AS relations between India and Pakistan remain frosty, a theatrical play in Washington has stirred conversations on peaceful coexistence, inter-faith harmony, and the need for a fresh look at the history of the two countries. The play Gandhi and Jinnah return home, discussed at the Karachi Literature Festival last week, describes how far the two countries have drifted from the vision of their respective founding fathers, Gandhi, the Mahatma, and Jinnah, the Quaid-e-Azam, who both hailed from Gujarat and played central roles in the struggle for independence.
Gandhi had envisioned that India would be a united, secular and pluralistic country once the British left. Fondly called Bapu, he built his freedom struggle on the principle of non-violence, famously remarking that an eye for an eye would make the whole world blind.