Assignment:

MOHAMMAD ALI JINNAH:

(TRANSITION FROM AMBASSADOR OF THE HINDU MUSLIM UNITY TO THE FATHER OF A SEPARATE HOMELAND).

PRESENTED BY: RAFIQUE AHMED KHOKHAR M.Phil 2nd semester. SUBMITTED TO: PROFESSOR DR. NAEEM QURESHI

MOHAMMAD ALI JINNAH

(Transition from the Ambassador of the HinduMuslim Unity to the Father of a separate homeland)

Jinna h ha s true s tuff in him , a nd tha t

p

Fre e dom re judic e

from whic h

all will

s e c ta ria n

m ak e him the be s t am bas sa dor of Hindu- Mus lim u n i t y . (Gopal Krishna Gokhale)

Introduction:
Mohammad Ali Jinnahs (December 25, 1876 September 11, 1948) political journey began with his attending the 20th session of All-India National Congress in 1906.[1] He soon developed himself to be the most prominent statesman and the one who could reconcile the interests of the embittered Hindu and Muslim communities. Due to his efforts aimed at bringing the two communities together, he was titled as the ambassador of the Hindu Muslim Unity by Gopal Krishna Gokhale and Sarojini Naidu. Perhaps Sir Syed Ahmed Khans prediction that the Hindu Muslim unity was impracticable and they must part, seemed to be pragmatic and well-calculated as the passage of time and the development of certain circumstances exposed to Jinnah some of those harsh realities that left indelible influence on his politics and compelled him to strive for championing the cause of the downtrodden and helpless Muslim community that culminated in his becoming the father of a separate homeland and the Quaid-iAzam.

How and why did this very crucial transformation take place? It is a million dollar question before the students of the history of the partition of the Indian subcontinent. It was this very transformation of Jinnahs political views that became the driving force of the partition of India itself. Though Jinnah started his political career as a staunch nationalist and Indian patriot who did not discriminate anyone on the basis of the ethnicity or nationality, yet there were certain unavoidable factors that came into play and brought about a paradigm shift in Jinnahs approach and turned him a staunch supporter and the sole spokesman of the cause of the Muslim community in the Indian Subcontinent.

The transition ultimately paved the way towards the establishment of a separate homeland for the Muslims-Pakistan. During this transition, Jinnah strove extremely hard to bring the two communities- the Hindus and the Muslims, together towards a united platform of cooperation with a single objective of the self-government (SWARAJ), but his efforts failed due to the varying interpretations of the SWARAJ by the Indian National Congress and its leaders including the militant and hard-bound wingthe Hindu Mahasabaha. More importantly, it became uncertain whether the independent India would be free from the antagonism of the majority and minority communities or there would be a compromising and accommodating environment in which the majority community would safeguard the rights of the minorities and the focus would be on the constitutional and legal practices and the development of India without any kind of discrimination on any basis. This was the uncertainty that invited various factors to play their role in causing the transition of Jinnah from the Ambassador of the Hindu-Muslim Unity to the father of a separate homeland.

A brief analysis of the factors that made him the Ambassador of the Hindu-Muslim Unity:

Before moving towards Jinnahs disillusionment phase, we must have a brief look into the factors that made Jinnah the Ambassador of the Hindu-Muslim Unity. It will be only these factors that would help us in developing a sound judgement and understanding of Jinnahs transition phase.

1:- Jinnah belonged to Khoja family: Jinnah belonged to the Khoja[2] family. The Khojas were famous for their business and trade. They were not characterized as backward as most of them were well-educated like the advanced Hindu castes. The issue of government services was igniting the communal problem, but the Khojas did not need government patronage and hence less affected by the communal virus. [3] They had also developed amicable relations with other major communities for the purpose of business stability. Jinnah was an exception among the Khojas in the sense that he developed his interest in the politics and legal career. [4]

2:- Jinnahs stay in London (1893-96): His stay in London from 1893 to 1896 was a formative period. He adopted English parliamentary and legal practices.[5] This factor made him an influential person in Indian Politics who utilized the principles of English

Justice to argue with their British masters. He developed his mindset about raising the voice of the national causes rather than provincial or parochial.

3:- Jinnahs met Gokhale: Jinnah participated in the 20th session of the Indian National Congress in December 1906 at Bombay as secretary to Dadabhai Naroji.
[6]

He

met Gopal Krishna Gokhale first time at this session. At the very first meeting, Jinnah was so captivated by the wisdom, fairness and moderation of Gokhale, that he became his ardent admirer and later stated that his fond ambition is to become the Muslim Gokhale. [7] Gokhale became the only close and dearest friend of Jinnah. [8]

4:- Jinnah joined Indian National Congress: Mohammad Ali Jinnah joined the Indian National Congress in 1906. Association with the Congress helped Jinnah move quickly to the centre of the political stage. The Congress was represented by the Hindu and Muslim educated, urban middle classes and was agitating for self-government and responsible rule. [9]

5:- Within the Viceroys council he came very close to the likeminded Congressmen: Within the Viceroys Imperial Legislative Council, after he was elected to the council through the Bombay Muslim Constituency, Jinnah met some of those like-minded personalities to whom he came very close and who were later to be the strong supporters of the Hindu-Muslim Unity for the purpose of securing reforms in the political business of the state. They were Bhupendra Nath Basu, Dinshaw Wacha, Srinivas Sastri, Mazharul Haq, Tej Bahadur Sapru, Madan Mohan Malaviya, Raja of

Mahmudabad, and Sir Imam Ali. The last two were the non-Congress members of the Council. [10]

6:- He was not in favor of the special treatment of any community: Congress demanded the system of representative government but due to the backwardness of some communities it also suggested the system of reservation for the backward classes. Jinnah did not approve the reservation part of the demand. He said : I understand that by backward class is meant the Mohammadan community. If the Mohammadan community is meant by it, I wish to draw your attention to the fact that Mohammadan community should be treated in the same way as the Hindu community. The foundation upon which the Indian National Congress is based, is that we are all equal, that there should be no reservation for any class or community and that the reservation should be deleted.[11] Jinnah went to the extent of sponsoring a resolution with Mazhar ul Haq in 1910 Congress session against the extension of separate electorates to the local bodies.[12]

7:- He Joined Muslim League not for communal but national reasons: In 1913 Jinnah joined All-India Muslim League (a Muslim political organization founded in 1906) and played a very important role in making the Muslim League adopt a goal of self-government suitable to India. Before joining the Muslim League, he assured his friends that loyalty to the Muslim League and the 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. [13]

8:- In Muslim League also Jinnah met many like-minded people: When Jinnah joined Muslim League, he once again found here a group of the like-minded personalities who shared his political vision. Raja of Mahmudabad (with whom Jinnah had worked in the Viceroys Council), Wazir Hassan, the League Secretary, Syed Nabiullah, who later became the Chairman of Lucknow Municipal Board, and Samiullah Beg, an advocate at Lucknow Bar. Except Raja, all of these personalities were also lawyers of good repute. In Jinnahs policy of reconciling the interests and objectives of Congress with the Muslim League, these persons were also at forefront with him. Wazir Hussain was one of those members of the League who strove very hard to and kept on persuading the others for the purpose of maintaining the Leagues nationalistic vision. [14]

9:- Jinnah was not interested in communal or provincial level politics: Jinnah was indifferent to the communal or provincial level politics. He was an unrepresentative individual. He wanted to deal the issues at the national level. It was because the lower down the political structure a politician operates, the more local factors come into play and the less likely it is that an unrepresentative individual will become politically successful.
[15]

Stanely Wolpert, in his work, Jinnah of Pakistan says: he was politician enough to realize that his only hope of succeeding his liberal mentors and friends Dadabhai, Pherozeshah, and Gokhale as leaders of Congress was by virtue of his secular constitutional national appeal, not through his double minority status. He had risen above a l l parochial prejudice, a Shakespearian hero in modern garb, with the noblest imprecations of Burk, Mil, and Morley ringing in his mind, stirring his heart. Congresss national political platform had become his new dramatic stage, grander and

more exciting than Bombays high court. In one short decade, after returning from London, he had virtually emerged as heir-apparent to the Bombay triumvirate which led Congresss slowmoving, political bullock-cart toward the promised land of freedom.
[16]

Jinnah supported every liberal measure that involved larger national issues as Gokhales Elementary Education Bill, and Mr. Basus Special Marriage Bill, which was strongly opposed by the conservative section of Indian society. He introduced Wakf Validating Bill on 17th March 1911. The way he handled such an intricate and controversial measure endeared him not only to his colleagues but also his objective of general recognition from his co-religionists all over India, who while still regarded him somewhat outside the orthodox pale of Islam, were soon to seek his advice and guidance in their political affairs. [17]

10:- Lucknow Pact: Lucknow Pact was the culmination of Jinnahs efforts towards bringing the two political parties, the Indian National Congress and the All-India Muslim League, to a single platform and raising a joint slogan of self-government (SWARAJ) and many other constitutional reforms including the separate Muslim electorates. The two parties met at Lucknow and held a joint session. The Memorandum of the Nineteen (draft of constitutional reforms) was signed that is popularly known as Lucknow Pact. The Muslims got their demand of separate electorates approved by the Congress and convinced the Government that on the issue of the Muslim representation there was no opposition from anyone in India. [18] Jinnah in his presidential address to the Muslim League said:

Towards the Hindus our attitude should be of good-wil and brotherly feelings. Cooperation in the cause of our Motherland should be our guiding principle. Indias real progress can only be achieved by a true understanding and harmonious relations between the two great sister communities We should remove the root causes and the evil effects of the process of disintegration. We should maintain a sustained loyalty to and cooperation with each other. We should sink personal differences and subordinate personal ambitions to the wellbeing of the community. We must recognize that no useful purpose is served in petty disputes and in forming party combinations. We must show by our words and deeds that we sincerely and earnestly desire a healthy national unity. For, the rest of seventy millions of Musalmans need not fear. [19]

These were the factors and events of crucial importance as far as Jinnahs nationalistic vision and policy of the Hindu-Muslim unity for securing political reforms were concerned. But Jinnahs politics could not continue to operate on the same lines for long. Soon there came an era of disillusionment and disappointment for Jinnah. The era became a turning point in not only the politics of Jinnah but also in the history of India as it was the beginning of the end in Jinnahs transition from the Ambassador of the HinduMuslim unity to the father of a separate homeland. 11:- Home Rule League:
Mrs. Annie Besant founded the Home Rule League on 3r d September 1916. She became its president. The League aimed at becoming a platform for demanding the selfGovernment for India. It became very famous platform within a very short period of time. She made strong statements and argued vehemently for the same purpose. She was interned by the Madras Government in June 1917. Her internment stirred both the Hindus and the Muslims alike.

10

In a meeting held under the auspices of the Bombay Association on 30th July 1917, Jinnah said: We protest against the internment of Mrs. Besant and her co-workers not only on principle but also because it is an attempt to intern Home Rule or selfGovernment scheme framed and adopted co-jointly by the Indian National Congress and the all India Muslim League at Lucknow. We declare that we stand by that scheme unswervingly and unflinchingly, and we shall do all that lies in our power for its realization at the close of the war [20]

The situation began to change radically:

By this time, Jinnah had come to the forefront of the Indian politics and had become one of the important political figures. But the situation began to change radically as he was disappointed with the certain developments that took place in Indian politics and at the attitude of the Congress leadership. Now we would look into those factors which conspired to bring about transition in Jinnahs politics from the ambassador of the Hindu-Muslim unity to the father of a separate homeland.

1:- Khilafat-Non-Cooperation Movement:

At the end of the First World War, the allied powers wanted to divide the Turkish Ottoman Empire that had sided with Triple Entente led by Germany, Italy and Japan. It stirred the feelings of the Muslims generally across the globe and particularly in the Sub-Continent. The religious ulemas came forward and the 11

Muslims demonstrated inordinate concern for the Khilafat or Ottoman Caliphate. The Khilafat Movement was started on 27th October 1919, when the day was observed as, Khilafat Day, all over India. The first All India Khilafat Conference was convened by Hakim Ajmal Khan on 23rd November 1919 at Delhi. It was presided over by Fazlul Haq and among others attended by Gandhi and Swami Shraddhanand. Resolutions were passed to boycott the peace celebrations, to boycott British goods, to send a deputation to England and, if necessary to America, and to refuse to cooperate with the Government unless the Khilafat and the Holy places were treated in accordance with the Muslim desires. [21] Jinnah did not agree with the methods applied in the non-cooperation movement by Gandhi such as boycott of law courts, schools and legislatures. He was also concerned about the Amritsar massacre of 1919. He criticized the policies of the government and said: one attacks our liberty and the other our faith(Punjab atrocities and the spoliation of the Ottoman Empire and Khilafat). When Gandhi invited Jinnah to take share in the new life that has opened up for the country
Jinnah replied: If by new life, you mean your methods and programmes, I am afraid I cannot accept them; for I am fully concerned that it must lead to disasteryour extreme programme has for the moment captured the imagination mostly of the inexperienced youth and the ignorant and the illiterate. All this means complete disorganization and chaos. What the consequences of this may be, I should shudder to contemplate
[22]

Jinnah went away from the scene of India politics during the years of non-cooperation. He waited till the things normalize on constitutional lines. He preferred to stay on the sidelines.

12

Moplah uprising and Chauri Chaura incidents of extremely violent nature brought about fissures within the Khilafat Non-cooperation leadership. Gandhi called off the movement. On the other hand, Turkish Parliament abolished the Ottoman Sultanate in November 1921. Jinnahs prediction that the non-cooperation movement was bound to fail, came true. The reforms at provincial level initiated by the Reforms of 1919 and the Hindu-Muslim antagonism weakened Jinnahs position in the Indian politics. He was an unrepresentative person at the provincial level. He was an all-India leader. [23] 2:- Montague- Chelmsford Reforms of 1919:
The 1919 constitutional reforms transferred to the provinces such subjects as public works, education, local self-government to the ministers responsible to elected assembly members. This system of diarchy offered superb opportunities for the politicians with strong local support. It was a setback for the people like Jinnah who strived at all-India level politics .
[27]

It devolved the power to the provinces and granted the separate electorates to the

Muslims. It brought the provincial level or local politics into play. Jinnah wanted a greater share of power for the Muslims in the provincial governments and demanded the restoration of statutory majorities in Punjab and Bengal. In 1924, he was elected as Leagues president for the next three years. On the other hand, Hindu Mahasabha had captured the reins of authority in Congress. Mahasabha was bitterly opposed to separate electorates for the Muslims. They were showing a complete Hindu nationalistic approach and had no regard for the Muslims and their interests. [24] Jinnah followed a two-pronged strategy. One, to identify, articulate and express Muslim interests as best as he could to secure their rights in the future constitution of India. In fact, he stressed you cannot give any constitution to India of responsible government without making provisions for safeguarding the rights and interests of the Musalmans. You cannot separate one from the other if a constitution is to be completed. The second was to persuade the Congress to see the worth of those interests and them as a basis for cooperation between the Muslims and the Hindus in the common cause of self-government for India.[25]

13

I wouldappeal to my Hindu brethren that in the present state of position, they should try to win the confidence and trust of the Mohammadens who are, after all, in the minority in the country.
[27]

3:- Congress response to Delhi Muslim Proposals:

Motilal Nehru had asked Jinnah and the Muslim League leaders to surrender the demand of separate electorates and make other demand in its place. Tension between the Hindus and the Muslims was on the rise from 1922 onwards. The Jinnah, seeing that the Hindus had no inclination to cooperate with the Muslims, invited the Muslims leaders of India to meet at Delhi under his presidency. This meeting was held on the 20th of March 1927 and the result was the Delhi-Muslim proposals, which were unanimously accepted by all the Muslim leaders. The proposals were as follows:

1-

Sind should be separated from Bombay and made an independent province.

2- Reforms should be introduced in Baluchistan and NWFP on the same footings as in any other province. In that case, Muslims are prepared to accept a joint electorate in all provinces so constituted, and are further willing to make to Hindu minorities in Sind, Baluchistan and the NWFP, the same concessions that Hindu majorities in the other provinces are prepared to make to Muslim minorities.

3:- In the Punjab and Bengal the proportion of representation should be in accordance with the population. In the Central Legislature, Muslim representation shall not be less than a third, and that also, by a mixed electorate. [28]

The relinquishment of the right to separate electorate was an unprecedented concession by the Muslims and it was a major achievement of Jinnah to have convinced his 14

colleagues to concede this to other communities. [29] The Hindu community reacted to these proposals by accepting the joint electorates and rejecting the other two. It was the first time that the Muslims had agreed to joint electorates and would not do so ever again. After this the demands of the Muslims increased day-by-day and their stance to safeguard their interests hardened further finally resulting in the demand for partition. [30] Initial reaction of Congress to the Delhi Muslim proposals was quite encouraging, but the Hindu Mahasabha had become very influential wing of the Congress and it did not approve of the demands made by the Muslim League in these proposals in place of the separate electorates. On 19 May, 1928, the Congress formally rejected those proposals. Madan Mohan Malaviya and Lajpat Rai said: The object Muslims have in view is to obtain as as they can while conceding as little as possible [31] It disappointed Jinnah as he had proposed an alternative to the separate electorates despite opposition from one section of the League. He did it in favour of enhancing cooperation between the two communities. The proposals had combined demands fulfilled as it proposed Joint electorates according to Congress demands and Muslim demand of one-third representation at the centre and representation according to population in the provinces of Bengal and the Punjab. Some members of the Muslim League did not like Jinnahs surrendering of separate electorates. Yet, the Congress, dominated by the Hindu Mahasabha, did not accept those proposals and further aired the uncompromising temperament between the two communities. [32]

4:- The Nehru Report:

The Nehru Report was presented by Pandit Motilal Nehru in 1928. It disappointed all the Muslims as it did not contain any provision that could contain the safeguards for the Muslim community. Moreover, it recommended joint electorates with reservation of seats according to the numerical population. Jinnah 15

suggested some amendments to Motilal Nehru regarding protection of the rights and interests of the Muslims. But the Congress rejected those and demanded from the Government immediate implementation of the Report with a threat of launching CivilDisobedience Movement. [33] By now, Jinnah felt the deep most fissures and irreconcilable interests of the two communities. The Congress national interests meant the Hindu interests actually. Having seen the Congress unflinching attitude dominated by the Hindu-Mahasabha, Jinnah said: this is, thus, the parting of the ways.

5:- Jinnah presented his Fourteen Points Formula:In response to Nehru Report, Jinnah presented his formula for the constitutional reforms in India. It proposed separate electorates for the Muslims and five Muslim majority provinces to balance six Hindu-Majority provinces in order to strengthen the Indian federation and giving the Muslims a sense of belongingness and participation.
[34]

It not only suggested safeguards for the Muslims but for all the

minorities in order to ensure the unity of India. The position of Jinnah in his Fourteen points formula was widely different from that of Delhi-Muslim Proposals. In the Delhi Muslim Proposals, Jinnah represented the demands made by both the communities of India for securing the cause of the Hindu-Muslim Unity, but in the Fourteen points, he seemed to be voicing only the Muslim demands and aspirations. The Fourteen points formula brought Jinnah to the centre-stage of the Muslim politics. He did not become a Muslim communalist yet, but he could no longer be called the Ambassador of the Hindu-Muslim Community. [35] Sikander Hayat in his The Charismatic Leader Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah and the creation of Pakistan argues that:

16

 Jinnah was not the only leader who had been disappointed with the attitude of the Hindus in general and the Congress in particular. Maulana Mohammad Ali, Allama Muhammad Iqbal and a number of other important Muslim leaders felt the same way. Maulana Muhammad Ali even accused Gandhi of encouraging the communalism of the Hindu majority at the expense of the nationalistic cause promoted by Congress in the past.

6:- Issue of federation:

The federal form of government is suitable to the states having large

territory and diverse population. The Congress demanded the Federal form of government with strong centre, while the Muslim League proposed federation with loose centre and autonomous provinces or units. On this issue as well, they had adopted an uncompromising attitude. By the strong centre, they could control the provinces and units and put a check on the developments. The Muslims demanded the autonomous provinces or units in the best interest of their own as through this political system they could flourish in certain provinces where they claimed to be a majority. The Muslims were also determined to retain the separate electorates for them, weightage and statutory majorities in Punjab and Bengal. But the Congress showed an uncompromising attitude and kept on pressuring the government for the implementation of their demands as proposed in the Nehru Report.

7:- Civil-Disobedience Movement of the Congress and The Round Table Conferences:-

17

The British Government convened the Round Table Conferences in London to discuss the constitutional problems of India and reach a consensus. Almost all the parties, princes and minorities were invited. Congress did not take part in the Conference and launched Civil Disobedience Movement in order to pressurize the Government to implement the Nehru Report. 26 January, 1930 was celebrated as the Independence Day ( Purna Swaraj Day, as Gandhi called it). Jinnah asked the Congress to make use of the historic opportunity offered in London to reach a consensus. But Gandhi charged Jinnah as mentally and constitutionally incapable of learning things. [36]

In the 2nd RTC, Congress joined the talks after a pact between Gandhi and Irwin. In this conference, Gandhi claimed to represent the whole India and dismissed other parties as representative of different sections or communities. He also refused to recognise the Muslim interests and demands. Jinnah was extremely disappointed and disillusioned as much as that he withdrew from the active politics and settled in London. He said: I received the shock of my life at the meetings of the Round Table Conference. The Hindu sentiment, the Hindu mind, the Hindu attitude led me to the conclusion that there was no hope for the unity. I felt very pessimistic about my country. The position was most unfortunate. The Musalmans were like the NoMans land; they were led either by the flunkeys of the British government or the camp-followers of the Congress. Whenever attempts were made to organize the Muslims, toadies and flunkeys on the one hand and traitors in the Congress camp on the other frustrated the efforts. I began to feel that neither could I help India, nor change the Hindu mentality, nor could I make the Musalmans realize precarious position. I felt so disappointed and

18

so depressed that I decided to settle down in London. Not that I did not love India; but I felt utterly helpless. [37]

8:- The Muslims looked to Jinnah for guidance and leadership:Jinnahs self-imposed exile was not simply a turning point in his political career. But his exile did not mean that he had lost interest in the politics of India. Hecontinued to observe the developments. In one of his letters to Abdul Matin Chaudhary on 2 March, 1932, he stressed: The Musalmans must stand united and I agree that there should be one organization..If the Muslim leaders know how to play their cards, I am sure that community will get what they want and after all it is not much. You cannot live on safeguards, but on your own merits and exertions. The community is very backward and has to make up a lot.
[38]

When Jinnah was in London, there were many people in who kept writing letters to him and asked him to return to India and lead the Muslim nation to a path of salvation. They could not think of any other leader capable of leading them out of the difficulties. Sir Mohammad Yakub, member of the Legislative Assembly, Raja Mohammad Amir Ahmed Khan of Mahmudabad, Sir Abdullah Haroon and many other leaders of public opinion sent personal letters to Jinnah to plead with him for his early return to India. More importantly, the Muslim League Council, in its meeting on 12 March, 1933, sent an urgent telegram to Jinnah to return to India and lead the Muslims in the hour of crisis. [39] On 15 March,1933, the Civil and Military Gazette of Lahore headlined Muslim SOS to Mr. Jinnah and wrote:

19

In a community so prolific in leaders as the Muslimsa message to Mr. Jinnah across the seas is a pathetic confession of failure of some of these leaders to visualize the dangers threatening their community at this critical juncture[indeed] an appeal to Caesar has been necessary. [40] Suleri, in his My Leader writes: Chartless on the sea of Indias most crucial years, they [the Muslims] had no real leader to give them direction. They were divided into numerous groups motivated by narrow parochial interests and engaged in mutual acrimony and hostilities.
[41]

In March, 1934, Jinnah was elected as the permanent president of the Muslim League. In 1935, he returned to India to lead the Muslim community. As he said: I found that the Musalmans were in greatest danger. I made up my mind to come back to India as I could not do any good from London. He also said: I am on grand mission to India. [42] But he still believed in Indian nationalism and self-government. He said that:

Muslims are in no way behind any other community in their demand for national self-government. [43] The most important thing for him was to secure the Muslim interests and let them achieve their proper share in the political system.

20

He began with reorganizing the Muslim League. Because he thought that without organizing a unified platform, the Muslim community would not be able to secure their interests. Addressing to the Jamiat-ul-Ulama Conference in April 1936, he said:

Muslims must think of the interests of our community. Unless you make the best efforts, you will fail and command no respect and no body will bother to consult you. Organise yourself and play your part. [44] Replying to the charge of a critic that he was encouraging the Muslim communalism, he said: I am helping eight million people and if they are more organized they will be all the more useful for the national struggle. [45]

9:- The Congress Rule 1937-39:

The general elections of 1937 under the Government of India Act 1935 were won by the Indian National Congress with heavy triumph. They formed ministries in majority of the provinces. Jinnah expected that the Congress would cooperate with the League and lead the government with respect and understanding with other parties towards the common goal of the self-government. But the massive victory in elections made them feel proud and they did not bother to consider the Muslim League even a political party. They were confident of the imminent freedom. The uncompromising and non-accommodative attitude disappointed the Muslims and especially the League. Yet, Jinnah appealed to Gandhi to take up the question of the Hindu-Muslim Unity earnestly. But Gandhi replied:

21

I wish I could do something but I am utterly helpless. My faith in unity is bright as ever; only I see no daylight out of the impenetrable darkness and in such distress I cry out to God for light.
[46]

Jinnah criticized the Congress and its policies in the formation of the government. Jinnah held Congress responsible for alienating the Musalmans of India by pursuing a policy which is exclusively Hindu. it would result in class bitterness, communal war, and strengthening of Imperialistic hold as a consequence. [47] Jinnah said: Various declarations [of Congress] like Purna Swaraj, selfgovernment, complete independence, responsible government, substance of independence, and dominion status were mere slogans which could not carry India forward. [48] Moreover, Congress policies of Muslim Mass-contact campaign, Wardha scheme of education, and Bande Mataram were some of those policies that embittered the Muslim community not only generally but also the Muslim elites felt disturbed by Congress communal policies. The Pirpur, Shareef, and Fazlul Haq reports made a complete record of Congress atrocities and communal policies. [49] Jinnah appealed to the Muslims: I entreat and implore that every man, woman, and child should rally around one common platform and flag of the All-India Muslim League. All the Muslims should concentrate and devote their energies to self-organisation and full development of their power to the exclusion of every other consideration.
[50]

In yet another appeal to the Muslim, Jinnah said:

22

Come to the platform of League. If the Muslims are united the settlement w i l l come sooner than you think. You w i l have established your claim to achieve freedom. After a few months work, the Leagues name is known in every corner of India. Lakhs of people are joining it. Even those who are against us, w i l l realize that they are under a serious delusion and their only course is to join the League and make the Musalmans speak with one voice.

22 December, 1939 was celebrated as the Day of Deliverance when Congress resigned from its ministries. [51] The Times of India reported: It appeared as if the Muslims were celebrating a festival.

[52]

Analysing the attitude of the Congress, Jinnah said:

The Congress attitude so far can be summed up thus. First, that the Communal Award must go lock, stock and barrel; second, that there must be no separate electorates; and third, that there must be no differential franchise and if possible there should be no reservation of seats for any community. The result of this w i l be obvious, namely, that the Musalmans w i l be wiped out from securing any adequate representation whether in the Legislature or in the Municipal, Local and District Boards.
[53]

Jinnah declared:

23

Muslims have made it clear more than once that besides the question of religion, culture, language and personal laws, there is another question equally of life and death for them and that their future destiny and fate are dependent upon their securing definitely their political rights, their due share in the national life, the Government and the administration of the country. They w i l l fight for it till the last ditch and al the dreams and notions of the Hindu Raj must be abandoned. They w i l l not be submerged or dominated and they w i l l not surrender so long as there is life in them. The Muslim League claims the status of complete equality with the Congress or any other organization. We cannot surrender, submerge or submit to the dictates of the High Command of the Congress, which is developing into a totalitarian authoritative caucus functioning under the name of the Working Committee and aspiring to the position of a Shadow Cabinet of a future Republic. The Muslim League is not only carrying on struggle for the Muslims but it maintains that a l other important minorities must have the same sense of security and place in the Sun of India where, they w i l l enjoy the rights and privileges of free citizens and not be ground down by caste tyranny and caste rule. In my opinion, the Congress is making one of the greatest blunders by pursuing its present policy. He said: On the very threshold of what little power and responsibility is given, the majority community has clearly shown their hand that Hindustan is for Hindus.
[54]

24

10:- Congress insistence on the Parliamentary democracy:

Congress continued to insist the British Government to implement parliamentary democracy in India. Parliamentary democracy implied the rule of the majority. In India the parliamentary democracy meant the rule of the majority, that was, the Hindu majority. The Indian political system was divided so much on communal lines that the parliamentary democracy could be dangerous because it would have established the majority of the Hindu community represented by the Congress. The Congress rule during the two years of 1937-1939 proved that the Congress could only represent the Hindu sentiments and implement the Hindu values and practices. Jinnah expressed doubt on this form of Government in India when he was convinced that the Hindu Congress cannot operate on the national lines but only on communal lines. The Hindu Mahasabha was very dominant in the Congress that could take any shape anytime and might also have destroyed the Muslim culture and values on their will as evidenced by the short Congress ministries rule. [55] Jinnah said: [the parliamentary system] based on the majority principle must inevitably mean the rule of the majority nation. Experience has proved that whatever the economic and political programme of any political party, the Hindu, as general rule, will vote for his caste-fellow and the Muslims for his co-religionists. [56]

Jinnah wrote an article for the Time and Tide, London in January 1940, in which he said: Democratic systems based on the concept of a homogeneous nation such as England are very definitely not applicable to heterogeneous countries such as India and this simple fact is the root cause of all Indias constitutional ills. The British people, being Christians, sometimes forget the religious wars of

25

their own history and today consider religion as a private and personal matter between man and God. This can never be the case in Hinduism and Islam, for both these religions are definite social codes which govern not so much mans relation with his God as mans relation with his neighbour. [57]

11:- Jinnah entered into the point of no return:

In the Muslim League Council on 25 February, 1940, Jinnah said:

The problem is very simple. Great Britain wants to rule India. Mr. Gandhi and the Congress want to ruler India and the Musalmans. We say that we will not let either the British or Mr. Gandhi to rule the Musalmans. We want to be free. [58] From this point, Jinnah never returned to former position ever again. He devoted his rest of the life in bringing about a permanent solution to the problems and agonies of the Muslim community. He started developing their political future that secured their independence from the domination and oppression of the Hindu Congress and the British. He overhauled his past preferences and priorities and asked the Muslims to develop their inherent strength. He completely refused to submit to Congress or the British. He said: Let me tell you and tell both of you that you alone orboth combined will never succeed in destroying our souls. You will never be able to destroy that culture which we have inherited you may overpower us; you may oppress us; and you can do your worst. But we have come to the conclusion and we have now made

26

a grim resolve that we shall go down, if we have to go down, fighting. [59]

Sikander Hayat in his The Charismatic Leader Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah and the Creation of Pakistan says: The Muslims saw him as the saviour, their deliverer and the charismatic leader. [60]

12:- His concept of the Two-Nation Theory:

By 1940, Jinnah developed his firm belief in Sir Syed Ahmed Khan and Allama Mohammad Iqbals Two-Nation Theory. He said:

"We are a nation with our own distinctive culture and civilization, language and literature, art and architecture, names and nomenclature, sense of values and proportion, legal laws and moral code, customs and calendar, history and tradition, 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". These were the famous words of Quid-e-Azam when he demanded for separate nation for Pakistan. In his speech, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, at All India Muslim League Presidential Address delivered in Lahore, on March 2223, 1940 said: 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

27

and distinct social orders, and it is a dream that the Hindus and Muslims can ever evolve a common nationality, and this misconception of one Indian nation has troubles and will lead India to destruction if we fail to revise our notions in time. The Hindus and Muslims belong to two different religious philosophies, social customs, and litterateurs. 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 Mussalmans derive their inspiration from different sources of history. They have different epics, different heroes, and different episodes. Very often the hero of one is a foe of the other hand, likewise, their victories and defeats overlap. To yoke together two such nations under a single state, one as a numerical minority and the other as a majority, must lead to growing discontent and final destruction of any fabric that may be so built for the government of such a state.

Conclusion:
Jinnah had tried every option available before him to secure Indias freedom. First he tried to emphasise the British Government for the self-government. Then he moved on to Congress for maintaining its constitutional principles of being a national party anxious for the betterment of all the communities rather than just the Hindus as the Hindu Mahasabha desired. Then he asked the Muslims to develop a sense of cooperation and compromise towards their Hindu brothers. All of his options failed to secure what he wanted to achieve. The continued indifference of the British Government towards effective policies regarding Indias communal problems, Congress persistent 28

anxiousness only for the true interests of the Hindu community and the introduction of the parliamentary democracy, federal government with strong centre, Hindu Mahasabhas unflinching and uncompromising attitude towards the joint electorates, and Congress ministries (1937-39) culminated into a total disappointment of the Jinnah and proved to be the unavoidable factors of transformation of the personality of Jinnah from the ambassador of the Hindu-Muslim Unity to the father of a separate homeland for the Muslim community who were earnestly looking towards him and relying on him for their better political future after 1935 when he returned to India from England. After passing of the Lahore Resolution of 1940 where he announced his concept of the Two-Nation Theory and refused to submit before Congress or British oppression and discriminatory attitude and demanded independence from both of the oppressive forces, he never returned from that position and led the independence movement towards the establishment of Pakistan.

The End

29

References:
1:- Sikander Hayat, The Charismatic Leader Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah and the Creation of Pakistan, (Karachi: OUP, 2008), p.38. 2: M.R.Kazmi, M.A.Jinnah: Views and Reviews, (Karachi: OUP, 2005), p.3. 3: Ibid., 4: Ibid., 5:Ibid., 6: Hector Bolitho, Jinnah Creator of Pakistan, ( Karachi: OUP, 2006), p.35. 7: http://www.scribd.com/doc/47635915/Mohammad-Ali-JinnahThe-Great-Enigma

8: Bolitho, Jinnah Creator of Pakistan. OUP 2006.p.58. 9: The Charismatic leader by Sikander Hayat p: 39 10: M.R.Kazmi, M.A.Jinnah: Views and Reviews, (Karachi: OUP, 2005), p.7. 11: Syed Sharifuddin Pirzada, ed., The Collected works of Quaid-i-Azam M Mohammad Ali Jinnah (Karachi): East and West Publishing Co., 1984, p.4. 12: M.R.Kazmi, M.A.Jinnah: Views and Reviews, (Karachi: OUP, 2005), p.7. 13: Ibid., 14: Ibid., 8 15: http://www.scribd.com/doc/47635915/Mohammad-Ali-JinnahThe-Great-Enigma. 16: Bolitho, Jinnah Creator of Pakistan, (Karachi: OUP 2006), p.58.

30

17: Sheshrao Chavan, Mohammad Ali Jinnah The Great Enigma an Indian View. P.59 18: Mohammad Saleem Ahmad, The All India Muslim League: A history of the Growth and Consolidation of Political Organisation (Bahawalpur: Ilham Publishers, 1988, p.229. 19:- Sheshrao Chavan, Mohammad Ali Jinnah The Great Enigma an Indian View. P.70. 20: Ibid., p.87 21: Ibid., p.92 22: Sikander Hayat, The Charismatic leader Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah and the Creation of Pakistan p.44. 23: Ibid., p.45 24: Ibid., p.47 25: Ibid., p.47 27: M.R.Kazmi, M.A.Jinnah: Views and Reviews, (Karachi: OUP, 2005), p.83. 28: Mohammed Ali Jinnah; M.H Sayid; p368-9. 29: Ibid., 30: Ibid., 31: The Charismatic leader by Sikander Hayat p:48 32: Ibid., P.49 33: Ibid., PP.49-50. 34: Ibid. , P.50 35: Ibid., PP.51-52 36: Ibid., p.52 37: Ibid., p.54 38: Pirzada, Quaid-i-Azam Jinnahs correspondence, p.21. 39: Shamsul Hassan, Plain Mr Jinnah, 55. 40: Civil and Military Gazzette, 15 March 1933.

31

41: Z.A.Suleri, My Leader, (Progressive Papers Limited Lahore Publishers: 1984), p.58-9. 42: Sikander Hayat, The Charismatic leader p:56 43: Pirzada, Foundations of Pakistan, Vol. II, 223. 44: Sikander Hayat The Charismatic leader p:58 45: Saiyid, A Political Study, 162. 46: Ahmed, Speeches and writings, Vol I, 25. 47: Ibid., 30 48: The Charismatic leader by Sikander Hayat p.61 49: Ibid., 64. 50: Pirzada, Quaid-i-Azam Jinnahs correspondence, 46. 51: Sikander Hayat The Charismatic leader p.64 52: Ibid., 53: Sheshrao Chavan, Mohammad Ali Jinnah The Great Enigma an Indian View. p.172. 54: Ibid., 200. 55: The Charismatic leader by Sikander Hayat p.70 56: Ibid., 57: Sheshrao Chavan, Mohammad Ali Jinnah The Great Enigma an Indian View. P.200. 58: Ahmed, speeches and writings, vol. I, 145 59: Ibid., 90. 60: The Charismatic leader by Sikander Hayat p.71

Bibliography:

32

1: Afzal, M. Rafique, ed. The Case for Pakistan, (Islamabad: National Commission of Historical and Cultural Research, 1979). 2: Ali, Choudhary Mohammad. The Emergence of Pakistan, (Lahore: Research Society Politics of Pakistan, 1973). (Karachi: OUP, 1997). 3: Burke, S.M., Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah: His Personality and his 4: Chavan,Sheshrao Mohammad Ali Jinnah The Great Enigma an Indian View. 5: Hayat, Sikander, The Charismatic Leader Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah and the Creation of Pakistan, (Karachi: OUP, 2008). 5: Hector Bolitho, Jinnah Creator of Pakistan, (Karachi: OUP, 2006) 6: M.R.Kazmi, M.A.Jinnah: Views and Reviews, (Karachi: OUP, 2005) 7: Pirzada, Syed Sharifuddin, Some Aspects of Quaid-i-Azams Life ( Islamabad: National Institute of Historical and Cultural Research, 1978). 8: Pirzada, Syed Sharifuddin, ed., The Collected works of Quaid-i-Azam M Mohammad Ali Jinnah (Karachi): East and West Publishing Co., 9: Singh, Jaswant, Jinnah, India, Partition, Independence (Karachi: OUP, 2009). 10:: Suleri, Ziauddin A., My Leader, new edn. (Lahore: Institute of Islamic Culture, 1992). 11: Sayeed, Khalid bin, Pakistan: The Formative Phase, reprint (Karachi: OUP,1996). 12: Wolpert, Stanely, Jinnah of Pakistan ( New York: OUP,1984).

33