LAHORE, Dec 5: Though the aftermath of Partition of subcontinent evokes feelings of pain and despair, the people on both sides of the border should leave it behind and try to mitigate its effects. This was the massage of a lecture delivered by Dr Rajmohan Gandhi at the Forman Christian College’s Sinclair Hall on Thursday.

“The Partition of the subcontinent was followed by great tragedies and pain,” said Dr Gandhi. “All of this must be accepted. We cannot rewrite history, and we cannot and should not attempt to undo the Partition. But we should attempt to undo the effects of these tragedies on both sides of the border.”

And by that Dr Gandhi mainly means increasing people-to-people contact, while not worrying what both states are up to.

The auditorium was chock full of students and staff filtering in and out to hear Dr Gandhi’s lecture.

Although the lecture revolved around one of Pakistan’s greatest leaders, Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, also known as Bacha Khan, other topics also came about. But Bacha Khan’s legacy is especially pertinent today in a country where indifference and intolerance is rampant, and the anecdotes that Dr Gandhi presented defining Bacha Khan’s personality and leadership were definitive of what was needed among politicians.“He was extremely sensitive about the feelings of others, especially where religion was concerned,” revealed Dr Gandhi. “He was conscious of the fact that the Hindus and the Muslims did not share the same food, so he never did anything to cause any kind of offense when sitting with the Hindus. He spent much of his life in prisons and met and befriended other prisoners who belonged to different religions.”

Dr Gandhi explained that while Bacha Khan was tough and defiant in the face of authority, he was also warm, full of love and tenderness. “His warmth was well known among those who met him and usually could be seen clearly in his eyes and in his touch,” he said. “And of course there was his frankness. When he came to India in 1969 he spoke bravely and frankly with Indian parliamentarians and politicians. He was always insistent on dialogue and democracy.”

Even when Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi came to Peshawer much earlier in 1938, Bacha Khan discussed with him the dire need for a dialogue in tribal regions. Had that been done earlier, today those regions might have painted a very different picture.

Khan also had a deep love and respect for his Pakhtun people. Even though they named him ‘king’, as his title suggests, Khan refused being anything other than a democratically elected leader. To Pakhtun women, he spoke frankly and openly, something that many other men would not do, and maintained that women were a crucial part of the system. He was quoted to have said: “We (men) have ourselves oppressed women.”

Dr Gandhi said Bacha Khan also always wanted good relations between the Pakhtuns and Punjabis. He always said he would continue to live in Pakistan, and continue his struggle from here.

Meanwhile, Dr Mubashar Hasan, and Jugnu Mohsin made an appearance at the lecture to introduce Dr Gandhi’s new book ‘Punjab’.

Dr Mubashar Hasan, one of the founding members of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), and a civil engineer by profession, said the book started after the fall of the Mughal empire had begun, from Aurangzeb to Partition (1707 to 1947). After Aurangzeb died, there was a vacuum, followed by invasions by Ranjeet Singh and others.

“I myself have learned much in writing this book, many of my questions about history are answered,” said Dr Hasan. “I am humbled that I am one of the Punjabis who the book has been dedicated to.” He said that Rajmohan was not a man any smaller than India had ever seen. In fact he should be quoted and presented in news and programmes much more often than he was, he said. “He is a human, not a man,” said Dr Hasan, quoting Ghalib.

He said the Punjabis were always a great race and never had any ‘Ghauri or Ghaznavi’ among them, they never conquered anyone, but were conquered themselves hundreds of times by different conquerors. “After 1947 Punjabis were the only people who accepted migrants. Ironically, however, they do not take the same pride in using their own language as their identity. The main reason for their survival is that they never attacked other people, until the Islamic chauvinists came and drilled into people otherwise. These are the chauvinists who claim that Balochistan and Frontier are Punjab’s younger brothers…how can that be when the mother is not the same,” japed Hasan while the audience burst into laughter. He said the Punjabis were not imperialists by nature.

Jugnu Mohsin said the book by Dr Gandhi had so much information in it and answered so many questions that it was a must read. The book was very important, she said, and explained a lot about the indigenous people and many other aspects.

She said the people of Punjab had over time endured many attacks and even adapted themselves to potential attacks such as making stepped-wells inside their havelis where they could hide during an attack. This led Punjabis to acquire an attitude of “let others do the fighting; our business is to survive.” But, she said, this also led to the habit of not standing up against oppression of any kind, especially for others. But at the same time, the Punjabis did not tolerate an oppressor for long either, she added.

“It is for this reason explained through the history of Punjab, that I hope that the oppressors present in our society today are severely dealt with, and made to leave forever,” she concluded. “And I am sure that our present government is bent upon doing just that.”

She said if both East and West Punjabs united in terms of relations and reformed their spiritual bond, Punjab as a whole would realise its full potential.