It has become apparent that the two rival opposing parties – Congress and the BJP – are trying to glorify past leaders of national importance to gain political mileage as polls in five states are round the corner and the general elections are due in 2014.

Releasing the commemorative coins in the honour of Azad on his 125th birth anniversary here on Monday, Chidambaram described him as one who refused to accept the partition of the country till the last.

“Maulana Azad made a significant contribution to the recording of history through his book – India Wins Freedom. History cannot be bent. Historical facts are sacred. I thought the best tribute to Maula Azad would be to read excerpts from his autobiography that will throw light on a sad chapter of India’s history, namely, the partition of India. These portions would also be a lesson in history to all those who participate in public discourse,” Chidambaram said.

Quoting Azad, the Finance Minister said ;”a truly pathetic situation had developed as a result of the Congress mistake in giving Finance to the Muslim League. This had led to the deadlock which gave Lord Mountbatten the opportunity of slowly preparing the ground for the partition of India. As he began to give a new turn to the political problem he tried to impress on Congress the inevitability of partition, and sowed the seeds of the idea in the minds of the Congress Members of the Executive Council. “

Further quoting Azad, the Finance Minister said that Lord Mountbatten, being intelligent could read the minds of Indian leaders. “The moment he found (Sardar Vallabhai) Patel amenable to his idea, he put out all the charm and power of his personality to win over the Sardar. As soon as the Sardar Patel had been convinced, Lord Mountbatten turned his attention to Jawaharlal. Jawaharlal was not at first at all willing and reacted violently against the very idea of partition, but Lord Mountbatten persisted till step by step Jawaharlal’s opposition was worn down. Within a month of Lord Mountbatten’s arrival in India Jawaharlal, the firm opponent of partition had become, if not a supporter, at least acquiescent towards the idea.”

“When I became aware that Lord Mountbatten was thinking in terms of dividing India and had persuaded Jawaharlal and Patel, I was deeply distressed. I realised that the country was moving towards a great danger. Now that Sardar Patel and even Jawaharlal Nehru had become supporters of partition, Gandhiji remained my only hope,” wrote Azad in his book.

“But when I met Gandhiji again, I received the greatest shock of my life, for I found that he too had changed. He was still not openly in favour of partition but he no longer spoke so vehemently against it. What surprised and shocked me even more was that he began to repeat the arguments which Sardar Patel had already used. For over two hours I pleaded with him but could make no impression on him.