Muhammad Ali Jinnah: The Two-Nation Theory and the Demand for Pakistan

This talk will explain how and why an idea – the two-nation theory identifying Hindus and Muslims as two antagonistic nations – moved from the margins to centre stage in 1937 and culminated in the partition not only of India but also the two Muslim majority provinces of Punjab and Bengal. In this regard, the role of Mohammad Ali Jinnah as pivotal to making the two-nation theory as the basis for the partition of India to create a separate state for Muslims will be discussed in relation to the opposition he received from the Sikhs of Punjab, the Hindu Mahasabha, Indian National Congress, Muslims opposed to it and the sceptical British who finally conceded his demand but not on his terms.

About the speaker: Dr Ishtiaq Ahmed is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Stockholm University. During 2015-2019, he was Visiting Professor at the Government College University, Lahore, and in 2013-2015, he was Visiting Professor at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS). He is an Honorary Senior Fellow of the Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS) at the National University of Singapore and was Visiting Research Professor at the Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS). He has published a number of award-winning books, including The Punjab Bloodied, Partitioned and Cleansed (Oxford University Press, 2012) and Jinnah: His Successes, Failures and Role in History (Penguin Random House, 2020).

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