There is no evidence to state that Gandhi accepted Jinnah’s proposal for a corridor between the then East and West Pakistan - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 18, 2022
A post is being widely shared on social media claiming that one of the reasons why Godse killed Gandhi was, that he accepted Jinnah’s proposal for a corridor between the then East Pakistan and West Pakistan. The post even claims that the book ‘Naked Ambition’ by Jad Adams gives more details about the proposed corridor. Let us fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Gandhi accepted Jinnah’s proposal for a corridor between the then East Pakistan and West Pakistan.
Fact: There is no evidence to state that Gandhi accepted Jinnah’s proposal for a corridor between the then East Pakistan and West Pakistan. When Jinnah made such a demand, it was outrightly rejected by Sardar Patel and Jawaharlal Nehru. Patel called it, ‘a fantastic nonsense as not to be taken seriously at all.’ Nehru said, ‘The demand for a corridor is fantastic and absurd.’ Gandhi never made any statement related to this demand of a corridor. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
We could not find any credible information online that confirms, that Gandhi had accepted Jinnah’s proposal for a corridor between Bangladesh (erstwhile East Pakistan) and Pakistan (erstwhile West Pakistan). We could not find evidene that confirm the same.
In an interview with Reuters in May 1947, it was reported that Jinnah demanded a corridor connecting Eastern and Western Pakistan, through India. It was even reported that Jinnah wrote a letter to Winston Churchill on 05 August 1947, demanding a corridor through UP and Bihar.
However, this demand by Jinnah was outrightly rejected by Sardar Patel and Jawaharlal Nehru. Patel called it, ‘a fantastic nonsense as not to be taken seriously at all.’ Nehru said, ‘The demand for a corridor is fantastic and absurd.’ Gandhi never made any statement related to this demand for a corridor.
Nathuram Godse assassinated Gandhi on 30 January 1948. Godse made his last statement before Punjab High Court on 05 May 1949, where he gave the reasons for killing Gandhi. Godse did not mention the demand for a corridor in this statement. The book, ‘Gandhi: Naked Ambition’ by Jad Adams, also does not mention Gandhi giving his approval for a proposed corridor through India by Jinnah.
To sum it up, there is no evidence to state that Gandhi accepted Jinnah’s proposal for a corridor between the then East Pakistan and West Pakistan.