lucknow pact 1916 Flashcards
reversal of partition
one of the reasons that Lucknow pact came to be was due to the reversal of partition. the reversal came as a shock and betrayal to the Muslims due to which the relations between Muslim league and British government became strained and bought big changes to Muslim politics. the Muslims were outraged and betrayed as the British had ensured them that the partition was final but agreed to Hindus demands. therefore, this betrayal made the Muslims question about the future and their view of the British as a friendly source finished and knew they could not reply on the British for the future and wondered how far had they gone in terms of loyalty hence they went from one extreme to another and decided to work with the Hindus toward self rule.
Balkan wars
another reason were Balkan wars. the British supported the Balkan states during the fight against turkey which angered the Muslims as turkey was a major Islamic state in Europe. the Muslims in India further saw this as an example of how the British had no interests in protecting their rights therefore due to the little belief in the British the Muslims decided to improve relations with other nations and political party e.g congress. this intention allowed them to bridge their differences and work together to create Lucknow pact against the British.
achieve common aim of self government
moreover, the role of Muslim league was redefined from promoting loyalty to the government to a form of self government due to the non-cooperative attitude of the British. this action was extremely important in improving the relations with the congress who now accepted the ML was not a league to promote British support but an organisation designed to protect Muslim rights which allowed the congress and ML to come closer this made them realise that working together was a great way to get the British government to self rule.
Jinnah role
moreover, Jinnah had an important role in finalising the Lucknow pact. early on, he was a member of both congress and ML and was well known for not having any religious prejudices, he was also a great debater and advocate. Jinnah persuaded the both parties to meet at Lucknow and believed that meeting would allow feelings of goodwill and friendship develop therefore in this session not only the relations between congress and ML improve he was able to convince the congress to reach an agreement that would pressurise the British to take a more liberal approach towards India and give them more authority.
to get further concessions from WW1
in addition, Lucknow pact also came about to get further concessions from WW1 as during the war the British government in order to get more support and cooperation decided to announce that they were considering a series of proposals e.g legislative council having a majority of elected members which the congress and ML supported. Indians believed that would be able to overcome differences and develop cooperation if further concessions would be granted by the British hence they knew if in order to exploit the situation and place number of political demands to the British they needed to show a united front and have common aim.
congress wanted ML support
moreover, the congress needed ML support to show a united front to the British. some Hindus were convinced that problems between these two communities was so deep rooted that a partition would be inevitable therefore the congress decided to acknowledge their demand for separate electorates and higher percentage of seats so it would increase their chance of eventual independence
future constitution
lastly, Lucknow pact was also established to get more concessions for the future constitution which the British had promised after 10 years of Morley minto reforms. although Muslims had first accepted the reforms however their view point changed and agreed with the congress that reforms did not give Indians any voice in the government of their country therefore the congress and ML realised by working together they could get the British to accept their demands hence a number of political demands were presented to show a united front and common aims.
