8. How successful was the Pak movement in the years 1927-39? Flashcards
simon commission
1927: communalism in India threatened to undo any cooperation bw Hindus and Muslims
British were soon take action which would restore that cooperation
Govt of India act 1919: - a commission was to be set up after 10 years to enquire into workings of the reforms set up in 1919
British conservative govt: feared that it might soon lose power to the labour party, which it thought was to sympathetic to the beliefs of Indian nationalism
A labour govt might make too many concessions
Thus conservative govt decided to bring the date of the commission forward
1927: 7 man commission appointed under chairmanship of Sir John Simon to consider the situation in India
Only British member (no Indians)
Composition of this committee = insult to Indians
Thus all parties within India became convinced that they must settle their differences and work tgt in opposition to the commission
opposition to the simon commission
Dec 1927: Madras session
Congress decided it would boycott the commission and called for mass demonstrations when the members of Simon commission arrived in India
Made v imp decision for the future of the subcontinent when for the first time it came out in favor of complete independence
Commission faced regular protests and demands that its unrepresentative members return to England
May 1928: members of Congress, League, Liberals, Hindu mahasabha and central sikh league met in an all-party conference to draft constitution which the Indian ppl thought should be used to govern their country
Pundit Motilal Nehru chaired the committee that devised this constitution , and was contained in the Nehru report
Overwhelmingly approved by all party conference members in sept 1928
Nehru report
It called for:
Immediate dominion status for India
This meant India would be Independent but would remain a member of the commonwealth and accept British monarch as head of state
India to be a federation w a two chamber parliament. There would be no universal suffrage to elect lower house and provincial councils
No separate electorates for any community or weightage for minorities. There was, however , to be protection of the minorities thru a system of reserving seats in the central parliament
No state religion and men and women should have equal rights as citizens
Hindi to be made official language of India
Gandhi proposed a resolution that the British should be given 1 year to accept the recommendations of the Nehru report or else a campaign of non-cooperation should begin. The resolution was passed.
nehru report rejected
Though the report was drawn up by an all party conference, many Muslims were horrified by its proposals
It seemed that the views of the Muslims were being ignored and congress was turning its back on the agreements it made in the lucknow pact
Jan 21, 1929: All India Muslim conference rejected report
In an attempt to save the report Jinnah proposed four changes which laid down the demands of the Muslims in India in the clearest possible terms:
⅓ of elected representatives of both the houses of the central legislatures should be Muslims
In Punjab and Bengal in event of adult suffrage not being established, there should be reservations of seats for the Muslims based on population for 10 yrs
Residuary powers should be left w provinces and should not rest w the central legislature
NWFP and Sindh should have full provincial status
Failure of congress to accept these proposals was to have a major impact on the history of the subcontinent
Jinnah described this moment as the ‘parting of ways’; imp step in eventual partition of India
14 points of Jinnah
Jan 1929: All India Muslim League met in a conference in Delhi where Jinnah presented his 14 points
He stated the no scheme for the constitution of the govt of India will be acceptable unless the following principles are given effect to
These points were to be the basis of Muslim demands from this point till creation of Pak
Thought events of 1920s divided muslims into a number of factions, they were united in agreeing that these points were to be the basis of any further discussions w the congress on future of India
Formally accepted by conference in March 1929
14 points were shortly followed by rejection of the Nehru report
Any H M cooperation had now come to an end
Both groups continued to campaign separately against British plans
Dec 1929: Congress met in Lahore what was to prove to be a historic occasion
Jawaharlal Nehru = president of session which now rejected idea of dominion status and instead called for complete independence
Dec 31 at midnight: Nehru led a procession to the banks of river Ravi where the Indian flag was raised amidst cries of ‘long live the revolution’
3 weeks later a declaration of Indian Independence was written by Gandhi and read out across India
14 points:
Any future constitution should be federal w power resting w the provinces
All provinces should have same amount of autonomy
All legislatures and local bodies should be constituted w adequate representation of minorities
Muslims should have ⅓ of seats in central assembly
Election should be by separate electorates
Any territorial changes should not affect the Muslim majority in Bengal, Punjab and Nwfp
Full liberty of belief and worship should be granted to all communities
No bill shall be passed in any elected body unless ¾ of any community in that body accepted it
Sindh shall be separated from Bombay
There should be reforms in NWFP and Balochistan to put them on the same footing as other provinces
Muslims should have an adequate share in the services of the state
Muslim culture, religion, education, language and charities should be protected by the constitution
All cabinets (at central of local level) should have at least ⅓ Muslim representation
Federation of India must not change laws w out consent of the provinces
more non cooperation
Congress relaunched non cooperation campaign
Gandhi = incharge
Began on 12 March w famous salt march from his ashram (retreat) near Ahmedabad to seaside village of Dandi
This 24 day march became a triumphal procession which was widely reported in the newspapers
British forbade making of salt except under license from the govt
This march was not only to attack on the unfair salt laws but was seen as the opportunity for Indians to disregard all unfair laws and show opposition to British rule in any possible way
British goods boycotted
In response, British outlawed congress, censored newspapers and began widespread arrests
Both Gandhi and Nehru were among the many Congress leaders arrested
Jinnah disapproved of the non cooperation idea as he felt that congress was aiming not only for independence from British but also dominance over the Muslims
Consequently most Muslims did not join the campaign
Allahabad Address
Famous philosopher poet Dr Allama Muhammad Iqbal was asked to chair a meeting of the ML in Allahabad
He called for the Muslims to work towards achieving an independent homeland and argued that Islam had given its followers aa creed which united the Muslims into one nation.
There could be no peace unless they were recognized as a nation
He stated that he would like to see Punjab, NWFP and Balochistan amalgamated into a single state
“Formation of a consolidated North-West India Muslim state appears to me to be the final destination of the Muslims”
Interestingly he didn’t call for Bengal and Kashmir to be included, though they both were Muslim majority areas
Allama Iqbal’s contributions were extremely imp to the Pak movement
He was the first leader to suggest the partition of the subcontinent while keeping in w the two nation theory and thus is called the father of the Pakistan ideology
His views acted as an inspiration to many Muslims who were unsure on how to defend their religion and culture. Iqbal gave them a clear objective
He was also and inspiration for other Muslim leaders. In 1933, Rahmat Ali’s Pak scheme was built upon his ideas. They were also the basis of Jinnah’s Pak resolution 1940
His poetry kindled a sense of nationhood among the Muslims and encouraged them to work towards their goal.
the RTCs
Despite the opposition, simon commision still managed to produce a two-volume report in 1930
Report had little in it to cheer the Muslim community
Supported the idea of separate electorates but rejected Muslims having one-third share of seats in central assembly and idea of Sindh being separated from bombay
The British then called RTC to discuss the commissions’ recommendations
1st RTC:
London, Nov 1930
Attended by ML and representatives of princely states
Congress refused to attend unless there was a guarantee that anything agreed at the conference would be implemented
No such guarantee was given and instead of attending, Congress began it’s programme of non cooperation
As Congress was the largest party in India, it was difficult for significant progress to be made in the talks in it’s absence, however some advances were made:
Princes declared they would join future federation of India as long as their rights were recognized
British agreed that representative govt should be introduced at provincial level
The Muslims (representatives including Jinnah, Maulana Muhammad Ali and Aga Khan) left the conference feeling that some ground had been gained
2nd RTC
When the Indian representatives returned from the first RTC, they urged Gandhi to stop his non cooperation and agree to attend the next set of talks
Feb 1931: Gandhi met viceroy Lord Irwin in a first series of meetings to agree the terms of future progress
Some British politicians (esp Winston Churchill) objected to Irwin holding talks w a person who had j been imprisoned for opposition to British rule. Irwin however understood the importance of bringing congress into the discussions
5 March 1931: Gandhi Irwin pact signed
Irwin agreed to release most political prisoners and return property seized by the govt
Gandhi agreed to call off the non cooperation campaign and attend the next set of talks
Also agreed to give up his demand for full independence in return for a promise that in a federal India, Indians would have a genuine say in how they were governed
London, Sept-Dec 1931
Failed due to:
Labour party had lost power in Britain and the new coalition govt was less keen to reach a compromise in India
Gandhi took a hard line in the talks and refused to recognize the problems of the minorities in the sub continent
Thus little was achieved other than the agreement that NWFP and Sindh should be made provinces w their own governors
British warned that if an agreement can not be reached soon, they would impose their own solution to the ‘Indian problem’
3rd RTC:
Little chance of success
Lord Irwin replaced w Lord willington as viceroy who was less prepared to make concessions
In some places non-cooperation restarted and Willington responded by having Gandhi and Nehru arrested
Jan 1932: Congress formally restarted non cooperation campaign
Events of 1932 = none of the parties involved in the 3rd RTC expected it to achieve anyth
Congress and major princes boycotted the talks
Jinnah = voluntary exile, disillusioned w lack of progress being made, and wasn’t even invited to the conference
Thus Muslims were represented by Aga Khan but there were only 46 delegates and meeting broke up with nothing of any substance agreed
communal award
British prime minister Macdonald Ramsay saw himself as a friend of the indians and after the failure of the second RTC he announced the communal award on Aug 16 1932.
Gave the right of seperate electorates to all minorities
Principle of weightage applied
Award wasn’t popular w Muslims as it had reduced their majority in Bengal and Punjab
E.g: in Punjab Muslims = 56% of total population but were only given 86/175 seats in Punjab assembly
However they were prepared to accept the award and the Muslims passed a resolution saying “though the decision falls far short of the Muslim demands, the Muslims have accepted it in the best interest of the country, reserving to themselves the right to press for the acceptance of all their demands.”
Congress rejected award and decided to launch a campaign against it
Gandhi protested against the declaration of untouchables as a minority and undertook a fast unto death
Held meetings w the untouchable leadership for the first time to persuade them that they were not minorities, but part of the mainstream Hindu society
Rahmat Ali and Pak national movement
One of a number of young Indian Muslims studying in England in the 1930s
During his studies he attended the conferences in London to discus positions of Hindus and Muslims in the subcontinent
Did not agree w the ideas being put forward by Muslim representatives ta the conferences
They were talking abt federation in India but Rahmat Ali Believed that there should be partition w a separate homeland for Muslims established
Rahmat Ali’s thinking = much more advanced than other Muslims at the time
Even Jinnah did not agree at that time that India should be partitioned
He wasn’t put off by lack of support
1933: 4 page pamphlet = now or never in which he sad that Muslims should have their own homeland called Pakistan
He wrote: I am enclosing herewith an appeal on behalf of the 30million Muslims of Pak who live in five northern units (…). It embodies their demand for the recognition of their national status…
His views were diff from those of Allama Iqbals as he wanted Muslims homeland to be independent
govt of India act 1935
Despite failure of RTCs, Mar 1933: British govt announced its proposals for how India should be governed
Published in white paper
After discussions by British politicians, and consultation w ‘safe’ Indian delegates nominated by govt, a bill was introduced before British parliament in Dec 1934
Aug 1935: Govt Of India Act = law
Last major legislation British govt granted before independence was granted
Main terms:
India = federation including both provinces of British India and princely states who chose to join
2 houses of parliament at central govt level. Upper house = 156 members from British India and 104 from princely states. Members from BI = elected, members from PS = nominated. Lower house = 250 members from BI (elected by provincial legislatures) & 125 from PS (nominated)
Diarchy = dropped at provincial level, introduced at central govt level. Certain reserved subjects were to be administered exclusively by governor general assisted by up to 3 appointed councilors
Provincial level: diarchy replaced w system is which provinces were given a large degree of autonomy. Ministers of provinces were, in effect, heads of provincial administration & provincial governors were instructed to act on their advice except in areas where they had special responsibilities (peace of provinces, right of minorities)
No. of provinces increased to 11 by giving NWFP status of a fully-fledged province and creating 2 new provinces, Orissa & Sindh. Composition of provincial legislatures varied, though most had bi-cameral system. Act appeared to grant real power but reality was different
Governor general = head of federation and could exert special powers in the reserved subjects
Provincial governors also had powers in the two reserved areas. Authority to dismiss ministers and even dismiss entire administration and rule by proclamation during a period of emergency
Though the act appeared to give Indians a say in running their country, there was v limited franchise. The property qualification for voting meant only 25% of India’s population was allowed to vote in provincial elections.
The act was opposed on all sides in India
Princes resented the loss of power it would entail
Nehru called it a charter of slavery and said it had sm safeguards that it was like a machine w strong brakes but no engines
To Jinnah it was simply “thoroughly rotten, fundamentally bad and totally unacceptable”
Though it suited no one, the act was an important step towards independence
Provided basis for negotiations which finally resulted in the British leaving India
Independence was moving nearer
1937 elections
Neither Congress nor ML approved og govt of India act but both parties could see an advantage in contesting in the elections which were o be held jan-feb 1937
Nehru at first wanted to boycott elections to show his party’s disapproval of the GOIA
However many other congressmen believed that taking part in the elections had its advantages
Nehru himself said that by taking part in the elections, congress could:
‘Carry its message to the millions of voters and scores of millions of the disenfranchised to acquaint them w our future programme and policy’
ML also saw potential of getting its message across
Jinnah had been persuaded to return to active politics and in 1934 had been sworn in as permanent president of the ML
Laid down 2 basic principles on which it campaigned for office:
India should have self govt
There should be greater provincial autonomy and safeguards for the minority communities
Jinnah had believed that it would be possible for the congress and ML to cooperate after the elections and stated that ‘unity and an honorable settlement bw Hindus and Muslims and the other minorities is the only pivot upon which national self govt can be maintained’
Nehru = not keen to improve relations and declared that there were only 2 parties in India, Congress and British. This angered Jinnah
Jinnah showed great commitment to the cause of the Muslims but the elections resulted in great disappointment for ML
Congress won absolute majorities in five provinces and the largest single party in 4 others
Invited to form ministries in the united provinces, central provinces, Bihar, Orissa, Bombay etc and even in Muslim majority provinces
The league did not fare well
Only won 109/482 seats reserved for Muslims
The elections had not been a success for the ML but it brought them some benefits:
It was the first major election the league had fought and it helped unify the party after its internal split of the early 1930s
Party learned a great deal abt how to contest elections and realized it had to improve its organization and planning
It now knew that its support lay more in Muslim minority areas as Muslim majority areas did not yet feel threatened by Hindu dominion
The League also realized it had an image problem as its leaders were seen as aristocrats and princes, whereas many Muslims at this time were poor and illiterate
rule of congress 1937-39
In elections, congress received overwhelming support and thus took office
Once Nehru had received assurances from Lord Linlithgow that the provincial governors would not use their special powers to interfere in the provincial govt, the congress members took up their seats and formed cabinets in 8 provinces
After elections Congress treated Muslim League w disdain
In areas where league = largest party congress refused to cooperate
In Muslim majority provinces congress agreed to Muslims forming the govt as long as they were not members of the League
Most damaging for Muslims was how Congress believed that it represented the whole India and introduced measures which proved how correct Jinnah had been when warning about Congress rule
Congress introduced measures which threated Muslim culture and identity
Bande Mataram:
Nationalist Hindu song in which Hindus were encouraged to expel Muslims from Hindustan
It wasn’t an official Congress policy but it was made compulsory to sing everyday before the start of official business
This worried and offended Muslims
Wardha scheme:
Education scheme based on Gandhi’s views and introduced in all Congress education ministries
Teaching was to be in Hindu, spinning cotton by hand was introduced into the school curriculum and no religious education
All students were expected to bow before a pic of Gandhi hung in their schools
Muslims saw these as an attempt to subvert their children’s love for Islam and convert them into Hinduism
Congress tyranny:
Muslims feared that a major aim of their Hindu rivals was to erase Muslim culture
In some places Hindu extremists behaved in an appalling way;
Muslims were forbidden to eat beef and received harsh punishments if they slaughtered cows
Azaan forbidden, attacks carried out on mosques
Noisy processions made near mosques during prayer times and sometimes pigs were pushed into the mosques
Sometimes there were anti-Muslim riots where Muslims were attacked and their house and property was set on fire
Viceroy linlithgow himself said “many instances of continued oppression in small ways”
These incidents combined with Bande Mataram and Warda scheme policies explain why the rule of Congress was seen as “Congress tyranny” by the Muslims
day of deliverance
When Britain went to war w Germany in 1939, it announced that India was also at war w Germany
Congress objected to the fact that they had not been consulted and all congress provincial governments resigned
Muslims were so pleased to see Hindu government come to an end that they all gave Jinnah great support in celebrating the end of Congress rule on 22 December, 1939 as ‘day of deliverance’
ML under congress rule
Jinnah had devoted his time warning the Muslims that they must organize themselves if they were to resist the desires of Congress to establish Hindustan
At the lucknow meeting of the ML in Oct 1937 Jinnah persuaded the party that i needed to build up support from the grass roots
He also pointed out that in recent elections victory had come where the local branches of the League had been established before 1937
Jinnah’s drive to transform the fortune of the party soon bore fruit
Chief ministers of ABP formally joined the party by mid 1938, numbership members had grown dramatically
Congress recognized the importance of the League when talks bw Jinnah and Nehru were organized, though it refused to accept Jinnah’s demand that the growing ML be seen as the sole representative of the Muslim community
Consequently, by 1939 Hindu-Muslim relations were at low ebb (not imp)
