AIMLCS

All India Muslim League
Centenary Souvenir
Syed Sharifuddin Pirzada
Nazaria-i-Pakistan Trust
1906-2006
All India Muslim League
Centenary Souvenir
1906-2006
Writer : Syed Sharifuddin Pirzada
Publisher : Nazaria-i-Pakistan Trust
Printer : Nazaria-i-Pakistan Printers
First Edition : August 2008
Copies : 1000
Printed at: Nazaria-i-Pakistan Printers,
10-Multan Road, Lahore. Ph: 37466975
Aiwan-i-Karkunan-i-Tehreek-i-Pakistan,
Madar-i-Millat Park, 100-Shahrah-i-Quaid-i-Azam, Lahore.
Web: www.nazariapak.info
Ph. 99201213-99201214 Fax. 99202930 E-mail: trust@nazariapak.info
Published by

Unmatched by any other published work in its comprehensive
approach to the topic, Syed Sharifuddin Pirzada had demonstrated
mastery over the wide range of sources. He is not bound by their
judgments. His extensive study and grasp due to first hand experiences
amplify the able guidance of the great Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali
Jinnah which has enabled him to bring forth this monumental and
historic document which, I, along with my other colleagues at Nazaria-
i-Pakistan Trust, feel proud to produce. It is such a valuable and pristine
work, that we befittingly named as Centenary Souvenir of All India
Muslim League.
This impressive accomplishment contains not only history of
establishment of All India Muslim League, its struggle, its
impediments, its achievements and the sacrifices rendered by
revolutionary celebrities but also has done a great service to project the
true and shining personality of the Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali
Jinnah.
The Centenary Souvenir contains brief documentations taken from his
painstaking collection Foundation of Pakistan illuminates the
Muslim struggle for freedom in Sub-Continent from 1906 till the
creation of Pakistan. The readers would find this memento an
interesting one which unfolds the drama, of how a nation comes into
existence, scene by scene with extraordinary vividness. The small
book in your hands, no doubt, was not only a bona fide document but
also a sacred record which would be kept with carefulness for the
coming generations to peep into the historical background of Muslims
in the Sub-Continent and salient developments of the Muslim
Movement after the poplar war of independence of 1857.
It also sheds light on the need and true spirit of the Two-Nation
Theory in all its glamour and truth. It seems that along with Quaid-i-
Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah many other leaders and workers of the
Pakistan Movement are also seen basking in its glorious sunlight
throughout in the treatise thus making the revised edition of the
Foundation of Pakistan a truly great and authentic manuscript in the
literature produced so far on Pakistan Movement.
MESSAGE
Chairman
(Majid Nizami)
PREFACE
On the occasion of the centenary of the All India
Muslim League, the revised edition of the Foundations of
Pakistan (in two volumes) by Syed Sharifuddin Pirzada
has been published. The volumes described certain
historic episodes at some of the sessions of the Muslim
League which were not published before. Reference may
be made to the famous Lucknow Session (1916) of the
Muslim League and the Congress, the historic session at
Allahabad in 1930 and the Lahore Session of 1940.
The sessions of the Muslim League remind us of
the dynamic leadership of Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali
Jinnah which resulted in the establishment of Pakistan.
Nazaria-i-Pakistan Trust has decided to select
some of the historic sessions of the Muslim League as a
souvenir on the occasion of its centenary. In our opinion,
the Foundations of Pakistan should be translated in Urdu,
Bengali and all the regional languages.
Without the initiative and able guidance of Mr.
Majid Nizami, Chairman Nazaria-i-Pakistan Trust, this
treatise could not have been published in record time. Mr.
Nizami deserves all the credit about this centenary
souvenir.
(Mian Azizul Haq Qureshi)
Chief Coordinator
09-07-2008
1

CONTENTS

Chairman Message
Preface
1- Introduction Volume I 3
1906 - 1924
2- Introduction Volume II 89
1924 -1947
3- The Inaugural Session of All-India Muslim League 127
Dacca, December 30, 1906
4- Ninth Session, Lucknow, December 30-31, 1916 149
Presidential Address of Mr Mazhar-ul-Haque
5- Twenty-First Session, Allahabad, December 29-30, 1930 199
Allama Iqbals Presidential Address
6- Twenty-Seventh Session, Lahore, March 22-24, 1940 237
Lahore Session
7- Twenty-Eighth Session, Madras, April 12-15, 1941 271
Madras Session
8- League Legislators Convention, 311
Delhi, April 7-9, 1946
9- League Council Meeting, 343
Delhi, June 9-10, 1947
10- League Council Meeting, 349
Karachi, December 14-15, 1947

INTRODUCTION
Volume-1, 1906-1924

The comprehensive documentation on the work of the All-
India Muslim League collected in this book illuminates the Muslims
struggle for freedom in the Indo-Pakistan Subcontinent from 1906
to 1923 in Volume I and from 1924 to 1947 in Volume II. The
League documents show how, through a variety of circumstances
and vicissitudes, this struggle led to the division of the Subcontinent
and the creation of Pakistan. They are in this sense documents on the
foundations of Pakistan. In the introduction that follows, the main
attempt is the picture the salient developments of the Muslim
movement after the popular uprising of 1857, with particular
reference to the major turning points in its history. It appear
appropriate, however, to preface this account with a brief sketch of
the spread of Islam in this Subcontinent.

The Subcontinents Islamic Background:
The Subcontinents contacts with the Middle East go back to
pre-historic times, as there is evidence of mutual influences between
the civilization of Southern Mesopotamia, Iran and the Indus
civilization of Mohenjodaro and Harappa, which is to be seen in
similarities of a number of their antiquities, These strongly suggest
a trade in ancient times between the Indus valley and her western
neighbours.
1
This contact was continued in later ages, and trade
with Arabian and other subsequently Muslim Middle East countries
preceded the advent of Islam. Pre-Islamic Arab settlements on the
coast of Southern India provided a link between Arabian ports and
those of South and SouthEast Asia as well as with India.

After the advent of Islam and the growth of the Muslim
Khilafat, these commercial activities were intensified, and with it,
the spread of Islam through missionary activities reached the
Subcontinent. Tradition also has it that Jats (an Indian people) had
been seen in the company of the Prophet.
2
In their conquest of
Persia, including the provinces of Kirman and Makran, the Arabs
came face to face with forces of the ruler of Sind, who had made
Centenary Souvenir
4
common cause with the Governor of Makran; but it was not until the
sea-borne trade of the Arabs in the Indian Ocean was jeopardized, by
pirates operating from Sind, that Arab efforts to subjugate Sind
began in 636. Then in 712, proceeding through Makran, Mohammad
bin Qasim appeared before the gates of Daibul and established
Muslim rule in Sind up to Multan. Qasim guaranteed freedom of
worship for all, which was particularly welcomed by the oppressed
Buddhists of Sind; and entrusted both Brahmins and Buddhists with
responsible posts in his administration. His justice and the good
conduct of his Arab comrades so impressed the inhabitants of Sind
that large numbers of them began to accept Islam as their religion.
Arab trading and missionary activities spread to the Punjab,
Baluchistan and the tribes of the mountains in the NorthWest. In
the eighth and ninth centuries, the Arab sea-route for trade followed
the line of the coast of Bengal, and Arab merchants visited the port
of Samundar; frequented Sandwip and Rhumi, laying between
Assam and the sea; and according to another tradition, in the early
tenth century, formed a settlement in Chittagong. It is to be noted,
however, that, as in the subsequent growth of Islam in the
Subcontinent, influences were not one-sided. The Arabs acquired to
use of the decimal numerals, which when transmitted to Europe by
them, came to be known as Arabic numerals; they learned chess
from the Hindus; Sindhi music exerted its influence on Arab music;
and Indian books on Ayurvedic medicine and on astronomy were
translated into Arabic during the rule of the Abbasid Khalifa, Harun-
ur-Rashid, in Baghadad (786 809).

Following three centuries of Arab rule, the Turkish
Ghaznavids appeared in the Subcontinent, and their rule over the
Peshawar region, the Punjab and Multan roughly corresponding to
what now constitutes West Pakistan, lasted for about 200 years until
the middle of the twelfth century. The Ghaznavids have often been
depicted as mere plunderers, but they patronized learning creatively,
and did much to establish Lahore as a cultural centre; it was in
Ghaznavid Lahore that the poet Masud Saad Salman wrote in
Arabic, Persian and the local Prakrit and the famous Ali Hujweri,
Known as Data Ganj Bakhsh, wrote one of the earliest works on
Sufism, Khashf-ul-Mahjub.

5

But it was only after Mohammad Ghoris conquest of Delhi
and Ajmer in 1192 that Muslim rule began to be established over the
whole of the north of the Subcontinent, while Sultan Ghoris
Mamluke slave Qutab-ud-Din Aibak later crowed Sultan (1206-
1210)was consolidating the newly acquired territory in the North
West, A Khalji adventurer, Ikhtyar-ud-Din Mohammad bin
Bakhtyar, unaided by any royal support, carried the Muslim banner
to the eastern extremities of the Subcontinent, occupying Bihar and
Bengal by the beginning of the thirteenth century. It was also under
Aibek that Delhi, heretofore a provincial town, for the first time
became the capital, succeeding Aibak as Sultan, Iltumish extended
the rule of the Sultanate to Bengal. This phase of early Muslim rule
in the northern plains of the Subcontinent, generally referred to as
the Sultanate period, witnessed the rise and fall of five dynasties in
some three hundred year between 1206 and 1526; the slaves,
Mamluka or Qutabi (1206: 1290); the Khaljies (1290-1320); the
Tughlaq (1320-1413); the Suyyids (the Lodhis 1451-1526).

Thereafter the Chughtai Timurid, Zahir-ud-Din, Mohammad
Babar, founded the Mughal Empire with the conquest of Delhi and
Agra. This in the time of Shah Jahan (1627-1656) and Aurangzeb
(1656 1707), extended to cover the South of the Subcontinent.
With the exception of some 16 years in which the Persian Surs
reigned (1538-1555), the Mughal Empire endured and did not begin
to decline until after the death of Aruangzeb, to whose constant
campaigns, leading the widest expansion of the Mughal Empire, and
rigid rule at least part of the reason of this decline may be traced.
Fifty year after his death, the representatives of the East India
Company defeated the Mughal Viceroy of Bengal, then the richest
province of the Empire; and subsequently other centers of Muslim
power crumbled one after the other. In 1799 the defeat of Tipu
Sultan at the battle of Seringapatam, in which he was killed, ended
Muslim power in the South; Hyderabad became a dependency;
Oudh, later referred to as the United Provinces, was annexed in
1856; and the defeat of the uprising of 1857 dealt the final below to
the Mughal Empire.

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6

Cultural Polarities of the Hindu-Muslim Relationship
The Muslim culture that developed in this period of Muslim
rule included local Indian influences as well as those of Arabs,
Turks, Afghans and Iranians; what introduced cohesion in diversity
among the Muslims resulted largely from the teachings of Islam in
particular the unity of God, the equality of man and the prophet hood
of Muhammad (S.A.W) and the strong common influence of
Arabic and Persian in all languages in that part of the Subcontinent
that is Pakistan today. The Iranian impact was particularly strong,
since, from the time of the Ghaznavids, Persian had been adopted as
the court language, and during Mughal rule Iranian immigration was
encouraged. But just as Islam was the biggest uniting factor among
different ethnic groups of Muslims, so was it also the biggest factor
dividing them from the Hindus and their tradition of Hinduizing and
absorbing those non-Hindu religious elements which they could not
eliminate altogether.

Despite contact, co-operation and mutual influence, which
reached their height in the time of Akbar (1542 1605) who
attempted a synthesis of Islam and Hinduism, and Shah Jahan,
whose administration included an even larger number of Hindus in
positions of high responsibility than that of Akbar, Muslim and
Hindu communities maintained distinct social, as well as religious,
identities, although a small minority of Persianized Hindus
maintained close social ties with the Muslim aristocracy. The points
of closest contact were formed in music, the Urdu language,
painting, other fine arts and architecture that is, apart from those
constituted by the two communities inhabiting the same
geographical area and sharing some common ethnic origins, for most
Muslims in the Subcontinent were and are Indian converts to Islam.
While the unifying factor of the fine arts and classical music was
naturally limited to comparatively few individuals, Urdu which is a
composite language, based on the Hindi Khari Boli, a rich
vocabulary of words from Arabic, Persian, the Prakrits (vernaculars),
Sanskrit and Turkish, written in the Arabic script could have been
a major unifying factor as the lingua franca for all inhabitants of the

7
Subcontinent, as indeed, until independence, it was for the Muslims,
of different regions of the Subcontinent. Whereas this fact is again
and again emphatically brought out in the following Muslim League
documents, they make the progressive undermining of this objective
equally clear. This failure in thus symbolic of the rift between the
two communities of the fact that what divided them was stronger
than what might have given them unity, which then ultimately, and
perhaps, inevitably led to the establishment of two separate Nation
States. But this is to anticipate matters; we must now take up the
story from the aftermath of the Uprising to recognize both (a) the
nature of the Muslim identity in the Indo-Pakistan Subcontinent and
(b) the way HinduMuslim relations swayed between unity and
division even as each community gradually developed and stepped
up its struggle for freedom from foreign rule towards the final
denouement of Partition and Pakistan.

Aftermath of the Uprising of 1857.

The British regarded the Muslims as mainly responsible for
the mutiny, and singled them out for repression. Even as they
succeeded in crushing the revolt, British troops were sewing the
Mohammedans in pigskins, smearing them with port fat, and burning
their bodies.
3
The British turned on the Muslims as their real
enemies, so that the failure of the revolt was much more disastrous
to them than to the Hindus. They lost almost all their remaining
traditional prestige of superiority over the Hindus; they forfeited, for
the time, the confidence of their foreign rulers; and it is from this
period that one must date the loss of their numerical majority in the
higher subordinate ranks of civil and military services.
4
In the words
of W.W. Hunter: The truth is, that when the country passed under
our rule, the Musalmans were the superior race and superior not only
in stoutness of heart and strength of arm but in power of political
organization and in the science of practical Government. To this day
they exhibit at intervals their old intense feeling of nationality and
capability of warlike enterprise, but in all other aspects they are a
race ruined under British rule...The truth is, that our system of public
instruction, which has awakened the Hindus from the sleep of
centuries, and quickened their inert masses with some of the noble

Centenary Souvenir
8
impulses of a nation, is opposed to the traditions, unsuited to the
requirements, and hateful to the religion of the Musalmanswith
the Musalmans the case was altogether different. Before the country
passed to us, they were not only the political but intellectual power
in India. Is it any wonder that the Musalmans have held aloof from a
system which made no concession to their prejudices, made no
provision for what they esteemed their necessities; which was in its
nature unavoidably antagonistic to their interests, and at variance
with all their social traditions?. While we have created a system of
Public Instruction unsuited to their wants, we have also denuded
their own system of the funds by which it was formerly supported.
All sorts of employment, great and small, are being gradually
snatched away from the Mohammedans and bestowed on men of
other races, particularly the Hindus. The Government is bound to
look upon all classes of its subjects with an equal eye, yet the time
has now come when in publicly singles out the Mohammedans in its
Gazettes for exclusion from official posts. There is now scarcely a
Government office in which a Mohammadan can hope for any post
above the rank of porter, messenger, filler of inkpots, and mender of
pens. A hundred and seventy years ago it was almost impossible for
a well-born Musalman in Bengal to become poor, at present it is
almost impossible for him to continue rich.
5

As soon as order was restored after the Revolt of 1857, Sir
Syed Ahmad Khan wrote a treatise in Urdu on the causes of the
Indian Revolt. The book was written when the greater part of the
country was under martial law and the Anglo-Indian Press was
advocating a very firm line. Sir Syeds book was, however, a bold
indictment of the Government of India and its administration. Sir
Syed wrote, In the period preceding the Indian Revolt, Government
could never know the inadvisability of the laws and regulations
which it passed. It could never hear, as it ought to have heard, the
voice of the people on the subject. The people had no means of
protesting against what they might feel to be a foolish measure, or of
giving public expression to their own wishes.
6
He also complained
about the lack of social intercourse between the British and the
Indian sections of the public. There was no real communication
between the governors and the governed, no living together or near

9
one another, as has always been the custom of the Mohammedans in
countries which they subjected to their rule.
7
According to Sir Syed
the basic cause of the revolt, was the non-admission of any Indian to
the Legislative Councils. He said: Most men agree that it is highly
conducive to the welfare and prosperity of Government indeed, it
is essential to its stability that the people should have a voice in its
Councils.
8
At the same time, he candidly concluded: I do not wish
to enter into the question as to how the ignorant and uneducated
people of Hindustan could be allowed to share in the deliberations of
the Legislative Council, or as to how they should be selected to from
an Assembly like the British Parliament. These are knotty points.
9

Sir Syed did not publish the book in the country, but
dispatched 498 out of the 500 printed copies of it to England for the
perusal of Members of Parliament and other English men interested
in the affairs of India. The book aroused considerable discussion and
diversity of opinion in official circles in England and India. In India,
in the Viceroys Council, Cecil Beadon, the Foreign Secretary,
characterized it as highly seditious and recommended prosecution of
the author. In England at the India Office, however, the book
became the starting point for many reforms e.g., the appointment
of Indians to the Legislative Council, which began almost within a
year of the publication of the book. In a way, the book also led to the
birth of the Indian Congress and eventually, the Muslim League.

In 1892, Aftab Ahmed Khan, later a member of the Council
of Secretary of State of India, visiting London happened to meet
Allan Octavian Hume, the founder of the Indian National Congress.
Hume said to Aftab: It was after reading Syed Ahmads book on
the causes of the Indian Revolt that I first felt the need for having a
forum of public opinion in India, and eventually the Indian National
Congress came into existence. But the amazing thing is that when it
was started, Syed was the first to oppose it.
10
Likewise, Maulana
Mohammad Ali has traced the establishment of the Muslim League
to Sir Syeds book.
11

Centenary Souvenir
10

Early Muslim Organization

The first political organization to be formed by the Muslims
of the Indo-Pakistan Subcontinent appears to have been the
Mohammaden Association, whose headquarter were at 9/1 Toltollah,
Calcutta. The President of the Association was Fazlur Rahman, and
its Secretary was Mohammad Mazhar. The British India Association
(Bengal) expressed its happiness at the foundation of the
Mohammedan Association when it held a meeting on January 31,
1856.
12

In April 1863, Nawab Abdul Latif founded the Mohammedan
Literary Society with the object of breaking down prejudices and
exclusiveness and creating interest in politics and modern thought.
The Nawab belonged to an old family of Qazis from Faridpur
District, and in 1862 was nominated to the Bengal Legislative
Council, being the first Muslim admitted to its member ship. F.B.
Bradley-Birt writes that the Mohammedan Literary Society grew out
of informal gatherings held for many years at the private residence
of the founder.
13
The Society, which used to meet once a month at
16, Taltolla Lane, Calcutta, included distinguished scholars and
noblemen amongst its members. Lectures were delivered in Urdu,
Persian, Arabic and English on literature and society. Some
especially interesting papers were read before the Society, such as
Sir Syeds lecture (delivered in Persian) on the spread of education
and Moulvi Karamat Ali Jaunpurs lecture on the current
controversy relating to Indian being a Dar-ul-Harab.
14
The Journal
of the National Indian Association published an account of the
Society in October, 1877, and wrote that more than 500 Muslim
gentlemen from all parts of India became its members. Once a year
the Society held a conversazione at the Town Hall of Calcutta. The
Society also submitted addresses to Viceroys and Lieutenant
Governors seeking the redress of Muslim grievances. Ashley Eden,
the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal, made the following
commencement in 1863 and good work done in regard to education
and in assisting to bring the Government system of educating into
accord with the special educational wants of the Mohammedan

11
community. As the Muslims had no specifically political
organization at that time, Government consulted the views of the
Mohammedan Literary Society on matters affecting the interests of
uslims.
ar university Hindi
hould be the medium of instruction for Hindus.
Association. Soon branches were formed, spreading from Madras to
M

In 1866 Sir Syed Ahmed Khan organized a British India
Association at Aligarh,
15
which has been described as the forerunner
of the Congress.
16
In an address to the Association, on May 10,
1866, Sir Syed said; It has been a matter of sincere regret to all
thinking Indians that since the assumption of the reins of the
Government of India by Her Most Gracious Majesty Queen Victoria
in person, the attention of her Parliament has not been more
bestowed upon measures affecting the future welfare of the
inhabitants of this portion of her dominions. The actions and laws of
every government, even the wisest that ever existed, although done
or indicated from the most upright and patriotic motives, have at
times proved inconsistent with the requirements of the people, or
opposed to real justice. The Indians have, at present, little or no
voice in the management of the affairs of their country, and should
any measure of Government prove obnoxious to them, they brood
over it, appearing outwardly satisfied and happy, while discontent in
rankling in their minds. The object of this organization was to bring
Indian grievances and points of view to the notice of the British
people in general and the British Parliament in particular. Raja
Jaikishandas was elected its President and Sir Syed its Secretary.
The Association was the first joint Hindu Muslim Organization; but
it lasted no more than a year, and its only significant work was the
elaboration of a scheme to establish a vernacular university. Even
this project became a subject of dispute through the anti-Urdu
campaign started by some prominent Hindus of Benaras in 1867,
which led to the demand that in the vernacul
s

Perceiving the complete lack of national training among the
Muslim inhabitants of India, and the immense advantage and
preponderance the Hindu organizations gave to their community,
Syed Ameer Ali in 1877 founded the Central National Mohammedan

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12
the Punjab, from Chittagong to Karachi. Non-Muslims were eligible
as members, but were not entitled to vote on purely Muslim matters.
The Association defined its objects as follows: The
Association has been formed with the object of promoting by all
legitimate and constitutional means the well-being of the Musalmans
of India. It is founded essentially upon the principle of strict and
loyal adherence to the British Crown. Driving its inspiration from
the noble tradition of the past, it proposes to work in harmony with
Western culture and the progressive tendencies of the age. It aims at
the political regeneration of the Indian Mohammedans by moral
revival and by constant and endeavors to obtain from Government a
recognition of their just and reasonable claims. The Association does
not, however, overlook the fact that the welfare of the
Mohammedans in intimately connected with the well-being of the
other races of India. It does not, therefore, exclude from its scope the
advocacy and furtherance of the public interests of the people of this
country at large.
17

On February 6, 1882, the Association presented a
comprehensive memorial to Lord Rippon, Viceroy and Governor-
General of India, calling attention to the causes which led to the
decadence and ruin of the Mohammedans in India, and to the
circumstances which tended to perpetuate that condition.
18

In 1887 an attempt was made by the Association to convene a
conference of Muslims in the Sub-continent. As objections were
raised to this proposal from certain quarters, on January 9, 1888,
Syed Ameer Ali sent the following letter to Mr. Tyabji and other
prominent Musalmans.
19

In continuation of my letter No. 4 dated the 28
th
November
1887, I have the honour to inform you that in consequence of certain
erroneous impressions prevailing in some quarters as to the scope
and object of the proposed conference of Mohammedans, it is
considered necessary by the Committee of the Central Association to
address to you and other well wishers of the Musalman community
the following observations. You cannot be unaware of the state of
utter disintegration into which Musalman society in India has fallen

13
within the last half century, nor of the baneful results which have
followed from it and their general poverty. The absence of unanimity
and cohesion in general questions of public policy and the entire
neglect of all idea of self-help add to the difficulties of their
situation. The conference does not propose to discuss high politics.
The programme which we have set before us is extremely moderate
and suited to our own progress. As a gathering of cultivated Muslims
from all over India, its social and moral effect will, it is hoped, be of
incalculable benefit, It must be remembered that the real
advancement of our people lies in the future, and as nothing can be
built without a foundation, we hope by this conference to give shape
to our aspirations and lay the foundationstone of future good.

In proposing this conference, we have not been actuated by
any spirit of rivalry towards our Hindu compatriots. It is our anxious
desire to work in sympathy with Government and all classes of her
Majestys subjects. Our main object is to bring about some degree of
solidarity among the disintegrated masses of Mohammedan society;
to reconcile in some measure the conflicting aims and objects of
different sections and parties; to introduce some amount of harmony
among the discordant and jarring elements of which the Musalman
educated classes are composed; to devise some means of self-help
for Mohammedan advancement and lean less upon Government
patronage: to give a real impetus to the process of self-development
perceptibly going on among our community; to safeguard our
legitimate and constitutional interests under the British Government;
to become the exponent of the views and aspirations of educated
Mohammedan India; and to serve as the means of reconciliation
between our Hindu fellow-subjects and our own community. It
seems to us that no right minded Mohammedan or Hindu can object
to this unpretentious programme. We think that the least endeavour
in the direction indicated will not be without its value, that the very
intermixture of cultivated Musalmans will exercise a most beneficial
effect upon Mohammedan India and prove the groundwork of
substantial progress.

Centenary Souvenir
14
Had the plan of convening the conference matured, the
history of the Muslim League would have been anticipated 20 years
earlier.
20

In 1883 the Aligarh leaders had formed a Mohammedan
Political Association with a view to protect Muslim political
interests. Sir Syed Ahmed Khan was the Secretary of the Managing
Committee of the Association, of which Government officials could
not become members. Among others, its objects were: (a) to make
efforts for the material advancement of the Muslims, and (b) to
represent before the British Government in India legitimate
Mohammedan interests, rights and requirement.
21

Indian National Congress

Allan Octavian Hume, a retired British civil servant, was the
father and founder of the Indian National Congress. Hume had
conceived the idea that it would be of great advantage to the country
if leading Indian politicians could be brought together once a year to
discuss social matters. It was at the instance of Lord Dufferin that
the body was given the form of a political association. Mr. W.C.
Bonnerjee, the first President of the Congress, has disclosed that
The Indian National Congress, as it was originally started and as it
has since been carried on, is a reality the work of the Marquess of
Dufferin and Ava when that nobleman was the GovernorGeneral of
India.
22
Lord Dufferin, in giving his blessings had made it a
condition with Mr. Hume that his name in connection with the
scheme of the Congress should not be divulged so long as he
remained in the country, and his condition was faithfully maintained
and none but the men consulted by Mr. Hume knew anything about
the matter.
23
Bonnerjees version is corroborated by Wedderburn,
the biographer of Hume.
24

The first session of the Congress was held at Bombay on
December 28, 1885. Mr. B.C. Pal has put it on record that some of
the most prominent members of the First Congress Session
deliberately kept Surrendranath Bennerjea out of it.
25
Bannerjeas
dismissal from the Indian Civil Service and his imprisonment during

15
the Ilbert Bill controversy were a record which the ultra-cautions
organizers of the first Congress did not favour.
26

In fact it was even seriously suggested that Lord Reay, the
Governor of Bombay, should preside over the first Congress. The
Congressites were delighted when Dufferin gave a garden party to
the delegates of the Second Congress Session, met some 20 of them
at a private interview, and desired to talk to the president
separately.
27
Lord Connemara, the Governor of Madras, also
entertained the delegates of the Third Congress at a garden party.
28

The Governor then reported that the Congress leaders seemed a
very loyal and harmless set of people, and the Viceroy agreed.
29
In
the third Congress Session, the Chairman of the Reception
Committee, Raja Sir T. Madhava Roa, had himself declared that the
Congress was a triumph of British Administration.
30
Lal Lajpat
Rai, in his autobiography, regarded the Congress as an Anglicized
organization. Early Congressmen were loud in their professions of
loyalty to the British and repeatedly claimed that the Congress owed
its existence to the British influence in the country.
31
Englishmen,
were the presidents of some early Congress sessions William
Wedderburn in 1889, Alfred Webb in 1894, and Sir Henry Cotton in
1904.

Muslims and the Congress

In the First Congress Session, of the 72 delegates attending
only two were Muslims: Mr. M.R. Sayani and Mr. A.M. Dharamsi,
The absence of Muslims was noticed by the British and the Indian
press. The Times Weekly Edition of the Mohammedans of India was
not there. Not only in their religion but in their schools and almost
all their colleges they maintain an almost haughty reserve. The
reason is not hard to find. They cannot forget that less than two
centuries ago they were the dominant race.

The Central Mohammedan Association was one of the
organizers of the first session of the Indian National Congress held
in 1885. Ameer Ali had said: We were fully convinced that the aim
of the forthcoming Congress is to promote measures which, it is

Centenary Souvenir
16
considered, will tend to the amelioration of the condition of the
people of India, and we would greatly regret to do anything which
would have even the appearance of withholding from such a worthy
object any support which our co-operation might give. But the
Association withdrew its support from the Second Congress Session
held at Calcutta. The Associations Executive Committee explained
the reason in his report: The abstention of this Association in 1886
from the National Congress gave rise to considerable criticism in a
part of the Hindu papers. It is necessary, therefore, to explain the
reasons which weighed with this Association in adopting the policy
of abstention which it has hitherto observed. The Association has
much sympathy with some of the objects which the Congress has
placed before itself, and great respect from the principal leaders of
the movement. But it is firmly convinced that the unqualified
adoption of the programme of the Congress will lead to the political
extinction of the Mohammedans. This Association is willing to
concede that the system of nomination by which the Councils of the
Government are recruited is not always happy in its results. But,
bearing in mind how the Mohammedans are placed in this country,
and how necessarily voting must take place by nationalities and
creeds, the Association cannot believe that the introduction of
representatives institutions in this country in their entirety will be to
the advantage of the Mohammedans. The principle of representation
must be carefully considered in connection with the rights of the
minority. Nor can the Association consent to the introduction of any
system which would result in the minority being utterly swamped in
every department of state. Nor must it be forgotten that the unequal
political development of the two communities, coupled with the
comparatively recent growth of English education among the
Mohammedans, renders it absolutely necessary for this committee to
be on its guard against any movement likely to jeopardize the
interests of the Musalman subjects of Her Majesty. The Committee
cannot deprecate too strongly the want of foresight displayed by so
many of our coreligionists in endorsing, in their entirety, the views
and claims of the Congress. The Committee believe that until the
Mohammedans are on a par with the Hindus in political
development and educational progress, and the assertion and
preservation of Mohammedan interests are included in the Congress

17
programme, the consummation wished for by the Congress will end
in the absolute effacement of the Mohammedans as a community in
this country.
32

The Mohammedan Literary Society represented by Nawab
Abdul Latif also refused to participate in the Calcutta Session. The
Congress elected Badruddin Tyabji, a Muslim, President of its Third
Session. Sir Syed became critical of Tyabji and the Congress, and
could not ignore the hostility of the Muslims towards the Congress.
On October 27, 1888, Tayabji wrote to Hume: We are all of
opinion that having regard to the distinctly hostile attitude of the
Mohammedans, which is becoming daily more pronounced and
more apparent, it is time for friends, promoters and supporters of the
Congress to reconsider their position, and to see whether, under the
present circumstances, it is or is not wise for us to continue holding
Congress meetings every year. If then, the Musalman community as
a whole is against the Congress rightly or wrongly does not matter
it follows that the movement ipso-facto ceases to be a general or
National Congress.
33
He therefore proposed that after the next
session at Allahbad, the Congress should be prorogued, say at least
for five years. This would give us the opportunity of reconsidering
the whole position, and if necessary, of retiring with dignity, and
would at the same time give us ample time to carry into execution
our programme, which has already become extensive. If at the end of
five years, our prospects improve, we can renew Congress.
34

Hume, too, took up the suggestion seriously, but Dadabhai Naoroji
wrote to him: The Congress meetings should not be stopped. Such
an action will put back Indias progress a generation or at least for
years.
35
In 1891 the Congress at Nagpur appointed a subcommittee
to consider whether the annual session of the Congress should be
discontinued. This proposal was not acceptable to the majority of
elegates.
1885 and 1905 there were only two Muslim Presidents of the
d

The number of Muslim delegates attending the Congress
sessions between 1885 and 1905 amply suggest that they were not
much interested in it. Fluctuation in the numbers was due mostly to
the convenience of the place where the session was held. Between

Centenary Souvenir
18
Congress, out of a total of 21. Badruddin Tyabji, Madras, 1887:
M.R. Sayani, Calcutta, 1896.

Congress Sessions, 1885 - 1905
Year Total Delegates Muslims Place

1885 72 2(both Bombay attorneys) Bombay
1886 440 33(27 from Bengal) Calcutta
1887 607 79(59 from Madras) Madras
1888 1248 219(152 from Oudh and N.W.P
36
) Allahabad
1889 1889 248(80 from Bombay) Bombay
1890 677 116(N.W.P. 82, Bengal 29) Calcutta
1891 List not available. Nagpur
1892 625 91(N.W.P. and Oudh 81) Allahabad
1893 867 64 (Punjab 51) Lahore
1894 1163 22(Madras 17) Madras
1895 1584 23(Bombay 21) Poona
1896 784 52(Bengal 42) Calcutta
1897 692 57(Berar 53) Amraoti
1898 614 11(Madras 11) Madras
1899 789 311(N.W.P. & Oudh 308) Lucknow
1900 567 57 (Punjab 52) Lahore
1901 896 76 (Bengal 54) Calcutta
1902 417 17 (Bombay 16) Bombay
1903 538 10 (Madras 5) Madras
1904 1010 28 (Bombay 25, Bengal 1) Bombay
1905 756 17 (9 from U.P.) Banaras.
37

Mr. S.N. Banerjea says that the Muslim delegates were even
given return fares.
38
Swami Shraddhananda furnishes an interesting
account of the so-called Muslim delegates of the Lucknow Congress
(1899). The majority of Muslim delegates had donned gold, silver
or silkembroidered Chogas over their ordinary coarse suits of
wearing apparel. It was rumoured that these Chogas had been lent by
Hindu moneyed men for the Congress Tamasha. Only 30 had come
from outside; the rest belonged to Lucknow City. The majority were
admitted free to delegates board and lodging. Sir Syed Ahmeds

19
anti-Congress League had tried in a public meeting to dissuade
Muslims from joining the Congress and delegates. As a counter-
move, the Congress people lighted the whole Congress camp some
four nights before the Session began and advertised that ingress that
night would be free. The result was that all the Chandukhanas of
Lucknow were emptied and a large audience of some 30,000 Hindus
and Muslims was addressed from half a dozen platforms. It was
there that the Muslim delegates were elected or selected. All this was
admitted by the Lucknow Congress organizers to meet in private.
39

The number of Muslims attending the Calcutta Congress in
1906 was not very encouraging, for out of 1,663 delegates only 45
were Muslims, of whom 24 were from Bengal. At this time, the All
India Muslim League was established at Dacca, where a large
number of Muslim leaders from all parts of the subcontinent were
present.

Sir Syed and the Congress

The Congress in its very first session in 1885 had passed a
resolution demanding the reconstitution of Legislative Councils on a
representatives basis. Sir Syed Ahmed Khan opposed this idea
vehemently in an article. Is the state of the country adapted to
popular government? How will the mixture of nationalities in India
affect the working of (an Indian) parliament Sir Syed said and
continued: If at any future time there should be a parliament with.
Hindus and Mohammedans sitting on the two sides of the house, it is
probable that the animosity which would ensue would far exceed
anything that can be witnessed in England. For the safeguard of the
English system is that the party in power is always in dread of
being left in a minority by the defection of some of its adherents; but
this safeguard would not exist in India, because a Hindu would not
turn Mohammedan and voice versa. Moreover, the Mohammedans
would be in a permanent minority, and their case would resemble
that of the unfortunate Irish members in the English Parliament, who
have always been outvoted by the Englishmen. The majority in
parliament has absolute control and a study of the habit of
assemblies points to the conclusion that bodies of men are less

Centenary Souvenir
20
generous in regard to their opponents than individual rulers are. If
this were so, and one side were perpetually outvoted, there is only
too much fear that the minority would ultimately take the matter into
their own hands and see if they could gain by force what they were
unable to obtain by constitutional means.
40
Sir Syed, therefore
exhorted the Muslims to follow his educational programme. In
December 1886, he founded the AllIndia Muslim Educational
Congress,
41
to create communal consciousness and solidarity among
the Muslims.
42

On December 28, 1887, in a speech at the at Lucknow
Session of the Mohammedan Education Conference, Sir Syed
43
Said:
ame of dice, in which one man had four
ice and the other only one.
rt for the Congress. On January 24, 1888, Sir
yed wrote to Tyabji:-

They want to copy the British House of Lords and the House
of Commons. Now let us imagine the Viceroys Council made in
this manner. And first suppose that all the Mohammedan electors
vote for a Mohammedan member and all the Hindu voters vote for a
Hindu member, and now count how many votes the Mohammedan
members will have, and how many the Hindu. It is certain that the
Hindu members will have four time as many because their
population is four times as numerous. Therefore we can prove by
mathematics that there will be four votes for the Hindu to every one
vote for the Mohammedan. And now, how can the Muslim guard his
interests? It would be like a g
d

During 1888, Hume and Badruddin Tyabji endeavoured to
secure Sir Syeds suppo
S

I do not understand what the words National Congress mean
. Is it supposed that the different castes and creeds living in India
belong to one nation, or can become a nation, and their aims and
aspirations be one and the same? I think it is quite impossible, and
when it is impossible there can be no such thing as a National
Congress, nor can it be of equal benefit to all peoples. You regard
the doings of the misnamed National Congress beneficial to India,

21
but I am sorry to say that I regard them as not only injurious to our
own community, but also to India at large. I object to every
Congress, in any shape or from whatever, which regards India as one
ation.
44

ss. Sir Syed, in a speech at Meerut on
arch 14, 1888, observed:
n

After the Madras Session of the Congress, Tyabji issued a
statement (a) saying that he had got a rule accepted by the Congress
to the effect that any question which is objected to by the Muslim
delegates, or a large majority of them, would not be discussed in the
Congress, and then (b) emphasizing the desirability of the Muslims
participating in the Congre
M

In the first instance, I object to the word delegate. I assure
my friend that the Muslims who went from our province and Oudh
to attend the Congress at Madras do not deserve the appellation
delegate. The Muslims who went there were not elected even by
ten Muslims. The unanimous passing of any resolution in the
Congress does not make it a national congress. A congress becomes
a national congress only when all the aims and objects of the nation
whom that congress represents are common without any exception.
My honourable friend admits that some aims and objects of the
Muslims and Hindus are different and contradictory. Should we
Muslims found a separate Congress to realize our different aims?
Should the two congresses compete and even fight with each other in
view of their conflicting and antagonistic aims? Our friend should
himself decide in all fairness whether such nations whose aims and
objects are opposed to one another, thought some minor points might
be common, can form a national congress? It may be appropriate or
not, but no Muslim, be he a cobbler or a nobleman, would ever agree
to the Muslims being relegated to a status where they become slaves
of another nation, which is their neighbour, even though time has
reduced them to a very low position, and will reduce them still
further. Let my friend, Mr. Badruddin Tyabji, leaving aside the
minor questions common to Hindus and Muslims because there is
nothing in the world which does not share some features in common
with others, (so much so that even pigs and men have certain
common features) tell me whether there is any basic political

Centenary Souvenir
22
question which can be brought before the Congress and is not
detrimental to the Muslims. The most important question is election
to the Viceroyos Council, on which much stress was laid in the
Congress Session under the presidentship of our friend, Mr. Tyabji. I
have proved in my speech at Luchnow that whichever mode of
election is adopted, the number of Hindus will be four times that of
Muslims, they will be successful, the Government of the whole
country will be in the hands of Bengalis or other Hindus like
Bengalis, and the Muslims will be in a miserable position. Many
people condemned me for my Lucknow speech; but no one, not even
Mr. Tyabji replied to it. The demands of the Bengalis may be
justifiable or not, but we cannot tolerate our nation being hurled into
this misery and degradation, and at least we cannot participate in
matters which bring humiliation to our nation. What happened in the
Mutiny? The Hindus started it. The Muslims were restless. They
jumped into the fray. The Hindus took a bath in the Ganges and went
scotfree, but the Muslims and their families were ruined. The same
would be the result of the Muslims participation in the political
gitation.
45

atriotic
ssociation. The aims of the Association, inter alia, were:
46

gree with the aims and
ich are
a

In August 1888, Sir Syed founded the Indian P
A

(a) To publish and circulate pamphlets and other papers for
information of members of Parliament, English journals
and the people of Great Britian, in which those mis-
statements will be pointed out by which the supporters of
the Indian National Congress have wrongly attempted to
convince the English people that all the nations of India
and the Indian Chiefs and rulers a
objects of the National Congress;
(b) To inform members of Parliament and the newspapers of
Great Britian and its people, by the same means, of the
opinions of Mohammedans in general, of the Islamia
Anjumans and those Hindus and their societies wh
opposed to the objects of the National Congress;
(c) To strive to preserve peace in India and to strengthen to
British rule; and to remove those bad feelings from the

23
hearts of the Indian people which the supporters of the
Congress are stirring up throughout the country, and by
which great dissatisfaction is being raised among the
people against the British Government.

tion, the work of which is much greater than the
thers work.
49

Anjuman Nasarul-
lam, Nagpur, adopted the following resolution:
The word united was later added to the name of the
Association.
47
Sir Syed criticized the action of the Governor of
Madras for having entertained the Congress delegates at a garden
party. He asserted that the Government should not support one
nation (Hindus) and leave out another (Muslims).
48
In one of his
letters to Col. Graham written in December 1888, Sir Syed wrote
I have undertaken a heavy task against the so-called National
Congress, and have formed an Association, The Indian United
Patriotic Associa
o

Sir Syed carried on correspondence with various Islamic
Anjumans and their co-operation was sought in the work of
presenting a united opposition to the Congress. Almost all leading
Muslim institutions and personalities joined hands in their
indignation against the Congress. Resolutions condemning the
Congress were passed by the Musalmans of Allahabad, Lahore,
Lucknow, Madras Meerut and other places.
50
A public meeting held
in December 1888 under the auspices of the
Is

This meeting is of the opinion that the objects and measures
of the so-called National Congress tend towards raising a spirit of
disloyalty and discontent and are likely to be most detrimental (1) to
India in general and (2) to the welfare and prosperity of
Mohammedans in particular; that the demands of the Congress are
not the demands of two hundred million British subjects; that its
habitual assumption that it has the right to speak in the name of the
majority of the people of India is fictitious, and the grievances which
it alleges are imaginary; that should any Mohammedan of Negpur
join or associate himself, in any way, with any Congress meeting to
be held at Nagpur or allow himself to be appointed as a delegate to

Centenary Souvenir
24
the Allahabad Congress, he will be considered as representing
ceding the
ongress demands to some extent. In October 1893, Sir Syed
can representative government work or
rove beneficial. It should not even be thought of when these
f representative
overnment cannot produce and beneficial results; it can only result
himself alone, and as a renegade from the Muslim community.
51

In 1892 the Indian Council Act was passed con
C
contributed an article to The Pioneer in which he wrote:

Long before the idea of founding the Indian National
Congress was mooted, I had given thought to the matter whether
representative government is suited to the conditions of India. I
studied John Stuart Mills views in support of representatives
government. He has dealt with this matter exceedingly well in great
detail. I reached the conclusion that the first prerequisite of a
representative government is that the voters should posses the
highest degree of homogeneity. In a form of government which
depends for its functioning upon majorities, it is necessary that the
people should have no differences in the matter of nationality,
religion, ways of living, customs, morals, culture and historical
traditions. These things should be common among a people to enable
them to run a representative government properly. Only when such
homogeneity is present
p
conditions do not exist.

In a country like India where homogeneity does not exist in
any one of these fields, the introduction o
g
in disturbing the peace and prosperity of the land.
52

On December 30, 1893, a meeting of influential Muslims was
held at the house of Sir Syed to discuss the political situation of the
Musalmans and to consider the question of the formation of a
political organization to place the Muslim point of view before the
Government. Four alternatives were discussed: (1) Should the
Muslims join the Hindu agitation? (2) Should they set up a counter
agitation? (3) Should they keep out of politics and devote their
energies solely to education? (4) Should they adopt a modified
political approach which would involve neither complete political

25
inactivity nor active agitation amongst the people?
53
The meeting
felt the need of a wholly Muslim organization, and accordingly
formed the Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental Defence Association,
which its headquarters at Aligarh. Membership was restricted in
influential Muslim leaders. Government servants and undergraduate
students could not become its members. The Association was neither
to hold public meetings nor to affiliate other Islamic Association. Its
business was to be regulated through a council. The objects of the
Association were: (1) to promote the political interests of Muslims
by representing their views before the English people and the Indian
Government;(2) to discourage popular and political agitation among
Muslim; (3) to lend support to measures calculated to increase the
stability of the British government and the security of the Empire;
and (4) to strive to preserve peace in India and to encourage
sentiments of loyalty in the population. The activities of the Defence
Association, during 1894-96, show that it was the true predecessor
f the Muslim League, and it asked for all those things which the
imla
ual number of seats in the Legislative Councils, district
oards and municipalities. Sayani in his presidential address
o, the Congress cannot in fairness be
sked to carry out such a suggestion in the manner and to the extent

rticle to the effect that the Muslims could joint the Congress only if
o
S Deputation asked for in 1906.
54

In 1896 Rahimtullah Sayani was chosen to preside over the
Congress Session. Haji Muhammad Ismail Khan, a friend to Sir
Syed, suggested to the Congress President that the Congress should
pass a resolution to the effect that the Hindus and Muslims should
have an eq
b
remarked:

It is a good suggestion, but so long as Musalmans do not join
the Congress movement in the same number and with the same
enthusiasm as the Hindus d
a
indicated in the suggestion.

Sir Syed endorsed the proposal of Islamil Khan and wrote an
a
the Congress agreed to this proposal.
55

Centenary Souvenir
26
In the same year, Sir Syed drew up a memorandum on behalf
of the Muslim Anglo-Oriental Defence Association. The Association
considered that it would be useless to demands that the elective
system, which was introduced in 1892, should be abolished, for such
a proposal would excite the opposition of the Hindus and would also
be received unfavorably in England. The Musalmans, therefore,
asserted that as a Catholic member chosen by a Protestant
Constituency in Ireland could not represent the true Catholic
interests so a Congresite Muslim elected by a predominantly Hindu
constituency could, in no way, represent the true interests of the
Muslims.
56
The principles embodied in the Memorandum were: (i)
equal representation for the Muslims and the Hindus in the North-
Western Provinces Legislative Council because, on account of their
past historical role, the political importance of the Muslim was not
inferior to that of the Hindus, although the latter constituted a vast
majority of the population; (ii) separate communal electorates, with
Muslims voting for Muslims only; (iii) weightage in representation
for the Muslims on the municipal councils, district boards etc.
57
A
Hindu author remarks that if we bear in mind the memorandum
drafted by the Mohammedan Defence Association, enumerating the
Mohammedan demands in 1896, we find that there was no material
difference between the demands of 1896 and 1906. And we can be
sure that had Sir Syed lived for a few years more, the deputation of
906 would have been brought about much earlier and would not
tionalist
indus loved to call it.
1
have been dubbed a command performance, as the na
58
H

First Steps Towards a Nationwide Muslim Organization

Sir Syed passed away in 1898, and the Upper India Defence
Association of Mohammedans practically died with him. By 1900
the political situation in the Subcontinent had deteriorated, and
Hindu-Muslim relations were in a turmoil. Among the factors
responsible were: Hindu-Muslim riots; the Hindi-Urdu controversy
and the encouragement of Hindu by Sir Antony Macdonnnell, the
LieutenantGovernor of the United Provinces; absence of separate
Muslim representation in the Legislative and Municipal Councils;
and the growing difficulty Muslims encountered in security jobs in

27
Government services. A section of the Muslim leaders felt that it
might be advantageous to agitation, since the top ranking agitators in
the Indian National Congress were being obliged with the highest
osts and honours open to the Indians. On the whole, the Muslims
ernments policy of intimidation and coercion
cited the Muslims, and their view on ways and means of
p
keenly felt the absence of an organization through which they could
put forward their demands.

A representatives meeting of Urdu Defence Association was
held at Lucknow on August 18, 1900, under the presidentship of
Nawab Mohsin-ul-Mulk to protest against the Governemnt decision
recognizing Hindi, and to demand its withdrawal. Nawab Mohsin-ul-
Mulks action was resented by the LieutenantGovernor of U.P.,
who asked the Nawab to choose between the secretaryship of the
Aligarh College and the presidentship of the Urdu Defence
Association. The Gov
in
ameliorating existing conditions were expressed freely in the press
and on the platform.

The debate was opened by Moulvi Mehdi Hasan in a letter to
The Pioneer, asserting that Sir Syeds attitude never implied a total
ban on political activity. All that the departed leader had in view was
to be assured of a separate hearing of the Muslim case by the
Government. While he lived, Sir Syed wielded enormous influence,
but now that he was dead, an organization was necessary to carry on
his work and to keep the Government in touch with the Muslim
viewpoint. Viqar-ul-Mulk pointed out that, as a community, the
Muslims were in a predicament faced with the alternatives of either
marching into the Congress camp en bloc or establishing a
corresponding political organization of their own
59
. Mohsin-ul-Mulk
wrote an article in the Aligarh Institute Gazette on what should be
done by the Muslims to safeguard their political interests and
pointed out that Sir Syed never believed in the policy of silence; he
had always boldly expressed the views of his community on all
important matters. However, since he, in his own person, we more
than an institution, after his death, the necessity of forming a Muslim
organization was becoming more and more imperative. The proposal
of joining the Congress was considered tantamount to suicide, and

Centenary Souvenir
28
it was categorically rejected
60
. Mian Muhammad Shah Din
discussed the political situation in the columns of the Civil &
Military Gazette. By clear and cogent reasoning, he pointed out that
it was impossible for the Muslim community to join the Congress
movement or to adopt the methods on which that organization was
worked, and that the time had arrived when Muslim leaders should
take practical steps to safeguard the interests of their community.
Fazl-i-Husain in an address to the Ajnuman-i-Himayat-i-Islam
enunciated the vital necessity of a political organization which
would unify Muslims, reform them, and stand for their interest
against the encroachments of Government and other communities.
Emphasizing the necessity of taking a new and a bold step, he said,
M.A.O. College, Aligarh, and the Anjuman-i-Himayat-i-Islam are
very useful working institutions, the Nadwas objects are laudable;
but all these put together are insufficient and even incompetent to
elevate our society. These institutions are not strong enough to work
out our National Redemption.
61
Sir Muhammad Shafi continued the
discussion in a series of articles published in The Observer (Lahore),
which he drew a sketch of the lines on which the proposed
es elected to the Central and Provincial
egislatures. He then presented a scheme for the formation of a
me

in
Muslim organization should be constituted, suggested the name of
Indian Muslim Patriotic League as suitable for adoption.
62

Eventually a meeting of the leading Muslims of India was
held at Lucknow on October 20-21, 1901, at the residence of Hamid
Ali Khan, under the presidentship of Syed Sharfuddin, who later
became a Judge of the Calcutta High Court. The meeting was
attended by 26 prominent Muslim leaders, including eminent
lawyers and the Editor of the Paisa Akhbar. The need of a political
council of chosen Musalmans was vehemently stressed by Hamid
Ali Khan and Sharfuddin.
63
Viqar-ul-Mulk explained how the
position of Muslims was deteriorating in the whole of India, how
their political rights were being attacked, how their representation in
Government services was going down, and how they could not get
their representativ
L
political association to work for their rights and demands. The
eting resolved:

29
(1) The Muslims of India should form an organization which
should act in respect of their social and political needs and
interests;
(2) It is necessary for the Muslims to keep away from the
Congress for the following reasons: the two main
objectives of the Congress representative Government
and recruitment to Government services through
ining the Indian National Congress or of
starting a public agitation.
65
Viqar-ul-Mulk toured the country to
secure
uestion of establishing
central political organization of the Musalmans, with a view to
competitive examinations are manifestly inimical to the
Muslim interests.
64

The meeting appointed a committee to organize branches in
various districts. Mohsin-ul-Mulk felt that the Lucknow meeting had
followed the path of Sir Syed inasmuch as it had rejected the
necessity either of jo
public support, but found it difficult to mobilize such support
at a satisfactory pace.

However, in 1902, it was reported that Muslims were not only
abstaining from countenancing the Congress, but were
contemplating the formation of a Muslim organization.
66
And in
1903, the Aligarh Institute Gazette took up the task of mobilizing
support for the proposal. The Gazette wrote fit to become a nation,
67

and emphasized the need to organize and consolidate the scattered
Muslim forces. What is wanted, at this stage of our progress, above
every thing else, is the knitting together of the men who are willing
to work practically for the community. What we want is
organization.
68
In July 1903, the Mohammedan Political
Association was formed at a public meeting of the Muslims held at
Saharanpur, U.P.
69
In a statement at a public meeting, Sahibzada
Aftab Ahmed Khan also emphasized the need to organize for
political purposes. Elections of the representatives of the Muslim
Association formed by Viqar-ul-Mulk were held at Murshadabad
and Aligarh,
70
but owing to Viqar-ul-Mulks long absence from
India, the organization did not gather strength and became defunct.
71

In March 1904, in an address delivered on the anniversary of the
death of Sir Syed, Mian Shah Din raised the q
a

Centenary Souvenir
30
taking such political action as, under the circumstances, might
ommend itself to the Muslim community.
72

Bengal and Assam were
constituted so as to form two provinces (i) Bengal and (ii) Eastern
le for all public
urposes. All other associations and organizations were asked to
c

Partition of Bengal

Bengal, as it came under British rule, was a big administrative
unit; and after British rule had been firmly established in India, it
began to be felt that Bengal should be split up into two parts for
administrative convenience. In 1874 Assam was separated. In
October 1906, the provinces of
re
Bengal and Assam. In the New Province of Eastern Bengal and
Assam, the Muslim were in a majority.

The day the partition was effected was observed as a day of
mourning by the Hindus. Among the Muslim leaders in favour of
partition, the most prominent was Nawab Salimullah of Dacca. In a
speech at Munshiganj, on the day the Partition Scheme was put into
effect, he observed that the Partition had aroused us from inaction
and directed our attention to activities and struggle. He and his
associates decided to organize the Muslim community into a
compact body and to set up an association which would serve as a
mouthpiece for the expression of views on all social and political
matters affecting the interests of the community. The chief object, as
the organizer stated, was consolidation and conservation of the
strength of the Muslims of the new Province as a who
p
affiliate themselves with it. Thus the Mohammedan Political Union
was founded, with Nawab Salimullah as its Patron.
73

The Hindu agitation against the partition continued unabated.
People were told that the partition was an insult to the Goddess Kali,
and the agitators adopted the song of Bande Matram
74
as a national
hymn. The antagonistic press raised a campaign of criticism against
Sir Bamfylde Fuller, LieutenantGovernor of Eastern Bengal and
Assam, which ultimately led to his resignation. A wave of
resentment ran across the whole Subcontinent. Lady Minto has
recorded the feelings of young Muslims in her Journal: The

31
younger generation were wavering, inclined to throw in their lot with
the advanced agitators of the Congress, then came Fullers
resignation. A bowl went up that the loyal Mohammedans were not
to be supported, and that th
75
e agitators were to obtain their demands
rough agitation. The Muslims received a severe shock. This is
y accepting Sir Bamfyldes resignation. It has
erved to awaken them after a sleep of carelessness. We shall now
d come when
omething should be done to draw the Governments attention to the
nity; and it seems that the Government, too,
as beginning to recognize the Muslim uneasiness.
77

th
apparent from the letter of Syed Nawab Ali Chowhdry to Mohsin-ul-
Mulk
76
(of August, 1906):

Up till now the Mohammedans of Bengal have been careless.
They have now begun to feel the consequences of their carelessness.
If only the Mohammedans of Bengal, instead of following the
government, had agitated like the Hindus and had enlisted the
sympathies of the Mohammedans of the whole of India, and raised
their voice up to the Parliament, they would never see these
unfortunate consequences. The resignation of Sir Bamfylde Fuller
has produced an unrest throughout the Mohammedans in the whole
of Bengal, and their aspiration for higher education and increased
rank and responsibility being subsided. Looking at it from one point
of view, the Government has taught a good lesson to the
Mohammedans b
s
have to proceed on the same lines as the Hindus, not only in India,
but in England.

The Muslims had realized that the time ha
s
existence of their commu
w

The Simla Deputation

In tracing the origins of Pakistan, some commentators give
decisive importance to the separate electorates secured by the
Muslim Deputation which was received by the Viceroy Lord Minto,
at Simla on October 1, 1906. The event has been described in the
Diary of Lady Minto as an epoch in Indian history. And the
Deputation certainly led to the establishment of the Muslim League.
The separate electorates became the basis of political parleys

Centenary Souvenir
32
between the Muslim League and the Congress, until, when these
failed, the League demanded an independent State for the Muslims,
comprised of their majority areas, as embodied in the historic Lahore
inevitable that a system of
lection would be introduced in Indian Legislative Councils. On July
lative. I am glad
say that the GovernorGeneral is about to appoint a small
heories at any hazard can only bring about the ruin of the
ountry.. I am afraid Mr. Morley knows more about Voltaire and
im point of view to the Viceroy. On August 4,
906, Mohsin-ul-Mulk wrote a letter to W.A.J. Archbold, the
Resolution of March 23, 1940. The background of the Deputation
and the demands defined and formulated by it may be noted in brief.

In the beginning of this century, a Liberal Government came
to power in England; and it appeared
e
20, 1906, John Morley, the Secretary of State for India, in his budget
speech in the House of Commons said:

I do not say that I agree with all that the Congress desires;
but, speaking broadly of what I conceive to be at the bottom of the
Congress, I do not see why any one who takes a cool and steady
view of Indian Government should be frightened. Then there is
the extension of the representative element in the Legislative
Council not the Executive Council, but the Legis
to
committee from his Executive Council to consider what reforms in
this direction can be expediently carried forward.
78

The speech caused considerable concern among the Muslims
and Syed Husain Bilgrami (Imad-ul-Mulk) was one of the first to
react. He wrote to the Resident of Hyederabad: I see that Mr.
Morley is going ahead in a most reckless manner. Minister who
know nothing of the conditions of life in India and yet wish to carry
out their t
c
eighteenth century Literature than the conditions of contemporary
India.
79

Aftab Ahmad Khan, Sir Mohammad Yakub, Haji Mohammad
Ismail and other Muslim leaders approached Mohsin-ul-Mulk to
represent the Musl
1
Principal of Aligarh College, who was staying in Simla during the
summer vacation:

33

You must have read and thought over Mr. John Morleys
peech on the Indian Budget. It is very much talked of among the
duce election
n a more extended scale, the Mohammedans will hardly get a seat,
It has also been proposed that a memorial be submitted to His
I feel it is a very important matter, and, if we remain silent, I
s
Mohammedans of India and is commonly believed to be a great
success achieved by the National Congress.

You are aware that the Mohammedans already feel a little
disappointed, and young educated Mohammedans seem to have a
sympathy for the Congress; and this speech will produce a greater
tendency in them to join the Congress. Although there is little
reason to believe that any Mohammedans, except the young
educated ones, will join that body, there is still a general complaint
on their part that we (Aligarh people) take no part in politics, and do
not safeguard the political rights of Mohammedans; they say that we
do not suggest and plans for preserving their rights, and practically
do nothing and care nothing for the Mohammedans beyond asking
for funds to help the College. I have got several letters drawing
attention particularly to the new proposal of elected representatives
in the Legislative Councils. They say that the existing rules confer
no rights on Mohammedans, and no Mohammedans get into the
Councils by election: every now and then Government nominates a
stray Mohammedan or two by kindness, not, however, on the ground
of his ability, but of his position, who is neither fit to discharge his
duties in the Council, nor is he considered a true representative of his
community. If the new rules now to be drawn up intro
o
while Hindus will carry off the palm by dint of their majority, and no
Mohammedan will get into the Councils by election.

Excellency the Viceroy to draw the attention of Government to a
consideration of the rights of Mohammedans.

am afraid, people will leave us to go their own way and act up to
their own personal opinions.

Centenary Souvenir
34
Will you therefore inform me if it would be advisable to
bmit
had written to Archbold to enquire from the
iceroy as to whether he would receive a Muslim deputation which
ter: I have told him H.E. will agree to receive the
eputation. Archbold then wrote Mohsin-ul-Mulk his famous
su a memorial from the Mohammedans to the Viceroy, and the
request His Excellencys permission for a deputation to wait on His
Excellency to submit the views of Mohammedans on the matter?
80

Mohsin-ul-Mulk also informed Viqar-ul-Mulk and other
Muslim leaders that he
V
wished to submit a memorial.
81
At the same time, Mohsin-ul-Mulk
wrote to Syed Ali Imam, Shah Din and Syed Hussain Bilgrami to
draft this memorial.
82

On August 8, 1906, Minto forwarded a copy of Mohsin-ul-
Mulks letter of August 4 to Morley, and added: It was only put
before me to-day and is important in illustrating the trend of
Mohammedan thought, and the apprehension that Mohammedan
interests may be neglected in dealing with any increase of
representation in the Legislative Councils. I have not had time to
think over the advisability of receiving the proposed deputation, but
am inclined to do so.
83
Archbold in a letter pressed Dunlop Smith,
the Viceroys Private Secretary, to get the Viceroys approval for
receiving the Muslim Deputation. Dunlop Smith in the meanwhile
took a few other top Government people at Simla into confidence,
and showed them Mohsin-ul-Mulks letter. Some of them
immediately agreed that the Viceroy should receive the deputation.
On August 10, 1906, Denzil Ibbetson, a member of the Viceroys
Council wrote to Dunlop Smith that the Viceroy should receive the
deputation. And later, on the same day, Dunlop Smith informed
Archbold that the Viceroy would receive the deputation, and noted
on Archbolds let
84
D
letter of August 10, 1906, which many have since made a point to
quote without referring to what Mohsin-ul-Mulk had written on
August 4, 1906.

Colonel Dunlop Smith, Private Secretary to His Excellency
the Viceroy, informs me that His Excellency is agreeable to receive
the Muslim Deputation. He advised that a formal letter requesting

35
permission to wait on His Excellency be sent to him. In this
connection, I would like to make a few suggestions. The formal
letter should be sent with the signatures of some representatives
Musalmans. The deputation should consist of the representatives of
all the provinces. The third point to be considered is the text of the
address. I would here suggest that we begin with a solemn
expression of loyalty. The Government decision to take a step in the
direction of self-government should be appreciated. But our
apprehension should be expressed that the principle of election, if
introduced, would prove detrimental to the interest of the Muslim
inority. It should respectfully be suggested that nomination or
revise it. If it is prepared in Bombay, I can go through it
s, you are aware, I know how to phrase these things in proper
short time at our disposal, we must expedite
atters.
ng phrases which give an
ssurance of deliberate aloofness from political agitation in the
m
representation by religion be introduced to meet Muslim opinion.
We should also say that in a country like India, due weight must be
given to the views of zemindars.

Personally, I think it will be wise of the Muslims to support
nomination, as the time of experiment with elections has not yet
come. In elections it will be very difficult for the Muslims to secure
their due share. But in all these views, I must be in the background.
They must come from you..I can prepare for you the draft of the
address or
a
language. Please remember that if we want to organize a powerful
movement in the
85
m

On August 18, Mohsin-ul-Mulk, replying to another letter of
Archbold, wrote:

Thanks for your letter of the 14
th
instant together with a draft
of the formal application. I am sending it to a few of my friends, but
I am sure nobody will like the openi
a
future. Probably also they will not like me to represent their cause to
Government without the means of a political association. I shall,
however, let you know what is decided.

Centenary Souvenir
36
I find that Mohammedan feeling is very much changed, and I
am constantly getting letters using emphatic language and saying
that the Hindus have succeeded owing to their agitation and the
Mohammedans have suffered for their silence. The Mohammedans
have generally begun to think of organizing a political association
and forming themselves into political agitators. Although it is
impossible for the Mohammedans, on account of their lack of ability
and union and want of funds, to attain any success like the Hindus,
nd they are likely to lose rather than gain by such a course, it is yet,
poss
mmedans. They say that
overnment has proved by its actions that without agitation there is
nt section of the Indian
opulation, which has always supported and even depended on
a
im ible for anybody to stop them. The Mohammedans of Eastern
Bengal have received a severe shock. I have got a letter from Syed
Nawab Ali Chowdhry of Dacca which gives utterance to the
extremely sorrowful feeling prevailing there.

These people generally say that the policy of Sir Syed and
mine has done no good to Moha
G
no hope for any community and that if we can do nothing for them
we must not hope to get any help for the College; in short the
Mohammedans generally will desert us because the policy of the
College is detrimental to their interests.

My dear Archbold, nobody can say that the present state of
Mohammedan feeling is without justification. The Liberal
Government is at the bottom of it, and is responsible for it. I consider
it a wrong policy arising out of the ignorance of the real conditions
in India. Mr. Johi Morely is a philosopher and might well have been
contented to give lessons in philosophy; one cannot but feel sorry
that the destiny of India has been placed in his hands. His policy has
done a lot of injury to India and may do much more. Is it right for
the Government to allow an importa
p
Government to safeguard its interests, to be disappointed and get up
a spirit of agitation like the Hindus? I only hope that the Government
of India will do something to subside the growing Mohammedan
feeling and remedy their hopelessness.
86

37
The Muslim leaders lost no time in organizing the deputation.
The draft memorial prepared by Imad-ul-Mulk Syed Hussain
Bilgrami, in collaboration with Mohsin-ul-Mulk and others, was
discussed and finalized at a meeting of Muslim representatives at
Lucknow on September 16, 1906. The Deputation consisting of
prominent Muslim leaders, led by the Aga Khan, was received by
Minto on October 1,1906. In the address, it was urged that the
position accorded to the Muslim community in any kind of
representation, direct or indirect, and in all other ways effecting their
status and influence, should be commensurate, not merely with their
numerical strength, but also with their political importance and the
value of their contribution to the defence of the Empire. It was
pointed out that it could not be denied that the Muslims were a
distinct community with additional interests of their own, which
were not shared by other communities, and these had hitherto
suffered from the fact that they had not been adequately represented.
On a more practical plane, the Deputation discussed the question of
representation. Representatives institutions of a European type were
new to the Indian people; therefore the greatest care and caution
were necessary if they were to be successfully adapted to the social
and religious conditions obtaining in India. In the absence of such
care and caution, their adoption might place Muslim interests at the
ercy of an unsympathetic majority. The delegation suggested ways
Mohammad
lis description of the Deputation as a command performance,
m
and means for safeguarding Muslim interests in municipal bodies
and district boards, and the Imperial Legislative Council through
separate electorates. The Viceroy in reply assured the Muslims that
their political rights and interests as a community would be
safeguarded in the electoral representation.
87

Dr. Rajendra Prashad
88
, Lal Bhadur
89
, Ram Gopal
90
and other
critics of Muslim policy have alleged that Archbold was the
originator of the Deputation, and that inspiration for it came from
Simla. Some of the authors have distorted Maulana
A
and used it out of its context. In face of the events that did happen,
and having regard to the documents now discovered, these
allegations are baseless. Zafarul Islam
91
, M.D. Chaughtai
92
, Syed

Centenary Souvenir
38
Razi Wasti
93
and Shamshad Ahmed Rana
94
have also conclusively
clarified the position about the origin of the Deputation.

The allegations that Archbold was the originator and that the
inspiration came from Simla are based on the assumption that
Archbolds letter of August 10, 1906, set the ball rolling. The critics
have quoted the letter pointedly without reference to the fact that it
was written in reply to Mohsin-ul-Mulks letter of August 4, 1906. It
is also apparent from Mintos letter of August 8 to Morley that the
Viceroy had not made up his mind to receive the delegation till then.
Mohsinul Mulk and his colleagues had rejected various
suggestions Archbold had made for incorporation in the memorial,
especially with regard to nomination which again clearly shows
that the Muslims were acting independently. Dunlop Smiths diary,
in an entry dated November 11, 1907, records that Mohsin-ul-Mulk
engineered the great Mohammedan Deputation a
95
lmost single-
anded. Similar observations have been made by Lady Minto in
f the Viceroys Legislative Council for the United Provinces, and
msel
, in reply to the Judges inquiry whether he had any
ounsel to represent him in the trial, had frankly replied that he had
h
her dairy. In fact, some of the Hindu leader of that time had
welcomed the Viceroys speech in reply to the address of the
Muslim Deputation. Sir Ram Bahadur, who was till then a member
o
hi f a Congressed, wrote to Dunlop Smith in appreciation of all
that the GovernorGeneral had said to the Muslims.
96

Maulana Mohammad Alis description of the Deputation as a
command performance is found in his Presidential Address delivered
to the Indian National Congress at Cocanada on December 24, 1923:

To follow the fashion of British journalists during the War,
there is no harm now in saying that the Deputation was a command
performance! It was clear that Government could not longer resist
the demands of educated Indians, and, as usual, it was about to dole
out to them a morsel that would keep them gagged for some years.
Hitherto the Muslims had acted very much like the Irish prisoner in
the dock who
c
certainly not engaged counsel, but that he had friends in the jury!
But now the Muslims friends in the jury had themselves privately

39
urged that the accused should engage duly qualified counsel like all
others. From whatever source the inspiration may have come, there
is no doubt that the Muslim cause was this time properly
advocat
97
ed.
vited to join, and they did not approve the
ethods of that body. But as the rulers of this country had, in
rsua
ad given rise.
controversy which had gone on throughout the
orley-Minto Regime with regard to the claims of the Indian
and to a great extent satisfied this claim. In this
ontroversy, I had taken my full share, and I felt that I should now

The context in which the comment is made shows that the
Maulanas description of the Deputation is not his considered
opinion but a casual observation. The Maulanas verdict, however,
was that the Muslims cause was at that time properly advocated. In
the Green Book compiled by the Maulana himself in 1906, it is
stated:

The result of these cogitations was the famous Deputation to
Lord Minto that went to Simla on October 1, 1906. The
Mohammedans had hitherto stood aloof from the one great political
body in India, namely the Congress, because they did not trust the
company they were in
m
pu nce of their own natural instincts and traditions found it
expedient to give to representative institutions an increasingly
important place in the government of the country, the Musalmans
could not any longer in justice to their own national interests hold
aloof from participating in the conditions to which the policy of their
rulers h
98

On January 7, 1909, the Maulana wrote a letter to Dunlop
Smith about the Morley-Minto Reforms. The letter is significant, as
it nowhere shows that the Maulana considered the demands put
forward by the Deputation the result of a command from above.
99
In
My Life: A Fragment, written by the Maulana in prison in 1922, it is
stated:

A great
M
Musalmans to be represented as a community in the Legislatures,
and the local bodies of the country, culminated the Reforms which
recognized
c

Centenary Souvenir
40
assist my community in taking its proper share in the political life of
the country.
100

In his last letter, written to the British Prime Minister on
January 1, 1931, just two days before his death, the Maulana rightly
recalled:

Freedom for India is not separate electorates, though being
one of the authors of the separate electorates in 1906, I shall be the
last to surrender them. Let me first say what is the use of separate
electorates. A separate electorate gives to the Muslim client in the
case he is fighting the counsel that he selects himself and can trust.
every law court every client is permitted to do that even though
meti
lly organized by the well-known Muslim
ader, Nawab Mohsin-ul-Mulk, shortly before he died. Nor was the
In fact, evidence is now available which shows that as early
In
so mes he is provided with counsel at Government expense. The
other party is certainly never allowed to choose his counsel for him.
If there had been an independent and impartial judge all that we
would have needed would have been a trustworthy counsel, and that
was just what was provided a generation ago for us so wisely by
Lords Morley and Minto.
101

Professor R. Coupland is of the opinion that there is no
evidence to suggest that the Deputation was in any sense engineered.
He adds that it was actua
le
Muslim opposition to an unqualified representatives system on the
British model a novelty in 1906. As early as 1883, Syed Ahmed,
speaking on Lord Ripons introduction of elections to local bodies,
declared that election pure and simple was quite unsuited to
diversified India where the rigour of religious institutions has kept
even neighbours apart.
102

as 1903 Muslim leaders were contemplating such a deputation. On
January 18, 1903, Mohsin-ul-Mulk wrote to Viqar-ul-Mulk: Moulvi
Syed Hussain desires that a deputation should be sent to England to
present an address to His Majesty the Emperor of India on behalf of
the Muslims of India. The suggestion is excellent, but its
implementation is extremely difficult.
103

41

Recent Hindu authors have seen the origin of the Deputation
in its proper perspective. Amales Tripathi has held that the
Deputation was not a got up affair and the initiative came from the
Muslims themselves.
104
M.S. Jam says: The Private papers of Lord
Minto throw a flood of light on the whole question, and now it may
be safely asserted that the British Government had no hand in the
whole scheme of the Simla Deputation, except that it agreed to
welcome and receive it. And if we bear in mind the memorandum
drafted by the Muhammedan Defence Association, enumerating the
Mohammedan demands in 1896, we would find that there was no
aterial difference between the demands of 1896 and 1906. Thus m
keeping in view the above facts, it can be stated that the whole
responsibility for the Deputation must rest on the Muslim
community which planned and worked it. The Indian nationalists
straightaway branded the Deputation of 1906 as a command
performance without looking to the role which the Muslims played
at that time.
105

Further new evidence to this effect is also available from a
letter of Syed Mohammed Zauqi
106
which has not been made public
before now. Recalling his visit to India in 19056 when
accompanied the Prince of Wales on his tour of India, Zauqi records
a series of talks he had with prominent Muslim leaders and also two
Congress leaders. Syed Zauqi indicates that this conversation with
Imad-ul-Mulk Syed Hussain Bilgrami, Viqar-ul-Mulk and Mohsin-
ul-Mulk showed that young Muslims were restless and the need for a
Muslim political organization was becoming increasingly evident.
By March 1906, Several proposals for a Muslim Congress were
current, and it was also mentioned that Viqar-ul-Mulk had started
such an organization. When it became known that the Minto-Morley
Reforms were to be introduced, Syed Zauqi writes, Nawab Mohsin-
ul-Mulk utilized the opportunity, and as a stepping-stone in the
direction of the permanent establishment of the proposed political
association, he at once started organizing a Muslim Deputation to
wait upon Lord Minto. He worked with lightning speed. Nawab
Imad-ul-Mulk drafted the Memorial. Both the Nawabs received
private assurances that the Viceroys reply would be sympathetic.

Centenary Souvenir
42
Zauqi goes on to say that the whole thing was done very secretly for
fear of the reactions of the Hindu press, but that the matter was well
enough known to at least two Congress leaders. In Bombay, Sir
Pherozeshah Mehta told him, You Mohammedans are about to have
a Congress of you own. There is no reason why you should not have
it. You shall have my sympathy and support. But I tell you one
thing. Remember it well. Your moderates will be our extremists.
You will give a lot of trouble to the Government and the Hindus. I
hall be glad of it. And just about the eleventh hour of the
s that he
et Gokhale, who told him every thing about the Deputation and
and
iqar-ul-Mulk used the opportunity furnished by such a
s
Deputation, when he was again in Bombay, Zauqi report
m
gave him the contents of the Memorial as drafted by Imad-ul-Mulk.
When Zauqi bluntly asked whether this was the result of Congress
espionage, Gokhale said that he had received a copy of the Memorial
officially from the Viceroy.

Groundwork for the Foundation of the Muslim League

As stated earlier, a meeting of Muslim representatives was
held at Lucknow on September 15-16, 1906, to finalize the text of
the address to be presented to the Viceroy. Mohsin-ul-Mulk
V
representatives gathering to arrange a discussion of the important
question of an All-India Muslim organization to safeguard Muslim
interest, and to counteract disruptive forces which were leading the
country to chaos. The Muslim representatives then present at
Lucknow met at the house of Raja Naushad Ali Khan. The account
of the proceedings has been recalled by Mian Mohammad Shafi:

The need for an organization having been unanimously
admitted, the question next discussed was whether they were to
begin by establishing district associations all over the country, and
then proceed to build the fabric of the organization upwards, or on
the other hand, to settle the constitution, make an immediate start by
commencing with the central body, and proceed to work downwards
to the lowest rung in the ladder. Mian Mohammad Shafi pointed out
that however ideal the first of the two methods might be it was, in
practice, almost impossible to carry it out with any real advantage to

43
the national cause. On the contrary, it would involve an inordinate
amount of delay and the widely scattered efforts made in carrying it
out might, in the end, result in an absolute waste of national and
individual energies. Meanwhile, there was need for immediate action
and any further delay on our part was fatal to our communal interests
as well as to the causes of law and order. The right way to proceed
was to take advantage of the annual gathering of Muslim
representatives from all parts of the country during the Christmas
holidays, on the occasion of the anniversary of the All-India
ohammedan Educational Conference, lay the foundation of an All-
oposed organization
as next taken up. Mian Mohammed Shafi wrote the words Muslim
d unanimously
dopted. Further discussion of the matter was postponed till the
eetin
,
hich had been established by Fazl-i-Husain in February 1906,
M
India political organization at once, advise a constitution, and call
upon provincial leaders to complete the whole plan as soon as
possible. After some discussion, all present agreed to the adoption of
this method of action and Mohsin-ul-Mulk and Viqar-ul-Mulk were
elected provisional Secretaries to carry out the plan decided in the
meeting.

The question of a suitable name for the pr
w
League on a slip of paper and passed it on to Aftab Ahmad Khan,
who, having given a nod of assent to the proposal, showed the paper
to Mohsin-ul-Mulk and Viqar-ul-Mulk. With their consent, the
proposed name was placed before the meeting, an
a
m g of the All-India Deputation at Simla.
107

After the Muslim Deputation had presented its address at the
Viceregal Lodge, Simla, on October 1, the members of the
Deputation met at Nabha House; and after some discussion, the
proposals of the Lucknow meeting were adopted.
108

Apart from the proposals made by the Deputation in the
meetings at Lucknow and Simla respectively, Mohsin-ul-Mulk had
received a large number of suggestions from Muslim leaders and
associations, including one from the Muslim League of the Punjab
109
w
and was the first organization to call itself the Muslim League.
110

Centenary Souvenir
44
According to Syed Nawab Ali, the meeting at Simla had
decided to form a central organization for the Muslims of India
under the name of Confederacy.
111
The Aga Khans version is
found in the letter he wrote to Mohsin-ul-Mulk on October 4, 1906:
r to
btain the granting of the various prayers which the address
ng the members of the
eputation. P.S. I further suggest that if any of the members of the
onsulting him. However, this should

Perhaps I may be allowed as one who took part in the recent
Deputation to H.E. the Viceroy to make a few suggestions as to the
future. The whole of the Mohammedan community have taken the
keenest interest in the movement, and they look to us to try out best
to ensure that the objects which were set forth in the address may be
ultimately secured.

It may be well that the provincial associations should be
formed with the aim of safeguarding the political interests of
Mohammedans in the various portions of India, and similarly some
central organization of the whole. On these matters I do not wish to
pronounce an opinion. They are best left, I think, to the discretion of
the leaders in the days that are to come.

But as the Deputation was formed with a view to the securing
of certain definite objects of the most vital interest to Mohammedans
as a whole, I venture to regard its work as begun only, and its seems
to me from every point of view important that it should without
delay continue its labours until complete success has crowned its
efforts. To this end, I would suggest that the Deputation which
presented the address resolve itself into a committee to endeavou
o
embodied. This Mohammedan Committee for the completion of the
work of the Deputation might, if it were thought necessary, add to its
numbers, though I would suggest, in the interest of the rapid carrying
out of its business, that this should be done sparingly. I am sure also
that I express what is the wish of all my fellowMohammedans
when I ask you to continue to act as Secretary of this committee.

Please circulate my letter amo
D
Committee be absent or unable to give proper attention, the other
members should act without c

45
not mean his resignation but only his inability to be of service of the
e b
egarding the methods by which he is to proceed
uring my absence. I have also asked him not to move in any matter
cutely from inanition. The associations
at exist in different parts of the country possess no solidarity, and
ment their considered views on public matters, or to
btain relief from the mischiefs arising from the misunderstanding of
eir laws and customs.
114

tim eing. Such an absent or indisposed members, unless directly
asked to resign or he himself resigns, will continue to be a
permanent member of the Committee.
112

On October 29, the Aga Khan conveyed the following
information to Dunlop Smith:

In order to reach the definite objects mentioned by the
Deputation in the petition to H.E. the Viceroy, I have asked all the
members of the Simla Deputation to form into a permanent
committee; and I have given to my old friend Nawab Mohsin-ul-
Mulk, who as you know is a most loyal and zealous Mohammedan,
certain instructions r
d
before first finding out if the step to be taken has the full approval of
Government privately, as otherwise unintentionally he might be led
to do something or other that would leave the Government in an
inconvenient situation. He is going to be the Honorary Secretary of
this informal committee, and we cannot have a better or more
trustworthy man.
113

Syed Ameer Ali, who founded the Central National
Mohammedan Association in 1877, and had since been urging the
Muslims to organize themselves into a distinct political group, again
emphasized the need of a political party. In November 1906, Syed
Ameer Ali wrote an article on the Memorial of the Muslim
Deputation, and observed that while the Hindus possessed powerful
institutions for safeguarding their rights and privileges, the Indian
Musalmans were suffering a
th
display no conception of the essential requirements of the
community. There is no concerted action to prevent the further
decline of their people, to promote their advancement, to place
before Govern
o
th

Centenary Souvenir
46
It is, therefore, clear that by 1906 Muslim leaders had come to
zation to
ecure independent political recognition from the British
Nawab Salimullah of Dacca, who could not join the Simla
towar
circul
Confe
League em b Salimullah Khans
All-India
the conclusion that they should have an independent organi
s
Government.

Nawab Salimullahs Scheme for a Muslim Confederacy

Deputation because of an eye operation, took the first concrete step
ds establishing a Muslim organization. In November 1906, he
ated a scheme for the formation of the Muslim All-India
deracy. The scheme was the embryo from which the Muslim
erged. The relevant text of Nawa
letter is as follows:

1. This day being the birthday of His Majesty our most
gracious King Emperor, I think it an auspicious
occasion for me to-day to place before my
Mohammedan brethren my views on the project of our
Muslim All-India Confederacy.
2. Owing to may inability to attend the AllIndia
Mohammedan Deputation to His Excellency the
Viceroy at Simla, I penned a few notes for the
information of my brother delegates on the advisability
of forming a Central Mohammedan Association for all
India, which could bring into touch the aims and
aspirations of our community throughout the country.
3. These notes were, I learnt, discussed at an informal
meeting of those present at Simla and it was proposed,
without coming to any definite resolution, that the
matter should be finally settled at the
Mohammedan Educational Conference at Dacca
during the Christmas week next December, and in the
meantime the scheme, as drafted, may be submitted for

47
discussions to all our various Mohammedan
associations and societies, as well as to those pre-
eminent amongst our co-religionists, for their
collective and individual opinion and advice.
4. I have, therefore, in view of the discussion that took
place at Simla, enlarged these notes, and now submit
them to our Association, friends and co-religionists in
the various parts of the country, as well as to the press
for favour of bonafide, honest and fearless discussion,
which may lead us to a modus operandi for the
establishment of an institution of the character I
propose should be formed. I shall, therefore, feel
ed out by me in my
obliged to those associations which will be sending
their delegates and those gentlemen representing their
provinces who will be pleased to attend to Conference
at Dacca, if these gentlemen come fully authorized to
express to views of the association and provinces, so
that our deliberations, as much as possible, may voice
the voice of the whole Muslim community.
5. From the information I received, I find the majority of
those present at the informal meeting, as well as others
consulted at Simla, were in favour of a central All-
India association of the kind sketch
notes; but I desire that every consideration should be
paid to the view of the minority, so that after full
deliberation, those whom we may not for the present
succeed in fully getting into agreement with us, will
nevertheless merge their individual differences and
heartily co-operate with the majority for the common
good of Islam and our community.
6. It was hinted by some that there was no necessity for
any such central Association, inasmuch as it would
cripple and starve the local associations, and instead of
a central association, local associations should be
formed where none at present exist. But if anything, a
central association, of the kind I propose will be the
very medium of starting, where none is in existence,

Centenary Souvenir
48
and fostering a local association, or the necessity for
the same being established. While a very few seem to
have a fear that a central association of the kind we
want would interfere with such a centre of
Mohammedan life as is now bound up with the Aligarh
College and Institute, one of the chief principles of its
noble founder, laid down for our guidance, being to
avoid all politics. But while the central association
will, I trust, be the means of not only enlarging the
usefulness and scope of the Aligarh College, it will be
able, I hope, to find time to establish institutions in
each province on lines laid down by the Aligarh
College. While as regards politics, there can be no
question that, unless a desire to be left back in the race
for life, we must march with the times. The noble
foundations of the Aligarh College were laid 25 years
ago and the Institute has achieved its purpose but the
keep up its ability and usefulness, we have to enter into
the next stage of our political life of the country and
and earnest
religionists to
7.
of it was struck by our All-India
nation; and I only desire that full
consideration may be given by my co-
the scheme which has claimed my attention for some
time, and to such other schemes as may be submitted
for our consideration, so that we may come, after full
deliberation, to something that will advance the well-
being of our community.
The Necessity of a Central Association:
To the majority of my countrymen, I believe, the
necessity of a central association is fully established;
the key-note
Deputation to the Viceroy where in the address we
have stated as follows: Still it cannot be denied that we
Mohammedans are a distinct community with
additional interests of our own, which are not shared
by other communities, and these have suffered from
the fact that they have not been adequately
represented.

49
And it is hardly possible that these additional interests,
peculiarly our own, can be safeguarded and protected
unless there is a central authority to which the
Government can look for aid and advice, and it would
not be out of place to quote here the remarks of the
Times of India. In its article on the Mohammedan
Deputation to the Viceroy it states, it may be hoped
that one result of the unity of feelings thus aroused
amongst Muslims will be that they will be able to
express, from time to time, as occasion requires, the
views of the community which is in many respects
distinct, with, as the Memorial said, additional
interests of its own which are not shared by any other
community. The Times of India foreshadows what is
really being felt by thoughtful members of our
community: that the authorities are getting bewildered
owing to the multiplicity of Muslim associations now
coming into existence, and our young men, in various
parts of the country, assuming to speak on behalf of
the whole Muslim community of India, and on many
occasions, which I need not here mention, in direct
opposition and conflict to each other. I am aware of
several instances wherein untold mischief has occurred
through irresponsible Mohammedan gentlemen, and
associations sprung up and were created by some (who
really at heart have no regard for our community) for
the sole purpose of establishing their own political
importance, addressing Government and the public
without anyone to question their right to do so. Of
course Government cannot refuse to receive any
representation from any corporate body or individual,
however distinguished or undistinguished they or he
may be, yet such representation fails to carry weight
owing to the authorities not knowing how far the views
contained therein are consonant with the view are
adopted by the authorities, they fail in receiving
respectful concurrence from the Muslim in general, as
being the views of only some particular associations or

Centenary Souvenir
50
individuals, and more or less misleading, thereby
causing much harm to the Muslim community as a
sociation of
8.
the aims and objects of
policy and object
9.
, The Mohammedan All-India
all the various Muslim
institut
whole. Hence if there were an All-India as
the kind I propose, Government will be able to refer to
it all such representations as may be received by the
authorities, to ascertain the views of the community in
general before finally passing orders thereon; and there
will be no danger of any party or parties
misrepresenting the facts to serve individual interests.
The Aims and Objects of the Association:
Its is absolutely necessary that
the Association should be definitely stated; and
although I am sure I shall not receive any hearty
support from some of my co-religionists, yet I for one
honestly believe that the time has come when, if the
Association is to be a force and power for good, it
must at the very outset lay down its
and I would do so as follows:
That the sole object and purpose of the Association
shall be whenever possible, to support all measures
emanating from the Government and to protect the
cause and advancement of the interest of our co-
religionists throughout the country.
How this is to be done I show below:
Name: A suitable name is one of the greatest
desiderata of an institution such as we contemplate,
and after a careful consideration of several
appellations, I think
Confederacy would suit us best, as the Association
would be the mouthpiece of
ions, social, religious and political, as well as of
the leading men throughout the country, who will have
allied themselves together for the one common object
of protecting the interests and advancing the cause of
their co-religionists.
The object or raison detre:

51
(a) To controvert the growing influence of the
so-called Indian National Congress, which has a
10.
eny that the so-called Indian
tendency to misinterpret and subvert the British Rule
in India, or which may lead to that deplorable
situation, and (b) to enable our young men of
education, who, for want of such an association, have
joined the Congress Camp, to find scope to exercise
their fitness and ability for public life.
From the trend of the discussion at Simla, there is, I
believe, some disinclination to state our object and
reason in this bold and blunt manner, as it will, it is
contended, arouse the ire and anger of our Hindu
brethren. But I think that time has come when we must
no longer mind matterswe must not stand upon
sentiment it is mere sentiment that is causing such
havoc and misery in the present partition of Bengal.
And the question the policy now openly declared by
those who are termed extremists is one conducive to
the maintenance of British Raj; and if, as we must
hold, it is not, we must then consider whether those
gentlemen forming the Extremist Party do or do not
form part and parcel of the Indian National Congress,
and unless the Congress is an open and public
assembly, and by a resolution disassociates itself from
the views of this party, we Mohammedans cannot
countenance or be associated with the Congress. We
are sorry, but cannot d
National Congress has become a potent voice in the
counsels of the country. We must therefore, as true a
loyal subjects of the British Raj, do our utmost to
controvert and thwart that influence which it has
attained, when we find it working for the destruction
of all that we hold dear.
There is no doubt that many of our young educated
Mohammedans find themselves shoved off the line of official
preferment and promotion, unless they join, or at least show
sympathy with, the Congress Party. All our Mohammedan

Centenary Souvenir
52
newspapers are full of the cry that there is now-a-days not the same
dearth of Mohammedan graduates and undergraduates as before,
but they are passed over (in fact this was pointedly alluded to in the
ll-India address to the Viceroy) on the ground that they do not
e u
t the Mohammedan community do need an authoritarian
edium for the expression of their views. Failing it, the legitimate
e is often lost.
119
The Englishman
xpressed similar views. It published a letter by one J.B., who liked
A
com p to the Government standard of efficiency. The Executive
Committee of the Confederacy will be in constant communication
with all the local associations, and will watch the career of our
promising young men, who will no longer look to the Congress for
their advancement in life.
115

The Bengalese strongly criticized Nawab Salimullahs
scheme and hoped that the Muslims would not agree to it. It did not
even like the name: The Muslim AllIndia Confederacy, reminds
us of the Mahratha Confederacy of old and the Khalsa Confederacy
of more recent times. Why should the Nawab assume a bellicose
name when sycophancy is to be the watchword of the
Association?
116
The Times of India considered his circular ill
advised and indiscreet, though it appreciated the need for an
association to unify the activities of the numerous Muslim
associations in existence.
117
The Beharee characterized the scheme
as hopelessly preposterous and calculated to embitter the relations
between Hindus and Muslims. It hoped that none of the Muslims
would associate with the Salimullah tomfoolery
118
The Pioneer
thought tha
m
influence they should exercis
e
the Nawabs scheme and suggested that the formation of such a
Muslim political association was essential in the countrys
interest.
120

Birth of the Muslim League

In December 1906, Nawab Salimullahs scheme became the
basis of discussion among the Muslim leaders who had assembled
from all parts of India to attend the All-India Mohammedan
Education Conference at Dacca. Sir Rafiuddin Ahmad, one of the
delegates present, recalled: His scheme was not adopted in its

53
entirely as the phraseology of the document did not seem quite
happy to the majority of the delegates, and the term confederacy
grated on the ears of not a few. The spirit of the Nawabs scheme
was, however, adopted and the essence approved. Therefore the
object, the establishment of a central political organization for
Muslim a
Muslim leade
presided. On
that a political association be fo
League th
(a)
res;
India, and to respectfully represent their
nue
r the publication of Mohammadens of India found a voice.
122
The
s, w s achieved.
121
Eventually, a public meeting of the
rs was held on December 30, 1906. Viqar-ul-Malk
the motion of the Nawab Salimullah, it was decided
rmed styled All-India Muslim
, for e furtherance of the following objects:
To promote among the Musalmans of India, feelings of
loyalty to the British Government, and to remove any
misconception that may arise as to intention of the
Government with regard to any of its measu
(b) To protect and advance the political rights and
interests of the Musalmans of India, and to respectfully
represent their need and aspirations to the
Government;
needs and aspirations to the Government;
(c) To prevent the rise, among the Musalmans of India, of
any feeling of hostility towards other communities,
without prejudice to the other aforementioned object of
the League.

The establishment of the Muslim League evoked mixed
feelings in the Indian Press. The Englishman thought it would
provide effective answer to the Congress as well as afford an ave
fo
Times of India and the Daily Telegraph of Lucknow welcomed its
formation. The Bangalee attacked the League and its organizers, and
predicted that it will, if it seeks to fulfil its mission, fraternize with
the Congress, and eventually coalesce with it. If not, it will go the
way of the Patriotic Association of the late Sir Syed Ahmed.
123

Only a section of the British press noticed the birth of the
Muslim League. The Times welcomed the change, not so much as a
mark of Muslim progress or unity, but as an inevitable outcome of

Centenary Souvenir
54
the Congress movement, and as an exposure of the hollowness of the
pretensions of Congress to speak for all of India. It reminded the
more cautious agitators that agitation was a game that provoked
counter-agitation, and that the counter-agitation might be conducted
by the most warlike races of the Peninsula. Despite the pacific
language of its founders, The Times doubted if the Leagues
establishment would make for peace.
124
The Spectator, while
admitting that the objects of the League were excellent, did not like
the feeling among Muslims that they must organize in a camp by
themselves. That is the real danger of the National Congress, as we
have already pointed out that in agitating for union it makes for
racial disunion.
125
The Morning Post warned the League to remain
entirely defensive and protective, and any deviation from its path
will call at once for the most drastic intervention of the British
rulers.
126
The Contemporary Review accorded a warm welcome to
the League, analysed its aims and objects and contrasted its
constitutional and loyal approach with the Congress policy of
violence. The founding of the League was ascribed to the Muslim
onviction after the agitators successful attempt at the removal of c
Sir Bamfylde Fuller that only by agitation could the Government
be reached. The Rubicon has been crossed, it declared, the
Muslims of India have forsaken the shades of retirement for the
political arena; henceforth a new factor in Indian politics has to be
reckoned with.
127

Lord Ronaldshay believes, that the birth of the Muslim
League was the result of a simple but vital problem: how was a
system of government which predicated homogeneity
128
of
population to be adjusted to meet the case of a population whose
outstanding characteristic was its heterogeneity. Mr. Spear is of the
opinion that the League was founded in response to the Hindu
agitation against the partition of Bengal, and that since then the
vitality of Muslim separatism was in direct proportion to the
militancy of Hindustan.
129
Dr. K.K. Aziz feels that the Muslim
League is the child of the four factors: First, the old belief uttered by
Sir Syed Ahmad Khan that the Muslims were somehow a separate
sentity; secondly, the Hindu character of the Indian National
Congress, which did not allow the Muslims to associate themselves

55
with other Indians; thirdly, the agitation against the partition of
Bengal, which suggested Hindu designs of domination over
Muslims; and finally, the Muslim desire to have their own exclusive
electorates for all representative institutions.
130
According to Mr.
B.B. Majumdar, had the plan of Syed Ameer Ali and the Central
Mohammedan Association to convene the Conference of All-India
Muslim leaders matured in 1877, the history of the Muslim League
would have been anticipated twenty years earlier.
131
Mr. M.S. Jam
describes the Leagues as a child of the Aligarh Movement. If one
oks at the activities of Sir Syeds Defence Association during
d that it was the true predecessor of the
uslim League, and it asked in 1896 what the Simla Deputation
l-India Muslim League was settled in this First
ession. A maximum of 400 members was fixed, and the bulk of
also dealt with the problem of
quaring up the difference between the two Provincial Leagues in
lo
1894-96, we would fin
M
asked for in 1906. The Muslim League had been founded in
accordance with Sir Syeds scheme of a separate Muslim
existence.
132

The Muslim Response

The new party was well received by the Muslims of the
Subcontinent; and very soon branches were set up at various
places.
133
The first session of the Muslim League was held at
Karachi on December 29-30. Sir Adamjee Peerbhoy presided. The
Constitution of the Al
S
those who formed the Simla Deputation were amongst its first
members. At a special meeting of the Council of the League, held at
Aligarh on March 18, 1908, the Aga was elected Parmanent
President of Muslim League and Syed Husain Bilgrami, the
Honorary Secretary.

A very tricky situation had arisen in the Punjab, where two
Leagues were established. One was formed by Mian Fazl-i-Husain
in February 1906, the other by Mian Mohammad Shafi on December
4 1907.
134
The Aligarh meeting
s
the Punjab. After long discussions it was decided to submit the
names of 24 members; and this was in fact done.
135
The two
Provincial Leagues were merged into one, with Mian Shah Din as

Centenary Souvenir
56
President, Mian Mohammad Shafi, General Secretary, and Mian
Fazl-i-Husain, Joint Secretary.
136

The Bihar Provincial League was set up in March 1908, the
President and Secretary of which were Syed Ali Imam and Mazhar-
ul-Haque respectively. The Provincial Muslim League for Eastern
Bengal was constituted at Dacca, and Moulvi Kazimuddin was
elected its President and the Nawab of Dacca its Secretary. The
Nawab established District Leagues in Eastern Bengal and
Assam.
137
Poona became the seat of the Deccan Provincial Muslim
League. In addition to being the President of the All-India Muslim
League, the Aga Khan was elected its President as well, and Sir
Rafiuddin became its Secretary. Seth Yakub Hussain established the
Madras League. Raja Naushad Ali Khan organized the Provincial
League in the United Provinces. In Western Bengal, Nawab Nasir
usain Khan took the initiative. Haji Riazuddin Ahmad was
e Central
rovinces, and H.M. Muhammad as its Secretary.
In May 1908, the London Branch of the All-India Muslim
8, the Muslim League submitted a
emorandum to the Viceroy giving its reactions to the scheme for
munity.

H
authorized by the Central League to organize a District League in
Oudh.
138
Muhammad Yusuf Khan was deputed to the Central
Provinces to organize branches of the League. Raja Azim Shah was
chosen as the President of the Provincial League of th
139
P

League was founded, with Syed Ameer Ali as the President, and Ibni
Ahmad as the Honorary Secretary. The Committee of 14 included
Dr. Mohammad Iqbal and Dr. M. A. Ansari as members.

Separate Electorates

On March 24, 190
m
the creation of Imperial and Provincial Councils as propounded in
the Government of Indias letter of August 2, 1907. The
Memorandum, said that the principle of class representation in the
Legislative Councils was entirely in accord with the sentiments of
the Muslim Com
140

57
In the
India,
the qu
Comm
recomm
y (as of all
other communities) in the various Councils would be a
o the legislatures of the province for the two
ommunities, also in proportion to population to population ratios.
League, led by Syed Ameer Ali, waited upon Morley,
and presente
elector
agitati
statem
Indian
Comm
ly, there will be a separate register for
Muslims. To us here at first sight it looks an objectionable
meanwhile, Lord Morley, the Secretary of State for
had appointed a Reform Committee of his Council to consider
estion of Indian electorates and Muslim representation. The
ittee accepted the scheme presented by Lord MacDonnel and
ended.

The committee think that the best plan for securing the
representation of the Mohammedan communit
system of electoral colleges, and cumulative voting in case of
minor minorities, whereby the representation of each great
division of the population in accordance with its proportion to
the whole population would be preserved; such a system to be
supplemented, when necessary, by nomination.

Thereafter the Secretary of State announced his proposals
which threw the scheme for separate electorates overboard, and
replaced it with joint electoral colleges to which a fixed proportion
of Muslims and Hindus, in the ratio of population, would be
returned. These electoral college members would then elect
representatives t
c
The proposals were published on December 17, 1908. At its
Amritsar Session (December 1908), the Muslim League viewed the
electoral college scheme with great alarm, and its President, Syed
Ali Imam, denounced it as dangerous, and Sessions Resolution III
confirmed this.

On January 27, 1909, a deputation of the London Branch of
the Muslim
d an address in which the demand for separate
ates was reiterated and emphasized.
141
The result of all this
on by the Muslims was that Morley made a more definite
ent in February 1909, when moving the second reading of the
Councils Bill. Soon Asquith announced in the House of
ons:
Undoubted

Centenary Souvenir
58
thing, because it discriminates between people and self-
segregates them in classes based on religion, but its cuts deep
down into traditions of a historic past, and is also
differentiated by the habit and social customs of the
etween the members of the two great sister communities. The
as held towards the end of
910 at Nagpur; and one of its resolution (VI) declared that the
communities.
142

Eventually, in May 1909, the Indian Councils Act of 1909
was enacted, conceding separate electorates to the Muslims. Thus,
the efforts of the Muslim League met with great success.

The Muslim League held its Third Annual Session in January
1910 at Delhi. In the absence of Syed Ameer Ali, the Prince of Arcot
Presided. The Aga Khan, in his presidential address, observed: For
the maintenance of our due share in the political life in this country,
and for the removal of an old-standing exclusion, which formed a
bone of contention between the Hindus and Mohammedans, the
separate electorates for Musalmans was deemed to be an absolute
necessity. Now that we have secured it, I hope it will result in a
permanent political sympathy and genuine working entente cordiale
143
b
Fourth Session of the Muslim League w
1
principle of communal representation should be extended to
Municipal and district board and other self-governing public bodies.

Annulment of the Partition of Bengal

The Muslim reaction to the Reforms embodied in the Act of
1909 was in general, one of acceptance and co-operation. But the
Muslim rejoicing was not destined to last very long. The annulment
of the Partition of Bengal in November 1911 came as a rude shock to
them. Nawab Viqar-ul-Malk wrote that the action of the government
in reversing the Partition had proved conclusively that no reliance
could be place in their plighted word. He also referred to the feelings
of disappointment and disillusionment caused among the Muslims
by the Governments decision and their drift towards the Congress.
By this decision, he wrote, Government displayed improper
indifference to the Muslims, and the result is that some educated
Muslims have begum to say that it is not in the Muslim interest to

59
keep aloof from the Hindus. They suggest that we should say
goodbye to the Muslim League and join the Indian National
Congress; and this is what the Congress had been after for many
years.
144
Nawab Salimullah, the President of the Muslim League
Session held at Calcutta in March 1912, said: The annulment of the
Partition had all the appearance of a ready concession to the
clamours of an utterly seditious agitation. It has appeared to put a
premium on sedition and disloyalty, and created an impression in the
minds of the irresponsible masses that even the Government can be
brought down in its knees by a r
145
eckless and persistent defiance of
onstituted authority. A part from the annulment of Partition,
war, the failure of the British to
stablish a university of the desired pattern at Aligarh, and Britains
uslims favoured a rapprochement
with th nd
at least to m g at Bankipur on
Decem 31
Council of th mmended that
the aim
(1) gs of
(2)
(3)
(4)
system of self-government suitable to
India, by bringing about a steady reform of the existing
c
armed conflict in Iran, the Balkan
e
anti-Turkish policies compelled the Muslims to revise their policies
towards the British Government.

Congress-League Co-operation

It was in these circumstances that the more radical section of
the Muslims found it easy to push the Muslim League nearer to the
Congress. Even the conservative M
e Hi us in order to put pressure on the British Government
odify its anti-Turkish policy. Meetin
ber , 1912, under the Presidency of the Aga Khan,
146
the
e League passed a resolution which reco
s of the League should be:
To promote and maintain among Indians feelin
loyalty towards the British Crown;
To protect and advance the political and other rights
and interests of the Indian Musalmans;
To promote friendship and union between the
Musalmans and other communities of India; and
Without detriment to the foregoing objects, the
attainment of a
system of administration; by promoting national unity
and fostering a public spirit among the people of India;

Centenary Souvenir
60
and by cooperating with other communities for the
said purposes.

As its Sixth Annual Session held on March 22-23, 1913, at
Lucknow, under the Chairmanship of Mian Mohammad Shafi, the
League ratified the change in the creed of the organization as
recommended by its Council.

Although Mr. M.A. Jinnah had by that time not yet become a
member of the Muslim League, he attended both the Council
meeting and the Sixth Session as a special guest. It was mainly
through his efforts that the creed of the League was changed, and the
bove resolution was passed, emphasizing the promotion of
armo
ress resolution, adopted at its annual session held at
arachi in December 1913, expressed its warm appreciation of the
While the event in the various Islamic countries were
gagi
were able
capture the All-India Muslim League. This opened a gulf between
a
h nious relationship and co-operation among the various Indian
communities. An interesting feature of this League Session was that
it was attended by Mrs. Sarojini Naidu and many other Hindu
leaders.

A Cong
K
adoption by the All-India Muslim League of the ideal of self-
government for India within the British Empire, and endorsed the
plea of the League for harmonious cooperation between the two
communities.

en ng the attention of the Musalmans, at home there occurred a
tragedy, commonly known as the Cawnpore (Kanpur) Mosque
Affair. The Muslim League Session held at Agra condemned the
attitude of the officials who were responsible for this tragedy.

By now the radicals among the Muslim leadership
to
the new generation of radicals and the old of moderates. Towards the
end of 1913, Maulana Mohammad Ali and Syed Wazir Hasan,
Secretary of the Muslim League, visited London to explain Indian
Muslim opinion on the Mosque Affair and other matters.

61
In London an unfortunate controversy took place between
Maulana Mohammad Ali, Syed Wazir Hasan, and Syed Ameer Ali,
over certain matters regarding the procedure and form of the
representation to be made. Ameer Ali was of the opinion that the
London Branch of the League should function as an autonomous
body. This attitude was resented by Maulana Mohammad Ali, Wazir
Hasan, Nawab Viqar-ul-Mulk and other leaders of the Central
League. Ameer Ali resigned from the Presidentship of the London
Branch, but was subsequently prevailed upon to come back. A little
ter the Aga Khan resigned from the presidency of the All-India
hat attaches to the Presidency. The
League does

who w
the Le
eagu :
li had been suggested by
him and his brother. A number of forces worked against it; but the
la
Muslim League. In the letter of resignation, he hinted at numerous
reasons, public as well as private, but did not propose to cut himself
away from the League. Resignation he said, frees me from that
necessarily judicial character t
not need a leader but leaders.
Maulana Mohammad Ali and Wazir Hasan induced Jinnah,
as in England as a member of the Congress delegation, to sign
ague pledge. Recalling Jinnahs enrolment in the Muslim
e, Sarojini Naidu wrote L
His two sponsors were required to make a solemn
preliminary covenant that loyalty to the Muslim League and
Muslim interest would in no way and at no time imply even
the shadow of disloyalty to the larger national cause to which
his life was dedicated.
147

The outbreak of the First World War further radicalized
Muslim opinion in India. The participation of Turkey on the side of
Germany placed the Indian Musalmans in a very awkward position.
The Ali Brothers and several other Muslim leaders were interned.
The activities of Government had an adverse effect on the feelings of
Indian Muslims. The rapid change in their outlook was best
manifested in the Eighth Session of the League held in 1915. That
year the Congress was to hold its session at Bombay. Jinnah sent an
invitation to the All-India Muslim League to hold its annual session
at the same place and during the same time. It was a unique idea,
which according to Maulana Mohammad A
148

Centenary Souvenir
62
Council of the Leag
of the Congr
Bombay. W
comparing th
Mohammad A
y of fate
Maulana Mazhar-ul-Haque had read to his Muslim
ue
esture by authorizing the All-India Congress Committee to confer
with the League Council and frame a joint scheme for self-
ue accepted Jinnahs proposal, and the sessions
ess and the League were held contemporaneously at
riting on the Congress League rapprochement and
e tone of the address of two Presidents Maulana
li humorously remarked:
So rapid had been the progress of the
Musalmans that a mildewed critic from among their
own community observed that Lord Sinha, the Bengali
President of the Bombay Session of the Indian
National Congress, had travelled thither by the same
train as his Bihari neighbour and brother-lawyer who
presided over the Muslim League, and the two had
borrowed one anothers Presidential Addresses in
order to compare notes. But, said the critic with more
wit than wisdom, the two Presidents forgot to take
back their own production; and by an iron
audience as his own the pungent oration characteristic
of the Bengali, and Lord Sinha had done likewise and
read to the Congress delegates the cautious and halting
address of the ever loyal Muslim.
149

Many prominent Congress leaders, including Sinha, Suiendra
Nath Bannerji, Annie Basant, Pandit Malviya, Sarojini Naidu and
Gandhi, were present at the League Session as guests. Long before
the meeting began, 50 police officers took up their places within the
hall and outside. There were a few hooligan outbursts at the
beginning of the Session, but the audience settled down and
listened.
150
On the second day, when Mr. Jinnah rose to move a
resolution for the appointment of Committee in order to formulate
Indias political demands in consultation with the Congress leaders,
there was an uproar and the meeting was broken up under the very
nose of the police. In fact it was with their connivance that the
trouble began.
151
The rest of the proceedings were conducted at the
Taj Mahal Hotel. The Bombay Sessoin brought the League and
Congress very close and the Congress reciprocated the Leag
g

63
government. Consequently, discussions were initiated in April 1916
at Allahabad, and concluded at a joint-meeting of the Congress
Committee and the League Council in October 1916 at Calcutta.

In 1916 both the Congress and the League again held their
annual sessions at the same time and place-this year at Lucknow.
Jinnah, presiding over the League Session, pointed out that the
League had stood abreast of the Congress ready to participate in
any patriotic effort for the advance of the country as a whole. The
two organizations arrived at an arrangement, called the Lucknow
Pact on the future Constitution of India. The Congress accepted
separate electorates, not only where they had already existed, but
also for their introduction in the Punjab and the Central Provinces,
where they had not been adopted. Another feature of the Pact was
that the Hindus and Muslims were to have weightage in provinces
where they formed minorities. The Muslims agreed to forego a
quarter of the seats to which they would have been entitled on the
basis of their population in Bengal. In the Punjab they were to
surrender one-tenth of their seats. On the other hands, at the centre,
ne-third of the seats were allotted to the Muslims. No bill or
that an authoritative
pronounceme
terms r
of the
India a
iation of Indians in every branch of the
administration and the general development of self-governing
institution with a view to the progressive realization of
o
resolution affecting a community was to be proceeded with in any
Council if three-fourth of the representatives of that community were
opposed to it.

In July 1917, a joint meeting of the Council of the All-India
Muslim League and the All-India Congress Committee was held in
Bombay. It was resolved that a petition be submitted to Parliament
in support of the Scheme of Reforms adopted by the Congress and
the League. It was also demanded
nt be made by the Imperial Government in unequivocal
egarding the policy of making India a self-governing member
British Empire. On August 20, 1917, the Secretary of State for
nnounced in the House of Commons:
The policy of His Majestys Government, with which
the Government of India are in complete accord, is that of
increasing assoc

Centenary Souvenir
64
responsible government in India as an integral part of the
British Empire.

On October 6, the All-India Congress Committee and the
Council of the Muslim League met at Allahabad. It was decided that
All-India Deputation should be sent to the Viceroy and the Secretary
of State and a representation made in support of the Congress-
League Scheme. In November 1917, the representatives of the two
organizations presented a joint address to the Secretary of State
and the Viceroy demanding, inter alia, the immediate adoption of
the Congress League Scheme, and the specification of a time-limit
r the grant of complete self-government to India. These demands
ot to be governed by the Hindus, and let me
ubmit, that it has not to be governed by the Musalmans either and
rned by the people and
e sons of the country.
possible, be complete popular control in
cal bodies and they should have the largest possible freedom from
fo
were reiterated at the Dacca Session of the Muslim League held in
December 1917. Jinnah, speaking at the Session, declared:

This country has n
s
certainly not by the English. It is to be gove
th

Montagu-Chelmsford Proposals

In July 1918, the proposals of the Secretary of State for India
and the Viceroy, known as the Montagu-Chelmsford Proposals, were
made public, which included the following suggestions: (a) The
provinces are the domain in which the earlier steps towards the
progressive realization of responsible government should be taken.
(b) There should, as far as
lo
outside control. (c) The Government of India must remain wholly
responsible to Parliament.

In August 1918, extraordinary sessions of the League and the
Congress were held at Bombay to consider the reforms embodied in
these proposals. Like the Congress, the Muslim League found the
proposals to be disappointing and unsatisfactory, and urged
substantial modification. At the Delhi Session of the League held in
December 1918, Dr. Ansari, the Chairman of the Reception

65
Committee, delivered a strong address which was proscribed by the
Government as indeed most of the rest of the proceedings (of
which it has not been possible to trace a full record). The League
resolutions demanded that complete responsible government be
granted to the provinces at once, and that the principle of self-
etermination to be applied to India. A special feature of the Delhi
osition of the Khilafat and Muslim holy places. In these
vernment must go and give place to a complete
sponsible Government. Mr. Jinnah was now made the permanent
the resignation of Raja of
ahmudabad.
ial Address, the Maulana was prosecuted for sedition
d
Session of the League was that the Ulema also participated in its
deliberations.

With the end of World War I, the ill-treatment of Turkey
exasperated the India Musalmans, and anxiety was felt not only over
the dismemberment of the Turkish territories, but also over the
p
circumstances the atmosphere of the Amritsar Session of the League
held in December 1919 was charged with concern and grave doubts.

At a special session of the League held at Calcutta in
September 1920, Mr. Jinnah in his Presidential Address made a
bitter attack on the authorities. He referred to the Rowlatt Act the
Punjab atrocities and the spoliation of the Ottoman Empire and the
Khilafat. He said: One thing there is which is indisputable, and that
is that this Go
re
President of the League after
M

The League Too Demands Swaraj

At its Annual Session in December 1920, the League changed
its creed to fall in line with that of the Congress. The objects of the
League were declared to be: (i) the attainment of Swaraj by the
people of India by all peaceful means; (ii) protection and
advancement of the political, religious and other rights and interests
of the Indian Musalmans. When the League assembled at
Ahmadabad towards the end of December 1921, its President,
Maulana Hasrat Mohani, made an impassioned plea for the
declaration of an Indian Republic by January 1, 1922. In respect of
his President

Centenary Souvenir
66
and sentenced by the Sessions Court to two years rigorous
pris
ificant changes, the
hilafat movement lost all its vitality by the end of 1923. At the
ere not present in the
ubjects Committee. People were uncertain about the fate the
solution would meet in open session, and to avoid an open conflict,
was decided to adjourn the Session sine die.
im onment. However, on appeal, the High Court set aside the
conviction.

From 1915 till about 1922, the League and the Congress thus
continued to speak and act in unison. But between 1919 and 1922,
the Khilafat Committee had eclipsed the Muslim League. In
December 1920, as its Nagpur Session, the Congress,
notwithstanding Jinnahs opposition, had adopted the plan of non-
cooperation and boycott of Legislatures. Jinnah therefore left the
Congress. In February 1922, Gandhi called off the non-co-operation
movement after the tragic incidents at Chauri Chaura. As regards
Turkey, the Treaty of Lausanne was finally signed on July 24, 1923,
and the Angora Government having ratified the Treaty on August
22, 1923, all allied troops left Turkey with in the next six weeks. The
Angora Assembly decide to constitute itself into a Republic, and
early in 1924 the office of Khalifa as abolished by its decree.
Though the abolition of the Khilafat saddened the Indian Muslims,
the sudden rise of Mustafa Kemal, the defeat of the Greeks, whom
the Turks drove out of Smyrna and Constantinople, had overjoyed
their hearts. However, in view of these sign
K
same time the Congress prestige also suffered considerably due to
the failures of the non-cooperation movement.

In March 1923, the Muslim League held a session at
Lucknow, but it ended abruptly. The circumstances which led to its
adjournment were that a heated discussion took place in the Subjects
Committee on the resolution put forward by Jinnah, recommending
entry into Councils, and striving for the attainment of Dominion
Status as Indias goal. The resolution was opposed by Maulana
Mohamma Ali, Dr. Ansari and other non-co-operation leaders. It
was rejected by a very narrow margin, the voting having taken place
at a time when many members of the Council w
S
re
it

67

Jinnahs Efforts to Deal with Mounting Tensions

The Adjourned Session of the League was convened at
Lahore in May 1924. An important resolution adopted by it defined
the basic and fundamental principles of the scheme of Swaraj. These
were the reorganization of India on a federal basis with full and
complete provincial autonomy, the functions of Central Government
being confined to basic matters of common interests; no territorial
redistribution to affect the Muslim majority in the populations of the
Punjab, Bengal and N.W.F.P. ; separate electorates and full religious
liberty. The Lahore Session revitalized the League. In December that
year, the League held another session at Bombay, which once again
attracted Congress leaders to its platform, including Dr. Ansari,
Annie Besant, Pandit Motilal Nehru, Vallabhai Patel and others. It
was resolved to appoint a committee which would arrange an early
onference c of various organizations with a view of developing co-
lations between Hindus and Muslims began to go from
bad to worse.
the Al
Rahim
heir fate to them and must adopt every possible
operation and presenting a united front. Gandhi, thereafter, called an
All-Parties Conference, but its deliberations did not produce any
solution.

The re
Communal riots spread and became more vicious. In
igarh Session of the Muslim League held in 1925, Sir Abdur
said:
Hindus have, by their provocative and aggressive
conduct, made it clearer than ever that Muslims cannot
entrust t
means of self-defence. Some Hindu leaders have even spoken
of driving Muslims out of India as Spaniards had expelled the
Moors.

It was against the background of mounting tension and
mutual suspicion that a group of prominent Muslims met at Delhi on
March 20, 1927, Jinnah presiding. After protracted discussion, the
meeting produced a formula called Delhi Muslim Proposals. The
Muslims agreed to the introduction of joint electorates with a
reservation of seats under certain conditions: (i) Sind should be

Centenary Souvenir
68
separated from Bombay and constituted into a separate province (ii)
Reforms should be introduced in N.W.F.P and Baluchistan. (iii) The
Muslims would make such concessions to Hindu minorities in the
matter of the number of representatives in Sind, N.W.F.P. and
Baluchistan as Hindu majority provinces would make the Musalman
minorities in other provinces. (iv) In the Punjab and Bengal, the
roportion of representation should be in accordance with the
cil to appoint a subcommittee to confer
ith the Working Committee of the Congress on terms somewhat
e of
sponsible government existing in India. Sir John Simon was
p
population. (v) In the Central Legislature, Muslim representation
should not be less than a third.

In December 1927, the Muslim League, as its Calcutta,
Session, authorized its Coun
w
similar to the Delhi Muslim Proposals. But the Hindus did not accept
the formula in its entirely.

Meanwhile, in November 1927, the British Government
appointed a Statutory Commission to enquire and report whether
and to what extent it was desirable to establish the principles of
responsible government or to extend, modify or restrict the degre
re
appointed Chairman of the Commission, which consisted of six
other member of Parliament. No Indian was included therein.
152

The appointment of Simon Commission split the League into
two factions. The division became all the more sharp at the time of
the annual meeting of the League in December 1927. Even the venue
of the Session was a point of dispute between the two groups. Jinnah
and his supporters wished the session to be held in some city other
than Lahore, whereas Sir Mohammad Shafi, because of his strength
in the Punjab, wanted it to take place at Lahore. At a special meeting
of the Council of the League held at Delhi, it was decided by a
majority vote that the session should take place at Calcutta. Sir
Shafi, who had been elected President for the year, refused to preside
at the session to be held at Calcutta. Finally, two sessions were held,
one at Lahore and the other at Calcutta. Sir Mohammad Shafi
presided over the Lahore Session, and Sir Mohammad Yaqub over
the Calcutta Session. Jinnah, of course, was the leading light and

69
guiding spirit of the Calcutta Session.
153
The Lahore Session passed
resolutions advocating separate electorates. The Calcutta Session
passed a Hindu-Muslim unity resolution, but declared that separate
lectorates should be abandoned only on condition that the Muslim
ind, N.W.F.P., and Baluchistan were accepted
y the Hindus.
rejected Iqbals proposal for
e amalgamation of the Punjab, N.W.F.P., and Sind. The Report
she
ding
fo the Convention:
e
proposals regarding S
b

The Nehru Report

In August 1928, the Report of the Committee
154
appointed by
an All-Parties Conference which had met intermittently without
achieving agreement on essentials between February and May, 1928
to determine the principles of the Constitution of India, was
published. The Committee of nine was headed by Pandit Motilal
Nehru and included two Muslim members in their individual
capacity, Ali Imam and Shuaib Qureshi. However, the first did not
attend most of the Committees meetings, and the second refused to
sign the final draft report. The Nehru Report found that separate
electorates were bad for the growth of a national spirit. Weightage,
which had been agreed to under the Lucknow Pact, was also
disallowed. A minority must remain a minority whether any seats
are reserved for it or not. The Report
th
bru d aside the Muslims fear of being dominated by the Hindu
majority, and considered it illogical.

An All-Parties Convention was called at Calcutta in
December 1928 to consider the Nehru Report. The Muslim League,
which met for its annual session at Calcutta at about the same time,
appointed a strong Committee of 23 members led by Jinnah, to
endeavours to bring about an adjustment of the various outstan
questions between Hindus and Musalmans arising out of the Nehru
Report. With the agreement of his Committee, Jinnah suggested the
llowing amendments in the Nehru Report to
1. The Muslim representation in the Central Legislature
should not be less than one-third.

Centenary Souvenir
70
2. In the event of adult suffrage not being granted as
proposed in the Nehru Report, Muslim representation in
re.
nah and the Shafi groups was
reache with
h question of separate electorates. As a
Shafi refused to join the open session. In
t appeared at the meeting, evidently
term
the Punjab and Bengal Legislatures should be on a
population basis, subject to re-examination after 10 years.
3. Residuary powers should be vested in the provinces and
not in the Cent
4. The Separation of Sind from Bombay and the elevation of
the N.W.F.P. to a Governors Province should not be
made contingent on the establishment of the Nehru
Constitution.

When the Convention rejected these suggestions, Jinnahs
reaction was stated in one decisive sentence. This, he said, is the
parting of the ways!
155
It was only after the failure of this effort at
reconciliation that the Muslims finally denounced the Nehru Report.
In the words of Sir Azizul Huq, it was a coffin marked three seats.
An All-Parties Muslim Conference held at Delhi in January 1929,
under the Chairmanship of the Aga Khan, defined the Muslim
attitude. An agreement between the Jin
d the avowed purpose of reuniting the League. It was
arranged that the two wings of the League should meet
simultaneously in Delhi at the end of March and pass identical
resolution in favour of a joint-sitting.

By March 28, 1929, the delegates to the meeting of the
two Leagues had assembled at Delhi; but as serious illness prevented
Sir Shafis attendance, the proceedings of the proposed meeting did
not go according to plan. Disagreement developed between the two
roups, especially on t e g
result, the followers of Sir
addition, a rowdy elemen
de ined to turn the affair into a fiasco; and Jinnah was oblidged
to dissolve the meeting.
156

Jinnahs Fourteen Points

71

em
Mr. Jinnahs Fourteen Points.
powers vested in the province, central
e definite principle of adequate
should
y community, at any time, to abandon
ct the Muslim
community in that
rt
thereof, on the ground that it would be injurious to the
interest of that community or, in the alternative, such other
Jinnah has prepared a draft resolution for the Session,
bodying all the provisions which afterwards became famous as
1- The form of the future Constitution should be federal with
residuary
government to have the control only of such matters of
common interest as may be guaranteed by the
Constitution.
2- A uniform measure of autonomy shall be granted to all
provinces.
3- All legislatures in the country and other elected bodies
should be constituted on th
and effective representation of minorities in every
province, without reducing the majority in any province to
a minority or even equality.
4- In the central Legislature, Muslim representation
not be less than one-third.
5- Representation of communal groups should continue to be
by means of separate electorates as at present; provided it
shall be open to an
its separate electorate in favour of joint electorates.
6- Any territorial redistribution that might at any time be
necessary should not in any way affe
majority in the Punjab, Bengal and the North-West
Frontier Province.
7- Full religious liberty, i.e., liberty of belief, worship,
observances, propaganda, association and education,
should be guaranteed to all communities.
8- No Bill or resolution, or any part thereof, should be passed
in any legislature or any other elected body if three-
fourths of the members of any
particular body oppose such a Bill, resolution or pa

Centenary Souvenir
72
method is devised as may be found feasible and
practicable to deal with such cases.
9- Sind should be separated from the Bombay Presidency.
hould be made in the constitution giving
gion, culture and personal
rning bodies.
de in the Constitution by the Central
legislature except with the concurrence of the States
orth-West of India.
hough some prominent thinkers, Muslim as well as non-Muslim,
have no hesitation in declaring that, if the principle that the Indian
10- Reforms should be introduced in the North-West Frontier
Province and Baluchistan on the same footing as in other
Provinces.
11- Provision s
Muslims as adequate share, along with the other Indians,
in all the Services of the State and in self-governing
bodies, having due regard to the requirements of
efficiency.
12- The Constitution should embody adequate safeguards for
the protection of Muslim reli
law, and the promotion of Muslim education, language,
religion, personal laws, Muslim charitable institutions, and
for their due share in the grants-in-aid given by the State
and by self-gove
13- No Cabinet, either Central or Provincial, should be formed
without there being a proportion of Muslim Ministers of at
least one-third.
14- No change to be ma
constituting the Indian Federation.
157

Iqbals Presidential Address

In his historic Presidential Address at the Allahabad Session
of the Muslim League held in December 1930, Iqbal adumbrated the
plan for an independent Muslim State in the N
T
had earlier made proposals for the partition of India
158
, Iqbal was the
first to make the suggestion for a separate Muslim State from the
authoritative platform of the League. Iqbal said:

And as far as I have been able to read the Muslim mind, I

73
Muslim is entitled to full and free development, on the lines of his
own culture and tradition in his own Indian homelands, is recognized
as the basis of a permanent communal settlement, he will be ready to
stake his all for the freedom of India . The Muslim demand for the
creation of a Muslim India within India is therefore perfectly
justified I would like to see the Punjab, N.W.Frontier Province,
Sind and Baluchistan amalgamated into a single State. Self-
government within the British Empire or without the British Empire,
e foundation of a consolidated North-West Indian Muslim State
inal destiny of the Muslims, at least of
orth-West India.
be given in various legislatures. The Hindu-
uslim problem proved insoluble. On August 16, 1932, the British
owers were neither allocated to the centre as desired by
e Hindus, nor to the provinces as demanded by the Muslims, but
th
appears to me to be the f
N

The Interlude of 1930-33

In 1930 too, the Report of the Simon Commission was
announced; and for about two years, Indian Round-Table
Conferences continued to enact a long and bitter conflict of Indian
leaders on the number of seats that the majority and other
communities should
M
Prime Minister announced the Communal Award, maintaining
separate electorates.

In 1933 some Muslim students studying in England formed
the Pakistan National Movement and published a pamphlet entitled
Now or Never. The leader of the Movement, Choudhri Rahmat Ali,
coined the word Pakistan from the initials and endings of
component units: P for the Punjab; A for the Afghan Province
(N.W.Frontier Province); K for Kashmir: S for Sind; and Tan for
Balauchistan. In March Government published the White Paper on
proposals for Indian Constitutional Reforms; and in August 1935,
the Government of India Act, 1935, was enacted. The important
principles embodied in the Act were; All-India Federation,
provincial autonomy and responsibilities with safeguards. The
residuary p
th
were vested in the Governor-General, to be exercised at his
discretion.

Centenary Souvenir
74

During 1930 to 1933, the Muslim League was in a moribund
condition, thought it continues to hold its annual sessions. In the
1930 Session, when Iqbal presented his historic address, the League
meeting did not even have its quorum of members.
159
Hafeez
Jalandhari, the famous poet, was asked to recite his poems, to keep
those who were present entertained while the organizers got busy
enrolling new members.
160
The Session of 1931, held at Delhi under
the Presidency of Sir Zafrullah Khan, was described as a languid
and attenuated House of scarcely 120 people in all
161
During this
session, the annual subscription was reduced from Rs. 6 to Rs. 1, and
the admission fee of Rs.5 was abolished to attract new members. The
quorum at the annual sessions was reduced from 75 to 50. To ensure
that there would be no delays in meeting of the Working Committee,
it was provided that a quorum should consist of any five members of
the Committee living close enough together to meet with the
prescribed frequency. The Leagues Honorary Secretary,
Mohammad Yakub, frankly admitted that he had been continued in
his office because no other members of the League could be
persuaded to take the job. The League was beset with financial
troubles. It did not have funds to perform even minimum political
functions. The party was, in fact, narrowly saved by the donations,
given by Sir Shafi, S.M. Abdulla and other persons. During the years
1931-33, its annual expenditure did not exceed Rs. 3000. In 1933,
with a total income of Rs. 1318-11-6, its annual expenditure showed
deficit of Rs. 564. The League continued to suffer internally also. In
1933 the League Council was forced to call an emergency meeting
to remove the Acting President, Mian Abdul Aziz, from office
having forfeited the confidence of the members of the Council on

931), Jinnah, who had been President of the Muslim League
ring
account of his many arbitrary, unconstitutional and discourteous

actions.
162

After the second session of the Round Table Conference
(1
du the years 1919-30, stayed back in England. The Secretary of
the League, lamenting Jinnahs decision, said in his Annual Report:

75
Mr. Jinnah had been the life and the moving spirit of the
eague for many years, and the success of the institution during the
st n
ndemning the Federal Scheme embodied in the Government
f India Act, 1935, as most reactionary and totally unacceptable,
from the industrial magnates of India.
ith hardly six month to organize the election machinery and, apart
ue
L
la ine years was due to his earnestness, devotion and
statesmanship.
163

Revival of the League

During Jinnahs absence, the Muslim League lived on paper;
then in April, 1934, he was prevailed upon to return to India, and
that very month the Council, under Jinnahs Presidentship, resolved
that the Council accept the Communal Award so far as it goes, until
a substitute is agreed upon by various communities and parties to
secure such a future Constitution for India as would be acceptable to
the country. Jinnah made vigorous efforts to revive the League, and
organized its session at Bombay in April 1936. The Muslim League,
while co
o
decided to utilize the provincial part of the Act for what it was
worth; and it authorized Jinnah to form a central parliamentary
Board.

Provincial elections were held in the early part of the Muslim
League had hardly been adequately reorganized when it fought the
elections, with few or no provincial and district branches, with
limited financial and propaganda resources, and that, too, for the first
time on all-India basis. It faced the Congress, which had an efficient
organization and an elaborate machinery for publicity - and enjoyed
enormous financial backing
W
from the Congress, confronted as it was with warring elements, local
jealousies and rivalries, it could hardly be expected that the League
would make much headway.

The results of the elections for provincial assemblies
indicated that Congress victories were won mainly in Hindu
constituencies. Out of 1585 seats, the Congress captured 716. Of
these, only 26 were Muslim seats. Out of 482 Muslim seats, the
League captured only 109 Muslim seats. However, it did not contest
all the Muslim seats. In the Punjab, out of 86 seats, the Leag

Centenary Souvenir
76
contes
l Nehru
nnounced that there were only two parties in the countrythe
Out of 11 provinces, the Congress formed governments in
given, the
ajority community have clearly shown their trend that Hindus are
for the

ere advising the Muslim members of their respective parties to join
ted 7 seats, and won 2. In the United Provinces, it contested 35
seats, and won 29; in Madras 10 out of 11; in Assam 9 out of 34; in
Bengal: 39 out of 117; in Bombay 20 out of 209. In Bihar, Orissa,
N.W.F.P. and Sind, no Muslim League candidates were set up.
164

During the election campaign, Pandit Jawahar La
a
Congress and the British and that others should line up. Jinnah
replied: I refuse to accept this proposition. I refuse to line up. There
is a third party in the country, and that is Muslim India.
165

eight. It refused to have a coalition with the Muslim League save on
terms of total surrender. At the Lucknow session of the Muslim
League in October 1937, Jinnah complained :

Wherever the Congress was in majority and wherever it
suited it, it refused to co-operate with the Muslim League The
Congress demand was insistent; abjure your party and forswear your
policy and programme and liquidate the Muslim League. On the
very threshold of what little power and responsibility is
m
Hindus. The result of the present Congress party policy will
be, I venture to say, class bitterness, communal war and
strengthening of the imperialistic hold as a consequence.

The Lucknow Session of the Muslim League was probably
the first indication of the growing sence of siolidarity among the
Muslims of India. Participating in the Session, Sir Sikandar Hayat
Khan, Premier of the Punjab , Mr. Fazlul Huq, Premier of Bengal,
and Sir Mohammad Sadullah, Premier of Assam, declared that they
w
the Muslim League. Many leaders from Sind, the Frontiers, Madras
and the Central Provinces merged their parties with the Muslim
League. The Lucknow Session thus invigorated the Muslim League.

At the Lucknow Session too, a momentous decision was
taken to change the League creed from full responsible government
to full independence. The Session further authorized its President to

77
take necessary steps to form Muslim League parties in the Central
and Provincial Legislatures. In the Special Session of the League
eld at Calcutta, Jinnah reported that Muslim League parties were
pointed a
pecial committee, headed by Raja Syed Mohammad Mehdi, to
make

938. A companion volume to this was the Shareef Report,
Jinnah charged that the
ongress wanted to establish an authoritative, totalitarian and Fascist
indu Raj in India. Thus the Conduct of the Congress rule went a
h
functioning in seven out of Provincial Legislatures, and that the
Muslim League had achieved success in contesting a number of by-
elections to the Legislative Assemblies in various provinces.

From July 1937 to October the Congress ministries ruled
eight of the 11 Indian Provinces. The period was extremely crucial
in the history of Hindu Muslim relations. The conclaves and
correspondence Jinnah had with the Congress leadersRajendra
Prasad, Jawaharlal Nehru, Subhas Chandra Bose and Gandhi did
not lead to any compromise. The Muslim masscontact campaign
launched by the Congress failed miserably. The Congress
Misnistries in the Hindu-majority provinces invariably persecuted
the Muslims. The complaints about ill, treatment injustice and
tyranny were so mumerous and persistent that the Council of the
Muslim League at its meeting of March 20, 1938, ap
s
inquires and submit a report. In April 1939, at the Special
Session of the League held at Calcutta, Jinnah referred to the various
representations that had reached the League in this behalf.

The Pirpur Committee submitted its Report on November 10,
1
published in March which dealt with the atrocities perpetrated by the
Hindus in Bihar. Still another indictment of the Congress
Government was prepared and published by Fazlul Haq in 1939.
166

The Pirpur Report gave details of the injustices and unfair
treatment meted out to Muslims, and concluded, Whatever may be
the underlying principles of Congress nationalism and whatever may
be the justification for the incidents, the fact remains that the average
Hindu is inclined to associate Swaraj with Ramraj and Congress
Government with Hindu Government. In the Patna Session of the
Muslim League held in December 1938,
C
H

Centenary Souvenir
78
long way in alienating the Muslim from the ideal of a united India,
nd later popularized the ideal of Pakistan.
nd went out of office. The Muslims of India observed a
eliverance Day on December 22, 1939, to express their deep
sense o
v) Dr. Syed Zafrul Hassan and Dr. M. Afzal Qadri
f Aligarh. The partition idea was spreading so fast and going so
he day that, in March 1939, the Muslim
eague Working Committee alternative to safegurard the interests of
tion

are demarcated into regions which should be so constituted, with
a

Partition Schemes

On September 3, 1939, along with Britains declaration of
war on Germany, the Viceroy of India announced that India was also
at war with Germany. By October, all the Congress Ministers
resigned a
D
f relief at the termination of the Congress regime in various
provinces, and on their deliverance from tyranny, oppression and
injustice.

By 1939, various proposals advocating the partition of India
and the establishment of Muslim Zones and separate States were put
forward by different individuals. Some of the notable schemes were
those proposed by (i) Dr. Abdul Latif of Hyderabad, (ii) Sir Sikandar
Hayat Khan, Premier of the Punjab, (iii) Mian Kifayat Ali, whose
scheme was published under the caption of Confederacy of India by
a Punjabi, and (i
o
deep in the politics of t
L
the Muslamans.

The Lahore Resolu

In March 1940, the Muslim League held its historic session at
Lahore. On March 23, 1940, a resolution was moved there which
inter alia provided:

It is the considered view of this Session of the All-India
Muslim League that no constitutional plan would be workable in this
country or acceptable to the Muslims unless it is designed on the
following basic principle, viz., that geographically contiguous units

79
such territorial readjustments as may be necessary, that the areas in
which the Muslims are numerically in a majority, as in the North-
estern and Eastern Zones of India, should be grouped to
constit
ms and objects of the League were so amended as
conform to this ideal. It is interesting to note that the word
tern and Eastern zones of India shall be
rouped together to constitute Independent States as Muslim Free
h the constituent units shall be
utonomous and sovereign,.

W
ute Independent States in which the constituent units shall
be autonomous and sovereign.

The importance of the Lahore Resolution is obvious. It was
through this resolution that the Muslim League commited itself to
the establishment of Pakistan as its final goal; and it was after its
adoption that the Muslim nation zealously started a movement to
attain that objective. At the Madras Session of the League held in
April 1941 the Lahore Resolution was made the creed of the Muslim
League, and the ai
to
together was added after the word grouped , so that the
amendment read:

.the areas in which the Musalmans are numerically in a
majority, as in the North-Wes
g
National Homelands in whic
a
Reorganization of the League

In 1940, the League had 330 Primary Leagues with 88,833
members. By 1941 the membership increased to 112,078, as
compared to 1330 in 1927. By 1944 the membership reached
millions. The Secretary of the Bengal Provincial Muslim League, in
his Annual Report of 1944, asserted that the League had become a
revolutionary and mass movement and had penetrated into rural
areas. In that year, 5,500000 members had been enrolled in Bengal.
The figure of membership, according to the Secretary, exceeded
the number ever scored by any organization in the Province, not
excluding the Congress. This was apart from the vast allegiance of
their large Muslim population to the League. The President of the
Sind Provincial League, in his Report of May 1944, claimed that
300,000 members, representing about 25 percent of the adult male

Centenary Souvenir
80
Muslim population of Sind, had been enrolled in the Mulsim
League. The leaguers strength in other provinces, including the
unjab and the N.W. Frontier Province, was likewise encouraging.
major political
by t
itish India that is
not prepared to accept the new Constitution to retain its
P
Between 1938 and 1942, the Muslim League won 46 out of 56
Muslim seats in by-elections.

By 1942 the flames of war nearly touched the borders of
India. Quit India said Gandhi to the British. Divide and Quit
retorted Jinnah. In March 1942, when The Japanese armies were
pressing against the Eastern Frontiers of India, after the occupation
of Burma, the British War Cabinet sent Sir Stafford Cripps with
proposals to accelerate Indian independence, if the
parties would give full support to the war effort. The Cripps
Proposals conceded the principle of self-determination as demanded
he Muslim League, and provided the following:
(a) Immediately upon cessation of hostilities, steps would be
taken to set up an elected constitutionmaking body for
India.
(b) His Majestys Government undertake to accept and
implement forthwith the Constitution so framed, subject
only to the right of any province of Br
present constitutional position, provision being made for
its subsequent accession if it so desires.

The Cripps Proposals were not acceptable to the Congress.
The Muslim League at its Allahbad Session, held in April 1942,
rejected these proposals on the ground that the commitment to a
separate Muslim homeland was not efficiently clear and direct.
Rajagopalachari tried to persuade the Congress to acknowledge the
Muslim Leagues claim for separation. He moved a resolution in this
behalf before the All-India Congress Committee when it met in May
1942. But the resolution was rejected. Rajagopalacharis formula
had stipulated a CongressLeague interim government during a
transitional period, with the common objective of obtaining
complete independence. Other terms of the formula included the
following. After the war, a Commission was to be appointed to

81
demarcated contiguous districts in the NorthWest and East of India,
where in the Muslims constituted an absolute majority. The issue of
separation was to be decided by a plebiscite of all inhabitants on the
basis of adult franchise. The districts on the border could join either
State. In the event of separation, mutual agreements would be
contracted with regard to defence, commerce and communications.
uring the War, the Muslim League held two other sessions in April
and D
Pakistan was only
n Gandhis lips; it did not come from his heart. In July the Viceroy
onference of Indian Leaders which he
ad convinced at Simla in the previous month.
forfeited their deposits in many cases. In the
rovincial elections, the Muslim League won 439 out of 494 Muslim
comprising Bengal and Assam
the NorthEast and the Punjab, the N.W. Frontier Province, Sind,
D
ecember 1943 at Delhi and Karachi respectively. Thereafter,
only meetings of its Council and Working Committee were held.

In September 1944, talks on the issue of Pakistan took place
between Gandhi and Jinnah. Gandhi championed the
Rajagopalachari formula, and claimed that it gave the Muslims
everything that they had demanded. Jinnah felt that the question of
the division of the Subcontinent into India and
o
announced the failure of the C
h

The Final Steps to Pakistan

Towards the end of 1945, general elections were held. The
Muslim League fought the elections on the issue of Pakistan. The
League won all the Muslim seats in the Central Legislative
Assembly; and the Congressite or Nationalist Muslims, who
opposed it,
167
p
seats (88.8 percent). The Muslims had thus given a clear verdict in
favour of Pakistan.

In April 1946, the Muslim League held a Convention of
Muslim Legislators who had been elected on the Muslim League
ticket to the various Assemblies. In a resolution the Convention
declared: The Muslim nation will never submit to any Constitution
for a united India and will never participate in and single
constitutionmaking machinery set up for the purpose. The League
Convention demanded that the zones
in

Centenary Souvenir
82
and Baluchistan in the NorthWest of India should be constituted
into the Sovereign State of Pakistan.

On May 16, 1946, the British Cabinet Mission which was
visiting India announced its plan. The Mission proposed a three-zone
federation: Zone A consisting of the bulk of Indian provinces with
Hindu majorities situated in the middle and the greater part of the
Subcontinent; Zone B consisting of the NorthWestern provinces
with considerable Muslim majorities; Zone C consisting of Bengal
and Assam with a slight Muslim majority. The Mission was
impressed by very genuine and acute anxiety of the Muslims that
they might well find themselves subjected to a perpetual Hindu-
majority rule; but found the demand for Pakistan impracticable. The
Mission, nevertheless, offered the Muslims League in Zones B and
C a compulsory grouping of six provinces with considerable
autonomy. The Muslim League felt that, in the compulsory grouping
of the Muslim provinces, it had won the substance of Pakistan. The
League therefore accepted the Plan, but reiterated that the attainment
of the goal of a completely sovereign Pakistan still remained the
unalterable objective of the Muslims of India, for the achievement of
which they would, if necessary, employ every means in their power.
The Congress also accepted the Plan as relating to the Interim
Government. In the meantime, Pandit Nehru and the Congress came
out with an interpretation of the Plan which militated against the
compulsory grouping of the Muslim Provinces. Pandit Nehru also
asserted the right to modify the Plan after independence. In view of
these developments, the Muslim League was obliged to withdraw its
acceptance of the Cabinet Mission Plan. The Muslim League then
called on Muslims throughout India to celebrate August 6, 1946, as
Direct Action Day. Communal riots broke out in Calcutta, and soon
spread to others parts of India. In March 1947, Lord Mountbatten
considered there was not prospect of reaching a settlement on the
basis of a unitary government, he was to report to the British
Government on the steps he considered should be taken for the
transfer of power before June 1948. There is considerable evidence
which goes to suggest that, soon after Mountbattens arrival in India,
most of the Congress leaders had veered round to the idea that
Pakistan was inevitable. Eventually, on June 3, 1947, the British

83
July 1947, the British
arliament passed the Indian Independence Act for setting up the
f India and Pakistan. On August 14,1947, Pakistan
merged as an independent Sovereign State.
alleled victory in human history. The League
ansformed the entire Muslim history and gave it a new turn.
akistan will surely go down in history as the Leagues paramount
achievement.
168

Government made the famous statement spelling out the mechanics
for the division of the Subcontinent. The statement conceded
Pakistan, but the areas of East Punjab and West Bengal were
excluded from it. The Muslim League Council met in New Delhi on
June 10, and passed a resolution saying that thought it could not
agree to the partition of Bengal and the Punjab, it had to consider the
June Plan for the transfer of power as a whole. The resolution
authorized its President, Jinnah, to accept the partition laid down in
the said statement as a compromise. In
P
Dominions o
e

Conclusion

The Muslim League was born in 1906. Its span of life was
about four decades. Following the failure of attempts at Hindu-
Muslim unity CongressLeague co-operation, by 1940 the League
became a national movement for Pakistan. Within eight years of the
adoption of the Lahore Resolution, the Muslim League, under the
inspiring leadership of Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, was
able to carve out the independent State of Pakistan. In the words of a
Hindu writer, The Muslim League made the Muslim dream real. It
gained an unpar
tr
P

Khan, F.A., Architecture and Art Treasures in Pakistan. (Prehistoric, Protohistoric,
Buddhist and Hindu Periods). Department of Archaeology and Museums, Govt. of
1

2

et,
l-
Pakistan, Karachi, 1968, p.33. Also see Child, V. Gordon, New Light on the Most
Ancient East. Grove Press, Inc., New York, pp. 169 70; 185 186: Direct
commercial intercourse between the valleys of the Indus and of Tigris Euphrates is
unimpeachably demonstrated..
According to Trimidhi in Abwab-al-Amthat, Abd Allah bin Musum, a
famous Sahabi, on seeing some strangers in the company of the Proph
said, in countenance they were like Jates. And Bukhari, in Babbal-u
Centenary Souvenir

84

3
ule in India, p. 439.
.
5
Indian Musalmans. Reprint by the Premier Book House, Lahore,
136. (First published 1876). Hunter was a member of the I.C.S (1861
esident of the Education Commission, 1882 83.
ondon, 1930,
9
hawat-i-Hindi, p.27.
12
tions and Reform of Legislature
ntury, p.125.
14
lim India and the Birth of Pakistan, Sh.
2.
16
ks in Indian Constitutional and National
17

overnment of India, Home Dept., No. 205
om Movement in India Collected
ombay Government Records, Vol. II, Bombay, 1958. 64-65.
8, p.3.
23

n Hume, p.30.
98.
in the Indian National Movement,
y, 1964, p.30.
29
anuary 1887, p.4.
National Mohammedan Association,
34
ernment Records, Vol. II, p.67.
Khadim, reports that when the Prophets widow, Aisha fell ill, she was
treated by a Jat physician from India.
Garret and Thompson, The Rise and Fulfilment of the British R
4
Lovett, Sir Verney, A History of the Indian National Movement, London, 1921, p.4
Hunter, W.W., The
1964, pp. 132
87) and Pr
6
Graham, G.F.I., Life and Work of Sir Sayed Ahmed Khan, L
Revised Ed., p.7.
7
Ibid., p. 33.
8
Ibid., p.7.
Khan, Sir Syed Ahmed, Asbab-i-Bag
10
Syed Tufail Ahmed, Musalmanon ka Roshan Mustaqbil, Delhi, 1940, p.286.
11
The Green Book, p.2.
Majumdar, B.B., Indian Political Associa
(1818-1917), Calcutta, 1965, p.221.
13
Bradley Birt, F.B., Twelve Men of Bengal in the Nineteenth Ce
Ikram, S.M., Modern Mus
Muhammad Ashraf, Lahore, 1965, p.10
15
This was not related to the British Indian Association at Calcutta founded in 1851.
Singh, G.N., Landmar
Development, Vol. I, p.574.
Majumdar, B.B., op. cit. pp. 224. 225.
18
Selections from Records of the G
(1886), pp. 237-244.
19
Source Material for a History of the Freed
from B
20
Majumdar B.B., op. cit., p. 227.
21
Aligarh Institute Gazette, April 7, 188
22
j. Bonnerjee, W.C., Indian Politics, p.vii.
Ibid.
24
Wedderburn, W., Allan Octavia
25
Pal, B.C., Indian Nationalism, p.
26
Argov, D., Moderates and Extremists
Asia Publishing House, Bomba
27
Wederburn, A.O. Hume, P.60.
28
Report of Third Congress. P.29.
The Voice of India, J
30
Report of Third Congress, p 4
31
Pal, Bepin, The National Congress, p.5.
32
Report of the Committee of the Central
1885-88, pp.21-22.
33
Bombay Government Records, Vol. II, p.67.
Bombay Gov

85

ed the United Provinces.
kistan Historical Society,
38

30.
ongress and

Politics, p.7.
f Muslim Political Movement, Lahore, 1967, p.56.
.
atriotic Association, Allahabad, 1888, p.72.
.
ra, 1965, p.128.
56
ember 24, 1896.
. 507 19.
uslim League Conference,
, Early Phase of Muslim Political Movement, p.69.
vember 14, 1901.
ruary 1902, p.54.
3.
70
ptember 5, 1903.
72

73

35
Masani, R.P., Dadabhai Naoroji, P.31.
36
North Western Provinces, later, together with Oudh, form
37
Wasti, S.R., Simla Deputation, Journal of the Pa
April 1962.
Banerjea, S.N., A Nation in the Making, p. 108.
39
Shradhananda, Swami, Inside the Congress, p.
40
Shradhananda, Swami, Inside the Congress, p.30.
41
In 1890 the name was changed to Mohammedan Educational C
in 1895 to Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental Educational Conference.
42
Report of the Conference for 1886, pp. 19-20
43
Khan, Syed Ahmed, The Present State of Indian
44
Source Material, Bombay Government Records, Vol. IL, p.70.
45
Ahmed, Jamiluddin, Early Phase o
46
Aligarh Institute Gazette, August 28, 1888.
47
Aligarh Institute Gazette, September 25, 1888
48
Pamphlet No. 2, issued by the P
49
Graham, G.F.I, op. cit, p. 293.
50
Aligarh Institute Gazette, July 21, 1888, pp. 811-813.
51
Aligarh Institute Gazette, December 8, 1888.
52
The Pioneer, October 5, 1893.
53
Noman, Muslim India, Kitabistan, Allahabad, 1942, p. 54
54
Jain, M.S., The Aligarh Movement, Sir Ram Mehra & Co., Ag
55
Majumdar, R.C., History of the Freedom Movement in India, Vol. I., Calcutta, 1963.
The Pioneer Mail, Dec
57
MAO College Magazine, December 1896, pp
58
Jaim, M.S, The Aligarh Movement, pp. 129 and 153.
59
Hamid, Abdul, Muslim Separatism in India, Oxford University Press,
Lahore, 1967, p. 47.
60
Aligarh Institute Gazettee, August 15, 1901
61
Husain, Azim, Fazl-i-Husain, Longmans, Bombay, 1945, p.9.
62
Shafi, Sir Muhammad, Address to the Punjab M
Civil & Military Gazette, December 23, 1909.
63
Aligarh Institute Gazette, October 31, 1901.
64
Ahmad, Jamiluddin
65
Aligarh Institute Gazette, No
66
Current Events in India, Empire Review, Feb
67
Aligarh Institute Gazette, February 21, 190
68
Ibid, July 4, 1903.
69
The Pioneer, July 31, 1903.
Aligarh Institute Gazette, Se
71
Jain, M.S., The Aligarh Movement, p.156.
Ahmed, Bashir, Justice Shah Din, His Life and Writings, Lahore, 1962, p.344.
Pakistan Historical Society, a History of the Freedom Movement, Karachi,
1961, Vol. III, Part 1, p.16.
Centenary Souvenir

86

ther
e goddesses Durga and Lukshmi. The book itself
d.
Minto, September 1, 1906.
79
nd telegrams, 1906, Vol. II, No. 25. (India Office Library).
gust 4, 1906. Minto Papers.
83

84

tabistan, Allahbad,
Urdu into English from Tufail Ahmads
y an extract from
sin, appendix No. 19.
88
d, Bombay, 1946, p. 112.
90

d D. Phil., Thesis, 1960, p.248.
and the Indian Nationalist Movement, Oxford
unjab, p.24.

97
i,
ed by S.R. Wasti, Pakistan Times, May 29, 1966.
part I, Oxfor University
Press. 1945, p. 36.
74
A song of Hindu nationalism from Bankim Chandra Chatterjis book
Anandamath (published 1882 referring to India as the great mo
goddesses allied to th
contains a strong anti-Muslim note.
75
My Indian Journal, Vol, II, 1905-6, p. 201. Indian Institute Library, Oxfor
76
Dass, M.N., India Under Morley and Minto, George Allen and Unwin,
London, 1964, p. 168.
77
Minto Correspondence, (India Office Library): Hare to
78
Parliamentary Debates, House of Commons, July 20, 1906, 4
th
Ser., V. 161, Col.587-88.
Minto Papers, letters a
80
Mohsin-ul-Mulk to Archbold, Au
81
Rahman, Habibur, Viqar-i-Hayat, 1925, p. 670.
82
Mohammad Amin Zuberi, Makateeb, Nawab Mohsin-ud-Daula Mohsin-ul-
Mulk.35,p.45.
Morely Papers, op.cit., Vol. III.
Minto Papers, op.cit., Correspondence, Vol. II, No. 41.
85
Mehta and Patwardhan, The Communal Triangle in India, Ki
1942, p.62; retranslated, from
Musalmanon ka Roshan Mustaqbil; Zuberi published onl
Archbolds original English letter in Tazkara-i-Moh
86
Minto Papers, op.cit., Correspondence, Vol.II, Enclosure.
87
Minto Papers, op. cit., Vol. III.
Prashad, Rajendra, India Divide
89
Bahadur, Lal, Muslim League, Agra, N.I., p.33.
Gopal, Ram, Indian Muslims, Asia, Bombay, 1959, p. 97.
91
Islam, Zafrul, Two Historic letters Journal of the Punjab University
Historical Society, June 1960.
92
Chaughtai, M.D., Muslim Politics in the Indo-Pakistan Subcontinent, 1858
1916, Oxford University unpublishe
93
Wasti, S.R. Lord Minto
University Press, London, 1964, p.75.
94
Rana, S.A., unpublished dissertation for the degree of Master of Arts from
the University of the P
95
Servant of India, p.95.
96
Dass, M.N., India Under Morley and Minto, p. 174.
Iqbal Afzal, Select Writings and Speeches of Maulana Mohammed Al
Lahore, 1944, p.254.
98
The Green Book, p.6.
99
The manuscript letter is preserved in the National Library of Scotland,
Edinburgh, and reproduc
100
My Life: A Fragment, Lahore, 1942, p. 34.
101
Ibqal, Afzal, op.cit., p. 478.
102
R. Coupland, The Indian Problem, 1833 1935,

87

104

105

aw of Mr. Zauqi. The complete
is reproduced in an appendix to Volume II.
the Punjab Muslim League Conference,
ober 23, 1909.
109
96.
m Calcutta by Syed
112

113
ondence Vol. II, No.126.
In India, The Ninteenth Century and
reproduced by K.K. Aziz in Ameer Ali, His Life and

.
906.
907.
.
iew, p. 239.
07.
.29.
dar, B.B., op. cit., p. 227.
1907.
tta, March 18, 1908.
138

bay, 1940, p. 18.
103
Manuscript letter, National Museum of Pakistan, Karachi, N.M. 1968. 288/2.
Tripathi, Amales, The Extremist Challenge, Orient Longmans, Calcutta, 1967, p. 164.
Jain, M.S., The Aligarh Movement, pp. 153 156.
106
Manuscript letter of S.M. Zauqi to Quaid-i-Azam Jinnah, May 26, 1943.
Copy supplied by Mr. Shaheedullah, son-in-l
letter
107
Mian Mohammad Shafi, Address to
Civil & Military Gazette, Oct
108
Ibid.
Azim Hussain, Fazl-i-Husain, p.
110
Noman, Muslim India, p.64.
111
Manuscript letter dated November 22, 1906, written fro
Nawab Ali to Mohsin-ul-Mulk.
Noman, Muslim India, p. 73.
Minto Papers, op.cit, Corresp
114
Ameer Ali, Dawn of a New Policy
After, November 1906,
Work, Lahore, 1968, p.221.
115
The Bengalee, December 14, 1906,
116
Ibid.
117
The Times of India, December 18, 1906
118
The Beharee, December 21, 1906.
119
The Pioneer, December 14,1906.
120
The Englishman, September 27, 1
121
The Englishman, January 4, 1
122
The Englishmen, January 1, 1907
123
The Bangalee, January 8, 1907.
124
The Times, January 2, 1902.
125
The Spectator, January 5, 1907.
126
The Morning Post, January 19, 1907.
127
Contemporary Review, September, 1907.
128
Rodaldshay, India; A Birds Eye V
129
Spear, P., India Pakistan and the West, p. 2
130
Aziz, K.K., The Making of Pakistan, p
131
Majum
132
M.S. Sain, the Aligarh Movement, p. 158.
133
The Englishman, December 5,
134
Ibid.
135
Aligarh Institute Gaze
136
Hussain, Azim, op. cit., p. 97.
137
Aligarh Institute Gazette, August 26, 1908.
Ibid., July 22, 1908.

139
Hasan, Mirza Akhtar, Tarikh-i-Muslim League, Bom
Centenary Souvenir

88

XVI to Government of Indias letter of October 10, 1908, East
ee Aziz, K.K., Ameer Ali, op. cit., p. 315.
ary Debates, Common, 1909, Vol. III. Pp. 529 537.
144
nwealth, George Allen Unwin, London, 1965, p. 185.
146

, Mohammad Ali Jinnah: An Ambassador of Hindu Muslim
149
5.
, 1954, p. 64.

ommittee, vol. I., p. xvi.
lisher United Ltd., Lahore 1954, p. 37
to the appointment of this Committee.
156

ing
the
159
ford
e Session
uslim League, 1931, Delhi.
33, Delhi p. 18.
164

165

166
utta, 1939.
ims had a share in the whole of the
Subcontinent and that Pakistan would not solve the problem of Muslims in
their minority areas. But the alternative of following the Congress held no
attraction for the great majority of Muslims.
Lal, Bahadur, op, cit., p. 350.

140
Enclosure X
India Advisory and Legislative Councils. Cd. 4436 (1908).
141
For text, s
142
Parliament
143
C.f. p. 94.
Mehrotra, India and the Commo
145
Cf. 237.
Cf. p. 258
147
Sarojini Naidu
Unity, Madras, 1917, p. 11.
148
Iqbal, Afzal: Select Writings and Speeches of Maulana Mohammed Ali,
Ashraf, Lahore, 1963, Second Edition, Vol. II, p. 134.
Ibid,. p. 13
150
Balitho, Hector, Jinnah, The Creator of Pakistan, London
151
Details of the charges against the Police Commissioner and his reply are
found in Source Material, Bombay Government Records, Vol. II, pp.
863-888.
152
Report of the Indian Statutory C
153
Waheed-uz-Zaman, Towards Pakistan, Pub
154
The Muslim League, which had not attended the May meeting of Conference at
Bombay, was not a party
155
Balitho, Hector, op. cit., p. 95
Waheed-uz-Zaman, op. cit, p. 58.
157
Jinnah, M.A., History of the Origin of Fourteen Points. Bahram Print
Press, Bombay, 1929.
158
For various earlier proposals see: Pirzada, The Pakistan Resolution and
Historic Lahore Session, Pakistan Publication, Karachi, 1967, PP. 3-12.
Sayeed Khalid bin, Pakistan: the Formative Phase 1857-1948, Ox
University Press, 1968, Second Edition, p. 177.
160
The Hindustan Times, December 30, 1931. Raja Ghazanafaz Ali Khan gives an
interesting account of the Session, and recalls the circumstances in which th
was held in a small place. Syed Nur Ahmad, Lahore, 1965, pp. 141-143.
161
Annual Report of the All-India M
162
Annual Report of the All-India Muslim League for 1932-19
163
Annual Report of the All-India Muslim League 1931, Delhi, p.1.
Returns showing the results of elections in India, 1935, Comd. 55, 89.
Star of India, January 4, 1937.
Muslim Sufferings under Congress Rule, Calc
167
Partly on the grounds that Musl
168

89

INTRODUCTION
Volume-II, 1924-1947

A turning point in the history of the Indo-Pakistan
Subcontinent was reached when the All-India Muslim League held
its Twenty-seventh Session at Lahore in March 1940. On March 23
an epoch-making resolution was moved at that session, demanding
that areas of the Subcontinent in which the Muslims were
numerically in a majority, as in the North-Western and Eastern
Zones, should be grouped to constitute Independent States. Having
regard to the place of its adoption, the resolution was originally
preferred to as the Lahore Resolution. The Hindu Press, however,
dubbed it the Pakistan Resolution, and eventually, in popular
parlance, this name prevailed. The Lahore Resolution was the
beginning of the end of the administrative unity of the entire
Subcontinent, which had been created by the Muslim Emperors and
continued by the British.

The conception of Pakistan (i.e. a separate homeland for the
Muslims) has been traced back by historians to the entry of Islam in
the Subcontinent, and attributed to Muhammad bin Qasim, the first
Muslim conqueror of Sind, early in the eight century, to Sheikh
Ahmad Sirhindi (d. 1625), to Shah Wali Ullah (d. 1762), and late to
Jamaluddin Afghani (d. 1897) and Sir Syed Ahmad Khan (d. 1898).
The partition of the Subcontinent
1
has been explained as the
inevitable consequence of the irreconcilable differences between the
Hindu and Muslims, which in their turn were the logical conclusion
of Hindu-dreams of Hindu padshahi. One may easily read clear
indications of these dreams in the rise and growth of Hindu
nationalism in the second quarter of the nineteenth century and of
Hindu revivalist movements in its last decades. Early in the present
century, the policy of the Indian National Congress with regard to
the partition of Bengal and the movement launched by it to get it
annulled removed all doubts about the intentions of the Hindu
leaders and their ultimate goal. The Muslim reaction to these ever-
growing demonstrations of Hindu communalism was the demand for
separate electorates. After a short interval of harmonious relations
beginning with the Lucknow Pact of 1916, the forces of communal
Centenary Souvenir
90
hatred reappeared in the early twenties in the form of the Shuddhi
and Sangathan movements. The short-sightedness of the Congress
leaders did not allow them to be fair to the Muslims. Even the most
enlightened of them, Moti Lal Nehru, for instance, failed to do
justice to their cause: the Nehru Report made the cleavage between
the Hindus and Muslims wider than ever. In fact they failed to
realize that the Muslims of the Subcontinent were determined to
secure liberation from the British as well as the Hindus by
establishing an independent homeland of their own. This led to the
formulation of the famous Fourteen Points by the Quaid-i-Azam in
January 1929.

The Hindus believed that they could suppress Muslim
aspirations by using weapons of oppression, but this experiment
during the period of Congress Rule in the Provinces failed
miserably; in fact it intensified and further strengthened the
determination of the Muslims to win their cause. The existence of
two nations, which had always been a fact in the history of the
Subcontinent since its conquest by the Muslims, now became clearer
than ever.

The main social result of the introduction of Islam as a
religion into India, says a modern Hindu historian, was the
division of society on a vertical bases. Before the tenth century
Hindu society was divided horizontally, and neither Budhism nor
Jainism affected the divisions. They were not un-assimilable
elements and fitted in easily with the existing divisions. Islam, on the
other hand split Indian society into two sections from top to bottom,
and what has now come to be known in the phraseology of to-day as
two separate nations came into being from the beginning. At all
stages they were different and hardly any social communication or
intermingling existed between them.
2

Genesis of Pakistan

In short, the fact that the population of the Subcontinent was
comprised of different nationalities had made it impossible for them
to be fused into a single nation, and the notion, however nebulous, of

91
a separate Muslim block and an alliance or federation of different
States had been present in the minds of some people as early as, if
not earlier than, the middle of the nineteenth century. Since then
eminent writers had been expressing this idea in one form or the
other.

It will be recalled that the Revolution of 1857 gave an
impetus to the demand that the East India Company should not be
allowed to continue to exercise political power in the Subcontinent.
In June 1858 John Bright, speaking in Parliament on a Bill, had
questioned the possibility of so extensive a country as India, with its
different nations and languages, being consolidated into one compact
and enduring empire. He suggested that instead of an empire, there
should be different Presidencies and States, so that if at any future
period the sovereignty of England were to be withdrawn, they should
leave so many residencies built up and compacted together, each
able to support its own independence and its own Government
3
.

In 1879, Jamaluddin Afghani thought of the possibility of
establishing a Muslim Republic embracing the Central Asian
Republics, Afghanistan and the Muslim majority areas of the
Subcontinent.
4

Sir Syed Ahmed Khan was the first person to emphasize the
fact that India was a continent rather than a country. Speaking on
January 16, 1883, in the course of a discussion on the Local Self
Government Bill, he stated this fact and pointed out that India was
inhabited by peoples belonging to different races and following
different creeds. In fact, as early as 1867 he had clearly foretold the
separation of the two nationsHindus and Muslims. His biographer
Maulana Hali has reproduced his conversation with one of his
friends, Mr. Shakespear: During these days, when the Hindi-Urdu
controversy was going on in Benares, I met Mr. Shakespear who was
posted there as the Divisional Commissioner. I was saying
something about the education of Muslims, and Mr. Shakespear was
listening with an expression of amazement, when, at length, he said,
This is the first occasion on which I have heard you speak about he
progress of the Muslims alone. Before this you were always keen
Centenary Souvenir
92
about the welfare of your countrymen in general. I said, Now I am
convinced that both these nations will not join whole-heartedly in
any thing. At present there is no open hostility between the two
communities. But on account of the so-called educated people it will
increase immediately in future. He who lives will see. Mr.
Shakespear thereupon said, I am also extremely sorry, but I am
confident about the accuracy of this prophecy.
5

An eminent Muslim writer, Abdul Halim Sharar, expressed
similar ideas in an editorial of his magazine, Muhazzib, of August
23, 1890. Times are such, he writes, that the religious rites of one
nation cannot be performed without injuring the susceptibilities of
the other. If things have reached such a stage, it would be wise to
partition India into Hindu and Muslim Provinces and exchange the
population.
6

In 1899 Theodore Morrison proposed, as a solution of Indias
political disabilities, the concentration of the entire Muslim
population of the Subcontinent in the territory extending from Agra
to Peshawar.
7

The plan to partition the Subcontinent into Muslim and Hindu
India was mooted in or about October 1917, on the occasion of the
Stockholm Conference of the Socialist International, in a written
statement submitted by Dr. Abdul Jabbar Kheiri and his younger
brother, Professor Abdus Sattar Kheiri.
8

In April 1920, a Muhammad Abdul Qadir Bilgrami (an
assumed name) published An Open Letter to Mr. Gandhi advocating
the division of the Subcontinent between the Hindus and the
Muslims, even giving a list of the districts, fundamentally not too
different from the present boundaries of the East and West Pakistan.
9

In the All-India Muslim League Session, held at Ahmedabad
in 1921, Maulana Hasrat Mohani, the great poet and revolutionary,
referred to the fear of the Muslims that on the establishment of self-
government, the Hindus would use the political power of their
numerical superiority to crush the Muslims. Three years later, he put

93
forward a scheme to recognize the bicommunal (Hindu-Muslim)
basis of the future Independent State and to convert the Muslim
Majority Provinces into Muslim States and the Hindu Majority
Provinces into Hindu States.

In 1923, Bhai Parmanand, the famous Hindu leader,
published Arya Samaj or Hindu Sangathan, wherein it was
propounded that Hindu-Muslim unity was unthinkable. According to
him, the solution lay in either the Hindus assimilating the entire
Muslim population of the Subcontinent or being eventually
assimilated by the alien intruders. Rejecting both as impracticable,
he proceeds to outline a solution of his own; It struck me a long
time ago that the only satisfactory avenue to unity is to effect
complete severance between the two peoples. India could be
partitioned in such a manner as to secure the supremacy of Islam in
one zone and that of Hinduism in the other.

Sardar Gul Khan, President of the Islamic Anjuman, Dera
Ismail Khan, giving evidence before the North-West Frontier
Committee (1924) stated: Hindu-Muslim unity will never became a
fact. We would very much rather see the separation of the Hindus
and the Mohammedans, 23 crores of Hindus to the South and 8
crores of Muslims to the North. Give the whole portion from
Raskumari to Agra to Hindus, and from Agra to Peshawar to
Mohammedans.
10

In 1924, the veteran Hindu leader, Lala Lajpat Rai, evolved a
plan of partition for India, and reluctantly conceded the Muslims the
North-West Frontier, Western Punjab, Sind and Eastern Bengal.
11

In June 1925, Maulana Mohammad Ali advocated separation
and the right of self-determination for the people of the northern
areas of the Subcontinent for economic, strategic, religious and
cultural reasons.
12

In July 1925, William Archbold, sometime Principal of the
M.A.O. College, Aligarh, foresaw a powerful Mohammedan
combination in the North West in alliance with Afghanistan.
13

Centenary Souvenir
94

In 1927, Maulana Obedidullah Sindhi, who had taken shelter
in Russia and then in Turkey, formulated a scheme for a federal
system in the Subcontinent on behalf of the Mahabharat at
Sarvorajaya party. The scheme contemplated the redistribution of the
provincial boundaries of India and the creation of three zones:
North-Western, Eastern and Southern. The North-Western Zone was
to compromised, the Punjab (Eastern and Western Punjab and
Gujrat), the Frontier Province, Kashmir, Sind and Baluchistan.

In March 1928, The Times correspondent in India envisioned
effective Muslim rule in North India and prophesied the division of
the Punjab and the creation of a solid Muslim bloc from Peshawar to
the mouth of the Indus.

The Aga Khan, in the course of two articles in The Times
(London) of October 12 and 13, 1928, observed: India when freed
from outside control, cannot have a unitary, non-federal government.
The country must accept in all its consequences its own inevitable
diversities, not only religious and historical, but also national and
linguistic. It must base its constitution on an association of free
States. Each free State would be based, not on considerations of size,
but on those or religion, nationality, race and languageplus
history. The compact bodies of Muslims in the North West and East
of India would have free States of their own.

In December 1928, the Empire Review made a favourable
analysis of a suggestion for breaking up the Indian Provinces into
small units in accordance with ethnic and local sentiment in order to
allay communal fears. The implication was that at some future date
it might be practicable or necessary to merge Muslim and Hindu
areas into some sort of separate blocs.

In December 1929, Nawab Sir Zulfiqar Ali Khan, in his
address as Chairman, Reception Committee of the All-India Khilafat
Conference Lahore, observed: Indias freedom and progress
depends on the fact that Muslims should be given such an area in
Northern India which should consist of two or three Provinces or be

95
made one Province. In the same way, in Eastern India, Bengal
should be divided in such a manner that Muslims should form 80 per
cent of the population. Muslims themselves should, instead of rights,
demand a separate country and homeland.
14

In 1929, Sir Ross Masood, in an interview with the Governor
of the United Provinces is reported to have said: the differences of
the Muslims with the Hindus are deep-seated, and the Muslims felt
that they would be swamped in a self-governing India. Their minds
are turning more and more to the idea of a federation between
modernized Afghanistan with Persia in the back ground and with
Allies in the frontier independent territories. The Punjab Muslims
have long been talking among themselves of a union of the Northern
Punjab, Sind, Baluchistan and Afghanistan. A generation ago a
union with Afghanistan would have been regarded with horror, for
the Pathan was not a very popular person in Northern India; but the
memory of his raids is dying out; and at present, at all events, it
seems preferable to many of them to run the risk of engaging him as
an ally rather than to accept the certainty of domination by a
Hinduized Central Government.
15

In the Presidential Address delivered at the annual session of
the All-India Muslim League at Allahabad, on December 29, 1930,
Dr. Sir Muhammad Iqbal said:

I would like to see the Punjab, the North-West Frontier
Province, Sind and Baluchistan amalgamated into a single State. Self
government within the British Empire, or without the British
Empire, and the formation of a consolidated North-West India
Muslim State appears to me to be the final destiny of the Muslims, at
least of North West India.

In March 1931, The Round Table thought it certainly possible
that India might break up, first into a Muslim and a Hindu India, and
later into a number of national States as Europe did, after the
Renaissance and the Reformation.
16

Centenary Souvenir
96
In November 1931, The Economist saw the Muslims
manoeuvering for an effective control of the entire Indus basin,
Eastern Bengal and a corridor between the two.
17

In December 1931, similar sentiments were voiced in a
debate in the House of Commons by Col. Goodman, Sir Alfred
Knox and Sir Henry Page Croft.
18

In 1932, Sir Reginald Caddock observed that if Norway and
Sweden could not keep together, if Ulster and the Irish Free State
could not be got to unite, how could it be expected that the infinitely
greater diversities and divergent racial elements to be found in India
could be welded into one self-governing and democratic whole.
19

John Coatman prophesied: It may be that Muslim India in
the North and North-West is destined to become a separate Muslim
State or part of a Muslim Empire.
20

In January 1933, Chaudhuri Rehmat Ali, a student at
Chambridge, issued a pamphlet entitled Now or Never, and coined
the term Pakistan. It was derived from the initial letters of Punjab,
North-West Frontier Province (also called Afghan Province)
Kashmir, Sind and the last syllable of Baluchistan. In the pamphlet
the author stated that in the above-mentioned five Northern
Provinces of India, the Muslims were about 30 million out f a total
population about 40 million, and their religion and culture, history
and tradition, social code and economic system were fundamentally
different from those of most peoples living in the rest of India. In the
name of the Muslim brethren who lived in Pakistan, he demanded
a separate Federation of these predominantly Muslims Units.
Rehmat Ali launched the Pakistan National Movement by publishing
and distributing pamphlets, tracts, handbills and other literature. A
weekly newspaper, under the title Pakistan, was also started.

The Pakistan Scheme was the subject of questions in the
proceeding of the Joint parliamentary Select Committee in 1932.
The Muslim witnesses described it as a students scheme which
should be regarded as chimerical and impracticable.
21
Mr. J. L.

97
French, former District Magistrate in the Punjab, however, told the
Joint Committee that the idea of a great Islamic State was being
discussed in Muslim circles in the Punjab and the North West
Frontier Province.
22

Some of the British members, however, expressed their
opposition to the idea. The Duchess of Atholl, M.P., felt that the
creation of Pakistan might mean civil war in India.
23
Mr. Vyvyan
Adams voiced his disapproval of the Pakistan Scheme in his speech
in the House of Commons.
24
On the other hand, Major Yeats Brown
saw no alternative to Pakistan. The Hindu leaders also did not
consider Pakistan an impracticable students dream. Mehr Chand
Khanna, Professor Rai and others expressed grave fears regarding
the Pakistan Movement.
25

The editors of the Encyclopedia of Islam, first published in
1937, in its IVth Supplement took note of the Pakistan Movement.

A German daily printed a front-page story before the war, and
the Movement found mention in Amir Shakib Araslans review, Les
Nations Arabes, published in French.
26

Thus, by the time the All-India Muslim League was
reorganized under the leadership of Mr. Jinnah, the partition idea
had found its way into the thinking of various politicians and writers,
and the intelligentsia in general. Nevertheless, it took the League
another three years to make formal demand for it. Let us now see
how this demand took its final shape and through what processes it
had to pass.

In his correspondence with Mr. Jinnah, Dr. Iqbal canvassed
the division of India. In a letter dated May 28, 1937, he wrote: But
the enforcement and development of the Shariat of Islam is
impossible in this country without a free Muslim State or States.
This has been my honest conviction for many years, and I still
believe this to be the only way to solve the problem of bread for
Muslims as well as to secure a peaceful India. If such a thing is
impossible in India, the only other alternative is a civil war, which as
Centenary Souvenir
98
a matter of fact, has been going on for some time in the shape of
Hindu-Muslim riots. Again in his latter of June 21, 1937, he stated:
In these circumstances it is obvious that the only way to a peaceful
India is a redistribution of the country on the lines of racial, religious
and linguistic affinities. I remember Lord Lothian told me before I
left England that my scheme was the only possible solution of the
troubles of India, but that it would take 25 years to come.
27

In October 1937, Syed Ali Jawad, in an article in The
Pioneer, entitled The League and the Congress, said: An
alternative to a friendly settlement of our dispute is the partitioning
of India into two parts, namely, Muslim India and Hindu IndiaLet
us hope and pray that such a drastic cure of our ills will not have to
be resorted to.
28

In April 1938, G. L. Schanzlin discussed the Pakistan plan in
detail in an article entitled The Rebirth of a Nation, in the Moslem
World.
29

In April 18, 1938, Abdul Jabbar Pahlown, M.L.A. (Bengal),
gave notice for moving a resolution in the Subjects Committee of the
Special Session of the All-India Muslim League which, inter alia
provided: India should be divided into two parts, namely Northern
and Southern Indiawith their separate army and navy. The
resolution was not placed before the Subjects Committee, as it was
found to be time-barred.

Later in the same year (October 1938), the Sind Provincial
Muslim League Conference was held at Karachi under the
presidentship of the Quaid-i-Azam himself. In his Presidential
Address, Mr. Jinnah referred to the breaking up of the Republic of
Czechoslovakia, and added that just as the Sudetan Germans were
not defenceless and survived oppression and persecution for two
decades, so also the Musalmans were not defenceless and could not
give up their national entity and aspirations in this great continent.
He accused the Congress of trying to destroy the Muslim League and
dominate the Muslims by dividing them. He warned that this would
result in India being divided.
30
The Chairman of the Reception

99
Committee of the Conference, Sir Abdullah Haroon, hinted at the
possibility of an independent federation of Muslim States.
31
Sheikh
Abdul Majid threatened that if the Congress did not concede
Muslim rights, Muslims would have no alternative but to fall back
upon the Pakistan Scheme, and that nothing would prevent
Muslims from Karachi to Calcutta marching to their own self-
determination.
32

In the Subjects Committee of the Conference, a resolution
was tabled which, inter alia, provided: The Sind provincial Muslim
League Conference considers it absolutely essential in the interests
of an abiding peace of the vast Indian continent and in the interests
of unhampered cultural development, the economic and social
betterment and political self-determination of the two nations,
known as Hindus and Muslims, that India should be divided into two
federations, namely, the Federation of Muslim States and the
Federation of non-Muslim States.

The Conference, therefore, recommends to the All-India
Muslim League to devise a scheme of a constitution under which
Muslim Majority Provinces, Muslim Indian States, and areas
inhabited by a majority of Muslims may attain full independence in
the form of a federation of their own, with permission to admit any
other Muslim State beyond the Indian frontiers to join the
Federation, and with such safeguards for non-Muslim minorities as
may be conceded to the Muslim minorities in the non-Muslim
Federation of India.
33

After discussion, the above draft was substituted by the
following:

This Conference considers it absolutely essential, in the
interests of an abiding peace of the vast Indian continent and in the
interest unhampered cultural development, the economic and social
betterment and political self-determination of the two nations,
known as Hindus and Muslims, to recommend to the All-India
Muslim League to review and revise the entire conception of what
Centenary Souvenir
100
should be the suitable constitution for India which will secure
honourable and legitimate State to them.
34

Choudhry Khaliquzzaman and Mr. Abdur Rahman Siddiqui
went to London in March 1939 and had talks with the Marquess of
Zetland, the Secretary of State for India, and Col. Muirhead, and
suggested to them the partitioning of India. Professor Rushbrook
Williams realized the significance of the new Muslim opinion
demanding a separate zone, and said that it testified to the degree of
alarm characteristic of Muslim uncertainty.
35
The Round Table
noted that a fresh impetus had been given to the movement for
creating a so-called Pakistan of the Muslim provinces in the
North.
Zonal Schemes
d
(iv) Dr. Syecl Zafarul Hasan and Dr. M. Afzal Qadri of Aligarh.
38

erut, on March 26, 1939, and passed the following
Resolution:

36

In 1938-39 various proposals advocating partition and the
establishment of Muslim zones and separate States, were put
forward by different individuals. Some notable schemes were those
proposed by (i) Dr. Abdul Latif of Hyderabad, (ii) Sir Sikandar
Hayat Khan, the Premier of the Punjab, (iii) Mian Kifayat Ali
37
an

The partition idea was spreading so fast and going so deep
into the politics of the day that the Muslim League had to consider it
seriously. Accordingly, its Working Committee met at Castle
Mustafa, Me
Whereas the All-India Muslim League is opposed to
the Scheme of the Federation embodied in the Government of
India Act, and whereas the working of the provincial part of
the Constitution has created grave apprehensions amongst
Muslims and other minorities regarding their future, because
the Provincial Scheme has utterly failed to safeguard even the
elementary rights of the Muslim minorities in various
Provinces, and whereas by a resolution passed at the Patna
Session in December, 1938, such course as may be necessary

101
with a view to explore the possibility of a suitable alternative
which would safeguard the interests of the Musalmans and
other minorities, the President, with the concurrence of the
Working Committee, hereby appoints a Committee of the
following gentlemen to examine various schemes already
propounded by those who are fully versed in the
constitutional developments of India and other countries and
those that may be submitted their conclusions at an early date:
il Khan Saheb
b
9. Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Saheb (Convener).
Committee, would be in the best interest of
the Muslims of India.
39

itioned India had now come into the realm of
practical politics.
40

eld at Delhi. It
adopted Resolution No. 14 which reads as under:
onstitution of India. The following broad outlines
1. Mr. M.A. Jinnah (President)
2. The Hon. Sir Sikandar Hayat Khan
3. Nawab Mohammad Isma
4. Syed Abdul Aziz Sahe
5. Sir Abdullah Haroon
6. The Hon. Sir Nazimuddin
7. Abdul Matin Choudhri Saheb
8. Sardar Aurangzeb Khan Saheb

Subsequently, the Quaid-i-Azam, addressing a meeting of the
League Council held at Delhi on April 8, said that there were several
schemes in the fields, including that of dividing the country into
Muslim and Hindu India. These schemes were before the Committee
which had been set up by the Working Committee of the Muslim
League. It would examine the whole question and produce a scheme
which according to the

Thus, a part

On 3
rd
February, 1940 the meeting of the Working
Committee of All India Muslim League was h

The Committee considered the question of Muslim demands
and the future c
were agreed to:
Centenary Souvenir
102
1. Muslims are not a minority in any sense of the word.
They are a nation.
2. The British system of a democratic Parliamentary
of India should be
guarded, and similar
him that the Muslim
hore was going to demand the
Party system of Government is not suited to the genius
and condition of the people of India.
3. Those zones which are composed of a majority of
Muslims in the physical map
constituted into Independent Dominions in direct
relationship with Great Britain.
4. In those zones where Muslims are in a minority, their
interests and those of other minorities must be
adequately and effectively safe
safeguards shall be provided for the Hindus and other
minorities in the Muslim zones.
5. The various units in each zone shall form component
parts of the Federation in that zone as autonomous
units.
(File No. 129, Archives of Freedom Movement,
Karachi University Library)

Two days after the meeting of the Working Committee held
at Delhi (i.e. on February 6, 1940), the Quaid-i-Azam met the
Viceroy, Lord Linlithgow, and conveyed to
League in its open session at La
partition of the country.

1940 Open Session of the League

On March 22, 1940, Mr. Jinnah delivered his Presidential
Address in the open session. He pointed out that Islam and Hinduism
were not religions in the strict sense of the word, but were in fact,
different and distinct social orders, and it was a dream that Hindus
and Muslims could ever a common nationality. He warned that if the
British Government were really in earnest and sincerely wished to
secure peace and happiness for the people of this Subcontinent, the
only course open was to allow the major nations separate homelands

103
by dividing India into autonomous national States. He affirmed
that the Musalmans were a nation according to any definition of
nation, nd that they must have their homeland, their territory and
Autho
sent his suggestions to the Quaid in advance of the session through
Mir M
that the latter part of my resolution,
which related to the centre and co-ordination of the activities of the
variou
of the
Muslim ague. His biographer, referring to the Subcommittee
constit
a
their State.
41

rs of the Resolution

Just before the session, the Working Committee, in its
meeting held on March 21, 1940, had appointed a Committee, with
the Quaid-i-Azam and Sikandar Hayat Khan as its members, to draft
a resolution. Sir Abdullah Haroon claimed that the resolution was
drafted in the light of an outline he had placed in the hands of the
Quaid-i-Azam in the shape of a short memorandum in February
1940.
42
According to Raja Ghazanfar Ali Khan, Sir Sikandar had
aqbool.
43
Sir Sikandar gives this version:
44

I have to hesitation in admitting that I was responsible for
drafting the original resolution. But let me make it clear that the
resolution which I drafted was radically amended by the Working
Committee, and there is a wide divergence between the resolution I
drafted and the one that was finally passed. The main difference
between the two resolutions is
s units, was eliminated.

A claim has been made that Mr. Fazlul Haq was also
associated with the drafting of the Lahore Resolution. In a letter
dated October 13, 1945 addressed to Muhammad Shahjehan, Mr.
Huq stated: as regards Pakistan, I stand by the Resolution whose
wording I drafted, and which I moved in the Lahore Session
Le
uted by the Muslim League at Meerut in 1939, writes:

The Subcommittee approached Mr. Fazlul Haq and entrusted
him with the onerous task of drafting the Constitution of the
prospective Pakistan. He drafted the same and submitted it to the
Subcommittee which approved it.
45
No corroboration of these
Centenary Souvenir
104
claims is available. From the reports, it appears that Mr. Haq arrived
at the meeting from Calcutta when the Draft Resolution was under
discussion in the Subjects Committee. He, therefore, could not have
had a hand in its drafting. Of course, he did move the Resolution in
Resolu
the
Committee resumed its sitting at 11 a.m; and after seven hours
discussion, th
drawn suggesting their deletion, then some of the
1.
tally
unsuited to, and unworkable in, the peculiar condition of this
country and is altogether unacceptable to Muslim India.
open session.

tion before the Subject Committee

On March 22, at about 8 p.m., a meeting of the Subjects
Committee was held. The Quaid-i-Azam informed the Committee
that the draft resolution was being typed and would be placed before
the Committee shortly. In the meantime, he explained the two-nation
theory in detail. When the draft resolution was received, Nawabzada
Liaquat Ali Khan read out its text. Maulana Zafar Ali Khan gave its
Urdu translation. As the members wanted time to consider the
resolution, the Committee adjourned to the next day. On the 23
rd
e resolution, with some alterations, was adopted.

In Volume 214 of the Muslim records in the Archives
of the Freedom Movement Library of the University of
Karachi, a typed draft Resolution with certain corrections in
handwriting is available. It appears that the typed draft
Resolution (in the uncorrected form) is the one. Originally
prepared by Sir Sikander Hayat Khan, as para 3(c) to (q)
thereof relate to the Centre and the coordination of activities
of the various units. There are markings and, in fact, a line
has been
paragraphs contain hand written alterations (Photostat is
annexed)
While approving and endorsing the action taken by the
Working Committee and the Council of the All-India Muslim
League, as indicated in their resolution datedon the
constitutional issue, this Session of the All-India Muslim
League emphatically reiterates that the scheme of federation
embodied in the Government of India Act, 1935, is to

105
2. It further records its emphatic view that while declaration
datedmade on behalf of His Majestys Government is
reassuring insofar as it declares that the plan of the
Government of India Act, 1935 will be reconsidered in
consultation with the various parties, interests and
communities in India, Muslim India will not be satisfied
unless the whole constitutional plan is reconsidered de novo
and that no revised plan would be acceptable to the Muslims
unless it were framed with their consent, as well as the
consent of the minorities, including the Indian Princes.
3. Further it is the considered view of this Session of the All-
India Muslim League that no constitutional plan would be
workable in this country or acceptable to the Muslims unless
it were designed on the following basic principles:
a) That the units are completely autonomous and
sovereign.
b) That contiguous units are demarcated into regions
(dominions) which will be so constituted that the
provinces in which the Muslims are numerically in a
majorityas in the North-Western and eastern zones
of Indiaare grouped in regions in such a manner as
not to reduce the Muslims to a state of equality or
minority therein.
c) That the residuary powers will vest in the units.
d) That only such powers will vest in the regions
(dominions) as the units may agree to delegate to them
to ensure administrative convenience or uniformity.
e) That the regions may in turn delegate to central
agencywhich for convenience may be designated the
Grand Council of the United Dominions of India
limited functions of administration of certain specified
subjects and on such terms as may be agreed upon;
provided that such functions shall be administered
through committees on which all the regions
(dominions) and interests will be duly represented and
their actual administration in the regions will be
entrusted to the units.
Centenary Souvenir
106
f) That no decision of this Central Agency will be
effective or operative unless it is carried by at least a
two-thirds majority.
g) That in the absence of agreement with regard to the
constitution, functions and scope of the Grand Council
of the United Dominions of India cited above, the
regions (dominions) shall have the right to refrain
from, or refuse to participate in, the proposed central
structure.
h) That adequate, effective and mandatory safeguards
will be specifically provided in the constitution for
minorities in the units, in the regions and in the Centre,
in regard to the religious, cultural, economical,
political, administrative and other spheres.
i) That the peace-time composition of the India Army
shall continue on the same basis as on the 1
st
April,
1937.
Para 3, after alterations, reads as under:
That geographically contiguous units should be demarcated
into regions as sovereign states and should be so constituted
that within such parts of India in which the Muslims are
numerically in a majorityas in the North-West and Eastern
zones of Indiathey should be grouped in those regions in
such a manner as will constitute independent sovereign
dominions. The units in such dominions shall be autonomous
and sovereign.

Draft Resolution and the Amendments before the Subjects
Committee

On March 22, at about 8 p.m., a meeting of the Subjects
Committee was held. The Quaid-i-Azam informed the Committee
that the draft Resolution was being typed and would be placed
before the Committee shortly. In the meantime, he explained the
two-nation theory in detail. When the draft Resolution was received,
Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan read out its text. Maulana Zafar Ali
Khan gave its Urdu translation. As the members wanted time to
consider the Resolution, the Committee adjourned to the next day.

107
On the 23
rd
, the Committee resumed its sitting at 11 a.m., and after
seven hours discussion, the Resolution, with some alterations, was
adopted. It is understood that a number of amendments were moved
by the representatives of Muslim Minority Provinces in connection
with safeguards.
46

From the records available at the University of Karachi, it
appears that the following amendments were moved:
1) Mohammad Noman moved: Unless it is designed on
the following basic principle: geographically
contiguous units are demarcated afresh with new
boundaries which should be such that the
provincessovereign.
2) M. Rizwanullah moved:
i. After the word the provinces add the words and
parts of provinces.
ii. Delete the words as in the N. Western and Eastern
Zones of India.
iii. Substitute the word free for the word
independent.
iv. Delete the word sovereign.
3) Z.H. Lari moved:
i. Add the following word after the words in
consultation with them: and to their satisfaction.
ii. Delete the words beginning with providing for the
assumption
4) Nawab Chattari moved: That a Sub-Committee
consisting of members belonging to those provinces
where the Muslims are in a minority be formed to
ascertain their views regarding the safeguards for the
protection of the Muslim minority in those provinces.
5) H. Imam moved: Add the following after 1) That
India should, as far as possible, be demarcated into
homogeneous cultural units in such a way that
wherever Muslims are in a majority they should form a
Centenary Souvenir
108
separate unit, and demarcated into homogeneous
cultural units in such.
(i) Sovereign at the end of para 3 to be omitted.
6) Aziz Mohammad moved: Add the following
provisions to the main resolution before the last para:
Provided the Provincial Muslim Leagues of the
Provinces in which the Muslims are in a minority
may be asked to submit their reports within a
period of 3 months as to what safeguards they
consider necessary and legitimate rights in the
future constitution of India.
7) Mushtaq Ahmad Gurmani moved the following
amendment regarding confederation of the regions:
Between the words regions and of, the
following be added: or by a confederation of these
regions in which these regions may join on a
voluntary basis and on equal footing.
8) Zahiruddin Faruki, MLA, Bar-at-Law moved:
i. That India should as far as possible be demarcated
into homogeneous cultural units in such a way that
wherever Muslims are in a majority they should
form a separate unit, and wherever they are in a
minority, they should be at liberty to come to terms
with governments in power, or try or form a
separate unit.
ii. That for purposes of defence and other specified
matters, a confederation of independent units
should be constituted.
(Withdrawn)
9) Abdul Hameed Khan moved: After the words basic
principles in Clause No. 3, add the following:
i. That the principle that the Muslims are a nation be
accepted and applied equally in both the majority
and minority provinces in India in any scheme of
constitution to be formed.

109
ii. In Clause No. 2, the word reconsider before de
novo be substituted by the word consider.
(Withdrawn)
10) Pir Ali Mohammad Rashdi moved: that after words
Units in line 1 of page 2, the following words be
inserted:
with such territorial readjustments as may be
approved by Muslims.
(Accepted with slight alteration)
All the above amendments are found in file No. 214-AIML.
Annual Session at Lahore, in Archives of Freedom Movement,
University Library Building, Karachi.

A reference may be made to the amendment moved by Dr.
Ashiq Hussain Batalvi for deletion of the following words.
(Probably this was an oral amendment and hence does not
appear in the said records):
That geographically contiguous units are demarcated into
regions which should be so constituted, with such territorial
readjustments as may be necessary, that the areas in which the
Muslims are numerically in a majority, as in the North-
Western and Eastern zones of India, should be grouped to
constitute Independent States.

Dr. Batalvi suggested that the provinces of Punjab, Sind, the
Frontier and Baluchistan should be specially mentioned therein.
47

Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan intervened and said that the omission
of the names of the provinces was deliberate, otherwise the territory
of the proposed State would extend only up to Godhagaon. He added
that by using the expression territorial readjustment, it was not
intended to surrender portions of the Punjab and Bengal but to claim
areas of Muslim culture like Delhi and Aligarh.
48
After this
clarification, the Committee approved the Resolution. Subsequent
events hardly justify the interpretation given by Mr. Liaquat Ali
Khan.

The historic Lahore Resolution, as approved by the Subjects
Committee, read as follows:
Centenary Souvenir
110

Council and the Working Committee of the All-India Muslim
League, as indicated in their resolutions dated August 27, September
17 and 18 and October, 22, 1939, and 04-02-1940 on the
constitutional issue, this Session of the All-India Muslim League
emphatically reiterates that the scheme of federation embodied in the
Government of India Act, 1935, is totally unsuited to, and
unworkable in, the peculiar conditions of the country and is
altogether unacceptable to Muslim India.

It further records its emphatic view that while the declaration
dated October 18, 1939, made by the Viceroy on behalf of His
Majestys Government is reassuring insofar as it declares that the
policy and plan on which the Government is reassuring insofar as it
declares that the policy and plan on which the Government of India
Act is based will be considered in consultations with the various
parties, interests and communities in India, Muslim India will not be
satisfied unless the whole constitutional plan is reconsidered de
novo, and that no revised plan will be acceptable to the Muslims
unless it is framed with their approval and consent.

Resolved that it is the considered view of this Session of the
All-India Muslim League that no constitutional plan will be
workable in this country or acceptable to the Muslims unless it is
designed on the following basic principle, viz., that geographically
contiguous units are demarcated into regions which should be so
constituted, with such territorial readjustment as may be necessary,
that the areas in which the Muslims are numerically in a majority, as
in the North-Western and Eastern zones of India, should be grouped
to constitute Independent States in which the constituent units shall

That adequate, effective and mandatory safeguards of
minorities in these units and in the regions should be specifically
provided in the Constitution for the protection of their religious,
cultural, economic, political, administrative and other rights and
interests in consultation with them; and in other parts of India where

111
the Muslims are in a minority, adequate, effective and mandatory
safeguards shall be specifically
49
provided in the Constitution for
them and other minorities for the protection of their religious,
cultural, economic, political administrative and other rights and
interests in consultation with them.

This Session further authorizes the Working Committee to
frame a scheme of constitution in accordance with these basic
principles, providing for the assumption finally, by the respective
regions, of all power, such as defence, external affairs,
communication, and such other matters as may be necessary,

The underlined passages in the third and fourth proposals
were additions made to the original resolution.
50

Adoption of the Lahore Resolution

On March 23, 1940, a resolution was moved in the open
session of the Muslim League by Mr. Fazlul Haq, then Premier of
Bengal. Choudhry Khaliquzzaman seconded the resolution. Maulana
Zafar Ali Khan, Sardar Aurangzeb Khan, and Mr. Abdullah Haroon
supported the resolution. As it was time for prayers, the session was
adjourned to the following day. On March 24, discussion of the
resolution was resumed. Qazi Isa, Mr. Abdul Hamid Khan, Mr. I.I.
Chundrigar, Dr. Mohammad Alam, Khan Bahadur Nawab
Mohammad Ismail Khan, Syed Abdur Rauf Shah, Syed Zakir Ali,
Begum Mohammad Ali and Maulana Abdul Hamid Badayuni spoke
in support of the resolution, which was passed unanimously amid
great enthusiasm.

The Lahore Resolution was thus proposed on March 23, but
actually passed on March 24, 1942. And on Friday, the 19
th
of April,
1940, the Muslim League organized a nation-wide Lahore
Resolution Day. Public meetings were held by all provincial, district
and primary League bodies to explain and support the historic
resolution. But in view of the fact that the Lahore Resolution was
moved on March 23, it has ever since 1941 been celebrated on
Centenary Souvenir
112
March 23. When Pakistan became a republic, March 23 was
designated Pakistan Day.

Resolution Termed Pakistan

The news of the adoption of the resolution was flashed all
over the world. The Milap and other Hindu papers published it under
the headlines of Pakistan Resolution, with, no doubt, an ulterior
object. An attempt was made to create confusion by raising the cry
Pak (pure) and Na-Pak (impure) States, and by the bogey of Pan-
Islamism. The expression, however, caught the public next morning
the Hindu Press came out with big head lines Pakistan Resolution
Passed, although the word was not used by anyone in the speeches
51

nor in the body of the Resolution. The Nationalist Press supplied to
the Muslim masses a concentrated slogan which immediately
conveyed to them the idea of a State. It would have taken long for
the Muslim leaders to explain the Lahore Resolution and convey its
real meaning and significance to them. Years of labour of the
Muslim leaders to propagate its full import amongst the masses was
shortened by the Hindu Press in naming the resolution the Pakistan
Resolution.
52

In the beginning Mr. Jinnah referred to it as the Lahore
Resolution.
53
At the Delhi Session of the Muslim League, he
recalled:
Now one more thing I wish to say about Pakistan is
this. There is a new propaganda. The latest argument. I think
is really very wicked, the most wicked of all. The argument is
this: Mr. Jinnah is working for the territories in the North-
West and East Zones Pak and the others Na-Pak. I have
heard this from several quartersand I was thunderstruck.
You know what false propaganda can do. I think you will
bear me out that when we passed the Lahore Resolution we
had not used the word Pakistan. Who gave us this word?
(Cries of Hindus.) Let me tell you it is their fault. They
started damning this resolution on the ground that it was
Pakistan. They are really ignorant of the Muslim movement.
They fathered this word upon us. Give the dog a bad name

113
and then hang him. You know perfectly well that Pakistan is
a word which is really foisted upon us and fathered on us by
some sections of the Hindu Press and also by the British
Press. Now our resolution was known for a long time as the
Lahore Resolution, popularly known as Pakistan. But how
long are we to have this long phrase? Now I say to my Hindu
and British friends: We thank you for giving us one word.
What is the origin of the word Pakistan? It was not
Muslim League or the Quaid-i-Azam who coined it. Some
fellows in London,
54
who wanted a particular part of the
North-West to be separated from the rest of India, coined a
name in 1929-30, started the idea, and called a zone Pakistan.
They picked up the letter P for Punjab, A for Afghan K for
Kashmir, S for Sind, and Tan for Baluchistan. A name was
coined. Thus, whatever may have been the meaning of this
word at the time, it is obvious that the language of every
civilized country invents new words. The word Pakistan has
come to mean the Lahore Resolution. We wanted a word and
it was foisted on us, and we found it convenient to use it as a
synonym for the Lahore Resolution

Further light on the origin and meaning of the term is thrown
in the Gandhi-Jinnah correspondence of 1944. In his letter of
September 15, 1944, Mr. Gandhi enquired: Pakistan is not in the
resolution. Does it bear the original meaning-the Punjab,
Afghanistan, Kashmir, Sind and Baluchistan, out of which the name
was formed? If not, what is it? The Quaid-i-Azam in his letter of
September 17, 1944, replied Yes, the word Pakistan is not
mentioned in the resolution, and it does not bear the original
meaning. The word has now become synonymous with the Lahore
Resolution.

Congress Reactions

Mr. Gandhi stated that by passing a resolution favouring the
vivisection of India into two, the Muslim League had created a
baffling situation. According to him partition would mean suicide
and the two-nation theory was an untruth. He declared those whom
Centenary Souvenir
114
God has made one, man will never be able to divide.
55
He
considered vivisection to be a sin,
56
a call to war.
57
By June 1947,
however, Gandhi had veered round and blessed the partition. C.
Rajagopalachari opposed the resolution, describing it is as cutting
the body into two,
58
but later he realized the logic behind it and its
inevitability. Nehru and some-other Congress and Hindu Mahasabha
leaders were quite violent in their criticism.

Indian Press Comments

The Hindustan Times wrote: History has made Muslims and
Hindus in India into one people, which even the ingenuity of the
most ingenious constitution. Monger will be unable to divide. To
break up the unity of India is not to satisfy the ambitions of this
community or that, but to ruin the peace and prosperity of people of
this country as a whole. This is a solution which the Muslim
community as a whole will reject, whatever the League and its
leaders do, The Amrita bazaar Patrika considered it to be an absurd
scheme: If the Muslims cannot live as a minority community under
an All-India Government, can they expect the Hindus to live under a
Muslim majority? What is Mr. Jinnah going to do with the non-
Muslim minorities in the Muslim States? Unless he is prepared to
make them magically disappear, he must arrange for an exchange of
population with neighbouring Hindu State. Can millions and
millions of people be so transplanted? We pause for a reply.

The Statesman, on the other hand, found Pakistan a live issue.
If India receives Dominion Status partition seems the inevitable
result in view of the attitude which the Muslim community appears
disposed to adopt. If that really represents their position, neither the
Congress nor the Hindu Mahasabha would be able to hold them.
There would probably be fighting, but in any case there would be
partition. Mr. Jinnah is no religious fanatic. Not hastily or willingly
has he gone along the road that has led him to embrace the idea of
Pakistan. If both sides will face realities and discuss them without
passion, Mother India can yet be saved.
59

115
British Press Comments

The Times held the Congress policy responsible for the
emergence of Muslims as a separate nation but disfavoured the
Pakistan proposal as it would mean an end to Indian unity.
60

The New Statesmans reaction was that Indians did not divide
on the lines of creed but on economic lines, and that the communal
division had been recognized and exaggerated by the white rulers for
their own ends.
61

The Economist contented itself with saying that it was foolish
to suppose, as the Congress did, that divisions of race and culture,
which had created fundamental political cleavages all over the
world, would in India be slurred over by denying their existence.
62

The Observer appreciated that a new phase of the Indian
problem had opened, and read in it the implied warning that the
Congress must revise its policy of a crude democratic consultation
for all India if it wanted other Indian communities to co-operate with
it.
63

For the Manchester Guardian, Mr. Jinnah, by getting the
resolution passed, had re-established the region of chaos in Indian
politics, and the plan struck at the heart of Indian nationalism.
64

Nature gave a favourable comment: Apart from the fact that
the voice of a minority of some 80 million or more, sectional
differences, for once, forgotten, cannot be ignored, it is based upon a
very real difference in cultural traditions, as every student of Indian
civilization is aware; for the Muslim tradition fosters a democratic
outlook, while fearing and resenting Hindu domination in an
independent India, which would, from its immemorial tradition of
caste, be essentially oligarchic in practice. However impracticable
the Muslim demand may be, no solution will secure the future of
India in world affairs or internally which attempts to ignore or
override these fundamental differences of culture and tradition.

Centenary Souvenir
116
Interpretation of the Resolution

The Lahore Resolution was discussed in detail and at length.
The expression Independent States had been used in the
Resolution; and considerable comment has been made on the alleged
ambiguity of its meaning, especially about whether the resolution
contemplated one or more Muslim States. Dr. Ambedker wrote: It
speaks of grouping the zones into Independent States in which the
constituent units shall be autonomous and sovereign. The use of the
term constituent units indicates that what is contemplated is a
Federation. If that is so then the use of the word sovereign as an
attribute of the units is out of place. Federation of units and
sovereignty of units are contradictions.
65
Professor Coupland says:
It could scarcely mean that the constituent units of the independent
States were really to be sovereign, but that it did mean that the States
were to be really independent.
66
Mary Loise Becker considers that
the Lahore Resolution only referred to Independent
States.autonomous and sovereign vis--vis Hindu India, but not
in relation to one another.
67

Sir B.N. Rao, Constitutional Adviser to the Government of
India, and later a Judge of the International Court of Justice, gave the
following interpretation of the Lahore Resolution in his outline
entitled A New Constitution, prepared for the benefit of the
Government of India, 1945:

According to the Resolution, the two regions, with necessary
territorial adjustments, are to be independent States in which the
constituent units shall be autonomous and sovereign. The language
used is loose: apparently what is meant is that the two regions should
form a single independent State, Pakistan, of which the several
provinces are to be constituent units. In other words, Pakistan is to
be a Federation by itself. At present the whole of British India is in a
sense a single Federation; Mr. Jinnah seems to contemplate its
division into two Federations, Pakistan and Hindustan, independent
of each other. The Pakistan Federation would thus consist of two
zones separated from each other by Hindustan territory.
68

117
Clarifications by the Quaid-i-Azam and League Resolutions

In a signed preface to Indias Problem of Her Future
Constitution, dated October 7, 1940, the Quaid-i-Azam said: That
the areas in which the Muslims are numerically in a majority, as in
the North-Western and Eastern zones of India, should be grouped to
constitute independent State (sic), in which the constituent units
shall be autonomous and sovereign.

At the annual session of the Muslim League held in Madras in
April 1941, The Lahore Resolution was made the creed of the
Muslim League, and the aims and objects of the Muslim League
were amended so as conform thereto. It is interesting to note that the
word together was added after the word grouped, the amendment
reading:

The North-Western and Eastern zones of India shall be
grouped together to constitute independent States as Muslim Free
National Home lands in which the constituent units shall be
autonomous and sovereign.

At the Thirty-first Annual Session of the Muslim League held
in December, 1943, at Karachi, a resolution was adopted appointing
a Committee to prepare a comprehensive scheme for economic and
social uplift, including: State industrialization in the Pakistan zones;
introduction of free primary basic education; reform of the land
system; stabilization of rent; security of tenure; improvement in
conditions, of labour and agriculture; control of money-lending. It
may be mentioned that the resolution envisaged Pakistan as an
independent sovereign State consisting of provincial states.

An authoritative interpretation of the Lahore Resolution by
the Quaid-i-Azam is found in the famous Gandhi-Jinnah
correspondence of September 1944.
Centenary Souvenir
118
M

r. Gandhi enquired:
Are the constituents in the two zones to constitute
Independent States an undefined number in each zone?
69

The Quaid-i-Azam replied:

No. They will form units of Pakistan.
70

Pakistan is composed of two zones, North-West and North-
East, comprising six provinces, namely, Sind, Baluchistan, North-
West Frontier Province, the Punjab, Bengal and Assam, subject to
territorial adjustments that may be agreed upon, as indicated in the
Lahore Resolution.
71

On December 2, 1944, the Quaid-i-Azam gave an interview
to Mr. Paul Fang of the Central News Agency of China and
xplained Pakistan in these words: e

There are six provinces in the North-West and East zone of
this great Subcontinent of India and those are Sind,
Baluchistan, N.W.F.P., the Punjab, Bengal and Assam. In the
Northern zone Musalmans have a majority of 70 percent as
against the caste Hindus, and they (the provinces) have been
the homeland of Musalmans for one thousand years, and we
want to establish our independent sovereign Muslim State.

T

he Quaid-i-Azam on the Concept of Pakistan
On November 8, 1945, the Quaid-i-Azam gave an
interview to a representative of the Associated Press of
America, who reports on this interview as follows:
Mr. Jinnah emphasized and re-emphasized that he
spoke for himself as a citizen and as President of the League.
But he said he did not intend to try to dictate to constitution-
drafting and legislative bodies of Pakistan and did not want to
create an impression that he was trying to do so now.

Geographically, Pakistan would embrace all of the North-
Western Frontier, Baluchistan, Sind and the Punjab Provinces in
north-western India. On the eastern side of India would be the other

119
portion of Pakistan composed of Bengal (including the rich
industrial and port city of Calcutta) and Assam Provinces.

Politically, Pakistan would be a democracy. Mr. Jinnah said
he personally hoped its major industries and public utility services
would be socialized. The component States or Provinces of Pakistan
would have autonomy.

Economically, Mr. Jinnah contended, Pakistan divided into
two separate zones, is just as sound an undertaking as though it
would be a country with all of its States in one block; that its natural
resources and population would be sufficient to make it a great
world power.

He said that even now a Muslim League Committee is
studying the field for developing the Pakistan States as a nation.
There is a great future for it, with its still untouched iron, petroleum,
sulphur, coal and other mineral deposits, many of which already
have been mapped. The Punjab is putting up one of the greatest
hydroelectric stations in the world, and this will mean a rural
electrification and industrial development programme.

He said there would be ample revenues from equitable
taxation levied in a manner consistent with social justice to finance
good Government and allow us to have as State as good as any in
the world and better than many sovereign countries on the map of
the world today.

This would be a Muslim State, Mr. Jinnah said. As far as
the Musalman is concerned, there would be no social barriers of any
kind against Hindus or anyone else. The Musalmans are a people
who believe and act on the basic principle of equality of manhood
and fraternity.

On the subject of socialism of utilities and industries, he said,
You are asking me to interpret what the Government will do. But
personally, he said, I believe that in these modern days, essential
key industries ought to be controlled and managed by the State. That
Centenary Souvenir
120
applies also to certain public utilities. But what is a key industry and
what is utility service are matters for the law makers to say, not for
me to say

Mr. Jinnah said he did not expect Pakistan would have a one-
party government, and that he would oppose one-party rule. An
opposition party or parties are good correctives for any party which
is in power, he said.

Pakistans theory, he said, guarantees that federated units of
the national Government would have all the autonomy that you will
find in the constitutions of the United States of America, Canada and
Australia. But certain vital powers will remain vested in the Central
Government, such as the monetary system, national defence and
other federal responsibilities.

He said each federated State or Province would have its own
legislative, executive and judicial system, each of the branches of
Government constitutionally separate.
72

League Legislators Convention

In 1945 elections to the Central and Provincial Legislatures
were held. The Muslim League fought the elections on the issue of
Pakistan. In an election speech the Quaid-i-Azam said:

Our demand of Pakistan is clear. The areas in which Muslims
are numerically in majority should be grouped to constitute an
independent State. If the Muslim verdict is against Pakistan, I will
stand down.
73

The League won all the Muslim seats in the Central
Legislative Assembly. In the Provincial elections, the Muslim
League won 439 out of 494 Muslim seats. The Muslims thus gave a
clear verdict in favour of Pakistan.

It may be recalled that between 1940 and 1945, consideration
was given to various modes of ascertaining the opinion of the

121
Muslims of the Subcontinent on the issue of Pakistan. Mr. Gandhi
had suggested that the only satisfactory mode was the vote of the
adult Muslim population.
74
Maulana Azad had said that the matter
should be decided by Muslim representatives in the Constituent
Assembly. Another suggestion made was that the question of
Pakistan be referred to the elected Musalamans of the Central and
Provincial Legislatures. When the Congress challenged the right of
the Muslim League to nominate the full Muslim quota in the Interim
Central Cabinet, Mr. H. S. Surharwardy, in a communication to the
Quaid-i-Azam, suggested that the issue be decided by a Convention
of all the Muslims members of the Central and Provincial
Legislatures.
75
Now that Muslims had given their verdict at the
elections in favour of Pakistanperhaps with this back ground in
viewthe Convention of Muslim League Legislators, Central and
Provincial, was convened in April 1946.

Inaugurating the Convention, the Quaid-i-Azam said, This
Convention is one the like of which has never taken place in the
history of India. A Subjects Committee was constituted, consisting
of 10 per cent of the Legislators in each Province. Bengal was
represented, among others, by Mr. H.S. Suhrawardy, Mr. Abul
Hashi, Mr. Hameedul Huq, Mr. Fazlur Rahman, Mr. Nurul Amin.
Maulana Abdul Hamid Bhashani represented Assam. The Subjects
Committee took five hours to discuss the draft of the resolution that
was to be present before the open session. Mr. Abul Hashim raised a
question on the word States used in the Lahore Resolution, but was
over ruled by the Quaid-i-Azam.
76
On April 9, 1946, the open
session of the Convention unanimously adopted a resolution which
clearly indicated that Pakistan was intended to be a single, sovereign
State. The resolution, inter alia, provided:

That the zones comprising Bengal and Assam in the North-
East, and Punjab, N.W.F.P., Sind and Baluchistan in the North-West
of India, namely Pakistan zones, where the Muslims are in a
dominant majority, be constituted into a sovereign independent
State, and that an unequivocal undertaking be given to implement
the establishment of Pakistan without delay

Centenary Souvenir
122
Moving the resolution, Mr. Suhrawardy paid a warm tribute
to the Muslims of the minority provinces, from whom, he said,
originated the wave of the movement for Muslim freedom. He
added: Muslims of Bengal are prepared to make every sacrifice for
the greater glory of Pakistan. At the conclusion of the Convention,
Mr. Suhrawardy remarked: The question before the country now is
one of Pakistan and Hindustan. Once this is conceded, it will be for
the Pakistan State to define the status of its constituent units. The
units should as far as possible be workable units and should conform
to the conditions of linguistic and cultural affinities.
77

Before the Convention was dissolved, all the members of the
Convention signed pledges solemnly declaring their firm conviction
that the safety, security, salvation and destiny of Muslim nation lay
only in the achievement of Pakistan.

Council Meeting of the League

After the Convention, a meeting of the Council of the All-
India Muslim League was held on April 10, 1946. It is asserted by
Mr. Abdul Wahid Khan and other Leaguers that the resolution
adopted by the legislators Convention was placed before the
Council.
78
It is, however, denied by Choudhry Khaliquzzaman
79
and
Mr. Z.H. Lari.
80
The official publication of League resolutions gives
the next of the resolutions adopted by this Council meeting on other
topics; but unfortunately, the minutes of the full proceedings of the
meeting are not available in the official records of the Muslim
League. It may, however, be noted that on March 24, 1946, the
Secretary of the Muslim League, Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan,
issued the following notice:

A meeting of the Council of the All-India Muslim League
will be held on Wednesday the 10
th
of April, 1946, at 10 a.m. in the
Anglo-Arabic College Hall, Ajmeri Gate, Delhi, under the
Presidentship of Quaid-i-Azam M.A. Jinnah
a) To consider the resolution that may be passed by the
All-India Muslim League Legislators Convention to be held in
Delhi on the 7
th
, 8
th
and 9
th
of April, 1946.
b) Any other item with the permission of the President.

123
In view of the above notice, in the ordinary course, the
meeting must have been conducted in accordance with the
above Agenda. Be that as it may, other resolutions of the
Working Committee and the Council of the Muslim League are
explicit and clear.

Other Resolution of the Council

On April 26, 1946, the Working Committee of the All-India
Muslim League authorized the Quaid-i-Azam to send a reply to the
Cabinet Mission, inter alia, to the following effect:

They, however, desire me to invite your attention to the
position taken up by the Muslim League since the passing of the
Lahore Resolution in 1940, successfully endorsed by the All-India
Muslim League Session and again by the Convention of the Muslim
League Legislators recently as April 1946, as per copy enclosed.

The Council of the Muslim League, at its meeting held on
June 6, 1946, at New Delhi, considered the statement issued by the
Cabinet Mission and the Viceroy on May 16, 1946, and other
relevant statements and documents, and in a resolution placed on
record its views for the guidance of the nation:

In order that there may be no manner of doubt in any quarter,
the Council of the All-India Muslim League reiterates that the
attainment of the goal of complete sovereign Pakistan still remains
the unalterable objective of the Muslims of India, for the
achievement of which they will, if necessary, employ every means in
their power and consider no sacrifice or suffering too great.

Subsequently, at a meeting held in Bombay on July 29, 1946,
the League Council passed a resolution withdrawing its acceptance
of the Cabinet Mission plan, and called on the Muslims throughout
India to celebrate August 16, 1946, as Direct Action Day. In this
resolution it was stated that:

The scheme of the Cabinet Mission fell far short of the
demand of the Muslim Nation for the immediate establishment of an
independent and full sovereign State of Pakistan comprising the six
Muslim Provinces.

Centenary Souvenir
124

The Birth of Pakistan

On June 3, 1947, the British Government made the famous
statement regarding the mechanics of the division of the Sub-
continent; and on June 9, 1947 the Council of the Muslim League
met to consider the proposals embodied in the statement. The
Council was of the opinion that although it could not agree to the
partition of Bengal and the Punjab, it had to consider His Majestys
Governments plan for transfer of power as a whole. The Council
gave full authority to the President of the Muslim League to accept
the fundamental principles of the Plan as a compromise, and
empowered him to take all necessary steps and decisions in
connection with and relating to the Plan. The Plan was accordingly
accepted by the Quaid-i-Azam. In July 1947 the Indian
Independence Act was passed to set up the Dominions of India and
Pakistan. So on August 14, 1947, within eight years of the adoption
of the Lahore Resolution, Pakistan emerged as an independent
sovereign State.

1
It may be of some interest to note that on the eve of the Battle of Train
(1192 A.D.), Sultan Muizz Al Din had suggested to his adversary,
Prithwiraj, to partition the Sub-continent, leaving the region of Sirhind,
Punjab and Multan with him (the Sultan) and retaining the rest of Hindustan
for himself. The actual words of the famous historian, Firshtah, are:
O C O E _ C _ 7 C C O m ^ " " O C " T E C 7 C C m ^ " O C

See Firishtah (Bombay ed.), Vol. I, p. 101.
2
K.M. Pannikar, A Survey of Indian History, p. 135.
3
Selected Speeches of Rt.-Hon. John Bright on Public Questions (J.M. Dent
& Sons Ltd., London)p. 14.
Reference may also be made to the observations of Sir John Strachey made
as early as 1884: This is the first and most essential thing to learn about
Indiathat there is not, and never was, an India. Nor need it be feared that
the bonds of union fashioned by British rule could ever in any way lead
towards the growth of a single Indian nationality.
Strachey, India (1888), p. 5.
4
I.H.Qureshi
5
Hayat-i-Ja
6
Quoted by
7
Journal of the Punjab University Historical Society, Vol. XIX, Jan.-April
1966 (Lahore), p. 7.
8
Proceedings, Stockholm Conference of the Socialist International, pp. 407-408.

125

9
The second edition of this letter was published in the form of a pamphlet
from Badayun in 1922.
10

11
The Tribune (Lahore), December 14, 1924.
12
The Comrade (Delhi), June, 5, 1925.
13
See Contemporary Review
14
Rafiq, Afzal, Origin of the Idea for A Separate Muslim State, p. 189.
15
India Office Library: Halifaz Collectio, MSS. European, c. 125/5; letter of
the Governor of U.P. to the Viceroy, dated December 3, 1929.
16
The Round Table, March 1931, p. 346.
17
The Economist, November 7 1931.
18
H.C. 260December 1931. Cols. 1354, 1370, 1380.
19
R. Caddock, The Dilemma in India (1932), pp. 7-8.
20
J. Coatman, Years of Destiny: India, 1926-32, p. 376.
21
Minutes of EvidenceJoint Committee of India Constitutional Reform
(Session 1932-33) Vol. II, p. 1496.
22
Ibid., pp., 167 18-20.
23
The Main Facts of the problem, pp. 25-26.
24
Parliamentary Debates, 1935, 301 H.C.58.
25
Civil and Military Gazette, (Lahore), August 19, 1934.
26
I H. Qureshi, op. cit. p. 298.
27
Letters of Iqbal to Jinnah (published by Sh. Mohammad Ashraf, Lahore), p. 23.
28
The Pioneer (Lucknow), October 16, 1937.
29
Moslem World, Vol. XXVIII, No. 2, pp. 209-210.
30
Leader (Karachi), October 11, 1938.
31
The Times of India (Bombay), October 10, 1938.
32
The Statesman (Delhi), October 12, 1938.
33
Ibid.
34
The Pioneer (Lucknow), October 10, 1938.
35
Indian Constitutional Problems in Nineteenth Century, March 1939, pp. 292-3.
36
The Round Table, March 1939, p. 362.
37
His scheme was published under the title, Confederacy of India by a Punjabi.
38
This came to be popularly known as The Aligarh Scheme.
39
The Indian Annual Register, 1939.
40
Mansergh, Survey of British Commonwealth Affairs: Problems of External
Policy, 1931-39, p. 356.
41
Indias Problem of Her Future Constitution, with Preface by M.A. Jinnah, pp. 1-5.
42
Letter to the Quaid-i-Azam dated Feb. 11, 1941, reproduced in Pakistan Issue, p. 75.
43
Syed Noor Ahmad, Marshal Law Se Marshal Law Tak, p. 200.
44
Punjab Legislative Assembly Debates, March 11, 1941.
45
Abdur Rab, A.K. Fazlul Haq, p.10.
46
The Statesman, (Delhi) March 23, 1940
47
Nawa-i-Waqt, (Lahore), April 21, 1964.
48
Ibid., March 23, 1960.
49
In the official publication, Resolutions of the All-India Muslim League from
December 1938 to March 1940, published by the Hon. Sec., All-India Muslim
Centenary Souvenir
126

League, Delhi, on p.47, the word used is specifically. In some publications, as,
for instance, Indias Problem and her Future Constitution, the expression used is
specially. It seems that the official version is correct.
50
The Statesman, (Delhi), March 24, 1940.
51
Syed Hasan Riyaz in Pakistan na-guzir tha, p.57 writes that Begum
Mohammad Ali in her speech referred to the resolution as the Pakistan
Resolution. This has not been substantiated by any other source.
52
Khaliquzzaman, op. cit., p. 237.
53
On December 25, 1940, he for the first time described it as the Pakistan Resolution.
54
The reference is to Choudhry Rahmat Ali who coined the word Pakistan in
1933. (See his pamphlet, Now or Never). The term Pakistan began its life as
a cluster of initials artificially compounded to form the initials of Punjab,
North-West Frontier Province, (also called Afghan Province) Kashmir, Sind,
and the ending of Baluchistan. The letter i in the transliteration of Pakistan
is the Urdu short vowel which is placed under a letter.
55
Harijan, April 6, 1940.
56
Tendulkar, Mahatma, Vol. 6, p. 107.
57
D.G. Kaushik, The House That Jinnah Built, p. 132.
58
The Statesman, January 23, 1942.
59
Reproduced by Dr. Ashraf in Pakistan, pp. 100-106.
60
March 27, 1940.
61
March 30, 1940.
62
March 30, 1940.
63
March 31, 1940.
64
April 2, 1940.
65
B.R., Ambedkar, Thoughts on Pakistan, 1941, p. 17.
66
R. Coupland, Indian Politics, part II, 1944,p. 208.
67
All-India Muslim League, unpublished thesis presented by M.L. Becker,
Harvard University, 1957.
68
Sir B.N. Rao, Indias Constitution in the Making, p. 16.
69
Letter of Gandhi dated Sep. 15, 1944, Syed Sharifuddin Pirzada (Ed.), Quaid-i-Azam
Jinnahs Correspondence, Guild Publishing House, Karachi, 1966 edition, p. 107.
70
Letter of Mr. Jinnah dated September 17, 1944. Ibid., p. 113.
71
Letter of Mr. Jinnah dated September 25, 1940. Ibid., p. 133.
72
Times of India (Bombay), November 9, 1945.
73
Speech at Quetta on October 10, 1945. Speeches and Writings of Mr. Jinnah.
Edited by Jamil-ud-Din Ahmad, (Sh. M. Ashraf, Lahore), Vol. II, p. 411,
74
Mr. Gandhis letter dated May 30, 1940, to Ziauddin Chaudhary.
75
Letter dated July 2, 1945. Shamsul Hassan, personal collection of Jinnah papers.
76
Khaliquzzaman, op. cit., p. 344; M.A.H. Isphani, Quaid-i-Azam Jinnah, As I
knew Him (Forward Publications Trust, 1966), p. 159.
77
Morning News (Calcutta), April 13, 1946.
78
Dawn (Karachi), September 2 and 21, 1969.
79
Ibid., September 17, 1969.
80
Ibid., September 18, 1969.

THE INAUGURAL SESSION OF
ALL-INDIA MUSLIM LEAGUE
DACCA, DECEMBER 30, 1906

(The foundation of the All-India Muslim League was laid
at Shah Bagh, Dacca, on December 30, 1906, at a political
meeting held after the conclusion of the All-India Muslim
Educational Conference under the pesidentship of Mr. Justice
Sharafuddin of the Calcutta High Court. In fact, the programme
of the Educational Conference had been cut short by one day in
order to provide a working day for the Muslim League, since
some of the leaders had refused to hold such important
discussions in the evenings when they were tired after a days
work.
1
On or about December 1, 1906, the delegates and
members attending the Educational Conference were informed
that the 27
th
, 28
th
and 29
th
of December were allotted for the
conference sitting only, and the 30
th
exclusively for a political
sitting.
2
The Muslims were asked to go to Dacca in large
members because consultations about the political association
would be held there.
3
The account of the proceedings was
compiled by Maulana Mohammad Ali in a pamphlet entitled
The Green Book.
4
)

When the 20
th
Session of the All-India Mohammedan
Educational Conference was over, the delegates assembled in
the Pandal on December 30 to discuss the formation of a
political organization of the Muslims. The gathering was as
large as it was representative. The Pandal was overcrowded in
spite of the fact that the majority of visitors from other parts of
India were to leave Dacca by the midday special for Calcutta,
and the Meeting was unavoidably late by an hour. The time for
the formal discussion was short, but informal discussion had
been going on for the last four days in the Conference Camp, in
Centenary Souvenir
128
which every word of the resolutions to be brought forward for
adoption had been discussed and rediscussed several times. At
9.a.m. the Honble Nawab Salim-ul-lah Bahadur of Dacca rose
to propose the election of the Chairman. He said:

Gentlemen, you all know the reason of our assembling
here in such large numbers from every nook and corner of
India. I need not therefore reiterate the purpose of this Meeting.
I have however, to thank you for the trouble you have taken to
come all this long way. We have to elect a Chairman for to-
dayss deliberations, and think our choice cannot be improved
upon if I suggest for your approval the distinguished name of
Nawab Musthaq-ul-Mulk (sic) who was one of the leading
statesmen of Hyderabad, where he had served the Government
of the Premier Chief, H.H. the Nizam, so ably and righteously.
Even during his tenure of office there he had devoted his
energies to the educational progress of his co-religionists, and
since his retirement he had wholly given himself up to the work
of the community, both in education and politics. He formed in
1901, and in my opinion, and I believe in the opinion of all us
assembled here, nobody would be a fitter Chairman than the
venerable Mushtaq-ul-Mulk Bahadur (meaning Nawab Viqar-
ul-Mulk, Maulvi Mushtaq Husain Bahadur).

Mr. Mazhar then spoke as follows:
I am sure you do not expect me to say much in seconding
this proposal. I would only add that the young men are thirsting
for the fight, and so it is most necessary that the leaders should
be old and experienced veterans who could properly regulate
the exuberant energies of youth. And who could be more
qualified to do this than the venerable Nawab Viqar-ul-Mulk
Bahadur. We are therefore as well as seeking a good omen for
the future, as stamping our deliberations to with the stamp of
sanity and sobriety, in electing the old Nawab as our Chairman.

Muslim League Inaugural Session
129
The motion was then put to the vote and unanimously
carried, Nawab Viqar-ul-Mulk taking the Chair amidst loud
applause.

The Chairman then rose to make the inaugural speech.
He said:

I have no words with which to thank you for the honour
you have done me in electing me as your Chairman to-day. The
place could have well been filled by many others in the
community who are present here, but now that you have
commanded me to fill it, I can only obey your wishes and
discharge the duties of a Chairman of such an assembly to the
best of my powers. I have, however, to thank the Honble
Salim-ul-lah Bahadur of Dacca specially, for the title which he
has unconsciously given to me. I have my doubts about being
Viqar-ul-Mulk or the pride of the country, but I can assure
you I am, as I have always been, Mushtaq-ul-Mulk or the
lover of my country. To us old men creeping every day nearer
and nearer to our graves, what is left to do, but to be Mushtaq-
ul-Mulk and Mushtaq-ul-Qaum, lovers of our country and
lovers of our race.
5
I feel that the unwitting recognition of my
love of my people, for which I have to thank my Honble friend
the Nawab Bahadur of Dacca, is my greatest claim to fill the
chair you are now offering me. May I long deserve this title.

I believe you all know what you have come to discuss.
As this deliberation on political question will be a free one, I
trust no person who is a Government servant will take part in it,
as the tie which binds him to the Government precludes the
possibility of our regarding him free in the sense in which non-
official members of any community can be. Moreover, the
discussion of such grave problems requires maturity and
experience on the part of us all, so that young men who are still
in school and college cannot be expected to offer to us a fair
Centenary Souvenir
130
share of either. At the present stage of their lives they should
learn and not teach. They should therefore not be encouraged to
leave the hard task of mastering things for the more pleasant
one perhaps, of dictating to others. When they have graduated
and stepped into the arena of the world, we shall welcome their
participation, but not yet. So, if there is any gentleman present
here who is a Government servant, he should withdraw, and if
he is a student in a college or school, I shall request him not to
come forward to participate actually in this discussion.

Gentlemen, that which has drawn us here to-day is not a
need which has only now been felt by us. When the National
Congress was founded in India, this need had even then been
felt, and the late Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, to whose foresight and
statesmanship Musalmans should always be grateful, had made
great endeavours to impress upon Musalmans the belief that
their safety and prosperity lay in their keeping aloof from the
Congress. This view has been proved to be so far right that
though Sir Syed Ahmed Khan is no more among us, the
Mohammedans are still firm in that belief, and as time passes
they will feel more and more that, in order to protect and
advance their political rights and interests, it will be necessary
for them to form their own separate organization. Five years
ago, in October 1901, some Musalmans from various provinces
had assembled at Lucknow, and, after careful consideration of
the matter, they had come to the conclusion that the time for the
formation of such an organization had come, and consequently
the work of organizing such a body in the United Provinces was
going on when new events followed close upon each other in
Bengal; and impressed by the commotion caused by the direct
and indirect influence of the National Congress, and finding
that the Government intended to increase the representative
element in its Legislative Councils, Musalmans, as a
community, sent a Deputation to the Viceroy to Simla last
October, and represented their needs, and the disadvantages
131
under which their community had been labouring, before His
Excellency. All these proceedings, together with the Viceroys
reply to the country. I need not allude to them in detail now. On
that occasion, those representatives of the community who had
assembled as members of the Deputation had, after a careful
consideration of the ways and means by which the political
rights and interests of their co-religionists could be permanently
safeguarded, decided that in December next, delegates from
different provinces should be asked to assemble at Dacca and
discuss this momentous question. In the meantime, the Nawab
Bahadur of Dacca had framed a scheme for the same purpose
and circulated it for our consideration. To-day we have
assembled here to settle finally the lines of action in a question
the settlement of which has so long been postponed.

Before I proceed with the work we have in hand to-day, I
feel it necessary to say that no matter what the general
principles of British administration may be, and no matter what
rights may be vouchsafed by the generosity and love of justice
of the British nation to its Indian subjects, we who have not yet
forgotten the tradition of our own recent rule in India and
elsewhere, and are more intimately acquainted that other
communities of India with the proper relations which should
subsist between the Government and its subjects, should accept
it as a rule of our conduct that the plant of the political rights of
a subject race thrives best in the soil of loyalty, and
consequently the Musalmans should prove themselves loyal to
their Government before they can ask for a recognition of any
of their rights. The Musalmans are only a fifth in number as
compared with the total population of the country, and it is
manifest that if at any remote period the British Government
ceases to exist in India, then the rule of India would pass into
the hands of that community which is nearly four times as large
as ourselves. Now, gentlemen, let each of you consider what
will be your condition if such a situation is created in India.
Centenary Souvenir
132
Then, our life, our property, our honour, and our faith will all
be in great danger. When even now that a powerful British
administration is protecting its subjects, we the Musalmans
have to face most serious difficulties in safeguarding our
interests from the grasping hands of our neighbours, instances
of which are not rare in any province or district, then woe
betide the time when we become the subjects of our neighbours,
and answer to them for the sins, real and imaginary, of
Aurangzeb, who lived and died two centuries ago, and other
Musalman conquerors and rulers who went before him. And to
prevent the realization of such aspirations on the part of our
neighbours, the Musalmans cannot find better and surer means
than to congregate under the banner of Great Britain, and to
devote their lives and property in its protection. I must confess,
gentlemen, that we shall not be loyal to this Government for
any unselfish reasons; but that it is through regard for our own
lives and property, our own honour and religion, that we are
impelled to be faithful to the Government; and consequently the
best security for our good faith is the undoubted fact that our
own prosperity is bound up with, and depends upon our
neighbours of evil intentions, but I do not hesitate in declaring
that unless the leaders of the Congress make sincere efforts as
speedily as possible, to quell the hostility against the
Government and the British race, which is fast increasing in a
large body of their followers, the necessary consequence of all
that is being openly done and said to-day will be that sedition
would be rampant, and the Musalmans of India would be called
upon to perform the necessary duty of combating this rebellious
spirit, side by side with the British Government, more
effectively than by the mere use of words.

It is however our duty towards our neighbours that as far
as our influence may reach and our persuasion may work, we
must prevent our friends and neighbours from going on the
wrong path, and as their neighbours it is always one of our first
133
duties to deal with them with fairness and courtesy and, without
prejudice to our legitimate rights and interests, to carry on with
them an intimate social intercourse, maintain our sympathy, and
strictly avoid all forms of hostility towards them. I would go
even a step further, and impress upon you, gentlemen, that there
is no quarrel between us and the National Congress and the
Congress people, nor do we oppose or disagree with every one
of their acts and views. Indeed we are thankful to them for the
efforts which they have made in causes common to us both, and
procured certain advantages in which they and we have equally
shared, and it is quite possible that we may regard in the future
a part of their programmes perfectly justified. All the
differences that now exist between us and them, or shall exist at
a future date, must fall under one or other of three heads. Either
they will relate to those demands of theirs which, if granted,
would endanger the continuance of British rule in India; or they
will relate to those efforts of theirs which are directed against
our own legitimate interests; or they will fall under the head of
that want of moderation and respect which are due from the
subjects to their sovereign. And this leads me to say that we
must bear in mind that moderation and respectfulness shall have
to be the essential characteristics of any political organization
which the Musalmans assembled here to-day would form. I
cannot help recalling the pleasure which I experienced when, in
reply to the Address of the Musalmans deputation to the
Viceroy, of which I had the honour to be a member, His
Excellency said that Musalmans of Eastern Bengal had behaved
with remarkable moderation and courtesy under the most trying
circumstances, and I have to congratulate the Honble Nawab
Salim-ul Bahadur of Dacca and the Honble Khan Bahadur
Syed Nawab Ali Chowdhury on a result so eminently
successful, which was brought about by their own efforts and
the great influence they wield in Eastern Bengal: and we can all
rely that this influence will be used in the future, as it has been
Centenary Souvenir
134
in the past, on the side of moderation, law, justice, and
courtesy.

The Chairman then called upon the Nawab of Dacca to
move the first Resolution:

RESOLUTION I

Resolved that this meeting, composed of Musalmans
from all parts of India, assembled at Dacca, decide that a
Political Association be formed, styled All India Muslim
League, for the furtherance of the following objects:
a) To promote, among the Muslamans of India, feelings
of loyalty to the British Government, and to remove
any misconception that may arise as to the intention of
Government with regard to any of its measures.
b) To protect and advance the political rights and
interests of the Musalmans of India, and to
respectfully represent their needs and aspirations to
the Government.
c) To prevent the rise, among the Musalmans of India, of
any feeling of hostility towards other communities,
without prejudice to the aforementioned objects of the
League.

In moving this Resolution Nawab Salim-ul-lah Bahadur
of Dacca spoke as follows:

You who have assembled here in a remote corner of the
country not very easy of access, after having travelled many
hundreds of miles from every part of India, drawn by some
great impulse do not need to be told by me in any detail that
there exists a special necessity at this moment for an increased
political activity on the part of us all. Whosoever is in touch
135
with the affairs of this country and our community must feel the
thrill of new life which has, as if by magic, galvanized our
community. India seems to be on the eve of a new era of public
life, and the Mohammedans who suffered so far from a kind of
suspended animation, feel to-day the revivifying effect of a
general awakening.

To a casual observer it may appear that we have only just
made a start in public life; and those who do not bear us much
good will have sometimes paid us the compliment of regarding
us as a mere automatons, and attributed this show of new
activity to the wire-pulling of others. But those who have
studied our affairs more closely will not regard the new
movement as a first start, so much as a turning of a corner of
the course. It was only last evening that we wound up the work
of the 20
th
session of our Educational Conference, and if the
earlier efforts of the late Sir Syed Ahmed Khan be taken into
account, our present activity is but a natural development of the
work begun nearly half a century ago. As regards the
suggestion that this new phase of our public activity is due to
external causes, I must admit a confession is due from the
Mohammedans of India. It is certainly due in part to the trend
of events over which we had little control; but this is no more
than saying that if there is any one at all to blame, it is not we
who are to blame for this general commotion among the
Mohammedans. Our new activity is only like the increased
vigilance of the police in a district where disregard for the laws
of property is fast spreading. Had the party now in power in
England been familiar with the position and rights of the
Mohammedans of India, and had those among our countrymen
who have hitherto been taking a prominent part in the public
life of this country been consistently just in asking for the
allotment of their respective shares to the various communities
of India, it is not improbable that the League which it is now
proposed to form would not have been heard of for a long time,
Centenary Souvenir
136
if at all; and that we would have gone on pursuing the
traditional policy of our people and attending solely to our
educational needs. But it is manifest that gross ignorance
prevails in England regarding the real condition of India, and
only those have a chance of being heard at that distance who
cry the loudest in this country. Quiet and unobtrusive work is at
a discount; and much as any other method than what has
hitherto been associated with us may be disagreeable to our
community, we are forced to adopt that which is most effective
in the realization of our aims. Similarly, it is noticeable that the
interests of the minority have often been disregarded by a
pushing majority, if not deliberately, then through oversight, or
as I think, through the natural desire of the majority to work for
those interest which are nearest and dearest to it, namely, its
own. It is quite possible that our friends, the Hindus, may
repudiate any suggestion of such disregard of our interests, but
you, gentlemen, who have come to Eastern Bengal,
unprejudiced and unbiased, nay in many cases even skeptical of
the facts as represented by myself and other who aired a
grievance, have been, I am assured, convinced in the most
practical manner by your own observation that in one part of
India at least the grievance is real and has not been overstated.

As I have said, this movement of the Musalmans of India
is nothing new or strange. I was surprised to read, only a few
days ago, that as early as in 1893, our revered leader, the late
Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, had felt the need of a separate political
organization for the Musalmans of India; while it is only too
well-known that as early as in 1887, his great speech at
Lucknow kept the Mohammadens back and stopped them from
joining the so-called National Congress. It is only now that I,
for one, have been force, by the practical needs of our
community during the crisis through which we in Eastern
Bengal are passing, to believe in the urgent necessity of a
separate political organization for the Mohammedans of India
137
which the far-sighted Sir Syed Ahmed had felt more than a
decade ago. There were then before us four alternatives:
1. to take no part in politics, and leave to the
Government the task of safe guarding our interests;
2. to step into the arena, and take up an attitude of direct
hostility to the Hindus;
3. to join the Hindus in National Congress and do what
they did; and
4. to form a separate organization of our own. The third
alternative, namely joining the Congress, was
declared even in 1887 to be out of the question, and
no one can say that we have wavered since then in our
belief; and even our worst enemies cannot say that we
have ever followed the second alternative of taking up
an attitude of hostility towards any other community.
Out of the other two alternatives, on 1887, we were
certainly in favour of a policy of masterly inactivity
as regards politics; but the disadvantages of such a
quiescence forced themselves upon our attention
before long, and in 1893, we decided under the
leadership of Syed Ahmed Khan to form separate
political activity in a half-educated and war-like race,
such safeguards were devised as almost paralysed the
organization even for purposes of defence. To this,
gentlemen, I should like to draw your attention, as,
though we may now be compelled to remove some of
the safeguards devised in 1893, I am anxious to
impress upon your minds that the spirit of those
safeguards, the spirit of caution, will still be as
essential a part of our activity.

In 1893, we were naturally very anxious to impress upon
the British Government that we were loyal subjects and law-
abiding citizens, for it was considered that our rulers had some
Centenary Souvenir
138
doubts on the subject, which, however unnecessary, were
perhaps not wholly unnatural at the time. Again, education had
not toned down the passions of a war-like community, and
turned the irascible temper of a newly fallen race into a sweet
reasonableness. There was, in addition, the great danger of our
giving up the difficult and constructive work of education in
favour of the easy task of a destructive critic in politics. The
need of self-help might then have been ignored on account of
the less taxing effort of criticizing others. The endeavour to
deserve might then have been paralysed by the intensity of the
desire to obtain. The voice of the reformer might have been
drowned in the babel of the demagogue.

To-day the aspect of affairs has greatly changed. The
Government has been convinced of our steadfast loyalty under
the most trying situations. In 1897, Lord Elgin bore testimony
to the unflinching fidelity of the Mohammedan troops that
opposed their own co-religionists on the battle-fields of Chitral
and the borderland, and shed their own blood and the blood of
their brothers for their king and country. This, gentlemen, was
situation which no others community has had a chance of being
tried in. If, then, we have special claims on the Government, it
is because the test of our loyalty has been specially searching
and unique. From those who were considered so dangerous at
one time as to be allowed no other career than that of the
ploughman in the fields, we have risen so much in the
estimation of our rulers, that leading statesmen of England call
us the forces of loyalty in India and one of the greatest assets of
the Empire, some portion of which has been won with our own
support, and the whole of which we are guarding to-day. It is no
more necessary to waste whole regiments in the interior in order
to guard against an imaginary danger of rebellion, and the
Commander-in-Chief can set free with a light heart the major
portion of our army for guarding the frontier of the Empire.

139
As regards education, although we have not achieved all
that we desire, we do not at least belong to the category of
barbaric hordes which it was one time the fashion of some
people to regard us. Our passions, though they are even now
those of a war-like race that carved out Empires, wherever its
flag was unfurled and the sound of its kettle-drums was heard,
are more under our control than we could assume them to be
even 50 years ago. We can respect the restraints which law has
devised for the peace of the land, though even now we shall not
be making, like some other communities, a virtue of necessity. I
am afraid the danger of our neglecting the best means of
advancing our political rights and interests, namely by
educational exists; but we can safely leave the renowned leader
of our community, Nawab Mohsin-ul-Mulk Bahadur, and his
colleagues and the old students of the Aligarh College, to
combat that danger as they have hitherto been doing, and to
work on with a will in order to found our future university,
which will be an even more unique and splendid constructive
work than the Aligarh College, which has no equal in India.

In short, gentlemen, we are to-day prepared to enter on a
political career as a community which the spirit of the times
impels us to do. A more active propaganda, a more candid
statement of our needs and aspirations, and the giving of a more
public and more representative character to our Political
Association, are more necessary to-day than was the case in
1893. But nothing of the spirit of loyalty is lost thereby, and no
amount of candour shall rob us of our traditional courtesy. The
resolution which I have the honour of moving to-day has been
so framed that the object of our League is frankly the protection
and advancement of our political rights and interests, but
without prejudice to the traditional loyalty of Muslamans to the
Government, and goodwill to our Hindus neighbours.
Whenever it is necessary to do so, we shall represent our views
to the Government, and respectfully submit our claims for due
Centenary Souvenir
140
consideration. But whenever the intention of any measure of
Government is misunderstood by our people, it shall equally be
our duty to remove that misconception. Those interest which
we have in common with other communities will be advanced
by us in common with them, and those additional interests
which are exclusively our will be advanced exclusively by us,
though we shall advance them both through our League. But
just as we shall be respectful and moderate in the representation
of our views to the Government, so shall we be just and fair to
the other communities whose interests may clash with ours.
This latter contingency may by some be regarded as a remote
one, but at any rate it is possible, and it is on this account that
the formation of a separate organization of the Musalmans is
necessary. I cannot conceive that the ultimate interests of the
various communities of India could ever conflict, but their
immediate interests are, and shall often be at variance; and
unless each community looks after itself, it can have no chance
of achieving or retaining what is, by right, its own. This is only
natural, and it is only on this account that our neighbours are
asking for self-government. Can they, then, with any show of
consistency, deny to us what they so vehemently claim for
themselves?

In conclusion, gentlemen, I must say that only after a
central League like the one proposed to be formed to-day comes
into existence, can the Government find a representative body
to which to turn for ascertaining the views of the Musalmans of
India, and to which the Musalmans themselves can turn for
consistent. 2nd firm support, sensible and sincere advice, and a
true interpretation of the wishes of the Government. The
materials have, for long, been ready, but only now shall we be
able to rear from them the mighty and splendid fabric of a
united people. And the spirit of the League will be the spirit of
our poet who said:
Azad-rao hun aur mera maslak hai sulhi kul
Hargiz Kabhi kisi se adavat nahin mujhe.
141
Hakim Ajmal Khan seconded this resolution. He said, I
have nothing to add to the able speech of the Nawab Bahadur.
The resolution itself is so clear, and its motives so apparent, that
I second the resolution, and leave it for open discussion.

Mr. Zafar Ali made a speech in support of the resolution.

Sahebzada Aftab Ahmad Khan, supported the resolution,
but wished to amend clause (c) substituting for the words to
prevent the rise among the Musalmans of India of any feeling
of hostility towards other communities, the following words:
to remove the cause of friction between the Musalmans of
India and other communities.

Sheikh Abdullah seconded the amendment.

Mr. Mohamed Ali explained that the words of the
amendment only pointed out a method of preventing the rise
among the Musalmans of India of any feeling of hostility
towards other communities, and the amendment was therefore
wholly covered by the language of the original resolution. On
this the amendment was withdrawn. The original was put to the
vote, and passed unanimously.

RESOLUTION II

Resolved that a Provisional Committee be formed
consisting of the following gentlemen, with powers to add to
their number, with a view to frame, within four months from
this date, a Constitution for the League:

Joint Secretaries
Nawab Viqar-ul-Mulk and Nawab Mohsin-ul-Mulk.

Centenary Souvenir
142
Members
Eastern Bengal: The Honble Nawab Salim-ul-lah of
Dacca; the Honble Choudhury Nawab Ali (Mymensingh);
Moulvi Himayat-ud-din (Barisal).

Assam: Moulvi Abdul Majid, B.A. (Sylhet).

Western Bengal: Mr. Abdur Rahim, Bar-at-Law
(Calcutta); Nawab Nasir-ud-din Khayal (Calcutta); Nawab
Amir Hossain (Calcutta); Mr. Shams ul-Huda, Vakil (Calcutta);
Mr. Seraj-ul-Islam Vakil (Calcutta); Mr. Abdul Hamid, Editor,
Moslem Chronicle (Calcutta).

Bihar: Mr. Ali Imam, Bar-at-Law (Patna; Mr. Mazhar-ul-
Haque, Bar-at-Law (Chhapra); Mr. Hasan Imam, Bar-at-Law
(Patna).

Oudh: Mr. Nabi ul lah, Bar-at-Law (Lucknow); Mr.
Hamid Ali Khan, Bar-at-Law (Lucknow); Nawab Imad-ul-
Mulk (Belgram); Munshi Ihtisham Ali (Lucknow); Mr. Zahur
Ahmed, B.A., LL.B. (Lucknow); Mr. Mohammad Nasim Vakil
(Lucknow); Mr. Ghulam-us-Saqlain, B.A., LL.B. (Lucknow);
Raja Nowshad Ali Khan (Lucknow).

Agra Province: Nawab Mohsin-ul-Mulk (Aligarh);
Nawab Viqar-ul-Mulk (Amroha); Sahebzada Aftab Ahmed
Khan, Bar-at-Law (Aligarh); Mr. Mohammad Ishaque, B.A.,
LL.B. (Allahabad); Moulvi Karamat Hussein, Bar-at-Law
(Allahabad); Mr. Abdur Raoof, Bar-at-Law (Allahabad); Mr.
Mohammad Raoof, Bar-at-Law (Allahabad); Haji Mohammad
Musa Khan (Aligarh); Khan Bahadur Mohammad Mozammil-
ul-lah Khan (Aligarh); Mr. Abdullah Jan Vakil (Shaharanpur);
Mr. Abdul Majid, Bar-at-Law (Allahabad); Haji Ismail Khan
(Aligarh); Sheikh Abdullah, B.A., LL.B. (Aligarh).

143
Punjab: Mr. Mohammad Shafi, Bar-at-Law (Lahore); Mr.
Fazl Hussain, Bart-at-Law (Lahore); Mr. Abdul Aziz, Editor,
Observer (Lahore); Khwajah Yousaf Shah (Ludhiana); Hakim
Ajmal Khan (Delhi); Shaikh Gholam Mohamed, Vakil
(Amritsar); Mr. Ghulam Sadiq (Amritsar).

Frontier Province: Mufti Fida Mahomed Khan, Bar-at-
Law (Peshawar), Mr. Abdul Aziz, Bar-at-Law (Peshawar).

Sindh: Mr. A.M. Dehlavi (Hyderabad).

Kathiawar: Mr. Ghulam Mohammad Munshi, Bar-at-Law
(Rajkote).

Gujrat: Mr. Mohamed Ali, B.A. (Oxon).

Bombay Presidency: His Highness Sir Aga Khan
(Bombay); Nawabzada Nasr-ul-lah Khan, Bar-at-Law
(Bombay); Mr. Rafi-ud-din, Bar-at-Law (Bombay).

Madras Presidency: Khan Bahadur Abdul Hadi Badsha
(Madras); Khan Bahadur Ahmed Mohayy-ud-din (Madras); Mr.
Yakub Hasan, Proprietor of the Muslim Patriot (Madras);
Nawab Gholam Ahmed (Coromandel, K.G.F.); Mr. Abdul
Hamid Hasan, B.A., L.L.B., Editor of the Muslim Patriot
(Madras).

Orissa: Mr. Nur-ul-Haq, Secretary, Mohammedan
Association (Cuttack).

Central Province: Khan Saheb Mohammad Amir Khan,
Pleader (Nagpur); Mr. H.M. Mullick (Nagpur).

Burmah: Mr. A.S. Rafiqi (Rangoon).

Centenary Souvenir
144
Mr. Nabi-ul-lah proposed this resolution, which was
seconded by Mr. Ahmad Mohayy-ud-din, and carried
unanimously.

RESOLUTION III

Resolved that the Provisional Committee be authorized to
convene a representative meeting of Indian Musalmans at
suitable time and place for the consideration and adoption of the
constitution framed in this manner.

The resolution was proposed by Mr. Hasan Imam,
seconded by Mr. Mohammad Ishaq, and carried nem.con.

RESOLUTION IV

Resolved that this meeting, in view of the clear interest of
the Musalmans of Eastern Bengal, considers that the Partition is
sure to prove beneficial to the Mohammedan community which
constitutes the vast majority of that Province, and that all such
methods of agitation as boycotting should be strongly
condemned and discouraged.

This Resolution was move by Khawaja Ghulam-us-
Saqlain, seconded by Mr. Ghulam Sadiq and supported by
several speakers. It was carried unanimously.

Votes of thanks were then passed for the Chairman for
the Nawab of Dacca, and the meeting dissolved.
6

A PRESS VERSION

On December 30, 1906, after the conclusion of the
Educational Conference, a special meeting was called to discuss
the formation of a Political Association of Mohammedans. The
145
meeting began about two hours after the advertised time, but
most enthusiastic. The speeches were clear and forcible, the
packed audience listening with the greatest attention. The
debate was keen and every point was followed with interest.
Nawab Mohsin-ul-Mulk made a graceful little speech thanking
the Nawab of Dacca for his splendid hospitality, the like of
which he declared he had not experienced elsewhere. He
expressed satisfaction at the spirit and enthusiasm shown by the
people of the new Province whom he had been told before were
backward, ignorant, stupid and feckless, but who, under the
new conditions of freedom, were bound to go far and fare well.
The Nawab of Dacca then requested Viqar-ul-Mulk to take the
Chair. The President, who spoke in Urdu, in an introductory
speech said that there was no need to enlarge upon the subject
they met to discuss. Time and circumstances made it necessary
for Mohammedans to unite in an association so as to make their
voice heard above the din of other vociferous parties in India
and across the wide seas to England. Unless united in support
of one another and working in loyal unison with the
Government of India, the Muslim majority
7
who, through
misfortunes and errors, had fallen from their once high estate,
were in danger of being submerged by the enormous Hindu
flood. Of the vital necessities of education he had spoken. Now
they were concerned with matters political. In education and
politics all Muslims, old and young, were concerned, but the
direct business of youth was education. Theirs was not while
student to make their voices heard in the political arena. In their
immaturity and irresponsibility youth were to be discouraged
here as dangerous and needless. When they acquired wisdom,
width of outlook and sobriety then their turn would come. As
the young gentleman who had seconded the Nawab of Daccas
proposal that he should take the Chair had said, youth was too
hot, too frothy, therefore, unless mature wisdom and experience
guided its councils, dangerous and ineffective. Advantage and
every safety of the Mohammedans lay in loyalty to the
Centenary Souvenir
146
Government. So much was their cause bound Government if
necessary. None knew that they might not yet be called on to do
so. The political outlook of India was full of peril. At the
present moment the air was full of thunder. The
Mohammadens, whilst uniting and making their carefully
considered wants heard, must maintain sanity and courtesy. The
more revolutionary tendencies now rife in the country should be
condemned and discouraged by all. There was at the same time
no need for unreasonable bitterness of hostility against other
parties. In safeguarding our cause, maintaining cordial relations
with Government, who had made and kept India what it wasa
land of peace, of equity, of opportunity and freedom, and where
anarchy would ensue and the final ruin of Mohammedans if
British Rule were for an hour removedMohammedans were
doing their sacred duty. Their motto was Defence not
Defiance Mohammedans were with the Congress where the
action of the Congress was for the good of the public and the
Empire, but they reprobated utterly all rabid, senseless
opposition to Government. The cause of the Mohammedans
was the cause of the British, the sympathies of Government
were with Mohammedans. The Viceroys reply to the Simla
deputation, the logical consequence of which was this meeting,
was full of encouragement for Mohammedans. His friend the
Nawab of Dacca would now explain the scheme which would
greatly strengthen the Muslim position and at the same time
prove of great assistance to the rulers of this country in the
accomplishment of their splendid but onerous and delicate task.

The Nawab of Dacca, rising, introduced the resolution in
a lengthy speech. He said that a special necessity called for
increased political activity of the Muslim community. All were
in touch in India and Mohammedans felt a thrill of new life
galvanizing the community. India was on the eve of a new
eraa Mohammedan awakening from coma. The movement
was not new, but the turning point of course was the result of
147
the work of Sir Syed Ahmed. The new political movement had
been forced on them. Had the party now in power in England
been familiar with the position of Muslims, had Indian public
men justly represented Muslim claims, the movement might
perhaps not have been heard of, but quiet unobtrusive work was
at a discount. Only those who cried loudest had a chance of
being heard. The Muslims therefore were forced against their
own wishes to abandon the traditional policy in order to secure
easement of very real disabilities and to avoid the danger of
their interests being neglected, whilst other Indians benefited.
There had been a time when the formation of such a political
union as now proposed was not unattended with some peril, and
was inadvisable when the community was uneducated, with
passions still unrestrained, spirit of caution lacking, loyalty in
places undeveloped, and the situation delicate. Twenty years
had wrought a vast change. To-day Government was convinced
of the proven Mohammedan fealty. A great statesman had
styled the Muslims as the force of loyalty in India, one of the
great assets of the Empire. The race, still warlike, saw what 50
years ago they were ignorant of, the advantage of their position
under just restraints, lawful rule, and to-day was prepared to
enter a political career as a community united, enlightened,
loyal, and law-abiding. The resolution he was moving was
framed to secure the protection and advancement of political
rights and interests without prejudice to loyalty to the rulers or
goodwill to their Hindu neighbours. As it shall be a moderate
representation of their views to Government, so it shall be just
and fair to other communities. Only after the central league as
proposed came into existence can Government find a
representative to-day to which to turn for ascertaining the views
of Muslims, and Muslims turn for consistent, firm support,
sensible, sincere advice, true interpretation of the wishes of
Government. The materials had been long ready, only now
were they able to rear the mighty and splendid fabric of a united
people.
Centenary Souvenir
148

The following resolution was then read and carried with
acclamation after a short debate, one or two slight amendments
being held over for consideration in Committee when the
scheme is being finally shaped for submission to a
representative meeting, which will be held probably at
Lucknow at Easter:

ResolvedThat this meeting, composed of Musalmans
from all parts of India assembled at Dacca, decides that a
Political Association styled the All-India Moslem League be
formed for the furtherance of the following objects:
a) To promote among the Musalmans of India feelings
of loyalty to the British Government and to remove
any misconceptions that may arise as to the intentions
of Government with regard to any of its measures.
b) To protect and advance the political rights and
interests of the Musalmans of India and respectfully to
represent their needs and aspirations to Government.
c) To prevent the rise among the Musalmans of India of
any feelings of hostility towards other communities
without prejudice to the other objects of the league.
8

1
Manuscript letter from Viqar-ul-Mulk to Aftab Ahmad Khan dated Amroha,
December 5, 1906, preserved in Muslim University Conference Hall.
2
The Englishman, December 17, 1906.
3
Manuscript letter from Aftab Ahmad Khan to Viqar-ul-Mulk dated Aligarh,
December 6, 1906, preserved in Muslim University Conference Hall.
4
The Green Book is rare. A copy of the book was handed over by Mr.
Mahmud Ahmad Abbasi to the Directorate of Archaeology & Museums,
Karachi.
5
The term race is here and hereafter used in the sense of qaum or millat,
not in the racial or ethnic. Elsewhere the Arabic terms are also translated as
people nation or community.
6
Green Book No. 1, prepared by Mohamed Ali & printed at the Indian Daily
Telegraph Press, Lucknow, 1907.
7
This may well be a misprint for minority.
8
The Englishman, December 31, 1906.
ALL-INDIA MUSLIM LEAGUE NINTH SESSION
LUCKNOW, DECEMBER 30-31, 1916

The Sessions of the All-India Muslim League and the Indian
National Congress were held at the same time in December, 1916 at
Lucknow and the Lucknow Pact arrived at between the two political
parties as regards Muslim representation in the Assemblies.

Chaudhry Khaliquzzaman in Pathway to Pakistan writes:
The session was attended by all the well-known Congressmen
including Mrs. Besant, Malviaji, B.G. Talik, Pandit Motilal, Tej
Bahadur Supru and others. Gandhiji was also there in the Pandal but
did not occupy any significant place in the national leadership. Mr.
Jinnah arrived two days before and by the same train Mrs. Naidu,
Miss Ratanbai and Omar Sobani also arrived. Mr. Jinnah stayed in
the Rajas place.

More details about the arrival of Mr. M. A. Jinnah at
Lucknow were given by the Bombay Chronicle (6 Dec. 1916).

The Hon. M. A. Jinnah, President-elect of the AIML, arrived
this morning and was given a splendid reception in and outside the
railway station and all along the processional route by the Hindu and
Mahomedan residents of Lucknow. The reception was unique.
Sunnis and Shias, Hindus and Christians, all joining to accord a
warm welcome and the station platform was full long before the
special train conveying Mr. Jinnah arrived. Only about 400 people
were allowed to stay in the platform, while there was a seating
crowed outside. The President-elect arrived at 10 a.m. at the Charbag
Central Station and was garlanded by the Raja of Mahmudabad and
the Hon. Pandit Jagat Narayan. Prominent among those present at
the station were: The Hon. Raja of Mahmudabad, the Hon. Pandit
Jagat Narayan, Chairman, Reception Committee, Moslem League.
Mr. B. G. Horniman, the Hon. Mr. Wazir Hassan, the Hon. Mr.
Mirza Samiullah Beg, Dr. Odhedar, the Hon. Pandit Gokernath
Misra, Takur Rajendra Singh, Pandits Bevi Sahal Mirza dn Ramnath
and others. The President-elect was taken in procession in a carriage,
Centenary Souvenir
150
splendidly decorated with flowers and buntings to Kaiserbagh where
he will reside as the guest of the Raja of Mahmudabad.

CONGRESS MEETINGS

It so happened that Mr. Bhulabhai Besais name from the
Home Rulers list was pitted against Gandhijis name. Tilak wanted
Gandhiji in the Subjects Committee. If the result was left to be
decided by votes, Gadhijis name would naturally have been
dropped. Tilak found Bhulabhai ready and willing to withdarw in
favour of Ghandiji. The time for withdrawal was, however,
technically over. Like Nelson putting the telescope to the blind eye,
Tilak decided to remain blind to the majority and declared
Gandhijis name carried.

In the Subjects Committee of the Congress, Lokmanaya Tilak
was an interesting study. The Hindus and the Muslims were
unusually agitated over the communal representation and the pact.
Pandit Madan Malaviya was very much upset. He would not
reconcile himself to the pact, and the Hindu enthusiasts, who
invaded his spare hours, were assured by him that, if there was need
and if it was proper, he would hold a huge demonstration against the
Congress, if it surrrended to the Muslims. The leader of Maharastra,
B. G. Tilak would not listen to any argument against the pact.
Tilaks attitude was the deciding factor in the Hindu-Muslim
settlement, the lost word on the subject so for as the Hindus were
concerned.

In the open Session of the Congress B.G. Tilak said:
We are going to put our voices and shoulders together to
push on this scheme of Self-Government. Not only have we lived to
see these differences closed, but to see the differences of Hindus and
Mahomedans closed us well. So we are united, in every way, in the
United Provinces and we have found luck in Lucknow.
(Lokamanya Bal Gongadhar TILAK by S.L. Kuraridikar, p. 440).

Muslim League 9th Session
151
ADDRESS OF MR. NABI-UL-LAH
Chairman of the Reception Committee

It is my proud and happy privilege to offer you on behalf of
the Musalmans of Lucknow, a most cordial welcome to this historic
city. Many of you have travelled long distances at considerable
personal discomfort to take part in this great and representative
assembly of your community. I need not say how valuable an asset
in our public life is the sense of public duty that scorns distances and
grudges no sacrifice of money and time that is demanded of our
public men in the service of communal causes. The presence here
today of so many distinguished Musalmans from every part of the
country, great leaders of thought and opinion, men who in their
respective spheres have contributed to the growth and success of all
modern movements for the regeneration of their people, some of
whom are indeed, the architects of the fortune of Islam in Indiathe
presence of such public workers in this great gathering is the surest
pledge we could have that our deliberations at this eventful stage in
the history of India will be fruitful and conducive to the ultimate
welfare of our community.

Gentlemen, to the modern eye, the place where we are
holding this annual session of the All-India Muslim League must
seem to be singularly barren of interest. Lucknow is not a modern
city, alive with the hum and bustle that are characteristic of a roaring
trade centre or a busy hive of industry. It has none of the push and
go of Bombay, none of the intellectual energy and up-to-datism of
Calcutta, none of the unconventional, aggressive ways of towns of
humbler origin and lesser dignity, but not less pretentiousness, where
the spirit of modernity has found a dwelling and reared its dominant
symbol in the shape smoking chimneys of factory and mill.

Lucknow is a still wedded to its old ways of life and seeks its
intellectual and spiritual nourishment in visions of the past. Please
do not be led away by the vast green spaces and the trim beauty of
its parks into imagining that such bribes can induce it to emerge
from its populous and wonderous dreamland. The city
improvements which are the costly fruits of the garrulous
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reforming zeal of the city fathers, with their geometrical precision
and their passion for right angles and straight lines, have scared old
Lucknow and driven it to cling still more tenaciously to itself. It is
living its life serenely and with a vengeance in strongholds where no
town-planning reformer or sanitary inconoclast can hope to
penetrate, in an environment which retains its old-world features in
unimpaired outline and which the Cooks tourist on a brief holiday
in the East loves to describe as picturesque. Well, gentlemen, we
are old-fashioned and picturesque people, living picturesque lives
and luxuriating in picturesque fancies, and though we have little to
offer you by way of suggestion or stimulus in your quest for things
that are progressive and up-to-date, we can at least furnish a rich and
dainty feast to your sense of the archaic. If those of you who have
come from far busier and more animated scenes of present-day
enthusiasms and endeavours, carry back the persuasion that all that
is past is not dead, and that the poet who still sings of gul and
bulbul, or the elaborate-mannered gentleman to whom social life is
one long scheme for receiving and imparting pleasant sensations, are
but the expiring spirits of an ampler and more leisured conception of
life that may well bring a breath of fresh air to the pent up and high-
pressure intensity of modern existenceif you can take this
persuasion back with you, even our easy-going conservatisms and
polite inanities would not have been altogether in vain.

Lucknow was once famous for its hospitality. Times have,
however, changed, and what was once a power and a joy in its social
life, remains as a mere pious aspiration. If our distinguished guests
find anything lacking in our efforts to make their stay among us
comfortable and pleasant, I would beg them to overlook our
undoubted shortcomings and take the will for the deed. Of one thing,
however, I wish to speak with frank assurance. Lucknow has been
disinherited of many of its priceless gifts, but still retains its dowry
of good manners. Happen what may, it would never permit that
unspeakable outrage on its sense of hospitality, which a few
hooligans organized last year at the instigation of the enemies of
Islam in Bombay. How and why that outrage came to be perpetrated
and what were its instruments are now matters of common
knowledge. Need I say, that the whole of Muslim India was filled
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with deep indignation at that shameful incident. Its only result was to
increase still further the determination of the Musalmans to tread the
path of duty fearlessly and with unfaltering steps, undeterred and
uninfluenced by the intrigues of reactionary cliques and vested
interests, or the vulgar escapades of their hirelings.

The War

From these somewhat personal explanations due from the
host to the guest, I now, with your permission, pass on to matters of
general public concern which will no doubt engage your undivided
attention at the sittings of the League. The first thing that must
naturally strike anyone interested in public affairs is the abnormally
grave character of the circumstances in which we meet to-day. The
greatest war in history, which began more than two years ago, is till
going on with unabated fury of destruction and carnage, and no one
can as yet set limits to its duration. I need not set about to detail the
causes that have brought about this unparalleled catastrophe in the
affairs of the world. They are well-known to you all. It is enough for
us to realize that our King Emperor and his allies are fighting for the
complete vindication of international right and justice, that it is a
life-and-death struggle for the British Empire, and that all the
resources of this vast Empire, in men, money and material will have
to be mobilized and thrown into the fight, if the stubborn,
determined and resourceful enemy is to be completely and finally
crushed. In this gigantic task, the whole of the Empire, of which
India forms a part, is absolutely of one mind and one resolution.
There can at this stage be no tuning back from the stern path of duty,
no temporizing and no contentment with half-measures. The arch-
enemy of human peace and civilization, the evil spirit that flourishes
the mailed fist and has raised militarism to the dignity of a high
spiritual cult, must not simply be scotched but killed outright. For
this purpose, all parts of the Empire are firmly untied and are
prepared for all manner of effort and sacrifice that they may be
called upon to bear. India stands no less firm than Canada, New
Zealand, Australia, South Africa or even the British Isles. At the
outbreak of the war, she pledged, of her own free will, all the help
that she could give in the successful prosecution of the struggle. She
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has been redeeming that pledge in no niggardly spirit. Her soldiers
have borne their full share of the fight for the safety and honour of
the Empire on the battlefields of Europe, Asia and Africa; and had
not the invidious bars of colour and race stood in the way, millions
of her sons would have sprung forth joyously at the first call to arms
and rallied under the banner of the Empire. The contributions of her
princes and people in money and material have been free and
generous. And let me assure the representatives of our King Emperor
in India that they can count in full confidence on steadfast Indian
devotion and support to the Imperial cause till it is triumphantly
vindicated on the field of battle.

Through the supreme and searching test of this war, the
loyalty of India has emerged untarnished and proved to be one of the
greatest and most precious assets of the Empire. I need not dwell on
the character and quality of its widespread manifestation. It has
shown itself in a variety of ways ad through acts and deeds in which
all classes of His Majestys Indian subjects have shared acts and
deeds in which all classes of His Majestys Indian subjects have
shared with equal enthusiasm. In such an atmosphere it may be a
piece of irrelevance to talk of Muslim loyalty. However, in this great
Muslim assembly, it may not be wholly out of place to note, with
deep satisfaction, the unswerving fidelity with which the Musalmans
have borne their part of the Imperial burden. The sense of this
satisfaction is immeasurably enhanced when it is borne in mind that
Muslim soldiers have cheerfully gone into the fight against the
forces of their Caliph in defence of the cause of the Empire to which
their destinies are linked.

India and the Peace to Come

At a time when all efforts and energies are concentrated on
the conduct of the war, it is natural that all schemes of normal and
peaceful development and advance should be held in abeyance. At
the beginning of the war, a sort of political truce was declared in
India, and the voice of controversy has since been hushed. All public
activities have been suspended that could even remotely have the
effect of distracting the mind of the Government in its task of
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organizing victory. Even some of the most urgent needs of the
country have been allowed to wait till peace comes to restore to the
affairs of mankind their true proportion and balance. This does not,
however, mean that we are to remain in a state of suspended
animation while the hammer-blows of fate are fashioning the
framework of a new and we trust a better and a freer world. The
organization of peace after the war is, in the opinion of most
thinking men, a more complex and anxious problem than the
winning of the war itself. In Great Britain and the countries of her
Allies no less than among the people of the Central Alliance,
strenuous thought and energies are being applied to the discovery of
stable foundations for a new political, economic and social order. Is
India alone to stand still and take no thought for the morrow, when
that morrow is to usher in a new era in the history of the world and
the nations, saved from the perils of militarism, are to undertake the
replanning of their lives with the freedom and joy of a new
resurrection? The war is not to last forever. I would not be surprised
if 1917 brings the end definitely in sight. Are we to take up one fine
morning, when the peace has been signed, to collect our scattered
thoughts hastily together and start a wild, academic discussion about
the future of our country? The Indian public man who has grasped
the psychology of the existing conditions, and yet helps to waster,
through a policy of masterly inactivity, the all too brief interlude for
planning and preparation, is a traitor to the cause of India.

Substantial changes in the administration and governance of
India have become inevitable, and it is the duty of the intellectual
and political leaders of the Indian people to participate actively in
the evolution of the new order of things and determine what those
changes should be. If solemn public declarations count for anything;
we may take it that the British nation and responsible British
statesmen have discovered the true heart of India in this great crisis
of their history. The scales of ignorance and prejudice have fallen
from their eyes, and in the stress of common sacrifice and common
emotion there has come to birth in England a genuine movement of
sympathy for the aspirations of our people. Early in the war we were
definitely assured by an Under Secretary of State for India that a
new angle of vision would henceforth be applied to Indian affairs.
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As a recognition of the need by a responsible British Minister to
broaden the basis of Indian governance, nothing could be more
explicit. It must, however, be remembered that a new angle of
vision cannot be picked out at will from a textbook on political
science. It is an intellectual process, an adjustment of policy and
principle to new aspects of a case. In the case of India, it will be a
mere empty phrase, if it does not mean the introduction of a policy
of trust, of allowing Indian opinion steadily and increasingly to
assume the ultimate control and direction of the affairs of this
country.

The Need for Unity and Patriotism

Now, with this broadening of the intellectual horizon of
Indias responsible rulers and with the goal clearly set before our
eyes, it now rests with the Indian people themselves to take heart of
grace, close their ranks and shrink from no effort and sacrifice that
may be needed to bring the coveted prize within their grasp.
Gentlemen, with all the sympathy and goodwill that may come to us
from quarters where a short time ago we used to meet with
indifference and cold reserve, the path that lies before us is neither
easy nor smooth. The temper of the man on the spot in India is yet
an incalculable factor in the situation. And you are well aware how
formidable the man on the spot is and what tremendous weapons
he can employ, if it is his whim and pleasure to thwart the will of the
people. Then, there are other forces, representing interests of alien
origin, and frequently hostile to the needs of Indian nationalism,
which we have to take into full account. These forces are controlled
by a section of the Anglo-Indian press, and all of us know how
easily they can be set in motion against the forces of Indian progress.
These and a host of other difficulties we have to overcome, and you
can well imagine what patience, cool-headedness, clear thinking,
organization of will and effortabove all, that sustained inspiration
for public which patriotism and unity alone can giveare needed if
these difficulties are to be effectually removed before India attains to
its ideal of a self-governing nation. But unity and patriotism are the
sovereign remedies for the ills that afflict our body politic at this
critical period of our history.
157

This bring me to the central point that lends exceptional value
and significance to the session we are holding to-day. The affairs of
the country, which we Muslims are proud to call our motherland,
have reached a stage where they call for the sinking of all petty
differences of race and creed and demand united action. An
overwhelming responsibility lies on the shoulders of every
community in India at this juncture. Their patriotism and sense of
duty to the generations yet unborn are on trial. The future of India
hangs in the balance. If their lives are touched with the divine spark
that moves men to vaster planes of common duty and service, the
petty anxieties and perversities of self will be burned to ashes and
the dream of the Indian patriot will become a glorious reality. But if
these groups of human beings have never known the light of a
common purpose, nor has the reality of a common ideal ever entered
their lives, if they are so many diverse atoms held together by the
accidents of geography and political subjection and the narrowness
of little creeds, then there is absolutely no future for India, and all
this steriledin and clamour of politics should cease. Need India wait
for an answer from the followers of Islam in this great crisis of her
fate? We know what our answer ought to be and will be. Let me
assure our fellow-countrymen of other creeds, that a Musalman
cannot betray the cause of India without betraying his whole past.
He shall, God willing, be in the vanguard of the forces that are to
fight the battles of constitutional freedom. His active political life is
of a short duration, but during this brief period he has traversed the
ground that the great Hindu Communist took about a quarter of a
century to cover. The history of the All-Indian Muslim League is a
faithful reflex of the political growth of Indian Musalmans. Within
six year of its birth, this great Muslim political organization emerged
from its primeval shell, and set before itself a goal towards which the
rest of Indian was gradually moving. This widening of purpose and
outlook was not due to the flat of any masterful personality, but was
the result of the strong pressure of popular opinion. If the League
had not adapted its policy and programme to the self-reliant and
liberal spirit of the Muslim democracy, it would have probably
ceased to exist. To-day it embodies the dynamic force and vitality of
a living movement. It works in close touch with Muslim opinion and
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is in the widest sense, the representative of the will of the
community.

Two Principal Objects of the League

The All-India Muslim League stands to-day for two principal
objects, namely, for the safeguarding of the political position of
Musalmans and for cooperation with the other communities for the
attainment of self-government or home rule. The realization of the
first object is, as all fair-minded persons would be ready to admit, an
essential condition of the success of the second. It would be idle to
talk of co-operation if the Musalmans did not feel a complete sense
of security as regards their communal future. They are a minority,
and in all political developments tending towards a democratic form
of State organization, a minority must have certain definite, statutory
safeguards. The Muslim demand for such safeguards is, therefore,
natural and legitimate; and the majority, which in any case holds
the balance of power, cannot oppose this demand without laying
itself open to the charge of selfishness and political insincerity. Let
our Hindu brethren remember that an adequate and effective separate
representation of Muslamans in the self-governing institutions of the
country can in no case deprive them of the decisive power of the
majority. When such power is guaranteed to them by their number, I
fail to see why some of their communal enthusiasts should deny the
Muslamans the right to secure the basics of their political existence.
Opposition of this character breeds distrust, and good faith of those
who justify such opposition on the overworked pleas of unity and
nationalism comes to be questioned by the Muslim rank and file.
Let me take a recent unfortunate episode by way of illustration.
Some months ago the Legislature of this Province passed an Act
relating to municipalities in which the Musalmans were given the
right of separate representation slightly in excess of their numbers.
The Hindu majority on the municipal boards was in the aggregate
complete and decisive. And yet some of the Hindu leaders, with a
strange lack of the sense of proportion and with a painful disregard
of the infinitely vaster issues confronting their country, took up the
cry of Hindus in danger and rushed the whole Province into the
throes of a bitter and violent agitation. This exhibition of
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uncompromising temper had scared a considerable section of the
Musalmans, and there was a serious danger of the new-born
movement for Hindu-Muslim cooperation being strangled at its
birth, if the Muslim leaders had also lost their heads and allowed a
counter-agitation to grow up sectarian cries to match. It would have
been a bitter irony of fate indeed, if the whole of India were to be
punished for the sins of a few unbalanced individuals.

It has given considerable relief to all of us to find that the
responsible Hindu leaders in all parts of India realize the Muslim
standpoint and are ready to offer all reasonable guarantees for the
safety of the Muslim political position. With the settlement of this
fundamental question involving the fate of Indias future, nothing
else should remain in the way of a complete Hindu-Muslim
cooperation for the supreme end we both have in view. That end, I
need hardly say, is United India, alive to her destiny and recoiling
from no toil and sacrifice to rise to the summit of her aspiration, i.e.,
to the position of a self-governing member of the British Empire. Is
there a single Indian in and outside of this hall, born of Indian
woman, whose heart fails to warm up and whose pulse does not beat
faster as he gives even a moments thought to this glorious
conception? If there is such a miserable wretch in existence, he is a
freak and a monstrosity. For such an ideal, no effort can be spared,
no sacrifice can be too great.

The Task of Reconstruction

Our task to-day is essentially a task of reconstruction. In
concert with the rest of our fellow-countrymen, we have to prepare a
scheme of reforms for the administration and government of India,
to be introduced as soon as possible after the end of the war, which
would go a long way towards securing an effective voice to the
Indian people in the conduct of public affairs. Your best energies
will not doubt be directed to the framing and consideration of such a
scheme, and I need not, therefore, waste your time by trying to
anticipate you, and evolving obiter dicta of my own. I need not in
these circumstances, embark on along recital of the customary
grievances that have been the stock-in-trade of the Indian political
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reformer ever since he took to constitutional agitation. Nor need I
undertake a detailed review of the administrative sins of omission
and commission from the point of view of an Indian and a
Musalman. These grievances, like the poor, have always been with
us. For the present, we have a far bigger and more essential task in
hand, and on its satisfactory accomplishment all our energies should
be bent.

The Press Act

I cannot, however, close without referring to the
administration of the Press Act and the Defence of India Act and the
grave feelings of anxiety and alarm to which they have given rise. I
need no argue at length to demonstrate the lawless character of the
Press Act, or set forth the nature of the circumstances under which it
was forged. It is enough to remember that it has proved to be a
singularly harsh and drastic measure. The highest tribunals in the
land have shown its provisions to be of a nature that have reduced
the freedom of the Press to a farce. It confers arbitrary and absolute
powers on the executive, and public opinion can be expressed only
on sufferance. Many of the most influential and independent Muslim
newspapers like the Comrade and Hamdard have succumbed to the
operations of this Act. Free and independent journalism in the
country has become a most hazardous and risky undertaking. The
whole of educated India has been demanding, with one voice, its
removal from the statue book, and the sooner it is done the better it
would be for the peace and contentment of the country.

The Defence of India Act

The Defence of India Act is an emergency measure which
confers extraordinary and exceptional powers on local governments
with the object of preserving public safety during the period of the
war. No Indian public man has ever questioned the right the duty of
the State to arm itself with exceptional weapons in a crisis like the
one through which the Empire is passing. However, the
administration of this measure, which was primarily intended to deal
with the enemies of the State, has become a matter of growing
161
concern to the public. The Defence of India Rule have been used
with alarming frequency throughout India, and some of the most
distinguished and popular Muslim leaders, like Mr. Mohammad Ali
and Mr. Shaukat Ali, have been deprived of their liberty and
interned. No definite charges have been brought against them, there
has been no public trial for any known offence under the law, and
they have been given no opportunity to explain the grounds on
which the order for their internment may have been based. It is,
therefore, no fault of the people if they regard these gentlemen as
innocent victims of some cruel misunderstanding or suspicion. I
need not speak of the great hold that Mr. Mohammad Ali has on the
esteem and affections of his people. Within his comparatively short
but crowded career as a devoted servant of his community he has
won his way to the heart of Muslim India. The feeling for him and
his brother is one of deep sorrow and sympathy, and if this feeling
has not found an organized public expression, it is because the
Muslim community has exercised wonderful self-restraint, and has
refrained from embarrassing the Government at such a time as this.
May we hope that the Government will be pleased to take the
Muslim sentiment into consideration and restore these Muslim
leaders to liberty, thereby earning the deep and abiding gratitude of
the entire Muslim community?

Ladies and Gentlemen, I have done. It only remains for me to
step aside and make way for my distinguished and able friend,
whom we have summoned to preside over our deliberations at this
important session of the league. The Honble Mr. Mohammad Ali
Jinnah stands in no need of introduction to an assembly of Indian
Musalmans. Though comparatively young in years, he has already
made his mark in the public life of this country. His clear gaze and
ripe judgement, his cool, imperturbable temper, his sweet
reasonableness, his fearless courage and devotion to duty have stood
the test through serious crises in public affairs and have helped to
save many an awkward situation. I have no doubt that under this
guidance the work of the Ninth Session of the All-India Muslim
League will be crowned with success.
1

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PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS OF MR. MOHAMMAD ALI
JINNAH

No mere conventional words are needed on my part to
express my deep thanks for the great privilege you have conferred on
me by selecting me as President of the Ninth Annual Session of the
All-India Muslim League. The honour is the highest in the gift of the
Muslim community, to which those alone may aspire who have
given freely of their thought and time to the service of the communal
cause. I am fully sensible of how little I have done to deserve such
distinction, nor could I have the presumption to desire it with such a
clear sense of my own unworthiness. This choice, however, has
come to me in the nature of a mandate from my community, and in
such cases individual considerations cannot and must not stand in
the way of the larger will. I accept the great and heavy
responsibilities of the position only in the belief that I can
unreservedly count on your sympathy, zeal and ready co-operation
in the great task that lies before us.

As President of the Bombay Presidency Provincial
Conference which was held at Ahmadabad only a few weeks ago, I
have had to make a pronouncement; but at the time I accepted the
honour of presiding over the Conference, I did not know that I
should have this unique honour and responsibility of expressing my
views as your President again within so short a time. Much of the
ground was covered by me in that speech of mine. I do not now wish
to repeat what I said then, nor do I wish to deal with many great and
burning questions and problems that affect India in its internal
administration. They will, no doubt, be placed before you in the
form of resolutions which will be submitted by the speakers in
charge of them for your deliberation and consideration. At the
present moment the attention of the country at large is entirely
concentrated and solely rivetted on the war and; what will happen
after the war. I have, therefore, decided mainly to deal with the
situation in my Presidential Address on those lines, and I will
endeavour to place before you my humble views for your
consideration, at the same time hoping and trusting that my feeble
voice may reach those who hold the destinies of India in their hands.
163
Annual Stock-Taking

In this great annual meeting of representative Musalmans
from all of India, who have come to deliberate and take counsel
together on the large and important issues that govern our destiny in
this land, it will not be out of place to take a wide survey of the
conditions in which our lot is cast. This is primarily the time for
annual stock-taking, for testing our position in the light of the
experience of the past year, for an intelligent preparation of ways
and means for meeting the demands of the future, and above all, for
refreshing, so to speak, the ideals that feed the springs of our faith,
hopes and endeavour. This I take to be the fundamental object for
which the annual sessions of political bodies like the All-India
Muslim League are held. The circumstances, however, in which we
meet to-day, are exceptional and mark a new epoch in the history of
our country. All that is great and inspiring to the common affairs of
men, for which the noblest and most valiant of mankind have lived
and wrought and suffered in all ages and all climes, is now moving
India out of its depths. The whole country is awakening to the call of
its destiny and is scanning the new horizons with eager hope. A new
spirit of earnestness, confidence and resolution is abroad in the land.
In all directions are visible the stirrings of a new life. The
Musalmans of India would be false to themselves and the traditions
of their past, had they not shared to the full the new hope that is
moving Indias patriotic sons to-day, or had they failed to respond to
the call of their country. Their gaze, like that of their Hindu Fellow-
countrymen, is fixed on the future.

But, gentlemen of the All-India Muslim League, remember
that the gaze of your community and of the whole country is at this
moment fixed on you. The decisions that you may take in this
historic hall, and at this historic session of the League, will go forth
with all the force and weight that can legitimately be claimed by the
chosen leaders and representatives of 70 million Indian Musalmans.
On the nature of those decisions will depend, in a large measure, the
fate of Indias future, of Indias unity, and of our common ideals and
aspirations for constitutional freedom. The moment for decision has
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arrived. The alternatives are clear and unmistakable. The choice lies
in our hands.

The War

The future historian, while chronicling the cataclysms and
convulsions of these times, will not fail to note the conjunction of
evens of boundless influence and scope that have made the fortunes
of Indian so largely dependent on the united will and effort of this
generation. These events have, of course, flowed from the world
shaking crisis into which Europe was plunged in August 1914. What
this dark period has meant in accumulated agony, suffering,
destruction and loss to mankind, is beyond any standard of
computation known to history. With the unfolding of this appalling
tragedy have emerged into light, stark elemental forces of savagery
that lay behind a bright and glittering mask of Kultur, which threaten
to sweep way the very foundations of civilized life and society. The
issues which are in death grips on the battlefield of three continents,
go to the roots of the principles on which the fabric of modern
civilization has been reared by the energy and toil of countless
generations. Freedom, justice, right and public law are pitted against
despotism, aggression, anarchy and brute force, and the result of this
deadly combat will decide the future of mankind, whether the end
will come with a stricken and shattered world, lying bleeding and
helpless under the iron heel of the tyrant, with the whole of humanity
stripped bare of its hope and faith and reduced to bondage, or
whether the hideous nightmare will pass away and the world,
redeemed by the blood of the heroic defenders of civilization and
freedom, regains its heritage of peace and reconstruction.

These are tremendous issues and the blood of very Indian,
with his usual gift of quick moral perception, is stirred by the feeling
that he is a citizen of an empire which has staked its all in a supreme
endeavour to vindicate the cause of freedom and of right. What India
has given in this fellowship of service and sacrifice has been a free
and spontaneous tribute to the ideals of the great British nation, as
well as necessary contribution to the strength of the fighting forces
of civilization, which are so valiantly rolling back the tides of
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scientifically organized barbarism. In this willing service of the
people of India, there has been no distinction of class or creed. It has
come from every part of the land and from every community with
equal readiness and devotion. In this service there has been no cold,
calculating instinct at work. It has sprung from a clear compelling
sense of duty and moral sympathy and not from any commercial
desire to make a safe political investment. Indias loyalty to the
Empire has set no price on itself.

After such colossal upheavals as this War, the world cannot
quietly slip back into its old grooves of live and thought. Much of
what the existing generations have known in social and political
arrangements is visibly passing away under a deluge of blood and
fire. The thick crust of materialism and pampered ease, the inertia of
habit, the cramping weight of convention and of institutions that
have outlive their use, have fallen off from the lives of the great
Western Democracies under the stress of this great struggle for their
existence. They have been thrown back on themselves. In the hot
furnace of elemental passions the trifles are being burnt to ashes, the
gold is being made pure of dross; and when the terrible ordeal has
passed, the liberate soul will feel almost primeval ease and power to
plan, to build and to create a fresh ampler and freer conditions of life
for the future. The range of choice would be unlimited and the need
for bold constructive efforts in various direction vital and urgent.
Europe after the war will call for statesmanship of a new order to
undertake the gigantic tasks of peace. The greatest victory for
freedom will have to be conserved. Free nations will have to learn to
live freely and intensely. Freedom itself will have to be organized,
its bound made vaster and its powers of self-preservation
strengthened and increased.

The Indian Problem

These tasks have a peculiar urgency and significance in the
case of the vast and various communities comprising the British
Empire. And among the complex series of problems relating to the
Imperial reconstruction awaiting British statesmanship, none is of
more anxious moment that the problem of reconstruction in India. I
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need not set about to discuss in detail the Indian problem in all its
bearings. It has been discussed threadbare by all manner of men
from every conceivable angle of vision. However, there are two
cardinal facts about the Indian situation which practical
statesmanship will have to take into account while addressing itself
to the study of the problem and its adequate solution. There is, first,
the great fact of British rule in India with its Western character and
standards of administration, which while retaining absolute power of
initiative, direction and decision, has maintained, for many decades,
unbroken peace and order in the land, administered even justice,
brought the Indian mind, through a widespread system of Western
education, into contact with the thought and ideals of the West, and
thus led to the birth of a great and living movement for the
intellectual and moral regeneration of the people. Here I may quote
from the speech of H.E. Lord Chelmsford delivered in Calcutta the
other day: The growing self respect and self-consciousness of her
(Indias) people are plants that we ourselves have watered.
Secondly, there is the fact of the existence of a powerful, unifying
processthe most vital and interesting result of Western education
in the countrywhich is creating out of the diverse mass of race and
creed a new India, fast growing of territorial patriotism and
nationality, stirring with new energy and aspiration and becoming
daily more purposeful and eager to recover its birthright to direct its
own affairs and govern itself. To put it briefly, we have a powerful
and efficient bureaucracy of British officers responsible only for all
time to come, when Japan and even China have set up constitutional
governments on the democratic lines of Great Britain and America?)

3. (a) The interests of the educated classes are
opposed to those of the Indian masses; and
(b) The former would oppress the latter if the
strong protecting hand of the British official were withdrawn.
(This astonishing proposition beats all reason and sense. It is
suggested that we are the very kith and kin of the masses,
most of us springing from the middle classes, are likely to
oppress the people if more power is conferred; that the
masses require protection at the hands of the English
Officials, between whom and the people there nothing in
167
common; that our interests are opposed to those of the
massesin what respect, it is never pointed outand that,
therefore, the monopoly of the administrative control should
continue in the hands of non-Indian officials. This insidious
suggestion, which is so flippantly made, is intended to secure
the longest possible lease for the bureaucracy and to enjoy
their monopoly. But it can neither stand the light of facts, nor
the analysis of truth. One has only to look at the past records
of the Congress for more than a quarter of a century, and of
the All-India Muslim league, to dismiss this specious plea.
The educated people of this country have shown greater
anxiety and solicitude for the welfare and advancement of the
masses than for any other question during the last quarter of a
century.)

4. Indians are unfit to govern themselves. (With this last
question, I propose to deal later in my speech.)

These are a few of the baseless and silly generalities in which
the advocates of the existing methods of Indian governance indulge
freely and provocatively when the least menace arises to monopoly
of the bureaucratic authority and power.

Again, if we turn to the internal situation in India, we meet
with a set of social, ethnological and cultural conditions unparalleled
in recorded history. We have a vast continent inhabited by 315
million people sprung from various racial stocks, inheriting various
cultures, and professing a variety of religious creeds. This
stupendous human group, thrown together under one physical and
political environment, is still in various stages of intellectual and
moral growth. All this means a great diversity of outlook, purpose
and endeavour. Every Indian Nationalist who has given close and
anxious thought to the problem of nation-building in India, fully
realizes the magnitude of his task. He is not afraid of admitting
frankly that difficulties exist in his path. Such difficulties have no
terrors for him. They are already vanishing before the forces which
are developing in the new spirit.

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India for the Indians

Well, these are the broad aspects of the Indian problem and
they will give you a fair idea of the obstacles that stand in the way of
a full and speedy realization of ideals of India patriots. We have a
powerfully organized body of conservative interest, on the one
hand, and a lack of complete organization of the national will and
intelligence, on the other. There is, however, one fundamental fact
that stands out clear and unmistakable, which no sophistry of
argument and no pseudoscientific theories about colour and race can
disguise. Amid the clash of warring interests and the noise of foolish
catchwords, no coo-headed student of Indian affairs can lose sight of
the great obvious truism than India is in the first and the last resort
for the Indians. Be the time near or distant, the Indian people are
bound to attain to their full stature as a self-governing nation. No
force in the world can rob them of their destiny and thwart the
purposes of Providence. British statesmanship has not become
bankrupt or utterly bereft of its faculty of clear political perception;
and its is, therefore, bound to recognize that the working of the law
of national development in India, which came to birth with the
British rule itself, and is daily gathering momentum under the
pressure of the world forces of freedom and progress, must sooner or
later produce a change in the principles and methods of Indian
governance. It is inevitable. Then why fight against it, why ignore it,
why should there not rather be honest, straightforward efforts to
clear the way of doubts, suspicions and senseless antagonisms to that
glorious consummation? Leaving aside the hair-brained twaddle of
the tribe of scientific peddlers who love to sit in judgement on the
East and ape political philosophy, no man with the least pretensions
to common sense can affect to maintain that the Indian humanity is
stamped with a ruthless psychology and cramped for ever within the
prison of its skull. If the Indians are not the pariahs of nature, if they
are not out of the pale or operation of the laws that govern mankind
elsewhere, if their minds can grow in knowledge and power and can
think and plan and organize together for common needs of the
present and for common hopes of the future, then the only future for
them is self-government, i.e., that attainment of the power to apply,
through properly organized channels, the common national will and
169
intelligence to the needs and tasks of their national existence. The
cant of unfitness must die. The laws of nature and the doctrines of
common humanity are not different in the East.

Official Attitude

It is great relief to think that some of the responsible British
statesmen have definitely pronounced in recent years the Indias
ambition to attain self-government is neither a catastrophe nor a sin.
Indeed, that great and sympathetic Viceroy, Lord Hardinge, whose
memory will always be cherished with affection by the people of this
country, for the first time recognized the legitimacy of that vital
Indian aspiration. Other indications have not been wanting of late,
which go to show that our national dream and purpose is gaining the
stamp of even official approval. There is, however, a world of
difference between a theoretical approval of an ideal and its practical
application. The supreme duty of the men that lead the forces of
Indian progress is to insist that Indias rulers should definitely set the
ideal before them as the ultimate goal to be attained within
reasonable time, and should accelerate the pace accordingly. All our
difficulties now arise from the steady reluctance on the part of Indian
officialdom to kept this end definitely in view and move faster. Mere
sympathy divorced from resolute and active progressive policy can
hardly ameliorate the situation. Honeyed words alone cannot suffice.
We may congratulate each other about a changed angle of vision
and yet remain where we are till doomsday. The time for definite
decision and a bold move forward has arrived. The vital question to-
day is: is India fit to be free and to what extent? There can be no
shelving of the issue at this juncture. It has to be settled one way or
the other. If she is not fit today, she has got to be made fit for self-
government. This, I maintain, is no less a duty and responsibility of
the Government that of the people themselves.

Is India fit for freedom? We who are present here to-day
know full well that from the Indian standpoint there can be but one
answer. Our critics would probably challenge our conviction. Our
only reply to them would be to go forward and put the matter to the
proof. After all, what is the test of fitness? If we turn to history, we
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find that in the past, only such people have been declared to have
been fit for freedom who fought for it and attained it. We are living
in different times. Peace has its victories. We are fighting and can
only tight constitutional battles. This peaceful struggle is not, and
will not, be wanting in the quality of vigour and sacrifice, and we
determined to convince the British Empire that we are fit for the
place of a partner within the Empire, and nothing less will satisfy
India.

Second Sitting

When the All-India Muslim League resumed its session on
the morning of December 31, the attendance was as large as of the
day before.

Mr. Wazir Hasan Secretary of the League, presented the
following report of the Reform Committee appointed at Bombay on
January 1, 1916.

I have the honour to lay before you a brief summay of the
work of the League during the year 1916. we are still under the
shadow of the great war. Contentious matters could not be dealt
with. There can, however, be no doubt that work of great value in
our national life has been accomplished during the year. The minds
of the Musalmans have been familiarized with the idea of a united
India. There is a general perception now of the goal towards which
Musalmans have to strive and a clear recognition of the arduous
character of the struggle. The Muslim League has brought together
the scattered units of the community during the year, and has in
conjunction with the National Congress, asserted and demanded the
legitimate rights of the Musalmans.

At the last session of the All-India Muslim League, held at
Bombay in 1915, a resolution appointing a Committee to formulate
and frame a scheme of reforms was adopted.

In pursuance of this resolution a meeting of the Reform
Committee was called at Lucknow on August 21, 1916 to consider
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and discuss a tentative scheme of reforms. Under ordinary
circumstance, I should have hesitated to take upon myself the great
responsibility of drawing up a scheme of reforms, but my task
became materially lightened by the keen interest which the members
of the Reforms Committee took in the matter. In this meeting of
August 21, I placed before the committee a draft scheme which was
intended to serve as a basis for discussion. The members of the
Committee, after making necessary alternations, adopted the
scheme, which was then printed and circulated among the members
of the Reform Committee, as well as the members of the Council of
the League.

Another meeting of the Reform Committee to reconsider the
draft scheme was held at Calcutta on November 16, 1916 (i.e., a day
before the proposed Joint-Conference of the Congress and the
Muslim League). In this meeting also the draft scheme was
discussed at length and changes made in it. This draft scheme was
reprinted and placed before the Joint-Conference held under the
presidency of Mr. Surendranath Banerji at the British India
Association in Calcutta on November 17-18. The proceedings of the
Conference were prolonged over two days; the discussions were
animated but friendly; the spirit of compromise was conspicuously
in evidence, and the conclusions arrived at were almost unanimous
on all points. Only on two points did a difference of opinion remain.
But it was hoped that the adoption of the policy of give and take
would induce the fair minded leaders in both the Committees to
arrive at a settlement. The draft scheme was again circulated among
the members of the Reform Committee and the members of the
Council of the League who mustered strong to take part in the Joint-
Conference at the League and the Congress held at Lucknow on
December 25-27, 1916.

The pick of both the communities, the recognized leaders of
the Hindus and the Musalmans assembled to discuss the post-war
scheme of reforms on December 25, 1916. The exact numbers of
population and of representations were considered, but his was a
small matter compared with the vitally important of the national life
which both the communities inhered, and the supreme interests of
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India as a nation were recognized as that before which all else must
yield. In this spirit, the representation of the various provinces was
considered and decided, and all other details were, after prolonged
sittings of three days, discussed and disposed of. The result of the
Joint-Conference marks the birth of a new era of brotherhood
between the Hindus and the Musalmans, pregnant with immense
potentialities for the future.

The following recommendations of the Joint-Conference of
the Congress and the League were adopted.
2

RESOLUTION I
3

The Raja of Jahangirabad, in moving the adoption of the
Scheme, said that it satisfied the minimum demands of India. The
time had now come when the two great communities of India should
co-operate with each other and actively work to attain the goal in
view. They had talked for years, but what they wanted now was
active work.

Mr. Sheriff Devji Kanji of Bombay seconded the motion,
which was then carried.

RESOLUTION II

Mr. A. Rasul moved the following resolution:
The All-India Muslim League, while adopting the Scheme of
Reforms prepared by the Reform Committee of the League and
approved by its Council, submits it in conjunction with the Indian
National Congress to the Government for its introduction after the
war as the first necessary step towards the establishment of complete
self-government in India.

He said that he was connected with the Congress for many
years, and self-government or home rule was subject discussed in
many places. Self-government, as said by the President yesterday,
was not unknown in India, and in the very early days of Islam they
had republics. It was no new thing to them; they wanted to manage
173
their affairs and to know their grievances and apply remedies.
Foreign rulers who did not understand the language of the people
could not appreciate the grievances of the people. Some interested
parties said that through self-government educated Hindus and
Mohammedans wanted to drive away the British. The speaker
assured the audience that this was far from their intention. It was
well known that England was the most freedom-loving country in
the world, and it was also well known that England advocated the
cause of freedom of other nations. When England advocated the
cause of the Balkan States, did she think that India was less educated
than the Balkan States? He did not think England could deny
freedom to India. Even Negroes had got self-government. The
wording of the present resolution was most moderate, and the
reforms prepared by the League and the Congress were only a
stepping stone to self-government. The people were only asking for
a larger share in the government of their country. It had been said in
certain papers that after the war the Colonies would have a larger
share in their administration. The speaker said if that was a settled
fact, Indians ought to have a share in the administration of
IndiaMr. L. Curtis, who was present on the platform, had written
many books, and the speaker had gathered that his view was that
India ought to have a voice in the administration of the Empire, and
if that was his object, the speaker said, it was certainly a laudable
object.

Moulvi Fazl-ul-Haque of Bengal, seconding the resolution in
Urdu, said that all races of India wanted home rule. Hindus,
Christians, Jains, Parsis, all wanted it. Why should Mohammedans
not have it? If they wanted it equally, then there was no need for
discussion on the subject.

At the request of the President, Mrs. Sarojini Naidu addressed
the League on Hindu-Mohammedan unity, and said that self-
government or government of the people by the people was in the
hands of the people, and the co-operation of the two great
communities in India was an augury that the time was not far off
when they would realize their dream of home rule.

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Syed Alay Nabi, supporting the resolution, said that by
accepting the Joint Reform Scheme both Hindus and Mohammedans
had shown the world the unity of the two great nations of India, and
it was the first step which would lead them to the alter of self-
government.

Mr. Yaqub Husain, Mr. Mohammad Umar and Nawab Nasir
Husain Khiyal also supported the resolution, which was then carried
with great enthusiasm.

While Mr. A. Rasul was speaking on the self-government
resolution, Sir James Meston, Lieutenant-Governor, accompanied by
Sir Verney Lovett and Mr. l. Curtis, arrived at the meeting and was
accorded a most cordial reception, the whole assembly rising from
their seats. After Mr. Rasul had concluded his address, Mr. Jinnah,
addressing Sir James said that he considered it his duty as President
of the Ninth Session of the All-India Muslim League to accord to
him a most cordial welcome amongst them, and His Excellencys
presence amongst them, as the head of the Local Governments
desire to understand their opinions and their feelings.

Sir James Meston, who, on rising to speak, was received with
deafening cheers, said: Mr. President and members of the All-India
Muslim League, there are in this interesting gathering too many old
friends to make it necessary that I should express my
acknowledgment and the great pleasure with which I received your
invitation to be present to-day and the still greater at the welcome
which you have accorded Sir Verney Lovett and myself. It is not
possible for me to discuss or even to express an opinion on the
subjects which you have gathered together to discuss this morning.
But it is possible for me, as the head of the Province in which the
Musalmans occupy a large and important place, and also as, I may
say, I am an old and sincere friend of the Musalmans (loud
applause)it is possible for me in these capacities to offer you
welcome to Lucknow and to express a fervent hope that on the
subjects which now come before you for consideration, your
deliberation will be guided by wisdom and will not overlook, and
will not subordinate to any meaner aim, the primary duty of the
175
advancement of the increasing welfare and happiness of the great
community which you represent. I sincerely thank you all (loud
applause).

RESOLUTION III

The All-India Muslim League authorizes its Council to
appoint a committee consisting of not more than 15 persons which
should undertake all necessary work in connection with the scheme
of Reforms adopted at this Session.

It further authorizes the Council to organize a deputation of
representative Musalmans to go to England immediately after the
war with a view to co-operate with the deputation that may be
appointed by the Indian National Congress in order to press Indias
claim as outlined in the Joint Reform Scheme on the attention of the
Government and the people of England.

The above resolution was proposed by the Raja of
Jahangirabad, seconded by Mr. Sheriff Deviji Kanji and supported
by Khawaja Abdul Majid. It was carried by acclamation.

RESOLUTION IV

The All-India Muslim League is strongly of opinion that the
invidious distinctions maintained among the different sections of His
Majestys subject under the Arms Act are extremely repugnant to the
Indians sense of justice and self-respect and urges upon the
Government the necessity of an early repeat of the said Act.

Mirza Sami-ul-lah Beg moved the resolution. In urging the
repeal of the Arms Act, he pointed out that it was to the interests of
both the rulers and the ruled to repeal the Arms Act immediately.
Mr. A.M. Khawaja, seconding the resolution, said that their self-
restraint in this matter was being exhausted, and he would urge the
repeal of the Act without any delay. The resolution was carried.

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RESOLUTION V

The All-India Muslim League places on record once more, its
strong protest against the continuance of the Press Act on the statute-
book, which has proved in practice to be a harsh and oppressive
measure and has rendered the free expression of public opinion
practically impossible. The League is emphatically of opinion that
the said Act should be entirely repealed at an early date.

Mr. Mumtaz Husain moved the above resolution. The mover
demanded the repeal of the Press Act and said that the passing of
such an Act created discontent instead of removing it. He added that
because of the press Act, the newspapers did not publish the whole
truth, with the result that even when the news of a British victory
was published, it was looked at with a certain amount of doubt.

In seconding the resolution, Dr. Nasir-ud-Din Hasan said that
the Act was applied to the Comrade; but he ventured to say that if
the Government had carried out the suggestions made in that
admirable paper, they would not have seen the days they were
witnessing at present. The resolution was carried.

RESOLUTION VI

The All-India Muslim League views with dismay the
present administration of the Defence of India Act as
constituting a grave menace to the liberties of the subject and
recommends that an advisory committee be appointed in
every province to consider the case of every person intended
to be dealt with under the Act.

Mr. Abdul Qasim moved the above resolution. He said that
though the Act was passed as a war emergency measure, in Bengal
this Act had placed a fresh weapon in the hands of the C.I.D. His
grievance was the Government, were being misled by the C.I.D.
They could not believe that men of culture and patriotism of the type
of Mr. Mohammad Ali, Mr. Shaukat Ali, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad
and others would, at any time, dream of driving the British out of
177
India or do anything unpatriotic. The C.I.D. had to justify their
existence, and finding a few cases of sedition, they took advantage
of Government measures and were creating disaffection among
people. They had very few public spirited leaders among them, and
they were being dealt with, one by one, under the Act. The
administration of the Act had brought about such results that no man
came forward to do the work of mercy as everyman was afraid of the
C.I.D. Hafiz Abdul Aziz seconded the resolution.

The President said that before he put the resolution to the
vote, he wished to announce that message after message had been
sent to him to urge Mr. Bepin Chander Pal to speak on it.

Mr. Pal was then invited to speak. He said that 25 years ago
he could not have dreamt of being asked to speak by the Muslims.
Why 25, even 10 years ago, even five years ago, he was afraid, they
would have been as much afraid of him as some people still were.
His objection to the Act was that it was not in favour of the defence
of India; it was, instead, an Act which actually, really and deeply
injured the cause of the defence of India. He said there was no
anarchists in Bengal, and his observation was received with
deafening applause. They were revolutionary patriots. Revolutionary
patriotism would never be born if there were no attempt to stifle
evolutionary patriotism. The Act stifled evolutionary patriotism.
There was not one respectable family high or low, in educated
Bengal which was not directly or indirectly affected by internments,
and even after acquitals by courts of justice, young men were
rearrested and interned. Did such measures of statesmanship create a
temper to lead people to quietly judge the guilt or innocence of those
young men? He asked the meeting to fancy who were the men
interned. One of them was the nephew of Sir Ashutosh Mukerji.
Could the Government not have seen Sir Ashutosh and placed
evidence against his nephew before him. If Sir Ashutosh had then
said that the evidence was unimpeachable, the whole country would
say so. But the Government would not do that. They would not trust
the people, and that distrust was due to a conflict of interests. That
conflict could be removed by one thing only, and that was self-
government or home rule. Somebody had said he wanted England
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always to rule India; but Mr. Pal said, amidst loud applause, that he
did not want anybody to rule India for ever. The only person he
wanted to rule was ALLAH. He did not want foreign rule. He
wanted an honourable, perpetual connection, a federal confection, a
great Indo-British Empire, and this would dominate, not by arms but
by character, the whole world civilization. They would keep Asia
and Europe in the hollow of their hands. That was the obvious ideal
worth living for and dying for (loud applause).
The resolution was carried.

RESOLUTION VII

The All-India Muslim League records the deep sorrow and
pain that have been caused to the entire Muslim community by the
internment of Messrs. Mohammad Ali, Shaukat Ali and Zafar Ali
Khan, whose great services to the Muslim cause have placed them in
the front rank of Muslim public workers. In view of the fact that no
definite charges have been brought against any of these gentlemen,
the League prays the Government to restore them to liberty, thereby
earning the deep gratitude of the Musalmans of India.

Mr. Mazhar-ul-Haque proposed the above resolution. He said
even the meanest man has a right of knowing the charge against him,
but these great men were not told what they were seditious or
undesirable people. He asked the Muslims of India to remember that
no one was safe if these three men were not safe. They ought to raise
their protests at the top of their voice. They ought to wait on His
Excellency Lord Chelmsford and demand from him their release. He
asked them to mark the word demand from the Viceroy the release
of these three gentlemen.

Syed Nabi-ul-lah, seconded the resolution. In doing so, he
urged the Government to save the Muslim community from drifting
into seditious propaganda by releasing these gentlemen.

The resolution was further supported by Mr. Yaqub Hasan
Seth and Mr. R.M. Ghulam Husain, and was then carried.

179
RESOLUTION VIII

Resolved that Maulana Abul Kalam Azad be given trial on
charges made against him by the Government of Bihar and Orissa,
and that the League is of opinion that the orders of internment were
unjustified.

This resolution was not on the agenda, but was brought
forward at the desire of the members. Mr. A.K. Fazl-ul-Haque,
moving the resolution, gave a detailed history of how the orders
were passed against the Maulana by the Bengal Government,
ordering him to leave the Presidency, and how the Government
agreed to rescind the order on receiving a petition from 15,000
Mohammedans and a guarantee given by the Muslim leaders of
Bengal that the Maulana would not do anything that would give
offence to Government.

With reference to the charge made by the Bihar Government,
he said that the Maulana had publicly repudiated the charge, and it
was the duty of the Government now to give him an opportunity of
clearing himself of the charge

The resolution was seconded by Maulvi Syed Fazl-ul-
Rehman, and carried unanimously.

RESOLUTION IX

The League views with alarm the recent activities displayed
in certain quarters to displace Urdu from the legitimate position it
occupies as the Lingua Franca of India, and impresses, on all those
interested in the growth and formation of Indian nationality, the
desirability of encouraging Urdu, which alone can be the common
language of the country.

The resolution was proposed by Maulvi Wahid Husain,
seconded by Mr. Alay Nabi and supported by Mr. Zahur Ahmad.

The resolution was then put to the vote and carried.
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RESOLUTION X

The All-India Muslim League, voicing the Muslim Public
opinion, adheres to the principle of separate representation for the
Muslim community, expresses satisfaction at the passing of the U.P.
Municipalities Act, which accept that principle, and strongly urges
upon the Government the necessity of applying the said principle to
local bodies in other province where it has not yet been applied.

This resolution was proposed by Nawab Mir Asad Ali Khan
and seconded by Maulvi Tufail Ahmad.

The resolution was carried.

RESOLUTION XI

The All-India Muslim League urges upon the Government the
desirability of throwing open the higher posts and commissioned
ranks in the Army to the Indians as well as to allow them to enlist as
volunteers.

This resolution was proposed by Mr. Shahid Husain and
seconded by Mr. Yaqub Hasan Seth. It was then carried.

RESOLUTION XII

The All-India Muslim League records it is protest against the
illiberal and retrograde provision embodied in the Patna University
Bill, and strongly urges its amendment with a view to bringing it in
line with the educated India opinion and make it a really useful
measure for the progress of higher education in the Province.

The resolution was proposed by Mr. A. Rasul and seconded
by Dr. Syed Mahmud, and was then carried.

The following resolutions (XIII, XIV, XV) were put from the
Chair and then adopted.

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RESOLUTION XIII

In the opinion of the All-India Muslim League, the general
principles on which the assessment of revenue is based should form
part of the Revenue Laws as recommended by the Decentralization
Commission, and the limit of enhancement of assessment and the
period for which settlement is made should be definitely laid down.

RESOLUTION XIV

The All-India Muslim League, in view of the persistent and
unanimous demand on the part of all the sections of the people of
India for the separation of the executive and judicial functions, is of
opinion that the Government should be pleased to take early steps to
bring into effect the desired reform.

RESOLUTION XV

The All-India Muslim League thinks it absolutely necessary
for good and efficient administration that all the Indian provinces at
present under Lieutenant-Governors should be placed in charge of
Governors appointed direct from England, and that provincial
executive counsels should be established where they do not exist at
present. The League further urges the appointment of Governor-in-
Council in the United Provinces as soon as possible.

RESOLUTION XVI

The All-India Muslim League urges upon the Government the
necessity of granting facilities to Musalmans having business in
Courts to perform the Jumma and midday prayers.

The resolution was proposed by Maulvi Mohammad Yaqub,
seconded by Hakim Abdul Qawi and supported by Munshi Ehtisham
Ali.

The resolution was passed.

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RESOLUTION XVII

The All-India Muslim League strongly urges upon the
Government the necessity of taking immediate steps for the
establishment of the promised university at Dacca.

The resolution was proposed by Nawab Syed Nawab Ali
Chaudhri. In proposing the resolution he said:

Gentlemen, this question of a university at Dacca, I may
assure you at the very outset, has a peculiar fascination for me. I may
say that there has been hardly any other subject connected with
Eastern Bengal which has engaged so much of my serious attention
during the last few years as this one. I strongly believe that on the
speedy and the right solution of this question depends the very future
of the Muslim community of Eastern Bengal.

You may remember that the proposal of a university for
Eastern Bengal at first originated from no less a personage than Lord
Hardinge. The announcement of the annulment of the partition of
Bengal in 1911 had thrown the Musalmans of Eastern Bengal into a
state of abject despair. To counciliate the Musalmans and to soothe
their ruffled feelings, Lord Hardinge came down to Dacca and, in a
reply to the Mohammedan deputation headed by me, he gave a
distinct promise to us, in unequivocal terms, of a university for
Eastern Bengal, which might go a long way to minimize the evils
attendant on a reversal to the old order of things. How far this and
the other promises and concessions Lord Hardinge made at the time
could reasonably be construed to have satisfied the Musalmans and
reconciled them to distinctly disadvantageous position, it is not for
me at this time to say. At all events, the promise of a university was
taken as an earnest of a strong desire on the part of the Government
to do something for the people whom they had been obliged, under
the pressure of a most unfortunate combination of circumstances, to
deprive of a valuable means of progress and prosperity. For after all,
it was education that the Musalmans most cared for. If the partition
of Bengal was of any immediate substantial benefit to them, it was in
this that it afforded them a number of facilities for the expansion of
183
Muslim education in that Province. Under the pre-partition days, in
spite of their predominant majority in population, they were the most
backward in education. I do not want to say who were in the main
responsible for it. Possibly the community itself. But this let me be
permitted to say, and it is recognized on all hands, that it was only
the partition and the change of circumstances brought about by it
that gave the Musalmans that sense of security and freedom without
which real progress was impossible.

During the six years of separate administration they enjoyed
from 1905 to 1911, the progress they made in education was simply
marvelous. In this very short period of time, the Musalmans of
Eastern Bengal showed the outside world that, given a liberal
government devoted to the interests of the people and protection
from every possible baneful extraneous influence, the Musalmans of
Eastern Bengal could, as becomes the members of the great Islamic
community, appreciate the value of education as much as, and even
more than, any other community in India or elsewhere. For it was
really a most remarkable change that had come over us in Eastern
Bengal in this short duration. Education had increased tenfold and
even more. I do not at present intend to take you into any details of
the improvement brought about in Eastern Bengal during these days
and trouble you with any statistics; for I have a mind to move a
similar resolution in the Imperial Council during the next sessions at
Delhi. But let me say here that without Partition and the separate
administration for Eastern Bengal, the Musalmans would have
continued to remain what they were before, an ignorant uncared for
lot, with no opportunity to raise their position and status in the
country and to advance abreast of the sister communities. Lord
Hardinge therefore knew full well that when he was obliged to
deprive them of the separate administration, he was taking away
from them the surest means of their educational advancement, and
that if nothing was done to compensate them for this loss, he would
be clearly undoing the marvelous self-improvement which the
Musalmans had wrought in the field of education. And in order that
a reversal to the old state of things might not deprive the Musalmans
of the benefit of their hard labours during these six years and
relegate them again to a backward position, he was good enough to
Centenary Souvenir
184
promise an effective safeguard in the shape of a residential
university, which would necessarily resuscitate the progress they had
already made and even accelerate it.

Gentlemen, this promise made about five years back on a
most solemn occasion still remains unfulfilled. It has been reiterated
by the local government time after time. But nothing as yet has come
out of these promises. There are many madrasas in Eastern Bengal,
larger in number than you find in any other part of India. As
religions education is most cared for in Eastern Bengal, the flower of
our youth flocks to these Arabic institutions. In order that they might
not be lost to the proposed university and that they also might be
given the benefit of English education, we requested the
Government to introduce into the curricula of these institutions a
provision for the study of English side by with Arabic; so that when
the university was established at Dacca, the students that would pass
through these reformed madrasas might be taken into the university
in which a special faculty of arts, going by the name of Islamic
studies, might be instituted for them. The Government of Lord
Carmichael, with its characteristic sympathy and solicitude for the
welfare of the people of Bengal, readily accepted our prayers. A
system of special Matriculation for these Arabic students has been
established and is in full force. In 1919 the first examination under
this system will be held, and I am at a loss to understand what is to
become of those who will come out successful in that examination
if, in the meanwhile, the Dacca university is not established. I have
repeatedly drawn the attention of His Excellency Lord Carmichael
and other high educational officers, both in Bengal and in the
Government of India, to the necessity of a speedy establishment of
the university. Everyone, I may say, sympathizes with us, but brings
in the plea of want of funds, the continuation of the war and so forth
for the postponement of its establishment.

Gentlemen, to this line of argument, I need hardly give an
answer; I am sure every one of you knows it by this time. The
Government has, in these days of war and abnormal expenditure,
money enough to raise a High Court at Patna and a university as well
there. The Government has money enough to help these and other
185
movements. But when it comes to the question of the Dacca
university, the old story is repeated, not realizing perhaps how unjust
it appears to the people of Eastern Bengal, for both Hindus and
Musalmans are one on this question. Calcutta University is so
hopelessly crowded and has become so unwieldy that the necessity
for more universities has become imperative, as I have in detail
explained in my last speech at Simla on the occasion of the
introduction of the Patna University Bill into the Imperial Council.
The Herald, which is a responsible organ of Hindu public opinion,
has with a singleness of aim devoted itself to the cause of a
university for Eastern Bengal. The whole body of public opinion in
Eastern Bengal is for it. But the Government asks us to wait.
Whether we have not waited sufficiently long it is for you gentlemen
to decide. For want of a Muslim College, as provided in the Dacca
University Scheme, and for want of a regular boarding house, the
Musalman collegiate students of Dacca, who at present number over
200 and who, I may in passing say, were but about 10 at the time of
Partition in 1905, are put to diverse difficulties. With this state of
affairs, I do not know how we can really afford to wait for the
university for any considerable time, as the Government would
desire. I do not wish to say more. I trust you will kindly see your
way to accord to the resolution I have moved your whole-hearted
unanimous support.

Before I sit down gentlemen, I wish to impress on you that
the Dacca university, when it comes into being, will be an asset of
utmost value to the cause of the community not only in East Bengal
but throughout Indiafor in its scope, it will be of a unique nature.
It will present to the Muslim and the Hindu students the invaluable
treasures of their glorious and historic past side by side with
treasures from English literature and Englands history. It will with
but slight effort on the part of both the communities, secure to them
a Muslim-Hindu university on perhaps a better footing than the
proposed university at Aligarh or the one proposed at Benares.

Gentlemen, I again commend this resolution for your
acceptance.
4

Centenary Souvenir
186
The following resolutions, XVIII, XIX, XX, XXI, were put
from the Chair and were then carried:

RESOLUTION XVIII
a. In the opinion of the All-India Muslim League
it is essential that the system of indentured labour be
terminated and all recruitment therefore prohibited within
the ensuing year.
b. The League is further of opinion that at least
one representative Indian, selected upon the
recommendation of bodies voicing Indian public opinion,
be appointed by the Government of India to participate in
the forthcoming inter-departmental conference to be held
in England for the consideration of the question.

RESOLUTION XIX

In respect of the treatment and status of British Indian
residents in the self-governing dominions and the Crown colonies,
the League desires again to emphasize the growing sense of injury
felt in India at the continued ill-treatment and injustice meted out to
the Indian residents in those Dominions, and Crowns Colonies and
strongly urges the statesmen and people thereof, having regard to the
closer Imperial relations that have been reached during the present
war, to consider the status of the Indian settles there from a wider
and more Imperial standpoint.

RESOLUTION XX

With regard to the proposal of the Secretary of State for India
inviting two specially elected representatives from India to assist
him in the forthcoming Special Imperial Conference to a series of a
special and continuous sitting of the War Cabinet, in order to
consider war questions and to prosecute the war vigorously, this
League urges that at least two representatives of India, to be elected
by the elected members of the Imperial and various Provincial
187
Councils, be allowed to represent India directly and not merely to
assist the Secretary of State for India.

RESOLUTION XXI

The All-India Muslim League places on record its
appreciation of the sentiments conveyed in the message of the Prime
Minister to the princes and peoples of India, and fully shares in the
determination of the British peoples to bring the war to a triumphant
issue, but regrets that larger use has not been made of the manpower
of India and urges the raising of an army immediately in India from
the whole population under Indian commissioned officers.

RESOLUTION XXII

The All-India Muslim League places on record its full
confidence in the present President and Honorary Secretary of the
League and its deep appreciation of the services rendered by them to
the Muslim cause.

Khan Bahadur Nawab Syed Nawab Ali Chaudhri, proposing
this resolution, remarked:

The services rendered by Raja Sahib, the President of the
League, to the country and the community are well known to us. I
have nothing more to add.

The progress made by the League during the Secretaryship
of the Honble Mr. Wazir Hasan was substantial and very
encouraging, and does not stand in need of being reiterated. He gave
us materials to enable us to think out for ourselves and to draw a line
between the duties of the people in their relation to the Government
of the country, and duties of people to themselves in relation to their
own advancement. During his time, the Constitution of the League
was changed and the ideal of the League defined. According to the
changed Constitution the League undertook the duties which it
hitherto hesitated to take upon itself as the League. The League
stands to-day rejuvenated and the Indian communities are united.
Centenary Souvenir
188
Nawab Mr. Asad Ali seconded the resolution. He said:

The Honble Raja Sahib of the Honble Mr. Wazir Hasan,
his firmness among raging billows and unflinching devotion to the
cause of the community and country have endeared him to us.

Mr. Sheriff D. Kanji, supporting the resolution, remarked that
during the Secretaryship of Mr. Wazir Hasan, the bonds of sympathy
and love that ought to exist between the different communities have
been cemented. The Muslim League and the Congress were now
working hand in hand for the good of the country.

The resolution was put to the vote and carried by acclamation.

ELECTIONS

The following gentlemen were proposed by Mr. Wazir Hasan,
and seconded by Mr. Sheriff D. Kanji, for re-election as Vice-
President of the All-India Muslim League:
1. Raja Sir Mohammad Tasadduq Rasul Khan, K.C.S.I., of
Jahangirabad.
2. Nawab Abdul Majid Sahib, C.I.E., Bar-at-Law,
Allahabad.
3. Sir Karim Bhoy Ibrahim, Bart., Bombay.
4. Sir Fazal Bhoy Karim Bhoy, Kt., Bombay.
5. Nawab Syed Nawab Ali Chaudhri, Khan Bahadur,
Bengal.
6. Khan Bahadur H.M. Malak, Nagpur.
7. Mr. Abdul Karim Abdul Shakur Jamal, C.I.E., Rangoon.
8. Haziq-ul-Mulk Hakim Ajmal Khan, Delhi.
9. Nawab Fateh Ali Khan Qizilbash, C.I.E., Lahore.
10. Nawab Zulfiqar Ali Khan, C.S.I., Bar-at-Law, Lahore.
11. Sir Malik Omar Hayat Khan Tiwana, K.C.I.E., M.V.O.,
Punjab.
189
12. Khan Bahadur Mian Mohammad Shah, C.I.E., Bar-at-
Law, Lahore.
13. Mr. Abdul Aziz, Bar-at-Law, Peshawar.

As soon as Mr. Shafis name was read, there were loud shouts
of No, No. from all sides, and accordingly Mr. Shafis name was
dropped from the list. The others were elected.

The following gentlemen were also elected Vice-President of
the All-India Muslim League:

1. Sir Ibrahim Rahmat-ul-lah, Kt., C.I.E., Bombay.
2. Sir Syed Ali Imam, K.C.S.I., Bar-at-Law, Bankipore.
3. Khan Bahadur Nawab Mir Asad Ali, Madras.

Mr. Nabi-ul-lah then proposed a vote of thanks to the Chair,
which was seconded by Mr. A.K. Fazal-ul-Haq. A suitable reply
from the President, including exhortations to the Musalmans to do
their duty, brought the proceedings to a close at about 9 p.m.
5

Centenary Souvenir
190
THE REFORM SCHEME ADOPTED BY
THE MUSLIM LEAGUE REFORM COMMITTEE
AND
THE ALL-INDIA CONGRESS COMMITTEE
6

I. Provincial Legislative Councils
1. Provincial Legislative Councils shall consist of
four-fifths elected and of one-fifth nominated
members.
2. Their strength shall be not less than 125 members
in the major provinces, and from 50 to 75 in the
minor provinces.
3. The members of Councils should be elected
directly by the people on as broad a franchise as
possible.
4. Adequate provision should be made for the
representation of important minorities by election,
and the Mohammedans should be represented
through special electorates on the Provincial
Legislative Councils in the following proportions:
Punjabone-half of the elected Indian Members
United Provinces30 percent
Bengal40 percent
Behar25 percent
Central Provinces15 percent
Madras15 percent
Bombayone-third.
Provided that no Mohammedan shall participate in
any of the other elections to the Imperial or
191
Provincial Legislative Councils, save and except
those by electorates representing special interests.
Provided further that no bill, nor any clause
thereof, nor a resolution introduced by a non-
official member affecting one or the other
community, which question is to be determined by
the members of that community in the Legislative
Council concerned, shall be proceeded with, if
three-fourths of the members of that community in
the particular Council, Imperial or Provincial,
oppose the bill or any clause thereof or the
resolution.
5. The head of the Provincial Government should not
be the President of the Legislative Council, but the
Council should have the right of electing its
President.
6. The right of asking supplementary questions
should not be restricted to the member putting the
original question, but should be allowed to be
exercised by any other member.
7. (a) Except customs, post, telegraph, mint, salt,
opium, railways, army and navy, and tributes
from Indian States, all other sources of revenue
should be Provincial.
(b) There should be no divided heads of revenue.
The Government of India should be provided
with fixed contributions from the Provincial
Governments, such fixed contributions being
liable to revision when extraordinary and
unforeseen contingencies render such revision
necessary.
(c) The Provincial Council should have full
authority to deal with all matters affecting the
Centenary Souvenir
192
internal administration of the province
including the power to raise loans, to impose
and alter taxation, and to vote on the Budget.
All items of expenditure, and all proposals
concerning ways and means for raising the
necessary revenue, should be embodied in Bills
and submitted to the Provincial Council for
adoption.
(d) Resolution on all matters within the purview of
the Provincial Government should be allowed
for discussion in accordance with rules made in
that behalf of by the Council itself.
(e) A resolution passed by the Provincial
legislative Council shall be binding on the
Executive Government, unless vetoed by the
Governor-in-Council, provided, however, that
if the resolution is again passed by the Council
after an interval of not less than one year, it
must be given effect to.
(f) A motion for adjournment may be brought
forward for the discussion of a definite matter
of urgent public importance, if supported by not
less than one-eighth of the members present.
8. A special meeting of the Provincial Council may
be summoned on a requisition by not less than
one-eighth of the members.
9. A Bill, other than a Money Bill, may be introduced
in Council in accordance with rules made in that
behalf by the Council itself, and the consent of the
Government should not be required therefore.
10. All Bills passed by Provincial Legislatures shall
have to receive the assent of the Governor before
193
they become law, but may be vetoed by the
Governor-General.
11. The term of office of the members shall be five
years.

II. Provincial Governments
1. The head of every Provincial Government shall be
a Governor who shall not ordinarily belong to the
Indian Civil Service or any of the permanent
services.
2. There shall be in every Province an Executive
Council which, with the Governor, shall constitute
the Executive Government of the Province.
3. Members of Indian Civil Service shall not
ordinarily be appointed to the Executive Councils.
4. Not less than one-half of the members of the
Executive Council shall consist of Indians to be
elected by the elected members of the Provincial
Legislative Council.
5. The term of office of the members shall be five
years.

III. Imperial Legislative Council
1. The strength of the Imperial Legislative Council
shall be 150.
2. Four-fifths of the members shall be elected.
3. The franchise for the Imperial Legislative Council
should be widened as far as possible on the lines of
the electorates for Mohammedans for the
Provincial Legislative Councils, and the elected
members of the Provincial Legislative Councils
Centenary Souvenir
194
should also form an electorate for the return of
members to the Imperial Legislative Council.
4. One-third of the Indian elected members should be
Mohammedans elected by separate Mohammedan
electorates in the several Provinces, in the
proportion, as nearly as may be, in which they are
represented on the provincial Legislative Councils
by separate Mohammedan electorates. Vide
provisos to Section 1, Clause 4.
5. The President of the Council shall be elected by
the Council itself.
6. The right of asking supplementary questions shall
not be restricted to the member putting the original
question, but should be allowed to be exercised by
any other member.
7. A special meeting of the Council may be
summoned on a requisition by not less than one-
eighth of the members.
8. A Bill, other than a Money Bill, may be introduced
in Council in accordance with rules made in that
behalf by the Council itself, and the consent of the
Executive Government should not be required
therefor.
9. All Bills passed by the Council shall have to
receive the assent of the Governor-General before
they become law.
10. All financial proposals relating to sources of
income and items of expenditure shall be
embodied in Bills. Every such Bill and the Budget
as a whole shall be submitted for the vote of the
Imperial Legislative Council.
11. The term of office of members shall be five years.
195
12. The matters mentioned herein below shall be
exclusively under the control of the Imperial
Legislative Council:
(a) Matters in regard to which uniform legislation
for the whole of India is desirable.
(b) Provincial legislation in so far as it may affect
inter-provincial fiscal relations.
(c) Questions affecting purely Imperial Revenue,
excepting tributes from Indian States.
(d) Questions affecting purely Imperial
expenditure, except that no resolution of the
Imperial Legislative Council shall be binding
on the Governor-General in Council in respect
of military charges for the defence of the
country.
(e) The right of revising Indian tariffs and custom
duties, of imposing, altering, or removing any
tax or cess, modifying the existing system of
currency and banking, and granting any aids or
bounties to any or all deserving and nascent
industries of the country.
(f) Resolutions on all matters relating to the
administration of the country as a whole.
13. A resolution passed by the Legislative Council
should be biding on the Executive Government,
unless vetoed by the Governor-General in Council:
provided however that if the resolution is again
passed by the Council after an interval of not less
than one year, it must be given effect to.
14. A motion for adjournment may be brought forward
for the discussion of a definite matter of urgent
Centenary Souvenir
196
public importance, if supported by not less than
one-eighth of the members present.
15. When the Crown chooses to exercise its power of
veto in regard to a Bill passed by Provincial
Legislative Council or by the Imperial Legislative
Council, it should be exercised within 12 months
from the date on which it is passed, and the Bill
shall cease to have effect as from the date on
which the fact of such veto is made known to the
Legislative Council concerned.
16. The Imperial Legislative Council shall have no
power to interfere with the Government of Indias
direction of the military affairs and the foreign and
political relations of India, including the
declaration of war, the making of peace and the
entering into treaties.

IV. The Government of India
1. The Governor-General of India will be the head of
the Governor of India.
2. He will have an Executive Council, half of whom
shall be Indians.
3. The Indian members should be elected by the
elected members of the Imperial Legislative
Council.
4. Members of the Indian Civil Service shall not
ordinarily be appointed to the Executive Council
of the Governor-General.
5. The power of making all appointments in the
Imperial Civil Services shall vest in the
Government of India, as constituted under this
scheme, due regard being paid to existing interests,
197
subject to any laws that may be made by the
Imperial Legislative Council.
6. The Government of India shall not ordinarily
interfere in the local affairs of a province, and
powers not specifically given to a Provincial
Government shall be deemed to be vested in the
former. The authority of the Government of India
will ordinarily be limited to general supervision
and superintendence over the Provincial
Governments.
7. In legislative and administrative matters, the
Government of India, as constituted under this
scheme, shall, as far as possible, be independent of
the Secretary of State.
8. A system of independent audit of the accounts of
the Government of India should be instituted.

V. V. Secretary of State in Council
1. The Council of the Secretary of State for India
should be abolished.
2. The salary of the Secretary of State should be
placed on the British Estimate.
3. The Secretary of State should, as far as possible,
occupy the same position in relation to the
Government of India, as the Secretary of State for
the Colonies does in relation to the Government of
the self-governing Dominions.
4. The Secretary of State for India should be assisted
by two Permanent Under-Secretaries, one of whom
should always be an Indian.

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198

VI. India and the Empire
1. In any council or other body which may be
constituted or convened for the settlement or
control of Imperial affairs, India shall be
adequately represented in like manner with the
Dominions and with equal rights.
2. Indians should be placed on a footing of equality
in respect of status and rights of citizenship with
other subjects of His Majesty the King throughout
the Empire.

VII. Military and Other Matters
1. The military and naval services of His Majesty,
both in their commissioned and non-commissioned
ranks, should be thrown open to Indians Joint
Reform Scheme and adequate provision should be
made for their selection, training and instruction in
India.
2. Indians should be allowed to enlist as volunteers.
3. Executive officers in India shall have no judicial
powers entrusted to them, and the judiciary in
every Province shall be placed under the highest
Court of that Province.
7

1
Published as part of the Proceedings of the ninth Session of the All-India Muslim
League by the All-India Muslim League, Lucknow, 1917.
2
Given, after the report on the Ninth Session, on pp. 392-397.
3
The actual wording of this resolution is not available.
4
Although it is not explicity stated, it may be assumed that the resolution was carried.
5
Proceedings, op. cit.
6
The mixed use of shall, should and will has been reproduced as found in the
original document without any amendment.
7
Proceedings, of the Joint conference of the All-India Congress Committee and the
Muslim League Reform Committee held at the Indian Association Room, Calcutta on
the 17
th
and 18
th
November, 1916 Madras, Law Printing House, 1916.
TWENTY-FIRST SESSION
ALLAHABAD, DECEMBER 29-30, 1930

Some authors allege that at the Allahabad Session
hardly 75 persons were present and even quorum was not
complete. This is wholly unfounded. There were thousands of
persons who had assembled in the Pandal. Hafeez Jalandhri,
the famous poet who attended the session and recited extracts
from Shahnama-e-Islam. Hafeez in his letter dated 25
th
May, 1982
addressed to Mr. Zameer has stated that thousands were
present and raised slogans of Allah-ho-Akbar.
(The text of letter is reproduced in Hafeez Jalandhri by Aziz Malik
pp. 65-66, published by Academy of Letters)

The proceedings commenced at about 11 a.m., Mr.
Muhammad Hussain, Chairman of the Reception Committee
welcomed the delegates. In the course of his speech, he said
that the Muslims had left no stone unturned in trying to arrive
some settlement with the Hindus, but the latter had failed to
respond. He repudiated the charge that the Muslims, due to
their communalism, were an obstacle in the progress of the
country. If the mentality of the Hindus would change and the
Muslims were assured that their traditions, their religion, their
education and their language would not be annihilated, and
that they would be treated like other sons of India, the
Muslims would cease to bring up the question of the
protection of their rights. But their past experience in local
boards, in every department of the administration, and even
in trade, had been to the contrary.

Mr. Muhammad Husain expressed his feelings of
appreciation for the attitude of the Muslim delegates to
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200
the Round-Table Conference. He warned the
Government that if no solution of the difficulties was
effected at the RoundTable Conference, the Muslims
would not hesitate to make any sacrifice in order to
secure the fulfillment of their demands.

PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS OF DR. ALLAMA IQBAL

Dr. Sir Muhammad Iqbal next delivered his Presidential
Address, at the conclusion of which Mr. Muhammad Yakub,
General Secretary of the Muslim League, explained the
substance of the Address in Urdu for the benefit of those who
did not have a sufficient knowledge of English. Dr. Iqbal said:

Gentlemen, I am deeply grateful to you for the honour
you have conferred upon me in inviting me to preside over
the deliberations of the All-India Muslim League at one of the
most critical moments in the history of Muslim political
thought and activity in India. I have no doubt that in this great
assembly there are men whose political experience is far more
extensive than mine, and for whose knowledge of affairs I
have the highest respect. It will, therefore, be presumptuous
on my part to claim to guide an assembly of such men in the
political decisions which they are called upon to make to-day.
I lead no party; I follow no leader. I have given the best part of
my life to a careful study of Islam, its law and polity, its
culture, its history and its literature. This constant contact
with the spirit of Islam, as it unfolds itself in time, has, I think,
given me a kind of insight into its significance as a world fact.
It is in the light of the insight, whatever its value, that while
assuming that the Muslims of India are determined to remain
true to the spirit of Islam, I propose, not to guide you in your
decision, but to attempt the humbler task of bringing clearly
to your consciousness the main principle which, in my
Muslim League 21st Session
201
opinion, should determine the general character of these
decision.

Islam and Nationalism

It cannot be denied that Islam, regarded as an ethical
idea plus certain kind of polity by which expression I mean
a social structure regulated by a legal system and animated by
a specific ethical ideal has been the chief formative factor in
the life-history of the Muslims of India. It has furnished those
basic emotions and loyalties which gradually unify scattered
individuals and groups. And finally transform them into a
well-defined people, possessing a moral consciousness of their
own. Indeed it is no exaggeration to say that India is perhaps
the only country in the world where Islam, as a people force,
has worked at its best. In India, as elsewhere, the structure of
Islam as a society is almost entirely due to the working of
Islam as a culture inspired by a specific ethical ideal.

What I mean to say is that Muslim society, with its
remarkable homogeneity and inner unity, had grown to be
what it is, under the pressure of the laws and institutions
associated with the culture of Islam. The ideas set free by
European political thinking, however, are now rapidly
changing the outlook of the present generation of Muslims,
both in India and outside India. Our younger men, inspired
by these ideas, are anxious to see them as living forces in their
own countries, without any critical appreciation of the facts
which have determined their evolution in Europe.

In Europe, Christianity was understood to be a purely
monastic order which gradually developed into a vast church-
organization. The protest of Luther was directed against the
church-organization, not against any system of polity of a
secular nature, for the obvious reason that there was no such

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202
polity associated with Christianity. And Luther was perfectly
justified in rising in revolt against his organization; though, I
think, he did not realize that, in the peculiar condition which
obtained in Europe, his revolt would eventually mean the
complete displacement of the universal ethics of Jesus by
growth of a plurality of national and hence narrower systems
of ethics. Thus, the upshot of the intellectual movement
initiated by such men as Rousseau and Luther was the break-
up of the national outlook, requiring a more realistic
foundation, such as the notion of country, and finding
expression through varying systems of polity evolved on
national lines, i.e. on lines which recognize territory as the
only principle of political solidarity. If you begin with the
conception of religion as complete other-worldliness, then
what has happened to Christianity in Europe is perfectly
natural. The universal ethics of Jesus is displaced by national
systems of ethics and polity. The conclusion to which Europe
is consequently driven is that religion is a private affair of the
individual and has nothing to do with what is called mans
temporal life.

Islam does not bifurcate the unity of man into an
irreconcible duality of spirit and matter. In Islam God and the
universe, spirit and matter, church and state, are organic to
each other. Man is not the citizen of a profane world to be
renounced in the interest of a world of spirit situated
elsewhere. To Islam matter is spirit realizing itself in space
and time.

Europe uncritically accepted the duality of spirit
and matter probably from Mannichaean thought. Her
best thinkers are realizing this initial mistake to-day but
her statesmen are indirectly forcing the world to accept
it as an unquestionable dogma. It is, then, this mistaken
separation of spiritual and temporal which has largely
203
influenced European religious and political thought,
and has resulted practically in the total exclusion of
Christianity from the life of European States. The result
is a set of mutually ill-adjusted States dominated by
interest, not human but national. And these mutually
ill-adjusted States, after trampling over a federated
Europe, i.e., the need of a unity which the Christian
church-organization originally gave them, but which,
instead of reconstructing in the light of Christs vision
of human brotherhood, they considered it fit to destroy
under the inspiration of Luther.

A Luther in the world of Islam, however, is an
impossible phenomenon; for here there is not Church-
organization, similar to that of Christianity in the Middle
Ages, inviting a destroyer. In the world of Islam, we have a
universal polity whose fundamentals are believed to have
been revealed, but whose structure, owing to our legists want
of contact which the modern world, to-day stands in need of
renewed power by adjustments. I do not know what will be
the final fate of the national idea of the world of Islam.
Whether Islam will assimilate and transform it, as it has before
assimilated and transformed many ideas expressive of a
different spirit, or allow a radical transformation of its own
structure by the force of this idea, is hard to predict. Professor
Wensinck of Leiden (Holland) wrote to me the other day: It
seems to me that Islam is entering upon a crisis through which
Christianity has been passing for more than a century. The
great difficulty is how to save the foundations of religions
when many antiquated notions have to be given up. It seems
to me scarcely possible to state what the outcome will be for
Christianity, still less what it will be for Islam. At the present
moment, the national idea is racializing the outlook of
Muslims, and this is material counteracting the humanizing
work of Islam. And the growth of racial consciousness may

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mean the growth of standards different and even opposed to
the standards of Islam.

I hope you will pardon me for this apparently academic
discussion. To address this Session of the All-India Muslim
League, you have selected a man who is not despired of Islam
as a living force for freeing the outlook of man from its
geographical limitations, who believes that religion is a power
of utmost importance in the life of individuals as well as of
states, and finally, who believes that Islam is itself Destiny and
will not suffer a destiny! Such a man cannot but look at matters
from his own point of view. Do not think that the problem I
am indicating is a purely theoretical one. It is a very living and
practical problem calculated to affect the very fabric of Islam
as a system of live and conduct. On a proper solution of it
alone depends your future as a distinct cultural unit in India.
Never in our history has Islam had to stand a greater trial,
than the one which confronts it to-day. It is open to a people
to modify, reinterpret or reject the foundational principles of
their social structure; but it is absolutely necessary for them to
see clearly what they are doing before they undertake to try a
fresh experiment. Nor should the way in which I am
approaching this important problem lead anybody to think
that I intend to quarrel with those who happen to think
differently. You are a Muslim assembly, and, I suppose,
anxious to remain true to the spirit and ideals of Islam. My
sole desire, therefore, is to tell you frankly what I honestly
believe to be the truth about the present situation. In this way
alone is it possible for me to illuminate, according to my light,
the avenues of your political action.

Unity Through Harmony of Differences

What, then, is the problem and its implications? Is
religion a private affair? Would you like to see Islam, as a
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moral and political idea, meeting the same fate in the world of
Islam as Christianity has already met in Europe? Is it possible
to retain Islam as an ethical ideal and to reject it as a polity, in
favour of national polities in which the religious attitude is not
permitted to play any part? This question becomes of special
importance in India where the Muslims happen to be in
minority. The proposition that religion is a private individual
experience is not surprising on the lips of a European. In
Europe, the conception of Christianity as a monastic order,
renouncing the world of matter and fixing its gaze entirely on
the world of spirit, led, by a logical process of thought, to the
view embodied in this position. The nature of the Prophets
religious experience, as disclosed in the Quran, however, is
wholly different. It is not mere experience in the sense of a
purely biological event, happening inside the experiment and
necessitating no reaction on its social environment. It is
individual experience created of a social order. Its immediate
outcome is the fundamentals of a polity with implicit legal
concepts whose civic significance cannot be belittled merely
because their origin is revelational. The religious ideal of
Islam, therefore, is organically related to the social order
which it has created. The rejection of the one will eventually
involve the rejection of the other. Therefore the construction of
a polity on national lines if it means a displacement of the
Islam principle of solidarity is simply unthinkable to a
Muslim. This is a matter which, at the present moment,
directly concerns the Muslims of India. Man, says Renan,
Is enslaved neither by his race, nor by his religion, nor by the
course of rivers, nor by the direction of mountain ranges. A
great aggregation of men, sane of mind and warm of heart,
creates a moral consciousness which is called a nation. Such a
formation is quite possible, though it involves the long and
arduous process of practically remaking men and furnishing
them with a fresh emotional equipment. It might have been a
fact in India, If the teaching of Kabir and the Divine Faith
1
of

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Akbar has seized the imagination of the masses of this
country. Experience, however, shows that the various caste
units and religious units in India have shown no inclination to
sink their respective individualities in a larger whole. Each
group is intensely jealous of the collective existence. The
formation of the kind of moral consciousness which
constitutes the essence of a nation in Renans sense demands a
price which the peoples of India are not prepared to pay. The
unity of an Indian nation, therefore, must be sought, not in the
negation, but in the mutual harmony and co-operation of the
many. True statesmanship cannot ignore facts, however
unpleasant they may be. The only practical course is not to
assume the existence of a state of things which does not exist,
but to recognize facts as they are, and to exploit them to our
greatest advantage. And it is the discovery of Indian unity in
this direction that the fate of India as well as of Asia really
depends. India is Asia in miniature. Part of her people have
cultural affinities with nations in the East, and part with
nations in the middle and west of Asia. If an effective
principle of co-operation is discovered in India, it will bring
peace and mutual goodwill to this ancient land which has
suffered so long, more because of her situation in historic
space than because of any inherent incapacity of her people.
And it will at the same time solve the entire political problem
of Asia.
It is, however, painful to observe that our attempts to
discover such a principle of internal harmony have so far
failed. Why have they failed? Perhaps, we suspect each others
intentions, and inwardly aim at dominating each other.
Perhaps, in the higher interest of mutual co-operation, we
cannot afford to part with the monopolies which
circumstances have placed in our hands, and conceal our
egoism under the cloak of nationalism, outwardly simulating
a large-hearted patriotism, but inwardly as narrow-minded as
a caste or tribe. Perhaps, we are unwilling to recognize that
207
each group has a right to free development according to its
own cultural traditions. But whatever may be the causes of
our failure, I still feel hopeful. Events seem to be tending in
the direction of some sort of internal harmony. And as far as I
have been able to read the Muslim mind, I have no hesitation
in declaring that, if the principle that the Indian Muslim is
entitled to full and free development on the lines of his own
culture and tradition in his own Indian homelands, is
recognized as the basis of a permanent communal settlement,
he will be ready to stake his all for the freedom of India. The
principle that each group is entitled to free development on its
own lines is not inspired by any feeling of narrow
communalism. There are communalism and communalisms.
A community which is inspired by a feeling of ill-will towards
other communities is low and ignoble. I entertain the highest
respect for the customs, laws, religious and social institutions
of other communities. Nay, it is my duty, according to the
teaching of the Quran, even to defend their places of worship
if need be. Yet I love the Communal group which is the source of
my life and behaviour; and which has formed me what I am by
giving me its religion, its literature, its thought, its culture and
thereby recreating its whole past, as a living operative factor, in my
present consciousness. Even the authors of the Nehru Report
recognize the value of this higher aspect of communalism.
While discussing the separation of Sind, they say: To say
from the view-point of nationalism that no communal
provinces should be created is, in a way, equivalent to saying
from the still wider international view-point that there should
be no separate nations. Both these statements have a measure
of truth in them. But the staunchest internationalist recognizes
that without the fullest national autonomy, it is
extraordinarily difficult to create the international State. So
also, without the fullest cultural autonomy and communalism in
its better aspect is culture it will be difficult to create a harmonious
nation.

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Muslim Indian within India

Communalism, in its higher aspect, then, is
indispensable to the formation of a harmonious while in a
country like India. The units of Indian society are not
territorial as in European countries. India is a continent of
human groups belonging to different races, speaking different
languages, and professing different religions. Their behaviour
is not at all determined by a common race-consciousness.
Even the Hindus do not form a homogeneous group. The
principle of European democracy cannot be applied to India
without recognizing the fact of communal groups. The
Muslim demand for the creation of a Muslim India within
India is, therefore, perfect justified. The resolution of the All-
Parties Muslim Conference at Delhi is to my mind wholly
inspired by this noble ideal of a harmonious whole which,
instead of stifling the respective individualities of its
component wholes, affords them chances of fully working out
the possibilities that may be latent in them. And I have no
doubt that this House will emphatically endorse the Muslim
demand embodied in this resolution.

Personally, I would go further than the demands
embodied in it. I would like to see the Punjab, the North-West
Frontier Province, Sind and Baluchistan amalgamated into a single
State-government within the British Empire, or without the British
Empire, the formation of a consolidated NorthWest Indian Muslim
State appears to me to be the final destiny of the Muslims, at least of
NorthWest India. The proposal was put forward before the
Nehru Committee. They rejected it on the ground that, if
carried into effect, it would give a very unwieldy State. This is
true in so far as the area is concerned; in point of population,
the State contemplated by the proposal would be much
209
smaller than some of the present Indian provinces. The
exclusion of Ambala Division, and perhaps of some districts
where non-Muslims predominate, will make it less extensive
and more Muslim in populationso that the exclusion
suggested will enable this consolidated State to give a more
effective protective protection to non-Muslim minorities
within its area. The idea need not alarm the Hindus or the
British. India is the greatest Muslim country in the world. The
life of Islam as a cultural force in this living country very
largely depends on its centralization in a specified territory.
This centralization of the most living portion of the Muslims
of India, whose military and police service has,
notwithstanding unfair treatment from the British, made the
British rule possible in this country, will eventually solve the
problem of India as well as of Asia. It will intensify their sense
of responsibility and deepen their patriotic feeling. Thus,
possessing full opportunity of development within the body-
politic of India, the North West Indian Muslims will prove the
best defenders of India against a foreign invasion, be that
invasion one of ideas or of bayonets. The Punjab with a 56 per
cent Muslim population supplies 54 per cent of total
combatant troops in the Indian army; and if the 19,000
Gurkhas recruited from the independent State of Nepal are
excluded, the Punjab contingent amounts to 62 per cent of the
whole Indian Army. This percentage does not take into
account nearly 6,000 combatants supplied to the Indian Army
by the North-West Frontier Province and Baluchistan. From
this, you can easily calculate the possibilities of North-West
Indian Muslims in regard to the defence of India against
foreign aggression. The Right Honble Mr. Srinivasa Sastri
thinks that the Muslim demand for the creation fo
autonomous Muslim States along the North-West border is
actuated by a desire to acquire means of exerting pressure in
emergencies on the Government of India. I may frankly tell
him that the Muslim demand is not actuated by the kind of

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motive he imputes to us; it is actuated by a genuine desire for
free development, which is practically impossible under the
type of unitary government contemplated by the nationalist
Hindu politicians with a view to securing permanent
communal dominance in the whole of India.

Nor should the Hindus fear that the creation of
autonomous Muslim State will mean the introduction of a kind
of religious rule in such States. I have already indicated to you
the meaning of the word religion, as applied to Islam. The truth
is that Islam is not a church. It is a State, conceived as a
contractual organism long, long before Rousseau ever thought
of such a thing, and animated by an ethical ideal which regards
man not as an earth-rooted creature, defined by this or that
portion of the earth, but as a spiritual being understood in
terms of a social mechanism, and possessing rights and duties
as a living factor in that mechanism. The character of Muslim
State can be judged form what The Times of India pointed out
some time ago in a leader on the Indian Banking Inquiry
Committee. In ancient India, the paper points out, the State
framed laws regulating the rates of interests; but in Muslim
times, although Islam clearly forbids the realization of interest
on money loaned, Indian Muslim States imposed no
restrictions on such rates. I therefore demand the formation of
a consolidated Muslim State in the best interests of India and
Islam. For India, it means security and peace resulting from an
internal balance of power; for Islam, an opportunity to rid itself
to the stamp that Arabian Imperialism was forced to give it, to
mobilize its laws, its education, its culture, and to bring them
into closer contact with its own original spirit and with the
spirit of modern times.

Federal States

Thus it is clear that, in view of Indias infinite variety in
climates, races, languages, creeds and social systems, the
211
creation of autonomous States based on the unity of
languages, race, history, religion and identity of economic
interests, is the only possible way to secure a stable
constitutional structure in India. The conception of federation
underlying the Simon Report necessitates the abolition of the
Central Legislative Assembly as a popular Assembly and
makes it an Assembly of the representatives of Federal States.
It further demands a redistribution of territory on the lines
which I have indicated. And the Report does recommend
both. I give my whole-hearted support to this view of the
matter; but I venture to suggest that the redistribution
recommended in the Simon Report must fulfil two conditions.
It must precede the introduction of the new constitution, and
it must be so devised as to finally solve the communal
problem. Proper redistribution will make the question of joint
and separated electorates automatically disappear from the
constitutional controversy of India. It is the present structure
of the provinces that is largely responsible for the controversy.
The Hindus thinks that separate electorates are contrary to the
spirit of true nationalism, because he understands the word
nation to mean a kind of universal amalgamation in which
no communal entity ought to retain its private individuality.
Such a state of things, however, does not exist. Nor is it
desirable that it should exist. India is a land of racial and
religious variety. Add to this the general economic inferiority
of the Muslims, their enormous debt, especially in the Punjab,
and their insufficient majorities in some of the provinces, as at
present constituted, and you will begin to see clearly the
meaning of our anxiety to retain separate electorates. In such a
country and in such circumstances, territorial electorates
cannot secure adequate representation of all interests, and
must inevitably lead to purely territorial electorates if
provinces are demarcated so as to secure comparatively

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homogeneous communities, possessing linguistic, racial,
cultural and religious unity.

But in so far as the question of the powers of Central
Federal State I concerned, there is a subtle difference of motive
in the Constitutions proposed by the Pandits of India and the
Pandits of England. The Pandits of India do not disturb the
central authority as it stands at present. All that they desire is
that this authority should become fully responsible to the
Central Legislature which they maintain intact, and where
their majority will become further reinforced on the
nominated element ceasing to exist. The Pandit of England, on
the other hand, realizing that democracy in the Centre tends
to work contrary to their interest and is likely to absorb the
whole power now in their hands, in case a further advance is
made towards responsible government, have shifted the
experiment of democracy from the Centre to the provinces.
No doubt, they introduce the principle of federation and
appear to have made a beginning by making certain
proposals, yet their evaluation of this principle is determined
by considerations wholly different from those which
determine its value in the eyes of Muslim India. The Muslims
demand federation because it is pre-eminently a solution of
Indias most difficult problem, i.e. the communal problem.
The Royal Commissioners view of federation, though sound
in principle, does not seem to aim at responsible government
for Federal States. Indeed, it does not go beyond providing
means of escape from the situation which the introduction of
democracy in India has created for the British, and wholly
disregards the communal problem by leaving it where it was.

Thus it is clear that, in so far as real federation is
concerned, the Simon Report virtually negatives the principle
of federation in its true significance. The Nehru Report,
realizing a Hindu majority in the Central Assembly, reaches
213
for a unitary form of government, because such an institution
secures Hindu dominance throughout India; the Simon
Report retains the present British Dominance behind the thin
veneer of an unreal federation, partly because the British are
naturally unwilling to part with the power they have so long
wielded, and partly because it is possible for them, in the
absence of an inter-communal understanding in India, to
make out a plausible case for the retention of that power in
their own hands. To my mind a unitary form of government is
simply unthinkable in a self-governing States, the Central
Federal State exercising only those powers which are
expressly vested in it by the free consent of Federal States. I
would never advise the Muslims of India to agree to a system,
whether of British or of Indian origin, which virtually
negatives the principle of true federation, or fails to
recongnize them as a distinct political entity.

The Round-Table Discussion of Federation

The necessity for a structural change in the Central
Government was probably seen long before the British
discovered the most effective means for introducing this
change. That is why, at a rather late state, it was announced
that the participation of the Indian Princes in the Round-Table
Conference was essential. It was a kind of surprise to the
people of India, particularly the minorities, to see the Indian
Princes at the Round-Table Conference dramatically
expressing their willingness to join an All-India Federation,
and, as a result of their declaration, the Hindu delegates
uncompromising advocates of a unitary form of Government
quietly agreeing to the evolution of a federal scheme. Even
Mr. Shastri, who, only a few days before, had severely
criticized Sir John Simon for recommending a federal scheme
for India, suddenly became a convert and admitted his
conversion in the plenary session of the Conference thus

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offering the Prime Minister of England an occasion for one of
the wittiest observations in his concluding speech. All this has
meaning both for the British, who have sought the
participation of the Indian Princes, and the Hindu, who have
unhesitatingly accepted the evolution of an All-India
Federation. The truth is that the participation of the Indian
Princes among whom only a few are Muslims in a
federation scheme serves a double purpose. On the one hand,
it serves as an all important factor in maintaining the British
power in India practically as it is, on the other hand, it gives
an overwhelming majority to the Hindus in an All-India
Federal Assembly.

It appears to me that the Hindu-Muslim differences
regarding the ultimate form of the Central Government are
being cleverly exploited by British politicians through the
agency of the Princes, who see in the scheme prospects of
better security for their despotic rule. If the Muslims silently
agree to any such scheme, it will simply hasten their end as a
political entity in India. The policy of the Indian Federation
thus created will be practically controlled by Hindu-Princes
forming the largest group in the Central Federal Assembly.
They will always lend their support to the Crown in matters
of Imperial concern; and in so far as internal administration of
the country is concerned, they will help in maintaining and
strengthening the supremacy of the Hindus. In other words,
the scheme appears to be aiming at a kind of understanding
between Hindu India and British Imperialism you perpetuate
me in India, and in return, I give you a Hindu oligarchy to
keep all other Indian communities in perpetual subjection. If,
therefore, the British Indian provinces are not transformed
into really autonomous States, the Princes participation in a
scheme of Indian federation will be interpreted only as a
dexterous move on the part of British politicians to satisfy,
without parting with any real power, all parties concerned:
215
Muslims with the word federation; Hindus with a majority
in the Centre; and British Imperialists whether Tory or
Labourite with the substance of real power.

The number of Hindu States in India is far greater than
of Muslim States; and it remains to be seen how the Muslim
demand for 33 per cent seats in the Central Federal Assembly
is to be met in a House or Houses constituted of
representatives taken from British India as well as from Indian
States. I hope the Muslim delegates are fully aware of the
implications of the federal scheme as discussed in the Round-
Table Conference. The question of Muslim representation in
the proposed All-India Federation has not yet been discussed.
The interim report, says Reuters summary, Contemplates
two chambers in the Federal Legislature each containing
representatives both the British India and the States, the
proportion of which will be a matter of subsequent
consideration under the heads which have not yet been
referred to Subcommittee. In my opinion, the question of
proportion is of the utmost importance, and ought to have
been considered simultaneously with the main question of the
structure of the Assembly.

The best course, I think, would have been to start with a
British Indian federation only. A federal scheme born of an
unholy union between democracy and despotism cannot but
keep British India in the same vicious circle of a unitary
Central Government. Such a unitary form may be of the
greatest advantage to the British, to the majority community
in British India, and to the Indian Princes; it can be of no
advantage to the Muslims unless they get majority rights in
five out of eleven Indian provinces with fully residuary
powers, and a one-third share of seats in the total House of the
Federal Assembly. In so far as the attainment of sovereign
powers by the British Indian Provinces is concerned, the

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position of H.H. the Ruler of Bhopal, Sir Akbar Hydari and
Mr. Jinnah is unassailable. In view, however, of the
participation of the Princes in the Indian Federation, we must
now see our demand for representation in the British Indian
Assembly in a new light. The question is one of the Muslim
share in a British Indian Assembly, but one which related to
representation of British Indian Muslims in an All-India
Federal Assembly. Our demand for 33 percent must now be
taken as a demand for the same proportion in the All-India
Federal Assembly, exclusive of the share allotted to the
Muslim States entering the Federation.

The Problem of Defence

The other difficult problem which confronts the
successful working of a Federal system in India is the problem
of Indias defence. In their discussion of this problem, the
Royal Commissioners have marshalled all the deficiencies of
India in order to make out a case for Imperial administration
of the army. India and Britain, say the Commissioners, are
so related the Indias defence cannot now, or in any future
which is within sight, be regarded as a matter of purely Indian
concern. The control and direction of such an army must rest
in the hand of agents of the Imperial Government. Now, does
it necessarily follow from this that further progress towards
the realization of responsible government in British India is
barred until the work of defence can be adequately discharged
without the help of British officers and British troops? As
things are, there is a block on the link of constitutional
advance. All hopes of evolution in the Central Government
towards the ultimate goal described in the declaration of
August 20, 1917, are in danger of being indefinitely frustrated
if the attitude illustrated by the Nehru Report is maintained,
that any future change involves putting the administration of
the army under the authority of an elected Indian
217
Legislature. Further, to fortify their argument, they
emphasize the fact of competing religious and rival races of
widely different capacity, and try to make the problem look
insoluble by remarking that the obvious fact that India is not,
in the ordinary and natural sense, a single nation is nowhere
made more plain than in considering the difference between
the martial races of India and the rest. These features of the
question have been emphasized in order to demonstrate that
the British are not only keeping India secure from foreign
menance, but are also the neutral guardians of internal
security. However, in federal India, as I understand
federation, the problem will have only one aspect, i.e.,
external defence. Apart from provincial armies necessary for
maintaining internal peace, the Indian Federal Congress can
maintain, on the North-West Frontier, a strong Indian Frontier
Army composed of united recruited from all provinces and
officered by efficient and experienced military men taken
from all communities. I know that India is not is possession of
efficient military officers, and this fact is exploited by the
Royal Commissioners in the interest of an argument for
Imperial administration. On this point, I cannot, but quote
another passage from the Report which, to my mind,
furnishes, the best argument against the position taken up by
the Commissioners. As the present moment, says the
Report, no Indian holding the Kings Commission is of
higher army rank than a captain. There are, we believe, 39
captains of whom 25 are in ordinary regimental employ. Some
of them are of an age which would prevent their attaining
much higher rank, even if they passed the necessary
examination before retirement. Most of these have not been
through Sandhurst, but got their Commissions during the
Great War. Now, however genuine may be the desire and
however earnest the endeavour to work for the
transformation, the overriding conditions so forcibly
expressed by the Skeen Committee (Whose members, apart

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from the Chairman and the Army Secretary, were Indian
gentlemen), in the words Progressmust be contingent upon
success being secured at each stage and upon military
efficiency being maintained throughout, must in any case
render such development measured and slow. A higher
command cannot be evolved at short notice out of existing
cadres of Indian officers, all of junior rank and limited
experience. Not until the slender trickle of suitable Indian
recruits for the officer class and we earnestly desire an
increase in their numbers flow in much great volume, not
until sufficient Indians have attained the experience and
training requisite to provide all the offices for, at any rate,
some Indian regiments, not until such units have stood the
only test which can possibly determine their efficiency, and
not until Indian officers have qualified by a successful army
career for high command, will it be possible to develop the
policy of Indianization to a point which will bring a
completely Indianized army with sight. Even then years must
elapse before the process could be completed.

Now I venture to ask who is responsible for the present
state of things? Is it due to some inherent incapacity of our
martial races or to the slowness of the process of military
training? The military capacity of our martial races is
undeniable. The process of military training may be slow as
compared to other process of human training. I am no military
expert to judge this matter. But as a layman, I feel that the
argument, as stated, assumes the process to be practically
endless. This means perpetual bondage for India, and makes it
all the more necessary that the Frontier Army, as suggested by
the Nehru Report, be entrusted to the charge of a committee of
defence the personal of which may be settled by mutual
understanding.

219
Again it is significant that the Simon Report has given
extraordinary importance to the question of Indias land
frontier, but has made only passing reference to its naval
position. India has doubtless had to face invasions from her
land frontiers; but it is obvious that her present master took
possession of her on account of her defenceless sea coast. A
self-govering and free India, will, in these days, have to take
greater care of her sea coast than her land frontiers.

I have no doubt that if a Federal Government is
established, Muslim Federal States will willingly agree, for
purposes of India s defence, to the creation of neutral Indian
military and naval forces. Such a neutral military force for the
defence of India, was a reality in the days of Mugal rule.
Indeed, in the time of Akbhar, the Indian frontier was, on the
whole, defended by armies officered by Hindu generals. I am
perfectly sure that the scheme of a neutral Indian army, based
on a federated India, will intensify Muslim patriotic feeling,
and finally set at rest the suspicion, if any, of Indian Muslims
joining Muslims from beyond the frontier in the event of an
invasion.

The Alternative

I have thus tried briefly to indicate the way in which the
Muslim of India ought, in my opinion, to look at the two most
important constitutional problems of India. A redistribution of
British India calculated to securer a permanent solution of the
communal problem is the main demand of the Muslims of
India. If, however, the Muslim demand for a territorial
solution of the communal problem is ignored, then I support,
as emphatically as possible, the Muslim demands repeatedly
urged by the All-India Muslim League and the All-India
Muslim Conference. The Muslims of India cannot agree to any
constitutional changes which affect their majority rights, to be

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secured by separate electorates, in the Punjab and Bengal, or
fair to guarantee them 33 percent representation in any
Central Legislature. There were two pitfalls into which
Muslim political leaders fell. The first was the repudiated
Lucknow Pact, which originated in a false view of Indian
nationalism, and deprived the Muslims of India from chances
of acquiring any political power in India. The second is the
narrow-versioned sacrifice, of Islamic solidarity in the
interests of what may be called Punjab Ruralism, resulting in
a proposal which virtually reduces the Punjab Muslims to the
position of a minority. It is the duty of the League to condemn
both the Pact and the proposal.

The Simon Report does great injustice to the Muslims is
not recommending a statutory majority for the Punjab and
Bengal. It would either make the Muslims stick to the
Lucknow Pact or agree to a scheme of joint electorates. The
Despatch of the Government of India on the Simon Report
admits that since the publication of that document, the
Muslim community has not expressed its willingness to accept
any of the alternatives propose by the Report. The Despatch
recognize that it may be a legitimate grievance to deprive that
Muslims in the Punjab and Bengal of representation in the
Councils in proportion to their population merely because of
weightage allowed to Muslim minorities elsewhere. But the
Despatch of the Government of India fails to correct the
injustice of the Simon Report. In so far as the Punjab is
concerned this is the more crucial point it endorses the so-
called carefully balanced scheme worked out by the official
members of the Punjab Government which gives the Punjab
Muslims a majority of two over the Hindus and Sikhs
combined, and a proportion of 49 percent of the house as a
whole. It is obvious that the Punjab Muslims cannot be
satisfied with less than a clear majority in the total House.
However, Lord Irwin and his Government to recognize that
221
the justification of communal electorates for majority
communities would not case unless and until, by the
extension of franchise, their voting strength more correctly
reflects their population; and further, unless a two-third
majority of the Muslim members in a Provincial Council
unanimously agree to surrender the right of separate
representation. I can not, however, understand why the
Government of India, having recognized the legitimacy of the
Muslim grievance, have not had the courage to recommend a
statutory majority for the Muslims in the Punjab and Bengal.

Nor can the Muslims of India agree to any such changes
which fail to create at least Sind as a separate province, and
treat the North-West Frontier Province as a province of
inferior political status. I see no reason why Sind should not
be united with Baluchistan and turned into a separate
province. It has nothing in common with the Bombay
Presidency. In point of life and civilization, the Royal
Commissioners find it more akin to Mesopatamia and Arabia
than India. The Muslim geographer Masudi noticed this
kinship long ago, when he said, Sind is a country nearer to
dominions of Islam. The first Omayyad ruler is reported to
have said of Egypt: Egypt has her back towards Africa and
her face towards Arabia. With necessary alternations, the
same remark describes the exact situation of Sind. She has her
back towards India and her face towards Central Asia.
Considering further the nature of her agricultural problems,
which can invoke no sympathy from the Bombay
Government, and her infinite commercial possibilities,
dependent on the inevitable growth of Karachi into a second
metropolis in India, it is unwise to keep her attracted to a
Presidency which, though friendly to-day, is likely to become
a rival at no distant period. Financial difficulties, we are told,
stand in the way of separation. I do not know of any definite
authoritative pronouncement on the matter. But, assuming

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there are such difficulties, I see no reason why the
Government of India should not give temporary financial help
to a promising province in her struggle for independent
progress.

As to the North-West Frontier Province, it is painful to
note that the Royal Commissioners have practically denied
that the people of this province have any right to reform. They
fall far short of the Bray Committee, and the Council
recommended by them is merely a screen to hide the
autocracy of the Chief Commissioner. The inherent right of
the Afghan to light a cigarette is curtailed merely because he
happens to be living in a powder house. The Royal
Commissioners epigrammatic argument is pleasant enough,
but far from convincing. Political reform is light, not fire; and
to light, every human-being is entitled, whether he happens to
live in a powder house or a coal mine. Brave, shrewd and
determined to suffer for his legitimate aspirations, the Afghan
is sure to resend any attempt to deprive him of opportunities
of full self-development. To keep such a people contented is in
the best interest of both England and India. What has recently
happened in that unfortunate province is the result of a step-
motherly treatment shown to the people since the
introduction of the principle of self-government in the rest of
India. I only hope that British statesmanship will not obscure
its view of the situation by hoodwinking itself into the belief
that the present unrest of the province is due to any
extraneous causes.

The recommendation for the introduction of a measure
of reform in the N.W.F.P made in the Government of Indias
Despatch is also unsatisfactory. No doubt the despatch goes
further than the Simon Report in recommending a sort of
representative Council and a semi-representative Cabinet, but
it fails to treat this important Muslim province on an equal
223
footing with other Indian provinces. Indeed, the Afghan is by
instinct more fitted for democratic institutions than any other
people in India.

The Round-Table Conference

I think I am now called upon to make a few
observations on the Round-Table Conference. Personally, I do
not feel optimistic as to the results of this Conference. It was
hoped that, away from the actual scene of communal strife
and in a changed atmosphere, better counsels would prevails,
and a genuine settlement of the differences between the two
major communities of India would bring Indias freedom
within sight. Actual events, however, tell a different tale.
Indeed, the discussion of the communal question in London
has demonstrated, more clearly than ever, the essential
disparity between the two great cultural units of India. Yet the
Prime Minister of England apparently refuses to see that the
problem of India is international. He is reported to have said
that his Government would find it difficult to submit to
Parliament proposals for the maintenance of separate
electorates, since joint electorates were much more in
accordance with British democratic sentiment. Obviously he
does not see that the model of British democracy cannot be
any use in a land of many nations; and that a system of
separate electorates is only a poor substitute for a territorial
solution of the problem. Nor is the Minorities Sub-Committee
likely to reach a satisfactory settlement. The whole question
will have to go before the British Parliament; and we can only
hope that the keen-sighted representatives of the British
nation, unlike most of our Indian politicians, will be able to
pierce through the surface of things, and clearly see the true
fundamentals of peace and security in a country like India. To
base a Constitution on the concept of a homogeneous India, or
to apply to India principles dictated by British democratic

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sentiments, is unwittingly to prepare her for a civil war. As far
as I can see, there will be no peace in the country until the
various peoples that constitute India are given opportunities
of free self-development on modern lines, without abruptly
breaking with their past.

I am glad to be able to say that our Muslim delegates
full realize the importance of a proper solution of what I call
Indias international problem. They are perfectly justified in
pressing for a solution of the communal question before the
responsibility in the Central Government is finally settled. No
Muslim politician should be sensitive to the taunt embodied
in the propaganda word communalism expressly devised
to exploit what the Prime Minister calls British democratic
sentiments, and to mislead England into assuming a state of
things which does not really exist in India. Great interests are
at stake. We are 70 millions, and far more homogeneous than
any other people in India. Indeed, the Muslims of India are
the only Indian people who can fitly be described as nation in
the modern sense of the word. The Hindus, though ahead of
us in almost all respects, have not yet been able to achieve the
kind of homogeneity which is necessary for a nation, and
which Islam has given you as a free gift. No doubt they are
anxious to become a nation, but the process of becoming a
nation is a kind of travail, and in the case of Hindu India,
involves a complete overhauling of her social structure. Nor
should the Muslim leaders and politicians allow themselves to
be carried away to be subtle but fallacious arguments that
Turkey and Persia and other Muslim countries are
progressing on national, i.e. territorial, lines. The Muslims of
India are differently situated. The countries of Islam outside
India are practically wholly Muslim in population. The
minorities there belong, in the language of the Quran, to the
people of the Book. There are no social barriers between
Muslims and the people of the Book Indeed the first
225
practical step that Islam took towards the realization of a final
combination of humanity was to call upon peoples possessing
practically the same ethical ideal to come forward and
combine. The Quran declares, O people of the Book! Come,
let us join together on the word (Unity of God) that is
common to us all. The wars of Islam and Christianity, and,
later, European aggression in its various forms, could not
allow the infinite meaning of this verse to work itself out in
the world of Islam. To-day, it is being gradually realized in the
countries of Islam in the shape of what is called Muslim
Nationalism.

It is hardly necessary for me to add that the sole test of
the success of our delegates in the extent in which they are
able to get the non-Muslim delegates of the Conference to
agree to our demands as embodied in the Delhi Resolution. If
these demands are not agreed to, then a question of a very
great and far-reaching importance will arise for the
community. Then will arrive the moment for independent and
concerted political action by the Muslims of India. If you are
at all serious about your ideals and aspirations, you must be
ready for such action. Our leading men have done a good deal
of political thinking, and their thought has certainly made us,
more or less, sensitive to the forces which are now shaping the
destinies of people in India and outside India. But, I ask, has
this thinking prepared us for the kind of action demanded by
the situation which may arise in the near future? Let me tell
you frankly that, at the present moment, the Muslims of India
are suffering from two evils. The first is the want of
personalities. Sir Malcolm Hailey and Lord Irwin were
perfectly in their diagnosis, when they told the Aligarh
University that the community has failed to produce leaders.
By leaders, I mean men who, by Divine gift or experience,
possess a keen perception of the spirit and destiny of Islam,
along with an equally keen perception of the trend of modern

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history. Such men are really the driving forces of a people, but
they are Gods gift and cannot be made to order. The second
evil from which the Muslims of India are suffering is that the
community is fast losing what is called the herd instinct. This
makes it possible for individuals and groups to start
independent careers without contributing to the general
thought and activity of the community. We are doing to-day
in the domain of politics what we have been doing for
centuries in the domain of religion. But sectional bickering in
religion do not do much harm to our solidarity. They at least
indicate an interest in what makes the sole principle of our
structure as a people. Moreover, this principle is so broadly
conceived that it is almost impossible for a group to become
rebellious to the extent of wholly detaching itself from the
general body of Islam. But diversity in political action, at a
moment when concerted action is needed in the best interests
of the very life of our people, may prove fatal. How shall we,
then, remedy these two evil, I think it is proper to postpone
their expression till the apprehended situation actually arises.
In case it does arise, leading Muslims of all shades of opinion
will have to meet together, not to pass resolutions, but finally
to decide the Muslim attitude and to show the path to tangible
achievement. In the address, I mention this alternative only
because I wish that you may keep it in mind, and give some
serious thought to it in the meantime.

Conclusion

Gentlemen, I have finished. In conclusion, I cannot but
impress upon you that the present crisis in the history of India
demands complete organization and unity of will and
purpose in the Muslim community, both in your own interest
as a community, and in the interest of India as a whole. The
political bondage of India has been and is a source of infinite
misery to the whole of Asia. It has suppressed the spirit of the
227
East, and wholly deprived her of that joy of self which once
made her the creator of a great and glorious culture. We have
a duty towards India where we are destined to live and die.
We have duty towards Asia, especially Muslim Asia. And
since seventy millions of Muslims in a single country
constitute a far more valuable asset to Islam than all the
countries of Muslim Asia put together, we must look at the
Indian problem, not only for the Muslim point of view, but
also from the standpoint of the Indian Muslim as such. Our
duty towards Asia and India cannot be loyally performed
without an organized will fixed on a definite purpose. In your
own interest, as a political entity among other political entities
of India, such an equipment is an absolute necessity. Our
disorganized condition has already confused political issues
vital to the life of the community. I am not hopeless of an
intercommunal understanding, but I cannot conceal from you
the feeling that in the near future our community may be
called upon to adopt an independent line of action to cope
with the present crises. And an independent line of political
action, in such a crisis, is possible only to determined people,
possessing a will focalized by a single purpose.

It is possible for you to achieve the organic wholeness of
a unified will? Yes, it is. Rise above sectional interest and
private ambitions, and learn to determine the value of your
individual and collective action, however direction on
material ends, in the light of the ideal which you are supposed
to represent. Pass from matter to spirit. Matter is diversity;
spirit is light, life and unity. One lesson I have learnt from the
history of Muslims. At critical moment in their history, it is
Islam that has saved Muslims and not vice versa. If to-day you
focus your vision on Islam and seek inspiration from the ever-
vitalizing idea embodies in it, you will be only reassembling
your scattered forces, regaining your lost integrity, and
thereby saving yourself from total destruction. One of the

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profoundest verses in the Holy Quran teachers us that the
birth and rebirth of the whole of humanity is like the birth and
rebirth of single individual. Why cannot you, who as a people,
can well claim to be the first practical exponents of the superb
conception of humanity, live and move and have your being
as a single individual? I do not wish to mystify any body
when I say that things in India are nor what they appear to be.
The meaning of this, however, will dawn upon you only when
you have achieved a real collective ego to look at them. In
words of the Quran, Hold fast to yourself; no one who erreth
can hurt you, provided you are well-guided (5:104)
2

Second Sitting

The Session which was scheduled for three days,
terminated on the second day, after passing seven resolutions.
It took only about three hours to consider the resolutions
which had been passed by the Subjects Committee the
previous afternoon at a meeting attended by about 25
members.

Dr. Muhammad Iqbal, the President of the Session, had
to leave the meeting at about 11 a.m., after presiding for about
an hour, while the most important resolution of the Session
was under discussion. On his departure, Nawab Muhammad
Ismail Khan of Meerut was voted to the Chair.

The audience at the meeting was smaller than on the
previous day, and it was apparent that the number of League
members present was below the requisite quorum. When the
Chaiman proceeded to take votes on a solution to which Dr.
M.U.S. Jung had moved an amendment, Dr. Jung said that,
according to the rules of the League, the quorum at a meeting
should of 75 members, and he accordingly raised a point of
order that there was no quorum at the meeting. Dr. Jungs
229
objection was, however, overruled by Nawab Muhammad
Ismail Khan, who said that the objection of the lack of quorum
should have been raised at the first days meeting of the
League; since the current meeting was an adjourned meeting,
no quorum was needed.

RESOLUTION I

The All-India Muslim League places on record its deep
sense of sorrow and loss on the sad deaths of Moulvi Mazhar-
ul-Haq, Sahibzada Aftab Ahmad Khan, Mirza Ali Mohammad
Khan, Sir Ibrahim Haroon Jafar and Syed Jalib, old and
prominent members of the League, and conveys its
condolence to the members of the bereaved families. (From
the Chair).

RESOLUTION II

On the motion of Mr. Husain Imam, seconded by Dr,
M.U.S Jung, the League.

Resolved that as the Government of Indias
Despatch on constitutional reforms fails to lead the
country towards responsible government, the
recommendations contained in the Despatch would not
satisfy Indian aspirations in general and Muslim
demands in particular.

RESOLUTION III

This resolution, which gave rise to a prolonged debate
and some opposition, was moved by Syed Habib Shah and
ran as follows:

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The All-India Muslim League, while appreciating
the united efforts of the Muslim members to the Round-
Table Conference in giving faithful expression to
Muslim opinion, strongly supports the resolution
passed by the All-India Muslim Conference at Delhi on
January 1, 1929, under the presidentship of His
Highness the Aga Khan, and hopes that the Muslim
members will combine to abide by that resolution.

Moving the resolution, Syed Habib Shah remarked that
it was a matter for gratification that the Muslim delegates to
the Round-Table Conference, thought they were not chosen
by the Muslims of the country, were still supporting Muslims
demands. He declared that whatever was the decision at the
Round-Table Conference about the future constitution, the
question of its acceptance or non-acceptance was a matter
which concerned the Muslims in India, and, he asserted that
they would not be prepared to abide by a decision which did
not safeguard Muslim rights.

Mr. M.U.S. Jung next moved the following amendment
to the resolution: Resolved that although Mr. M.A. Jinnahs 14
points constitute the minimum Muslim demands, yet having
in view the larger interests of the country and also the
complicated nature of the problem to be solved, and
considering the difficulties which they may have to face at the
spur of the moment, the All-India Muslim League considers it
advisable not to restrict the full power of the Muslim members
to negotiate a satisfactory settlement.

Dr. Jung, pressing his amendment, referred to the
circumstances which led a party of Muslims to hold a Muslim
Conference at Delhi, and asserted that it would be against the
prestige of the League, which was an older political body than
the Muslim Conference under reference, if the League
231
adopted a resolution recorded by the Muslim Conference. Dr.
Jung held that the resolution of the Delhi Muslim Conference
was based on a narrower view than the 14 points of Mr.
Jinnah. For instance, he said, Resolution No. 7 of the Delhi
Muslim Conference, relating to the protection of the rights of
the minority, had confused the issue by demanding majority
representation in provinces, where Muslims were in a
majority and weightage where Muslims were in a minority.
Concluding, Dr. Jung emphasized that they should stick to
Mr. Jinnahs 14 points. The political exigencies demanded that
the delegates should be allowed sufficient latitude in
exercising their discretion in negotiating for a satisfactory
solution of the difficulties at the London Conference.

Most of the speakers who followed, vigorously opposed
the amendment of Dr. Jung. Seth Abdullah Haroon of Karachi,
opposing the amendment and supporting the original
resolution, asserted that he could not give any power to the
delegates to the Round-Table Conference. They were not, he
said, elected by the Muslims, nor were they sent to the
conference by them. The Muslim demands were before them;
and if they wanted to carry on any negotiations, they might
do so. But the terms of any settlement would have to be
considered by the Muslims in India before they could be
accepted.

Mr. Hafizur Rehman took serious objection to Dr.
Jungs attack on the representative character of the Delhi
Muslim Conference.

It was at this stage that Sir Muhammad Iqbal left the
meeting, and Nawab Muhammad Ismail Khan took the Chair.

On the discussion being resumed, Moulvi Muhammad
Yakub regretted that the debate on the resolution had led to

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an unpleasant discussion due to some misunderstanding. The
question before them, he said, was not whether the resolution
of the Muslim Conference or Mr. Jinnahs 14 points
represented the majority view. In Moulvi Yakubs opinion
there was really no difference between Mr. Jinnahs 14 points
and the points adopted by the Muslim Conference. The only
point for consideration, he said, was whether the League
could give some discretion to the Muslim delegates to the
RoundTable Conference in effecting a compromise.

Moulvi Muhammad Yakub did not appreciate the
statements made by some speakers that the Muslim delegates
of the Round-Table Conference should not be regarded as the
Muslims representatives, as such a declaration would not
only lower the prestige of the Muslim Leaders in London, but
would also lead their opponents, and even the Government to
tell the Muslim delegates, on the latters pressing the Muslims
demands, that their view did not represent the views of the
Muslims of India.

Mr. Muhmmad Husain remarked that the Government
would not have the fact to tell the Muslim delegates that they
were not representatives of the Muslims, as these delegates
were selected by the Viceroy himself. And if the Government
thought that they were not representatives, why then were
real representatives not invited to the Conference?

Supporting the original resolution, Mr. Muhammad
Husain desired that Muslims should repeatedly put before the
Muslim delegates their demands and warn that nothing less
than those demands would be acceptable to them.

Mr. Muhammad Aziz also opposed Dr. Jungs
amendment; and Syed Habib Shah, the mover of the
resolution, replying to the debate, asked why the Muslims
233
delegates should be given any authority to make any
settlement.

Dr. Jungs objection about the want of a quorum having
been ruled out, votes were taken, with the result that the
amendment of Dr. Jung was rejected, and the resolution of
Syed Habib Shah was declared carried.

RESOLUTION IV

Moulvi Muhammad Yakub next moved the following
resolution :

The All-India Muslim League, while fully
realizing the particular conditions of the North-West
Frontier Province, and recognizing the necessity of
taking special measure for the safeguarding of the
Frontier, is strongly of opinion that the continued
political dissatisfaction in the Province cannot be
removed, nor can the local aspirations be satisfied with
any scheme of administration which gives an inferior
place to the Province in comparison with other
provinces in the country.

The moves regretted that neither the Simon
Commission, nor the report of the Central Simon Committee,
nor the Government of Indias Despatch effected a satisfactory
solution of the problem of the North-West Frontier Province,
nor did the Government take any action on the repeated
resolutions of the legislative Assembly on the subject.

The resolution, having been seconded by Maulana
Abdul Majid, was passed.

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RESOLUTION V

The League next considered the following resolution
moved by Maulana Abdul Majid of Bombay:

The All-India Muslim League is emphatically of
opinion that the Musalmans of India will not be
satisfied with any Constitution that does not guarantee
(a) full Muslim representation on population basis in
the legislatures of the Punjab and Bengal, (b) the
constitution of Sind into a separate province forthwith
and without any condition, and (c)the conferment of
full powers on the North-West Frontier Province and
British Baluchistan.

This League declares that the Muslim insistence on the
adoption of a Federal Constitution for India is contingent
upon the clear understanding that the above-mentioned units
shall, in the matter of provincial autonomy, be treated on the
same footing as the other components of the Federation.

In the course of his speech, the mover remarked that an
attempts was being made on behalf of the Hindus, and also
the British Government, the Muslims should not be in power
in any province, The resolution was passed.

RESOLUTION VI

The only other resolution which aroused opposition
was the motion of Mr. Husain Imam that:

The All-India Muslim League considers it
essential and imperative that statutory provisions
should be made for the adequate representation of
Musalmans in the cabinets as well as in the public
services of the country.
235

Dr. Jung, opposing the motion, asserted that they would
be committing suicide by passing that resolution; for the
resolution which the League had just passed would give
Muslims power in five provinces, and that would enable them
to have only Muslims in cabinets and in public services in
their provinces, but in case they imposed any restriction about
Muslim representation in cabinets and public services in
respect of other provinces, those restriction would also be
imposed in the provinces in which they would be in power,
and they would consequently have to accept non-Muslim
representation in their provinces also.

Syed Habib Shah opposed the amendment of Dr. Jung,
as he felt that the administration of any province could not be
carried out by one community without the co-operation of
others. The amendment was rejected, and the resolution was
passed.

Finally, the League, on the motion of Mr. Zakir Ali,
appointed a committee consisting of Nawab Mohammad
Ismail Khan, Kazi Masud Hasan and Moulvi Muhammad
Yukub to revise and amend the Constitution of the All-India
Muslim League.

The proceedings of the Session terminated after an
expression of the Leagues feeling of gratitude to the President
and to persons responsible for making arrangements for the
Session, by Moulvi Muhammad Yakub and Mr. Zahur
Ahmad.

Moulvi Yakub remarked that it was true that the
present Session of the League was not as representative as its
previous sessions; but this, he said, was due to numerous
Muslim leaders being out of India. Such would be the case, he

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added, with any conference held at this juncture; and it was
due to the absence of its leaders that the Indian National
Congress had not held its session at the end of the year.
3

1
The reference is obviously to Akbars Deen-i-Ilahi.
2
Official Pamphlet of Presidential Address, printed at the Kapur Art
Printing Works, Lahore.
3
Sources: The Indian Annual Register, 1930, Vol. II, pp. 334-348;
Resolutions Published by Nwabzada Liaquat Ali Khan, op. cit.
TWENTY-SEVENTH SESSION
LAHORE, MARCH 22-24, 1940

First Day

In surroundings reminiscent of the glory of the great
Mughals, the Twenty-seventh Session of the All-India Muslim
League opened on Friday March 22, 1940, in a specially constructed
pandal in Minto Park, on the out skirts of Lahore City. The giant
pandal, seating well over 60,000 people, had been erected on a site
about a furlong from the Great Fort, facing the historic Badshahi
Mosque.
1
About two and a half miles to the west from the site were
the tombs of Emperor Jehangir and Empress Nur Jehan; while
another three miles to the west lay the famous Shalimar Gardens of
Shah Jehan.
2
The main amphitheatre was surrounded on all sides by
hundreds of white tents; where the delegates and visitors were
staying. Well before the scheduled time of 2:30 p.m., the pandal was
packed to the door, and a considerable crowd was forced to listen to
the proceedings through loud-speakers installed outside.

The green flag of the League dominated the bunting and the
archway leading to the entrance of the pandal. Green again were the
uniforms of the various provincial units of the Muslim National
Guard, who managed the vast concourse of their co-religionist.

For a brief span of time, the gathering was entertained by a
series of poets and singers, whose allegorical licence reached
remarkable heights in their praise of the League and the Quaid-i-
Azam. The richer the simile the greater the enthusiasm. The Quaid-i-
Azam arrived at about 2:25 p.m., and was received by the Chairman
of the Reception Committee. A team of pipers led the President up to
the centre of the pandal to the platform, while on either side
marched some strapping young men in Khaki uniforms and blue
forage caps members of the Bombay Provincial Muslim Guard
contingent. It was the moment the huge assembly had awaited.
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Quaid-i-Azam Zindabad thundered forth in unison from over
100,000 spectators.
3

After a recitation from the Holy Quran, a number of poems,
including one by Mian Bashir Ahmad( )
were recited. The Chairman of the Reception Committee, Nawab Sir
Shah Nawaz Khan of Mamdot read his address. Welcoming the
delegates, Sir Shah Nawaz said:
_
-
- V 7 L

The achievement of the Muslim League, which protected the
Muslims and other minorities, against a calamity which endangered
their very existence, would remain a bright chapter in the history of
Indian Muslims. The all-India Muslim League was to-day working
on such lines as would not only ensure the national life an
independence of the Musalmans of India, but, at the same time,
protect other communities. He was happy that the Musalmans had
fully grasped this ideal of their only representative organization, and
that they were mustering strong under the flag of the All-India
Muslim League. The ideal of free Musalmans in a free India, was an
ideal which neither the British Government nor the Congress dare
characterize as unreasonable. The All-India Muslim League upheld
the cause of Indias freedom, but it could not tolerate the usurpation
of Muslim rights by the majority community. The Musalmans would
reject any scheme of reform that did not safeguard Muslim rights.
Speaking on the Act of 1935, Sir Shah Nawaz said that a Western
type of government did not suit India and the experience of the past
two and a half years administration in Congress majority provinces
had amply proved this. The Musalmans could never tolerate a
situation in which they should live in subjection to a community
which had no common ground with them in religion, culture and
civilization. European communities could not tolerate the
domination of another nation, added Sir Shah Nawaz, although they
had practically the same religion, culture and civilization. Discussing
the communal question, Sir Shah Nawaz said that as many as 25
attempts had been made in the last quarter for the century, but no
settlement had yet been arrived at. The reason for the breakdown of
negotiations on every occasion had been that the Congress refused to
accept the basic principle of separate electorates for the Musalmans;
239
and if they did so, they did it in a form in which the Musalmans
could not maintain their identity and independence. Referring to the
working of Provincial autonomy, Sir Shah Nawaz said that in order
to run a popular Government efficiently, the majority should try to
satisfy the minorities and inspire confidence in them in every
possible way, but he was sorry to observe that the attitude of the
Congress had been to the contrary. Sir Shah Nawaz described how
the Punjab Government was doing everything to satisfy the
minorities and keep them content. The minorities had been given full
representation in the Government in the Punjab and Bengal. During
the past three years, the Punjab Government had spent 27.5 million
rupees on the famine-striken villagers of the South-East Punjab, a
majority of who are Hindu Jats. Concluding, Sir Shah Nawaz Khan
deplored the fact that some very prominent Muslim leaders had cut
adrift from their community and joined the Congress, which was not
fighting for the independence of India, but only for the domination
of the Congress and the Hindus after the departure of the British.
4

The special correspondent of the Times of India wrote:This
curtain raiser in Urdu was received with quite applause; everyone
was waiting for the Presidential Address. Mr. Jinnah decided to
speak extempore, and no one knows what to expect. Prolonged
shouts of Zindabad greeted the slim figure in a black achkan as the
President stepped before the microphone. Mr. Jinnahs sallow face
reflected the triumph of his reception. He spoke for nearly two hour,
his voice now deep and trenchant, now light and ironic. Such was
the dominance of his personality that, despite the improbability of
more than a fraction of his audience understanding English, he held
his hearers and played with palpable effect on their emotions. The
Associated Press of India reported: As Mr. Jinnah delivered his
extempore Address lasting for a hundred minutes, which was
frequently punctuated
5
by thunderous applause, there were many in
that huge gathering of over 100,000 people who remembered the late
Sir Mohammed Iqbal, the poet of Islam, the animator of the idea of
Pakistan, whose tomb is at present in the process of construction
which easy distance of the League Pandal. It was one of the most
representative gatherings of the Musalmans of India who listened to
the oration of Mr. Jinnah. Ministers of the Punjab, Bengal and

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Assam and most of the Muslim members of the Central and
Provincial Legislatures in India attended. Perhaps a special feature
of the Session was the appearance of such a large number of Muslim
women in a public function of this sort, and the organization of the
Muslim Militia of National Guards who were in charge of all the
arrangements, including the control of the huge crowds.
6

PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS OF MR. M.A JINNAH

The following is the text of the Quaid-i-Azams Presidential
Address:

Ladies and Gentlemen, we are meeting to-day in our Session
after 15 months. The last session of the All-India Muslim League
took place at Patna in December 1938. Since then many
developments have taken place. I shall first shortly tell you that the
All-India Muslim League had to face after the Patna Session of
1938.

Assessment of Developments since 1938

You remember that one of the tasks, which was imposed on
us and which is far from completed yet, was the organize Muslim
League all over India. We have made enormous progress during the
last 15 months in this direction. I am glad to inform you that we have
established Provincial Leagues in every Province. The next point is
that in every by-election to the Legislative Assemblies we had to
fight with powerful opponents. I congratulate the Musalmans for
having shown enormous grit and spirit throughout our trials. There
was not a single by-election in which our opponents won against
Muslim League candidates. In the last election to the U.P Council,
that is the Upper Chamber, the Muslim Leagues success was cent
per cent. I do not want to weary you with details of what we have
been able to do in the way of forging ahead in the direction of
organizing the Muslim League. But I may tell you that it is going up
by leaps and bounds.

241
Next, you may remember that we appointed a committee of
ladies at the Patna Session. It is of very great importance to us,
because I believe that it is absolutely essential for us to give every
opportunity to our women to participate in our struggle of life and
death. Women can do a great deal within their homes even under
purdah. We appointed this committee with a view to enable them to
participate in the work of the League. The objects of this central
committee were (1) to organize provincial and district Muslim
Leagues: (2) to enlist a larger number of women to the membership
of the Muslim Leagues; (3) to carry on an intensive propaganda
amongst Muslim women throughout India in order to create in them
a sense of a greater political consciousness because if political
consciousness is awakened amongst our women, remember, your
children will not have much to worry about; (4) to advise and guide
them in all such matters as mainly rest on them for the uplift of
Muslim society. This Central Committee, I am glad to say, started its
work seriously and earnestly. It has done a great deal of useful work.
I have no doubt that when we come to deal with their report of
women done, we shall really feel grateful to them for all the services
that they have rendered to the Muslim League.

We had many difficulties to face from January 1939 right up
to the declaration of war. We had to face the Vidya Mandir in
Nagpur. We had to face the Wardha Scheme all over India. We had
to face ill-treatment and oppression on Muslims in the Congress-
governed provinces. We had to face the treatment meted out to
Muslims in some of the Indian States, such as Jaipur and Bhavnagar.
We had to face a vital issue that arose in that little State of Rajkot.
Rajkot was the acid test made by the Congress, which would have
affected one-third of India. Thus the Muslim League had all along to
face various issues from January 1939 up to the time of the
declaration of war. Before the war was declared, the greatest danger
to the Muslims of India was the possible inaugurations of federal
scheme in the Central Government. We know what machinations
were going on. But the Muslim League was stoutly resisting them in
every direction. We felt that we could never accept the dangerous
scheme of the Central Federal Government embodied in the
Government of India Act, 1935. I am sure that we have made no

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small contribution towards persuading the British Government to
abandon the scheme of the Central Federal Government. In creating
that mind in the British Government, the Muslim League, I have no
doubt, played no small part. You know that the British people are a
very obdurate people. They are also very conservative and although
they are very clear, they are slow in understanding. After the war
was declared, the Viceroy naturally wanted help from the Muslim
League. It was only then that he realized that the Muslim League
was a power. For it will remembered that up to the time of the
declaration of war, the Viceroy never thought of me, but of Gandhi
and Gandhi alone. I have been the leader of an important party in the
Legislative for a considerable time, larger than the one I have the
honour to lead at present, the Muslim League Party in the Central
Legislature. Yet, the Viceroy never thought of me before. Therefore,
when I got this invitation from the Viceroy along with Mr. Gandhi, I
wondered within myself why I was no suddenly promoted, and then
I concluded that the answer was the All-India Muslim League,
whose President I happen to be. I believe that was the worst shock
that the Congress High Command received, because it challenged
their sole authority to speak on behalf of India. And it is quite clear
from the attitude of Mr. Gandhi and the High Command that they
have not yet recovered from the shock. My point is that I want you
to realize the value, the importance, the significance of organizing
ourselves; I will not say anything more on the subject.

But a great deal yet remains to be done. I am sure from what I
can see and hear the Muslim India is now conscious, is now awake,
and the Muslim League had by now grown into such a strong
institution that it cannot be destroyed by anybody, whoever he may
happen to be. Men may come and men may go, but the League will
live for ever.

Now, coming to the period after the declaration of war, our
position was that we were between the devil and the deep sea. But I
do not think that the devil or the deep sea is going to get away with
it. Anyhow our position is this: We stand unequivocally for the
freedom of India. But it must be freedom of all India, and not the
243
freedom of one section or, worse still, of the Congress caucus, and
slavery for Musalmans and other minorities.

Building up Self-Reliance

Situated in India as we are, we naturally have our past
experience, and particularly from the experiences of the past two and
half years of Provincial Constitution in the Congress-governed
provinces, we have learnt many lessons. We are now, therefore, very
apprehensive and can trust nobody. I think it is a wise rule for
everyone not to trust anybody too much. Sometimes we are led to
trust people; but when we find in actual experience that our trust has
been betrayed, surely that ought to be sufficient lesson for any man
not to continue his trust in those who have betrayed him.

Ladies and gentlemen, we never thought that the Congress
High Command would have acted in the manner in which they
actually did in the Congress-governed provinces. I never dreamt that
they would ever come down so low as that. I never could believe
that there would be a gentlemens agreement between the Congress
and the Government to such an extent that, although we cried
ourselves hoarse, week in and out, the Governors would be supine
and the Governor-General hapless. We reminded them of their
special responsibilities to us and to other minorities, and the solemn
pledges they had given to us. But all that had become a dead letter.
Fortunately, Providence came to our help, and that gentlemens
agreement was broken to pieces and the Congress, thanks Heaven,
went out of office. I think they are regretting their resignations very
much. Their bluff was called. So far so good.

I, therefore, appeal to you, in all the seriousness that I can
command, to organize yourself in such a way that you may depend
upon none except your own inherent strength. That is your only
safeguard and the best safeguard. Depend upon yourselves. This
does not mean that we should have ill-will or malice towards others.
In order to safeguard your rights and interests, you must create that
strength in yourselves with which you may be able to defend
yourselves. That is all that I want to urge.

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Issues for the Future Constitution

Now, what is our position with regard to the future
Constitution? It is that, as soon as circumstances permits, or
immediately after the war at the latest, the whole problem of Indias
future Constitution must be examined de novo, and the Act of 1935
must go once for all. We do not believe in asking the British
Government to make declarations. These declarations are really of
no use. You cannot possibly succeed in getting the British
Government out of this country by asking them to make
declarations. However, the Congress asked the Viceroy to make a
declaration. The Viceroy said, I have made the declaration. The
Congress said, No no, we want another kind of declaration. You
must declare, now and at once, that India is free and independent,
with the right to frame its own Constitution, through a Constituent
Assembly to be elected on the basis of adult franchise, or as low a
franchise as possible. This Assembly will of course satisfy the
minorities legitimate interests. Mr. Gandhi says that if the
minorities are not satisfied, then he is willing that some tribunal of
the highest character, and most impartial, should decide the dispute.
Now apart from the impracticable character of this proposal, and
quite apart from the fact that it is historically and constitutionally
absurd to ask the ruling power to abdicate in favour of a Constituent
Assembly apart from all that, suppose we do not agree as to the
franchise according to which the Central Assembly is to be elected,
or suppose we, the solid body of Muslim representatives, do not
agree with the non-Muslim majority in the Constituent Assembly,
what will happen? It is said that we have no right to disagree with
regard to anything that this Assembly may do in framing a National
Constitution of this huge Subcontinent, except in those matters
which may be germane to the safeguards of the minorities. So we are
given the privilege to disagree only with regard to what may strictly
be called safeguards of the rights and interests of minorities. We are
also given the privilege to send our own representatives by separate
electorates. Now, this proposal is based on the assumption that as
soon as the Constitution comes into operation the British hand will
disappear. Otherwise there will be no meaning in it. Of course, Mr.
245
Gandhi says that the Constitution will decide whether the British
disappear, and if so to what extent. In other words, his proposal
comes to this: first give me the declaration that we are a free and
independent nation, then I will decide what I should give you back.

Does Mr. Gandhi really want the complete independence of
India when he talks like this? But whether the British disappear or
not, it follows that extensive powers must be transferred to the
people. In the event of there being a disagreement between the
majority of the Constituent Assembly and the Musalmans, in the first
instance, who will appoint the tribunal? And suppose an agreed
tribunal is possible, and the award is made and the decision given,
who will, may I know, be there to see that this award is implemented
or carried out in accordance with the terms of that award? And who
will see that it is honoured in practice, because, we are told, the
British will have parted with their power, mainly or completely?
Then what will be the sanction behind the award which will enforce
it? We come back to the same answer; the Hindu majority would do
it and will it be with the help of the British bayonet or Mr.
Gandhis Ahimsa? Can we trust them any more? Besides, ladies
and gentlemen, can you imagine that a question of this character, of
a social contract upon which the future Constitution of India would
be based, affecting 90 millions of Musalmans, can be decided by
means of a judicial tribunal? Still, that is the proposal of the
Congress.

Before I deal with what Mr. Gandhi said a few days ago, I
shall deal with the pronouncements of some of the other Congress
leaders each one speaking with a different voice. Mr.
Rajagopalachari, the ex-Prime Minister of Madras, says that the only
panacea for Hindu-Muslim unity is the joint electorate. That is his
prescription, as one of the great doctors of the Congress
Organization. Babu Rajendra Prasad, on the other hand, only a few
days ago said, Oh, what more do the Musalmans want? I will read
you his words. Referring to the minority question, he says:

If Britain would concede our right of self-determination,
surely all these difference would disappear.

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How will our differences disappear? He does not explain or
enlighten us about it.

But so long as Britain remains and holds power, the
differences would continue to exist. The Congress had made it clear
that the future Constitution would be framed not by the Congress
alone, but also by representatives of all political parties and religious
groups. The Congress has gone further and declared that the
minorities can have their representatives of all political parties and
religious group. The Congress has gone further and declared that the
minorities can have their representatives elected for this purpose by
separate electorates, though the Congress regards separate
electorates as an evil. It will be representative of all the peoples of
this country, irrespective of their religion and political affiliations,
who will be deciding the future Constitution of India, and not this or
that party. What better guarantees can the minorities have? So,
according to Babu Rajendra Prasad, the moment we enter the
Assembly we shall shed all our political affiliation and religions and
everything else. This is what Babu Rajendra Prasad said as late as
the 18
th
of March, 1940.

And this now is what Mr. Gandhi said on the 10
th
of March,
1940.

He says:
To me, Hindus, Muslims, Parsis, Harijans are all alike. I
cannot be frivolous but I think is frivolous I cannot be frivolous
when I talk to Quaid-i-Azam Jinnah. He is my brother.

The only difference is this, that Brother Gandhi has three
votes and I have only one vote!

I would be happy indeed if he could keep me in his pocket.
I do not know really what to say to this latest offer of his.

247
There was a time when I could say that there was no Muslim
whose confidence I did not enjoy. It is my misfortune that it is not so
to-day.

Why has he lost the confidence of the Muslim to-day? May I
ask, ladies and gentlemen?

I do not read all that appears in the Urdu Press, but perhaps I get a
lot of abuse there, I am not sorry for it. I still believe that without a
Hindu-Muslim settlement there can be no Swaraj.

Mr. Gandhi has been saying this now for the last 20 years.

You will perhaps ask in that case why do I talk of a fight. I
do so because it is to be fight for a Constituent Assembly.

He is fighting the British. But may I point out to Mr. Gandhi
and the Congress that they are fighting for a Constituent Assembly
which the Muslims say they cannot accept- which, the Muslims say,
means three to one, about which the Musalmans say that they will
never be able, in that way, by counting of heads, to come to any
agreement which will be a real agreement from the heart, which will
enable all to work as friends, and, therefore, this idea of a
Constituent Assembly is objectionable, apart from other objections.
But he is fighting for the Constituent assembly, not fighting the
Musalmans at all.

He says, I do so because it is to be a fight for a Constituent
Assembly. If Muslims who come to the Constituent Assembly,
mark the words, who come to the Constituent Assembly through
Muslim votes he is first forcing us to come to that Assembly, and
then says declare that there is nothing common between Hindus
and Muslims, then alone would I give up all hope; but even then I
would agree with them because they read the Quran and I have also
studied something of that holy book.

So he wants the Constituent Assembly for the purpose of
ascertaining the views of the Musalmans; and if they do not agree,

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then he will give up all hopes, but even then he will agree with us.
Well, I ask you, ladies and gentlemen, is this the way to show any
real, genuine desire if there existed any to come to a settlement
with the Musalmans? Why does not Mr. Gandhi agree and I have
suggested this to him more than once, and I repeated it again from
this platform- why does not Mr. Gandhi honestly now acknowledge
that the Congress is a Hindu Congress, that he does not represent
anybody except the solid body of a Hindu people? Why should not
Mr. Gandhi be proud to say, I am a Hindu, the Congress has solid
Hindu backing? I am not ashamed of saying that I am Musalman. I
am right I hope, and I think even a blind man must have been
convinced by now, that the Muslim League has the solid backing of
the Musalmans of India. Why then all this camouflage? Why all
these machinations? Why all these methods to coerce the British to
overthrow the Musalmans? Why this declaration of non-
cooperation? Why this threat of civil disobedience? And why fight
for a Constituent assembly for the sake of ascertaining whether the
Musalmans agree or they do not agree? Why not come as a Hindu
leader proudly representing your people and let me meet you
proudly representing the Musalmans. This is all that I have to say so
far as the Congress is concerned.

Negotiations with the British

So far as the British Government is concerned, our
negotiations are not concluded yet, as you know. We had asked for
assurances on several points. At any rate, we have made some
advance with regard to one point, and that is this. You remember,
our demand was that the entire problem of the future constitution of
India should be examined de nova, apart from the Government of
India Act of 1935. To that, the Viceroys reply, with the authority of
His Majestys Government, was I had better quote that, I will not
put it in my own words. This is the reply that was sent to us on 23
rd

of December:

My answer to your first question is that the declaration I
made with the approval of His Majestys Government on October
the 13
th
last does not exclude Mark the word does not exclude
249
examination of any part either of the Act of 1935 or of the policy
and plans on which it is based.

As regards other matters, we are still negotiating and the most
important are: that no declaration should be made by His Majestys
Government with regard to the future Constitution of India without
our approval and consent, and that no settlement of any question
should be made with any party behind our back unless our approval
and consent is given to it. Well, ladies and gentlemen, whether the
British Government in their wisdom agree to give us that assurance
or not, I trust that they will still see that it is a fair and just demand,
when we say that we cannot leave the future fate and the destiny of
90 millions of people in the hands of any other judge. We and we
alone wish to be the final arbiter. Surely that is a just demand. We do
not want that the British Government should thrust upon the
Musalmans a Constitution which they do not approve of, and to
which they do not agree. Therefore, the British Government will be
well advised to give that assurance, and give the Musalmans
complete peace and confidence in this matter, and win their
friendship. But whether they do that or not after all, as I told you
before, we must depend on our own inherent strength I make it plain
from this platform that if any declaration is made, if any interim
settlement is made without our approval and without our consent, the
Musalmans of India will resist it. And no mistake should be made on
that score.

Then the next point was with regard to Palestine. We are told
that endeavours, earnest endeavours, are being made to meet the
reasonable, national demands of the Arabs. Well, we cannot be
satisfied by earnest endeavours, sincere endeavours, best
endeavours. We want that the British Government should in fact and
actually meet the demands of the Arabs in Palestine.

Then the point was with regard to sending troops outside.
Here there is some misunderstanding. But anyhow we have made
our position clear, that we never intended, and, in fact, the language
does not justify it, if there is any misapprehension or apprehension
that Indian troops should not be used to the fullest in the defence of

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our own country. What we wanted the British Government to give us
assurance of war that Indian troops should not be sent against any
Muslim country or any Muslim Power. Let us hope that we may yet
be able to get the British Government to clarify the position further.

This, then, is the position with regard to the British
Government. The late meeting of the Working Committee has asked
the Viceroy to reconsider his letter of the 23
rd
of December, having
regard to what has been explained to him in pursuance of the
resolution of the Working Committee, dated the 3
rd
of February, and
we are informed that the matter is receiving his careful
consideration.

The Hindu-Muslim Situation

Ladies and gentlemen, that is where we stand after the war
and up to the 3
rd
of February. As far as our internal position is
concerned, we have also been examining it; and, you know, there are
several schemes which have been sent by various well-informed
constitutionalists and others who take interest in the problem of
Indias future Constitution, and we have also appointed a
subcommittee to examine the details of the schemes that have come
in so far. But one thing is quite clear. It has always been taken for
granted mistakenly that the Musalmans are a minority, and of course
we have got used to it for such a long time that these settled notions
sometimes are very difficult to remove. The Musalmans are not a
minority. The Musalmans are a nation by any definition.

The British and particularly the Congress proceed on the
basis. Well, you are a minority after all, what do you want? What
else do the minorities want? Just as Babu Rajendra Prasad said. But
surely the Musalmans are not a minority. We find that even
according to the British map of India, we occupy large parts of this
country where the Musalmans are in a majority such as Bengal,
Punjab, N.W.F.P., Sind and Baluchistan.

Now the question is, what is the best solution of this problem
between the Hindus and the Musalmans? We have been considering
251
and as I have already said, a committee has been appointed to
consider the various proposals. But whatever the final scheme for a
Constitution, I will present to you my views and I will just read to
you, in confirmation of what I am going to put before you, a letter
from Lala Lajpat Rai to Mr. C.R. Das. It was written I believe, about
12 or 15 years ago, and the letter has been produced in a book by
one Indra Prakash, recently published, and that is how this letter has
come to light. This is what Lala Lajpat Rai, a very astute politician
and a staunch Hindu Mahasbhite said but before I read his letter, it
is plain that you cannot get away from being a Hindu if you are
Hindu. The word Nationalist has now become the play of
conjurers in politics. This is what he says:

There is one point more which has been troubling me very
much of late and one which I want to think (about) carefully, and
that is the question of Hindu-Mohammedan unity. I have devoted
most of my time during the last six months to the study of the
Muslim history and Muslim law, and I am inclined to think it is
neither possible nor practicable. Assuming and admitting the
sincerity of Mohammedan leaders in the non-co-operation
movement, I think their religion provides an effective bar to
anything of the kind.

You remember the conversation I reported to you in Calcutta
which I had with Hakim Ajmal Khan and Dr. Kitchlew. There is no
finer Mohammedan in Hindustan than Hakim Ajmal Khan, but can
any Muslim leader override the Quran? I can only hope that my
reading of Islamic law is incorrect.

I think his reading is quite incorrect.

And nothing would receive me more than to be convinced
that it is so. But if it is right, then it comes to this, that although we
can unite against the British, we cannot do so to rule Hindustan on
British lines. We cannot do so to rule Hindustan on democratic
lines.

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Ladies and gentlemen, when Lala Lajpat Rai said that we
cannot rule this country on democratic lines it was all right, but
when I had the temerity to speak the same truth about 18 months
ago, there was a shower of attacks and criticism. But Lala Lajpat Rai
said 15 years ago that we cannot do so, viz, rule Hindustan on
democratic lines. What is the remedy? The remedy according to the
Congress is to keep us in the minority and under the majority rule.
Lala Lajpat Rai proceeds further:

What is then the remedy? I am not afraid of the seven crores
of Musalmans. But I think the seven crores in Hindustan plus the
armed hosts of Afghanistan, Central Asia, Arabia, Mesopotamia and
Turkey will be irresistible.

I do honestly and sincerely believe in the necessity or
desirability of Hindu-Muslim unity. I am also fully prepared to trust
the Muslim leaders. But what about the injunctions of the Quran and
the Hadis? The leaders cannot override them. Are we then doomed?
I hope that your learned mind and wise head will find some way out
of this difficulty.

Now, ladies and gentlemen, that is merely a letter written by
one great Hindu leader to another great Hindu leader 15 years ago.
Now, I should like to put before you my views on the subject, as it
strikes me, taking everything into consideration at the present
moment. The British Government and Parliament, and more so the
British nation, have been, for many decades past, brought up and
nutured with settled notions about Indias future, based on
developments in their own country which have built up the British
constitution, functioning now through the Houses of Parliament and
the Cabinet system. Their concept of party-government, functioning
or political planes, has become the ideal with them as the best form
of government for every country; and the one-sided and powerful
propaganda which naturally appeals to the British has led them into a
serious blunder, in producing a constitution envisaged in the
Government of India Act of 1935. We find that the leading
statesmen of Great Britain, saturated with these notions, have in their
253
pronouncements seriously asserted and expressed a hope that the
passage of time will harmonize the inconsistent element in India.

A leading journal like the London Times, commenting on the
Government of India Act of 1935, wrote, undoubtedly the
difference between the Hindus and Muslims is not of religion in the
strict sense of the word, but also of law and culture, that they may be
said indeed to represent two entirely distinct and separate
civilizations. However, in the course of time the superstitions will
die out, and India will be moulded into single nation. So, according
to the London Times, the only difficulties are superstitions. These
fundamental and deep differences, spiritual, economic, cultural,
social and political, have been euphemized as mere superstitions.
But surely, it is a flagrant disregard of the past history of the
Subcontinent of India, as well as the fundamental Islamic conception
of society, vis--vis that of Hinduism, to characterize them as mere
superstitions. Notwithstanding a thousand years of close contact,
nationalities which are as divergent today as ever cannot at any time
be expected to transform themselves into a one nation merely by
means of subjecting them to a democratic constitution and holding
them forcibly together by unnatural and artificial methods of British
Parliamentary Statutes. What the unitary Government of India for
150 years had failed to achieve cannot be realized by the imposition
of a central federal government. It is inconceivable that the fiat or
the writ of a government so constituted can ever command a willing
and loyal obedience throughout the Subcontinent from various
nationalities except by means of armed force behind it.

Autonomous National States

The problem in India is not of an inter-communal but
manifestly of an international character, and it must be treated as
such. So long as this basic and fundamental truth is not realized, any
constitution that may be built will result in disaster and will prove
destructive and harmful not only to Musalmans, but also to the
British and Hindus. If the British Government are really in earnest
and sincere to secure the peace and happiness of the people of his
Subcontinent, the only course open to us all is to allow the major

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254
nations separate homelands, by dividing India into autonomous
national States. There is no reason why these States should be
antagonistic to-each other. On the other hand, the rivalry and the
natural desire and efforts on the part of the one (community) to
dominate the social order and establish political supremacy over the
other in the government of the country will disappear. It will lead
more towards natural goodwill by international pacts between them
(the states) and they can live in complete harmony with their
neighbours. This will lead further to a friendly settlement all the
more easily with regard to minorities by reciprocal arrangements and
adjustments between the Muslim India and the Hindu India, which
will far more adequately and effectively safeguard the rights and
interest of Muslims and various other minorities.

It is extremely difficult to appreciate why our Hindu friends
fail to understand the real nature of Islam and Hinduism. They are
not religions in the strict sense of the word, but are, in fact, different
and distinct social orders. It is a dream that the Hindus and Muslims
can ever evolve a common nationality, and this misconception of
one Indian nation has gone far beyond the limits, and is the cause of
most of our troubles, and will lead India to destruction, if we fail to
revise our notions in time. The Hindus and the Muslims belongs to
two different religious philosophies, social customs, and literature.
They neither intermarry, nor interdine together, and indeed they
belong to two different civilizations which are based mainly on
conflicting ideas and conceptions. Their aspects on life and of life
are different. It is quite clear that Hindus and Musalmans derive their
inspiration from different source of history. They have different
epics, their heroes are different, and they have different episodes.
Very often the hero of one is a foe of the other, and like wise, their
victories and defeat overlap. To yoke together two such nations
under a single State, one as a numerical minority and other as a
majority, much lead to growing discontent and the final destruction
of any fabric that may be so built up for the government of such a
State.

History has presented to us many examples, such as the
Union of Great Britain and Ireland, of Czechoslovakia and Poland.
255
History has also shown to us many geographical tracts, much smaller
than the Subcontinent of India, which otherwise might have been
called one country, but which have been divided into as many states
as there are nations inhabiting them. The Balkan Peninsula
comprises as many as seven or eight sovereign States. Likewise, the
Portuguese and the Spanish stand divided in the Iberian Peninsula.
Whereas under the plea of the unity of India and one nation, which
does not exist, it is sought to pursue here the line of one central
Government, when we know that the history of the last 12 hundred
years has failed to achieve unity and has witnessed, during the ages,
India always divided into Hindu India and Muslim India. The
present artificial unity of India dates back only to the British
conquest and is maintained by the British bayonet; but the
termination of the British regime, which is implicit in the recent
declaration of His Majestys Government, will be the herald of an
entire break up, with worse disaster than has ever taken place during
the last one thousand years under the Muslims. Surely that is not the
legacy which would bequeath to India after 150 years of her rule, nor
which the Hindu and Muslim India risk such a sure catastrophe.

Muslim India cannot accept any Constitution which must
necessarily result in a Hindu majority Government. Hindus and
Muslims brought together under a democratic system forced upon
the minorities can only mean Hindu Raj. Democracy of the kind
with which the Congress High Command is enamoured would mean
the complete destruction of what is most precious in Islam. We have
had ample experience of the working of the provincial Constitution
during the last two and a half years; and any repetition of such a
Government much lead to civil war and raising private armies, as
recommended by Mr. Gandhi to Hindus of Sukkur, when he said that
they must defend themselves violently or non-violently, blow for
blow; and if they could not, they must emigrate.

Musalmans are not a minority, as it is commonly known and
understood. One has only got to look round. Even to-day, according
to the British map of India, out of 11 provinces, where the Muslims
dominate more or less, are functioning notwithstanding the decision
of the Hind Congress High Command to non-co-operate and prepare

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256
for civil disobedience. Musalmans are a nation according to any
definition of a nation, and they must have their homelands, their
territory and their State. We wish to live in peace and harmony with
our neighbours as a free and independent people. We wish our
people to develop to the fullest our spiritual, cultural, economic,
social and political life in a way that we think best, and in
consonance with our own ideals and according to the genius of our
people. Honesty demands and the vital interests of millions of our
people impose a sacred duty upon us to find an honourable and
peaceful solution which would be just and fair to all. But at the same
time, we cannot be moved or diverted form our purpose and
objective by threats or intimidations. We must be prepared to face all
difficulties and consequences, make all the sacrifices that may be
required of us to achieve the goal we have set in front of us.

Conclusion

Ladies and gentlemen, that is the task before us. I fear I have
gone beyond my time limit. There are many things that I should like
to tell you; but I have already published a little pamphlet containing
most of the things that I have been saying, and I think you can easily
get that publication, both in English and in Urdu, from the League
Office. It might give you a clearer idea of our aims. It contains very
important resolutions of the Muslim League and various other
statements.

Anyhow, I have placed before you the task that lies ahead of
us. Do you realize how big and stupendous it is? Do you realize that
you cannot get freedom or independence by mere arguments? I
should appeal to the intelligentsia. The intelligentsia in all countries
in the world have been the pioneers of any movements for freedom.
What does the Muslim intelligentsia propose to do? I may tell you
that unless you get this into your blood, unless you are prepared take
off your coats and are willing to sacrifice all that you can, and work
selflessly, earnestly and sincerely for your people, you will never
realize your aim. Friends, I therefore want you to make up your
minds definitely, and then think of devices, and organize your
people, strengthen your organization and consolidate the Musalmans
257
all over India. I think that the masses are wide awake. They only
want your guidance and lead. Come forward as servants of Islam,
organize the people economically, educationally and politically, and
I am sure that you will be a power that will be accepted by
everybody.
7

Second Day

On Friday night the meeting of the Subjects Committee was
held to discuss the draft of the historic Lahore Resolution, which
was to come up for consideration before the open session. The
Committee sat into the early hours of Saturday morning, and then
again met on that day from 10:30 a.m. till 2 p.m. A demonstration
against the recent policy of the Punjab Government was staged in the
afternoon in front of the Subject Committees Pandal. The
demonstrators raised shouts of Sikandar Murdabad. The Muslim
National Guard and volunteers threw a cordon round the Pandal.
Shortly afterwards, the meeting ended and the Quaid-i-Azam
addressed the gathering. He asked them to be peaceful and calm, and
assured them that the question was under the consideration of the
League. Shouts of League Zindabad and Quaid-i-Azam Zindabad
rent the air, and then the crowd dispersed quietly.

The second open session of the League began at 3 p.m, under
the presidentship of the Quaid-i-Azam. The Pandal was crowded to
capacity. Khan Bahadur Khuhro, Mr. Abdul Majid Sindhi and Mr.
G.M. Syed, Minister of Sind were among those on the dais. The
pandal resounded with cheers of Sher-i-Bengal Zindabad (Long
live the Lion of Bengal), when Mr. Fazlul Haq, the Premier of
Bengal, arrived.

Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan read the annual report, which
was adopted. Mr. Fazlul Haq then moved the following resolution
(which came to be known as the Lahore Resolution and later also as
the Pakistan Resolution).

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258
RESOLUTION 1

Council and the Working Committee of the All-India Muslim
League, as indicates in their resolution dated the 17
th
of August, 17
th

and 18
th
of September, and 22
nd
of October, 1939, and 3
rd
of
February, 1940 on the constitutional issue, this Session of the All-
India Muslim League emphatically reiterates that the scheme of
federation embodies in the Government of India Act 1935, is totally
unsuited to, and unworkable in the peculiar conditions of this
country, and is altogether unacceptable to Muslim India.

It is further records its emphatic view that while the
declaration dated the 18
th
of October, made by the Viceroy on behalf
of His Majestys Government is reassuring in so far as it declares
that the policy and plan on which the Government of India Act 1935,
is based will be reconsidered in consultation with the various parties,
interests and communities in India. Muslim India will not be
satisfied unless the whole constitutional plan is reconsidered de
novo, and that no revised plan would be acceptable to the Muslims
unless it is framed with their approval and consent.

Resolved that it is the considered view of this Session of the
All-India Muslim League that no constitutional plan would be
workable in this country or acceptable to the Muslims unless it is
designed on the following basic principles, viz., that geographically
contiguous units are demarcated into regions which should be so
constituted, with such territorial readjustments as may be necessary,
that the areas in which the Muslims are numerically in a majority, as
in the North Western and Eastern zones of India, should be grouped
to constitute independent States in which the constituent units shall

The adequate, effective and mandatory safeguards should be
specifically provided in the constitution for minorities in these units
and in the regions for the protection of their religious, cultural,
economic, political, administrative and other rights and interests in
consultation with them; and in other part of India where the
259
Musalmans are in a minority, adequate, effective and mandatory
safeguards shall be specifically provided in the constitution, for them
and other minorities, for the protection of their religious, cultural,
economic, political, administrative and other rights and interests in
consultation with them.

This Session further authorizes the Working Committee to
frame a scheme of constitution in accordance with these basic
principles, providing for the assumption finally, by the respective
regions, of all power, such as defence, external affairs,
communications, customs and such other matters as may be
necessary.
8

Moving the resolution, Mr. Fazlul Haq said, We have stated
definitely and unequivocally that what we want is not merely a
tinkering with the idea of federation, but its thorough overhauling, so
that the federation may ultimately go. This idea of federation must
not only be postponed, but abandoned altogether. On many an
occasions on the platform of the Muslim League, and the other day,
on the floor of the House in the Bengal Legislative Assembly, I
made an emphatic and definite assertion that the Musalmans of India
will not consent to any such scheme which is framed without our
approval. We will make such a Constitution absolutely unworkable.
I hope that those who may have it in their power to shape the future
Constitution of India will take Muslim feelings into consideration,
and not take any step which may be regretted. We have made our
position absolutely clear. The problem is very simple. At present the
Muslims constitute 80 millions scattered all over India. It may sound
a big number, but as a matter of fact, the Muslims are in a weak
position numerically, in almost every province of India. In the
Punjab and Bengal, we are in an effective majority, but we are
hopelessly in a minority elsewhere. The position is such that
whatever may be the constitution, Muslim interests are bound to
suffer, just as they have suffered during the last three years of the
working of the provincial autonomy.

Mr. Fazlul Haq characterized as un-Islamic sentiments the
statements of Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad in his Presidential

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260
Address to the Congress, that the Muslims should not feel nervous,
as 80 millions was not a small number, and that they need not be
afraid. Mr. Fazlul Haq said that even in a sufficient proportion of the
80 million had been congregated in one province, we would have
had nothing to fear. Situated as we are, our political enemy can take
advantage of the situation. Our friends will remember that even in
the Punjab and Bengal our position is not very safe. In the
legislatures we are not in such a large majority; we have to seek the
help of other interests and minorities to form coalition governments
which are the weakest form of governments known to
constitutionalists. As regard the other provinces, we are in a very
weak position, and are at the mercy of the majority. Until a
satisfactory solution of this unequal distribution of the Muslim
population is found it is useless to talk of constitutional advance or
of safeguards.

I earnestly appeal to my Muslim friends throughout India to
remain united, to exercise a calm and sober judgement, and
remember that we have to stand on our own feed and cannot rely on
anybody. It is a case of every one for himself, and no one for the
Muslims of India. Mr. Haq appeal to the audience to accept his
motion, and hoped that the result would be good.
9

Seconding the resolution, Choudhry Khaliquzzaman said that
they should consider the circumstances which had forced the
Muslims to demand separation, and their own Government where
they were in a majority. Firstly, the responsibility of this demand
rested on the British Government, who in order to exploit the
Indians, declared that India was one nation and started the majority
and minority questions. They opened a flood of such stupendous
propaganda that the question came to be regarded as a real problem,
whereas, in fact, this question did not exist.

After the British, the Congress and the majority community
were responsible for the Muslim demand for separation. The
working of the provincial part of the Act of 1935 in Congress
provinces during the last three years had finally settled the question
of separation. The treatment that the minorities in these provinces
261
had received at the hands of the majority needed no comment. The
Muslims had now realized that their existence was in danger, and
that if they wanted to maintain their identity, they must struggle for
it.

Third and last, the responsibility was of those Muslims who
tried to split the ranks of the Muslims by setting up rival
organizations or joining the Congress or other non-Muslim political
parties. Continuing, Choudhry Khaliquzzaman said that he differed
from Mr. Abdul Kalam Azad, when he said that because the
Muslims were strong enough to defend themselves, they should not
demand separation. He added that the responsibility of those
Muslims who had damaged Muslim rights in India was great, for
they were not only betraying the present generation, but the future
generation also. If the Congress continued to act on the advice of
Muslim Congressmen, there was sure to be a civil war in India.

Supporting the resolution, Maulana Zafar Ali Khan said that
he was on this day feeling as if he was speaking from a free India.
For a long period, he had been an advocate of Hindu-Muslim unity,
and had been in Congress for a number of years. During all this time,
he had found that the Congress was not at all anxious to achieve
freedom, but in fact wanted to suppress the minorities. The Congress
had achieved its present high position as a result of the support
Muslims lent in the past, but now the Congress had adopted an
indifferent attitude towards Muslims. He, as well as others of his
school of thought, had been criticizing the Muslim League for not
undertaking any constructive programme. Referring to the Congress
proposal for a Constituent Assembly, Maulana Zafar Ali Khan
reiterated that they would not accept any Constitution which had not
been approved of and consented to by the Muslims of India.

Sardar Aurangzed Khan, leader of the Opposition in the
Frontier Assembly, said that he had the privilege of supporting the
resolution which had been moved by the Lion of Bengal. It should
be considered calmly and dispassionately. He congratulated the
Muslim living in Hindu provinces for lending their support to the
resolution, which sought freedom for six crores of Muslims.

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262
Speaking for the Frontier, he said that his province was the gateway
of India, and he was there to assure Muslims living in the Hindu
provinces that they were ready at all times to lay down their lives for
the sake of their co-religionists. The speaker expressed the opinion
that it was absurd to declare the Muslims a minority community
when, in four provinces of India, they were in a majority.
Concluding, Sardar Aurangzed Khan said, We do not want British
democracy, which is nothing but a counting of head. Muslims are a
separate nation; we want a home for the Muslim nation, and our
home is as indicated in the resolution.

Sir Abdullah Haroon said that it was a well-known fact that
the Muslims came to India through Sind. The Muslims of Sind were
the first to meet this question which was now before the League. In
1938, the Muslim League passed a resolution for establishing
independent States in the north-western and the eastern zones.
Since then, various constitutional schemes had been framed, and
they were now been examined by a command that it was the duty of
the Muslim to pass it without any hitch. Sir Abdullah Haroon
warned the Hindus that if the Muslims in Hindu provinces were not
justly treated, the Hindus in the Muslim Provinces would be treated
in the same way in which Herr Hitler treated the Sudetans. The
speaker hoped that the proposal embodied in the resolution would be
acceptable both the Hindus and the British, as there was no better
solution of the thorny problem.

As it was time for prayers, the Session was adjourned till
Sunday morning.

Third Day

The third days sitting of the Muslim League commence at
11:15 a.m. Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan, General Secretary of the
Muslim League, announced that the Quaid-i-Azam would arrive a
little late, and he asked him to say that the proceedings should
commence. The Nawab of Mamdot was then voted to the Chair, and
the proceedings began with a recitation from the Holy Quran. The
General Secretary announced that another open session would be
263
held at 9:30 p.m the same day. The discussion on the resolution and
on the constitutional problem was then resumed. In the meanwhile
the Quaid-i-Azam also arrived, and took the Chair.

Khan Bahadur Nawab Mohammad Ismail Khan, President of
Bihar Muslim League, supporting the resolution, said that he
belonged to a minority province where the Musalmans did not enjoy
freedom of speech. In this Session, which was being held in a free
land, he had pleasure in speaking freely. He thanked the Muslim
majority provinces for the offer of help to the Muslims of minority
provinces if an attempt was made to suppress their rights; but he had
full confidence in the ability of the Muslims of his own province to
defend themselves in the hour of need. Referring to Maulana Azads
presidential Address, the Nawab said that he wanted to tell the
Congress that Maulana Azads voice was not the voice of the
Muslims; it was Mr. Jinnah who truly reflected the Muslim opinion
in India.

Mr. Mohammad Isa Khan assured his co-religionists in the
Minority Provinces that, when they had achieved freedom in the
Majority Provinces, they would not forget them, and would be
prepared to render every kind of help in their power. He reminded
the audience that, like the Musalmans of the N.W.F.P., the
Musalmans of Baluchistan were also the gatekeeper of India, as they
guarded the Bolan Pass. They were the trustess of a great charge,
and he hoped that they would acquit themselves well in the eye of
their brethren in the Minority Provinces.

Mr. Abdul Hamid Khan, Leader of the Muslim League Party
in the Madras Assembly, declared that the All-India Muslim League
had been carrying on its fight for the freedom of India for the last 4
years. In this struggle, they had co-operated with the Hindus in the
hope that the freedom of India meant freedom for every inhabitant of
this country. But their belief had been belied by the conduct of the
Congress during, its regime of two and half years in seven out of 11
provinces. Mr. Abdul Hamid said that thanks to the Congress regime
in these provinces, the Muslims had been awakened, and the Muslim
League had been organized in every province. He expressed the

Centenary Souvenir

264
hope that when the League prepared a new Constitution, the
Muslims of Minority Provinces would be fully consulted.

Mr. Ismail Chundrigar, Deputy Leader of the Muslim League
Party in the Bombay Assembly, declared that a Federation of the
whole of India, in which the Musalmans would be in a hopeless
minority, was entirely unacceptable to them. He maintained that the
scheme embodied in the resolution was fair and just from all points
of view. The Muslims were in no circumstances, prepared to support
the Congress proposal for a Constituent Assembly wherein the
Muslims would be in a minority of one to three. He recalled the
appointment of Rajkot Inquiry Committee, when Mr. Gandhi had
expressed his willingness to take two Muslims on the Committee, on
the condition that they should vote with the members of the Raja
Parishad. Was this the sort of freedom which the Congess would
give to the Muslims?

Syed Abdur Rauf Shah, President of the C.P. Muslim League,
said that he belonged to a province which had been the target of
Congress oppression. In spite of the tyranny of the Congress
Ministry, the Muslims did not loose patience. He asked his co-
religionists not to worry about Muslims living in the Minority
Provinces. They trusted in God that a day would come when they
would also be free like their brethren in the Majority Provinces.

Dr. Mohammad Alam, who had recently resigned from the
Congress, was given a great ovation as he rose to support the
resolution. He rebutted the notion that the scheme outlined in the
resolution was a more dream, and felt confident that it would be
turned into a reality. He asserted that when a similar proposal was
made by Bhai Parmanand in 1914-15, on behalf of the Ghadar Party,
nobody characterized it as a dream.
10
Analysing the position of the
Congress, Dr. Alam said that the Congress did not want
independence, but a Hindu Raj under the aegis of the British
Government. This was why distinguished Muslim nationalists like
Maulana Mohammad Ali had severed their connection with the
Congress. It was not a fact, he asserted, that the Muslims had left the
Congress; but, on the contrary, the truth was that the Congress had
265
abandoned its original position, and given up its goal of complete
independence. Dr. Alam related how, before joining the League, he
went to Delhi to meet Mr. Jinnah and enquire what sacrifice the
Muslims League would be prepared to make to achieve the
programme now outlined in the resolution. Mr. Jinnah assured him,
continued Dr. Alam, that he would give his life for it, and be the first
to go in the jail (thunderous cheers). Dr. Alam appealed to the
Muslims to organize branches of the League in all districts, towns,
villages and mohallas and to strengthen the hands of the Quaid-i-
Azam.

When Dr. Alam had concluded his speech, the Quaid-i-Azam
announced that he would permit one resolution relating to Palestine
to move in the open session, although it had been taken up by the
Subjects Committee. He revealed that many other non-official
resolutions had been guillotined in the Committee. The discussion
on the resolution relating to the Constitutional problem was
thereupon suspended, and the Palestine Resolution was moved by
Mr. Abdur Rahman Siddique, who had attended the Palestine
Conference in Cairo the preceding year. The resolution ran as
follows:

RESOLUTION II

The All-India Muslim League views with grave
concern the inordinate delay on the part of the British
Government in coming to a settlement with the Arabs in
Palestine, and places on record its considered opinion, in clear
and unequivocal language, that no arrangement of a
piecemeal character will be made in Palestine which are
contrary in spirit and opposed to the pledges given to the
Muslim world, and particularly to the Muslim in India, to
secure their achieve assistance in the War of 1914-18.
Further, the League warns the British Government against the
danger of taking advantage of the presence of a large British
force in the Holy Land to overawe the Arabs and force them
into submission.

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266
Sir Syed Raza Ali, seconding the resolution, deplored the fact
that there was no news for Palestine. After Mr. Abdul Hamid
Badayuni had supported the resolution, it was adopted by the open
session.

At this stage, the Session adjourned.

The Session met again at 9 p.m., and the Quaid-i-Azam then
moved, from the Chair, the following resolution on the Khaksar
question.

RESOLUTION III

This Session of the All-India Muslim League places on
record its deep sense of sorrow at the unfortunate and tragic
occurrence on the 19
th
of March, 1940, owing to a clash
between the Khaksars and the Police, resulting in the loss of a
large number of lives and injuries to many more, and
sincerely sympathizes with those who have suffered and with
their families and dependents.

This Session calls upon the Government forthwith to
appoint an independent and impartial committee of inquiry,
the personnel of which would command the perfect
confidence of the people, with instruction to them to make
full and complete investigation and inquiry in the whole
affair, and make their report as soon as possible.

This Session authorizes the Working Committee to
take such action in the matter as they may consider proper
immediately after publication of the report of the Committee.

This Session urges upon the various Governments that
the order declaring the Khaksar organization unlawful should
be removed as soon as possible.

Explaining the resolution, the Quaid-i-Azam said, The
resolution is the result of discussion in the Subjects Committee last
267
night from 9 p.m to 2 oclock in the morning. The Subjects
Committee adopted this resolution in the form in which it is now
placed before you. They have passed it unanimously, and now it is
for you to deal with it. The resolution represents their considered
opinion, and is for you to deal with it. The resolution represents their
considered opinion, and they want me to convey to you that this
resolution should be put from the Chair. There are many reasons for
this course to be adopted. The first reason is that it will not be
desirable to have people coming and making speech. It is very
difficult to restrain passions, and some may say something which
might be considered harmful to our interests. Another reason is that
the matter is subjudice. It asks for a full and complete investigation
and inquiry, and it will not be in the fitness of things that, on the one
hand, we ask for an inquiry, and on the other, we pronounce our
judgment.

He reminded the audience that there was a clause in the
resolution which authorized the Working Committee of the Muslim
League to take such action as it thought proper immediately after the
publication of the report of the Inquiry Committee. He assured them
and his friends of the Khaksar organization that the Working
Committee would not rest until they got full justice. Whether it was
the Punjab Government, the Government of India, the Punjab
Ministry, or the Punjab Premier, they would not care until they had
got justice. He asked the Khaksars and, indeed, all Musalmans,
particularly in the Punjab, but also in other part of India, to put their
heads together and to see that, at the time of inquiry, they placed
their material before the investigating authority. He urged them to
appoint somebody that would, regardless of expense, put all the
evidence and material before the Inquiry Committee. This was most
important at the present moment. The rest we will see, and God will
help us. The resolution was passed unanimously.

ADOPTION OF THE PAKISTAN RESOLUTION

Discussion on the main resolution, relating to the
constitutional problem was resumed. Syed Zakir Ali, Begum
Mohammad Ali (widow of the late Maulana Mohammad Ali) and

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268
Maulana Abdul Hamid spoke in support of the resolution. It was
then passed unanimously amid great enthusiasm.

RESOLUTION IV

Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan then placed before the open
session the following resolution regarding certain amendments in the
Constitution of the Muslim League which had been approved by the
Subjects Committee:

Add the following as 28A to the Constitution and Rules of the
All-India Muslim League:

The Working Committee of the All-India Muslim League
shall control, direct and regulate all the activities, of the
various Provincial Leagues strictly in consonance with the
aims, objects and rules of All-India Muslim League.
1. The Working Committee of the All-India Muslim League
shall be empowered:
a. To take disciplinary action against individual
members of the Council of the All-India Muslim
League who violate the decisions of the League or
act in contravention of its aims and objects, subject
to a right of appeal to the Council of the All-India
Muslim League.
b. To suspend, dissolve or disaffiliate any Provincial
League which fails in its duties, infringes or
ignores the decisions or directions of the All-India
Muslim League or hinders the progress of the
League in any manner whatsoever, subject to a
right of appeal to the Council of the All-India
Muslim League.
The amendments were unanimously adopted.
Election of Office-Bearers
The open session then proceeded to elect officer-bearers for
the next year. On the motion of Sir Raza Ali, Nawabzada Liaquat
269
Ali Khan and the Raja Saheb of Mahmudabad were respectively
elected Honorary Secretary and Honorary Treasurer. The election of
joint-Secretaries was left to the Council of the Muslim League.

Then the Quaid-i-Azam asked Nawab Bahadur Yar Jung to
speak. His thought-provoking and illuminating oration in chaste
Urdu on Islam and Democracy moved the whole gathering.

Concluding Remarks of the Quaid-i-Azam

In his concluding remarks, the Quaid-i-Azam thanked the
Reception Committee for according him a magnificent reception,
and for rendering him every assistance in conducting the deliberation
of the Session. The Musalmans, he added, had shown to the world
how disciplined they were.

Referring to the Khaksar tragedy, the Quaid-i-Azam said that
he was very perturbed when he learnt about the firing on the
Khaksars. He was advised not to hold the Session of the League, but
as he had the fullest faith in his people, he decided not to postpone
the Session. When he reached Lahore, he told Press representatives
in an interview that the Lahore Session of the Muslim League was
going to be a landmark in the future history of Musalmans of India.
He had no doubt that barring this tragedy on the eve of the Session;
it had proved a greater success. Had there not been this tragedy,
there would have been a magnificent procession, and they would
have had the opportunity of demonstrating their enthusiasm. Their
enemies had wanted to mar the Session somehow or other, but all
their attempt had failed, and the Session had concluded successfully.
The Quaid-i-Azam was happy that deliberations of the Session were
conducted in a calm and quite atmosphere. It had been an acid test
for the Muslims; for when their blood was boiling; and when 30
Muslims were shot dead, it had been very difficult to keep calm.
But you have demonstrated to the world that the Musalmans are
capable of bearing sorrows. You have also shown to the world that
you can conduct your business in a gathering of lakhs. It is the finest
certificate that can be given to any nation. The prestige of the
League was in the hands of Musalmans of the Punjab. I, therefore,

Centenary Souvenir

270

congratulate the Punjab Muslims form the bottom of my heart. It
gives me courage to serve you all.

Continuing, the Quaid-i-Azam said that the Lahore Session
was a landmark in the history of India. They had defined their goal.
He assured the gathering that they would fight for that goal. They
had taken this great decision in right earnestness. The Quaid-i-Azam
thanked the Nawab of Mamdot, Chairman of the Reception
Committee, who had worked day and night to make the Session a
success. Finally the Quaid-i-Azam appealed to the Muslims of the
Punjab to organize the Punjab Muslim League, and carry the
message of the Muslim League from village to village and house to
house. The more you organize yourself, the more you will be able
to get your rights. He exhorted workers, peasants, intelligentsia,
landlords and capitalists to try to speak with one voice.

The Session concluded at 11:30 p.m, amid loud shouts of
Muslims League Zindabad, Quaid-i-Azam Zindabad.
11

1
Special Correspondent, The Times of India, March 25, 1940.
2
API news item, March 25, 1940.
3
API news item, March 25, 1940.
4
Source: The Indian Annual Registrar, 1940, Vol. I, pp. 307-308.
5
In the original punctured presumably a misprint, rather than the
correspondents intent!
6
API, March 25.
7
Indias Problem of her Future Constitution, with Preface by M.A. Jinnah,
pp. 1-15.
8
Resolutions of All-India Muslim League from December 1938 to March
1940. Published by Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan at Delhi. The other
resolutions are also taken from this source.
9
This and the other speeches quoted are based on versions appearing in The
Indian Annual Register, 1940, Vol. I, and the Times of India and the
Associated Press of India of March 25, 1940.
10
Dr. Alam repeated this statement in the Punjab Assembly on March 4, 1941,
but it has not been possible to trace the particular of the indicated proposals
of Bhai Parmanand.
11
Source: Syed Sharifuddin Pirzada, Evolution of Pakistan. The All-Pakistan
Legal Decisions, Lahore, 1963, pp. 271-309.
TWENTY-EIGHTH SESSION
MADRAS, APRIL 12-15, 1941

The Twenty-eighth Session of the All-India Muslim League
began amidst scenes of enthusiasm. Long before the scheduled time,
all approaches to the Peoples Park, where the Pandal had been
erected, were crowded to the full, and people were standing in rows
to greet Mr. M.A. Jinnah as he passed on his way to Jinnahabad. The
pandal was filled to its utmost capacity.

Mr. Jinnah was conducted to the dais by a side-gate in order
to avoid the rush. His appearance on the dais was the signal for
cheers and shouts of Allah-o-Akbar and Jinnah Zindabad. Looking
cheerful, Mr. Jinnah stepped forward, and smilingly acknowledged
the welcome accorded to him.

A special feature of the Session was the presence of a large
number of non-Muslim leaders, including Sir R.K. Shanmukhan
Chetty, Dewan of Cochin, Sir K.V. Reddy, Sir A.P. Patro, Mr. E.V.
Ramaswami Naicker, Leader of the Justice Party, Kumararajh M.A.
Muthiah Chettiar, Mr. C.R. Srinivasan, Editor of Swadesa Mitran,
Rao Bahadur M.C. Rajah, and Rao Bahadur N. Sivaraj. Sir
Mohammad Usman and Khan Bahadur Adam Haji Mohammad Sait
were also on the dais, seated along with the members of the Working
Committee.

Also present were a large number of Muslim women, for
whom purdah arrangements had been made.

The proceedings began with recitations from the Quran. Mr.
Abdul Hamid Khan, Chairman of the Reception Committee,
thereafter delivered his welcome address:

I deem it a unique privilege to welcome you to this great
metropolis of South India. I assure you that when I say this, I

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272
genuinely echo the sentiments of the members of the Reception
Committee and of the Muslims of South India, who deeply
appreciate the honour conferred upon this part of the country by the
decision of the Quaid-i-Azam to hold the Twenty-eighth Annual
Session of the All-India Muslim League here.

It would not be out of place to mention that this Province of
ours, which you have selected as the venue of the Leagues annual
session has its own hoary Islamic traditions and associations; for the
Western Coast of our Presidency was the first part of India to come
in contact with Arab culture, long before the Muslims came to India
through Sind and the North-Western passes. The regular commerce
between the West Coast of India and the South of Arabia facilitated
the spread of Islam in Malabar, where hundreds of thousands of the
children of the soil were subject to the tyranny and degradation of
the caste-ridden religions. In fact this part of our Presidency is
inhabited by a large number of Muslims, who constitute a third of
the total Muslim population of the whole Presidency. Another
noteworthy feature of the political history of this part of our country
is that Muslims have played a conspicuous part in shaping its destiny
during the latter half of the eighteenth century, under the famous and
able leadership of Tippu Sultan, whose services in the cause of the
civilization and freedom of this land no historian could possibly
underestimate.

Not only the Western Coast, but the very core and heart of
our Province, comprising the districts of Madras, Trichinopoly and
Arcot, have been important centres of Muslim influence and culture
in the South during the reign of the Nawabs of the Carnatic, and they
always attracted renowned scholars from various part of India and
outside, thus helping in the disseminatin of light and learning. It was
due to patronage of the Nawab Wallajah that renowned scholar
Maulana Abdul Ali, popularly known as Maulana Bahr ul-Uloom
came over from Lucknow to this metropolis, and was responsible for
a great intellectual awakening in the South. He died here in the early
part of the last century. It was due to the liberal patronage of the
Court, and the enthusiasm shown by the Moplah Muslims, that a

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very large number of madrassas and libraries lie scattered all over
the southern part of this Presidency to-day.

The War

I am welcoming you to this Province for the first time in the
history of the League. I am conscious of the troublous time through
which the world is passing. The ravages and miseries caused by the
War are too appalling to be described. The deterioration of the
international situation day by day has had repercussions on almost,
all countries of the West, belligerent, non-belligerent and neutral.
Muslims can never be enamoured of Nazi ideals; they are so
obnoxious, and the methods adopted to achieve them so brutal,
inhuman and-revolting to Muslim sentiment, thought and culture,
that I find it difficult to express adequately our abhorrence and
condemnation of those ideals and methods.

At the same time, I must say that most of the present
international trouble is due to economic and territorial
maladjustments, besides the friction caused by the irregular
groupings of populations. A rearrangement of the map of the world
on a just and equitable basis is necessary if real and lasting peace is
ever to be achieved. I am confident that in the wake of the victory of
the Allied Powers in this struggle, will inevitably follow the
readjustment, both the territory and economic structure, of nations.

One may consider times such as these through which we are
passing to be not very opportune for a discussion of the
constitutional future of a people, as the future of many a nation to-
day is on the anvil. But the circumstances in this unhappy land of
ours have compelled us to take stock of events at this moment, so
that we may be prepared for greater tests and ordeals than those we
had to grapple with and overcome in the past. It is with this avowed
object in view that we have all assembled here to-day from distant
parts of India.

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From Strength to Strength

It is needless to say that at such a momentous phase in the
history of our land we have found in Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali
Jinnah the unique personality who could lead us to our cherished
goal. I believe that the phrase With the hour comes that Man could
never have been used more aptly than in the present instance. We are
sure that the future of the 90 million Muslims of India is absolutely
safe in the hands of our great Quaid-i-Azam, who is to preside over
the deliberations of this historic Session in this city of Madras. I am
sure you will feel one with me when I say that the Muslim League
under his able guidance has been gaining in strength day by day.

And here may I be permitted to give a brief survey of the
origin, growth and development of this organization of ours the
Muslim League, the accredited voice of Muslim India. The necessity
of such a body to safeguard the national interests of the Muslims was
felt as early as 1901, I believe, when the All-India Muslim
Educational Conference was held at Madras, but the question did not
go beyond the stage of mere discussion for five years. It was in 1906
that a strong and representative association of Muslims who were
politically minded was formed and a deputation waited on the then
Viceroy to represent their legitimate claims. Later, this association
came to be known more popularly as the Muslim League, passing
through several stages of development. Thank to the political
consciousness engendered by the efforts of the League among the
Muslims, the principle of separate electorates received official
recognition for the first time in the Minto-Morley Reforms of 1909.
Obviously this claim for separate electorates was based on the
minute examination of religious and cultural differences that existed
between the Hindus and the Muslims, and which go deep down into
the history and ideology of their inalienable past. No other solution
in the circumstances could have been acceptable, much less possible,
when we come to realize that the principles on which the two social
structures of these nations happen to be based are absolutely at
variance with each other. The Hindus, with their rigid system of
caste, the concept of their Pantheon, and a social organization which
denies elementary rights to millions of Gods creatures, are not

275
perhaps in a position to appreciate fully the social order based on the
democratic principles inherent in Islam, which proclaim the Oneness
of God and the brotherhood of man.

Incompatible Objectives

Ideologies so diametrically opposed to each other can hardly
be bridged; but yet the League essayed to attempt the impossible,
and with its characteristic preparedness to meet difficult situations,
met the Congress half-way, and concluded the Lucknow Pact in
1916. For a time it appeared as though the solution of this thorny
communal problem was in sight, but the post-war national
movement has a strange effect on the minds of the Congress leaders
who began to entertain apprehensions and misgivings with regard to
the principle of separate electorates. They began to entertain and
advocate ideas of replacing separate electorates by joint electorates.
In the meanwhile, the dismemberment of the Khilafat roused the
feeling of Muslims all over India, and they made common cause
with the Congress leaders to avert the imminent catastrophe
threatening the solidarity of the Muslim States. The part played by
the Muslims in the non-cooperation movement started under the join
auspices of the Congress and the Khilafat Committee for Swaraj-
and the Khilafat and their sacrifices are to well known to be
recapitulated here. The temporary patching up the differences
encouraged the Congress leaders in their old attitude of
intransigence. They began to cry down, separate electorates, and
denounced the principles of the Lucknow Pact that were embodied
in the Montagu Chelmsford Reforms. They proceeded to utter the
slogan that the Reforms were disappointing and demanded further
reform based on joint electorates and adult franchise. The motives
underlying these demands, though clothed in a nationalistic garb,
were really intended to be a step towards the acquisition of power by
the majority community. Muslim leaders, scenting the danger in the
new move of the Congress, began gradually to lose faith the
bonafides of Mr. Gandhi and his followers and their claim to
represent Muslim interests. A series of events now followed which
brought the ulterior motives of the Congress to the forefront, which
further aggravated the differences between the two nations.
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The truth of the above contention was amply borne out by the
fact that the scheme of Hindu-Muslim unity which was formulated
by Mr. S. Srinivasa lyenger, the then President of the Congress, and
adopted by it at its session held in Madras in 1927, when the late
lamented Maulana Mohammed Ali and Pandit Madan Mohan
Malaviya were found embracing each other was thrown overboard
for reasons best known to the Hindu leaders themselves. This
scheme of Hindu-Muslim unity was still-born. The following year,
the ushering in of the Nehru Report merely served the purpose of
further embittering Muslim feelings. By this time a large section of
Muslim Leaders had begum to realize, to their great bewilderment,
the hopelessness of the situation, and they eventually decided that a
scheme to safeguard Muslim interests should be drawn up.
Consequently, in 1928 were formulated the famous 14 points which
were considered by the Muslims as offering a basis for a
rapprochement with the Hindus.

Hindu Communalism

At the All-India Muslim Conference held on January 1, 1929,
at Delhi, in view of Indias vast extent and its ethnological,
linguistic, administrative and geographical or territorial divisions, it
was proposed that a federal system of government with autonomous
provinces having residuary powers vested in them should be
inaugurated as the most suitable form of government. Thereafter, the
report of the Central Committee, with its dissenting minute of the
Muslim members, brought into a clear perspective the importance of
the Muslim demands. Then followed the two Round-Table
Conferences to decide the framework of the new Constitution based
on the federal principle. The federal idea underlying the new scheme
was stoutly opposed by our Quaid-i-Azam, who with his
characteristic clear vision foresaw the danger inherent in it to the
peace and independent of India. The moves that took place in these
two conferences further revealed the subtle policy of the Congress
leaders directed towards the identification of Hinduism with Indian
nationalism. If any doubt regarding the intentions of the Congress
leaders had still lingered in Muslim minds, it was rudely dispelled by

277
the historic fast of Mr. Gandhi, which was ostensibly undertaken to
prevent the perpetuation of social inequality, but in reality was
meant to thwart the escape of the Depressed Classes from the
clutches of caste domination; for, on this memorable occasion Mr.
Gandhi himself came out with a statement that he was prepared to
give up the question of Indias freedom rather than be a spectator of
the dismemberment of the Hindu community. Those who have
carefully followed the succession of events leading to this
astounding declaration must have been not a little shocked to find
that the guiding motive behind the Congress policy was actuated by
a desire to establish the rule of a communal majority rather than see
all the sections of the Indian population have a share in political
power and enjoy the benefits of freedom.

It was at this juncture that the leaders of Muslim pubic
opinion seriously began to revise their views and take stock of the
events afresh. The work of the Act of 1935, which inaugurated
provincial autonomy with the ultimate object of establishing All-
India Federation, made more clear the intentions of the Congress
hierarchy. The elections for the new Legislatures were contested
both by the League and the Congress candidates. The Congress
having its own doubts about the outcome of these elections was not
prepared to declare its aim in an unequivocal manner. But the
overwhelming majority which the Congress party secured in 7 out of
11 Provinces in the land made it so sure of its political ascendancy
that it declined the co-operation of the Muslim League, and found
the opportunity tempting enough to ignore the very existence of that
body as the only political organization of the Muslims which could
deliver the goods. It now developed the idea of forcing upon the
country a unitary type of government based on the homogeneous
British Parliamentary model in spite of the fact that the basic beliefs
underlying the model have been very conspicuous by their absence
in a heterogeneous county. In taking this step, the Congress High
Command was actuated by the ambition to perpetuate the rule of
communally minded majority party, and in doing so it looked as
though they were translating the wishes Mr. Gandhi expressed
during his historic fast. Thus we see that, while Mr. Gandhi has been
exerting himself to keep the Hindus community in tact, the Congress
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was leaving no stone unturned to secure power permanently under
the guise of majority rule.

Subsequently events have proved that the Congress demand
for assurance of non-interference from the Governors of the various
Provinces where it had a majority was only meant to confirm the
tyranny of monopolist rule and to suppress the claims of the
minority. Here I would like to add that the leaders of the Congress
party, unaccustomed as they had been to the exercise of political
power, completely lost their balance the moment they got the reins
of office into their hands, and displayed a lack of vision and
statesmanship so necessary for a stable government with the
result that the gulf between them and the people over whom they
ruled for 27 months became widened. Further, as they had no
political past in which gifts of real rulership had an opportunity to
play any important part in dealing with people of differing religions
and culture, they committed the same parvenu mistakes which
nations that had acquired power under similar circumstances were
prone to commit, and proceeded with their programmes quite
oblivious of the vital interests and religious and cultural
susceptibilities of other peoples; so much so that when the Congress
Ministries went out of power, not only the Muslim nation, but an
overwhelming number of non-Congress sections of the Indian
community heaved a sigh of relief at having been delivered from the
hands of Government which was out to suppress all that they
considered indispensable for the existence of a self-respecting
citizen.

Two Social Codes

The lack of confidence created in the minds of Muslims by
the temporary rule of the Fascist High Command forced the
League, much against its will, to abandon all hope of reconciliation
with the Congress and strive for a examination of the question of the
Indian Constitution de novo, on the basis of a two-nation recognition
of facts a plan which exemplifies the political acumen and
foresight of our esteemed Quaid-i-Azam, who has been able to see
through the subtle game of Congress politics and appraise it at its

279
true value. The Muslim nation considers its present and its future
perfectly safe in the hands of its trusted leaders, to whom Indias
freedom and the political emancipation of his nation have been a
spiritual testament.

Talking of a de nova Constitution to which I have a while
back made a reference, I wish to clarify the position by pointing out
that the two great social orders, viz., the Hindu and the Muslim are
based on two opposing principles and therefore need two homelands.
To brush aside this historic truth with slogans, catch-words and
parables calculated to prejudice the issues is tantamount to a refusal
to face the realities of the situation. The social democracy of Islam,
based on the monotheistic principle and the brotherhood and equality
of man, finds nothing in common with a social order that advocates a
rigid caste system based on birth and status. The fact that religion
controls all aspects of a Muslims life is not fully grasped by his
Hindu neighbour; and it apparently due to this lack of appreciation
that the latter fails to understand why the Muslim mind is so much
agitated at incidents like the singing of the Bandematrarm and the
installation of Mr. Gandhis photo for reverent regard in Muslim
schools. And the opposition of the Muslim to the so-called Wardha
Scheme and the methods employed to replace Urdu by Hindi, under
the guides of Hindustani, is mainly due to their anxiety to preserve
their own religion, language and culture.

Considering all these facts in their true perspective, one can
easily realize the cogency and the fairness of the demand put
forward by the Muslim League at its annual session held in Lahore
last year. The resolution passed there, which is popularly known as
the Pakistan Resolution, does not in any way aim at injuring the
interests of the Hindus or, for the matter of that, of any community
inhabiting this vast Subcontinent. The demand for Pakistan, which
implies the establishment of independent and separate Muslim States
with a confederating outlook, does not run counter to the idea of
Indias political unity, nor does it mean the vivisection of India,
since the basis of Pakistan has existed all the time in this country;
and if it has not been emphasized earlier in the present form, this is
due to the fact that our revered leader, Quaid-i-Azam, for the last 30
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280
years, and before him, our other accredited leaders have been trying
their utmost to find a solution satisfactory to all for the realization of
this goal.

But the peculiar conditions that obtained in this country have
made their efforts at reconciling the Congress to their scheme of
government quite unavailing. Obsessed by idea of Ram Rajya,
Rashtrapatis and Rama Senas, the Congress has been persistently
refusing to see eye to eye with the Muslim League and its demand
for a new orientation of Indias policy, envisaged in the Pakisan
Scheme. Pakistan is only a means to an end, and that a great end
Indias freedom, peace and order. The Quaid himself has time and
again been emphasizing this aspect to things; for under this scheme
along could there be a possibility of realizing HinduMuslim unity.

Let me here quote an extract from the proceedings of the
Legislative Assembly on March 29, 1941.

Mr. Anney: There was an impression abroad that the Muslim
League had always insisted on Pakistan here and now.

Mr. Jinnah: Our position is this. We divide the problem of
India into two parts the present and the future. As far as the future
is concerned, we say that when the times come to change the whole
Constitution, we shall then discuss the various schemes. We believe
in Pakistan. As far as the present is concerned, our position is that
we are willing, only for the successful prosecution of the war, to co-
operate in forming a Government within the framework of this
Constitution. Our present quarrel with the Government is that the
Muslim League is not given a real and substantial share in the
Government, both at the Central and in the Provinces.

Mr. Aney believed that if Mr. Jinnah and the members of the
Congress and others could sit together and engage in the common
effort to meet the existing situation, probably the demand for
Pakistan might not arise.

Mr. Jinnah: Or may be accepted.

281

In his memorable speech on the same occasion, Nawabzada
Liaquat Ali Khan summed up our claim in the following words: Co-
operations as Equals, not as Camp Followers. Hindu leaders
(whether with any following or without) who seek parleys behind
the back of Muslim India should not think that they can get away it.

Recently at Bombay they had had a Conference of pro-
Congress Hindu leaders in a non-party disguise, and the statement of
its distinguished President, after his interview with the Viceroy,
indicates their disposition to deal with a national problem in
fragments. Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru reveals the scope of his
discussions with the Viceroy in the following words:

Questions relating to the provinces were not touched
upon in the course of the discussions, he said. Neither were
they considered at the Bombay Conference. Those questions,
he suggested, could probably more appropriately be
considered when the reconstruction of the Centre was
completed.

Pakistan efforts for the reconstruction of the Centre,
without paying heed to the provinces, do not suggest the existence of
a practical outlook, and such manoeuverings on behalf of the
Congress scheme of domination must put Muslim India doubly on
its guard.

Misrepresentations

The present demand of the Muslim League is for the
preservation of its own rights, and not, as is falsely represented, for
the trampling down of the rights of others. The Muslims wish to live
as free citizens along with their Hindu brethren, who would be
equally free in their own homelands. There is nothing unreasonable
or preposterous about this demand. This new policy is to be based on
the well-acknowledged principle of equal opportunities for all and
on the common maxim of live and let live. It is not born of any kind
of ill-feeling towards any community. On the other hand, it is the
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282
only possible and permanent solution for the attainment of
communal harmony in India. It is very regrettable that the leaders of
the Congress who see in this scheme for frustration of their fond
hopes of majority rule in India and permanent Hindu dominance
have taken every opportunity to distort the ideal, and have spared no
argument, however puerile, to misrepresent it. They have subjected
it not only to carping criticism, but also to foul abuse, without caring
to examine its implications with free and unbiased minds. During the
last year, not only the Congress leaders have been vociferous in the
condemnation of the scheme of Pakistan; certain others whose
profession is not politics have also entered the list to ridicule it. But I
may with confidence voice a universal Muslim sentiment, viz., that
no non-Muslim need have any fear in respect of his future in a truly
Islamic State such as the Pakistan scheme envisages. A non-Muslim
in our midst will have every opportunity to attain the fullest stature
of citizenship. So, any fear on the part of the non-Muslims is
misplaced. If the Pakistan scheme is to give rise to any alarm in
respect of the position of any minorities, it is to be entertained by the
Muslims, who have had a taste of the Congress Hindu rule in seven
of 11 provinces of British India. And it is therefore to be earnestly
hoped that the Quaid-i-Azam and the Muslim League in general will
thresh out the position of the Muslim minorities in Hindu India in
proper detail at the earliest moment.

In conclusion, may I take this opportunity to say that the
outlook of the Muslim League has taken hold of the Muslim mind in
the South, thanks to the inspiring lead given by the Quaid-i-Azam. In
the promotion of this outlook, the different organizations the
Provincial, District and Primary Leagues deserve to be
congratulated for the enthusiasm they have shown. And in this
connection it will be appropriate if I should mention the name of the
Haji Jamal Mohammed Sahib for the service rendered by him while
he was, till recently, President of the Madras Presidency Muslim
League.

Ladies and Gentlemen, on behalf of the Reception Committee
of this Presidency, I welcome you all in our midst and wish you

283
good speed in the task that lies before you during this Session of the
All-India Muslim League.

On behalf of you all, I now beg to invite our Quaid-i-Azam,
Mr. Muhammad Ali Jinnah, to occupy the Presidential Chair and
guide your deliberation.
1

Mr. Jinnah Expresses His Appreciation

Mr. Jinnah, who after the address of the Chairman of the
Reception Committee formally occupied the chair, was greeted with
loud cheers and shouts of Allah-o-Akbar. Mr. Jinnah said he had
been profoundly moved by the welcome the people of the Madras
had accorded to him. He regretted that due to his indisposition, he
had not been able to meet them at the railway station. He said that he
would not deliver his Presidential Address to-day but would do so on
April 14.

Proceeding, Mr. Jinnah said, the presence of such a large
gathering in the pandal proved, if any such proof were needed, that
Musalmans of India were behind the All-India Muslim League and
had given their seal of approval to its policy and progamme.
Muslim League Zindabad.

This was re-echoed from all sides of the pandal, and for
nearly five minutes the audience continued to shout, Muslim
League Zindabad.

Mr. Jinnah particularly referred to the welcome accorded to
him by members of the Justice Party, by non-Brahmins and other
Hindus, and thanked them all profusely.

On April 14, Mr. Jinnah delivered the following address.
2

PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS OF MR. M.A. JINNAH
3

Ladies and gentlemen, in the first place let me thank you and
those who have made enquiries about my indisposition. I have
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284
received so many messages and calls that it is not possible for me to
reply to them personally either by wire or letter. But I hope that you
will accept my heartful thanks and appreciation of your enquiries
about my health.

We have got to take stock of our internal progress and the
development of the organization of the All-India Muslim League. I
think you will remember that the first foundation of the revival of
the All-India Muslim League was laid in April 1936 at Bombay now
almost exactly five year ago. During the five years passed, and if I
may call it our five-year plan, we have, I think it will be admitted on
all hands, succeeded in organizing Muslim India from one end of
India to the other in a remarkable manner. Since the fall of the
Mughal Empire, I think I am right in saying that Muslim India was
never so well organized and so alive and so politically consciousness
as it is to-day.

Consolidation

We have established a flag of our own, a national flag of
Muslim India. We have established a remarkable platform which
displays and demonstrates a complete unity of the entire solid body
of Muslim India. We have defined in the clearest language our goal
about which Muslim India was groping in the dark, and the goal is
Pakistan. In this effort of ours, let me not forget to appreciate what
South India has done. I know you had many difficulties in your
progress. I have been in very close touch with almost all important
districts of yours. Not personally but by means of post and telegraph.
I have watched, and I have watched with pride and pleasure, the way
in which you have organized the Muslim League in South India.
Yours has been a real growth, a growth not from the top but form the
bottom, which only about a year ago brought the Muslim League
into complete harmony throughout your Presidency. For this many
have worked hard, and I believe I am in possession of reliable
information and that I am not exaggerating or flattering you because
I am in your Presidency I am convinced, and I have information
with regard to the whole of India, that the 7 percent Muslims of this

285
vast Presidency have organized themselves under the banner of the
Muslim League as no other province has done.

New Five-Year Plan for Muslim India

That is our five-year plan of the past. We have succeeded in
raising the prestige and reputation of the League not only throughout
this country we have now reached the farthest corners of the world,
and we are watched throughout the world. Now what next? You
must remember that we are now at the most critical time. You must
remember that there are various forces in India and outside. No
people can ever succeed in anything that they desire unless they
work for it and work hard for it. What is required now is that you
should think and I say this particularly to you, delegates of the All-
India Muslim League who have gathered here from all part of the
five-year plan should be how quickly and how best the departments
of the national life of Muslim India may be built up. What are those
departments? They are the four main pillars. (1) Let us devise a
definite well-considered educational plan. It is knowledge,
information and enlightenment that make a people great (2) next,
you know the Muslims are left behind both economically and in the
social life of the people of this great land of ours the Muslims are
at the bottom compared to other communities. There is this great
Province of Madras. May I know what stature the Muslims have in
the economic life of this province? Maybe, my knowledge is very
poor, but I have been inquiring since my arrival here, and I have
enquired before also, and I was told that the only two industries in
which the Muslims were anywhere were those of hides and skins and
of beedis in other words, beediwallahs and chamrewallahs!

I ask you, are you going to be beediwallah or chamrewallahs,
or are you going to play your part in the commerce and improvement
of the Presidency?

(3) The next important thing is political training. While the
Musalmans have made remarkable progress in the sense that they
have brought millions of Musalmans under the banner of the Muslim
League, while they have become politically conscious, while they
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have come to feel that they have acquired their self-respect, self-
reliance, and the dignity and honour of their nation, they require
through harnessing, consolidating and political training in a manner
that will enable them to march along to their goal. What I want is
that there should be lieutenants, majors, captains, colonels and
generals, and just there are soldiers in the army, we must have
political soldiers. And these soldiers must be so well trained in
political science that they should be prepared to face any emergency
that might arise at any time.

Our decision and our resolution are misrepresented and
misinterpreted, not that there should be any room for doubt left in
the minds of any intelligent Indian it does not matter to which
community he belongs. Let me clarify our position with regard to
our goal. What is the goal of the Muslim League? What is the
ideology of the All-India Muslim League? Let me tell you as clearly
as possible the goal of the All-India Muslim League is as follows:
we want the establishment of completely Independent States in the
North-Western and Eastern Zones of India with full control of
Defence, Foreign Affairs, Communications, Customs, Currency,
Exchange etc.; and we do not want, under the circumstances, a
Constitution of an All-India character, with one Government at the
Centre. We will never agree to that. If you once agree, let me tell
you, the Muslims will be absolutely wiped out of existence. We shall
never be a signatory to any power of Government at the Centre so
far as the North Western and Eastern Zones free national homes are
concerned. The leadership of Hindu India, I regret to say, are being
fooled and being bamboozled by the policy and diplomacy of the
British Government, who are dangling a united, all-India
Constitution and democracy in front of them two carrots before
donkeys. The British Government knows in fact, I say to the Hindu
leadership, that you have lost the last shred of statesmanship, if you
have not realized it yet. The British Government know that Muslim
India will never submit to an All-India Constitution with one Central
Government, and the British statesmen know that so far as
democracy, the parliamentary system of government, is concerned, it
is nothing but a farce in this country.


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It is not, as some people mix it up, a question of Muslims
objecting to a government which should be really based on the
brotherhood of man, as it is very often said by people who really do
not understand what they are talking about when they talk about
democracy or when they talk about Islam. Democracy means, to
begin with, majority rule. Majority rule in a single society is
understandable, although even there it has failed. Representative
government in a single nation, harmonious and homogeneous, in one
society, is understandable; but you have only got to apply your mind
a few minutes: can such a system even work or succeed when you
have two different nations, more than two different nations? In this
Subcontinent you have two different societies, the Muslim society
and the Hindu society and particularly in this land, there is another
nation, that is the Dravidian.

This land is really Dravidistan, and imagine its 3 percent of
Brahmin high castes, by skilful manoeuvering and by skilful method
of electioneering, 3 percent of them should secure a majority. Is this
democracy or is this a farce? Therefore, I have the fullest sympathy
and give my fullest support to the Non Brahmins, and I say to them:
the only way for you to come in to your own is to live your own life,
according to your culture, according to your language thank God,
that Hindi did not go far here according to your own history go
ahead. I have every sympathy and shall do all to help, and you can
establish Dravidistan where the 7 percent Muslim population will
stretch its hands of friendship and live with you no lines of security,
justice and fair play.

Safeguards must be provided for wherever there is a minority.
I have always believed and believe, I think I am right, that no
government will ever succeed without instilling a sense of security
and confidence in the minority. No government will succeed if their
policy and programme would be unjust and unfair to the minorities.
In no government must minorities feel that they will have no fair
play and justice. On that we shall not be wanting or lagging behind
any civilized country in the world. And I am confident when the
issue comes up, the minorities in our homeland will find that with
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our traditions and our heritage, with our teachings of Islam not only
shall we be fair and just to them but generous, too.

We will not higgle haggle. We do not believe in bargaining.
We believe in action, we believe in statesmanship, and we do not
believe in practical politics.

(4) The next thing I want to tell you is what the ideology of
the League is. I think that it has been made clear. But I also think
that there are people in this world who require repetition especially a
section of the Hindu press requires to be reminded over and over
again, so that they may not go on misrepresenting us. And now let
me say that the ideology of this League is based on the fundamental
principle that Muslims of India are an independent nationality, and
any attempt to get them to merge their national and political identity
and unity will not only be resisted, but in my opinion it will be futile
for any one to attempt it. We are determined that there shall be no
mistake in establishing the status of an independent nation and an
Independent State in his Subcontinent.

The next thing I want to tell you about is our policy
internal, external and international. Our policy of the All-India
Muslim League, is to endeavour to promote goodwill and harmony
with the other peoples on the basis of equality, fair play and
reciprocity. These can best be secured by agreements with other
peoples, parties and States, with the objective of collective security
and orderly development of the peoples living in different States, as
well as among free States as members of a community pledged to
respect each others rights. Any action of domination by one over
the other must be abandoned the sooner this is abandoned, the
nearer will be the solution of Indias problem. Now I have tried to
tell you all I could, and in a clear a language as possible, about what
we stand for.

The Deadlock

The next question that is troubling us to-day is what is known
as a deadlock. Now let us examine it fairly as to who is responsible

289
for this deadlock. The trouble in our country is that people have not
the courage to speak out. They have not the courage openly to
condemn one party or the other, while they claim to be impartial. I
can understand, of course, one party blaming the other in its party
zeal. But even there, there is a limit of talking; everything your party
does is right, and everything any other party does is wrong. Who is
to be blamed for this deadlock?

You know perfectly well that from the commencement of the
declaration of the war, in which we were involved, after we
approved of it or not, whether we liked it or not, we were involved
and we became a belligerent country. You know the events that are
talking place day after day, week after week; and we are naturally
fully conscious of the interest of our own country, the defence of our
country to safeguard our homes and hearts is no doubt our
uppermost consideration. From the beginning of the outbreak of war
we made clear our position; and it is not my merely saying it, but it
has been made clear by the Working Committee, the Council of the
All-India Muslim League, and finally the full session of the All-
India Muslim League. What was the position that we took up? That
may be described about as shortly as I can. When this war broke out,
the first relief and good news, along with bad news of the war, that
we got was that His Excellency of Viceroy, Lord Linlithgow, in his
very first interview immediately after the war started, told me that
His Majestys Government were pleased to suspend All-India
Federal Scheme, embodied in the Government of India Act of 1935.

Mind you it was only suspended; for we know how capable
our British friends are in the science and game of diplomacy, and we
know that what has been suspended may again be established at any
time. Therefore, our first and foremost demand was that this should
not only be suspended, but that it must be abandoned. After long-
drawn correspondence and interviews, ultimately the British
Government, through the Representative of the Crown, declared that
the whole problem of Indias Future Constitution will be considered
de nova, including the policy and plan on which the Government of
India Act of 1935 was based. Now that was indeed a great relief.
Because, remember, it was that disruptive Federal Government
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embodied in the Act of 1935 which Muslim India was fighting from
its very commencement and when that was knocked out, it was an
enormous relief to us.

Well, the next thing that we were afraid of was that we, the
Muslims, were weak in the sense of our organization the Muslim
League, in spite of all its efforts, was not strong as the Congress. The
Congress, I may tell you, means nothing more, nothing less than the
solid body of Hindus behind it and other off-shoots and the little
bodies and little bachchas, like the Hindus Mahasabha and the All-
India Hindu League, Liberal Federation and other small little bits.
They are all one. I do not say they are one in the sense that they
necessarily approve of the action of the Congress, but really, if any
body really represents Hindu India, it is the Congress.

In fact, you remember, when there was a likelihood of the war
breaking out, the Congress Working Committee sat in vigilance at
Delhi for days and days, because, as they were giving out openly,
that would be the chance of their lives when they should be able to
coerce the British Government and successfully wrench from them
what they desired to take.

We know that this powerful Congress organization was
waiting and watching; and we, therefore, wanted the British to make
the position clear and this is the second point that I am discussing
with regard to the future Constitution of India. We demanded that no
constitutional change, interim or final, should be made without the
approval and consent of Muslim India. Well, after long-drawn
correspondence and interviews, we now practically got it, as
announced by the Viceroys declaration of August 8, and amplified
by Mr. Amery, Secretary of State, in his pronouncement on behalf of
His Majestys Government on August 14. When that was made
clear, and it is but fair and just, what has it come to? That no
constitution, or no change in the Constitution or final, should be
made by the British Parliament without our approval and consent.
What does it come to? It comes to nothing else but fair justice to 90
millions of Muslims. Do Hindus or Congress maintain, with any
sense of justice and fair play, that the British Government are joining

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hands with us and conspiring against them, that they should frame a
constitution which is acceptable to the British and Hindus, and that
we should have to submit to it, and to be forced into it. Is it not rank
madness to say all that? What does it mean? This means a veto for
the Muslim League and a charter of intransigence for Mr. Jinnah and
the League. But may I know what will be other alternative? I do not
admit for a moment this is a veto. What is the other problem. Let us
complete this. It does not mean that I have a veto in the ordinary
constitutional sense of the word; it means that in the framing of a
Constitution the Muslim League is constituent factor, and that the
constituent factor must approve of the Constitution that is to be
made. How else are you going to frame a Constitution, without the
approval and consent of a constituent factor, of 90 million or 100
million people of this country? Are they to be ignored, neglected in
the making of the Constitution? Therefore, it is not a question of a
veto or charter of intransigence, but it is fair justice that we are
recognized as a constituent factor and the British Government rightly
say that we must come to our own agreement.

Mr. Jinnah then asked how the Hindus would like the British
Government, in conspiracy with the Muslim League, to make a
Constitution without the approval and consent of the Congress or the
Hindu. Therefore, the second point was nothing but fair justice to
Muslim India.

The Muslim League Position

The next thing is the war. It is really an overbearing and
overriding factor to be considered. What is the position that the
League should come to?....
4

His Excellency the Viceroy asked me to go and see him in
July 1940.

This was the note submitted by me that no pronouncement or
statements should be made by His Majestys Government which
would in any way militate against the basic and fundamental
principles laid down the Lahore Resolution for the division of India
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and creating Muslim States in the North-Western and Eastern Zones.
It may be stated that the ideal has now become the universal faith of
Muslim India. His Majestys Government must give a definite and
categorical assurance to the Muslims of India that no interim or final
Constitution will be adopted by the British Government without the
consent and approval of Muslim India. In view of the rapid
developments in Europe, and of the grave danger that is facing India,
it is fully realized that everything should be done that is possible to
mobilize all resources of India for the purpose of maintaining
internal security, peace and tranquillity, to ward off external
aggression. But this can only be done provided the British
Government are ready and willing to associate Muslim leadership as
an equal partner in the Government, both at the Centre and in the
Provinces. In all provinces Muslim leadership should be fully treated
as an equal and with an equal share in the authority and control of
the Government, Central and Provincial.

Provisionally, during the period of the war, the following
steps should be taken to comply with the formal co-operation with
Government, with an equal share in the authority of Government.
Now I want you to follow this. What is it that we suggested in July
1940? Is it that the Executive Council of the Viceroy should be
enlarged within the framework of the present Constitution and
existing law? No, it should be settled by further discussion, it being
understood that the Muslim representation be equal to that of the
Hindus, if the Congress comes in; otherwise they should have the
majority of the additional numbers, as it is obvious that the main
burden and responsibility will be borne by the Muslims in that case.
Then we said that in the Provinces where Section 93 operates, non-
official advisers should be appointed. The number should be fixed
after discussion, and the majority of the non-official advisers should
be representatives of Muslims. Where Provinces can be run by a
combination of parties, naturally it will be for the parties concerned
to adjust the matter by agreements. Then we suggested a war council
which was mainly intended to give a share and a place of status to
the Indian Princes and States for the purpose of intensifying war
efforts and prosecuting the war successfully, because it would not
come in the Executive Council of the Governor General.

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Congress Propaganda

Let us compare what our Congressmen say. The Congress
Press and some Congressmen are often saying that Muslims are
friends of imperialism. It seems to me that when they do not find any
argument to adduce against the clams of the Musalmans, they abuse
us. They either say, you are friends of imperialism, or that Mr.
Jinnah is very ambitious? Though in his heart he is a nationalist, he
has now become a communalist, because he wants leadership. So
they attributed motives and began to abuse us. If you put any decent
statement or argument before them, then the Hindu press comes out
with big headlines and describes them as Jinnahs Tirades Muslim
Leagues Fulmination. The moment you do not agree or have the
misfortune to take some other view in the best interests of India, you
are at once put down with abuse. What can you do with a class of
people who have developed this diseased mentality?

Did we say anywhere that we should have Pakistan here and
now? But people were not wanting who misinterpreted things are
said, The Pakistan issue is postponed it is now put aside. This is
nothing but wishful thinking on the part of those who have put their
feet so deep in the mire that they now want to find some excuse to
impute a change upon a party which had never changed from the
very beginning. Why not so honestly and frankly that you have
committed a blunder, that you are also willing to come into line, and
be done with it?

British Ingratitude and Vacillation

But this vicious propaganda and wicked method being
pursued, and the way in which we are harassed, is not only effecting
the press and the public of this country; to my amazement and
astonishment, even the British Press is misled, amongst them, one of
the best informed papers, the London Times, the flower of British
Newspapers. To my utter astonishment, this is what it says, I quote a
few lines from the London Times of April 1 which is a fools day,
and it has been fooled - , While these proposals encountered much
opposition in various quarters, it is significant that the most general
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press comment on them is that they offer a fresh opportunity for re-
examining the political situation. Mr. Jinnahs recent statement in
the Central Assembly that the Muslim League would co-operate in
the reconstituted Executive, provided his scheme of partitioning
British India is considered after the war, may make it easier for the
two chief Indian parties to reach some temporary understanding.

Well, I can only say to the doyen of British newspapers that
this is only ingratitude stronger that the traitors arms. Why do we
not make the demand for Pakistan here and now? For only one
reason; because we do not want to embarrass the British
Government when they are engaged in a struggle of life and death
for their own existence. That is why we said that so soon as
circumstances permit, or when the whole problem of Indias
Constitution should be examined de novo. Instead of the British
Government acknowledging this as an honourable attitude on our
part, worthy of our tradition, I find that even the British papers are
playing into the hands of the Congress and the Hindu propaganda. I
say the British Government, but do not know who is responsible
His Excellency the Viceroy, the Secretary of State for India, or His
Majestys Government, or whether it is the parliament or the King.

I may once again empathetically say from this platform that
the policy of the British Government in India of inaction, of
weakness, and of vacillation is going to prove more disastrous than it
has done even in Europe.

Let me say that events are moving fast and maps have been
changed in Europe. Look at the map. What has happened? What the
Axis power have done in action, action against the policy of the
British Government. Whats the British Government doing:
placating and placating by following the policy of inaction,
vacillation and weakness. To my amazement, you find only two days
ago what has happened to Yugoslavia the announcement in the paper
following the German capture of Zegreb in Yugoslavia: the Province
of Croatia has been made an independent State, says the official
news agency. The statement was from the Zegreb wireless. A Croat
general called a good lot of officials, non-officials, army officers and

295
non-commissioned officers to take the oath of allegiance to a new
State the Province of Croatia is declared and independent State.
Remember there in Yugoslavia you have the Croats, the Slavs, the
Serbs. The position was very much like our position in India
Dravidistan, Pakistan and Hindustan. The question really is Are you
going to act or allow somebody else to come here and do the job for
you? Where are you going to do now?

Let us examine what the Congress wants. The Congress has
taken up a position about which there is absolutely no doubt. I
should like to ask any man with a grain of sense, Do you really
think that Gandhi, the supreme leaders, commander and general of
the Congress, has started this Satyagraha merely for the purpose of
getting liberty of speech? Dont you really feel that this is nothing
but a weapon coercion and blackmailing the British, who are in a
tight corner, to surrender and concede the Congress demands?

The Congress Demand and its Flanking Movement

What are the demands of the Congress? The demand is the
declaration of immediate and unconditional Independence and
freedom of India, with power to the people of India through a
Constituent Assembly to be elected by adult franchise to frame their
own constitution of course, also the satisfaction of the minorities.
How that will brought about, Heaven alone knows! I dont know.
This was the demand of the Congress; and when they found it was
not going to wash (the British Government ought to be grateful to
Muslim League for saving them the maximum amount of trouble the
Congress was determined to give them, and I believe that in their
heart of hearts the British people were grateful to the Muslim
League), they thought of a flanking movement.

The Muslims know that if the Congress demand is concerned,
it will mean complete destruction of the Muslims. Therefore,
naturally the Muslim League opposed it tooth and nail along with
other minorities like the Schedules Castes, Christians, etc. Mr.
Gandhi and his Congressmen did not know what to do.

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The result was that Mr. Gandhi and the Congress found, to
their unexpected astonishment, a strong opposition to the Congress
demand. So the Congress thought that if they could not get what they
wanted by a frontal attack, they should try a flanking movement.

What was the flanking movement? I say, another resolution.
As soon as the Congress passed a resolution, there would be
commentators and interpreters. The explanation of the making of a
resolution would go for weeks and weeks; and by the time the
commentators had finished, yards and yards of statements would
have been issued.

They went from Poona to Delhi, Delhi to Bombay, and
Bombay to Wardha.

So when they found the Muslim League was the power which
holding up their diabolical machinations, they tried the flanking
movement at Poona, in the place of the frontal attack. The change in
Poona was only a change in name. The flanking movement was a
plan and a strategy which was designed at Poona under the great
General, because Mr. Jinnah did not believe that Mr. Gandhi was not
a party to it. The Congress was willing to throw over board the
General, Mr. Gandhi, provided the British Government would do
this, namely, make a declaration of immediate independence, and the
freedom of India unconditionally, and the Future Constitution, the
Final Constitution, to be framed after the war but the Provincial
Constitution should be a National Government, at the Centre,
responsible to the Legislature. That was the Poona proposal, and Mr.
Gandhi, of course, was thrown overboard. And Mr. Kripalani,
Secretary of the All-India Congress Committee, said that they went
to length of selling their leader. They sold their leader, and Ahimsa,
which was their creed, was also buried in the City of Poona, because
the Congress was ready to assist the British in the prosecution of the
war and the defence of India. What was Haram at Wardha, as we
say, became Halal at Poona!


297
The Congress found that this was not going to wash either,
because nobody was going to be deceived by this sort of thing. They
were only deceiving themselves.

This was followed by the sporting offer of Mr.
Rajagopalachari, that genius of your Province who does some
wonderful things at times. He said that in this National Government
that we are proposing, we are willing that Mr. Jinnah be the Prime
Minister of the new cabinet and let him form his own cabinet as he
likes. The new strategy on the part of the Congress once more failed
to deceive the Muslims.

This was done with a view to deceiving the Muslim League,
which they considered was the only body that was holding up their
(Congress) game. Nobody would be deceived by such things. Even a
Muslim boy understands these things now. Ladies and gentlemen,
you see the point. I really do not know what has happened to their
brains. They have in the past been successful with these methods.
Why dont they realize that nothing of this sort is going to wash, and
you cannot go on fooling all people for all time. It is the Congress
and the Congress alone which has adopted the attitude of
sometimes dictation, sometimes cajoling, sometimes fooling and
bamboozling, sometimes trying to deceive you.

A Plea for Honesty

I say to the Congress leaders and the Hindu leaders, Please
drop these methods. To illustrate the way in which responsible
Congressmen speak:

Babu Rajendra Prasad was asked only a few days ago (April
10) about the Pakistan scheme. He said the Working Committee of
the Congress never discussed the Pakistan scheme as that was never
referred to it by Mr. Jinnah. Do you believe that the Working
Committee of the Congress never discussed the scheme? This ghost
(Pakistan) has been haunting them since March 1940. What standard
of truth is this?

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Every Congress leader, healing with Mr. Gandhi, had
discussed, issued statements and written volumes about Pakistan.
Babu Rajendra Prasad has actually issued a pamphlet with regard to
the Pakistan scheme, in which he came out with his view; and he
says it was never discussed by the Working Committee because Mr.
Jinnah was never referred it. I say to Babu Rajendra Prasad, Ask
your Working Committee to discuss it, if they have not already done
so, I say, Do not only discuss it, but apply your mind to it honestly
and without prejudice and without silly sentiment, if there is any
political wisdom or statesmanship still left in the Congress
leadership. This is so far as the Congress is concerned.

So far as the Hindu Mahasabha is concerned, I think it is an
absolutely incorrigible and hopeless organization. I will give you
one specimen of their statesmanship. Mr. Savarkar, President of the
Hindu Mahasabha has sent a message to the Sikh Conference in
Karachi in which he urged them to take their due share in arms and
defence, and added later that when the Muslims wake up from their
daydreams of Pakistan, they shall see Sikhistan established in the
Punjab.

Mr. Savarkar says: When the Sikhs were but a handful, they
ruled the majority in the Punjab, and right up to the Kabul. Now they
have grown into millions, they can never be and need not be
overawed by the now reduced Muslim majority, relatively to their
former strength. Mr. Savarkar has urged the Sikhs to establish
Sikhistan in the Punjab. He not only talks of Hindudom and Hindu
Nation and Hindu Raj, but he also urges upon the Sikhs to establish
Sikhistan. Mr. Savarkar is not an ordinary man. He is the President
of the Hindu Mahasabha.

I next refer to what Pandit Jawaharlal Nehrus paper has
written on March 30. The paper said: On two things there shall ever
be any division of India to suit the ambitions of fanatics. It shall
always be Akhand Bharat and Vishal Bharat.
5
It should be a
democracy, meaning majority rule.


299
These are only samples to show how the Congress and the
Hindu Mahasabha leaders think. When we talk about Pakistan, we
are called fanatics; but when they talk about Hindudom, Hindu Raj
for the whole of India, they are liberals and they are nationalists. The
only pity is that the Hindu public to say that they are helpless. So
long as they follow that leadership they can not escape from their
responsible and the consequences which will follow.

The Sapru Conference at Bombay

Now let me say a few words about the Sapru Conference
which met at Bombay. I read in the papers this morning that Mr.
Savarkar and the Working Committee of the Hindu Mahasabha has
repudiated and disowned the Conference. It was mentioned in the
memorandum of Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru that the Conference included
the leaders of the Hindu Mahasabha, but Mr. Savarkar has disowned
that. I think Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru, on his admission, has been a
political orphan for a very long time. This political orphan has been
caught in the trap.

He thinks that in the event of supreme danger to India, he
alone as the supreme intellect in India can save India. His motives
may be good, his intentions may be good, but I am afraid that the
Sapru Conference was like the Dutch Army, all Generals and no
privates. I think the correct answer and lead was given in that
Conference by the clear-headed, experienced Hindu political leader,
Sir Setalvad, and if only Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru has followed his
advice, he would have saved himself. What shall I say to this pose
which is now thrust upon him by the wire pullers from behind. The
Bombay proposals are nothing less than another name, another
flanking movement and a second edition of the Poona proposals for
a National Government. If you read the memorandum, there can be
no doubt left. Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru is entirely on the wrong line,
and I am sorry that he has been caught in this trap by the wire pullers
of other organizations behind this movement.

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Warning to British Government

I think I have taken much more of your time than I thought I
would. I think I can wind up by a note, a note of real warning to the
British government, because after all they are in possession of this
land and the Government of this Subcontinent. Please stop your
policy of appeasement towards those who are bent upon frustrating
your war efforts and doing their best to oppose the prosecution of the
war and the defence of India at this critical moment. Do you want at
this moment to put them or place them in a superior and dominant
position now and after the war? Change the corner stone of your
(British) policy in this country? You are not loyal to those who are
willing to stand by you and sincerely desire to support you; your
desire to placate those who have the greatest nuisance value in the
political and economic fields. Give up this dominant feature of your
policy and the character of your policy of trying to get on with those
who do not want to get on with you.

If the Government want the whole-hearted co-operation of
Muslim India, they must place their cards on the table. The
Government must resort to the policy of action, and give up, once
and for all, its policy of inaction.

Ladies and gentlemen, we cannot always succeed in settling
vital or grave problems, problems affecting life and death, merely by
making speeches on this platform or by exposing our opponents and
our enemies. The only weapon that you have to forge and the sooner
you forge it the better is to create your own strength, your own
power, and make your organization so complete that you can face
any danger, any power, and opponents, any enemy singly or
combined together.

RESOLUTION PASSED BY THIS SESSION

I. This Session of the All-India Muslim League places on record
its deep sense of sorrow and grief at the sad demise of Dr. Sir
Shah Mohammad Suleiman, which is an irreparable loss to
the country in general and the Musalmans in particular, and

301
conveys its heartfelt condolences and sympathy to the
members of the bereaved family. (From the Chair.)
II. Resolved that the following amendment be made in the aims
and objects of the All-India Muslim League and for Section
2(a) of the Constitution and Rules of the All-India Muslim
League the following be substituted.
1) The establishment of completely independent States
formed by demarcating geographically contiguous units
into regions which shall be so constituted, with such
territorial readjustments as may be necessary, that the
areas in which the Musalmans are numerically in a
majority, as in the North-Western and Eastern zones of
India, shall be grouped together to constitute Independent
States as Muslim Free National Homelands in which the
constituent units shall be autonomous and sovereign;
2) That adequate, effective and mandatory safeguards shall
be specially provided in the Constitution for minorities in
the above-mentioned units and regions for the protection
of their religious, cultural, economic, political,
administrative and other rights and interests in
consultation with them;
3) That in other parts of India where the Musalmans are in
minority, adequate, effective and mandatory safeguards
shall be specifically provided in the Constitution for them
and other minorities for the protection of their religious,
cultural, economic, political, administrative and other
rights and interests in consultation with them;
(Proposed by Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan, seconded by Haji
Abdus Sattar, Haji Essak Sait, and supported by Mr. B. Dawood
Shah, Qazi Mohammad Isa, Nawab Sir Mohammad Yousuf,
Maulana Zafar Ali Khan, Begum Mohammad Ali, Maulana Ahmad
Sait, Sir Abdullah Haroon, Mr. Mohammad Usman Maulana Abdul
Wahab Bukhari.
III. Resolved that the following amendments to made in the
Constitution and Rules of the All-India Muslim League:
(i) In Section 6, substitute three for two in the last
line.
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(ii) In Section 11 (i), line five, for the words two months
before the Annual Session of the League substitute
before the 15 of November every year.
(iii) In Section II (ii), Paragraph 2, between above and
all in the first line, the following be added: The
President shall have the power to nominate up to the
extent of 20 members to the Council from such
province or provinces and in such proportion as he
may consider necessary and.
(iv) In Section II (ii), Para 2, substitute the following for
Presidents and Secretaries of the various Provincial
Leagues occurring in the last sentence. President and
the Secretary of every Provincial League.
(v) In Section 20, line 4 for the word four, substitute the
word two.
(vi) Delete Section 22.
(vii) In Section 28 A. Sub-Section (2), add the following at
the end: (c) to take disciplinary action against any
office-bearer of a Provincial League who fails in his
duties or ignores the decision or directions of the
Working Committee of the All-India Muslim League
or hinders the progress of the League in any manner
what so ever subject to a right of appeal to the Council
of the All-India Muslim League.;
(viii) Renumber the Sections as necessary.
(Proposed by Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan)

IV. This Session of the All-India Muslim League is definitely of
opinion that the present Civil Disobedience movement started by
Mr. Gandhi on behalf of the Congress, ostensibly for freedom of
speech, is really meant to coerce the British Government to concede
the Congress demands regarding the future Constitution of India,
which are really and virtually for a transfer of sovereign powers to
the Hindus and thus relegate the Muslim nation of 100 millions and
the Indian minorities to the status of mere subjects of Hindu Raj
throughout the country.

303

It, therefore, draws the attention of the British Government to
the fact that if any constitutional change, either interim or final, is
made without the approval of the Muslim League, it would
constitute a flagrant breach of faith on the part of the British
Government with the Musalmans of India and would be contrary to
the solemn declarations and promises that have already been made to
the Musalmans of India by the recent pronouncements of His
Excellency the Viceroy and the Secretary of State for India, and His
Majestys Government, ending with the declaration of August 8,
1940, and the amplification of it by Mr. Amery, the Secretary of
State for India, on August 14, 1940; and warns the British
Government that if any attempt is made to depart from or modify in
any way the above-mentioned declarations and pledges, the
Musalmans would be forced to resort to every measure and method
to resist it with all the power they can command.
(Proposed by Mr. Ismail Chundrigar Saheb, seconded by Sardar
Aurangzeb Khan and supported by Nawab Mohammad Ismail,
Sheikh Abdul Majid and Syed Mohammad.)

V. This session of the All-India Muslim League emphatically
urges upon the British Government not to postpone the coming
elections of the Provincial Legislatures at least in the provinces
where provincial autonomy is already working under the
Government of India Act, 1935, and also in the North-West Frontier
Province, where it can be confidently stated that a stable
Government can be formed.
(Proposed by Sardar Aurangzeb Khan, seconded by Mr. Yousuf
Haroon and supported by Moulvi Sharfuddin.)

VI. Resolved that a committee with powers to co-opt, consisting
of the following members, be appointed with view to chalk out a
Five-Year plan for the educational, economic, social and political
advancement of the Muslims:

Raja Saheb of Mahmoodabad, Choudhry Khaliquzzaman, Mr.
Hasan Isphani, Mr. Chundrigar, Dr. S. M. A. Jaffery, Dr. Sir
Ziauddin Ahmad, Mr. Husain Imam, Sir Abdullah Haroon.
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304

Raja Saheb of Mahmoodabad will be the convener of the
Committee. The Committee is directed to submit its report to the
Working Committee within six months.
(Proposoed by Mr. Abdur Rauf Shah and seconded by Mufti Fakhrul
Islam).

VII. Resolved that the President be authorized till the next Annual
Session to take every necessary action or step in furtherance of and
relating to the objects of the Muslim League, as he may deem
proper, provided that they are consistent with the goal and the policy
of the League or any resolution expressly passed by the session of
All-India Muslim League.
(Proposed by Raja Saheb of Mahmoodabad and Mr. Hasan Isphani.)

VIII. Resolved that the following names of ladies be substituted
for those approved under Resolution No. VI passed at the Patna
Session of the All-India Muslim League in December 1938.

Punjab: Begum Shah Nawaz, Begum Bashir Ahmad, Lady
Abdul Qadir, Fatima Begum.

Bengal: Begum Shahabuddin, Begum M.M. Ispahani, Mrs.
Hakam.

Bombay: Miss F. Jinnah, Begum Hafizuddin, Mrs.
Jairazbhoy, Mrs. Somjee, Mrs. Simjee.

U.P: Begum Habibullah, Begum Aizaz Rasul, Begum
Mohammad Ali, Begum Wasim, Rahillah Khatoon, Begum Akhtar
Mohammad Khan.

C.P: Miss Nadir Jehan, Begum Siddiq Ali Khan.

Bihar: Begum Akhtar.

Assam: Mrs. Ataur Rahman.


305
Sind: Lady Haroon.

Delhi: Mrs. Hussain Malik, Begum Rahman, Mrs. Razaullah
Beg, Begum Mohammad Husain.

N.W.F.P: Mrs. Aslam, Begum Haji Saadullah Khan, Mrs.
Kamaluddin.

Baluchistan: Mrs. Qazi Mohammad Isa.

Madras: Mrs. Syed Abdul Wahab Bokhari, Mrs. Abdul
Hameed Hasan, Mrs. Malang Ahmad Badsha, Mrs. Hameed
Khan.
(Proposed by Begum Aizaz Rasul and seconded by
Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan).

IX. Resolved that a committee with power to co-opt, consisting of
the following persons, be appointed to draft the constitution, rules
and regulations for the organization, management, control and
composition of the Muslim National Guards and submit the report
within a period of three months to the President of the All-India
Muslim League for approval and sanction.

Sir, Currimbhoy Ebrahim (Convener), Raja Saheb of
Mahmoodabad, Mr. Yusuf Abdullah Haroon, Qazi Mohammad Isa,
Mr. Aziz Lalji and Mr. Mazhar Imam (Proposed by Mr. Aziz Laiji
and seconded by Begum Habibullah.)

X. This Session of the All-India Muslim League expresses its
indignation at the unfair treatment of various Government
Departments of the Muslim employees, particularly the Railway
Department, in spite of repeatedly drawing their attention to the
grievances, and warns the Government that if immediate attention is
not paid to them, the League will be driven to devise effective means
to get the wrongs redressed.
(Proposed by Mr. Husain Imam and seconded by Nawabzada
Liaquat Ali Khan.)

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306
XI. This Session of the All-India Muslim League condemns the
firing by police on Musalmans in the village Ujhyani, District
Badayun (U.P.), resulting in eight Muslims being killed and several
being injured, and emphatically urges upon the Government of U.P.
to hold an independent judicial inquiry into the matter.

This Session expresses its sympathy with those who have
suffered under these tragic circumstances.
(Proposed by Maulana Abdul Hamid Badayuni and seconded by
Moulvi Karam Ali.)

XII. Resolved that whereas many Indian merchants have their
main assets in French Indo-China and they have to maintain
themselves only by means of remittances from French Indo-China,
and whereas, as a result of the order of the Government of India
freezing the assets belonging to the Bank of Indo-China and held in
Banks in India, it is absolutely impossible for Indian merchants to
cash Bills of Exchange drawn in their favour by Banks in French
Indo-China, and consequently Indian Muslims suffer great hardship
despite their being owners of heavy assets in Indo-China, this
Annual Session urges on the Government of India the necessity of
relaxing the said order so far as Indians in French Indo-China are
concerned.)
(Poroposed by Syed Murtaza Bahadur and seconded by Mr. K.T.
Ahmad Ibrahim.)

XIII. Resolved that while appreciating the just attitude taken by
H.E. the Governor of Ceylon, this Annual Session of the All-India
Muslim League views with deep concern the antagonistic attitude of
the Ceylond Ministry towards Indians in Ceylon and the steps that
are being taken by it to press forward discriminatory legislation
against Indians in Ceylon, and urges on the Government of India the
necessity of taking prompt action in the matter.
(Proposed by Mr. Abdul Hamid and seconded by Mr. K.T. Ahmad
Ibrahim.)

XIV. Resolved that Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan re-elected
Honorary Secretary of the All-India Muslim League.

307
(Proposed by Sardar Aurangzed Khan and seconded by Mr.
Masudurrahman.)

XV. Resolved that Raja Mohammad Amir Ahmad Khan of
Mahmoodabad be re-elected Honorary Treasurer of the All-India
Muslim League.
(Proposed by Sardar Aurangzeb Khan and seconded by Qazi
Mohammad Isa.)

XVI. Resolved that the election of the two Joint Secretaries be
entrusted to the Council of the All-India Muslim League.
(Proposed by Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan.)
6

DISCUSSION ON RESOLUTION II

Moving Resolution II on the amendment to the constitution,
Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan said: We are altering our creed to-day
and are bringing it into line with the Lahore Resolution, popularly
known as Pakistan. Our experience has convinced us that one
Federation for the whole of India would create chaos, is
impracticable and would lead to the domination of the one
community over the rest of India. It would never be acceptable to the
Muslims. He declared that Pakistan had become their article of faith,
and the amendment now before the House would be an effective
reply to those who had alleged that it was merely a counter for
bargaining. Another implication of the amendment was that every
Muslim who was to join the League from now onwards would have
to take an oath of allegiance to Pakistan. Explaining the amendment,
he said that the safeguards for the non-Muslims in Pakistan would be
framed in consultation with the minorities and would be imposed on
them. It should be evident, he said, that our aim and object is to do
justice to all. Those who want India to be free should accept
Pakistan, which will lead to the freedom of all, he added. The
amendment was supported by speakers in English, Urdu and Tamil.

Qazi Mohammad Isa, supporting the amendment, said that
amendment sought to incorporate the Lahore Resolution in the creed
of the said, League. Referring to the demand of Sikhistan, he said
Centenary Souvenir
308

that the only ground for Sikhistan was that Sikhs had been the rulers
of the Punjab in the past. If that were so, then the Muslims had been
the rulers of the whole of India and therefore should be allowed to
rule over the whole country.

Sir Mohammad Yusuf asserted that the Muslims stood for
quality, fair play and justice.

Maulana Zafar Ali Khan said that he still had a soft corner for
the Congress. He began to oppose the Congress when it began to
oppress the Muslims. As Muslims we are in duty bound to free not
only ourselves, but the whole country. To-day we have two sets of
claims of slavery, one that of the British and the other that of Mr.
Gandhi. We are determined to break through both of them. To us
freedom means to live in accordance with the teachings of the
Quran.

Begum Mohammad Ali said that the principle underlying the
amendment was not a new one. It was at least one year old and had
been freely debated and discussed by all the parties. She said that the
Lahore Resolution had infused new life amongst the Muslims.

Sir Abdullah Haroon, speaking as a businessman, said that a
matter under dispute was always referred to court of law, which
determined what was to be taken by what party. Here India was
under dispute between the Hindus and the Muslims, and he held that
the same principle should be applied.

The amendment was passed unanimously.
7

1
Source: The Muslim Voice, April 19, 1941.
2
Source: Bombay Chronicle, April 13, 1941.
3
This was an extempore address which is said to have taken two hours to
deliver. The source document from which the following version has been
compiled is apparently abridged, and it contains numerous errors of
language which it has been attempted to correct without disturbing the
sense.

309

4
The following three sentences to a resolution of the League Working
Committee meeting in June, 1940, at Bombay, but stop short of quoting
it. This resolution asked the Government of India to take serious steps to
strengthen the defence of India, authorizing Mr. Jinnah to enter into
communication with the Viceroy with a view to exploring and possibly
devising all prompt measures to intensify war efforts.
5
i.e., Indivisible and united India.
6
All-India Muslim League, Madras Session, April 1941, Presidential
Speech by Mr. M.A. Jinnah, published by Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan,
Hon. Secretary, from the All-India Muslim League Press, Daryaganj,
Delhi.
7
The Times of India, Bombay, April 16, 1940.

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LEGISLATORS CONVENTION
DELHI, APRIL 7-9, 1946

The Muslim League Legislators Convention which was held
in Delhi from April 7 to April 9, was the first of its kind in the
political history of the Muslim nation of India.

Amidst scenes of tense expectancy and in a specially
constructed pandal bedecked with Muslim national green flags,
green buntings and green streamers bearing national slogans, the
Muslim Legislators, Convention opened in the quadrangle of the
Anglo-Arabic Hall, Delhi, on Sunday evening.

The famous extract from the Quaid speech in which he had
defined just why Muslims are a separate nations was inscribed in
white letters on green cloth measuring some 24 feet by 24 feet, and
this made a striking impact:

We are a nation of hundred million, and what is more,
we are nation with our own distinctive culture and
civilization, language and literature, art and architecture,
names and nomenclature, sense of value and proportion, legal
laws and moral codes, customs and calendar, history and
traditions, aptitudes and ambitions, in short, we have our own
distinctive outlook on life and of life. By all canons of
International Law we are a nation.

Two streamers stretched across either side of the dais read:
The road to freedom lies through Pakistan. And another read: We
are determined to fight till the last ditch for our rights in spite of the
British or the Congress.

As the various provincial leaders arrived, they were given
enthusiastic ovations, and the Quaid-i-Azam on arrival was led in a
procession headed by Nawab Siddiq Ali Khan, Chief Salar of the
Muslim National Guards, and members of the Working Committee
and other leaders.
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Among the visitors were four Akali leaders, including Gyani
Kartar Singh whose arrival was greeted with enthusiasm. A large
number of women visitors were also present. Some 200 journalists
were present, representing the world press, and an entire wing was
allotted to them. The Press Enclosure contained a number of women
journalists, and most prominent among the large number of press
photographers was a well-known woman photographer representing
the American magazine, Life.

Nawabzada Liquat Ali Khan explained that, as the
Convention was an entirely new gathering, a formal Chairman had to
be elected from among its members. Nawab Ismail Khan proposed
that the Nawab of Mamdot seconded that the Quaid-i-Azam should
take the chair, which he did amidst acclamation.

The Quaid-i-Azam wore a cream-coloured Sherwani, white
Shalwar and the fur cap which is now widely known by his name.

After a recitation from the Quran, the Quaid-i-Azam rose to
speak at exactly three minutes to six. He spoke in ringing tones
which were carried to the remotest parts of the large Pandal packed
to capacity through loud speakers which functioned excellently. At
times the Quaid-i-Azams voice became charged with a quiet
passion of earnestness which produced a visible effect on the
delegates and the visitors. At times he spoke in more subdued tones,
and once or twice with devastating sarcasm, especially when he
referred to the inducements in the shape of better trade facilities
which Congress leaders, including Mr. Gandhi, were offering to the
British for the purpose an Anglo-Hindu deal.

Mr. M.A. JINNAHS ADDRESS

Members of the Central Legislature and of the various
Provincial Legislature who have gathered together in this
Convention, I offer you my cordial thanks and welcome you in this
Convention.

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313
You know that in the battle of elections that was raging for
months all over India, By the grace of God and with your sweating
labour we have won a victory for which there is no parallel in this
world. Ladies and Gentlemen, we had to fight against heavy odds,
powerful organizations and all the manoeuvres and machinations of
our enemies. But I am glad to say that we have routed our opponents
in every battlefield. To-day this historic record stands, that we have
captured something like 90 percent of the Muslim seats, and you
have gathered here to-day as the chosen legislative representatives of
various constituencies all over India. This Convention is one the like
of which has never taken place in the history of India.

It is heavy and sacred responsibility that we bear as elected
and chosen representatives of our people. This Convention is going
to lay down once for all, in unequivocal terms as to what we stand
for, and I have no doubt that we are of one opinion only, and that we
stand for Pakistan, and we shall not falter or hesitate to fight for it, to
die for it if necessaryand achieve it we must, or else we perish.
(Prolonged cheers.)

Now you will have the opportunity of exchanging your view
among yourselves. We have tried to lay down a practical
programme; and the programme is that (after my address to you, you
form yourselves into a Subjects Committeeand each province will
select a limited number because we cannot have a large body. After
this Subjects Committee is formulate, any resolution or resolutions
will be placed before the full House. You cannot discuss a resolution
when there is a large body, and the practical way of dealing with it is
that each province should elect its quota of 10 per cent; to that will
be added the members of the Central Legislature, and that will be a
very small number. That will form your subjects Committee. There
we shall have to carefully examine and review the entire situation
that is facing us especially with reference to the solution of the
constitutional problem of Pakistan, and in view of the fact that the
Cabinet Mission is now here and they have come to discuss matters
with us.

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Now, I think you have been reading various statements and
speeches that are made every day especially in the course of the last
three weeks, I have tried to understand what the Congress position
is, and I put it before you as I see it.

The Congress position, according to the latest
pronouncements of the leading spokesmen of the Congress during
the course of this week, is this: In answer to the Muslim demand of
Pakistan, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel says: The Congress can
accommodate the Muslim League to the extent of reorganizing the
provinces and giving the fullest autonomy possible to those areas in
which the Muslims are predominantly in the majority. He goes on
to say: This would be subject to there being a strong Centre, which
would be necessary for the defence of India as a whole. The
Congress, he adds, would never agree to the idea of there being
two nations, nor will it recognize nationality based upon religion.

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru said on April 4, that the way to deal
with the present situation was to see Indian independence clearly
recognized and leave Indians to compose their differences and find a
way out without interference. It is always difficult to consider these
differences in relation to the presence of a third party which controls
the situation. When once it is clearly and definitely realized that
India is going to function as an independent entity and that the
people of India of various groups and communities must come to
terms or unfortunately fight before they come to terms, then reality
comes into the picture. He further goes on to say that he envisages,
as the first stage after the recognition of independence, the creation
of a constitution-making body with sovereign authority. In another
recent speech, he was good enough to offer a diluted Pakistan
under the suzerainty of a strong Central Congress Government.

If you reduce this Congress formula, it comes to this: that the
British Government must first grant independence and hand over the
machinery of the Governmentboth civil and militaryto the
Congress by way of setting up a national Government of their
conception and stand aside. When they are fully saddled in that
power and authority, which will finally decide the fate of 400
315
million people inhabiting this vast Subcontinent. Then, according to
Pandit Nehru, the various communities and groups must submit to
the decision or fight, and then reality comes into picture.

But we have already got the reality in front of us, and it is
foolish to shut our eyes and imagine that the Congress Interim
Government or a decree, the writ and the fiat of the so-called
constitution-making body of his conception, will command
allegiance, respect and obedience. If such a proposal be given effect
to and a Government of his dream is set up, it will not hold for 48
hours. It is inconceivable that this Fascist Grand Council should be
vested with full powers immediately to decree the fate and destiny of
100 million peoplethe existing machinery in their hands to be used
against 100 million Musalmans and other millions of minorities of
and other interests involve. It seems that Congress does not realize
how fantastic this proposal and scheme is, whatever you may call it.

On the other hand, the Muslim League proceeds on the basis
of reality. I have explained in great detail the fundamental and vital
differences between the Hindus and the Muslims. There never has
been, for all these centuries, either social or political unity between
these two major nations. The Indian unity that we talk of up to to-
day is held by the British Government, and they have-by their
ultimate sanction of the police and army maintained peace and law
and order in this country.

The Congress claim is founded on nationality which does not
exit, except in the eyes of those who merely dream. Our formula is
based on the territory of this Subcontinent being carved into two
sovereign states of Hindustan and Pakistan.

Next, the acceptance of the fundamental principle of Pakistan
is a sine qua non of the consideration of the question of Muslim
League co-operation in an Interim Central Governmentand further
a clear and unequivocal undertaking must be given implement it
without delay. Then alone we can get to the next step.

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It follows that the idea of a single constitution-making body
has then no place, and we shall not accept it, for it means our
consent to proceed on the basis of a united India, which is
impossible, and we cannot give our consent to such a course. Apart
from many other objections, one is quite clear: that a single
constitution-making body will only register the decree of the
Congress, and it is a foregone conclusion that Muslims will be in a
hopeless minority there.

On the other hand, according to our formula, there would be
two sovereign constitution-making bodies, one for Hindustan and the
other for Pakistan, and it is the Pakistan constitution-making body
which will be in a position to deal to deal with defence or such other
matters as may require adjustment, by virtue of contiguity, which
will naturally arise. But all this can only be done by means of
treaties and agreements between Pakistan and Hindustan.

We cannot accept any proposal which would be, in any way,
derogatory to the full sovereignty of Pakistan.

Our formula gives the Hindus three-fourths of this
Subcontinent, with a population of nearly 250 millions. Hindustan
will be a State bigger than any other State in the world, both in area
and population, except China, and we shall have only one-forth, and
in this way we can both live according to our ideals, culture and the
social construction of the two major nations. Whereas, if the
Congress demand is accepted, it is as day-light that we shall be
thrown under the yoke not only of Hindu Raj but this present
Congress Junta will still have the temerity to harp that they alone
represent India, and that they are the sole successors to step in and
establish the Congress Raj in place of the British Raja position
which is impossible and intolerable.

Muslim India will never agree to its realization, and will be
bound, and will have no other course open but to resist it by every
means possible.

317
The British are threatened that if they dont surrender to the
Congress demand there will be bloodshed, for which preparations
are going on: that they will paralyse. British trade, and they further
threaten that the same will be the result if they favour Pakistan.

If, unfortunately, the British are stampeded by the threat of
bloodshed, which is more a bluff than a reality, this time Muslim
India is not going to remain passive or neutral. It is going to play its
part and face all dangers. Mr. Nehru is greatly mistaken that there
might be trouble, as he says, but not very much. He is still living in
the atmosphere of Anand Bhawan.

Equally, if the British fall a prey and are prepared to sell the
Muslims for trade facilities, which are so profusely offered by the
Congress leaders to themand Mr. Gandhi has gone one better, as
he has strongly expressed the view that they will be ready and
willing to give preferences to British goods. But they forget that
the consumer has got a say in the matter, too, and not merely the
Hindu capitalist patrons of the Congress, and that the largest
consumers of British goods are Muslims. I hope that the commercial
tendencies of British will not stampede into such alluring promises
and attractive preferential trade offers. In fact, the Congress is
always in the habit of giving terms, but they only not mean to keep
them, and they over-rule any commitment that may be made
according to the circumstances that may suit the Congress.

But apart from that: are the British going to sell the 100
million Muslims and millions of other minorities for the sake of
illusory hopes and promises of their having a flourishing trade,
commerce and markets in India? It will be the greatest tragedy
indeed in the history of Great Britain to go to that lengthand what
is more, it will never be realized.

Gentlemen, I have had, as you know, long talks with the
Secretary of State for India unofficially, and thereafter officially
with the Cabinet Mission as a whole. I am not in a position to tell
you anything except that it was a free and frank and most cordial
exchange of views on various matters relating to the solution of
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Indias constitutional problem that is facing us. But so far we are
concerned, there can be no compromise on the fundamentals of
Pakistan and its sovereignty.

We cannot agree to a single constitution-making body,
because it will mean our signing our death-warrant and we cannot
agree to consider any interim arrangement unless the Pakistan
scheme is accepted as a sine qua non.

If any interim arrangement or constitution is forced upon us,
we have no other course open to us but to resist it in every way
possible. I am sure I say this on behalf of all of you, that we are
prepared to sacrifice any thing and every thing, but we shall not
submit to any scheme of government prepared without our consent.
And if the British go to that length, they will be guilty of the grossest
breach of faith and the solemn that they gave us when they wanted
our blood and money in the midst of war by their declaration of
August 1940. it will be the last straw on the camels back, and we
shall bear it with courage and determination and resist it by all
means betray us. God is with us because our course is righteous and
our demand is just to both Hindus and Muslims inhabiting this great
Subcontinent, so we have nothing to fear. Let us march forward with
complete unity amongst ourselves, as disciplined soldiers of
Pakistan.

Gentlemen, I am sure that you are full of joy and happiness
and the great victory that we have achieved in the elections. You
have shown to the world that we are a united nation, and that we
mean business. Now the only thing I can say is this: I do not think
there is any power or any authority that can prevent us from
achieving our cherished goal of Pakistan. there is only one
conditionunity, and I am confident that we shall march on from
victory to victory until we have Pakistan.

SUBJECTS COMMITTEE

After the Quaid-i-Azam had delivered his speech, Nawabzada
Liaquat Ali Khan announced that a Subjects Committee would be
319
formed consisting of 10 percent of legislators in each province. The
quota allotted was: Madras, Bombay 4, Bengal 14, United Provinces
8, Punjab 9, Bihar 4, C.P. and Berar 4, Assam 4, N.W.F.P. 4, Orissa
1, Sind 3, Central Assembly 10, Council of State 3. The elections
then took place.

The names of the members of the Subjects Committee are
given below:

Nawabzada Liaquate Ali Khan, Nawab Muhammad Ismail
Khan, Sir Muhammad Yamin Khan, Mr. Yusuf Haroon, Nawab
Siddiq Ali Khan, Haji Esaak Sattar Seth, Mr. Moosa Killedar, Mr.
Muhammad Nauman, Mr. Tamizuddin Khan, Captain Abid
Hussainas representatives from the Central Assembly.

Mr. Husain Imam, Mr. Mahmud Padsha, Mr. Abdul Razzak
Sattar Seth, from the Council of State.

Bombay: Mr. I.I. Chundrigar, Mr. K.S.A.A Khan, Mr. S.M.
Hassan, Mr. A.S. Sheikh.

Sind: Haji Ali Akbar Sahib, Agha Badruddin Sahib, Mr.
Mahmud Haroon.

Punjab: Sardar Shaukat Hayat Khan, Sir Feroze Khan Noon,
Raja Ghazanfar Ali, Mian Iftikharuddin, Begum Shah Nawaz, Pir
Sahib Makhad, Major Ashiq Husain Qureshi, Choudhury
Salamuddin.

Assam: Maulana Abdul Hamid, Mr. Saeed-ur-Rehman,
Moulvi Munawar Ali, Moulvi Abdul Haji.

C.P: Syed Rauf Shah Sahib.

N.W.F.P: Khan Abdul Qayyum Khan, Colonel Nawab Sir
Akbar Khan of Hoti, Khan Sardar Bahadur Khan, Mr. Habibullah
Khan.

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U.P: Choudhry Khaliquzzaman, Mr. Z.H. Lari, Begum Aijaz
Rasul, Nawab Sir Muhammad Yousuf, Moulvi Aijaz Ahmad Khan,
Maulana Hasrat Mohani, Professor A.B.A. Halim, Mr. S.
Rizwanullah.

Madras: Muhammad Ismail Sahib, Mr. K.M. Seth, Mr.
Abdul Hamid Khan, Khan Bahadur Doctor Tajuddin.

Bihar: Mr. Latifur Rehman, Mr. Tajammul Hussain, Mr.
Abid, Mr. Jafar Imam.

Bengal: Mr. H.S. Suhrawardy, Mr. Abdul Hashim, Mr.
Shamsuddin Ahmad, Mr Hameed-ul-Haq, Mr. Fazl-ur-Rehman,
Khan Bahadur Noor-ul-Amin, Khan Bahadur Sharifuddin Ahmad,
Khan Bahadur Muazzam Uddin Hussain, Maulana Baqi, Khan
Bahadur Ghofran, Mr. Ahmad Hussain, Khan Bahadur Ahmad Ali,
Mr. M.A.H. Isphahani.

The Subjects Committee of the Muslim league Legislators
Convention spent a busy day on Monday discussing the resolutions
to be presented before the open session held on April 8.

The Committee commenced its work at 10:30 a.m. in one of
the rooms of the Anglo-Arabic college, the Quaid presideing.

The morning session lasted for over four hours and adjourned
at 2:45 p.m., to meet again at 7 p.m. The evening session lasted for
nearly one hour. All the time that the Subjects Committee was in-
session, volunteers of the Muslim National Guard kept strict vigil in
the vicinity of the room where it met, and no one was permitted
beyond a line which had been drawn. A large number of League
workers, spectators and pressmen had gathered and waited patiently
for the leaders to come out. Although strict secrecy was maintained
and no one was permitted within ear-shot and even eye-shot,
occasional long/distance glances stolen through the glass window
panes of the doors of the room showed that the Quaid-i-Azam was
frequently on his legs, and his characteristic gestures with his hands
showed that the Committee was at close grips with the problems
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under discussion. Quite a large number of the Committee took active
part in the discussion, and some were seen to get up to speak on a
number of occasions.

THE DELHI RESOLUTION

The Subjects Committee after a five-hour discussion on
Monday approved the following resolution:

Whereas in this vast Subcontinent of India a hundred million
Muslims are the adherents of a faith which regulates every
department of their life (educational, social, economic and political),
whose code is not confined merely to spiritual doctrines and tenets
or rituals and ceremonies, and which stands in sharp contrast to the
exclusive nature of Hindu Dharma Philosophy, which has fostered
and maintained for thousands of years a rigid Caste System resulting
in the degradation of 60 million human beings to the position of
untouchables, the creation of unnatural barriers between man and
man and super-imposition of social and economic inequalities on a
large body of the people of this country, and which threatens to
reduce Muslims, Christians and other minorities to the status of
irredeemable helots, socially and economically;

Whereas, the Hindu Caste System is a direct negation of
nationalism, equality, democracy and all the noble ideals that Islam
stands for;

Whereas different historical backgrounds, traditions, cultures,
social and economic orders of the Hindus and Muslims have made
impossible and evolution of a single Indian nation inspired by
common aspirations and ideals and whereas after centuries they still
remain two distinct major nations;

Whereas, soon after the introduction by the British of the
policy of setting up political institutions in India on the lines of
Western democracies based on majority rule, which meant that the
majority of one nation or society could impose its will on the other
nation or society in spite of their opposition, as was amply
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demonstrated during the two and a half years regime of Congress
Governments in the Hindu majority provinces, under the
Government of India Act 1935, when the Muslims were subjected to
untold harassment and oppression, as a result of which they were
convinced of the futility and ineffectiveness of the so-called
safeguards provided in the Constitution and in the Instrument of
Instruction to the Governors, and were driven to the irresistible
conclusion that in a united Indian Federation, if established, the
Muslims, even in majority provinces, would meet with no better fate,
and their interests could never be adequately protected against the
perpetual Hindu majority at the Centre;

Whereas the Muslims are convinced that with a view to save
Muslim India from the domination of the Hindus and in order to
afford them full scope to develop themselves according to their
genius, it is necessary to constitute a sovereign independent State
comprising Bengal and Assam in the North-East zone and the
Punjab. North West Frontier Province, Sind and Baluchistan in the
North-West zone;

This Convention of the Muslim League Legislators of India,
Central and Provincial, after careful consideration hereby declares
that the Muslim nation will never submit to any constitution for a
united India and will never participate in any single constitution-
making machinery set up for the purpose, and that any formula
devised by the British Government for transferring power from the
British to the peoples of India which does not conform to the
following just and equit able principles, calculated to maintain
internal peace and tranquility in the country, will not contribute to
the solution of the Indian problem.
1. That the zones comprising Bengal and Assam in the
North-East and the Punjab, North-West Frontier
Province, Sind and Baluchistan in the North-West of
India, namely Pakistan zones where the Muslims are in
a dominant majority, be constituted into a sovereign
independent State and that an unequivocal undertaking
be given implement the establishment of Pakistan
without delay;
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2. That two separate constitution-making bodies to set up
by the people of Pakistan and Hindustan for the
purpose of framing their respective constitutions;
3. That the minorities in Pakistan and Hindustan be
provided with safeguards on the lines of the All-India
Muslim League Resolution passed on March 23, 1940,
at Lahore;
4. That the acceptance of the Muslim League demand of
Pakistan and its implementation without delay are the
sine qua non for the Muslim League co-operation and
participation in the formation of an Interim
Government at the Centre.

This Convention further emphatically declares that any
attempt to impose a constitution on a united-India basis or to force
any interim arrangement at the Centre contrary to the Muslim
League demand will leave the Muslims no alternative but to resist
such imposition by all possible means for their survival and national
existence.

SECOND OPEN SESSION

Mr. M.A. Jinnah was in the Chair and Nawabzada Liaquat Ali
Khan called on Mr. Suhrawardy to move the resolution.

Addressing the cheering multitude, Mr. Suhrawardy said that
the historical Convention was holding its deliberations at a
momentous period in Indian history, when Britain, on the one hand,
and the people of India, on the other, were at the parting of ways.

Mr. Suhrawardy said that there was no room for Muslims
outside the League and for that Muslim who did not believe in
Pakistan, whether he was a renegade from Sind or the Punjab.
Even the Congress Muslims from the N.W.F.P. were not against
Pakistan, and probably they had already realized Pakistan there. He
said: Does not Malik Khizr Hayat say that he believes in Pakistan?
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I will ask him to join the League as a humble servant; and if he seeks
honour, then why does he not seek it from his own people?

Referring to the future of Muslims, Mr. Suhrawardy declared
that no body could stem the march of 100 million Muslims.

He said: Britain wants to hand over power to the Indians and
the Cabinet Mission is here to find out suitable machinery for the
transfer of power.

He said Congress wanted power to suppress the aspirations of
Muslims and other rising nationalities of India.

The Congress, Mr. Suhrawardy continued, was saying:
hand over power to us. We shall sweep away all opposition. We
shall suppress the Muslims. We shall bring the Scheduled Classes to
heel, and we shall annihilate the Adibasis. Give up the police, your
army and arms, and we shall reproduce an armageddon in the name
of a united India. This I call insanity induced by the lust for power.

It would be sheer blindness if the Cabinet Mission decided
to put the destiny of India in the hands of this murderous gang, he
said.

Mr. Suhrawardy said that 100 million Muslims were a nation,
but it would be incorrect to think that the 300 million people who are
called Hindus were one nation. He pointed out that other suppressed
communities, like the Scheduled Castes, were rising and claimed
their rightful position in the Subcontinent of India.

Is Pakistan our last demand? he asked, and replied: I will
not attempt to give an answer. But that is our latest demand. I would
like the Congress to recall that we in the past asked for much less,
and we were prepared to accept the superior number of Hindus in a
democratic constitution, but they turned down every one of our
modest demands. Now there is nothing left for us except to demand
separation. This is a fair and legitimate demand of ours.

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What next? asked Mr. Suhrawardy. He said the Quaid-i-
Azam says we will resist the imposition of a constitution
unacceptable to us. I think that the cry of 100 million Muslims is:
We will resist. He continued: We want to live in peace. We do
not intend to start a civil war, but we want a land where we can live
in peace.

He said that there were many Hindus who looked to the
League for emancipation. What the Muslims wanted was only two
corners in India at the present moment. If you wage war against
us, he said, I am not prepared to forecast the future.

He said: We are a nation, and we believe we have something
to contribute to the civilization of the world.

Mr. Suharwardy asserted that the Hindu masses had not been
touched by the Congress ideology. The Congress represented the
Hindu intelligent via who were vocal and voluble. On the one hand,
they held out threats and, on the other, they were cooing like a dove.

Mr. Suhrawardy said that there were many Hindus who saw
Pakistan as a solution of their ills, because Pakistan would be a
heaven for the oppressed and the downtrodden.

Mr. Suhrawardy said that it was impossible for Muslims to
rely on the goodwill of the Congress, and that was why they
demanded Pakistan.

What is extravagant in the demand for Pakistan? asked Mr.
Suhrawardy.

He said that Muslims wanted two small corners in India
where Muslims were in the majority. Mr. Suhrawardy said that
Muslims would accept nothing less than a sovereign State for the
nation.

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Mr. Suhrawardy said the question was whether the British or
the Hindus were prepared to give Pakistan peacefully and with
grace.

Mr. Suhrawardy said: I have long pondered whether the
Muslims are prepared to fight. Le me honestly declare that every
Muslim of Bengal is ready and prepare to lay down his life.

Mr. Suhrawardy paid a warm tribute to the Muslims of the
minority provinces, from whom originated the wave of Muslims
freedom. He said that it was admirable that they were prepared to
make sacrifices for Pakistan. But the Muslims of the majority
provinces should be able to bear the brunt of the struggle.

Adressing the Quaid-i-Azam, he said: I call upon you to test
us. Muslims of Bengal are prepared to make every sacrifice for the
great glory of Pakistan.

Referring to the problem of defence, Mr. Suhrawardy asked:
Defence against whom? He asked if Britian or U.S.A could defend
themselves alone. We do not think that as soon as we get Pakistan,
we shall start a crusade of aggression and begin arming ourselves.
Replying to the question of how Pakistan would defend itself against
aggression from Hindustan, Mr. Suhrawardy said: Leave us alone.
We know how to defend ourselves.

Choudhry Khaliquzzaman, who was repeatedly applauded
during his Urdu speech, regretted that neither the British nor the
Hindus tried to understand Muslims. He said that the gulf between
Hinduism and Islam was so wide that it was impossible to build up
one nation in India.

He said that the Hindus treatment of Muslims and the
Scheduled Castes was so unjust and disgraceful that their profession
of being one nation could be clearly discerned as empty and
hypocritical.

327
Giving the historical background of Pakistan, Choudhry
Sahib said that after the Khilafat movement, Hindus were convinced
that British power had become weaker, and began their efforts to
become their successors. He said that Muslims have always been
striving to retain their separate existence; but the British Government
always avoided this problem.

He said: The British Government wanted to cripple the
Muslims, and this helped the Hindus. After a great agitation, the
Muslims succeeded in having separate electorates. He said that the
Muslims have been striving ever since 1857 to maintain their
existence, and the demand for Pakistan was the consummation of
those aspirations.

Choudhry Khaliquzzaman said that Pakistan was the last
demand of the Muslims, and the Cabinet Delegation should accept it.
Referring to the setting up of an interim Government at the Centre,
he said that it would reduce the Constituent Assembly into a
tamasha.

He declared that Muslims would resist the imposition of such
a Government, and would make the establishment of a Constituent
Assembly an impossibility.

He pointed out that once an interim Government was formed
at the Centre, then the permanent Hindu majority would use all the
powers of the State to suppress Muslims and other dissatisfied
nationalities, and the Assembly would become a farce.

Choudhry Khaliquzzaman said that it was fortunate that the
occasion of the final struggle for Pakistan had arisen in the lifetime
of the man who had united the nation. He said: Muslims will now
decide their own destiny.

Choudhry Khaliquzzaman said that the Hindu Press was
asking the Muslims of the minority provinces how they would
benefit from the Pakistan which they were supporting. He said that
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Muslims were wise enough to decide what was good for them, and
they needed no advice from the Hindu Press.

Choudhry Sahib said: Hindus know that Pakistan is in the
interest of Muslims of minority provinces, otherwise the lathis of the
Hindu zemindar and money of the Hindu capitalist would not have
been used against us in the minority provinces.

Referring to Maulana Azads statement that the Muslim
League resorted to oppression to get votes, Choudhry Sahib said: I
and every Muslim Leaguer feel surprised about this discovery of
Maulana Azad. But we should not be surprised because the
statement is not addressed to us. It is a personal explanation which
Maulana Azad has offered to the black-marketers and profiteers
whose money he wasted in the elections.

Referring to the communiqu of the Bihar Government about
Adibasis, Choudhry Sahib said it gives an idea of the way in which
Congress Ministries will work this time.

Choudhry Khaliquzzaman said that in Aligarh there was some
trouble, and two Ministers were sent to report. But while Muslim
shops and houses were burnt in Kasgunj and the Mosque was set on
fire, not even one Minister was sent there. He added: This time the
Congress Ministries have come into power with more murderous
intentions than in 1937.

Choudhry Sahib said that the desire for Pakistan was intense
amongst Muslims; and even Mr. G.M. Syed, Malik Khizr Hayat and
Dr. Khan Sahib did not say that they were against Pakistan. He said:
I have heard that Dr. Khan Sahib, in reply to the Cabinet Ministers
question, whether he wanted a united India, he said he wanted a
united world.

In reply to another question, whether he would stay in
N.W.F.P. if Pakistan was established there, he is reported to have
replied: How can I separate myself from my people?

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Choudhry Khaliquzzaman said: We do not give threats of
civil war like Sardar Patel, but we want to say that it may be easy for
the Congress to get the Government, but very difficult to retain it.

He said: If disturbances start in the country, Muslims would
not lag behind anybody in the game. Mr. Gandhi used to say,
Muslims are goondas, while Hindus are cowards, and everybody
knows that a goonda can make more mischief than a coward.

Addressing the Quaid-i-Azam, Choudhry Khaliquzzaman
said: We will lay down our lives for Pakistan. We are awaiting the
order.

Sir Ghulam Husain Hidayatullah, Premier of Sind,
congratulated the Muslims of the minority provinces for joining their
Muslims brethren in their struggle for Pakistan. There was no
Muslim who did not believe in Pakistan. Even Malik Khizr Hayat
Khan and Dr. Khan Sahib were not against it.

The Sind Premier said that Hindus were not democrats; and
had they not been in a majority, they would not have demanded a
democratic government. He referred to the intrigues of the Congress
in Sind, and said that educated Hindus have accepted the leadership
of four Muslims to hoodwink the Muslims. They have accepted as
their leaders people who had not even been to school.

The Sind Premier said that elections have proved that 90
percent Muslims were with the League, and were determined to
achieve Pakistan. He said that Muslims would get Pakistan in spite
of strong opposition. He declared: We shall not accept anything less
than Pakistan. Every man in Sind will resist the imposition of a
government unacceptable to Muslims with all possible means.

Sir Muhammad Saadullah, Leader of the Muslim League
Party in the Assam Assembly, said that Muslims were the largest
single community in Assam. He said that Assam was a poor
province and had no High Court, Medical College or Engineering
College and looked towards Bengal for help. Apart from this, he
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continued, Assams physical situation is such that it leaves no
alternative to Assam but to join Pakistan.

Syed Rauf Shah, Leader of the Muslim League Party in the
C.P. Assembly, declared that Muslims of C.P. would make every
sacrifice for Pakistan. He said, Delhi had been the burial ground of
many an Empire, and we have gathered here to bury the dreams of a
united India for ever.

The Nawab of Mamdot, who was lustily cheered as he walked
to the rostrum, called upon the British to concede Pakistan and quit
India.

He said: We are asked how we will defend Pakistan. I would
say that if stalwart soldiers of the Punjab could defend Britain
against Nazi aggression, they can also defend their own hearths and
homes.

The Nawab of Mamdot declared that Pakistan was the last
demand of the Muslims, and Muslims would not rest until they had
achieved it.

He said: Whenever the Punjab Muslims showed signs of
awakening from their slumber, they were given sleeping doses.

This time Sir Bertrand Glancy also gave sleeping doses to
Muslims in the form of Murabbas (squares of land) and Jagirs
(laughter). He sometimes gave as many as 20 Murabba doses to
some Muslims, but he failed. All the Muslims, he said, who were
elected to the Assembly, including the Unionists, supported
Pakistan.

The Nawab of Mamdot declared, amidst loud applause, that
they were prepared to sacrifice hundreds of Ministries for Pakistan.
He gave a detailed account of the intrigue of the Glancy-Azad-Khizr
Axis against the formation of the League Ministry in the Punjab.

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Supporting the resolution moved by Mr. H.S. Suhrawardy,
Mr. I.I. Chundrigar, leader of the League Party in the Bombay
Assembly, declared that if million Irishmen could tell the British
Government that they were not prepared to join a Parliament in
which they would be in a perpetual minority, then 100 million
Muslims certainly have the right to claim a separate existence for
themselves.

He said that a government imposed on unwilling people
cannot be secure, and pointed out that in Yugoslavia a Central
Government was imposed upon the various nationalities, but the
whole structure of the State collapsed when crisis of war came.

Mr. Chundrigar said that Muslims in the minority provinces
supported Pakistan because a Muslim State would thereby be
established in the Subcontinent and it would create a balance of
power between Hindustan and Pakistan.

Mr. Chundrigar added that it was a mockery to talk of an
Indian nation when one people did not take water from another
peoples hand, and did not inter-dine or inter-marry.

Mr. Chundrigar added that a balance of power was the best
safeguard for the minorities. When there was Hindu rule in the
Deccan, the Muslims were oppressed, and similarly when there was
Muslim rule there, the Hindus did not always happy. But when in the
Deccan there was, side by side, a Muslim Nizam and a Mahratta
power, neither oppressed its minorities.

That was what would happen when Pakistan and Hindustan
existed side by side as sovereign States: neither would oppress its
minorities.

Khan Abdul Qayyum Khan, leader of the Muslim league
Party in the N.W.F.P. Assembly, declared amidst thunderous
applause, that if the British Government imposed a Central
Government upon Muslims, there would be no alternative for them
but to take to the sword and rebel against the British Government.
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He said: If Quit India means that the British would
withdraw immediately and Hindus and Muslims will be allowed to
decide the future, then I say that Muslims are prepared to settle. But
the fact is that the Hindus do not want that the British should
withdraw immediately. They want the British to stay log enough to
allow them to suppress the Muslims with the help of the British
Army, Navy and Air Force.

It cannot happen, he said, adding: Thank God, we have
one flag, one leader, one platform and one ideal, Pakistan, to fight
for. We are only waiting for the final order to do whatever is
considered necessary for the attainment of Pakistan.

He condemned Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, the Frontier
Congress Leader, for his opposition to the League, and said: His
name will go down in history as one of the Muslims who, at this
hour of trial of the Muslim nation, tried to stab us in the back.

The people in the tribal areas who were all armed, he said,
were for Pakistan. Muslims, he said, were enthusiastic; and during
his journey to Delhi, he was asked by many Muslims, students and
men in uniform, as to when marching orders would be given by the
Quaid-i-Azam.

Referring to the problem of defence, he said that if
Transjordan, with a population of lakhs could be declared a
sovereign State, then Pakistan could also be established.

He said: If the British Government is stampeded by the
promises of trade preferences and other considerations, then I hope
that the Muslim nation will gather together and strike swiftly, so that
a Central Government may never be established.

Concluding he said: We are not indulging in any threats
against the Congress or the Hindus. But if the British force the
setting up of a Government of the Akhand Hindustan type, and if
they decide that there should be one Constituent Assembly, then the
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Muslims will have no alternative but to take to the sword and rebel
against it.

Mr. Muhammad Ismail, Leader of the Muslim league Party in
the Madras Assembly, said that India had never been one, and even
to-day there were hundreds of states. Referring to the Quaid-i-
Azams declaration that he would be the first man to face bullets for
the sake of Pakistan, he said that the bullet will have to travel first
through the chests of 100 million Muslims before it could touch the
Quaid-i-Azam.

Ismail Sahib referred to the various conceptions of Islam and
Hinduism, and said that the gulf between the two was so wide that it
was impossible to evolve a common nationality in India.

Speaking next, on behalf of the women delegate, Begum
Aizaz Rasul of U.P. described the Convention as a unique occasion
in the history of Islam. She referred to the part which women had
played in the elections, and said that everywhere she had seen a great
awakening among the women and girls who did not want to lag
behind in the freedom struggle of their nation.

Every child in every Muslim home is being brought up in the
spirit of Pakistan, she said, and women will make their share of
scarifies if bloodshed comes. They are no longer sleeping, and are
just as impatient as their menfolk to discharge their responsibilities
to the nation to which they belong.

Sardar Shuakat Hayat Khan, coming to speak next, was given
an ovation. I represent the martial clans of Pakistan who do not
believe in words but in action, he said.

They will fight till death if any attempt is made to subject
their nation to the domination of anyone else. I speak for the Punjabi
soldier, and I say that three-quarter million demobilized soldiers in
the Punjab are pledged to achieve Pakistan. They talk of defence, but
I ask: What will defence avail if a hundred million people are
discontented?
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Continuing, the Sardar said: Britain asks us: Can we defend
ourselves? Let there be a test, let us be given a chance here and
now, when the British are still here and a Congress Government
rules the Punjab.

Turning to Mr. Jinnah, Sardar Shaukat Hayat said: You, sir,
are holding us back, and we beg of you to give the word of
command. Let us prove to the doubting how we can and how we
mean to defend our Pakistan.

Next to speak was Sir Firoz Khan Noon, who said: Neither
the Hindus nor the British know yet how far we are prepared to go in
order to achieve Pakistan. We are on the threshold of a great tragedy.

The problem of defence is set forth as an argument against
Pakistan. I am convinced that it is not the defence of Pakistan which
they are afraid of, but the defence of Akhand Hindustan. They want
us to remain in Akhand Hindustan because they want to use the army
of Pakistan to defend them.

He asked if New Zealand, with a population of less than 2
million, and Australia, with a population less than 7 million, should
be free and defend themselves, why should not Pakistan, with a
population of over 70 millions, will be able to defend itself? The
majority of the combatant personnel in the Indian armed forces came
from the Punjab, and the problem of defence and protection rose
only in the case of Hindustan, he said.

Similarly, it was said, continued Sir Feroz, that Pakistan
would be economically weak, but why was Britain now, for nearly a
year, begging of the door of the USA for a loan?

If Britain cannot be without the economic help of U.S.A.,
why should there not be an Akhand U.S.-Englistan? Instead of trying
this unity in their own countries, why do Englishmen want to make
us the sole recipients of their affection?

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Continuing, he said: Even if we have to die fighting. We
shall see that our children will never be slaves of Akhand Hindustan.

I tell you that if we do not get Pakistan, after 20 or 30 years,
no Muslims in Akhand Hindustan will dare to give a Muslim name
to his son.

Russia at San Francisco declared that from then onwards, the
freedom of the oppressed peoples of Asia was going to be its
concern. We are confronted with the problem of defence. Defence
against whom? If the Hindus give us freedom, they are our friends.
If the British give us freedom, they are our friends. If neither of them
gives us freedom, Russia is our friend. I warn them of a great new
surge of sentiment that is rising even among the big landlords of the
Punjab. Communism is spreading, and so for myself, if I have to lose
every rupee that I possessif that is the only way to salvation and
freedom for the Musalmans,--I am prepared to lose it.

Tuning to the standard of living in the country, Sir Firoz said
that in Pakistan that standard was much higher than in the Far East
or the Middle East. Attempts were being made to impoverish the
Musalmans, and Akhand Hindustan would mean their economic
ruin.

Things are so manipulated to-day that machinery is not
allowed to go into Pakistan. As a former Member of the Government
of India, I know that machinery worth crores of rupees has been
imported into India during the war, but not one bit has been allowed
to go into Pakistan.

Unless you have political, economic and religious freedom,
you will in 40 years be serfs in worse plight than the Scheduled
Castes.

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With this Hindu mentality, and this Shuddi Movement, if
you fall into this trap and lose political power, you will lose
something dearer than life itself-your faith.

If Britain sells our freedom to gain the trade of Akhand
Hindustan, if the British force on us an Akhand Government, the
destruction and havoc which Muslims will cause, will put to shame
the deeds of Halaku Khan and Chengiz Khan, and the responsibility
for this will be Britains.

Sir Firoz paid glowing tribute to Mr. Jinnah, and said that if
Mr. Jinnah had belonged to any other country, then the country
would have followed him 101 percent. He continued: There is a
man who can give them freedom to-day, but they will not take it
from him because he is a Musalman.

Begurn Shah Nawaz next made an eloquent speech. She
described how Muslim women had steeled their hearts, and cited the
instance of a mother in the Punjab whose son had been stabbed to
death by Ahrars.

When Begum Shah Nawaz went to see her, she said: I have
given my son to the nation. Muslim women were prepared for all
sacrifices and were anxious to be put to the test.

Raja Gazanfar Ali Khan said the resolution he was supporting
was nothing new. The elections had been fought on this principle.
He said that not a single non-League Muslim had fought the election
on any other issue than Pakistan and they had told their voters so.

The Muslim league, the Raja Sahib added, was the greatest
democratic institution, and it was a mans worth and conviction that
counted, not the manner of his dress, for instance which was so
important to the Congress.

337
If the Quaid-i-Azam does not remain a two anna member of
the League, he will cease to be a leader of the League, but look at the
Congress dictator. Referring to the mild phraseology of the
resolution, the Raja Sahib said that those who meant business did
not shout loudly. They acted; whereas those who wanted to bluff and
bluster but did not mean to act, used strong language.

Mr. Abdul Hashim, General Secretary of the Bengal
Provincial Muslim League, described Mr. Jinnah as the worlds
greatest realist, and said that where justice and equity failed, shining
steel would decided the issue.

The Muslims of India, he said, were not only fighting for their
own emancipation, but to establish permanent peace and tranquillity
in the world.

The struggle for Akhand Bharat was a struggle for
exploitation, domination and injustice. He said that Bengal was
ready for any action that might to be taken for the achievement of
Pakistan.

After this speech the resolution was put to vote by Mr. Jinnah,
and was passed unanimously.

Any one against? asked Mr. Jinnah

None! said the whole House with one voice.

THE PLEDGE FOR PAKISTAN

After the Resolution had been put to the vote and carried
unanimously, Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan read out the pledge.
Every member stood up during the reading. All had signed copies of
the pledge; and when the reading was finished, with a sincere,
solemn Amen, every member signified his acceptance of it:
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In the name of Allah, the beneficent, the Merciful, say: My
prayer and my sacrifice and my living and dying are all for Allah,
the Lord of the worlds(Quran)

I, a member of the Muslim League Party of the Legislative
Assembly Council, do hereby solemnly declare my firm conviction
that the safety and security, and the salvation and destiny of the
Muslim Nation, inhabiting the Subcontinent of India lies only in the
achievement of Pakistan, which is the one equitable, honorable and
just solution of the constitutional problem, and which will bring
peace; freedom and prosperity to the various nationalities and
communities of this great Subcontinent.

I most solemnly affirm that I shall willingly and unflinchingly
carry out all the directions and instructions which may be issued by
the All-India Muslim League in pursuance of any movement
launched by it for the attainment of the cherished national goal of
Pakistan, and, believing as I do in the rightness and the justice of my
cause, I pledge myself to undergo and danger, trail or sacrifice which
may be demanded of me.

Our Lord bestow on us endurance and keep our steps firm and
help us against the disbelieving people. Amen.

As it was nearing 2 a.m., Mr. Jinnah said that there had been
sufficient discussion on the resolution, and be placed it before the
Convention for its acceptance. The resolution was passed
unanimously, amidst loud cheers.

QUAID-I-AZAMS CONCLUDING ADDRESS

What are we fighting for? What are we aiming at? It is not
theocracy not for a theocratic State. Religion is there, and religion
is dear to us. All the worldly goods are nothing to us when we talk of
339
religion; but there are other things which are very vital our social
life, our economic life; but without political power how can you
defend your faith and your economic life?

After deliberations, we have made a resolve we have made
a solemn declaration in this august and historic Convention that
while we hope for the best, we are prepared for the worst. In a clear,
emphatic and definite declaration, we have express out
determination to face all danger. For us there is no other course.

Referring to Muslim minority provinces, Mr. Jinnah said: I
too belong to a minority province. Muslim in these provinces are
the pioneers and first soldiers of Pakistan. But now no question of
minority or majority is left on the issue of Pakistan, it is now
unanimity, except for a few who are still not with us.

I do not want to hurt their feelings; for after all, what is the
use? And they do not count, but they might at least keep quiet now.
Quite obviously they cannot; they have to do what they are doing; it
is a case of the masters voice.

They do not count, and I say on this platform, without fear
of contradiction, that Muslim India is one and Pakistan is our
demand.

As I said, I also belong to a minority province, but let 70
millions of our brethren establish their Raj. But it is not only that.
If there is any safeguard known in the world for minority provinces,
the most effective safeguard is the establishment of Pakistan. The
present Constitution has safeguards also, but are paper safeguards
any good?

What will you do if, after Akhand Hindustan is established,
they want to change the Constitution? Who will prevent them? Five
years or 10 years, and then if they do away with separate electorates
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what then? They will get stronger and stronger, and you will get
weaker, and all safeguards will be blotted out one by one.

We are not going to start with quarrels. We shall have
enough to do, and they will have enough to do, but if they begin it
and our minorities are ill-treated, Pakistan cannot remain a passive
spectator. If Britain in Gladstones time could intervene in Armenia
in the name of the protection of minorities, why should it not be
right for us to do so in the case of our minorities in Hindustan if
they are oppressed?

There are those who say to us What is the good of your
talking of Pakistan when you cannot form Ministries even in your
majority provinces? I say to them: this is the very reason whey we
want to get rid of the existing Act of 1935 and establish Pakistan.
Look at the spirit in which they are forming Ministries in the Muslim
minority provinces and hindering us from forming Ministries in our
majority provinces.

We have taken this oath now Ministries are nothing,
merely a playpen under a nurse.

We Muslims have got everything brains, intelligence,
capacity and courage virtues that nations must posses. But two
things are lacking, and I want you to concentrate your attention on
these. One thing is that foreign domination from without and Hindu
domination here, particularly on our economic life, has caused a
certain degeneration of these virtues in us.

We have lost the fullness of our noble character. And what is
character? The highest sense of honour and the highest sense of
integrity, conviction, incorruptibility, readiness at any time to efface
oneself for the collective good of the nation.

341

And yet, we have done wonders. In five years our
renaissance has been a miracle of achievement. I begin to think it has
been a dream. How rapidly the nation is developing that character
again in its pristine nobility! Our men, our women, our children
they think, talk and act differently now.

Referring to the large body of women present, Mr. Jinnah
said:

No nation achieves anything unless it women go side by side
with men even to the battlefield.

Taking a long pause, Mr. Jinnah concluded: Is Britain going
to decide the destiny of 100 million Muslims? No. Nobody can. The
can obstruct, they can delay for a little while, but they cannot stop us
from our goal. Let us, therefore, rise at the conclusion of this historic
Convention full of hope, courage and faith. InshaAllah we shall
win.
i

i
Source: A Pledge for Pakistan, Full Proceedings of League Legislators
Convention, 1946. New Era Publication, Lahore.

All-India Muslim League
Council Meeting, Delhi, April 10, 1946
Resolutions

II. This council of the All-India Muslim League notes with
apprehension and dismay that forecasts from authoritative sources
credit the joint Anglo-American Commission of Inquiry into
Palestine, which was set up in violation of the commitments given to
Arabs in the white paper of 1939, with the intention of
recommending, inter alia, the immediate admission of 100,000 Jews
into Palestine and the partition of Palestine for the purpose of
establishing a so-called Jewish National Home and reiterates its
earlier decisions, taken from time to time, that any attempt to betray
the promises and pledges solemnly given to the Arabs of Palestine
and Muslim India, and any arbitrary awards by the British
Government, or by any other authority, without the consent of the
Arabs themselves, will be regarded by the Muslims of India as a
breach of faith with the Muslim world, and will result in grave
consequences to the peace and tranquillity of all countries inhabited
by the Muslims, particularly the Middle East.

The Council, therefore, once again appeals to His Majestys
Government to desist from further provoking the Muslims by going
back on the pledge of the 1939 White Paper on the pretext of a fresh
enquiry having been made into the question by a Commission, which
was prima facie contrary to pledges.

The Council further reiterates its sympathy and support for
the cause of the Arabs, in the name of the Muslim Nation of India
and assures them of all possible help in their hour of trial.

III. The Council of the All-India Muslim League views with the
deepest indignation the oppression and indignities to which the
Indian citizens of the South African Union are being progressively
subjected, and regards the proposed legislation of the Smuts
Government, condemning the Indians of Natal and Transvaal to
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social isolation and inevitable economic ruin, as an intolerable
affront to Indians everywhere and a direct challenge to the
conscience of the world.

It has a sinister significance for the peoples of Asia and
Africa that this relapse to the prejudices and taboos of the dark ages
is sponsored by a politician who was a foremost exponent of the
ideology of the Atlantic Charter, which was held forth as a pointer to
a golden age of justice and political morality.

This Council of the Muslim League considers this to be
ample proof of the insincerity of the high professions under garb of
which the last war was fought and won, and warns the people of the
West against such moral, insensitiveness which bears in it the seeds
of their own destruction.

The Council of the Muslim League cannot acquiesce in the
contention of General Smuts, that the White minority in South
Africa has a license to perpetrate all crimes against the non-White
populations, which have already been reduced to a dumb slavery by
the denial of every elementary constitutional expedient of
representation or association in the regulation of the conduct of their
Government.

The conscience of the world cannot turn a deaf ear to the
groans of the oppressed, wherever they may be located and however
closely they may be guarded, because the rooting out of injustice is
not a domestic affair, but the common business of all the peoples of
the world.

The Council of the Muslim League assures the Indians of
South Africa that they do not stand alone in their righteous struggles
against oppression and injustice, but that the peoples of India will
always lend them all the moral support of which they, in their
present state, are capable.

Further, the Council of the Muslim League calls upon the
Government of India to do all that lies in its power to vindicate the
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345
honour of India, grossly outraged by the actions and proposals of the
South African Government, and urges upon it to use all its
international pressure, as well as its existing executive powers, to
recall the White people of South Africa to realization of the rules of
morality and decency by which the lives of nations must be
regulated in the modern world.

IV. This Council of the All-India Muslim League notes with
regret that the right of the Indonesian people to independence has not
yet been recognized by the Government of Netherlands Indians, who
have landed fresh troops in the country with the approval of the
British Government, and seen determined to impose their will on the
free people of Indonesia under the pretext of negotiating a
settlement.

This Council also condemns the delay in the withdrawal of
British League Council Meeting, Delhi, April 1946 from Indonesia
and, particularly, the use of Indian troops in Indonesia for the
purpose of helping the imperialist, i.e. the designs of the Dutch in
keeping under subjection an Asiatic nation.

This Council sends a message of greetings and
congratulations to the brave Indonesian people and particularly, to
their great leaders, for the splendid struggle for freedom which they
have continued against heavy odds, and assures them of the sincerest
sympathy and support of the Muslim nation of India for their just
and patriotic cause, for their sacrifices by which they have raised the
stature of Asia in the eyes of the world.

V. The Council of the All-India Muslim League strongly
disapprove of the policy adopted by the Government in not taking
immediate steps to release Captain Abdul Rashid and other I.N.A.
men, as the reviewing authority had committed a great error, in
discriminating between their cases and that of Mr. Shah Nawaz, who
was convicted of a graver offence, on the plea of the degree of
brutality in the case of Rashid and others, which is neither legally
nor morally tenable.

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The Council calls upon the Viceroy to intervene and, if no
other course is open, to grant pardon to them and remit their
sentences. (The same resolution as that adopted by the March
meeting of the Working Committee).

VI. This Council of the All-India Muslim League attaches the
first importance to the proper resettlement and future happiness of
the million of Indian soldiers who, after having battled valiantly for
six years against all the forces of Fascism and evil, are now returning
home.

This Council is of the opinion that they are a most valuable
asset in the social and economic life of the country, armed, as they
return, with technical and mechanical knowledge, and enriched as
they are with experience and discipline of the intensest years in
human history, and that their fruitful absorption in suitable
occupations and professions would be of abiding benefit to the
growing economy of our motherlands.

This meeting calls upon the Muslim League parties in the
Central as well as the Provincial Legislatures to do all in their power
for the proper rehabilitation and employment of the demobilized
soldiers.

VII. This meeting of the All-India Muslim League Council
demand that the Government of India and the Government of Assam
to take immediate steps to withdraw the invidious and illegal Line
system prevailing in Hindu areas of Assam and it further places on
record its strong protest and resentment against mass eviction of
Muslims cultivating lands therein and demands that all orders of
eviction passed by the present Congress Government be immediately
cancelled and those cultivators allowed settlement of lands under
their cultivation.

VIII This Council of All-India Muslim League calls upon the
various Provincial Governments to constitute immediately
independent tribunals to inquire into cases of official interference in
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347

the general elections in all those Provinces where a demand for such
inquiry has been made or may be made by the opposition party.

This meeting further recommends that the personnel of the tribunals
may be nominated by the Governors in consultation with the Chief
Judges of the respective High Courts.

IX. This meeting of the Council of the All-India Muslim League
warns the central and provincial Governments, against embarking
upon new post-war programmes affecting the educational and
economic systems in vogue in different parts of India without the
approval of the Muslim League party in the various Legislatures.

In this connection, the Council views with grave concern the
intension of some of the Provincial Governments of introducing far-
reaching changes in the educational and agrarian systems, and of
setting up industries without providing adequate safeguards for the
legitimate interest of the Muslim of those Provinces.

X. This meeting of the Council of the All-India Muslim League
deplores the manner in which the Department of Education of the
Government of India and of some of the provincial governments are
carrying on the selection of candidates for higher studies and
training in scientific and technical subjects outside Indian and
regards this attitude of the government as highly detrimental to the
legitimate interests of the Musalmans of India. The report of the
Selection Board appointed by the Central Government indicates that
the Muslim candidates have not been selected in the due proportion
and have been almost completely overlooked so far as training in
certain highly important branches of industrial and technical
education is concerned. This council strongly urges upon the
Governments concerned to redress the above-mentioned inequity
while making selections for the coming year.
1

1
Resolutions published by Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan, op.cit.

COUNCIL MEETING
KARACHI, DECEMBER 14-15, 1947

A meeting of the All-India Muslim League Council was held
at Karachi in the Khalikdina Hall on December 14-15, 1947, to take
a historic decision on the fate of the accredited organization of the
Muslims of the Subcontinent. The First session of the Muslim
League was held at Karachi in December 1907, and 41 years later,
the last meeting of the Council of the Muslim League was held in the
same city. Three hundred members, of whom 160 were from India,
out of a total strength of 450 participated in the deliberation. The
premises were heavily guarded by the police and green uniformed
Muslim National Guards; and the surging crowds, surrounding the
compound and blocking all traffic, raised slogans of Pakistan
Zindabad, Quaid-i-Azam Zindabad, as the leaders, one after
another arrived at the Hall. The meeting was held in camera, and the
Quaid-i-Azam presided. Mr. Jinnah addressed the Council for about
an hour in English, and his speech was later translated into Urdu by
Sardar Abdul Rab Nishtar.

Mr. Jinnah began by welcoming the members, and reviewed
the events that led to the partition of India. Referring to the
developments that had taken place since the session of the League
Council of June 9, Mr. Jinnah said: We are meeting today to
discuss what is going to be the future structure of the All-India
Muslim League, As you know, the Muslim League has achieved and
established Pakistan in a way and in a manner which has no parallel.
The Muslim were a crowd, they were demoralized, and they had to
suffer economically. We have achieved Pakistan, not for the League,
not for any of our colleagues, but for the masses. Muslim India
would have been finished if Pakistan had not been achieved. We
have established Pakistan where there are at least 60 millions of
Muslims, with a mighty territory and complete sovereignty. Credit
for this must go to the minority provinces. We both agreed (the
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Congress and the League) regarding the treatment of the minorities. I
never thought that the Hindus would resort not only to killing and
destroying life and property, but to organized group barbarities. It
was intended to give a blow to Pakistan. That was pre-planned.

The Quaid-i-Azam deplored the human madness that had
overwhelmed people and brought misery to many homes.

While condemning the disturbances in both the Dominions, the
Quaid-i-Azam reminded the Muslims that it was against Islam to
indulge in such crimes. He expressed the hope that the minorities in
both the Dominions would be assured adequate protection and as the
Governor-General of Pakistan, he would do his duty.

The Quaid-i-Azam recalled the charges that were being
levelled against Pakistan and its leaders about the betrayal of the
Muslim masses in the Indian Union. He said, he was full of feelings
for the Muslim masses in the Indian Union who were, unfortunately,
facing bad days. He advised the Indian Muslims to organize
themselves so as to become powerful enough to safeguard their
political rights. A well-organized minority should be powerful cough
to protect its own rightspolitical, cultural, economic and social.
On his part, he assured them of his full realization that the
achievement of Pakistan was the outcome of the labour and toil of
the Muslims in India as well as of those who were now enjoying its
fruits. Pakistan would help them in every possible way.

A member interrupted and asked the Quaid-i-Azam if he would once
again, be prepared to take over the leadership of the Muslims of
India in the present hour of trial. The Quaid-i-Azam replied that he
was quite willing to do so if the Council gave its verdict in favour of
such a proposal. He recalled his statement at the time of the
achievement of Pakistan, the cherished goal of the Muslim nation, he
wanted to lead a retired life. But if called upon, he was quite ready to
leave Pakistan and share the difficulties of the Muslims in the Indian
Union and to lead them.

Council Meeting Karachi
351
Mr. Liaquat Ali Khan then moved the main resolution, calling
for the splitting up of the All-India Muslim League into two
Leagues, both independent and separate from each other. Sardar
Abdur Rab Nishtre seconded the resolution. Several members
wanted time to consider the resolution and move amendments.

Mr. Ashraf got up and said that only an open session of the
All-India Muslim League could change or alter the Constitution of
the League; the Council was not competent to do so.

Mr. Jinnah said that Constitution of the Muslim League had
provided that in an emergency the Council could take such
decisions. He added that the Council should have received notice of
the members objection beforehand, and he had not received such a
notice till that moment. The present situation required that a vital
decision be taken without delay.

Then Mian Iftikharuddin, President of the Punjab Muslim
League, got up and said to the President: People may have 100
percent confidence in the council, still the open session is necessary,
as a democratic organization. We must call an open session, and that
is the only body to decide the issue.

Mr. Jinnah said, I have given my ruling.

Maulana Jamal Mian moved an amendment to the main
resolution that : the word Muslim, whenever it appears in the
resolution in the phrase Pakistan, a Muslim State should be
deleted . He said that Pakistan could hardly take pride in calling
itself a Muslim State. He found many un-Islamic things in the State
from top to bottom. Jamal Mian added: The behaviour of the
Ministers is not like that of Muslims. The poor cannot enter the
houses of the Ministers; the needy and the lowly cannot see them.
Only the courtiers can enter, those who possess large bungalows can
enter. The name of Islam has been disgraced enough.

The Council adjourned after three hours to resume the
discussion, and met again in December 15. Mr. Jinnah said: We are
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only a four-month-old child. You know somebody would like to
overthrow us. I know you would say we have not done such and
such a thing, but we are only four months old. He called the
Council to dispose of the two non-controversial resolutions first, and
then take up the first resolution which had been discussed the day
before. Of these two resolutions, one dealt with Palestine,
condemning the UN decision to partition it. The other expressed
horror at the widespread act of organized violence and barbarity,
both in the Indian Union and in certain parts of Pakistan. (See
resolution I in the following section.).

An amendment to this resolution was moved by Mr. Ismail
Zabih to the following effect: The Council hopes that both the
Government will realize their responsibility in this behalf, and
prepare, after deliberations, a charter of minority rights which will
ensure an honourable existence for the minorities in the two
Dominions. The Council further hopes that two Dominion
Governments will be able to conclude agreements and treaties which
will promote and stabilize friendly relation between the two
Dominions.

The amendment was accepted and both the resolutions were
adopted.

Then the discussion on the first resolution was resumed. Mr.
Jinnah addressed the Council again and said: Let it be clear that
Pakistan is going to be a Muslim State based on Islamic ideals. It
was not going to be an ecclesiastical State. In Islam there is no
discrimination as far as citizenship is concerned. The whole world,
even UNO, has characterized Pakistan as a Muslim State.

There must be a Muslim League in Hindustan. If you are
thinking of anything else, you are finished. If you want to wind up
the League you can do so; but I think it would be a great mistake. I
know there is an attempt. Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad and others
are trying to break the identity of Muslims in India. Do not allow it.
Do not do it. I again appeal that those who have moved their
amendments will not press for them.
353

At this stage, Maulana Jamal Mian withdrew his amendment.
Mr. Hussain Imam then moved his amendment: In the resolution,.
In place of the All-India Muslim League, there shall be separate
League organizations for Pakistan and the Indian Union, the word
shall should be replaced by may . Mr. Imam said, People here
do not know the difficulties the Muslims are facing in India. They
should be left free to decide their future according to the
circumstances. No one supported Mr. Hussain Imams amendment.

Mr. Jinnah said, I sympathize with Mr. Hussain Imam;. He
has not read the resolution properly. You should constitute the
Muslim League in India. If you do not, you would go back to 1906.
you are 40 millions; you can have a leaderif not one, then two or
more. We cannot give directives to you. When you are strong and
Pakistan is developed, the settlement will come.

Speaking next, Mr. Suhrawardy, first made a reference to the
fact that those who like them were opposing the resolution were men
who had refused or given up Ministries. He added: I oppose this
resolution. I am amongst those who had proposed some time ago
that the League should be split. So, some might be surprised at my
opposition. But before we split, my concern is to do something
practical about the protection of minorities. I say when our objective
is achieved, then why should we not organize ourselves in such a
manner that the minorities are given the opportunity, on a national
basis, to join us in the same organization?. If you do that in Pakistan,
it would help us in the Indian Union. If you form a national body
here it would strengthen the hands of Nehru and Gandhi. The AICC
passed a very good resolution. We should also have passed a similar
resolution.

Sardar Abdur Rab Nishtar made an appeal to the members
and said, Our two friends want to finish the League. I say if the
League exist, Islam exists, Musalmans exist. We shall never allow
the League to be wound up. The protection of minorities in India
depends on the strength of Pakistan. We shall do all to protect
them.
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Mr. Liaquat Ali Khan supported Sardar Abdur Rab Nishtar.
The resolution was passed with an overwhelming majority. Some 10
members, including Mr. Suhrawardy and Mian Iftikharuddin, voted
against it.

Mr. Liaquat Ali Khan and Mr. Ismail, President of the Madras
Provincial Muslim League, were elected as convenors for the
Pakistan Muslim League and the Indian Muslim League
respectively, and it was decided to hold their sessions shortly at
Karachi and Madras.
1

The Council of the Muslim League concluded its sitting, after
it had adopted the following resolutions:

RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED BY THE COUNCIL MEETING

I.(A) The Council of the All-India Muslim League, having
reviewed the situation and the happenings in various parts of the
Indian Subcontinent since its last meeting, held in New Delhi on
June this year, places on record its deep sense of sorrow and its
feelings of horror at the widespread acts of organized violence and
barbarity which have taken place, resulting in the loss of hundreds of
thousands of innocent lives, colossal destruction of property, wanton
outrages against women, and mass migration of populations,
whereby millions of human beings have been uprooted from their
hearths and homes and reduced to utter destitution.

The Council also views with grave concern the rising tide of
communal antagonism against the Muslim minority in the Indian
Union where, in spite of the repeated declaration by the Congress
that minorities will be dealt with justly and fairly, and that their right
and interests will be fully safeguarded and protected, Muslim life
and property continue to be insecure, their trade, business and other
means of earning their livelihood are in a state of suspense in many
parts of the country and they are being subjected to various
disabilities merely because they happen to be Muslims.

355
The Council expresses its deep regret that, although the
division of India has taken place on the basis of an agreement to
which both the Congress and the Muslim League were consenting
parties, and although these two political organizations were
recognized and named in the Indian Independence Act itself as the
successor authorities to the British for purposes of the transfer of
power, certain influential sections of people in the Indian Union,
including person holding responsible positions, have been acting
contrary to the spirit of that agreement, and are branding the Muslim
minority in the Indian Union as disloyal because of their support of
the very solution of the long-standing political problem which the
Congress itself had ultimately and finally accepted and ratified,
notwithstanding the most categorical declarations and assurances by
representative Muslim leaders, in the Indian Constituent Assembly
and outside, that the Muslims in the Indian Dominion had
completely identified themselves with the country in which their lot
had been cast and of which they had become natural citizens with all
the rights as well as the obligations of such citizenship.

This Council strongly condemns and deplores that, in spite of
the strict injunctions, given privately and publicly by the Quaid-i-
Azam and the Muslim League, not to harm the minorities in any
way, unfortunately acts of violence were also committed in certain
parts of Pakistan, inflicting loss of life and sufferings on the non-
Muslim minorities, and express satisfaction that these were
suppressed and brought under control by timely and vigorous action
on the part of the Governments concerned. The Council reminds the
Governments of both the Indian Union and Pakistan that they jointly
gave the most categorical assurances to their respective minorities of
full protection of life and property and of a full guarantee of their
rights and interests, and most emphatically urges the Governments
of the Indian Union and Pakistan, and the authorities concerned, that
the pledges given to the minorities be fulfilled in all sincerity.

The Council hopes that both Governments will realize their
responsibility in this behalf and prepare, after deliberations, a charter
of minority rights which will ensure an honourable existence for the
minorities in the two Dominions. The Council further hopes that the
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two Dominion Governments will be able to conclude agreements
and treaties which will promote and stabilize friendly relations
between the two Dominions.

Finally, the Council expresses its deepest sympathy for all
those who have suffered due to the communal upheaval, offers its
heart-felt condolences to those who have been bereaved, and places
on record its profound admiration for the nameless multitudes who
have so heroically and so steadfastly made such tremendous
sacrifices for the cause of Pakistan.

(B) This Session of the Council of the All-India Muslim
League places on record its deep sense of horror and grief at the
widespread acts of violence which have been happening in Ajmer
for some time past. In the deep regard and devotion which the
Musalmans have for the Dargah Sharif of Ajmer, this Council urges
the Government of the Indian Union to ensure protection for the
Dargah Sharif and of the hounour, person and property of the people
living in that holy city. The Council further urges the Government of
the Indian Union to take effective measures for the protection of
mosques, imambaras, holy shrines, tombs and other sacred places in
the Indian Dominion, and to see that all such places which have been
subjected to sacrilege and outrages are immediately restored to their
original condition, and effective arrangements made for their future
protection.

II. The Council of the All-India Muslim League expresses its
deep indignation at the manner in which the General Assembly of
the United Nations have flouted consideration of international justice
and the right of the Arabs and endorsed the unfair recommendation
of the United Nations Special Committee on Palestine to partition
that country, in the teeth of the united resistance and opposition of
the entire Muslim world and other nations who not voted against it
but are opposed to it.

This action by the U.N.O., specially in the circumstances in
which the votes of several member nations were secured by undue
pressure in favour of partition, even after their delegates had publicly
357
opposed it from the General Assemblys rostrum, on the very eve of
actual voting, has shaken the faith of large masses of humanity
throughout the world, belonging particularly to the smaller nations,
in the sanctity and inviolability of the Charter of the United Nations,
round which mankinds hopes for a better and a juster world had
begun to grow. The Council feels that a decision adopted in such
vitiated circumstances cannot be regarded as binding on the Arabs of
Palestine or the Arab and the Muslim world, and it therefore fully
supports the decision of the Arab League not to accept it.

On behalf of the Muslims of the Dominions of Pakistan and
India, the Council sends to the Arabs of Palestine a message of
courage and hope on the eve of the great struggle which they are
about to launch for the defence of their country against Zionist
aggression and other heavy odds which are likely to be ranged
against them and the Council assures the Arabs that Muslims in the
Indian Subcontinent, engrossed though they are in grave domestic
problems of their own, will render every possible help for the
achievement of the aspirations of the Arabs in Palestine, and for the
preservation of its freedom and integrity, which is a matter of
concern not only to the Arabs but to the Muslim world as such.

III. The Council of the All-India Muslim League views with
great satisfaction the attainment of its main objective, namely the
establishment of Pakistan, and congratulates the Musalmans of the
Indian Subcontinent on the sacrifices they have made for the
achievement of their national goal. The Council feels confident that
the unique struggle of the Muslim League for the establishment of a
fully independent sovereign State, under the superb leadership of
Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, and its ultimate triumph in
the birth of the largest Muslim State and the fifth largest of all States
in the world, will go down in history as the most outstanding world
event of modern times. The Council now calls upon the Muslamans
of Pakistan and all other loyal citizens of the State to make the
greatest possible contribution towards the building up of this new-
born State, so that in as short time as possible it can attain an
honourable position in the comity of nations of the worlds as an
ideal democratic state based on social justice as an upholder of
Centenary Souvenir

358
human freedom and world peace, in which all its citizens will enjoy
equal rights and be free fear, want and ignorance.

Now that the main object of the All-India Muslim League has
been fulfilled and India has been divided into two independent and
sovereign States, certain changes are inevitable in the structure,
objectives and policies of the All-India Muslim League organization.
It is obvious that the Musalmans of Pakistan and India can no longer
have one and the same political organization.

The Council therefore resolves:
1. (i) That in place of the All India Muslim League
there shall be separate Muslim League organizations
for Pakistan and the Indian Union. (ii) That all
members of the Council of the All-India Muslim
League for the time being who have become
ordinarily residents of the territories comprised by
Pakistan, or have settled therein, and all Muslim
members of the Pakistan Constituent Assembly who
are primary members of the Muslim League do
hereby constitute the Council of the Pakistan
Muslim League. (iii) That all members of the
Council of the All India Muslim League who have
become ordinarily residents of the territories
comprised by the Indian Union, or have settled
therein, and all Muslim members of the Indian
Union Constituent Assembly who are primary
members of the Muslim League do hereby constitute
the Council of the Indian Union Muslim League.
(iv) That a convenor each be appointed for the
Pakistan Muslim League and the Indian Muslim
League, with instructions to convene at very early
dates meetings of the two respective Councils as
defined above, for the purpose of electing office-
bearers, framing the constitution and transacting
such other business as arises by virtue of this
decision. (v) That the following be elected the
convenors respectively: for the Pakistan Muslim
359
League, the Honourable Mr. Liaquat Ali Khan; for
the Indian Union Muslim League, Mr. Mohammad
Ismail, President, Madras Provincial Muslim
League. (iv) That the meeting of the Council of the
Pakistan Muslim League will be held at Karachi,
and that of the Indian Union Muslim League at
Madras.
2. That all primary members of the All-India Muslim
League who are now ordinarily residents of
Pakistan, or have settled therein, should be deemed
ipso facto to have become primary members of the
Pakistan Muslim League; and all members of the
All-Indian Muslim League who are now ordinarily
residents of the Indian Union, or have settled
therein, be deemed to have become ipso facto
primary members of the Indian Union Muslim
League.
3. That when meetings of the respective councils of the
Pakistan Muslim League and the Indian Union
Muslim League are convened, each Council shall
elect its representatives, not exceeding three in each
case, as members of a joint Ad Hoc Committee for
the purpose of deciding how the assets and liabilities
of the All-Indian Muslim League arc to be equitably
divided as between the Pakistan Muslim League and
the Indian Union Muslim League,. In the event of a
difference of opinion in the Ad Hoc Committee, the
issues in dispute will be finally decided by the
Quaid-i-Azam.
4. That in case of dispute regarding the membership of
the Council, a written declaration by an existing
member of the Council of the Al-India Muslim
League to the effect that he is ordinarily resident of,
or has settled in, Pakistan or the Indian Union shall
be conclusive.
Centenary Souvenir

360

5. That the existing Central Parliamentary Board of the
All-India Muslim League shall continue to function
in accordance with the Constitution and Rules for
the Muslim League organization in Pakistan till such
time as the Council of the Pakistan Muslim League
meets, and for the Muslim league organization in the
Indian Union till such time as the Council of the
Indian Union Muslim League meets.
2

1
Sources : Times of India, Bombay, December 15-16, 1947; The
Statesman, Delhi,
December 15, 1947 ; The Daily Gazette, Karachi , December 16, 1947
Peoples Age,
Bombay, January 11, 1948.
2
Source : The Morning News, Calcutta, December 17, 1947

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All India Muslim League

account of his many arbitrary, unconstitutional and discourteous

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