The Nehru Report of 1928 outlined a proposed new dominion status constitution for India with a federal government structure, parliamentary system, and bi-cameral legislature. However, it rejected separate electorates for minorities, which Muslims opposed. As a response, Jinnah consolidated Muslim viewpoints in his Fourteen Points in 1929, calling for separate electorates, one-third Muslim representation, and protections for Muslim culture and religion. The Nehru Report and Jinnah's Fourteen Points represented diverging political positions that increased Hindu-Muslim tensions.
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Nehru Report & Jinnah 14 Points
The Nehru Report of 1928 outlined a proposed new dominion status constitution for India with a federal government structure, parliamentary system, and bi-cameral legislature. However, it rejected separate electorates for minorities, which Muslims opposed. As a response, Jinnah consolidated Muslim viewpoints in his Fourteen Points in 1929, calling for separate electorates, one-third Muslim representation, and protections for Muslim culture and religion. The Nehru Report and Jinnah's Fourteen Points represented diverging political positions that increased Hindu-Muslim tensions.
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The
Nehru Report of 28-30 August, 1928 was a
memorandum outlining a proposed new dominion status constitution for India. It was prepared by a committee of the All Parties Conference chaired by Motilal Nehru with his son Jawaharlal Nehru acting as secretary. There were nine other members in this committee. The final report was signed by Motilal Nehru, Ali Imam, Tej Bahadur Sapru, Madhav Shrihari Aney, Mangal Singh, Shuaib Qureshi, Subhas Chandra Bose, and G. R. Pradhan. Qureshi disagreed with some of the recommendations.Nehru Lal report 1928. Nehru Report was given in response of Simon Commission (1927) report. As Simon Commission excluded the Indians from the meditation and recommendations which outraged the Indians. To add more insult to injury, Lord Birkenhead (in 1925 and 1927) challenged the Indians to reach an agreed constitution if they were capable enough to do that. The Indian National Congress decided to find an indigenous solution of the problems through a constitution and formed a committee under Moti Lal Nehru on August 10 1927. The Committee invited the Muslim League, Hindu Mahasbha, Sikh Central League and the other remarkable political parties to join hands in framing the constitution of the Sub- Continent. The Muslim League disagreed with the Congress in the points concluded by Nehru. At the fourth meeting, Moti Lal Nehru presented his report known as Nehru Report. The main features of the Nehru Report were as under: “India should be given the status of a dominion. There should be federal form of government with residuary powers vested in the center India should have a parliamentary form of government headed by a Prime Minister and six ministers appointed by the Governor General. There should be a bi-cameral legislature. There should be no separate electorate for any community. System of weightage for minorities was as bad as that of separate electorates. Reservation of Muslim seats could be possible in the provinces where Muslim population was at least 10 percent, but this was to be in strict proportion to the size of the community. Muslims should enjoy one/fourth representation in the
Central Legislature Sindh should be separated from Bombay only if the
certified that it was financially self-sufficient.
The N.W.F.P should be given full provincial status. A new Kanarese-speaking province Karnatik should be
established in South India.
Hindi should be made the official language of India” The Nehru Report was an eye-opening episode for the Muslims of India as it totally bypassed them and the later could well imagine their future in case of the approval of these recommendations. The report denied the separate electorate for the Muslims which the Congress had agreed with earlier. It ignored even the Delhi Proposals while formulating the report. Nehru showed two Muslims participating in the Report (to justify the Muslim presence); one was Syed Ali Imam who could attend only one meeting out of while Shoaib Qureshi, the other member could not approve the Congress views. Therefore, Nehru Report stayed only a Hindu report ignoring other parties especially the Muslim League, the biggest Muslim entity. Consequently, the Muslim leaders rejected the Report. “Any sensible person cannot Muslims will accept these insulting conditions, said Sir Agha Khan about the Nehru Report. Jinnah responded to the Nehru Report by saying that “From now the paths of Hindus and Muslims are separate.” “There should be no less than one/third representation in the Central Legislature. In event of the adult suffrage not being established, Punjab and Bengal should have seats reserved on population basis for the Musalmans. The form of the constitution should be federal with residuary powers vested in the provinces. This question is by far the most important from the constitutional point of view. With regard to the separation of Sindh and NWFP, we cannot wait until the Nehru Report is established…The Musalmans feel that it is shelving the issue and postponing their insistent demand till doomsday and they cannot agree to it.” Jinnah Fourteen Points The report was given in a meeting of the council of the All India Muslim League on 9 March 1929. The Nehru Report was criticised by Muslim leaders Aga Khan and Muhammad Shafi . They considered it as a death warrant because it recommended joint electoral rolls for Hindus and Muslims. Muhammad Ali Jinnah left for England in May 1928 and returned after six months. In March 1929, the Muslim League session was held at Delhi under the presidency of Jinnah. In his address to his delegates, he consolidated Muslim viewpoints under fourteen items and these fourteen points became Jinnah's 14 points. The form of the future constitution should be federal, with the residuary powers vested in the provinces; A uniform measure of autonomy shall be guaranteed 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 or even equality; In the Central Legislature, Muslim representation shall not be less
than one third;
Representation of communal groups shall continue to be by
means of separate electorate as at present: provided it shall be
open to any community, at any time to abandon its separate electorate in favor of a joint electorate. Any territorial distribution that might at any time be necessary shall not in any way affect the Muslim majority. Full religious liberty, i.e. liberty of belief, worship and observance, propaganda, association and education, shall be guaranteed to all communities. No bill or resolution or any part thereof shall be passed in any legislature or any other elected body if three fourths of the members of any community in that particular body oppose it as being injurious to the interests of that community or in the alternative, such other method is devised as may be found feasible and practicable to deal with such cases. Sindh should be separated from the Bombay Presidency. Reforms should be introduced in the North West Frontier Province and Balochistan on the same footing as in the other provinces. Provision should be made in the constitution giving Muslims an adequate share, along with the other Indians, in all the services of the state and in local self-governing bodies having due regard to the requirements of efficiency. The constitution should embody adequate safeguards for the protection of Muslim culture and for the protection and promotion of Muslim education, language, religion, personal laws and Muslim charitable institutions and for their due share in the grants-in-aid given by the state and by local self-governing bodies. No cabinet, either central or provincial, should be formed without there being a proportion of at least one-third Muslim ministers. No change shall be made in the constitution by the Central Legislature except with the concurrence of the States constituting of the Indian Federation.