Arun Shourie, Religion in politics (1989), chapter The Gloss-over School, 335 ff.
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His image in the public mind today is almost wholly a result of this selective, this assiduous silence, reinforced now by governmental hagiographic propaganda. The propositions he injected into public discourse were the precise ones—in sequence, and word for word—which Jinnah picked up once he decided that is future lay in playing the communal card. The propositions are again and again picked up by leader. after leader who reckons that the way to national importance is by becoming the leader of one community, and the way to latter is the religion-in-danger shriek; as such leaders keep erupting — Bhindranwale one day, Shahabuddin the next—the reader will at once see the contemporary relevance of Sir Syed’s propositions.

— Arun Shourie on Syed Ahmed Khan

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "His image in the public mind today is almost wholly a result of this selective, this assiduous silence, reinforced now by governmental hagiographic propaganda. The propositions he injected into public discourse were the precise ones—in sequence, and word for word—which Jinnah picked up once he decided that is future lay in playing the communal card. The propositions are again and again picked up by leader. after leader who reckons that the way to national importance is by becoming the leader of one community, and the way to latter is the religion-in-danger shriek; as such leaders keep erupting — Bhindranwale one day, Shahabuddin the next—the reader will at once see the contemporary relevance of Sir Syed’s propositions." in the context of "Arun Shourie, Religion in politics (1989), chapter The Gloss-over School, 335 ff." to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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Source: Wikiquote: "Syed Ahmed Khan" (About) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Arun Shourie

About Arun Shourie

Arun Shourie (born 2 November 1941) is a prominent journalist, author, and politician of India.