Muslim population in Punjab and Bengal on paper my British.

Secondly the powers

which were given to governors of the provinces to dissolve the provincial assemblies
were against the principles of democracy. This means that the provincial government
would be in continuous pressure and fear that if they do something against the wishes of
British then they will dissolve the provincial assembly through the Governor. Lastly the
much debated system of diarchy was still in use in the central administration.

Federal form of government:

It is needed where there are more than two provinces.
It has two house parliaments, which is also known as bicameral legislation.
Its first house is elected on the basis population. So the provinces which has large
population will have more people. The second house has equal number of representation
from all provinces regardless of their population or size.
Pakistan is an example of this type. Dr. M. Moiz Khan
Assistant Professor
Dept. of History, University of Karachi
Unitary form of government: 0322-2391591, moiz200@yahoo.com
It is suitable in countries where there are no provinces at all, like England, Germany etc.
It has only one house parliament known as unicameral legislation.
There is no need to have the second house it only house is elected on the basis of
population.
Sweden, Greece, Sri Lanka, Turkey, China, Bangladesh, Denmark, Egypt etc. are
some examples of this system.

Election of 1937:
These elections were very important for the politics of India in general and
politics of Muslim League in particular. The results of these elections were in favor of
Congress and Muslim League got its wakeup call. Congress was able to secure victory in
8 out of 11 provinces. On the other hand Muslim League was unable to form
Government in any of the provinces.
To make the things worse there were other Muslim local political parties which
got victory in provinces but not the League. In 5 out of 8 Congress provinces they had
full majority to form government and in the other three they formed coalition
governments.
In Punjab Sir Sikandar Hayat won the elections under his political party
Unionist. In N.W.F.P. Dr. Khan Sahab secured victory under his political party Red
Shirts but he formed government with the help of Congress. In Bengal, Fazul -ul-Haq
formed Government with the help of Independent Muslim candidates. The only
significant victory for Muslim League was in those provinces where Muslims were in
minority. In Muslim majority areas the League failed comprehensively.
Dr. M. Moiz Khan
Assistant Professor
48 Dept. of History, University of Karachi
0322-2391591, moiz200@yahoo.com
Election Results of 1937 elections of Sindh. Table 35
Party Seats
1 Sindh United Party (28 candidates) 22
2 Congress 7
3 Muslim Political Party (10 candidates) 3
4 Sindh Azad Party (12 candidates) 3
5 Independents (Muslims and Hindus) 25
Total 60

Dr. M. Moiz Khan

Bengal 1937 elections Assistant Professor
Dept. of History, University of Karachi
The election results (seats) were as follow: 0322-2391591, moiz200@yahoo.com
Party Seats
1. Congress 52
2. Muslim League 39
3. Krishak Proja Party 36
4. European Group 25
5. Tripura Krishak Samity 05
6. Hindu Nationalist 03
7. Hindu Mahasabha 02
8. Anglo Indian 04
9. Independents (Muslim) 43
10. Independents (Hindu) 39
11. Christian 02
Total 250
Table36

NWFP 1937 Elections

Party Seats
1. Congress 19
2. Independent Muslim 21
3. Hindu-Sikh National Party 07
4. Independent Hindu 01
5. Independent Party 02
Total 50

35
Tanvir Ahmed Tahir, “Political Dynamics of Sindh 1947-1977”, (Karachi: Pakistan Study Center, UoK,
2010) 103
36
Syed Umar Hayat, Muslim Political Ascendancy in Bengal: A Case Study of the Roles Played by the
Bengal Provincial Muslim League and the Krishak Proja Party (1906-41), Pakistan Journal of History and
Culture, Vol.XXVIII, No.2 (2007)
http://www.nihcr.edu.pk/latest_english_journal/muslim_political_ascendancy.pdf , 119
49
Table37 ,
Punjab in 1937 elections:
Party Seats
1. Ahrar 02
2. Muslim League 02
3. Shiromani Akali Dal 11
4. Khalsa National Party 13
5. Hindu Mahasabha 12
6. Punjab Unionist Party 98
7. Ittehad-i-Millat 02
8. Indian National Congress 18
9. Congress Nationalist Party 01
Total 175

Congress became more rude towards all other political parties particularly
Muslims League. They started to say that Muslim League does not enjoy the support of
Muslims and Congress has more support of Muslims than the League.

Reasons for the failure of Muslim League:

Muslim League was formed in 1906 Dec. but in its first major elections after 31
years of its formation it was unable to achieve what it claimed. The League claimed that
they were the true representatives of Muslims of India but in the electio ns of 1937
Muslims of India preferred other local parties over the League. There are many reasons
behind this failure, which are as under:

1. The League’s leadership had aristocratic outlook. Most of them were Nawabs
and landlords. They did not have a proper link with common people. The meetings
of the league were also not attended by many people. This gulf between the
leadership and the common people played an important role in the defeat of
Muslim League in the elections of 1937.

2. The main demand of Muslim League was Separate Electorates. This demand
only addressed the issues of Muslims living in Hindu majority areas. The League
failed to address the issues of the Muslims of Muslim majority areas. This is why
the people of Muslim majority areas did not vote for the League.

3. Before the elections there was a very weak network of the offices of Muslim
League across India due to which the message of the League was not spreading

37
Muhammad Shakeel Ahmad, Electoral Politics in NWFP: A
Study of 1937 Elections, Pakistan Journal of History and Culture, Vol.XXXII, No.2 (2011), 129
50
 properly. People also were unable to become a part of Muslim League due to lack
of offices.

Efforts of Jinnah to reconstruct Muslim

Jinnah after coming back to India from his self-exile stated to concentrate
towards the weaknesses of Muslim League. Following are the measures he took to make
Muslim League popular among the Muslim masses;

1. He visited many colleges and universities and met many students. He asked them to
participate in Muslim Politics to help their community to achieve its goals. He made them
believe that they are the future and they have to play their role.
2. Muslim League opened new offices in many different cities across the country to
accommodate more Muslims. This helped in spreading the message of Muslim League.
3. He travelled across India to get support from Muslims living in all parts of the country.
Dr. M. Moiz Khan
Assistant Professor
Dept. of History, University of Karachi
0322-2391591, moiz200@yahoo.com

Congress Rule and difficulties faced by Muslims (1937-

39):
After a comprehensive victory Congress was able to form their government in 8
out of 11 provinces. In 5 of them they formed single party government and in other three
they formed coalition governments. Before taking oath Congress party made it sure that
there is no check on their ministries that is why they said that they will not take oath until
British assure that the governors of the provinces will not use their emergency powers.
After forming government Congress brought all the changes they wanted to
without considering the feeling of other communities’ particularly Muslim community.
Immediately after taking control Congress started to pass draconian laws which were
offensive to Muslims. Many Muslims living in the Congress provinces started to complain
to Muslim League. In March 1938 a committee of 8 members was formed to find out
about the grievances of Muslims. The chairman of this committee was Raja Syed
Muhammad Mehdi of Pirpur. The report came out in November 1938 which identified
and discussed the atrocities of Congress. Then another report came out in March 1939
known as Shareef Report which served the same purpose. Lastly Fazul Haq Report was
prepared to find out the atrocities faced my Muslims in provinces under Congress
Ministries. Following are the findings of these reports which describe the true picture of
Muslims of Hindu majority areas;

1. Ban on Azan:
The congress ministries banned “Azan” on loud speakers in their provinces. This
51