Karnataka minister Priyank Kharge has claimed that the two-nation theory, often linked to Muhammad Ali Jinnah and the Muslim League, was first put forward by Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar.
In a post on X, the Information Technology and Biotechnology minister wrote, “The idea of Two Nations was first floated by ‘Veer’ Savarkar and his ‘tukde tukde gang’ endorsed it.”
Kharge referred to Savarkar’s writings and speeches to support his point. He said that in his 1922 work Essentials of Hindutva, Savarkar described Hindutva not by religion but by homeland, defining India as both a “Fatherland and Holyland.”
The minister also highlighted Savarkar’s speech at the Hindu Mahasabha’s 19th session in Ahmedabad in 1937, where he reportedly said, “There are two antagonistic nations living side by side in India… On the contrary, there are two nations in the main: the Hindus and the Moslems, in India.”
Kharge further pointed to Savarkar’s remarks in Nagpur in 1943, where he said, “I have no quarrel with Mr Jinnah’s two-nation theory. We, Hindus, are a nation by ourselves, and it is a historical fact that Hindus and Muslims are two nations.”
To stress his point, Kharge quoted B R Ambedkar: “Strange as it may appear, Mr Savarkar and Mr Jinnah, instead of being opposed to each other, on the one nation versus two nations issue are in complete agreement about it.”
Kharge, who is the son of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, made these remarks on Partition Horrors Remembrance Day.
