The scars of August in South Asia

August 16, 2024

KATHMANDU – The ancient civilisational region beyond the Indus River was variously known as the Indos, the Indian land and al-Hind to the Persians and Greeks. By the time of the Mughal Empire, the subcontinent had become India for the Europeans. When the British subjugated the land, they retained the English name. The political unit that Article 1 of the Indian Constitution calls “India, that is Bharat”, was carved out of a civilisational entity almost as old as human history.

With his much-acclaimed “A tryst with destiny” speech on August 15, 1947, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru declared independence. The process of self-rule began with the Government of India Act 1919. It was almost concluded with the Indian Independence Act 1947, that decided to create two independent dominions India and Pakistan.

Premier Nehru unfurled the Tricolour at Roshanara Bagh and proclaimed himself the “Pratham sevak.” In his desire to be like Nehru, Prime Minister Narendra Modi prefers to present himself as the “Pradhan sevak” and loves to project a similar image. With his Independence Day address on August 15, 2024, Modi will match the record of his glamorous idol Nehru and the authoritarian ideal Indira Gandhi.

It was not practical for Lord Mountbatten to be present simultaneously for handing over ceremonies in cities as far apart as Karachi and New Delhi. He first travelled to Karachi to transfer power to Muhammad Ali Jinnah, and Pakistan became an independent country on August 14, 1947. It is said that Quaid-i-Azam Jinnah was so jubilant that he hosted a lunch for Lord Mountbatten when many Muslims of the newly created Islamic country were observing Ramzan fast.

The paradox of pre-1971 Pakistan was that its most