PAKISTAN STUDIES

LECTURE-5: HISTORICAL FOUNDATION OF THE IDEOLOGY OF PAKISTAN-I

 • The first Partition of Bengal (1905) was a territorial reorganization of
the Bengal Presidency implemented by the authorities of the British Raj.
The reorganization separated the largely Muslim eastern areas from the
largely Hindu western areas. Announced on 16 July 1905 by Lord Curzon,
PARTITION OF then Viceroy of India, and implemented West Bengal for Hindus and East
Bengal for Muslims, it was undone a mere six years later. The nationalists
BENGAL saw the partition as a challenge to Indian nationalism and as a deliberate
attempt to divide the Bengal Presidency on religious grounds, with
a Muslim majority in the east and a Hindu majority in the west. The Hindus
of West Bengal complained that the division would make them a minority
in a province that would incorporate the province of Bihar and Orissa.
Hindus were outraged at what they saw as a "divide and rule" policy, even
though Curzon stressed it would produce administrative efficiency. The
partition animated the Muslims to form their own national organization
along communal lines. To appease Bengali sentiment, Bengal was reunited
by King George V in 1911, in response to the Swadeshi movement's riots in
protest against the policy.
 • The Lucknow Pact was an agreement reached between the Indian
National Congress and the Muslim League (AIML) at a joint session of both
the parties held in Lucknow in December 1916. Through the pact, the two
parties agreed to allow representation to religious minorities in the
provincial legislatures. The Muslim League leaders agreed to join the
Congress movement demanding Indian autonomy. Scholars cite this as an
example of a consociational practice in Indian politics. Bal Gangadhar
LUCKNOW PACT Tilak represented the Congress while framing the deal, and Muhammad Ali
Jinnah (who joined the Muslim League in 1913) participated in this event.
• The Congress agreed to separate electorates for Muslims in electing
representatives to the Imperial and Provincial Legislative Councils.
Although the Muslims were given this right in the Indian Council Act of
1909, the Indian National Congress opposed it. The Congress also agreed to
the idea of one-third seats for the Muslims in the Councils despite the fact
that the Muslim population represented less than a third. Apart from that,
the Congress agreed that no act affecting a community should be passed
unless three-quarters of that community's members on the council
supported it. After the signing of this pact the rivalry between moderates
and extremists was reduced to some extent. There was a significant change
in their relation
 • he Khilafat movement (1919–22) was a political campaign launched
by Indian Muslims in British India over British policy against Turkey and the
planned dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire after World War I by
Allied forces.
KHILAFAT • Leaders participating in the movement included Shaukat Ali,
Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar, Hakim Ajmal Khan, and Abul Kalam
MOVEMENT Azad who organised the movement to redress the grievances of Turkey.
• Mahatma Gandhi had supported the movement as part of his opposition to
the British Empire, and he also advocated for a wider non-cooperation
movement at the same time. Vallabhbhai Patel, Bal Gangadhar Tilak and
other Hindu and Congress figures also supported the movement.
• Generally described as a protest against the sanctions placed on
the Ottoman Empire after the First World War by the Treaty of Sèvres, the
movement is also noted for promoting Hindu-Muslim unity. It ended in
1922 after the end of the non-cooperation movement.
 • The Government of India Act 1919 had introduced the system of diarchy to
govern the provinces of British India. Indian opinion clamored for revision
of this form of government, and the Government of India Act 1919 stated
that a commission would be appointed after ten years to investigate the
progress of the government scheme and suggest new steps for reform.
The Secretary of State for India F.E Smith feared that the
ruling Conservative government was facing imminent electoral defeat at
the hands of the Labour Party, and hence feared that the commission
would be filled by its members and sympathizers. Hence, the commission
SIMON COMMISSION was appointed ahead of time, and seven MPs were selected to constitute
the promised commission to examine the state of Indian constitutional
affairs. He also ensured that there were no Indians in the commission, as he
believed the Labour MPs and Indian members would join. The Viceroy of
India Lord Irwin too supported the decision to exclude Indians as he too
thought they would vote together with the Labour MPs but also because
he thought the Indian representatives would fight each other.
• Some people in India were outraged and insulted that the Simon
Commission, which was to determine the future of India, did not include a
single Indian member. The Indian National Congress, at its December 1927
meeting in Madras (now Chennai), resolved to boycott the Commission and
challenged Lord Birkenhead, the Secretary of State for India, to draft a
constitution that would be acceptable to the Indian populace. A faction of
the Muslim League, led by Mohammed Ali Jinnah, also decided to boycott
the commission.
 • British policy, until almost the end of the Raj, was that the timing and
nature of Indian constitutional development was to be decided exclusively
by the British Parliament, but it was assumed that Indians would be
consulted as appropriate. This was formally stated in the Government of
India Act 1919. Britain did not acknowledge the right of Indians to frame
NEHRU REPORT their own constitution until the 1942 Cripps Declaration.
• The Nehru Report of 1928 was a memorandum by All Parties
Conference in British India to appeal for a new dominion status and a
federal set-up of government for the constitution of India. It also proposed
for the Joint Electorates with reservation of seats for minorities in the
legislatures.
• M K Gandhi proposed a resolution saying that British should be given one
year to accept the recommendations of the Nehru report or a campaign of
non-cooperation would begin. The resolution was passed.
 • The constitution outlined by the Nehru Report was for Indian enjoying
dominion status within the British Commonwealth. Some of the important
elements of the report: Element of Nehru report...
• Unlike the eventual Government of India Act 1935 it contained a Bill of Rights.
• All power of government and all authority – legislative, executive and judicial –
are derived from the people and the same shall be exercised through
organizations established by, or under, and in accord with, this Constitution.
NEHRU REPORT • There shall be no state religion; men and women shall have equal rights
as citizens.
(CONT.)
• There should be federal form of government with residuary powers vested in
the centre. (Some scholars, such as Moore considered the Nehru Report
proposal as essentially unitary rather than federal);
• It included a description of the machinery of government including a proposal
for the creation of a Supreme Court and a suggestion that the provinces should
be linguistically determined.
• It did not provide for separate electorates for any community
or weightage for minorities. Both of these were liberally provided in the
eventual Government of India Act 1935. However, it did allow for the
reservation of minority seats in provinces having a minorities of at least ten
percent, but this was to be in strict proportion to the size of the community.
• The language of the Union shall be Hindustani, which may be written either in
Devanagari or Urdu character. The use of the English language shall be
permitted.
• With few exceptions League leaders failed to pass the Nehru proposals. In
reaction Mohammad Ali Jinnah drafted his Fourteen Points in 1929 which
became the core demands of the Muslim community which they put
forward as the price of their participating in an independent united India.
Their main objections were:
• Separate electorates and weightage — the 1916 Congress-Muslim League
agreement Lucknow Pact provided these to the Muslim community
whereas they were rejected by the Nehru Report.
• Residuary powers — the Muslims realized that while they would be a
majority in the provinces of the North-East and North-West of India, and
hence would control their provincial legislatures, they would always be a
minority at the centre. Thus they demanded, contrary to the Nehru Report,
that residuary powers go to the provinces.
• According to Mohammad Ali Jinnah, “The Committee has adopted a
narrow minded policy to ruin the political future of the Muslims. I regret to
declare that the report is extremely ambiguous and does not deserve to be
implemented.
DEHLI-MUSLIM
PROPOSAL
 • The form of the future constitution should be federal, with the residuary powers vested in
the provinces.
• A uniform measure of autonomy shall be granted to all provinces.
• All legislatures in the country and other elected bodies shall be constituted on the definite
principle of adequate and effective representation of minorities in every province without
reducing the majority in any province to a minority of even equity.
• In the Central Legislature council, Muslim representation shall not be less than one-third
• Representation of communal groups shall continue to be by separate electorates:
QUAID’S FOURTEEN provided that it shall be open to any community, at any time, to abandon its separate
electorate in favor of a joint electorate.
POINTS • Any territorial distribution that might at any time be necessary shall not in any way affect
the Muslim majority in Punjab, Bengal, and NWFP provinces.
• Full religious liberty, including belief, worship, observance, propaganda, association, and
education, should be guaranteed to all communities.
• One-third representation shall be given to Muslims in central and provincial cabinets.
• No bill or resolution shall be passed in any legislature if three-fourths of the members of
any community in that body oppose the bill.
• Sindh should be declared a separate province
• Reforms should be introduced in the NWFP and Balochistan on the same footings as in the
other provinces.
• Muslims should be given an adequate share of all services, with due regard to the
efficiency requirement.
• The Constitution should embody adequate safeguards for the protection of Muslim
culture, education, language, religion, and personal laws, as well as for Muslim charitable
institutions.
• No change will be made in the constitution without the consent of the province.
 • The three Round Table Conferences of 1930–1932 were
a series of peace conferences, organized by the British
Government and Indian political personalities to discuss
constitutional reforms in India. These started in
ROUND TABLE
November 1930 and ended in December 1932. They
CONFERENCES were conducted as per the recommendation
of Muhammad Ali Jinnah to Viceroy Lord
Irwin and Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald, and by
the report submitted by the Simon Commission in May
1930. Demands for Swaraj or self-rule in India had been
growing increasingly strong. B. R. Ambedkar, Jinnah,
Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru, V. S. Srinivasa Sastri,
Sir Muhammad Zafrulla Khan, K. T.
Paul and Mirabehn were key participants from India.
 • Provincial elections were held in British India in the winter of 1936–
37 as mandated by the Government of India Act 1935. Elections
were held in eleven provinces - Madras, Central
Provinces, Bihar, Orissa, the United Provinces, the Bombay
ELECTION OF 1937 & Presidency, Assam, the North-West Frontier
Province, Bengal, Punjab and Sindh.
CONGRESS
• The final results of the elections were declared in February 1937.
MINISTRIES The Indian National Congress emerged in power in seven of the
provinces, Bombay, Madras, the Central Provinces, the United
Provinces, the North-West Frontier Province, Bihar, and Orissa. The
exceptions were Bengal, where the Congress was nevertheless the
largest party, Punjab, Sindh, and Assam. The All-India Muslim
League failed to form the government in any province.
• The Congress ministries resigned in October and November 1939,
in protest against Viceroy Lord Linlithgow's action of declaring India
to be a belligerent in the Second World War without consulting the
elected representatives of the Indian peoples.