186-515: When the All-India Muslim League was founded at Dacca , on 30 December 1906 at the occasion of the annual All India Muhammadan Educational Conference , It was participated by the Muslim leaders from Punjab , i.e., Sir Mian Muhammad Shafi , Mian Fazl-i-Hussain, Abdul Aziz, Khawaja Yusuf Shah and Sh. Ghulam Sadiq. Earlier Mian Muhammad Shafi organised a Muslim Association in early 1906, but when
372-552: A mother goddess , who stood variously for Bengal, India, and the Hindu goddess Kali . The unrest spread from Calcutta to the surrounding regions of Bengal when Calcutta's English-educated students returned home to their villages and towns. The religious stirrings of the slogan and the political outrage over the partition were combined as young men, in such groups as Jugantar , took to bombing public buildings, staging armed robberies, and assassinating British officials. Since Calcutta
558-691: A Muslim India and a non-Muslim India". Lala believed in partition in response to the riots against Hindus in Kohat, North-West Frontier Province which diminished his faith in Hindu-Muslim unity. Hindu Mahasabha leader Vinayak Damodar Savarkar 's Hindutva ideology had embryonic form of a two-nation theory since 1920s. Savarkar in 1937 during the 19th session of the Hindu Mahasabha in Ahmedabad supported two-nation theory where he said "there are two nations in
744-532: A Muslim majority province within the Indian federation and not an independent state outside the Indian Federation. On 28 January 1933, Choudhary Rahmat Ali voiced his ideas in the pamphlet entitled "Now or Never; Are We to Live or Perish Forever?" The word 'Pakistan' referred to "the five Northern units of India, viz. : Punjab, North-West Frontier Province (Afghan Province), Kashmir, Sind and Baluchistan"". By
930-531: A boycott of British goods. Sporadically, but flagrantly, the protesters also took to political violence , which involved attacks on civilians. The violence was ineffective, as most planned attacks were either prevented by the British or failed. The rallying cry for both types of protest was the slogan Bande Mataram ( Bengali , lit: 'Hail to the Mother'), the title of a song by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee , which invoked
1116-708: A constant, if small presence, in the Indian Parliament. The party has had two members in every Lower House from the third to the 16th House, with the exception of the Second, in which it had no members, and the fourth, in which it had three members. The party had a single member in the 14th Lower House. The party currently has four members in Parliament. The party is currently a part of the United Progressive Alliance in national level. Indian Union Muslim League
1302-534: A de jure Pakistan, which may make the League more responsible. Freedom is coming. We have 75 to 80 percent of India, which we can make strong with our genius. The League can develop the rest of the country. Following Gandhi's denial and Congress' approval of the plan, Patel, Rajendra Prasad, C. Rajagopalachari represented Congress on the Partition Council, with Jinnah, Liaqat Ali Khan and Abdur Rab Nishtar representing
1488-721: A detailed scheme through which he suggested the party to be named All-India Muslim Confederacy. Pursuant to the decisions taken earlier at the Lucknow meeting and later in Simla, the annual meeting of the All-India Muhammadan Educational Conference was held in Dhaka from 27 December until 30 December 1906. Three thousand delegates attended, headed by both Nawab Waqar-ul-Mulk Kamboh and Nawab Mohsin-ul-Mulk (the Secretary of
1674-593: A divided India or a destroyed India." On that morning, armed Muslim gangs gathered at the Ochterlony Monument in Calcutta to hear Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy , the League's Chief Minister of Bengal, who, in the words of historian Yasmin Khan, "if he did not explicitly incite violence certainly gave the crowd the impression that they could act with impunity, that neither the police nor the military would be called out and that
1860-587: A few of them, many years after the death of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan the All-India Muslim League was formed in Dhaka , Bangladesh. The formation of a Muslim political party on the national level was seen as essential by 1901. The first stage of its formation was the meeting held at Lucknow in September 1906, with the participation of representatives from all over India. The decision for the re-consideration to form
2046-517: A few years in self-exile in London. On 29 December 1930 Sir Muammad Iqbal delivered his monumental address. He said: I would like to see Punjab, North-West Frontier Province, Sindh and Balochistan amalgamated into a single state. Self government within the British Empire or without the British Empire, the formation of a consolidated North-West Indian Muslim state appears to me to be the final destiny of
SECTION 10
#17328728492142232-533: A group of "Young Party" Muslims from the United Provinces (UP), most prominently, the brothers Mohammad and Shaukat Ali , who had embraced the Pan-Islamic cause. It gained the support of a young lawyer from Bombay, Muhammad Ali Jinnah , who later rose to leadership roles in the League and the Indian independence movement. In later years, as the full ramifications of the pact unfolded, it was seen as benefiting
2418-587: A large share of political spoils for the Indian Muslims with the withdrawal of British rule, others believed the main political objective was the preservation of the cultural entity of Muslim India. The two-nation theory was a founding principle of the Pakistan Movement (i.e., the ideology of Pakistan as a Muslim nation-state in South Asia), and the partition of India in 1947. Theodore Beck , who played
2604-484: A major role in founding of the All-India Muslim League in 1906, was supportive of two-nation theory. Another British official supportive of the theory includes Theodore Morison . Both Beck and Morison believed that parliamentary system of majority rule would be disadvantageous for the Muslims. Arya Samaj leader Lala Lajpat Rai laid out his own version of two-nation theory in 1924 to form "a clear partition of India into
2790-594: A mass nationalist movement of millions. In August 1942, Congress launched the Quit India Resolution , asking for drastic constitutional changes which the British saw as the most serious threat to their rule since the Indian rebellion of 1857 . With their resources and attention already spread thin by a global war, the nervous British immediately jailed the Congress leaders and kept them in jail until August 1945, whereas
2976-584: A new province with a Muslim majority would directly benefit Muslims aspiring to political power. World War I would prove to be a watershed in the imperial relationship between Britain and India. 1.4 million Indian and British soldiers of the British Indian Army would take part in the war, and their participation would have a wider cultural fallout: news of Indian soldiers fighting and dying with British soldiers, as well as soldiers from dominions like Canada and Australia, would travel to distant corners of
3162-482: A personal stake in the League's election campaign; not because this was the most appropriate tactical response to the prospect of a British transfer of power but because the pirs saw in the Pakistan movement an opportunity to break out of the colonial structures that had for so long thwarted their religious interests. Pakistan came into being on 14 August 1947, "Pakistan would never have come into being", Talbot argues, "had
3348-558: A plan". He said that if the Muslims were not granted a separate Pakistan then they would launch "direct action". When asked to be specific, Jinnah retorted: "Go to the Congress and ask them their plans. When they take you into their confidence I will take you into mine. Why do you expect me alone to sit with folded hands? I also am going to make trouble." The next day, Jinnah announced 16 August 1946 would be " Direct Action Day " and warned Congress, "We do not want war. If you want war we accept your offer unhesitatingly. We will either have
3534-537: A popular party with the Muslim masses in the 1940s, especially after the Lahore Resolution. Under Jinnah's leadership, its membership grew to over two million and became more religious and even separatist in its outlook. The Muslim League's earliest base was the United Provinces , where they successfully mobilised the religious community in the late 1930s. Jinnah worked closely with local politicians, however, there
3720-519: A protagonist of the scheme called "Pakistan". Now Pakistan is not my scheme. ( Iqbal is here, referring to Ch. Rehmat Ali's scheme of Pakistan ) The one that I suggested in my address is the creation of a Muslim Province – i.e.; a province having an overwhelming population of Muslims in the North-West of India. This new province will be, according to my scheme, a part of the proposed Indian Federation. Pakistan scheme ( i.e., scheme of Ch. Rahmat Ali ) proposes
3906-411: A quicker transfer of power. When Lord Mountbatten formally proposed the plan on 3 June 1947, Patel gave his approval and lobbied Nehru and other Congress leaders to accept the proposal. Knowing Gandhi's deep anguish regarding proposals of partition, Patel engaged him in private meetings discussions over the perceived practical unworkability of any Congress-League coalition , the rising violence, and
SECTION 20
#17328728492144092-501: A separate federation of Muslim Provinces directly related to England as a separate dominion. This scheme originated in Cambridge. The authors of this scheme believe that we Muslim Round Tablers have sacrificed the Muslim nation on the altar of Hindu or the so called Indian Nationalism. Like Iqbal, Jinnah also disapproved this scheme and considered it as some sort of Walt Disney dreamland, if not Wellsian nightmare", and thought that "he felt
4278-721: A separate homeland. Tensions heightened while the Muslim League was unable to form ministries outside the two provinces of Sind and Bengal, with the Congress forming a ministry in the NWFP and the key Punjab province coming under a coalition ministry of the Congress, Sikhs and Unionists. The British, while not approving of a separate Muslim homeland, appreciated the simplicity of a single voice to speak on behalf of India's Muslims. Britain had wanted India and its army to remain united to keep India in its system of 'imperial defense'. With India's two political parties unable to agree, Britain devised
4464-537: A separate nation within India. Even after he resigned as president of the AIML in 1912, he still exerted a major influence on its policies and agendas. In 1913, Mohammed Ali Jinnah joined the Muslim league. Intellectual support and a cadre of young activists emerged from Aligarh Muslim University . Historian Mushirul Hasan writes that in the early 20th century, this Muslim institution, designed to prepare students for service to
4650-551: A single state, one as a numerical minority and the other as a majority must lead to growing discontent and final destruction of any fabric that may be so built up for the government of such a state. In Lahore, the Muslim League formally recommitted itself to creating an independent Muslim state which would include Sindh, Punjab, Baluchistan, the North West Frontier Province, and Bengal, and which would be "wholly autonomous and sovereign". The Lahore Resolution , moved by
4836-456: A three-year term, proportionately from different provinces. The League's constitution was framed in 1907, espoused in the "Green Book," written by Mohammad Ali Jauhar . Aga Khan III shared Ahmad Khan's belief that Muslims should first build up their social capital through advanced education before engaging in politics, but would later boldly tell the British Raj that Muslims must be considered
5022-455: A transfer of populations (i.e., the total removal of Hindus from Muslim-majority areas and the total removal of Muslims from Hindu-majority areas) was a desirable step towards a complete separation of two incompatible nations that "cannot coexist in a harmonious relationship." Opposition to the theory has come from two sources. The first is the concept of a single Indian nation , of which Hindus and Muslims are two intertwined communities. This
5208-459: A two-hour speech in English, in which were laid out the arguments of the two-nation theory , stating, in the words of historians Talbot and Singh, that "Muslims and Hindus...were irreconcilably opposed monolithic religious communities and as such, no settlement could be imposed that did not satisfy the aspirations of the former." On the last day of its session, the League passed what came to be known as
5394-434: Is a founding principle of the modern, officially- secular Republic of India . Even after the formation of Pakistan, debates on whether Muslims and Hindus are distinct nationalities or not continued in that country as well. The second source of opposition is the concept that while Indians are not one nation, neither are the Muslims or Hindus of the subcontinent, and it is instead the relatively homogeneous provincial units of
5580-467: Is clear that League's success was due to the political vision, farsightedness of Muhammad Ali Jinnah. He was a man of high personal integrity and intelligence who became a Grandmaster of the game by his clever, and clever calculations. In the few years before the partition, the Muslim League "monetarily subsidized" mobs that engaged in communal violence against Hindus and Sikhs in the areas of Multan, Rawalpindi, Campbellpur, Jhelum and Sargodha, as well as in
5766-451: Is composed of letters taken from the names of all our homelands ... That is, Panjab, Afghania (North-West Frontier Province), Kashmir , Iran, Sindh (including Kachch and Kathiawar), Tukharistan, Afghanistan, and Balochistan." The British and the Indian press vehemently criticised these two different schemes and created confusion about the authorship of the word "Pakistan" to such an extent that even Jawaharlal Nehru had to write: Iqbal
Punjab Muslim League - Misplaced Pages Continue
5952-767: Is recognized by the Election Commission of India as a State Party in Kerala .The party is a major member of the opposition United Democratic Front , the Indian National Congress -lead pre-poll state-level alliance in Kerala. Whenever the United Democratic Front rules in Kerala, the party leaders are chosen as important Cabinet Ministers. The Muslim League formed its government in East Bengal immediately after
6138-534: Is suspected that he hoped to become the leader of Muslim League in his own province, if not its ultimate leader. Whatever be the reason, this helped the Muslim League to carve out a niche in Punjab. The PML leaders like Allama Muhammad Iqbal and Malik Barkat Ali, were not happy with this situation and began to send a catalogue of complaints to Jinnah against Sir Sikander alleging that the Punjab Premier had been hindering
6324-499: The 1857 Rebellion and the Second Anglo-Afghan War . In the three decades since the 1871 census, Muslim leaders across North India had intermittently experienced public animosity from some of the new Hindu political and social groups. The Arya Samaj , for example, had not only supported the cow protection movement in their agitation, but also—distraught at the census' Muslim numbers—organized "reconversion" events for
6510-804: The Bengal Presidency —the largest administrative subdivision in British India—into the Muslim-majority province of Eastern Bengal and Assam and the Hindu-majority province of Bengal (present-day Indian states of West Bengal , Bihar , Jharkhand , and Odisha ). Curzon's act, the partition of Bengal —which had been contemplated by various colonial administrations since the time of Lord William Bentinck , though never acted upon—was to transform nationalist politics as nothing else before it. The Hindu elite of Bengal, many of whom owned land that
6696-458: The British Raj , exploded into political activity. Until 1939, the faculty and students supported an all-India nationalist movement. After 1939, however, sentiment shifted dramatically toward a Muslim separatist movement, as students and faculty mobilised behind Jinnah and the Muslim League. Politically, there was a degree of unity between Muslim and Hindu leaders after World War I, as typified by
6882-468: The Cabinet Mission Plan . Through this mission, Britain hoped to preserve the united India which they and the Congress desired, while concurrently securing the essence of Jinnah's demand for a Pakistan through 'groupings.' The Cabinet mission scheme encapsulated a federal arrangement consisting of three groups of provinces. Two of these groupings would consist of predominantly Muslim provinces, while
7068-626: The Communist Party of Pakistan . In an interview given to print media , Nurul Amin stated that the communists had played an integral and major role in staging the massive protests, mass demonstrations, and strikes for the Bengali Language Movement. All over the country, the political parties had favoured the general elections in Pakistan with the exception of the Muslim League . In 1954, legislative elections were to be held for
7254-515: The Hazara District . The Muslim League paid assassins money for every Hindu and Sikh they murdered. As such, leaders of the Muslim League, including Muhammad Ali Jinnah, issued no condemnation of the violence against Hindus and Sikhs in the Punjab. All-India Muslim League The All-India Muslim League ( AIML ), simply called the Muslim League , was a political party established in Dhaka in 1906 when some well-known Muslim politicians met
7440-533: The House of Commons , with an offer of dominion status to India at the end of the war in return for the Congress's support for the war effort. Not wishing to lose the support of the allies they had already secured—the Muslim League, Unionists of Punjab, and the princes—Cripps's offer included a clause stating that no part of the British Indian Empire would be forced to join the post-war dominion. The League rejected
7626-529: The Khilafat Movement . Relationships cooled sharply after that campaign ended in 1922. Communalism grew rapidly, forcing the two groups apart. Major riots broke out in numerous cities, including 91 between 1923 and 1927 in Uttar Pradesh alone. At the leadership level, the proportion of Muslims among delegates to the Congress party fell sharply, from 11% in 1921 to under 4% in 1923. The two-state solution
Punjab Muslim League - Misplaced Pages Continue
7812-503: The Lahore Resolution , sometimes also "Pakistan Resolution," demanding that "the areas in which the Muslims are numerically in the majority as in the north-western and eastern zones of India should be grouped to constitute independent states in which the constituent units shall be autonomous and sovereign." Though it had been founded more than three decades earlier, the League would gather support among South Asian Muslims only during
7998-545: The Minto-Morley Reforms , and more recently of the Congress-Muslim League Lucknow Pact, was reaffirmed, with seats being reserved for Muslims , Sikhs , Indian Christians , Anglo-Indians , and domiciled Europeans, in both provincial and imperial legislative councils. The Montagu-Chelmsford reforms offered Indians the most significant opportunity yet for exercising legislative power, especially at
8184-514: The Nawab of Dhaka , Khwaja Salimullah , forwarded a proposal to create a political party which would protect the interests of Muslims in British India. He suggested the political party be named the 'All-India Muslim League'. The motion was unanimously passed by the conference, leading to the official formation of the All-India Muslim League in Dhaka . It remained an elitist organization until 1937, when
8370-616: The United Provinces (where Hindus attacked Muslims), and on to Rawalpindi in March 1947 in which Hindus and Sikhs were attacked or driven out by Muslims. In London, the president of the India League , V. K. Krishna Menon , nominated Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma as the only suitable viceregal candidate in clandestine meetings with Sir Stafford Cripps and Clement Attlee. Prime Minister Attlee subsequently appointed Lord Louis Mountbatten as India's last viceroy , giving him
8556-681: The Viceroy of India , Lord Minto , with the goal of securing Muslim interests in British India . The party arose out of the need for the political representation of Muslims in British India , especially during the Indian National Congress -sponsored massive Hindu opposition to the 1905 partition of Bengal . During the 1906 annual meeting of the All India Muslim Education Conference held in Israt Manzil Palace , Dhaka,
8742-482: The military intervention in 1958. One of its factions remained supportive of President Ayub Khan until 1962, when all factions decided to reform into the Pakistan Muslim League led by Nurul Amin , and to support Fatima Jinnah in the presidential elections in 1965. Furthermore, it was the only party to have received votes from both East and West Pakistan during the elections held in 1970. During
8928-674: The partition of Bengal , with Khawaja Nazimuddin becoming the first Chief Minister . Problems in East Pakistan for the Muslim League began to rise following the issue of the Constitution of Pakistan . Furthermore, the Bengali Language Movement proved to be the last event that led the Muslim League to lose its mandate in East Bengal. The Muslim League's national conservatism program also faced several setbacks and resistance from
9114-495: The secession of Bangladesh from Pakistan in 1971, nor the earlier separations of Burma (now Myanmar ) and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka ) from the administration of British India. The term also does not cover the political integration of princely states into the two new dominions, nor the disputes of annexation or division arising in the princely states of Hyderabad , Junagadh , and Jammu and Kashmir , though violence along religious lines did break out in some princely states at
9300-452: The "Great Calcutta Killing of August 1946". The next day, Hindus struck back, and the violence continued for three days in which approximately 4,000 people died (according to official accounts), both Hindus and Muslims. Although India had outbreaks of religious violence between Hindus and Muslims before, the Calcutta killings were the first to display elements of " ethnic cleansing ". Violence
9486-584: The "official majority" in unfavourable votes. Although departments like defence, foreign affairs, criminal law, communications, and income-tax were retained by the viceroy and the central government in New Delhi, other departments like public health, education, land-revenue, local self-government were transferred to the provinces. The provinces themselves were now to be administered under a new dyarchical system, whereby some areas like education, agriculture, infrastructure development, and local self-government became
SECTION 50
#17328728492149672-518: The 'Pakistan' demand was articulated, the dispute over the Sukkur Manzilgah had been fabricated by provincial Leaguers to unsettle Allah Bakhsh Soomro's ministry which was dependent on support from the Congress and Independent Party. Intended as a way station for Mughal troops on the move, the Manzilgah included a small mosque which had been subsequently abandoned. On a small island in the near distance
9858-437: The 1920s, being surrounded by Labour statesmen who were affiliated with Krishna Menon and the India League , and for years had supported it. He now took charge of the government position and gave the issue the highest priority. A Cabinet Mission was sent to India led by the Secretary of State for India, Lord Pethick Lawrence , which also included Sir Stafford Cripps , who had visited India four years before. The objective of
10044-727: The 1940s, the Muslim League had a United Kingdom chapter active in the British politics . After the establishment of Pakistan, the Pakistani community 's leaders took over the UK branch, choosing Zubeida Habib Rahimtoola as president of the party to continue to serve its purpose in the United Kingdom. At present, the Muslim League's UK branch is led by the PML-N , with Zubair Gull as its president. Partition of India The partition of India in 1947
10230-422: The 64 reserved Muslim seats. In the Muslim-majority regions of the Punjab and Bengal regional parties outperformed the League. In Punjab, the Unionist Party of Sikandar Hayat Khan , won the elections and formed a government, with the support of the Indian National Congress and the Shiromani Akali Dal , which lasted five years. In Bengal, the League had to share power in a coalition headed by A. K. Fazlul Huq ,
10416-401: The 85 Muslim seats and only two had been successful. One of those candidates, Raja Ghazanfar Ali Khan also deserted the Punjab Muslim League, so there was only one Successful candidate of Punjab Muslim League. On 23 February 1946, all the results of the elections were known and the Punjab Press reported with big headlines the crushing defeat of the Unionist party. Only 13 Muslims were elected on
10602-420: The AIML session at Bombay in April 1936. Fazl-i-Hussain declined the offer of Jinnah on account of his bad health, and calculating the advantages and disadvantages of his alliance with a purely Muslim Party, Fazl-i-Husain refused to oblige Mr. Jinnah. The Unionist Party leaders had decided to challenge the revival of the Punjab Muslim League and defeat Jinnah's efforts to put a new life into it. The Unionist Party
10788-521: The All-India Muslim League was formed, he established its powerful branch in the Punjab of which he became the general secretary. Shah Din was elected as its first president. This branch, organised in November 1907, was known as the Punjab Provincial Muslim League . In 1913, Muhammad Ali Jinnah joined the All-India Muslim League, and he was in favour of Hindu – Muslim working relationship like Fazl-i-Hussain, Maulana Muhammad Ali , Pir Taj-ud-Din, Khalifa Shuja-ud-Din and Zafar Ali Khan wanted to befriend
10974-419: The Allahabad address, Iqbal proposed a Muslim majority province within an Indian federation and not an independent state outside an Indian Federation. On 28 January 1933, Choudhary Rahmat Ali , founder of the Pakistan National Movement, voiced his ideas in the pamphlet entitled "Now or Never". In a subsequent book, he discussed the etymology in further detail: "'Pakistan' is both a Persian and an Urdu word. It
11160-416: The British and their allies were now in conflict with the Ottoman Empire, doubts began to increase among some Indian Muslims about the "religious neutrality" of the British, doubts that had already surfaced as a result of the reunification of Bengal in 1911, a decision that was seen as ill-disposed to Muslims. In the Lucknow Pact, the League joined the Congress in the proposal for greater self-government that
11346-587: The British government decided to end British Raj in India, and in early 1947 Britain announced its intention of transferring power no later than June 1948. Attlee wrote later in a memoir that he moved quickly to restart the self-rule process because he expected colonial rule in Asia to meet renewed opposition after the war from both nationalist movements and the United States, while his exchequer feared that post-war Britain could no longer afford to garrison an expansive empire. Labour Prime Minister Clement Attlee had been deeply interested in Indian independence since
SECTION 60
#173287284921411532-455: The British government. Prior to this, the main objective of the Muslim League was to preserve only Muslim interests. However, Muslim leaders from Punjab, led by Muhammad Shafi stood for the preservation of Muslim rights without alienating the sympathies of the British government and opposed the Lucknow Pact signed on 28 December 1916. Muhammad Shafi and his other conservative friends like Maulvi Rafi-ud-Din , Abdul Aziz and Syed Ali Raza opposed
11718-425: The Center weak. On 10 July 1946, Nehru gave a "provocative speech," rejected the idea of grouping the provinces and "effectively torpedoed" both the Cabinet mission plan and the prospect of a United India. After the Cabinet Mission broke down, in July 1946, Jinnah held a press conference at his home in Bombay. He proclaimed that the Muslim League was "preparing to launch a struggle" and that they "have chalked out
11904-420: The Congress and the League began to sour. In November 1930, when all the prominent leaders of APML including Muhammad Ali Jinnah were invited by the British Prime Minister, Ramsay McDonalds for the round table conference, Muhammad Iqbal was invited to give the presidential address of APML in Allahabad in which nothing new was proposed. Some scholars argued that "Iqbal never pleaded for any kind of partition of
12090-510: The Congress and the Muslim League. In 1926, Sir Muhammad Shafi's was elected as president, while Sir Muhammad Iqbal was elected as general secretary. It is worth mentioning that Sir Muhammad Iqbal was also elected as a member of Punjab Council in the same year and started his political innings in a tremendous manner. During the period between 1927 and 1930, Punjab Muslim League also opposed central All India Muslim League due to differences over Delhi proposals and boycott of Simon Commission . On
12276-400: The Congress itself rallied around the symbolism of Kali. It was not lost on many Muslims, for example, that the bande mataram rallying cry had first appeared in the novel Anandmath in which Hindus had battled their Muslim oppressors. Lastly, the Muslim elite, including Nawab of Dacca , Khwaja Salimullah , who hosted the League's first meeting in his mansion in Shahbag , were aware that
12462-430: The Imperial Council were granted in the Indian Councils Act after the League held protests in India and lobbied London. The draft proposals for the reforms communicated on 1 October 1908 provided Muslims with reserved seats in all councils, with nominations only being maintained in Punjab. The communication displayed how much the Government had accommodated Muslim demands and showed an increase in Muslim representation in
12648-414: The Imperial and provincial legislatures. But the Muslim League's demands were only fully met in UP and Madras. However, the Government did accept the idea of separate electorates. The idea had not been accepted by the Secretary of State, who proposed mixed electoral colleges, causing the Muslim League to agitate and the Muslim press to protest what they perceived to be a betrayal of the Viceroy's assurance to
12834-426: The Indian National Congress to attain self-government through constitutional means. In 1916, Muhammad Ali Jinnah , negotiated with the Indian National Congress to reach an agreement to pressure the British Government to have a more liberal approach to India and give Indians more authority to run their country. The Muslim League changed its major objective and decided to join hands with the Congress to put pressure on
13020-454: The Khaksars, Majlis-e-Itihad-e-Millat and the Ahrars pooled their resources to give Sir Sikander a very tough opposition. He and his party could no longer afford to be politically isolated and some sort of alliance with the Punjab Muslim League, no matter how loose it may be, was essential for the survival of Sikandar Ministry. He agreed to sign a pact with Jinnah called as Sikandar-Jinnah Pact. Sikandar Hayat Khan's motives remain unclear, but it
13206-459: The League leadership. This was successful. The Aga Khan compromised so that Muslims would have two more reserved seats in the Imperial Council. The Muslim League hesitantly accepted the compromise. Sultan Muhammad Shah (Aga Khan III) was appointed the first honorary president of the Muslim League, though he did not attend the Dhaka inaugural session. There were also six vice-presidents, a secretary, and two joint secretaries initially appointed for
13392-601: The Mahomedans and the Hindus — could sit on the same throne and remain equal in power? Most certainly not. It is necessary that one of them should conquer the other and thrust it down. To hope that both could remain equal is to desire the impossible and the inconceivable." In 1886, Sir Syed founded the Muhammadan Educational Conference , but a self-imposed ban prevented it from discussing politics. Its original goal
13578-570: The Muhammaden Educational Conference), in which they explained its objectives and stressed the unity of Muslims under the banner of an association. It was formally proposed by Nawab Salimullah Khan and supported by Hakim Ajmal Khan , Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar , Zafar Ali Khan , Syed Nabiullah , a barrister from Lucknow, Ibraheem Fazili and Syed Zahur Ahmad, an eminent lawyer, as well as several others. The Muslim League's insistence on separate electorates and reserved seats in
13764-697: The Muslim League only won 10 seats, whereas the Communist Party got 4 seats of the ten contested. The communists working with other parties had secured 22 additional seats, totalling 26. The right-wing Jamaat-e-Islami had completely failed in the elections. In 1955, the United Front named Abu Hussain Sarkar as the Chief Minister of the State and he ruled the state in two non-consecutive terms until 1958, when martial law
13950-420: The Muslim League was able to publicise its views widely. It claimed that Islam was threatened by Congress. "Pirs" and "Sajjada Nashin" helped the Muslim League to attract Muslim voters. By early 1946, the Muslim League had been able to secure the support of many leading families of Punjab and also eminent Pirs and Sajjada Nasheens. To give one example of his own area Khizr Hayat Tiwana faced strong opposition from
14136-424: The Muslim League was now free for the next three years to spread its message. Consequently, the Muslim League's ranks surged during the war, with Jinnah himself admitting, "The war which nobody welcomed proved to be a blessing in disguise." Although there were other important national Muslim politicians such as Congress leader Abul Kalam Azad , and influential regional Muslim politicians such as A. K. Fazlul Huq of
14322-582: The Muslim League, including Muhammad Ali Jinnah, issued no condemnation of the violence against Hindus and Sikhs in Punjab. After the partition of the British Indian Empire , the Muslim League played a major role in giving birth to modern conservatism in Pakistan and the introduction of the democratic process in the country. The Pakistani incarnation was originally led by the founder of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, and later by Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan , but suffered from ill-fate following
14508-476: The Muslim League, which functioned under state patronage, organized "Deliverance Day" celebrations (from Congress dominance) and supported Britain in the war effort. When Linlithgow met with nationalist leaders, he gave the same status to Jinnah as he did to Gandhi , and, a month later, described the Congress as a "Hindu organization." In March 1940, in the League's annual three-day session in Lahore , Jinnah gave
14694-548: The Muslim League. Late in 1946, the Labour government in Britain , its exchequer exhausted by the recently concluded World War II, decided to end British rule of India, with power being transferred no later than June 1948. With the British army unprepared for the potential for increased violence, the new viceroy, Louis Mountbatten , advanced the date, allowing less than six months for a mutually agreed plan for independence. In June 1947,
14880-426: The Muslim masses of future Hindu domination. The view that Muslims would be unfairly treated in an independent India dominated by the Congress was now a part of the public discourse of Muslims. With the outbreak of World War II in 1939, Lord Linlithgow , Viceroy of India , declared war on India's behalf without consulting Indian leaders, leading the Congress provincial ministries to resign in protest. By contrast
15066-476: The Muslim minority elites of provinces like UP and Bihar more than the Muslim majorities of Punjab and Bengal. At the time, the "Lucknow Pact" was an important milestone in nationalistic agitation and was seen so by the British. Secretary of State for India Montagu and Viceroy Lord Chelmsford presented a report in July 1918 after a long fact-finding trip through India the previous winter. After more discussion by
15252-567: The Muslim supporters of the Unionist party were trickling towards the Muslim League. Some leading Sajjada Nasheens and Pirs joined the Muslim League and later on they appealed to the Muslims to support the Muslim League's Pakistan Movement because by doing so they will be supporting the cause of Islam. On 21 August 1945 the viceroy announced that elections would be held that Winter to the Central and Provincial Legislative Assemblies. They were to precede
15438-467: The Muslims had been given enough while Morley was still not certain because of the pressure Muslims could apply on the government. The Muslim League's central committee once again demanded separate electorates and more representation on 12 September 1909. While Minto was opposed, Morley feared that the Bill would not pass parliament without the League's support and he once again discussed Muslim representation with
15624-443: The Muslims, at least of North-West India. It is important to note that Sir Muammad Iqbal did not use the word "Pakistan" in his address. According to some scholars, that Iqbal had not presented the idea of an autonomous Muslim State; rather he wanted a large Muslim province by amalgamating Punjab, Sindh, NWFP and Baluchistan into a big North-Western province within India. They argued that "Iqbal never pleaded for any kind of partition of
15810-460: The Pakistan cry to the Muslim masses. Peter Hardy's explained that the Muslim League gained its electoral success in the Punjab by making a religious appeal over the heads of the professional politicians. Pakistani historians have explained the League's success in the Punjab, as elsewhere in the subcontinent, solely in terms of the Two Nation Theory. Whatever the historians may suggest, one thing
15996-509: The Parliament. Unlike in West Punjab, not all of the Hindu population migrated to India, instead a large number stayed in the state. The influence of the Communist Party deepened, and its goal of attaining power was finally realised during the elections. The United Front , the Communist Party, and the Awami League returned to power, inflicting a severe defeat to the Muslim League. Out of 309,
16182-534: The Punjab Assembly. One of the winning candidates, Raja Ghazanfar Ali Khan deserted the PML as soon as the results were officially announced. The other winning candidate was an urban elite, brilliant and an academic lawyer Malik Barkat Ali Sir Fazl-i-Husain died in 1936, leaving the way clear for Sir Sikandar Hayat Khan to become the first chief minister of the Punjab under the newly introduced provincially autonomy under
16368-620: The Punjab Muslim League analysing that Iqbal was a poet-philosopher and Barket Ali had personal grievances against Sikandar; and that putting undue pressure on Sir Sikandar was not in the best interest of the Punjab Muslim League. The next biggest move by the Muslim League was passage of Lahore Resolution , in March 1940 which entailed the dismemberment of the Punjab and the division of India into Hindu and Muslim states. The Lahore resolution created many problems for Sikander and his successor Khizr Hayat Tiwana. The co-operation between PML and
16554-608: The Punjab and the UP arranged a very high position for the Unionist party's top brass, their allies and also for their nominees to assume a leading role in all the negotiations for constitutional advance in India at the Round Table Conferences in London in 1930s leading to the Government of India Act – 1935. The All India Muslim League had little to say in these negotiations and it was under these circumstances that Mr. Jinnah had to spend
16740-527: The Punjab's administration to revolt against the supporters of Muhammad Ali Jinnah on various important political developments from time to time. The revolt against Mr. Jinnah became very serious splitting the Punjab Muslim League into two groups – the Jinnah group and the Shafi group. These deep divisions had earlier been created with British support on the eve of the conclusion of the historic Lucknow Pact of 1916 between
16926-462: The Second World War. In August 1940, Lord Linlithgow proposed that India be granted dominion status after the war. Having not taken the Pakistan idea seriously, Linlithgow supposed that what Jinnah wanted was a non-federal arrangement without Hindu domination. To allay Muslim fears of Hindu domination, the "August Offer" was accompanied by the promise that a future constitution would consider
17112-560: The Simla deputation. On 23 February Morley told the House of Lords that Muslims demanded separate representation and accepted them. This was the League's first victory. But the Indian Councils Bill did not fully satisfy the demands of the Muslim League. It was based on the October 1908 communique in which Muslims were only given a few reserved seats. The Muslim League's London branch opposed
17298-477: The Unionist Party held on to the support of Muslim rural elites during the 1946 Punjab Provincial Assembly Election. The Muslim Lanlords and Pirs joined the Muslim League before the 1946 election, without its victory in Punjab in that election", Talbot asserts, "the Muslim League would not have gotten Pakistan". Penderel Moon simply attributes the League's rise to power to the alluring and irresistible appeal of
17484-528: The Unionist therefore did not last long because Sir Sikander once again tried to sail into two boats. However his dual loyalty was tolerated by the League leadership and no strict action was taken against him. Khizr was appointed chief minister of Punjab because of his family's deep loyalty to the British. When he was considered for the chief ministership, there were eminent and experienced politicians available; they were Nawab Muzaffar Ali Khan, Nawab Sir Liaqat Hayat Khan and Malik Sir Feroz Khan Noon . However,
17670-405: The Unionist ticket, even some of their minister lost their securities in the elections. The Muslim League won a grand victory by capturing 73 seats of a total of 86. Even at this stage, the Congress was all out to install a Unionist ministry to keep the Muslim League out of power. The 1946 elections proved to be turning point in the history of the Punjab Muslim League. In the 1946 election campaign,
17856-407: The act of 1935. Sir Sikander was the strongest chief minister in India getting the support of 95 out of 175 members of the Punjab Assembly. He laid the foundation of the strongest pro-government ministry in the Punjab. Contrary to his expectations, the Congress party soon after resuming power in India made Sir Sikandar's life extremely difficult in the Punjab. The Punjab Congress and their allies like
18042-408: The actual reorganisation started in 1936 to contest the upcoming elections a year later. According to Khurram Mahmood, if we observe only Punjab as being a Muslim majority province, there was no support for Muslim League, of any type from rural areas except some limited urban circles. Therefore, to secure the support of Muslim masses, Jinnah comprehended that it was essential to reorganise PPML. Jinnah
18228-576: The all-Indian Muslim political party was taken and further proceedings were adjourned until the next meeting of the All India Muhammadan Educational Conference. The Simla Deputation reconsidered the issue in October 1906 and decided to frame the objectives of the party on the occasion of the annual meeting of the Educational Conference, which was scheduled to be held in Dhaka. Meanwhile, Nawab Salimullah Khan published
18414-561: The background. At this point in time, both the British administration and the Congress party were happy that in their opinion, Mr. Jinnah could no longer represent the Muslims of British India. The All India Muslim Conference with official patronage emerged as a political organisation under the leadership of Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah Aga Khan to represent the Muslims opinion in India replacing the All India Muslim League with all practical purposes. Nehru Report (1928) not only worsened
18600-421: The bill and in a debate obtained the support of several parliamentarians. In 1909 the members of the Muslim League organised a Muslim protest. The Reforms Committee of Minto's council believed that Muslims had a point and advised Minto to discuss with some Muslim leaders. The Government offered a few more seats to Muslims in compromise but would not agree to fully satisfy the League's demand. Minto believed that
18786-524: The central and provincial legislatures. The Muslim League favoured this "communal award" as it had the potential to weaken the Hindu caste leadership. Mahatma Gandhi , who was seen as a leading advocate for Dalit rights, went on a fast to persuade the British to repeal these separate electorates. Ambedkar had to back down when it seemed Gandhi's life was threatened. Two years later, the Government of India Act 1935 introduced provincial autonomy, increasing
18972-646: The concept of a partition of India; while he was doing this, members of the pro-separatist Muslim League attacked Madani and disturbed his rallies. The murder of the All India Azad Muslim Conference leader Allah Bakhsh Soomro in 1943 further solidified the All-India Muslim League to demand the creation of Pakistan. From the late 1930s and onwards in the British Indian province of Sind , communal tensions between Muslims and Hindus rose to enormous degree. These communal feelings were instrumental in
19158-416: The convention of a constitution-making body for British India. The Muslim League had to succeed in this crucial test if its popular support of its demand for Pakistan was to be credible. In particular it had to succeed in the Punjab as there could be no Pakistan without that province. But in the Punjab's last elections held in 1937 the League had fared disastrously. It had put forward a mere seven candidates for
19344-531: The cooperation between the All-India Muslim League and the Indian National Congress, on the grounds that it would sacrifice the Muslim majority in provinces of Punjab and Bengal. He wanted to stress the separate Muslim entity and refused to give up his thinking, which according to him was the very blood of the Muslim nation. According to S. Qalb-i-Abid the conservative leaders in the Punjab Muslim League under Sir Muhammad Shafi's leadership were advised by
19530-402: The country. Rather he was an ardent proponent of a 'true' federal setup for India..., and wanted a consolidated Muslim majority within the Indian Federation". Another Indian historian, Tara Chand , also held that Iqbal was not thinking in terms of partition of India, but in terms of a federation of autonomous states within India. Dr. Safdar Mehmood also asserted in a series of articles that in
19716-521: The country. Rather he was an ardent proponent of a 'true' federal setup for India..., and wanted a consolidated Muslim majority within the Indian Federation". Another Indian historian Tara Chand also held that Iqbal was not thinking in terms of independence but in terms of a federation of autonomous states within India. Dr. Safdar Mehmood also fell a prey to the same misconception and in a series of articles he asserted that in Allahabad address Iqbal proposed
19902-469: The course of conversation, Iqbal told him that he had advocated Pakistan because of his position as president of Muslim League session, but he felt sure that it would be injurious to India as a whole and to Muslims especially." Sir Muhammad Iqbal disapproved the scheme of Ch. rahmat Ali because there were seven or eight other imaginary and utopian ‘…stans’ linked with this scheme. He wrote to Prof. Edward John Thompson of Oxford University, that You call me
20088-604: The descendants of Pirs and sajjada Nashins. In district Shahpur, Khwaja Qamar ul Din Sialvi , Qazi Zafar Hussain , and Qazi Mazhar Qayyum gave tough competition to Tiwanas. Khwaja Qamar ul Din Sialvi of Sial Sharif , a descendant of great pir Khawaja Sham-ud-Din was president of District Shahpur Muslim League. He was very influential in his region. Likewise Qazis of Soon Valley and descendants of Sufi Qazi Mian Muhammad Amjad commanded great respect in their areas. They appealed to their people to vote against Tiwanas. With regard to
20274-473: The disemboweling of pregnant women, the slamming of babies' heads against brick walls, the cutting off of the victim's limbs and genitalia, and the displaying of heads and corpses. While previous communal riots had been deadly, the scale and level of brutality during the Partition massacres were unprecedented. Although some scholars question the use of the term ' genocide ' concerning the partition massacres, much of
20460-428: The displacement of any of its inhabitants, whether they were Sikhs or Hindus. The theory is also a source of inspiration to several Hindu nationalist organizations, with causes as varied as the redefinition of Indian Muslims as non-Indian foreigners and second-class citizens in India, the expulsion of all Muslims from India , the establishment of a legally Hindu state in India, prohibition of conversions to Islam , and
20646-736: The division of the British Indian Army , the Royal Indian Navy , the Indian Civil Service , the railways , and the central treasury, between the two new dominions. The partition was set forth in the Indian Independence Act 1947 and resulted in the dissolution of the British Raj , or Crown rule in India . The two self-governing countries of India and Pakistan legally came into existence at midnight on 14–15 August 1947. The partition displaced between 10–12 million people along religious lines, creating overwhelming refugee crises in
20832-455: The end of 1933, the word "Pakistan" became common vocabulary where an “I” was added to ease pronunciation (as in Afghan-i-stan). In a subsequent book Rehmat Ali discussed the etymology in further detail. "Pakistan' is both a Persian and an Urdu word. It is composed of letters taken from the names of all our South Asia homelands; that is, Punjab, Afghania, Kashmir, Sindh and Balochistan. It means
21018-479: The exertion of religious influence over the people, and their father Qazi Mian Muhammad Amjad. According to SARAH F. D. ANSARI, the Sajjada Nashin or Pir families were not so rich in terms of land as the great land lords of Punjab but these Sajjada Nashin or Pir families exerted great political and religious influence over the people. According to Ayesha Jalal, David Gimartin believes that a number of pirs developed
21204-619: The form of the 1946 elections with the Congress winning 91 percent of the vote among non-Muslim constituencies, thereby gaining a majority in the Central Legislature and forming governments in eight provinces, and becoming the legitimate successor to the British government for most Hindus. If the British intended to stay in India the acquiescence of politically active Indians to British rule would have been in doubt after these election results, although many rural Indians may still have acquiesced to British rule at this time. The Muslim League won
21390-643: The government and parliament in Britain, and another tour by the Franchise and Functions Committee to identify who among the Indian population could vote in future elections, the Government of India Act of 1919 (also known as the Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms ) was passed in December 1919. The new Act enlarged both the provincial and Imperial legislative councils and repealed the Government of India's recourse to
21576-425: The governor perhaps preferred Khizr because he was expected to rely more on his advice. When Khizr committed many political blunders and adopted anti-Muslim League policies, the alliance between the two parties came to an end. The Muslim supporters of Unionist party were therefore advised by the Muslim League to divorce themselves from the Unionist Party and join the Muslim League ranks as early as possible. Thereafter
21762-400: The growth the PML at all levels and both Barkat Ali and Iqbal also recommended the rupture of Sikandar-Jinnah alliance and punish the Punjab Premier. Iqbal died in 1938 and Sir Shahnawaz Mamdot who was a personal friend of Sir Sikandar Hayat Khan, became the Punjab Muslim League leader. The Nawab due to his connections with the British administrators and also due to his friendship with Sikander
21948-519: The infamous trial of three senior officers − Shah Nawaz Khan , Prem Sahgal , and Gurubaksh Singh Dhillon − of Subhas Chandra Bose 's defeated Indian National Army (INA) who stood accused of treason . Now as the trials began, the Congress leadership, although having never supported the INA, chose to defend the accused officers and successfully rescued the INA members. British rule had lost its legitimacy for most Hindus, and conclusive proof of this came in
22134-479: The interests of their communities they represent were identical with those of the British government. In 1924, the Punjab Unionist party was established to follow this policy as a role model among of course other objectives such as to protect the interest of the landed classes. In 1934, Jinnah returned to India with a new mission and a new vision to revive the Muslim League at centre and provincial levels. However,
22320-520: The land of the Pure". According to some scholars, "Rehmat Ali’s concept of Pakistan was nebulous, impractical and fantasy-ridden. It was to include the entire northwest of India, Kashmir, the Kathiawar peninsula, Kutch, and several enclaves deep within UP, including Delhi and Lucknow. There were to be two independent Muslim states besides Pakistan: Bangistan comprising Bengal and Assam in the east and Osmanistan in
22506-465: The last two issues, Mr. Jinnah was sincerely trying to find a solution of ever-increasing communalism in Indian politics and at the same time he was trying to establish a common front for the freedom of India. But the Punjabi group of politicians with the support of British administration in India, engineered a coup d'état against Mr. Jinnah's leadership and successfully relegated the All India Muslim League to
22692-472: The leader of the Krishak Praja Party . The Congress, on the other hand, with 716 wins in the total of 1585 provincial assemblies seats, was able to form governments in 7 out of the 11 provinces of British India . In its manifesto, Congress maintained that religious issues were of lesser importance to the masses than economic and social issues. The election revealed that it had contested just 58 out of
22878-571: The leaders of the Indian National Congress , it would lead to calls for greater self-government for Indians. The 1916 Lucknow Session of the Congress was also the venue of an unanticipated mutual effort by the Congress and the Muslim League, the occasion for which was provided by the wartime partnership between Germany and Turkey. Since the Ottoman Sultan, also held guardianship of the Islamic holy sites of Mecca , Medina , and Jerusalem , and, since
23064-488: The leadership began mobilising the Muslim masses, which turned the league into a popular organization. The Muslim League played a decisive role in the 1940s, becoming a driving force behind the division of India along religious lines and the creation of Pakistan as a Muslim state in 1947. After the Partition of India and the establishment of Pakistan, the All-India Muslim League was formally disbanded in India. The League
23250-588: The leftist Krishak Praja Party in Bengal, Sikander Hyat Khan of the landlord-dominated Punjab Unionist Party , and Abd al-Ghaffar Khan of the pro-Congress Khudai Khidmatgar (popularly, "red shirts") in the North West Frontier Province , the British were to increasingly see the League as the main representative of Muslim India. The Muslim League's demand for Pakistan pitted it against the British and Congress. The 1945 United Kingdom general election
23436-400: The main: the Hindus and the Muslims, in India". Muhammad Ali Jinnah undertook the ideology that religion is the determining factor in defining the nationality of Indian Muslims in 1940. He termed it as the awakening of Muslims for the creation of Pakistan. However, Jinnah opposed Partition of Punjab and Bengal, and advocated for the integration of all Punjab and Bengal into Pakistan without
23622-461: The majority of the Muslim vote as well as most reserved Muslim seats in the provincial assemblies, and it also secured all the Muslim seats in the Central Assembly. Recovering from its performance in the 1937 elections, the Muslim League was finally able to make good on the claim that it and Jinnah alone represented India's Muslims and Jinnah quickly interpreted this vote as a popular demand for
23808-572: The master race he called “The Paks”, and yes, the subcontinent was to be renamed Dinia. He did not say how he was going to bring all that about." The British and the Indian Press vehemently criticised these two different schemes and created a confusion about the authorship of the word "Pakistan" to such an extent that even Jawahur Lal Nehru had to write: ""Iqbal was one of the early advocates of Pakistan and yet he appears to have realised its inherent danger and absurdity. Edward Thompson has written that in
23994-411: The meddles – Jinnah might burn his fingers'. His successor Malik Khizar Hayat Tiwana refused to alienate the Unionist Party's Hindu and Sikh supporters, and was opposed to the partition of India as well. As anticipated, in the 1937 elections the Unionist party was able to win a heavy mandate of the Muslims of the Punjab. On the other hand, the Punjab Muslim League was able to win only two seats in
24180-415: The ministry would turn a blind eye to any action they unleashed in the city." That very evening, in Calcutta, Hindus were attacked by returning Muslim celebrants, who carried pamphlets distributed earlier which showed a clear connection between violence and the demand for Pakistan, and directly implicated the celebration of Direct Action Day with the outbreak of the cycle of violence that would later be called
24366-460: The mission was to arrange for an orderly transfer to independence. In February 1946, mutinies broke out in the armed services, starting with RAF servicemen frustrated with their slow repatriation to Britain. These mutinies failed to turn into revolutions as the mutineers surrendered after the Congress and the Muslim League convinced the mutineers that they won't get victimised. In early 1946, new elections were held in India. This coincided with
24552-592: The national level, they constituted only 10% of the total adult male population, many of whom were still illiterate. In the provincial legislatures, the British continued to exercise some control by setting aside seats for special interests they considered cooperative or useful. In particular, rural candidates, generally sympathetic to British rule and less confrontational, were assigned more seats than their urban counterparts. Seats were also reserved for non- Brahmins , landowners, businessmen, and college graduates. The principle of "communal representation," an integral part of
24738-482: The nationalist leaders, including Nehru , Valllabh Bhai Patel and J B Kripalini on behalf of the Congress, Jinnah, Liaqat Ali Khan, and Abdul Rab Nishtar representing the Muslim League, and Master Tara Singh representing the Sikhs , agreed to a partition of the country in stark opposition to Gandhi's opposition to partition. The predominantly Hindu and Sikh areas were assigned to the new India and predominantly Muslim areas to
24924-525: The new nation of Pakistan; the plan included a partition of the Muslim-majority provinces of Punjab and Bengal. The communal violence that accompanied the publication of the Radcliffe Line , the line of partition, was even more horrific. Describing the violence that accompanied the partition of India, historians Ian Talbot and Gurharpal Singh wrote: There are numerous eyewitness accounts of the maiming and mutilation of victims. The catalogue of horrors includes
25110-417: The newly constituted dominions; there was large-scale violence, with estimates of loss of life accompanying or preceding the partition disputed and varying between several hundred thousand and two million. The violent nature of the partition created an atmosphere of hostility and suspicion between India and Pakistan that plagues their relationship to the present. The term partition of India does not cover
25296-485: The number of voters in India to 35 million. More significantly, law and order issues were for the first time devolved from British authority to provincial governments headed by Indians. This increased Muslim anxieties about eventual Hindu domination. In the 1937 Indian provincial elections , the Muslim League turned out its best performance in Muslim-minority provinces such as the United Provinces , where it won 29 of
25482-419: The offer, seeing this clause as insufficient in meeting the principle of Pakistan. As a result of that proviso, the proposals were also rejected by the Congress, which, since its founding as a polite group of lawyers in 1885, saw itself as the representative of all Indians of all faiths. After the arrival in 1920 of Gandhi, the pre-eminent strategist of Indian nationalism, the Congress had been transformed into
25668-485: The office of prime minister . Mountbatten remained in New Delhi for 10 months, serving as the first governor-general of an independent India until June 1948. Gandhi remained in Bengal to work with the new refugees from the partitioned subcontinent. At a press conference on 3 June 1947, Lord Mountbatten announced the date of independence – 14 August 1947 – and also outlined the actual division of British India between
25854-415: The official writing system of the colony, and demanded that India turn into a de facto unitary state, with residuary powers resting at the centre – the League had demanded at least one-third representation in the legislature and sizeable autonomy for the Muslim provinces. Jinnah reported a "parting of the ways" after his requests for minor amendments to the proposal were denied outright, and relations between
26040-440: The political situation but also ended the hopes of any future rapprochement between Hindus and the Muslims. It had left no alternatives for Muslims except to think in terms of separation from Indian federation and to ask for division of India. Due to this report, both Punjab Muslim League and All India Muslim League forgot their difference and the Muslim leaders took almost identical position on various issues The British governor of
26226-548: The popularity of the All India Muslim League throughout the province. Even though the Muslims made up about 70% of the population of Sindh, they had a bare majority (34 of 60 seats) in the Assembly. Furthermore, before the British took over, the Sindhi Hindus didn't own any land but within a century of British rule, their landownership grew by 40% while a further 20% was believed to have been mortgaged to them. The inter-faith conflict
26412-438: The preserve of Indian ministers and legislatures, and ultimately the Indian electorates, while others like irrigation, land-revenue, police, prisons, and control of media remained within the purview of the British governor and his executive council. The new Act also made it easier for Indians to be admitted into the civil service and the army officer corps. A greater number of Indians were now enfranchised, although, for voting at
26598-645: The professional's contempt for the amateur's mistake of showing his hand without holding the trumps. In the meantime, the British Government and Punjab administration was able to create a very dedicated class of loyal supporters of the British raj among the Punjab Muslims, (represented by the Unionist Party) the Sikhs and the followers of Hindu Mahasabha. This loyalist class seriously and most sincerely believed that
26784-704: The promotion of conversions or reconversions of Indian Muslims to Hinduism. There are varying interpretations of the two-nation theory, based on whether the two postulated nationalities can coexist in one territory or not, with radically different implications. One interpretation argued for sovereign autonomy, including the right to secede, for Muslim-majority areas of the Indian subcontinent, but without any transfer of populations (i.e., Hindus and Muslims would continue to live together). A different interpretation contends that Hindus and Muslims constitute "two distinct and frequently antagonistic ways of life and that therefore they cannot coexist in one nation." In this version,
26970-640: The provincial level, though restricted by the still limited number of eligible voters, by the small budgets available to provincial legislatures, and by the presence of rural and special interest seats that were seen as instruments of British control. The two-nation theory is the assertion, based on the former Indian Muslim ruling class' sense of being culturally and historically distinct, that Indian Hindus and Muslims are two distinct nations . It argued that religion resulted in cultural and social differences between Muslims and Hindus. While some professional Muslim Indian politicians used it to secure or safeguard
27156-460: The purpose of welcoming Muslims back to the Hindu fold. In the United Provinces , Muslims became anxious in the late-19th century as Hindu political representation increased, and Hindus were politically mobilized in the Hindi–Urdu controversy and the anti-cow-killing riots of 1893. In 1905, Muslim fears grew when Tilak and Lajpat Rai attempted to rise to leadership positions in the Congress, and
27342-473: The restoration of the mosque to Muslims had passed, the League started an agitation. In the few years before the partition, the Muslim League was accused of "monetarily subsidizing" mobs that engaged in communal violence against Hindus and Sikhs in the areas of Multan, Rawalpindi, Campbellpur, Jhelum and Sargodha, as well as in the Hazara District . The Muslim League led mobs reportedly paid assassins money for every Hindu and Sikh killed. As such, leaders of
27528-413: The sitting Chief Minister of Bengal A. K. Fazlul Huq , was adopted on 23 March 1940, and its principles formed the foundation for Pakistan's first constitution. In the Indian provincial elections of 1946, the Muslim League won 425 out of 476 seats reserved for Muslims (and about 89.2% of Muslim votes) on a policy of creating the independent state of Pakistan, and with an implied threat of secession if this
27714-400: The south. These two were to form a federation with Pakistan. The 243 principalities or Rajwaras were to be divided among caste Hindus and “others” and then herded together in a ghetto called Hanoodia. As for the Sikhs, they were to be pushed into an enclave called Sikhia. Other races and religions were to inhabit an encampment by the name of Hanadika. Every non-Muslim was to remain subservient to
27900-620: The subcontinent which are true nations and deserving of sovereignty ; the Baloch have presented this view, Sindhi , and Pashtun sub-nationalities of Pakistan and the Assamese and Punjabi sub-nationalities of India. In 1933, Choudhry Rahmat Ali had produced a pamphlet, entitled Now or Never , in which the term Pakistan , 'land of the pure,' comprising the Punjab , North West Frontier Province (Afghania) , Kashmir , Sindh , and Balochistan ,
28086-548: The successive periods of Pakistan, the Pakistan Muslim League went on to be one of the ruling parties holding alternating power within the nation. After the partition of India in 1947, the All-India Muslim League was disbanded. It was succeeded by Indian Union Muslim League in the new India. Indian Union Muslim League contests Indian General Elections under the Indian Constitution. The party has always had
28272-547: The supposed merits of the Cabinet Mission Plan. Except for a few honourable exceptions, Muslim officials from the top down to the chaprasis ( peons or servants) are working for the League. The communal veto given to the League in the Mission Plan would have blocked India's progress at every stage. Whether we like it or not, de facto Pakistan already exists in the Punjab and Bengal. Under the circumstances, I would prefer
28458-519: The task to oversee British India's independence by 30 June 1948, with the instruction to avoid partition and preserve a united India, but with adaptable authority to ensure a British withdrawal with minimal setbacks. Mountbatten hoped to revive the Cabinet Mission scheme for a federal arrangement for India. But despite his initial keenness for preserving the centre, the tense communal situation caused him to conclude that partition had become necessary for
28644-418: The third grouping would be made up of the predominantly Hindu regions. The provinces would be autonomous, but the centre would retain control over the defence, foreign affairs, and communications. Though the proposals did not offer independent Pakistan, the Muslim League accepted the proposals. Even though the unity of India would have been preserved, the Congress leaders, especially Nehru, believed it would leave
28830-694: The threat of civil war. At the All India Congress Committee meeting called to vote on the proposal, Patel said: I fully appreciate the fears of our brothers from [the Muslim-majority areas]. Nobody likes the division of India, and my heart is heavy. But the choice is between one division and many divisions. We must face facts. We cannot give way to emotionalism and sentimentality. The Working Committee has not acted out of fear. But I am afraid of one thing, that all our toil and hard work of these many years might go waste or prove unfruitful. My nine months in office have completely disillusioned me regarding
29016-502: The time of the partition. It does not cover the incorporation of the enclaves of French India into India during the period 1947–1954, nor the annexation of Goa and other districts of Portuguese India by India in 1961. Other contemporaneous political entities in the region in 1947, Sikkim , Bhutan , Nepal , and the Maldives were unaffected by the partition. In 1905, during his second term as viceroy of India , Lord Curzon divided
29202-407: The total 482 Muslim seats, and of these, it won in only 26. In UP, where the Congress won, it offered to share power with the League on condition that the League stops functioning as a representative only of Muslims, which the League refused. This proved to be a mistake as it alienated Congress further from the Muslim masses. Besides, the new UP provincial administration promulgated cow protection and
29388-475: The total population, reflecting both their status as former rulers and their record of cooperating with the British. This would result in the founding of the All-India Muslim League in Dacca in December 1906. Although Curzon by now had returned to England following his resignation over a dispute with his military chief, Lord Kitchener , the League was in favor of his partition plan. The Muslim elite's position, which
29574-489: The two new dominions in what became known as the "Mountbatten Plan" or the "3 June Plan". The plan's main points were: The Indian political leaders had accepted the Plan on 2 June. It could not deal with the question of the princely states , which were not British possessions, but on 3 June Mountbatten advised them against remaining independent and urged them to join one of the two new Dominions. The Muslim League 's demands for
29760-461: The use of Hindi. The Muslim elite in UP was further alienated, when they saw chaotic scenes of the new Congress Raj, in which rural people who sometimes turned up in large numbers in government buildings, were indistinguishable from the administrators and the law enforcement personnel. The Muslim League conducted its investigation into the conditions of Muslims under Congress-governed provinces. The findings of such investigations increased fear among
29946-665: The views of minorities. Neither the Congress nor the Muslim League were satisfied with the offer, and both rejected it in September. The Congress once again started a program of civil disobedience . In March 1942, with the Japanese fast moving up the Malayan Peninsula after the Fall of Singapore , and with the Americans supporting independence for India, Winston Churchill , then Britain's prime minister, sent Sir Stafford Cripps , leader of
30132-672: The violence was manifested with genocidal tendencies. It was designed to cleanse an existing generation and prevent its future reproduction." Mountbatten administered the independence oath to Jinnah on the 14th, before leaving for India where the oath was scheduled on the midnight of the 15th. On 14 August 1947, the new Dominion of Pakistan came into being, with Muhammad Ali Jinnah sworn in as its first Governor-General in Karachi . The following day, 15 August 1947, India, now Dominion of India , became an independent country, with official ceremonies taking place in New Delhi , Jawaharlal Nehru assuming
30318-618: The whole people of this country — ought to pursue in political matters. I will treat in regular sequence of the political questions of India, in order that you may have full opportunity of giving your attention to them. The first of all is this — In whose hands shall the administration and the Empire of India rest? Now, suppose that all English, and the whole English army, were to leave India, taking with them all their cannon and their splendid weapons and everything, then who would be rulers of India? Is it possible that under these circumstances two nations —
30504-533: The world both in newsprint and by the new medium of the radio. India's international profile would thereby rise and would continue to rise during the 1920s. It was to lead, among other things, to India, under its name, becoming a founding member of the League of Nations in 1920 and participating, under the name, "Les Indes Anglaises" (British India), in the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp . Back in India, especially among
30690-599: Was a lack of uniform political voice by the League during the 1938–1939 Madhe Sahaba riots in Lucknow. From 1937 onwards, the Muslim League and Jinnah attracted large crowds throughout India in its processions and strikes. At a League conference in Lahore in 1940, Jinnah said: Hindus and Muslims belong to two different religious philosophies, social customs, literature... It is quite clear that Hindus and Mussalmans derive their inspiration from different sources of history. They have different epics, different heroes and different episodes ... To yoke together two such nations under
30876-501: Was about five times than the attendance at the League meeting." The All-India Muslim League worked to try to silence those Muslims who stood against the partition of India, often using "intimidation and coercion". For example, Deobandi scholar Maulana Syed Husain Ahmad Madani traveled across British India, spreading the idea he wrote about in his book, Composite Nationalism and Islam , which stood for Hindu-Muslim unity and opposed
31062-473: Was at large connected to the peculiar socio economic order in which the Hindus in Sind dominated with their high socioeconomic status, while the Muslims remained marginalized. The historian Ayesha Jalal describes the actions that the pro-separatist Muslim League used in order to further spread communal division and undermine the elected government of Allah Bakhsh Soomro, which stood for a united India: Even before
31248-503: Was campaigned for by Tilak and his supporters; in return, the Congress accepted separate electorates for Muslims in the provincial legislatures as well as the Imperial Legislative Council. In 1916, the Muslim League had anywhere between 500 and 800 members and did not yet have its wider following among Indian Muslims of later years; in the League itself, the pact did not have unanimous backing, having largely been negotiated by
31434-410: Was coined for the first time. It did not attract political attention and, a little later, a Muslim delegation to the Parliamentary Committee on Indian Constitutional Reforms gave short shrift to the idea of Pakistan, calling it "chimerical and impracticable." In 1932, British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald accepted Ambedkar 's demand for the " Depressed Classes " to have separate representation in
31620-613: Was formed, which continues to have a presence in the Indian parliament to this day. With the sincere efforts by the pioneers of the Congress to attract Muslims to their sessions, the majority of the Islamic leadership, with the exception of few scholars (like Sir Syed Ahmed Khan and Syed Ameer Ali who focused more on Islamic education and scientific developments), rejected the notion that India has two distinct communities to be represented separately in Congress sessions. Syed Ahmad Khan , in 1888, at Meerut, said, "After this long preface I wish to explain what method my nation — nay, rather
31806-401: Was imposed. The Muslim League remained as a minor party in East Pakistan but participated with full rigour during the Pakistan general elections in 1970. It won 10 seats from East Pakistan and 7 seats from other parts of Pakistan. After the independence of Bangladesh, the Muslim League was revived in 1976 but its size was reduced, rendering it insignificant in the political arena. During
31992-447: Was leased out to Muslim peasants in East Bengal, protested strongly. The large Bengali-Hindu middle-class (the Bhadralok ), upset at the prospect of Bengalis being outnumbered in the new Bengal province by Biharis and Oriyas , felt that Curzon's act was punishment for their political assertiveness . The pervasive protests against Curzon's decision predominantly took the form of the Swadeshi ('buy Indian') campaign, involving
32178-506: Was much concerned about the future of League in Punjab, because being a Muslim majority province it held a significant position in his eyes. As far as the re-organization of League was concerned, it was a long-term plan and could take several years, but election was due shortly. Therefore, Jinnah decided to co-opt with Unionist Party. For him it was the best solution as a short cut to the successful rebirth of Punjab Muslim League. He requested Fazl-i-Hussain, president of Unionist Party to preside
32364-483: Was not confined to the public sphere, but homes were entered and destroyed, and women and children were attacked. Although the Government of India and the Congress were both shaken by the course of events, in September, a Congress-led interim government was installed, with Jawaharlal Nehru as united India's prime minister. The communal violence spread to Bihar (where Hindus attacked Muslims), to Noakhali in Bengal (where Muslims targeted Hindus), to Garhmukteshwar in
32550-407: Was not granted. Congress, led by Gandhi and Nehru, remained adamantly opposed to dividing India . In opposition to the Lahore Resolution, the All India Azad Muslim Conference gathered in Delhi in April 1940 to voice its support for a united India. Its members included several Islamic organisations in India, as well as 1400 nationalist Muslim delegates; the "attendance at the Nationalist meeting
32736-408: Was not in favour of severing links with the Unionist party. Moreover, it seems that Jinnah would have made his own calculations that at least for the time being playing for time was the best policy in dealing with Sir Sikandar Hayat's policies based on maintaining the status quo model in Punjab politics. Muhammad Ali Jinnah was a man of vision and farsightedness and he fully understood the limitations of
32922-412: Was officially succeeded by the Pakistan Muslim League , which eventually split into several political parties . Other groups diminished to a minor party, that too only in Kerala state of India. In Bangladesh , the Muslim League was revived in 1976, but it was reduced in size, rendering it insignificant in the political arena. In India, a separate independent entity called the Indian Union Muslim League
33108-541: Was one of the early advocates of Pakistan and yet he appears to have realised its inherent danger and absurdity. Edward Thompson has written that in the course of a conversation, Iqbal told him that he had advocated Pakistan because of his position as President of Muslim League session, but he felt sure that it would be injurious to India as a whole and to Muslims especially. Until 1937, the Muslim League had remained an organisation of elite Indian Muslims. The Muslim League leadership then began mass mobilisation and it then became
33294-409: Was reflected in the League's position, had crystallized gradually over the previous three decades, beginning with the 1871 Census of British India , which had first estimated the populations in regions of Muslim majority. For his part, Curzon's desire to court the Muslims of East Bengal had arisen from British anxieties ever since the 1871 census, and in light of the history of Muslims fighting them in
33480-541: Was rejected by the Congress leaders, who favoured a united India based on composite national identity. Congress at all times rejected "communalism" — that is, basing politics on religious identity. Iqbal's policy of uniting the North-West Frontier Province, Baluchistan, Punjab, and Sindh into a new Muslim majority state became part of the League's political platform. The League rejected the Committee report (the Nehru Report ), arguing that it gave too little representation (only one quarter) to Muslims, established Devanagari as
33666-433: Was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan . The Union of India is today the Republic of India and Dominion of Pakistan, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the People's Republic of Bangladesh . The partition involved the division of two provinces, Bengal and the Punjab , based on district-wise Hindu or Muslim majorities. It also involved
33852-423: Was the imperial capital, both the outrage and the slogan soon became known nationally. The overwhelming, predominantly-Hindu protest against the partition of Bengal, along with the fear of reforms favouring the Hindu majority, led the Muslim elite of India in 1906 to the new viceroy Lord Minto , asking for separate electorates for Muslims. In conjunction, they demanded representation in proportion to their share of
34038-545: Was the in-charge of the corridors of the powers in the Punjab and therefore, their leaders were in the driving seats. Private papers, letters and correspondence to and from the Unionist leaders indicated that they had made plans to keep the Punjab Muslim League out of politics and to keep the Punjab Muslims away from the activities of the Punjab Muslim League under the leadership of Allama Muhammad Iqbal. Sir Sikandar Hayat Khan , who later became Punjab's chief minister advised Jinnah to keep his finger 'out of Punjab pie' – 'and if
34224-417: Was the temple of Saad Bela, sacred space for the large number of Hindus settled on the banks of the Indus at Sukkur. The symbolic convergence of the identity and sovereignty over a forgotten mosque provided ammunition for those seeking office at the provincial level. Making an issue out of a non-issue, the Sind Muslim League in early June 1939 formally reclaimed the mosque. Once its deadline of 1 October 1939 for
34410-429: Was to advocate for British education, especially science and literature , among India's Muslims . The conference, in addition to generating funds for Sir Syed 's Aligarh Muslim University , motivated the Muslim upper class to propose an expansion of educational uplift elsewhere, known as the Aligarh Movement . In turn, this new awareness of Muslim needs helped stimulate a political consciousness among Muslim elites, For
34596-440: Was won by the Labour Party . A government headed by Clement Attlee , with Stafford Cripps and Lord Pethick-Lawrence in the Cabinet, was sworn in. Many in the new government, including Attlee, had a long history of supporting the decolonization of India. The government's exchequer had been exhausted by the Second World War and the British public did not appear to be enthusiastic about costly distant involvements. Late in 1945,
#213786