Nehru Took the Decision of India’s Partition, Video Interview: Fact Check

Story:

Nehru took the decision of India’s Partition, separating Pakistan…he said it in his last TV Interview of 1964

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(Hindi)

“विभाजन का निर्णय मैंने ही लिया था” – नेहरू

मई 1964 में दिए गए अपने अंतिम साक्षात्कार में नेहरु ने स्वीकारा कि विभाजन का निर्णय उन्होंने ही लिया था!

Fact Check:

A short video viral on social media alleges to show his last TV interview, where Nehru says he took the decision of India’s partition. Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India also talks about role of Muhammad Ali Jinnah at the time. The video is real and does in fact come from Nehru’s last Television interview in May 1964. However, the claims as such are mixture of hoax and facts.

Nehru Last TV Interview: Speaks About India’s Partition among Others

The video viral on social media is just over one minute long and in fact comes from Nehru’s last TV interview in May 1964. YouTube channel Prasar Bharati Archives (Doordarshan) shared the full interview of Nehru to American TV Host Arnold Michaelis. National Educational Television presented the interview – The Essential Nehru: A conversation with Jawaharlal Nehru, Prime Minister of India.

Related Questions & Answers from the Interview

In between interview, American TV Host Arnold Michaelis asks Nehru about the idea of renunciation of life. Nehru replied as below:

No, it cannot be applied to individuals, not to large groups. And I suppose the whole idea of renunciation is good after certain basic necessities are supplied or met. Today, the idea of renunciation to a poverty-stricken people is absurd because they have renounced everything, there’s very little left.

The host asks Nehru about his representation of many minorities of thought in India. He also questions if that was the key basis of partition in 1947 in division of minority. Nehru’s reply:

Yes, it was mainly based on religious minority and various other things also added onto it. The religious minority (Muslims) were afraid of India becoming free and they becoming a minority. They did not like that idea at all.

The host then asks Nehru about himself, Mr. Gandhi and Mr. Jinnah’s involvement in the fight for independence of India from British domination. Nehru’s reply:

Mr. Jinnah was not involved in the fight for independence at all. In fact, he opposed it. The Muslim League was really started by the British, encouraged by them..so as to create factions. They did succeed to some extent. And ultimately, there came the partition.

For your information, Muhammad Ali Jinnah was a lawyer, politician and the founder of Pakistan, who also served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League.

The host asks if Nehru and Gandhi were in favor of Partition. Nehru’s reply:

Mr. Gandhi was not in favor of it right to the end, even when it came he was not in favor of it. I was not in favor of it either. But ultimately, I decided, like many others did, it is better to have partition than this constant trouble. And you see, the leaders of the Muslim League were big landlords and the like, who did not like land reforms.

Nehru suggested they would come in the way of land reforms India was planning to implement.

The host asks Nehru about many centuries of fraternal living with Muslims in India. Nehru’s reply:

Yes, many hundreds of years of fraternal living on the whole, with occasional trouble. It was a religious concept, more than anything. The Hindus were not and are not proselytizing race, they did not care much for the race, while the other party (Muslims) did. Muslims were keen on proselytizing and getting converts. In fact, nearly all the Muslims in India are descendants of Hindus and only handful came from outside.

In later part of the interview, when the host asks him about Jammu and Kashmir issue, Nehru said Pakistan helped tribal people to invade India in princely area of Jammu and Kashmir. He also said both the Maharaja at the time and the National Conference (Muslim party) resisted the invasion. Further, he talked about occupation of Pakistan troops and the trouble since then.

When the host asks him about grave consequences in case of war between Pakistan and India, Nehru agrees to it. He also says Pakistan’s entirety is based on fear and hatred on India – both undesirable things to have. He said they first relied on Western Countries to work against India and turned towards China later.

Then as a means of peaceful solution, Nehru says India and Pakistan have to be friends and have to cooperate as dependent countries as there are many common things. He in fact says it’s just foolish for the tension to continue between the two countries. Nehru also says there isn’t much tension between the people of either country. It’s more of political thing at the top, occasionally made worse by religious issues being brought to bear upon it.

To Conclude

So, Nehru in his last TV interview actually says he – like many others did – decided for India’s partition as it is better than having constant trouble. He also said the partition was mainly based on religious minority and various other things added onto it. To point out, Nehru said the leaders of the Muslim League were big landlords, who did not like land reforms planned for implementation in India.

Hoax or Fact:

Mixture of Hoax and Facts.

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