How Pak movement developed (section 2)

Question 1

Indian national congress (beginning of Indian political awareness):

Answer 1

Indian people needed their own national political body to represent their views to the British and in 1883, the indian Association suggested forming such a body
In same year, a member of british parliament wrote to the Times newspaper suggesting that the Indians should set up their own national political association

Former members of ICS, Allan Octavian Hume, wrote a letter t all the graduates of Calcutta university, calling them to take the lead in setting up a national political body
Hume followed his letter by setting up the Indian national union with branches in several cities
British viceroy Lord Dufferin, supported what Hume was doing and said that the organization would act as a ‘safety valve for the escape of great and growing forces’ within India.

28 dec 1883: conference of Indian national union called at bombay
Second conference called at calcutta during same time
These conferences were held under the name of Congress and mark beginning of the organization which was to play an important part in winning independence from Britain
Congress keen not to offend britain in its early stages
Declared its loyalty to Queen Victoria (ruler of British empire) and stated that its ambition was only ‘that the basis of govt should be widened’

1886: congress second meeting, 436 delegates elected as representatives of their provinces
In this meeting, congress stated its aim was to create an organization ‘united one and for all to promote our welfare and the welfare of our mother country’. It would do this in 2 ways:
By educating the public in India and Britain. So its resolutions were printed in newspapers and a British committee of the Congress was formed.
By persuading British govt to end unfair practices. To this end, the ICS called for more Indian representation in ICS and legislative councils in various provinces

Congress had little success but it did help to persuade the british to introduce the indian councils act of 1892, which increased number of Indians in the councils
But these bodies had v little power and were largely ignored by British
British soon began to ignore congress too
Lord dufferon claimed that it represented just a ‘microscopic minority’ of Indian opinion
1900: new viceroy Lord Curzon wrote that ‘the congress is tottering to its fall, and one of my greatest ambitions is to assist it to a peaceful death’.

Despite this, congress hoped British would increase the role of native Indians in the govt and believed that the British were ‘fair minded’ and that british rule had brought benefit to India (political stability and modern form of justice and education)

Other indians wanted things to move more quickly
Late 19th century: form of radical nationalism began to develop

Leaders i.e Bal Gangadhar Tilak of Poona made speeches calling for freedom of Indian people. Was imprisoned in 1897 for writing a provocative newspaper article
Late 1870s: secret societies sprang up which aimed at ridding india of the British
1897: British officer and his companion assassinated. These activities worried the British and they took measures to clamp down, one way they did this was partition of Bengal

Question 2

partition of Bengal

Answer 2

Bengal = largest province of India
By end of 19th century, it included Western bengal (population of 54 million, 42m Hindus, 12m Muslims) and East Bengal and Assam w population of 31 million.
Too huge to govern
10 times as many people in Bengal than in the whole of Britain

British claimed it would be easier to govern bengal as 2 smaller provinces
1903: Lord Curzon suggested partition of Bengal into ‘west Bengal’ and ‘east bengal’
Eastern province: Assam, 3 districts previously considered to be a part of west Bengal, Dhaka, Chittagong & Mymensingh

Proposal put into effect 2 yrs later (1905)
Many Hindus believed that the partition had nothing to do with administrative efficiency and that there were much more sinister reasons
The most immediate effect of partition was to cause conflict between muslims and hindus

Question 3

The Muslim view of partition

Answer 3

Delighted w partition
Position improved overnight
Muslims had recognition, a province in which they were in majority
Would enable millions of Muslims to escape from the oppression of hindu rule

Question 4

the Hindu view of partition

Answer 4

Hindus believed British divided bengal as part of their ‘divide & rule’ policy
Hindus dominated congress and had begun to call for reform
Believed British tried to weaken Hindu unity by dividing bengal
This meant the so called “hindu threat’ would be reduced

Aroused fury amongst Hindus
16th oct 1905 (day partition put into effect) as a day of mourning
Hundreds of protest meetings and many petitions sent to govt
Assassination attempt on future viceroy, Lord Minto
Introduced a boycott of British goods, where instead of buying British salt, cloth or any manufactured product, Hindus vowed to buy Indian produced goods.
This swadeshi movement spread rapidly
British cloth thrown into bonfires
Indian workers, such as those in calcutta began a series of strikes to show their opposition
Sale of British goods dropped dramatically

Question 5

British reaction to Hindu protests

Answer 5

Placed restrictions on newspapers and public meetings. 1906-1908, editors prosecuted and some imprisoned
1908, Press act gave the govt a greater control over newspapers
Tilak was arrested in June 1908 and sentenced to 6 years imprisonment. Other radical leaders left India to avoid arrest. Local prisons filled with those who British considered to be revolutionaries and sometimes suspects were simply deported w out being charged or put on trial

British thought a better approach would be to win the support of Moderate hindus by making reforms
Lord Minto worked with Secretary state for India in London on the Morley-Minto reforms
These reforms were intended to win support of hindus

Question 6

Winning the support of the Muslims
The simla deputation

Answer 6

Before Morley-Minto reforms, Morley decided British should take advantage of their improved relations w the Muslims and try to win their support for British rule
Simla deputation provided an ideal opportunity

Muslims feared reversal of the partition and knew they wouldn’t be able to provide such a level of protests to maintain the partition
Muslim also feared that Hindu agitation would lead to Hindi becoming the national language or even to muslims being forcibly converted to hinduism
1905: when new liberal govt was elected in Britain, Muslim fears grew
Liberals stated they would increase local participation in the govt of India thru elections
Hindus = majority, so Muslims feared they would be dominated by Hindus in the local govt

8 oct 1906: a deputation of prominent Muslims led by the Aga Khan visited viceroy Minto at Simla
Requested that the of Muslims in india ‘should be estimated not merely on their numerical strength but in respect to the political importance of their community in the service it had rendered to the empire’
Their demands were set out in Simla deputation. In it they asked:

In all local and provincial elections, Muslims should have their own representatives, who would be elected by only Muslim voters
In the councils, Muslims should have a higher percentage of seats than their percentage of population.
Muslim leaders argued that such measures reflected the importance of Muslim community in indian society
Percentage of Muslim soldiers in British army was v high
Without separate Muslim representatives elected by Muslims only, there was likely to be communal violence between Muslims and Hindus at every election

Though john Morley thought the Muslims proposal was undemocratic, lord Minto accepted their arguments and agreed to separate representation for the Muslims

Question 7

Importance of simla deputation

Answer 7

British acceptance of Simla deputation - extremely imp moment in hist of pak

British acceptance showed that the attempts made by Sir syed and otters to restore relations b/w the Muslims and British had been successful and the British were now ready to work w the Muslims and even to make concessions to them
Showd that Muslim community had decided to ensure it established a secure plan in constitution by its own methods. Day-to-day Hindu-Muslim rivalry also existed in constitution now.
Deputation also showed that Muslims had now come to the idea that they were a separate community and should be treated differently from the hindus.. From this it was only a small step to break away from congress to establish a Muslim party that would represent and protect muslim interests

Simla deputation = first step down the long road leading the formation of Pak

Question 8

Foundation of All-India Muslim league
Its aims and objectives

Answer 8

Aims:
Muslims felt that they lacked the influence the Hindus had gained from their control over Congress. One of the declared aims of the new organization was ‘to counter the growing influence of the so called Indian national congress’.
Partition of bengal had reinforced the division between muslim and Hindu and had led Muslim leaders to believe that it was vital to establish their own political organisation. Another aim of the league was to ensure that Muslim views were represented to the British.
Some Hindus claimed that the British were behind the establishment of the Muslim League to act as a counter to Congress, but Muslims themselves had set up the organization.

Formation
1906: Muslims leaders met at the 20th session of the Muhammadan educational conference at dhaka
After the conference, a meeting was called, chaired by nawab Viqae-ul-Mulk to consider setting up an organisation to be called ‘All-india Muslim league.’

Objectives:
First meeting: dec 1906, league declared its objectives:

To protect and advance the political rights and interests of Muslims in india
To represent Muslims needs and aspirations to the govt of india
To promote feelings of loyalty to the British govt
To remove any misunderstandings amongst the Muslims as to the intention of any govt measure
To prevent the rise of hostility in the Muslim community towards other communties in india

British welcomed formation of the Muslim league
Led by landowners and princes, who were moderate in their views and could help counter Hindu protests

Question 9

Morley-Minto reforms- British attempts to win Indian support:

Answer 9

Both Minto and John Morley were convinced that Indians’ demands for increased share in the govt of their country was fully justified.
They worked tgt to draw up a series of reforms which were passed by the british parliament in 1909 as the indian councils act
Main terms:

Imperial council increased to 60 members by adding more ‘non-official’ members , british retained control by ensuring majority of members were official
Central executive council increased by adding 60 new members. Council could discuss matters of importance and advise on government policies including the budget
Provincial councils were also increased to 50 members in the larger provinces and 30 in smaller provinces
Muslim representatives to the Council were elected by a separate Muslim only electorate

Question 10

importance of the reforms- a voice for Indians?
(MM)

Answer 10

British were keen to allow the Indians to express their opinions and wanted to know what the Indians had to say but did not intend that the local should have the power to change government policy
Morley himself stated that the reforms were not of a move towards setting up a parliament in India
He stated that if he thought that they might make such a parliament any more likely ‘I for one would have nothing to do with it’

Most imp consequence of the reforms = acceptance of separate electorates for Muslims
Hindus argued that this was undemocratic and for the next 25 years Congress was to pass an annual resolution calling for an end to separate electorate

Question 11

resolutions passed by Congress and ML

Answer 11

Congress:
Requested self-govt
Condemned partition of Bengal
Supported boycott of British goods

Muslim League
Declared loyalty to british
Supported partition of Bengal
Opposed boycott of British goods

Question 12

Bengal partition reversed

Answer 12

British reaction to Hindu protests and demand was the reversal of partition of Bengal– and with that much of the Goodwill that had been built between the Muslims and the British since 1905

Lord Harding the new viceroy had agreed to reverse the partition of Bengal
Decision announced at Durbar in Delhi on 12 December by king George v

British moved the capital from Calcutta to Delhi to show that the Bengali opposition had not been completely successful
Muslims bitterly opposed reversal of the partition

Question 13

India before first WW

Answer 13

Reversal of partition of bengal = poor relations bw British and Muslims
Muslims saw this as a betrayal of British promises that original partition was final
Soon realized that Morley Minto reforms provided them w no real voice in the govt of their country
Despite Muslims attempt to work w the British, Muslims lost faith in the British to allow them any real political power

1912-13: British supported Balkan states fighting against Turkey in Balkan wars
Turkey = major Islamic state in europe
Muslim community in India saw this as a further example of how British weren’t interested in protecting Muslim rights
Jan 1913: Muslim league declared that its aim was “a self govt suitable to India”
This was first time league passed a resolution asking for self govt and it now stood beside congress in making such demands
Resolution = extremely imp in improving relations w congress which now realized that the league was not an organization designed to promote British support

Question 14

impact of the first world war on Indian subcontinent

Answer 14

First world war = mixed views in India
Many Indians had great sympathy for the British
More than a million Indians responded to the request of enlisting them in the army and thousands gave their life fighting w the British in europe and mesopotamia
British themselves said that this world war would have been long and might not even have been won w out the help of Indians
Many politicians in India agreed w the idea of giving support to the British who said they were fighting for the rights of nations to determine how they should be governed
If British won = reward Indian loyalty by introducing reforms to give them greater role in governing the country

However, many Indians were not sympathetic towards the British
They saw Britains ‘necessity’ and Indias ‘opportunity’
In other words
Britain: In difficulty and in need of help
Indians: would use this opportunity to pressurize for self govt
Anti-british grp began to take action

1913: Lala Hardayal who was in exile in america set up a mutiny party which sent arms to India and arranged for armed opposition against the British. However, the party’s supported in India were betrayed and killed in a battle w Indian police
1915: planned uprising by Indian nationalists in Punjab, which was easily put down by the British
Mutiny by Indian troops serving in the British army in Singapore was crushed and dozens of troops were executed or imprisoned
Another unsuccessful plot: “Silk letter conspiracy” in which anti-British Muslims proposed a general uprising by the Muslims to free themselves of British rule. However, their plans came to nothing

As a result of the discontent in india. The British were forced to pass the ‘Defence of India Act” which gave them extraordinary powers to deal with unrest. Hundreds of alleged revolutionaries were exiled or imprisoned w out proper trials

Question 15

lucknow pact

Answer 15

Failure of British to grant more rights to the Indians + policy of repression during war had moved Congress and Muslim league closer to eo
1915: thanks to persuasion of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the two organizations held their annual sessions in Bombay
Joint councils of Congress and Muslim League were set up to improve understanding bw them on key issues
British realized they need to take steps to ensure there was no political unrest in India, so they let it be known that they were considering a series of proposals which would lead to:
At least half of the members of the executive council being elected, the legislative council having majority of the elected members

Both Congress and Muslim League supported these proposals
Agreement helped to draw the two parties closer
The two organizations realized that if further concessions were to be gained, they had to develop greeted cooperation bw themselves

1916: annual sessions in lucknow
As a result of the support of the two leaders (Jinnah from League and Mahajan from Congress), lucknow pact was drawn up
It showed that congress was prepared to make concessions to gain support of the League. Congress agreed that:
Muslims have the right to separate electorate in electing representatives to the imperial and provincial legislative councils. This would apply to even Punjab and bengal, where they did not yet exist.
Thought Muslims represented only ¼ of the population, they should be given ⅓ seats in the councils
No act affecting a community should be passed unless three-quarters of that community’s members on the council supported it
These major concessions of congress showed how keen it was to gain the support of the league
Congress leaders had objected strongly to the principle of separate electorate being included in the Morley-Minto reforms and it was the first time they had moved away from their belief that India was one indivisible nation

Pact included set of common demands for the British on how India should be governed:
Number of elected seats on the councils should be increased
Motions which were passed by large majorities in the council should be accepted as binding by the British govt
Minorities in the province should be protected
All provinces should have autonomy (complete control)

Question 16

importance of lucknow pact

Answer 16

First time Hindus and Muslims made a joint demand for reform to the British. Jinnah said the pact had come about because “cooperation in the cause of our motherland should be our guiding principle. India’s real progress can only be achieved by true understanding and harmonious relations bw the 2 great sister communities”
Marked first acceptance by Hindys that a degree of partition would be necessary in any self-governing India
Showed that Muslis acknowledged that they stood much more chance of protecting their rights if they worked w congress against British
Led to a growing belief in India that Home rule (self govt) was a real possibility. 1917: 2 home rule leagues campaigned across India. 1 led by Tilak, the other by an ENglish woman called Annie Besant. She was imprisoned by British in June 1917 but released in August due to a great public outcry. She was then elected as congress president. In same month, E.S Montagu (under-secretary) announced in British house of commons that the British Policy was “an increasing Association of Indians in every branch of the administration” until India was ready to Govern itself as part of the British Empire
The pact marked the high water mark of Hindu Muslim Unity. it was to be short lived, however, as the consequences of the Amritsar Massacre and khilafat movement led to a more communal approach to politics.

Question 17

Montagu chelmsford reforms– Diarchy in India

Answer 17

Nov 1917: Lord Chelmsford (viceroy of India) & Lord Montagu (secretary of state) carried out a fact-finding tour of India
July 1919: after discussions w local leaders, they issued the Montagu chelmsford report, aka Montford report
The two leaders stated that a system of govt should be introduced in India in which “some measure of responsibility to representatives chosen by an electorate.”

The reform proposed:

Legislative council should now be known as legislative assembly. 145 members out of which 103 members would be elected for a period of 3 years. Separate electorates for Muslims and Sikhs, 32 seats reserved for Muslims
Council of state would have 60 members, 33 of whom would be elected
Council of princes was set up w 108 members to allow princes to debate matters or importance. But it had no power and some princes didn’t even bother to attend what was little more than a ‘talking shop”
Role in central administration for Indians = further restricted by the power of the viceroy who could still pass any law he chose, if he felt it was necessary for the safety of India. Executive council = still made up of only nominated members, though 3 of these were now to be Indian
In provinces, new system of diarchy was introduced. Under this list, areas of responsibility were divided into 2 lists: reserved & transferred subjects

Reserved:
Justice
Police
Revenue
Power resources
Press & publication

Transferred:
Local govt
Education
Public health
Public works
Forests

Reserved subjects controlled by the Provincial governor and his executive council, which had bw 2 & 4 members nominated by the governor
Transferred subjects entrusted to ministers responsible to provincial legislative councils. As these councils were elected by the people, this looked as if there was a substantial degree of involvement by local ppl, but it should not be forgotten that the ministers were chosen by the legislative council by the viceroy himself, so he had the real power.
British claimed they were extending voting rights to more local people, but new regulations still meant that only 5.5 million (2%) of India’s 250 million population could vote

Question 18

Reaction of the Indian people to the Montague Chelmsford reforms

Answer 18

Indians had expected greater concessions
Congress and Muslim League were bitterly disappointed
Aug 1918: at a special session of Congress, the reforms were condemned as “inadequate, unsatisfactory and disappointing”
Only the moderates in Congress supported the measures and were soon excluded from the party
Local ppl had more say in how their country was governed but in reality British maintained their grip on power by ensuring that the viceroy had the authority to control how India was governed

Unexpected outcome: British reluctantly accepted separate electorates for the Muslims. Soon the non- Brahmins, SIkhs & eurasian were calling for concessions too. As these were granted, the division within Indian society was increasingly emphasised

Question 19

Rowlatt act

Answer 19

British had offered concessions in the Montague chelmsford reforms in hope of winning Indian support however they had every intention of taking strong and effective action against any element in India which opposed British rule
Dec 1917: committee formed under Justice Rowlatt to investigate revolutionary activity in India
Committee reported in April 1918 and suggested there was a definite increase in revolutionary activity in India, which should be dealt with as a matter of urgency
Committee recommended that some of the measures of the defence India Act should be retained permanently
Most controversial among these:

Arrest w out warrant
Detention w out bail
Right of the provincial govt to order people where to live

Proposals caused uproar in India as they appeared to go against two central principles of British justice’
Namely trial by jury
Safeguards against illegal imprisonment

Jinnah resigned from Imperial Legislative council in protest
Gandhi launched a hartal against the proposals
April 1919: strikes and demonstrations across India but viceroy ignored the opposition, accepted the recommendations and the Rowlatt Act was passed in 1919

Question 20

amritsar massacre

Answer 20

strikes & demonstrations → British banned anti govt publications & forbid public meetings
Unrest continued, particularly in Punjab
Early 1919: two nationalist leaders, Dr. Satyapal & Dr. Kitchlew = deported w out trial

10 April: rioting started in city of Amritsar; 2 banks attacked, 5 europeans killed
General Dyer (British commander in the area) was determined to restore order
He banned all public meetings in the city and was angered when an estimated crowd of 20,000 turned up for a peaceful demonstration at a public park called Jallianwala Bagh Amritsar
Park only had narrow entrances & was surrounded by 5 foot wall
General dyer stationed his troops at the entrances and w out warning, fired on the unarmed crowd of men, women & children
Troops fired over 1600 rounds
Around 400 ppl killed and 1200 wounded

General Dyer stated he fired the crowd to make sure the ppl of Punjab understood that they should obey British rule
Other measures soon followed
In Amritsar men were flogged in public and made to crawl on hands and knees down a street where and English women had been attacked
crowd meeting illegally at Gujranwala was bomb from the air
British carried out numerous sentences of death, exile, & imprisonment to maintain order

A hunter committee was set up in England to investigate what dyer had done in Amritsar
as a result of its findings dyer was eventfually removed from active service but he received no further punishment
he was a hero in the eyes of many European as he had shown local troublemakers what would happen if they did not conform to British rule
Indian people were highly insulted by British failure to punish dial
Gandhi stated that cooperation in any shape or form with this satanic government is sinful

Question 21

non cooperation movement

Answer 21

March 1920 many Indians lost faith in British rulers and joined Gandhi’s non cooperation movement
British cloth = burned in huge amounts and the production of hand spun & hand woven cloth = encourage
teachers & student left English colleges and schools and set up their own Institutions
many lawyers give up their practices as part of a boycott of the English legal system
first elections for the reformed councils in 1920 = largely ignored and Congress refused to field candidates
Jawaharlal Nehru has written about the attitude of Indian people at this time: “we were full of excitement and optimism and buoyant enthusiasm we sensed the happiness of a person crusading for a cause”

in response to the opposition: British began a policy of imprisonment of alleged trouble-makers
Soon jails were filled with the over 30000 political prisoners
non cooperation = providing a very difficult situation for British but when non cooperation spilt into violence Gandhi decided to call off the campaign in February 1922
first non-cooperation = failed to bring about Swaraj and save the Khalifa but it played an important part in raising Indian expectation and convinced many people of the need to work to overthrow the British rulers
Gandhi used this as a weapon against the British several times

Question 22

growth of communalism

Answer 22

Post war events in India = brought Hindu’s and Muslims closer together in opposition to British repression and attempt to save the Khalifa in Turkey
early 1920s: an increase in suspicion and rivalry between the two groups
ending of non cooperation did not bring peace to India and instead led to serious communal rioting across India
this was the period where Hindu fundamentalism gained more influence
Arya Samaj had been founded in 1877 and had strongholds in western & northern India
it aimed to purify Hinduism of some of the impure practices which it has fallen into
by doing so its founder Dayanand Saraswati hoped to reconvert Hindus who had been converted to Christianity
1920s: Arya Samaj = powerful agent for the spread of education and social reform, particularly in Punjab
together, with the Hindu Mahasabha Arya Samaj carried out militant activities in 1924 which helped strain relations between Hindus and Muslims

Question 23

Pundit Mohan Malaviya

Answer 23

In Punjab, Hindu Sabhas had been involved in local politics since the 1890s
1923: UP congressmen Pandit Mohan Malaviya brought number of them together in a political party, the Hindu Mahasabha
1926: it contested its first election
the party made little progress however until the V.D. Savarkar became president in 1947, Hindu Mahasabha was to condemn the partition settlement as a national disaster since it wanted India to be a Hindu state
believed that Gandhi’s religious tolerance was a threat to Hindu purity
Savarkar = later accused of the assassination of Gandhi in January 1948, though he would be acquitted by the court

Question 24

growing divisions in the congress party

Answer 24

The Hindu Congress party was split in the early 1920s
Though the party officially opposed the elections for the council in 1920, a splinter groups stood in the election and won some Seats under the name ‘national liberals’
But these members and those of other parties who had fielded candidates soon found that they had little influence on the British
1923: Congress decided to adopt a ‘policy of consistent obstruction, with a view to making government… impossible’
1923 elections were fought under the name of the ‘swaraj party’ & large number of seats were won

Growth of Congress influence worried Muslim league which fear that the Congress was more concerned w Hindu matters rather than winning rights for all Indian
League suspicions = further increased when Congress refused to support Muslim demands for full provincial autonomy (which would safeguard Muslim majorities in Punjab, Bengal and NWF
to make matters worse, Hindu groups began carrying out forceful conversion of Muslims

Question 25

delhi proposals

Answer 25

1927: Jinnah called a conference of all Muslim leaders in Delhi
the purpose was to discuss how Muslims interest should be protected in the future and he was keen to discuss the future of separate electorates in any future constitutional reform
Delhi conference resulted in a number of demands, known as Delhi proposals

Muslim should be given one third of the seats in the central legislature through joint electorates
Sindh should be given full provincial status
all British reform in India should be extended to Balochistan an NWFP
number of seats to be given to Muslims in the Punjab & Bengal should be proportional to the Muslim population living there

Jinnah stated that f these proposals were accepted, Muslims would call off their demands for a separate electorate