The Speech and India
L K Advani, Indian politician, who was once named in a police report for an alleged assassination attempt on Jinnah's life, while visiting Pakistan, stoked off a huge scandal in India, when he referred to Jinnah as a great leader and described his speech to the Constituent Assembly as a truly secular charter, worthy of emulation. At Jinnah's Mausoleum, he wrote:
There are many people who leave an irreversible stamp on history. But there are few who actually create history. Qaed-e-Azam Mohammed Ali Jinnah was one such rare individual. In his early years, leading luminary of freedom struggle Sarojini Naidu described Jinnah as an ambassador of Hindu-Muslim unity. His address to the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan on August 11, 1947 is really a classic and a forceful espousal of a secular state in which every citizen would be free to follow his own religion. The State shall make no distinction between the citizens on the grounds of faith. My respectful homage to this great man.
Advani came under intense criticism from his own party, the Hindu Nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party which has long blamed Jinnah for being solely responsible for India's partition along communal lines. Ultimately, Advani was forced to quit as party chief, despite vindication from the media.
Read more about this topic: Muhammad Ali Jinnah's 11th August Speech
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