Did Gandhi want to give Pakistan 800-mile long East to West corridor between India? #FactCheck

It is said about Mahatma Gandhi that he wanted to give a corridor between the two parts of Pakistan through India and a popular WhatsApp university pamphlet ‘claims’ (not my claim) this was the reason RSS was feared that Gandhi would cut motherland and so fanatic Nathuram Godse assassinated Mahatma Gandhi. (Some people said RSS has nothing to do with Godse, but I leave you to decide).

This claim is purely fictional. Gandhi had nothing to do with this entire controversy and this claim is absurd. Let’s burst this myth in detail.

The corridor between the two Pakistan was first spoken by Jinnah on 22 May 1947 in response to the question of a journalist of the news agency Reuters in an interview. A Reuters journalist Doon Campbell asked the question, do you not think that India should provide a corridor for a roadway between the two Pakistans. Jinnah agreed in response to this. But he never said this in any official conversation with Congress leaders.

Initially the Viceroy Mountbatten went against it and said in 20 May that “it would merely result in delay”. But in June 1947, the British government said that the corridor should be given to Pakistan by showing a big heart to Indians. Then for the first time, C. Rajagopalachari on behalf of Congress rejected this demand outright. Rajagopalachari told the news agency Press that this is a completely unnecessary demand which will not be talked about. Rajendra Prasad and Sankar Rao Deo criticised the demand for 'corridor'.

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel called ita fantastic nonsense as not to be taken seriously at all.”

Nehru also rejected this demand of Jinnah outright.

Nehru said, “The demand for a corridor is fantastic and absurd.

Gandhi was nowhere in this entire conversation. After Nehru and Rajagopalachari rejected this demand, this thing never came to the notice of Gandhi. Gandhi never made any statement on this demand. (There's no mention of this demand or claim in neither volume 96–97–98 of CWMG nor in GD Tendulkar's life of Mahatma Gandhi 8 volume).

But still, the job of propagandists is to spread propaganda not reality, their claims have as much authenticity as their knowledge ‘Zero’.

Interestingly Mahatma Gandhi was against the whole existence of creating new nation. This is what he said,

Surprisingly even the Nizam of Hyderabad, who was a supporter of Jinnah, called this demand of Jinnah a stupid demand.

When Jinnah also realised that this ‘demand’ maybe not be possible easily and may further delay the day of Independence so he did not pursue this demand strongly.

This demand was never raised again by Jinnah officially or unofficially.


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