th state of India takes the centre page.
Mountbatten had a smirk on his face while reading through the news. He was
quite amused at the irony of it when he recollected how fiery were the
arguments Gandhi, Nehru and Patel among others had, when they talked to him
about the need for an Indian Union. Yet again, here is a country which was
split into multitude of pieces which perhaps was one of the most complex jigsaw
puzzles ever existed. He was the man who helped the people of the country to
solve the puzzle. The fact that the jigsaw board was joined with a considerable
amount of blood remains history.
What struck Mountbatten as an
irony is that, this is the same set of people who accused the British Crown for
implementing the policy of Divide & Rule. Of course yes, Britain did that
and they did it with a purpose. Unless they had maintained these conflicts
within the regions of the subcontinent they would’ve never achieved their
agenda of domination. The strange thing that is happening now is the people of
the country wanting to walk back to history where they existed as scattered
regions of smaller power houses. They conveniently forget the truth that it
took a lot of struggle to draw the map of what they see as India today.
Edwina came with a muffin
which Mountbatten likes along with his morning coffee. He showed her the news.
Her first reaction was, “What’s wrong with these people?” All over the world,
even countries are trying their best to unite themselves to form stronger
bonds, politically and economically. Here is a country, which by virtue of its
size and diversity has earned the title of a subcontinent, predicted to be the
next super power in the world and counted among the potential leaders of tomorrow’s
world, fighting among themselves to march back to its pre-independence
era.
Unions are getting formed
or at least discussed across the globe. The United States remain as a mighty
power. European Union has shown its strength. Gulf Union is being thought about.
It is a reality that stares at your face that the less disconnected you are,
the more powerful you will be. Civil unrest and geographical tensions is the
result when states try to defend their territories. Blessed are those who
realize the power of being together!
Mountbatten let out a sigh.
He was quite painful to see these developments. He has been living all his life
watching the result of the partition he approved. He wish he could convene a
meeting again with Gandhi, Nehru, Jinnah, Patel and the likes of these men and
raise their voice to the people of this country about the dangerous waters they
are getting into. It is a Telangana today; a Gorkhaland tomorrow and even
surprising was a demand from the God’s Own Country down south for a state of
Malabar to be formed!
Ridiculous is the word! It
is high time the country realized that splitting is not a solution, it is
creating further challenges. Wake up and realize that you are now fighting with
yourself. If this continues you’ll end up tearing the country apart to tiny
pieces which you may never be able to join again. What could be more alarming are
the birds of prey that must be flying high watching your moves awaiting a right
moment to strike! Beware of these modern day imperialists who will be waiting
for an opportunity to invade and establish their empire even before you know
you lost your freedom forever!
Mountbatten got up
from his chair and as he turned the coffee cup slipped from his hand and hit
the floor. He stood there helpless as he watched the beautifully crafted
porcelain which now lies on the floor broken into hundreds of little pieces and
they all seem to be asking him a question, ‘Can you make a cup out of us,
again?’
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