Had Gandhi Gone to Pakistan: A Look Back at Gandhi’s “Last and Greatest of His Campaigns” and How It Could’ve Impacted Jinnah’s Politics

IN THE WAKE OF PARTITION in January 1948, as Delhi shivered in extreme cold, Mahatma Gandhi was preparing for what Robert Payne, author of The Life and Death of Mahatma Gandhi, would call “the last and greatest of his campaigns.” After his final fast for communal peace and the release of Pakistan’s share of funds—amounting Rs 55 crore—the Father of the Nation was clear in his intention to travel to the newly carved out nation. In his prayer meetings he had made his intentions clear, as he reportedly said, “Both India and Pakistan are my country. I am not going to take out a passport to go to Pakistan.” 

However, his last campaign remained unfinished following what transpired at the end of the month. On January 30, 1948, Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated by Nathuram Godse in Birla House, Delhi. Since then, experts and historians have opined on what could have happened if a national sensation and an influential figure such as Gandhi would’ve set foot in Pakistan.

Why did Gandhi wanted to visit Pakistan?

Mahatma Gandhi was an extreme pacifist, who tried to pacify all conflict through negotiation and non-violent means. This is why, when he was opposing the Partition of India, Gandhi even proposed that Jinnah should be appointed as the Prime Minister of a united India. Historical accounts from people close to him say that even after August 15, 1947, he did not accept the India-Pakistan border as final in his heart. Accounts in Robert Payne’s biography and Collins and Lapierre’s Freedom at Midnight give details of his future plans in the new neighboring nation: a march–a padyatra of peace—to escort Muslim refugees home and appeal directly to the people.

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He had already sent his message through intermediaries and spoke of going without military support, trusting in the goodness of ordinary Muslims in Pakistan as they were equally revering of him as Hindus. Ramachandra Guha, an expert on Gandhian history, notes that the 78-year-old leader saw this as more than a visit — it was a continuation of his peace work in Noakhali and Delhi and might have been the last great attempt to heal the subcontinent’s bleeding wounds before they became lifelong scars.

Robert Payne in The Life and Death of Mahatma Gandhi writes that Gandhi had discussed the idea with his close associates, believing he could “lead the Muslims back into India and the Hindus back to Pakistan” through the force of ahimsa (non-violence). Asghar Wajahat, writer of the play Pakistan Mein Gandhi (Gandhi in Pakistan) — a fictional story of what could've happened if Gandhi had gone to Pakistan, also opines that Gandhi's resolve to not issue a passport to travel to Pakistan could've destabilized Pakistan's claim to an autonomous state.

Collins and Lapierre in Freedom at Midnight also document Gandhi making arrangements for his visit to Pakistan, while noting Jinnah’s reported reluctance and scepticism for the same.

Potential Impact of Gandhi's Visit on Jinnah's Politics

Historians have often speculated on how Gandhi's visit to Pakistan could've impacted the Pakistan governance. Muhammad Ali Jinnah, who was already ill and focused on maintaining stability in the new nation amid massive refugee crises and the Kashmir conflict, had various ideological differences with Gandhi. Some accounts, from Collins and Lapierre, suggest Jinnah was wary of Gandhi’s visit and reportedly set informal conditions, such as Gandhi not publicly challenging the Two-Nation Theory.

Guha observes that a meeting between the two leaders — both Gujaratis with long shared history in the independence movement — could have created a rare moment of peaceful intellectual dialogue. However, whether this meeting could've softened Jinnah’s stance or influenced Pakistan’s early foundations remains a matter of conjecture. Jinnah’s own speech on August 11, 1947, to Pakistan’s Constituent Assembly had emphasised equal rights for all citizens regardless of religion, a position that aligned with Gandhi's appeals, offer historians some semblance of a shift but nothing concrete can be determined.

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Gandhi's Unfulfilled Campaign

Gandhi was assassinated on January 30, 1948 before he could make the journey. His death ended what Payne called his final great campaign and what Guha describes as one of the last attempts by a major leader to bridge the divide created by Partition.

While historians differ on how much impact such a visit could have had, especially given the deep trauma of 1947 still lingering in the minds of public, most agree it represented Gandhi’s unwavering commitment to non-violence and Hindu-Muslim unity even in the darkest hour. Although, success was never guaranteed and likely it was just an optimistic outlook from the old spiritual leader, seeing him as a pro-muslim figure would be misleading of a complex figure such as his.

The wounds of Partition ran deep — massacres in Punjab, trains of the dead, millions displaced. Hardliners on both sides would have resisted. Yet Gandhi’s life taught that moral courage plants seeds whose fruits appear later. His survival and journey might not have erased borders, but it could have made them less poisonous.

Today, as Indians and Pakistanis look across the Wagah border or the Line of Control, we can only wonder. The man who once said, “An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind,” wanted to walk into the lion’s den with love. In that imagined campaign, perhaps a fragile bridge of understanding would have been built — one conversation, one prayer meeting, one act of courage at a time.

Bapu did not reach Pakistan in body. But his message crossed every border he could not.

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