The Congress conced-
ed separate electorates to the Muslims and even agreed to give the
same to them in the provinces like the Punjab and the Central Pro-
vinces where they did not exist before.
ed separate electorates to the Muslims and even agreed to give the
same to them in the provinces like the Punjab and the Central Pro-
vinces where they did not exist before.
Cambridge History of India - v4 - Indian Empire
The Hindu majority could do anything against the Muslim
minority. It was for that reason that Sir Syed advised the Muslims
of India not to join the nationalist movement in the country and
keep away from it. Sir Syed was not bothered about the fact
whether India became free or not. His only worry was that if
more powers were given to the Indians by the Englishmen, those
were going to be used by the Hindus against the Muslims. He
was not prepared to put up with the majority rule of the Hindus
in the distant future. That was the reason why he called upon
all the Muslims of India not to join the Indian National Congress.
Sir Syed jeered at the national agitation for freedom and called it
as "no more than the cries of jackals and crows” and advised the
British Government to rule with the help of force a country like
India which did not have a common nationality, common blood,
common aims and common ways of thinking. He assured the
Government of India that the Muslims would not join the Indian
National Congress and in this he was eminently successful. Sir
Sved definitely succeeded in keeping most of the Muslims away
from the Indian National Congress. As a matter of fact, a delibe-
rate attempt was made both by the British bureaucracy in India
and the influential Muslims to keep the Muslims away from the
Hindus. Aligarh became the centre of Muslim thought and cul-
ture. Practically every big Muslim in India sent his children to
Aligarh for education or he was persuaded or coerced to do so by
the British bureaucracy in India. The credit for separating the
Muslims from the Hindus must go to Sir Syed Ahmed Khan. He
may have played the game which some of the Englishmen in India
wanted him to play but the fact remains that as a result of the
policy advocated by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, the nationalist move-
ment in India became positively weak and ultimately it resulted in
the partition of India in 1947.
PRINCIPAL BECK
A reference must be made in this connection to the work of Mr.
Beck who was the Principal of the Aligarh College from 1883 to
1899. It was Principal Beck who organised the Muslim opposition
in 1899 to Bradlaugh's Bill in the British Parliament for giving
representative institutions to India. The memorial which was sent
on behalf of the Muslims of India claimed that the introduction of
## p. 791 (#833) ############################################
PRINCIPAL BECK
791
democratic institutions was not suited to India because India was
not one nation. It has already been pointed out above that Princi-
pal Beck was the prime mover in the establishment of the Moham-
medan Defence Association of Upper India in 1893. The object
of that organisation was to prevent the Muslims from joining the
Congress. To quote Beck, “The objective of the Congress is to
transfer the political control of the country from the British to the
Hindus. . . . . . Muslims can have no sympathy with these demands.
It is imperative for the Muslims and the British to unite with a
view to fighting these agitators and prevent the introduction of
democratic form of Government unsuited to the needs and genius
of the country. We, therefore, advocate loyalty to the Govern-
ment and Anglo-Muslim collaboration. ” Again, “The parliamen-
tary system in India is most unsuited and the experiment would
prove if representative institutions are introduced. The Muslims
will be under the majority opinion of the Hindus, a thing which
will be highly resented by Muslims and which I am sure, they will
not accept quietly. "
Principal Beck was able to convince Sir Syed that while an
Anglo-Muslim alliance would ameliorate the condition of the Mus-
lim community, the nationalist alignment would lead them once
again to sweat, toil and tears. He was further led to believe that
supporting the Government was the surest way of making up the
leeway for his community. As a result, his unique influence was
used to keep the Muslims, particularly in Northern India, away
from the Congress.
On the death of Principal Beck, Sir John Strachey wrote: “An
Englishman who was engaged in empire-building activities in a
far off land has passed away. He died like a soldier at the post of
his duty. The Muslims are a suspicious people. They opposed
Mr. Beck in the beginning suspecting him to be a British spy but
his sincerity and selflessness soon succeeded in his gaining their
confidence. "
There is a temptation to compare the work of Principal Beck
with that of Hume. The latter founded in 1885 the Indian Natio-
nal Congress which fought for more than 60 years the battle of
India's freedom and ultimately made her free in 1947. On the
other hand, Principal Beck tried to separate the Musliins from the
Hindus and ultimately succeeded in his object. It were his ideas
that in a way helped the establishment of Pakistan in 1947. While
Hume stood for the unity and freedom of India, Beck stood for the
division of India and if possible keeping the Muslims attached to
the British Government.
## p. 792 (#834) ############################################
792
PAKISTAN
PARTITION OF BENGAL
On 16 October, 1905, Lord Curzon announced the Partition of
Bengal into two parts. It was pointed out that this was being
done with a view to overcome the administrative difficulties which
were being faced by the British Government in India. The pro-
vince of Bengal was an unwieldy one and its boundaries were un-
scientific and required readjustment. However, the real object of
the partition of Bengal was the desire of the British Government
to create a Muslim majority province and to reward the Muslims
for their devotion to the British Government and to punish Bengali
Babus for their audacity to defy the British Government in India.
As was expected, the Hindus of Bengal carried on a vigorous agita-
tion against the partition for practically 6 years and ultimately the
same was cancelled in 1911.
So far as the Muslims were concerned, they attached very great
importance to the creation of a Muslim majority province. They
were very grateful to Lord Curzon for what he had given them.
While the Hindus criticised the re-appointment of Lord Curzon,
the Muslims welcomed the same and showered praises on him.
They considered Lord Curzon as the best Viceroy. No wonder,
when Bengal was partitioned, the Muslims were overjoyed. They
not only thanked the Government for their gift but also opposed
the anti-partition agitation. The Muslims were made to believe
that partition was beneficial to them. At a meeting of the Muslim
League held on 30 December, 1906 at Dacca, a resolution was
passed to the effect that the partition of Bengal was beneficial to
the Muslims. Agitation against partition was condemned. In
its extraordinary meeting held in 1908, the Muslim League ex-
pressed its grave anxiety over the anti-partition movement and
hope in the steady and firm stand of the Government in the matter
because the Partition was believed to have brought salvation to the
Musalmans of Eastern Bengal from degradation and ruin. The
Muslim League also declared that any change in the partition would
result in the feeling of a grave injury to the Musalmans from one
part of India to another. Sayyid Ahmad Delhvi, Editor of Farhing
Asafia, remarked that although the illiterate and ignorant frontier
tribes could not estimate the power and strength of the British
Government, there was no reason why the Bengalis who were ex-
perts in the English language and familiar with the history of the
world should be unaware of it. They might succeed in killing 10
or 20, 50 or 100 Englishmen with the help of bombs, but they
would not be able to uproot the British rule in India. They ought
to have known that even the children of Englishmen were brave
## p. 793 (#835) ############################################
LORD MINTO AND THE MUSLIMS
793
soldiers and born heroes. The revolutionary activities of the Ben-
galis were condemned by the Muslims and resolutions to that effect
were passed by the Muslim Lcague. The London Branch of the
Muslim League was goaded to action with a view to check the
growth of the idea that the partition be amended or upset. It was
directed to impress upon the British Government that a policy of
firmness in the matter would be more advantageous to it than even
the slightest show of weakness. Moreover, the Muslims who were
loyal subjects of His Majesty, had a right to be heard before any
action was taken by the British Government. It was conveyed to
the British Government that the Musalmans believed that their lives
and rights would remain protected only by the continued rule of
the British Government in India. They did not like, even for a
minute, that any impediment be placed in the way of the grand
administration of the British Government.
In view of this Muslim attitude, the orders of the British Govern-
ment cancelling the partition, could not be liked by them. The
British Government was criticised on the ground that it had betray-
ed them and it was not possible to have faith in the pledged word
of such a Government. To quote Nawab Mushtaq Husain Viqar-
ul-Mulk Bahadur, “So far as the Musalmans are concerned, it may
be understood to be the consensus of opinion that this re-union is
generally disliked. In face of the assurances repeatedly given by
successive ministers of the Crown as to the Partition being “a settl-
ed fact, the amalgamation betrays the weakness of the Govern-
ment and will, in future, be regarded as one of the reasons for plac-
ing no trust in its utterances and actions. "
It is worthy of note that Bengal which was partitioned in 1905
was partitioned again in August 1947 in order to give the Muslims
of East Bengal another Muslim majority province.
LORD MINTO AND THE MUSLIMS
When the Government of India made up its mind to give con-
cessions to India in the constitutional field about the year 1906,
the Muslims put forward a demand for separate electorates for
themselves. Those demands were placed before Lord Minto by a
Muslim deputation led by Sir Agha Khan. But it must be notic-
ed that everything was arranged by Archibold, Principal of the
Aligarh College. The deputation was a command affair. Mr.
Archibold wrote thus: “Colonel Dunlop Smith, Private Secretary
of His Excellency, the Viceroy, informs me that His Excellency is
agreeable to receive the Muslim deputation. He advises that a
formal letter requesting permission to wait on the Excellency be
## p. 794 (#836) ############################################
794
PAKISTAN
sent to him. In this connection, I would like to make a few sug-
gestions. The formal letter should be sent with the signatures of
some representatives of Mussalmans. The deputation should con-
sist of representatives of all the provinces. The third point to be
considered is the text of the address. I would here suggest that
we begin with a solemn assurance of loyalty. The Government's
decision to take a step in this direction of self-government should
be appreciated. But our apprehensions should be expressed that
the principle of election, if introduced, would prove detrimental to
the interests of the Muslim minority. It should respectfully be
suggested that nomination or representation by religion be intro-
duced to meet Muslim opinion. We should also say that in a
country like India due weight must be given to the Zamindars. But
in all these views, I must be in the background. They must come
from you. . . . . . I can prepare for you the draft of the Address or
revise it. If it is prepared in Bombay, I can go through it. As
you are aware, I know how to phrase these things in proper langu-
age. Please remember that if we want to organise a powerful
movement in the short time at our disposal, we must expedite mat-
ters. ”
Lord Minto received the deputation sympathetically and gave
the following reply: “The pith of your address, as I understand it,
is a claim that under any system of representation, whether it affects
a municipality or a district board or a legislative council, in which
it is proposed to introduce or increase an electoral organisation, the
Mohammedan community should be represented as a community.
You point out that in many cases electoral bodies as now constitut-
ed cannot be expected to return a Mohammedan candidate, and if
by chance they did so, it could only be at the sacrifice of such a
candidate's views to those of a majority opposed to his community
whom he would in no way represent; and you justly claim that
your position should be estimated not only in your numerical
strength, but in respect to the political importance of your com-
munity and the service it has rendered to the Empire. I am entire-
ly in accord with you. Please do not misunderstand me, I make
no attempt to indicate by what means the representation of commu-
nities can be obtained, but I am as firmly convinced as I believe
you to be that any electoral representation in India would be
doomed to mischievous failure which aimed at granting a personal
enfranchisement regardless of the beliefs and traditions of the com-
munities composing the population of this continent. ” Lady Minto
tells us in her Diary that Lord Minto described the day on which
the Muslim deputation met him as “an epoch in Indian history. "
Having committed himself to give separate electorates to the
## p. 795 (#837) ############################################
FOUNDATION OF MUSLIM LEAGUE
795
Muslims, Lord Minto took up the matter with Lord Morley, the
Liberal Secretary of State for India. The latter was not in favour
of the proposal of Lord Minto. But the Viceroy insisted that sepa-
rate electorates alone could satisíy the Muslims of India and nothing
else. The result was that ultimately Lord Morley accepted the
point of view of Lord Minto and provision was made in the Act of
1909 for separate electorates for the Muslims. Lord Morley wrote
to Lord Minto thus in December 1909: "I won't follow you again
into our Mohammedan dispute. Only I respectfully remind you
again that it was your early speech about their extra claims that
started the (Muslim) hare. I am convinced my decision was
best. ” It is clear that Lord Minto was the real father of communal
electorates although the British officials also played their part.
After the Simla deputation, Nawab Salim Ulla Khan of Dacca
set up a permanent political organisation of the Muslims known
as the Muslim League. The latter supported the partition of
Bengal and opposed the boycott of British goods.
THE MUSLIM LEAGUE
On 30 December 1906 was established the All India Muslim
League with a view to “support, whenever possible, all measures
emanating from the Government, and to protect the cause and
advance the interest of our co-religionists throughout the country
to controvert the growing influence of the so-called Indian Nation-
al Congress which has a tendency to misinterpret and subvert Bri-
tish rule in India, or which might lead to that deplorable situation,
and to enable our youngmen cf education, who for want of such
an association have joined the Congress, to find scope, according to
their fitness and ability, for public life. ”
Zaka Ullah has rightly pointed out that the All India Muslim
League was in complete accord with the advice of Sir Syed Ahmed
Khan. The policy of Sir Syed had been followed as tie Muslims
did not join the Indian National Congress and set up a separate
League of their own. Moreover, there was nothing in common
between the Congress and the Muslim League. While the latter
taught the lesson of undivided loyalty to the British Crown, the
Congress preached open agitation or sedition. A reference to a
statement of the Secretary of the Muslim League also points out
to the fundamental difference between the Congress and the Mus-
lim League: "We are not opposed to the social unity of the Hindus
and the Musalmans. . . . . . but the other type of unity (political)
involves the working out of common political purposes. This sort
of our unity with the Congress cannot be possible because we and
## p. 796 (#838) ############################################
796
PAKISTAN
>>
the Congressmen do not have common political objectives. They
indulge in acts calculated to weakening the British Government.
They want representative Government which means death for
Musalmans. They desire competitive examinations for employ-
ment in Government services and this would mean the deprivation
of Musalmans of Government jobs. Therefore we need not go
near political unity (with the Hindus). It is the aim of the League
to present Muslim demands through respectful requests before the
Government. They should, like Congressmen, cry for boycott, deli-
ver exciting speeches and write impertinent articles in newspapers
and hold meetings to turn public feeling and attitude against their
benign Government. In a letter to the President of the Deccan
Muslim League, His Highness the Aga Khan who was the Presi-
dent of the All India Muslim League, wrote thus: “Recognising, as
we must do, that British rule is essential to India—that it is the
only rule which can preserve us from internal anarchy and unsym-
pathetic foreign domination, that it is the only rule under which
India can march steadily along the paths of peace, contentment and
moral and intellectual progress by which we have advanced so far,
let us bend all our energy to making that rule strong in its hold
upon the imagination and affection of the people of India. ” The
founders of the Muslim League believed that "Musalmans have
their own traditions and ideals which constitute the common pro-
perty of Islam but which cannot wholly be identical with those of
any other community. Prominent among the ideals which sway
the ordinary Musalman is the conviction that nothing would com-
pensate him for the loss of conscious membership of the great Mus-
lim community of the world. ”
The first annual session of the All India Muslim League was held
at Karachi on 29 December, 1907. Karachi in Sind was delibe-
rately chosen for that purpose. “Sind is that pious place in India
“
where Muhammad Bin Qasim came first, with the torch of religion
and the gift of Hadis. No other place could appeal to our elders. ”
The President of the session made the following significant declara-
tion: “If a handful of men under a boy could teach Kalima to the
territory of Sind and promulgate the law of true Shariat of God
and His Rasul, can seven crores of Musalmans not make their social
and political life pleasant? ” The President also declared that he
was satisfied with the attitude of the Government towards the Mus-
lims. He hoped that at least 4 Musalmans would be taken in the
Imperial Council under the new reforms. He also cunveyed his
feelings of gratitude towards the Viceroy and the Government of
India in advance.
The All India Muslim League welcomed the Minto-Morley Re-
## p. 797 (#839) ############################################
MUSLIM POLITICS IN 1911-3
797
>
forms as they gave the Muslims what they had asked for. They
had got not only separate electorates for themselves but also the
reservation of seats with due weightage according to their position
in the politics of the country.
When Italy attacked Turkey to secure Tripoli in 1911, the Mus-
lims of India protested and requested the British Government to
come to the help of Turkey. To quote Maulana Mohammad Ali,
“It lies with England to say whether, through her support, Turkey
shall be strong (and it is only a strong Turkey that can carry
through a campaign of reforms), or whether through the defection
of Great Britain she must be weak and look elsewhere for salvation
that will be indefinitely delayed. ” Prayers were offered in mosques
for the successful termination of war in favour of Turkey. The
All India Muslim League passed the following resolutions: “(1) The
Council of the All India Muslims League voicing the feelings of
Indian Musalmans, places on record its deep abhorrence of Italy's
unjustifiable and high handed action in Tripoli and her flagrant
and unprecedented outrage on international morality, cordially
sympathises with Turkey in her undeserved troubles and admires
her magnanimity and dignified attitude throughout the crisis and
appeals to the Imperial Government to exercise its great, and un-
doubted influence as the greatest Muslim power and the traditional
ally of Turkey in the cause of peace and put an end to an unjust
and unconscionable War. (2) The Council of League advises
Musalmans to keep a dignified attitude and place implicit confi-
dence in the benevolence and good intentions of the Imperial Gov-
ernment and to try to raise suiiscriptions for the relief of sufferers
in the war. (3) The Council of the All India Muslim League ex-
pects Muslims throughout the country to boycott Italian goods of
all kinds. ”
The Muslims of India were once again put in an awkward posi-
tion as a result of the Balkan Wars of 1912-13. There was terrible
suffering in Turkey and appeals were issued for funds to help the
Muslims of Turkey. His Highness the Aga Khan sent his own
contribution of £2,000 to the British Red Crescent Fund. He
called upon the Muslims of India to suspend all their activities and
send help to Turkey. Maulana Shaukat Ali issued a call for volun-
teers. No Musalman was expected to be a silent spectator of the
struggle of his fellow Muslims in a just and noble cause.
The stu-
dents of the Aligarh College saved money from their food to be
sent to the Balkans. Their zeal was so great that the Lieutenant-
Governor of the United Provinces went to the Aligarh College and
advised the students to devote most of their time to studies and not
to ruin their health by starvation. In his reply to the address pre-
## p. 798 (#840) ############################################
798
PAKISTAN
9
sented to him, the Lieutenant-Governor said: "I ask you to set your
faces resolutely against everything which distracts or deters them
from their work. . . . . . Every moment of their life ai College is
precious; and every hour that is lost in illness or any mental worry
is a check to their development and handicap in later life. . . . . .
Let me hear, pray you, no more about nights of mourning and
days of fasting which your religion does not enforce. "
When the First World War broke out in 1914, Turkey declared
war against Great Britain. This again put the Musliins of India
in a very awkward position. They wanted a great Turkey but at
the same time they were also devoted to the British Government.
Hence, they did not know what to do. The Muslims of India
could not give up their loyalty towards the British Government
and the only thing to do was to feel unhappy. The Musalmans of
Delhi declared: "It is a matter of regret that the day which we
feared and the calamity the fear of which made us restless during
the last weeks, have crossed us now. It means that war has been
declared between Great Britain and Turkey and the hard and
tender time of the test of patience and fortitude of the Indian
Musalmans has come. ” In spite of the war, the Muslims of India
continued to profess their whole-hearted loyalty to the British
Government. In his presidential address delivered on the occasion
of the 28th Mohammedan Educational Conference at Rawalpindi,
Haji Rahim Bux observed: “I am assured that nobody for a
moment will contest that under the Government of His Majesty,
the King Emperor, we enjoy perfect peace, security and content-
ment and above all, that which is the birth right of all men, the
performance of our religious rights without let or hindrance. "
Sahebzada Aftab Ahmad Khan assured the Government of the
unflinching loyalty and whole-hearted devotion" of the Musalmans
of India to the British Government. His Highness the Aga Khan
remarked that Germany had dragged Turkey towards ruin and
the Musalmans of India looked upon this action of the former with
a sense of great anger and indignation.
When Lord Minto died, the Honorary Secretary of the Minto
Circle Reading Room sent the following message: "Lord Minto,
the late Viceroy of India, was like his predecessor Lord Curzon,
very popular among the Indian Muslims. He granted many con-
cessions to them and raised their status in the political world. ”
LUCKNOW PACT
The Lucknow Pact of 1916 was the outcome of a rapproche-
ment between the Muslim League under the leadership of M. A.
## p. 799 (#841) ############################################
THE KHILAFAT MOVEMENT
799
Jinnah and the Indian National Congress.
The Congress conced-
ed separate electorates to the Muslims and even agreed to give the
same to them in the provinces like the Punjab and the Central Pro-
vinces where they did not exist before. The Muslims were to get
nine-tenths of the seats in the Punjab to which they were entitled
on a purely numerical basis. The result was that their representa-
tion rose from 25 per cent under the Reforms of 1909 to 50 per
cent as a result of the Lucknow Pact. In Bengal, Muslim acquisi-
tion on the basis of separate representation was not impressive.
They were given only 75% of the seats to which they were entitled
on population basis. The Muslims complained that particularly
in Bengal they were deprived of their majority position and the
reply to that complaint was that separate electorates had been
given to the Muslims as a minority and they were not entitled to
have separate electorates in those provinces where they were in
majority. The Muslim complaint was that their majority in those
provinces was not very large and moreover they were backward and
grossly under-represented even in the majority provinces. How-
ever, in the Muslim minority provinces, the Muslims were given
representation almost double of that to which they were entitled
on a population basis. At the Centre also, they got one-third repre-
sentation in the legislative Council by separate Muslim constituen-
cies. They had to give up their right to vote in general constitu-
encies which had been given to them by the Reforms of 1909. It
was also agreed that no bill or resolution concerning a community
was to be passed if three-fourths of the representatives of that com-
munity were opposed to it. Most of these principles were incor-
porated in the Government of India Act, 1919. It cannot be
denied that the Lucknow Pact was the high water-mark of Hindu-
Muslim unity. The Pact showed that it was possible for the middle
class English educated Muslims and Hindus to arrive at an amic-
able settlement of the Hindu -Muslim constitutional and political
problems.
THE KHILAFAT MOVEMENT
Turkey had fought on the side of Germany during the First World
War and very hard terms were imposed upon her by the Treaty
of Sevres. By that treaty, the Arab State of Hedjaz was nominally
freed and put under British control. Armenia was created into a
Christian Republic and was put under an international guarantee.
Mesopotamia, Transjordan, Syria and Palestine were taken away
from Turkey. Syria was given to France under the Mandate of the
League of Nations. Palestine, Mesopotamia and Transjordan were
## p. 800 (#842) ############################################
800
PAKISTAN
given to England under the Mandate system. Galicia was recognised
as French sphere of influence. Southern Anatolia was recognised as
an Italian sphere of influence. Adrianople, Gallipoli, the Islands of
Ambros and Tenedos, Smyrna and the territory on the coast of
Asia Minor were given to Greece. The latter also got the Dode-
canese Islands with the exception of two islands. The Dardanel-
les and the Bosphorus were internationalised. Turkey was required
to pay a huge war indemnity. These terms were known even
earlier and the attitude of the Allies towards Turkey was very
much resented by the Muslims of India. The two brothers Moham-
mad Ali and Shaukat Ali and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad organ-
ised a mass movement of the Muslims known as the Khilafat Move-
ment. The main object of the Khilafat movement was to redress
the grievances of Turkey and get for her justice. Mahat:na Gandhi
also threw in his lot with the Ali brothers. Mahatma Gandhi and
the Khilafat leaders toured all over the country and asked the
Muslims and Hindus to non-cooperate with the British Government
which had done such a grievous wrong to the Muslims of Turkey.
The first Khilafat Conference was held at Delhi on 23 Novem-
ber 1919. It was attended by Mahatma Gandhi who called upon
the Muslims to start a non-cooperation movement for forcing the
British to yield to their demands regarding the maintenance of the
Khilafat in Turkey. The Hindus were invited by the Muslims to
.
attend the Delhi Khilafat Conference. When another Conference
was held in June 1920 at Allahabad, non-Muslim leaders like Sir
Tej Bahadur Sapru, Motilal Nehru and Annie Besant attended it.
Mahatma Gandhi was the only Hindu leader who was prepared to
take a courageous stand regarding the Khilafat demands of the
Muslims. He was the only Hindu leader who was included in the
Executive Committee formed on 9 June, 1920 to formulate a de-
tailed programme of non-cooperation. On 22 June 1920, the Mus-
lim League sent a message to the Viceroy warning him that if the
injustices done to Turkey were not removed by 1 August 1920, they
would launch a non-cooperation movement.
The Khilafat movement was a mass movement and it attracted
both the Hindus and the Muslims. The words Khilafat and
Swaraj were on the lips of everybody. Mahatma Gandhi asked
the Hindus to cooperate whole-heartedly in the Khilafat movement
as by doing so they would be able to win over the Muslims for
ever. To quote him, "We both have now an opportunity of a
life-time. The Khilafat question will not recur for another 100
years. If the Hindus wish to cultivate ehernal friendship with the
Musalmans, they must perish with them in the attempt to vindi-
cate the honour of Islam. "
## p. 801 (#843) ############################################
THE KHILAFAT MOVEMENT
801
At the All India Khilafat Conference held in Karachi on 8, 9
and 10 July 1921, the following resolutions were passed:
1. This meeting of the All-India Khilafat Conference declares
allegiance of the Muslim population to His Majesty the
Sultan of Turkey, the Commander of the Faithful, and
gives him an assurance that they would not rest content un-
til they had secured complete fulfilment of the Khilafat
demands.
2. It records its sorrow at the death of Jan Mahomed who
had led the Hijrat movement and sends its condolence to
his family
3. It further congratulatrs those workers in Sind who have
undergone imprisonment in the cause of their religion and
country and hopes that their effort will meet with success.
4. This meeting of the All-India Khilafat Conference declares
that so long as the demands of Indian Muslims regarding
the integrity of the Khilafat and the preservation of the
sanctity of Jazirat-ul-Arab and other holy places which
are based upon their religious canons are not fulfilled,
neither shall they rest in peace nor shall they leave it to the
enemies of Islam; that the entire provinces of Thrace and
Smyrna shall form the indissoluble components of the ter-
ritories of the Turkish Sultan as they used to be before the
war, and in no part of them shall Muslims tolerate the
influence and interference of Greek or any other Power.
The Muslims shall never agree to the conditions the Allies
wish to impose upon the Turkish Government, or on its
Military, naval and air forces, or in connection with the
financial, economic or judicial administration, as that would
tend to interfere with the complete independence of the
Khilafat and the Sultanate. This Conference calls upon
local committees to make fresh declarations to the above
effect so that no doubt be left as to the religious obligation
of the Muslims.
5. Whereas Mesopotamia contains holy places, such as the
burial places of the descendants of the Prophet' and holy
saints and is in addition an integral part of the Jazirat-ul-
Arab, the influence, residence or entrance of non-Muslim
nations without the authority of Islamic Powers is not
permissible by religion, and in case a colonization of the
above character comes about, it would conflict with their
holy Shariat. The Muissalmans are convinced the Ameri-
cans (sic) would take advantage of their neainess to the
holy places and revive their old enmities towards Islam.
## p. 802 (#844) ############################################
802
PAKISTAN
This Conference therefore demands that the above coun-
try be immediately vacated.
6. This meeting of the All-India Khilafat Conference heartily
congratulates Ghazi Mustafa Kemal Pasha and the Angora
Government upon their magnificent victories and the suc-
cess of their most desperate (or self-sacrificing) endeavours
in upholding the laws of Islam and this meeting prays to
Almighty God that they may soon succeed in expelling the
whole of the armies of the foreign Government from every
nook and corner of the Turkish Empire. In addition this
meeting clearly proclaims that it is in every way religiously
unlawful for a Mussalman at the present moment to conti-
nue in the British Army or to induce others to join the
army and it is the duty of all the Mussalmans in general
and the Ulemas (sic) in particular to see that these reli-
gious commandments are brought home to every Mussal-
man in the Army. Furthermore this meeting also an-
nounces that if the British Government were to take any
military measures against the Angora Government, directly
or indirectly, openly oc secretly, then the Mussalmans of
India will be compelled to commence the breaking of laws,
that is civil disobedience, with the concurrence of the Con-
gress and to proclaim in the complete independence of India
and the Indians and the establishment of a Republic for
the Government of India.
7. This meeting of the All-India Khilafat Conference calls
upon all local Khilafal Committees to devise measures to
absolutely stop drinking within their districts and congra-
tulates the workers and volunteers of places where the
liquor traffic has diminished and further commands to
them to put forth their best efforts to achieve greater suc-
cess.
8. That this meeting of the All-India Khilafat Conference
calls upon all Provincial, District and Village Committees
to put forth their last efforts to enlist a crore of Khilafat
members and collect forty lakhs of rupees to relieve the
distress in Smyrna and aid the Muhajirin Relief Fund.
9. This Conference strongly appeals to the Pirs and Zamin-
dars of Sind to take more interest in the Khilafat move-
ment than they had done hitherto and request the former
to command their disciples to do the same.
In due course of time, the Kbilafat movement collapsed. By the
treaty of Laussane signed in 1923, Turkey got very favourable
terms and within 6 weeks all the Allied troops left Turkey. The
## p. 803 (#845) ############################################
THE KHILAFAT MOVEMENT
803
Angora Assembly decided to constitute itself into a Republic.
Early in 1924, the office of the Khalifa was abolished by its decree
and Abdul Majid, the existing Khalifa, was expelled from the
Turkish territory under circumstances of considerable harshness.
All these events damped the enthusiasm of the Muslims in India.
Certain events in India also helped the collapse of the Khilafat
movement. After the Chauri-Chaura tragedy in February 1922,
Mahatma Gandhi withdrew the non-cooperation movement.
There were Hindu-Muslim riots all over the country. The begin-
ning was made by the Moplahs of Malabar in 1921 when they
made war on their Hindu neighbours. In that rising, murders,
forcible conversions, desecrations of temples, outrages upon wo-
men, pillage, arson and destruction were prepetrated freely and as
might be expected, the barbarities practised had an immediate re-
action on Hindu-Muslim relations throughout India. In 1924,
there were communal troubles at Delhi, Gulbarga, Nagpur, Luck-
now, Shahjahanpur, Allahabad, Jubbalpore and Kohat. The
Kohat riots were the worst. A perusal of the report of the Kohat
outrages on 9 and 10 September 1924 “sends a thrill of horror
through the reader. We cannot view the events beyond saying that
after the shootings and carnage of the 9th and 10th September, a
special train had to remove 40C0 Hindus of whom 2600 were living
for two months afterwards on the charity of Rawalpindi and 1400
in other places. ” In order to protect themselves, the Hindus start-
ed the Shuddhi and Sangathan movements. Their objective was
purely defensive and these movements were not at all directed
against the Muslims but they nad the unfortunate effect of sepa-
rating the Hindus from the Niuslims. The Muslims also started
the Tabligh and Tanzim movements. The net result was that the
Hindo-Muslim unity disappeared.
It must be noticed that during the Khilafat movement, there
were many Muslims who were not happy at the idea of cooperation
between the Hindus and the Muslims. It appeared to them that
such a policy would take the Muslims away from the path laid
down by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan. By working in cooperation with
the Hindus, the Muslims would lose their separate identity. No
wonder, the Ali Brothers were condemned by those Muslims. It
was contended that Shaukat Ali was responsible for installing
Mahatma Gandhi as Imam Mehdi. It was alleged that Moham-
mad Ali prostrated before Mahatma Gandhi and addressed him
as God.
It was intolerable to the orthodox Muslims that even the
topmost Muslims addressed Mahatma Gandhi as Sarkar. They
were also opposed to Charkha and Khaddar of Gandhi. At the
Calcutta Madrassah, Abdur Rahim stated on 12 March 1923:
## p. 804 (#846) ############################################
804
PAKISTAN
"One observation irresistibly occurs to me in this connection that
the new cult of the Charkha and the Khaddar, the symbol in the
non-cooperation movement employing as it does aloofness from the
world and an abandonment of all earnest effort to utilise the re-
sources of nature for ever-growing needs of an expanding humanity,
is repugnant to the entire spirit of Islam and the history of Islamic
civilisation. ” S. Khuda Baksh felt no hesitation in saying that "the
non-cooperation movement has meant a setback to Muslims in
India. It has drawn Muslims into perilous paths and has diverted
them from activities more useful and work more beneficial lying
before them in the domain of the arts and sciences, in the sphere of
law and politics. ” Allegations were made that the Ali Brothers
had embezzled large sums of money collected by them from the
public and they were asked to publish the accounts of all the subs-
criptions received by them.
Some Muslim historians have tried to show that Mahatma Gandhi
deliberately directed the Khilafat movement with the sole object
of causing the maximum harm to Muslim interests and Muslim
solidarity. The Muslims were already poor and backward and
by prevailing upon the Muslim lawyers and litigants to boycott the
courts and the Muslim students and teachers to boycott their
schools and colleges, the interests of the Muslims were adversely
affected. The Muslim community which was already economical-
ly and educationally backward was weakened still further. Even
the migration of Muslims from India in thousands was interpreted
as a trap set by Mahatma Gandhi. “The land of the Rishis was
being rid of the Malechhas! Here was the crux of Gandhi's pro-
gramme. Well might he rejoice over it! ” Another verdict was:
“Everything destructive of Musalmans had the Mahatmzic blessing
of Gandhi. ” It was also contended that while Mahatma Gandhi
called upon the Muslims to make tremendous sacrifices for the sake
of the Khilafat, he did not demand the same sacrifices from the
Hindus. However, it is pointed out that the Muslim leaders like
Abul Kalam Azad and Moham: nad Ali were responsible for exhort-
ing the Muslims to sacrifice their material possessions and interests
for the sake of Islam. To quote Azad, “Muslims should neither
think of politics nor education, should neither praise freedom nor
get entangled in the shackles of slavery. They are not supposed
to think or decide on these things. It was God who had to decide
on these things and He has decided. Their duty is cnly to act
strictly in accordance with the commands of God which are incor-
porated in the Quran. They should empty their minds of all
man-made ideas and national sentiments and surrender themselves
to the instruction and guidance of the Supreme Educator. If Islam
## p. 805 (#847) ############################################
THE KHILAFAT MOVEMENT
805
invites them to participate in politics, they should immediately get
involved in it. If it tells them to keep aloof, then they should
immediately withdraw from it If Islam says, that slavery and
sycophancy are the two real means to achieve welfare, then Mus-
lims should become living embodiments of slavery. If Islam says
that freedom and demanding one's rights are the only sources of
a nation's life and honour, then Muslim should immerse themselves
in the struggle for freedom. . . . . . Muslims have no desires of their
own, no plans, no policy. Their desire and policy is to act com-
pletely according to the dictates of Islam. ” Hence, this charge is
without any force.
It is unfortunate that the atmosphere in the country created by
the Khilafat movement did not last long and the forces working
against the country got the upper hand. During the Khilafat
days, the Hindus and the Muslims treated each other as brothers
and if that spirit of brotherhood had continued, not only the free-
dom of the country would have come earlier, there would not have
been any division of it. The failure only proves the weakness of
the nationalist spirit in the country.
What actually happened was that the Hindu-Muslim riots in
different parts of the country strained the relations between the
Hindus and the Muslims to such an extent that even at that time
certain leaders started talking about the division of the country on
communal lines. Maulana Hasrat Mohini suggested the establish-
ment of separate Muslim and Hindu states. Lala Lajpat Rai also
was worried about the situation in the country. He was of the
definite opinion that so long as the Muslims insisted on separate
electorates or separate representation which at that time formed
the central pivot of Muslim policy, there could be no united India.
His view was that a United India and communal representation
with separate electorates were absolutely irreconcilable. "Once
you accept communal representation with separate electorates, there
is no chance of its being ever abolished, without a civil war. . . . .
Communal representation with separate electorates is the most
effective reply to the demand for Swaraj and the surest way of
India never getting it. I have never been able to appreciate the
mentality of those who constantly talk of turning out the British
and at the same time insist on communal representation with sepa-
rate electorates. I really do not understand what they mean.
Referring to the demand of Maulana Hasarat Mohini for a sepa-
rate Muslim State in India, Lala Lajpat Rai made the following
suggestions: “Under my scheme the Muslims will have four Mus-
lim States: (1) the Pathan Province or the North-West Frontier;
(2) Western Punjab; (3) Sind; and (4) Eastern Bengal. If there
>
## p. 806 (#848) ############################################
806
PAKISTAN
are compact Muslim communities in any other part of India, suffi-
ciently large to form a province, they should be similarly constitut-
ed. But it should be distinctly understood that this is not a united
India. It means a clear partition of India into a Muslim India and
a non-Muslim India. "
At the Calcutta session of the All India Muslim League held in
December 1927, it was decided that the Council of the Muslim
League should appoint a Sub-Committee to confer with the Work-
ing Committee of the Indian National Congress and other organ-
izations with a view to drafting a Constitution for India. How-
ever, it was made clear that the Muslim League stood for certain
fundamental principles and those were the formation of a separate
Province of Sind, introduction of reforms in the N. W. F. P. and
Baluchistan on the same footing as in other Provinces. Unless and
until the above two proposals were implemented, the Muslims
would never surrender the right of their representation through
separate electorates in favour of joint electorates with reservation
of seats fixed in proportion to the population of different communi-
ties. Muslim representation in the Central Legislature would not
be less than one-third. Hindu minorities in Sind, Baluchistan and
the N. W. F. P. would be accorded the same concessions in the form
of reservation of seats over and above the proportion of their popu-
lation as the Muslims would get in the Hindu majority provinces.
In addition to provisions like religious freedom, there was to be a
further guarantee in the Constitution that on communal matters
no Bill or Resolution would be considered or passed if a three-
fourths majority of the members of the community concerned were
opposed to it. It is worthy of notice that there was no mention of
the Punjab or Bengal in the above mentioned proposals.
The policy of the British Government at that time was not to
allow the Muslims and the Hindus to unite. This is clear from
the following extract from a letter of Lord Birkenhead a ddressed to
a
Lord Irwin in February 1928: "I should advise Simon to see at
all stages important people who are not boycotting the Commis-
sion, particularly Moslems and the depressed classes. I should
widely advertise all his interviews with representative Moslems.
The whole policy is now obvious. It is to terrify the immense
Hindu population by the apprehension that the Commission having
been got hold of by the Moslems, may present a report altogether
destructive of the Hindu position, thereby securing a solid Moslem
support and leaving Jinnah high and dry. ” It is contended that
if the Congress had gone out of the way to come to a settlement
with Mr. Jinnah and accepted his demands, men like Mohd. Shafi
who were supported by the British Government, would have been
## p. 807 (#849) ############################################
NEHRU REPORT
807
isolated and the course of events in the country would have been
different. Unfortunately, the Nehru report failed to satisfy the
Muslims and the result was that the two factions in the Muslim
League led by Mohd. Shafi and Mr. Jinnah got united.
NEHRU REPORT
The Nehru Report accepted the Muslim demand for the forma-
tion of separate provinces of Sind and the North-West Frontier
Province. However, the Muslims were not given separate electo-
rates or weightage. Seats were reserved for the Muslims at the
Centre and also in those provinces in which they were in a minority.
No seats were reserved for the Muslims in the Punjab and Bengal.
There was to be a unitary Government in the country.
The All Parties National Convention met in Calcutta in the last
week of December 1928 to discuss the Nehru Report. Mr. Jinnah
who was at that time the President of the Muslim League, put
forward his famous fourteen points as amendments to the Nehru
Report in the open Session on 28 December, 1928. His basic
amendments were that the Muslims should have 33-1/3% of the
seats in the Central Legislature. The residuary powers should
vest in the Provinces and not in the Centre. The Muslims in the
Punjab and Bengal should be represented on the basis of popu-
lation for 10 years subject to a subsequent revision. However,
the amendments of Mr. Jinnah were not accepted. It is pointed
out that the difference was not a material one. The Nehru
Report had recommended 30% of the representation in the Central
Legislature to the Muslims and the latter were asking for 33-1/3%
cnly. Gandhiji was inclined to concede the additional 31-1/3%
seats but the others were not willing and hence the attempt failed.
This was going to have very serious consequences. Within a
week, the All India Muslim Conference was held in Delhi on 1
January, 1929 under the Presidentship of the Aga Khan. Many
resolutions were passed in that Conference. It was demanded
that the only form of Government suitable to Indian conditions
was a Federal system with complete autonomy and residuary po-
wers vested in the constituent States. The Muslims should not
be deprived of the right to elect their representatives through sepa-
rate electorates without their consent. The Muslims should con-
tinue to have weightage in the Hindu majority provinces and
they were willing to give the same privilage to the non-Muslim
minorities in Sind, the North-West Frontier Province and Baluchis-
tan.
minority. It was for that reason that Sir Syed advised the Muslims
of India not to join the nationalist movement in the country and
keep away from it. Sir Syed was not bothered about the fact
whether India became free or not. His only worry was that if
more powers were given to the Indians by the Englishmen, those
were going to be used by the Hindus against the Muslims. He
was not prepared to put up with the majority rule of the Hindus
in the distant future. That was the reason why he called upon
all the Muslims of India not to join the Indian National Congress.
Sir Syed jeered at the national agitation for freedom and called it
as "no more than the cries of jackals and crows” and advised the
British Government to rule with the help of force a country like
India which did not have a common nationality, common blood,
common aims and common ways of thinking. He assured the
Government of India that the Muslims would not join the Indian
National Congress and in this he was eminently successful. Sir
Sved definitely succeeded in keeping most of the Muslims away
from the Indian National Congress. As a matter of fact, a delibe-
rate attempt was made both by the British bureaucracy in India
and the influential Muslims to keep the Muslims away from the
Hindus. Aligarh became the centre of Muslim thought and cul-
ture. Practically every big Muslim in India sent his children to
Aligarh for education or he was persuaded or coerced to do so by
the British bureaucracy in India. The credit for separating the
Muslims from the Hindus must go to Sir Syed Ahmed Khan. He
may have played the game which some of the Englishmen in India
wanted him to play but the fact remains that as a result of the
policy advocated by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, the nationalist move-
ment in India became positively weak and ultimately it resulted in
the partition of India in 1947.
PRINCIPAL BECK
A reference must be made in this connection to the work of Mr.
Beck who was the Principal of the Aligarh College from 1883 to
1899. It was Principal Beck who organised the Muslim opposition
in 1899 to Bradlaugh's Bill in the British Parliament for giving
representative institutions to India. The memorial which was sent
on behalf of the Muslims of India claimed that the introduction of
## p. 791 (#833) ############################################
PRINCIPAL BECK
791
democratic institutions was not suited to India because India was
not one nation. It has already been pointed out above that Princi-
pal Beck was the prime mover in the establishment of the Moham-
medan Defence Association of Upper India in 1893. The object
of that organisation was to prevent the Muslims from joining the
Congress. To quote Beck, “The objective of the Congress is to
transfer the political control of the country from the British to the
Hindus. . . . . . Muslims can have no sympathy with these demands.
It is imperative for the Muslims and the British to unite with a
view to fighting these agitators and prevent the introduction of
democratic form of Government unsuited to the needs and genius
of the country. We, therefore, advocate loyalty to the Govern-
ment and Anglo-Muslim collaboration. ” Again, “The parliamen-
tary system in India is most unsuited and the experiment would
prove if representative institutions are introduced. The Muslims
will be under the majority opinion of the Hindus, a thing which
will be highly resented by Muslims and which I am sure, they will
not accept quietly. "
Principal Beck was able to convince Sir Syed that while an
Anglo-Muslim alliance would ameliorate the condition of the Mus-
lim community, the nationalist alignment would lead them once
again to sweat, toil and tears. He was further led to believe that
supporting the Government was the surest way of making up the
leeway for his community. As a result, his unique influence was
used to keep the Muslims, particularly in Northern India, away
from the Congress.
On the death of Principal Beck, Sir John Strachey wrote: “An
Englishman who was engaged in empire-building activities in a
far off land has passed away. He died like a soldier at the post of
his duty. The Muslims are a suspicious people. They opposed
Mr. Beck in the beginning suspecting him to be a British spy but
his sincerity and selflessness soon succeeded in his gaining their
confidence. "
There is a temptation to compare the work of Principal Beck
with that of Hume. The latter founded in 1885 the Indian Natio-
nal Congress which fought for more than 60 years the battle of
India's freedom and ultimately made her free in 1947. On the
other hand, Principal Beck tried to separate the Musliins from the
Hindus and ultimately succeeded in his object. It were his ideas
that in a way helped the establishment of Pakistan in 1947. While
Hume stood for the unity and freedom of India, Beck stood for the
division of India and if possible keeping the Muslims attached to
the British Government.
## p. 792 (#834) ############################################
792
PAKISTAN
PARTITION OF BENGAL
On 16 October, 1905, Lord Curzon announced the Partition of
Bengal into two parts. It was pointed out that this was being
done with a view to overcome the administrative difficulties which
were being faced by the British Government in India. The pro-
vince of Bengal was an unwieldy one and its boundaries were un-
scientific and required readjustment. However, the real object of
the partition of Bengal was the desire of the British Government
to create a Muslim majority province and to reward the Muslims
for their devotion to the British Government and to punish Bengali
Babus for their audacity to defy the British Government in India.
As was expected, the Hindus of Bengal carried on a vigorous agita-
tion against the partition for practically 6 years and ultimately the
same was cancelled in 1911.
So far as the Muslims were concerned, they attached very great
importance to the creation of a Muslim majority province. They
were very grateful to Lord Curzon for what he had given them.
While the Hindus criticised the re-appointment of Lord Curzon,
the Muslims welcomed the same and showered praises on him.
They considered Lord Curzon as the best Viceroy. No wonder,
when Bengal was partitioned, the Muslims were overjoyed. They
not only thanked the Government for their gift but also opposed
the anti-partition agitation. The Muslims were made to believe
that partition was beneficial to them. At a meeting of the Muslim
League held on 30 December, 1906 at Dacca, a resolution was
passed to the effect that the partition of Bengal was beneficial to
the Muslims. Agitation against partition was condemned. In
its extraordinary meeting held in 1908, the Muslim League ex-
pressed its grave anxiety over the anti-partition movement and
hope in the steady and firm stand of the Government in the matter
because the Partition was believed to have brought salvation to the
Musalmans of Eastern Bengal from degradation and ruin. The
Muslim League also declared that any change in the partition would
result in the feeling of a grave injury to the Musalmans from one
part of India to another. Sayyid Ahmad Delhvi, Editor of Farhing
Asafia, remarked that although the illiterate and ignorant frontier
tribes could not estimate the power and strength of the British
Government, there was no reason why the Bengalis who were ex-
perts in the English language and familiar with the history of the
world should be unaware of it. They might succeed in killing 10
or 20, 50 or 100 Englishmen with the help of bombs, but they
would not be able to uproot the British rule in India. They ought
to have known that even the children of Englishmen were brave
## p. 793 (#835) ############################################
LORD MINTO AND THE MUSLIMS
793
soldiers and born heroes. The revolutionary activities of the Ben-
galis were condemned by the Muslims and resolutions to that effect
were passed by the Muslim Lcague. The London Branch of the
Muslim League was goaded to action with a view to check the
growth of the idea that the partition be amended or upset. It was
directed to impress upon the British Government that a policy of
firmness in the matter would be more advantageous to it than even
the slightest show of weakness. Moreover, the Muslims who were
loyal subjects of His Majesty, had a right to be heard before any
action was taken by the British Government. It was conveyed to
the British Government that the Musalmans believed that their lives
and rights would remain protected only by the continued rule of
the British Government in India. They did not like, even for a
minute, that any impediment be placed in the way of the grand
administration of the British Government.
In view of this Muslim attitude, the orders of the British Govern-
ment cancelling the partition, could not be liked by them. The
British Government was criticised on the ground that it had betray-
ed them and it was not possible to have faith in the pledged word
of such a Government. To quote Nawab Mushtaq Husain Viqar-
ul-Mulk Bahadur, “So far as the Musalmans are concerned, it may
be understood to be the consensus of opinion that this re-union is
generally disliked. In face of the assurances repeatedly given by
successive ministers of the Crown as to the Partition being “a settl-
ed fact, the amalgamation betrays the weakness of the Govern-
ment and will, in future, be regarded as one of the reasons for plac-
ing no trust in its utterances and actions. "
It is worthy of note that Bengal which was partitioned in 1905
was partitioned again in August 1947 in order to give the Muslims
of East Bengal another Muslim majority province.
LORD MINTO AND THE MUSLIMS
When the Government of India made up its mind to give con-
cessions to India in the constitutional field about the year 1906,
the Muslims put forward a demand for separate electorates for
themselves. Those demands were placed before Lord Minto by a
Muslim deputation led by Sir Agha Khan. But it must be notic-
ed that everything was arranged by Archibold, Principal of the
Aligarh College. The deputation was a command affair. Mr.
Archibold wrote thus: “Colonel Dunlop Smith, Private Secretary
of His Excellency, the Viceroy, informs me that His Excellency is
agreeable to receive the Muslim deputation. He advises that a
formal letter requesting permission to wait on the Excellency be
## p. 794 (#836) ############################################
794
PAKISTAN
sent to him. In this connection, I would like to make a few sug-
gestions. The formal letter should be sent with the signatures of
some representatives of Mussalmans. The deputation should con-
sist of representatives of all the provinces. The third point to be
considered is the text of the address. I would here suggest that
we begin with a solemn assurance of loyalty. The Government's
decision to take a step in this direction of self-government should
be appreciated. But our apprehensions should be expressed that
the principle of election, if introduced, would prove detrimental to
the interests of the Muslim minority. It should respectfully be
suggested that nomination or representation by religion be intro-
duced to meet Muslim opinion. We should also say that in a
country like India due weight must be given to the Zamindars. But
in all these views, I must be in the background. They must come
from you. . . . . . I can prepare for you the draft of the Address or
revise it. If it is prepared in Bombay, I can go through it. As
you are aware, I know how to phrase these things in proper langu-
age. Please remember that if we want to organise a powerful
movement in the short time at our disposal, we must expedite mat-
ters. ”
Lord Minto received the deputation sympathetically and gave
the following reply: “The pith of your address, as I understand it,
is a claim that under any system of representation, whether it affects
a municipality or a district board or a legislative council, in which
it is proposed to introduce or increase an electoral organisation, the
Mohammedan community should be represented as a community.
You point out that in many cases electoral bodies as now constitut-
ed cannot be expected to return a Mohammedan candidate, and if
by chance they did so, it could only be at the sacrifice of such a
candidate's views to those of a majority opposed to his community
whom he would in no way represent; and you justly claim that
your position should be estimated not only in your numerical
strength, but in respect to the political importance of your com-
munity and the service it has rendered to the Empire. I am entire-
ly in accord with you. Please do not misunderstand me, I make
no attempt to indicate by what means the representation of commu-
nities can be obtained, but I am as firmly convinced as I believe
you to be that any electoral representation in India would be
doomed to mischievous failure which aimed at granting a personal
enfranchisement regardless of the beliefs and traditions of the com-
munities composing the population of this continent. ” Lady Minto
tells us in her Diary that Lord Minto described the day on which
the Muslim deputation met him as “an epoch in Indian history. "
Having committed himself to give separate electorates to the
## p. 795 (#837) ############################################
FOUNDATION OF MUSLIM LEAGUE
795
Muslims, Lord Minto took up the matter with Lord Morley, the
Liberal Secretary of State for India. The latter was not in favour
of the proposal of Lord Minto. But the Viceroy insisted that sepa-
rate electorates alone could satisíy the Muslims of India and nothing
else. The result was that ultimately Lord Morley accepted the
point of view of Lord Minto and provision was made in the Act of
1909 for separate electorates for the Muslims. Lord Morley wrote
to Lord Minto thus in December 1909: "I won't follow you again
into our Mohammedan dispute. Only I respectfully remind you
again that it was your early speech about their extra claims that
started the (Muslim) hare. I am convinced my decision was
best. ” It is clear that Lord Minto was the real father of communal
electorates although the British officials also played their part.
After the Simla deputation, Nawab Salim Ulla Khan of Dacca
set up a permanent political organisation of the Muslims known
as the Muslim League. The latter supported the partition of
Bengal and opposed the boycott of British goods.
THE MUSLIM LEAGUE
On 30 December 1906 was established the All India Muslim
League with a view to “support, whenever possible, all measures
emanating from the Government, and to protect the cause and
advance the interest of our co-religionists throughout the country
to controvert the growing influence of the so-called Indian Nation-
al Congress which has a tendency to misinterpret and subvert Bri-
tish rule in India, or which might lead to that deplorable situation,
and to enable our youngmen cf education, who for want of such
an association have joined the Congress, to find scope, according to
their fitness and ability, for public life. ”
Zaka Ullah has rightly pointed out that the All India Muslim
League was in complete accord with the advice of Sir Syed Ahmed
Khan. The policy of Sir Syed had been followed as tie Muslims
did not join the Indian National Congress and set up a separate
League of their own. Moreover, there was nothing in common
between the Congress and the Muslim League. While the latter
taught the lesson of undivided loyalty to the British Crown, the
Congress preached open agitation or sedition. A reference to a
statement of the Secretary of the Muslim League also points out
to the fundamental difference between the Congress and the Mus-
lim League: "We are not opposed to the social unity of the Hindus
and the Musalmans. . . . . . but the other type of unity (political)
involves the working out of common political purposes. This sort
of our unity with the Congress cannot be possible because we and
## p. 796 (#838) ############################################
796
PAKISTAN
>>
the Congressmen do not have common political objectives. They
indulge in acts calculated to weakening the British Government.
They want representative Government which means death for
Musalmans. They desire competitive examinations for employ-
ment in Government services and this would mean the deprivation
of Musalmans of Government jobs. Therefore we need not go
near political unity (with the Hindus). It is the aim of the League
to present Muslim demands through respectful requests before the
Government. They should, like Congressmen, cry for boycott, deli-
ver exciting speeches and write impertinent articles in newspapers
and hold meetings to turn public feeling and attitude against their
benign Government. In a letter to the President of the Deccan
Muslim League, His Highness the Aga Khan who was the Presi-
dent of the All India Muslim League, wrote thus: “Recognising, as
we must do, that British rule is essential to India—that it is the
only rule which can preserve us from internal anarchy and unsym-
pathetic foreign domination, that it is the only rule under which
India can march steadily along the paths of peace, contentment and
moral and intellectual progress by which we have advanced so far,
let us bend all our energy to making that rule strong in its hold
upon the imagination and affection of the people of India. ” The
founders of the Muslim League believed that "Musalmans have
their own traditions and ideals which constitute the common pro-
perty of Islam but which cannot wholly be identical with those of
any other community. Prominent among the ideals which sway
the ordinary Musalman is the conviction that nothing would com-
pensate him for the loss of conscious membership of the great Mus-
lim community of the world. ”
The first annual session of the All India Muslim League was held
at Karachi on 29 December, 1907. Karachi in Sind was delibe-
rately chosen for that purpose. “Sind is that pious place in India
“
where Muhammad Bin Qasim came first, with the torch of religion
and the gift of Hadis. No other place could appeal to our elders. ”
The President of the session made the following significant declara-
tion: “If a handful of men under a boy could teach Kalima to the
territory of Sind and promulgate the law of true Shariat of God
and His Rasul, can seven crores of Musalmans not make their social
and political life pleasant? ” The President also declared that he
was satisfied with the attitude of the Government towards the Mus-
lims. He hoped that at least 4 Musalmans would be taken in the
Imperial Council under the new reforms. He also cunveyed his
feelings of gratitude towards the Viceroy and the Government of
India in advance.
The All India Muslim League welcomed the Minto-Morley Re-
## p. 797 (#839) ############################################
MUSLIM POLITICS IN 1911-3
797
>
forms as they gave the Muslims what they had asked for. They
had got not only separate electorates for themselves but also the
reservation of seats with due weightage according to their position
in the politics of the country.
When Italy attacked Turkey to secure Tripoli in 1911, the Mus-
lims of India protested and requested the British Government to
come to the help of Turkey. To quote Maulana Mohammad Ali,
“It lies with England to say whether, through her support, Turkey
shall be strong (and it is only a strong Turkey that can carry
through a campaign of reforms), or whether through the defection
of Great Britain she must be weak and look elsewhere for salvation
that will be indefinitely delayed. ” Prayers were offered in mosques
for the successful termination of war in favour of Turkey. The
All India Muslim League passed the following resolutions: “(1) The
Council of the All India Muslims League voicing the feelings of
Indian Musalmans, places on record its deep abhorrence of Italy's
unjustifiable and high handed action in Tripoli and her flagrant
and unprecedented outrage on international morality, cordially
sympathises with Turkey in her undeserved troubles and admires
her magnanimity and dignified attitude throughout the crisis and
appeals to the Imperial Government to exercise its great, and un-
doubted influence as the greatest Muslim power and the traditional
ally of Turkey in the cause of peace and put an end to an unjust
and unconscionable War. (2) The Council of League advises
Musalmans to keep a dignified attitude and place implicit confi-
dence in the benevolence and good intentions of the Imperial Gov-
ernment and to try to raise suiiscriptions for the relief of sufferers
in the war. (3) The Council of the All India Muslim League ex-
pects Muslims throughout the country to boycott Italian goods of
all kinds. ”
The Muslims of India were once again put in an awkward posi-
tion as a result of the Balkan Wars of 1912-13. There was terrible
suffering in Turkey and appeals were issued for funds to help the
Muslims of Turkey. His Highness the Aga Khan sent his own
contribution of £2,000 to the British Red Crescent Fund. He
called upon the Muslims of India to suspend all their activities and
send help to Turkey. Maulana Shaukat Ali issued a call for volun-
teers. No Musalman was expected to be a silent spectator of the
struggle of his fellow Muslims in a just and noble cause.
The stu-
dents of the Aligarh College saved money from their food to be
sent to the Balkans. Their zeal was so great that the Lieutenant-
Governor of the United Provinces went to the Aligarh College and
advised the students to devote most of their time to studies and not
to ruin their health by starvation. In his reply to the address pre-
## p. 798 (#840) ############################################
798
PAKISTAN
9
sented to him, the Lieutenant-Governor said: "I ask you to set your
faces resolutely against everything which distracts or deters them
from their work. . . . . . Every moment of their life ai College is
precious; and every hour that is lost in illness or any mental worry
is a check to their development and handicap in later life. . . . . .
Let me hear, pray you, no more about nights of mourning and
days of fasting which your religion does not enforce. "
When the First World War broke out in 1914, Turkey declared
war against Great Britain. This again put the Musliins of India
in a very awkward position. They wanted a great Turkey but at
the same time they were also devoted to the British Government.
Hence, they did not know what to do. The Muslims of India
could not give up their loyalty towards the British Government
and the only thing to do was to feel unhappy. The Musalmans of
Delhi declared: "It is a matter of regret that the day which we
feared and the calamity the fear of which made us restless during
the last weeks, have crossed us now. It means that war has been
declared between Great Britain and Turkey and the hard and
tender time of the test of patience and fortitude of the Indian
Musalmans has come. ” In spite of the war, the Muslims of India
continued to profess their whole-hearted loyalty to the British
Government. In his presidential address delivered on the occasion
of the 28th Mohammedan Educational Conference at Rawalpindi,
Haji Rahim Bux observed: “I am assured that nobody for a
moment will contest that under the Government of His Majesty,
the King Emperor, we enjoy perfect peace, security and content-
ment and above all, that which is the birth right of all men, the
performance of our religious rights without let or hindrance. "
Sahebzada Aftab Ahmad Khan assured the Government of the
unflinching loyalty and whole-hearted devotion" of the Musalmans
of India to the British Government. His Highness the Aga Khan
remarked that Germany had dragged Turkey towards ruin and
the Musalmans of India looked upon this action of the former with
a sense of great anger and indignation.
When Lord Minto died, the Honorary Secretary of the Minto
Circle Reading Room sent the following message: "Lord Minto,
the late Viceroy of India, was like his predecessor Lord Curzon,
very popular among the Indian Muslims. He granted many con-
cessions to them and raised their status in the political world. ”
LUCKNOW PACT
The Lucknow Pact of 1916 was the outcome of a rapproche-
ment between the Muslim League under the leadership of M. A.
## p. 799 (#841) ############################################
THE KHILAFAT MOVEMENT
799
Jinnah and the Indian National Congress.
The Congress conced-
ed separate electorates to the Muslims and even agreed to give the
same to them in the provinces like the Punjab and the Central Pro-
vinces where they did not exist before. The Muslims were to get
nine-tenths of the seats in the Punjab to which they were entitled
on a purely numerical basis. The result was that their representa-
tion rose from 25 per cent under the Reforms of 1909 to 50 per
cent as a result of the Lucknow Pact. In Bengal, Muslim acquisi-
tion on the basis of separate representation was not impressive.
They were given only 75% of the seats to which they were entitled
on population basis. The Muslims complained that particularly
in Bengal they were deprived of their majority position and the
reply to that complaint was that separate electorates had been
given to the Muslims as a minority and they were not entitled to
have separate electorates in those provinces where they were in
majority. The Muslim complaint was that their majority in those
provinces was not very large and moreover they were backward and
grossly under-represented even in the majority provinces. How-
ever, in the Muslim minority provinces, the Muslims were given
representation almost double of that to which they were entitled
on a population basis. At the Centre also, they got one-third repre-
sentation in the legislative Council by separate Muslim constituen-
cies. They had to give up their right to vote in general constitu-
encies which had been given to them by the Reforms of 1909. It
was also agreed that no bill or resolution concerning a community
was to be passed if three-fourths of the representatives of that com-
munity were opposed to it. Most of these principles were incor-
porated in the Government of India Act, 1919. It cannot be
denied that the Lucknow Pact was the high water-mark of Hindu-
Muslim unity. The Pact showed that it was possible for the middle
class English educated Muslims and Hindus to arrive at an amic-
able settlement of the Hindu -Muslim constitutional and political
problems.
THE KHILAFAT MOVEMENT
Turkey had fought on the side of Germany during the First World
War and very hard terms were imposed upon her by the Treaty
of Sevres. By that treaty, the Arab State of Hedjaz was nominally
freed and put under British control. Armenia was created into a
Christian Republic and was put under an international guarantee.
Mesopotamia, Transjordan, Syria and Palestine were taken away
from Turkey. Syria was given to France under the Mandate of the
League of Nations. Palestine, Mesopotamia and Transjordan were
## p. 800 (#842) ############################################
800
PAKISTAN
given to England under the Mandate system. Galicia was recognised
as French sphere of influence. Southern Anatolia was recognised as
an Italian sphere of influence. Adrianople, Gallipoli, the Islands of
Ambros and Tenedos, Smyrna and the territory on the coast of
Asia Minor were given to Greece. The latter also got the Dode-
canese Islands with the exception of two islands. The Dardanel-
les and the Bosphorus were internationalised. Turkey was required
to pay a huge war indemnity. These terms were known even
earlier and the attitude of the Allies towards Turkey was very
much resented by the Muslims of India. The two brothers Moham-
mad Ali and Shaukat Ali and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad organ-
ised a mass movement of the Muslims known as the Khilafat Move-
ment. The main object of the Khilafat movement was to redress
the grievances of Turkey and get for her justice. Mahat:na Gandhi
also threw in his lot with the Ali brothers. Mahatma Gandhi and
the Khilafat leaders toured all over the country and asked the
Muslims and Hindus to non-cooperate with the British Government
which had done such a grievous wrong to the Muslims of Turkey.
The first Khilafat Conference was held at Delhi on 23 Novem-
ber 1919. It was attended by Mahatma Gandhi who called upon
the Muslims to start a non-cooperation movement for forcing the
British to yield to their demands regarding the maintenance of the
Khilafat in Turkey. The Hindus were invited by the Muslims to
.
attend the Delhi Khilafat Conference. When another Conference
was held in June 1920 at Allahabad, non-Muslim leaders like Sir
Tej Bahadur Sapru, Motilal Nehru and Annie Besant attended it.
Mahatma Gandhi was the only Hindu leader who was prepared to
take a courageous stand regarding the Khilafat demands of the
Muslims. He was the only Hindu leader who was included in the
Executive Committee formed on 9 June, 1920 to formulate a de-
tailed programme of non-cooperation. On 22 June 1920, the Mus-
lim League sent a message to the Viceroy warning him that if the
injustices done to Turkey were not removed by 1 August 1920, they
would launch a non-cooperation movement.
The Khilafat movement was a mass movement and it attracted
both the Hindus and the Muslims. The words Khilafat and
Swaraj were on the lips of everybody. Mahatma Gandhi asked
the Hindus to cooperate whole-heartedly in the Khilafat movement
as by doing so they would be able to win over the Muslims for
ever. To quote him, "We both have now an opportunity of a
life-time. The Khilafat question will not recur for another 100
years. If the Hindus wish to cultivate ehernal friendship with the
Musalmans, they must perish with them in the attempt to vindi-
cate the honour of Islam. "
## p. 801 (#843) ############################################
THE KHILAFAT MOVEMENT
801
At the All India Khilafat Conference held in Karachi on 8, 9
and 10 July 1921, the following resolutions were passed:
1. This meeting of the All-India Khilafat Conference declares
allegiance of the Muslim population to His Majesty the
Sultan of Turkey, the Commander of the Faithful, and
gives him an assurance that they would not rest content un-
til they had secured complete fulfilment of the Khilafat
demands.
2. It records its sorrow at the death of Jan Mahomed who
had led the Hijrat movement and sends its condolence to
his family
3. It further congratulatrs those workers in Sind who have
undergone imprisonment in the cause of their religion and
country and hopes that their effort will meet with success.
4. This meeting of the All-India Khilafat Conference declares
that so long as the demands of Indian Muslims regarding
the integrity of the Khilafat and the preservation of the
sanctity of Jazirat-ul-Arab and other holy places which
are based upon their religious canons are not fulfilled,
neither shall they rest in peace nor shall they leave it to the
enemies of Islam; that the entire provinces of Thrace and
Smyrna shall form the indissoluble components of the ter-
ritories of the Turkish Sultan as they used to be before the
war, and in no part of them shall Muslims tolerate the
influence and interference of Greek or any other Power.
The Muslims shall never agree to the conditions the Allies
wish to impose upon the Turkish Government, or on its
Military, naval and air forces, or in connection with the
financial, economic or judicial administration, as that would
tend to interfere with the complete independence of the
Khilafat and the Sultanate. This Conference calls upon
local committees to make fresh declarations to the above
effect so that no doubt be left as to the religious obligation
of the Muslims.
5. Whereas Mesopotamia contains holy places, such as the
burial places of the descendants of the Prophet' and holy
saints and is in addition an integral part of the Jazirat-ul-
Arab, the influence, residence or entrance of non-Muslim
nations without the authority of Islamic Powers is not
permissible by religion, and in case a colonization of the
above character comes about, it would conflict with their
holy Shariat. The Muissalmans are convinced the Ameri-
cans (sic) would take advantage of their neainess to the
holy places and revive their old enmities towards Islam.
## p. 802 (#844) ############################################
802
PAKISTAN
This Conference therefore demands that the above coun-
try be immediately vacated.
6. This meeting of the All-India Khilafat Conference heartily
congratulates Ghazi Mustafa Kemal Pasha and the Angora
Government upon their magnificent victories and the suc-
cess of their most desperate (or self-sacrificing) endeavours
in upholding the laws of Islam and this meeting prays to
Almighty God that they may soon succeed in expelling the
whole of the armies of the foreign Government from every
nook and corner of the Turkish Empire. In addition this
meeting clearly proclaims that it is in every way religiously
unlawful for a Mussalman at the present moment to conti-
nue in the British Army or to induce others to join the
army and it is the duty of all the Mussalmans in general
and the Ulemas (sic) in particular to see that these reli-
gious commandments are brought home to every Mussal-
man in the Army. Furthermore this meeting also an-
nounces that if the British Government were to take any
military measures against the Angora Government, directly
or indirectly, openly oc secretly, then the Mussalmans of
India will be compelled to commence the breaking of laws,
that is civil disobedience, with the concurrence of the Con-
gress and to proclaim in the complete independence of India
and the Indians and the establishment of a Republic for
the Government of India.
7. This meeting of the All-India Khilafat Conference calls
upon all local Khilafal Committees to devise measures to
absolutely stop drinking within their districts and congra-
tulates the workers and volunteers of places where the
liquor traffic has diminished and further commands to
them to put forth their best efforts to achieve greater suc-
cess.
8. That this meeting of the All-India Khilafat Conference
calls upon all Provincial, District and Village Committees
to put forth their last efforts to enlist a crore of Khilafat
members and collect forty lakhs of rupees to relieve the
distress in Smyrna and aid the Muhajirin Relief Fund.
9. This Conference strongly appeals to the Pirs and Zamin-
dars of Sind to take more interest in the Khilafat move-
ment than they had done hitherto and request the former
to command their disciples to do the same.
In due course of time, the Kbilafat movement collapsed. By the
treaty of Laussane signed in 1923, Turkey got very favourable
terms and within 6 weeks all the Allied troops left Turkey. The
## p. 803 (#845) ############################################
THE KHILAFAT MOVEMENT
803
Angora Assembly decided to constitute itself into a Republic.
Early in 1924, the office of the Khalifa was abolished by its decree
and Abdul Majid, the existing Khalifa, was expelled from the
Turkish territory under circumstances of considerable harshness.
All these events damped the enthusiasm of the Muslims in India.
Certain events in India also helped the collapse of the Khilafat
movement. After the Chauri-Chaura tragedy in February 1922,
Mahatma Gandhi withdrew the non-cooperation movement.
There were Hindu-Muslim riots all over the country. The begin-
ning was made by the Moplahs of Malabar in 1921 when they
made war on their Hindu neighbours. In that rising, murders,
forcible conversions, desecrations of temples, outrages upon wo-
men, pillage, arson and destruction were prepetrated freely and as
might be expected, the barbarities practised had an immediate re-
action on Hindu-Muslim relations throughout India. In 1924,
there were communal troubles at Delhi, Gulbarga, Nagpur, Luck-
now, Shahjahanpur, Allahabad, Jubbalpore and Kohat. The
Kohat riots were the worst. A perusal of the report of the Kohat
outrages on 9 and 10 September 1924 “sends a thrill of horror
through the reader. We cannot view the events beyond saying that
after the shootings and carnage of the 9th and 10th September, a
special train had to remove 40C0 Hindus of whom 2600 were living
for two months afterwards on the charity of Rawalpindi and 1400
in other places. ” In order to protect themselves, the Hindus start-
ed the Shuddhi and Sangathan movements. Their objective was
purely defensive and these movements were not at all directed
against the Muslims but they nad the unfortunate effect of sepa-
rating the Hindus from the Niuslims. The Muslims also started
the Tabligh and Tanzim movements. The net result was that the
Hindo-Muslim unity disappeared.
It must be noticed that during the Khilafat movement, there
were many Muslims who were not happy at the idea of cooperation
between the Hindus and the Muslims. It appeared to them that
such a policy would take the Muslims away from the path laid
down by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan. By working in cooperation with
the Hindus, the Muslims would lose their separate identity. No
wonder, the Ali Brothers were condemned by those Muslims. It
was contended that Shaukat Ali was responsible for installing
Mahatma Gandhi as Imam Mehdi. It was alleged that Moham-
mad Ali prostrated before Mahatma Gandhi and addressed him
as God.
It was intolerable to the orthodox Muslims that even the
topmost Muslims addressed Mahatma Gandhi as Sarkar. They
were also opposed to Charkha and Khaddar of Gandhi. At the
Calcutta Madrassah, Abdur Rahim stated on 12 March 1923:
## p. 804 (#846) ############################################
804
PAKISTAN
"One observation irresistibly occurs to me in this connection that
the new cult of the Charkha and the Khaddar, the symbol in the
non-cooperation movement employing as it does aloofness from the
world and an abandonment of all earnest effort to utilise the re-
sources of nature for ever-growing needs of an expanding humanity,
is repugnant to the entire spirit of Islam and the history of Islamic
civilisation. ” S. Khuda Baksh felt no hesitation in saying that "the
non-cooperation movement has meant a setback to Muslims in
India. It has drawn Muslims into perilous paths and has diverted
them from activities more useful and work more beneficial lying
before them in the domain of the arts and sciences, in the sphere of
law and politics. ” Allegations were made that the Ali Brothers
had embezzled large sums of money collected by them from the
public and they were asked to publish the accounts of all the subs-
criptions received by them.
Some Muslim historians have tried to show that Mahatma Gandhi
deliberately directed the Khilafat movement with the sole object
of causing the maximum harm to Muslim interests and Muslim
solidarity. The Muslims were already poor and backward and
by prevailing upon the Muslim lawyers and litigants to boycott the
courts and the Muslim students and teachers to boycott their
schools and colleges, the interests of the Muslims were adversely
affected. The Muslim community which was already economical-
ly and educationally backward was weakened still further. Even
the migration of Muslims from India in thousands was interpreted
as a trap set by Mahatma Gandhi. “The land of the Rishis was
being rid of the Malechhas! Here was the crux of Gandhi's pro-
gramme. Well might he rejoice over it! ” Another verdict was:
“Everything destructive of Musalmans had the Mahatmzic blessing
of Gandhi. ” It was also contended that while Mahatma Gandhi
called upon the Muslims to make tremendous sacrifices for the sake
of the Khilafat, he did not demand the same sacrifices from the
Hindus. However, it is pointed out that the Muslim leaders like
Abul Kalam Azad and Moham: nad Ali were responsible for exhort-
ing the Muslims to sacrifice their material possessions and interests
for the sake of Islam. To quote Azad, “Muslims should neither
think of politics nor education, should neither praise freedom nor
get entangled in the shackles of slavery. They are not supposed
to think or decide on these things. It was God who had to decide
on these things and He has decided. Their duty is cnly to act
strictly in accordance with the commands of God which are incor-
porated in the Quran. They should empty their minds of all
man-made ideas and national sentiments and surrender themselves
to the instruction and guidance of the Supreme Educator. If Islam
## p. 805 (#847) ############################################
THE KHILAFAT MOVEMENT
805
invites them to participate in politics, they should immediately get
involved in it. If it tells them to keep aloof, then they should
immediately withdraw from it If Islam says, that slavery and
sycophancy are the two real means to achieve welfare, then Mus-
lims should become living embodiments of slavery. If Islam says
that freedom and demanding one's rights are the only sources of
a nation's life and honour, then Muslim should immerse themselves
in the struggle for freedom. . . . . . Muslims have no desires of their
own, no plans, no policy. Their desire and policy is to act com-
pletely according to the dictates of Islam. ” Hence, this charge is
without any force.
It is unfortunate that the atmosphere in the country created by
the Khilafat movement did not last long and the forces working
against the country got the upper hand. During the Khilafat
days, the Hindus and the Muslims treated each other as brothers
and if that spirit of brotherhood had continued, not only the free-
dom of the country would have come earlier, there would not have
been any division of it. The failure only proves the weakness of
the nationalist spirit in the country.
What actually happened was that the Hindu-Muslim riots in
different parts of the country strained the relations between the
Hindus and the Muslims to such an extent that even at that time
certain leaders started talking about the division of the country on
communal lines. Maulana Hasrat Mohini suggested the establish-
ment of separate Muslim and Hindu states. Lala Lajpat Rai also
was worried about the situation in the country. He was of the
definite opinion that so long as the Muslims insisted on separate
electorates or separate representation which at that time formed
the central pivot of Muslim policy, there could be no united India.
His view was that a United India and communal representation
with separate electorates were absolutely irreconcilable. "Once
you accept communal representation with separate electorates, there
is no chance of its being ever abolished, without a civil war. . . . .
Communal representation with separate electorates is the most
effective reply to the demand for Swaraj and the surest way of
India never getting it. I have never been able to appreciate the
mentality of those who constantly talk of turning out the British
and at the same time insist on communal representation with sepa-
rate electorates. I really do not understand what they mean.
Referring to the demand of Maulana Hasarat Mohini for a sepa-
rate Muslim State in India, Lala Lajpat Rai made the following
suggestions: “Under my scheme the Muslims will have four Mus-
lim States: (1) the Pathan Province or the North-West Frontier;
(2) Western Punjab; (3) Sind; and (4) Eastern Bengal. If there
>
## p. 806 (#848) ############################################
806
PAKISTAN
are compact Muslim communities in any other part of India, suffi-
ciently large to form a province, they should be similarly constitut-
ed. But it should be distinctly understood that this is not a united
India. It means a clear partition of India into a Muslim India and
a non-Muslim India. "
At the Calcutta session of the All India Muslim League held in
December 1927, it was decided that the Council of the Muslim
League should appoint a Sub-Committee to confer with the Work-
ing Committee of the Indian National Congress and other organ-
izations with a view to drafting a Constitution for India. How-
ever, it was made clear that the Muslim League stood for certain
fundamental principles and those were the formation of a separate
Province of Sind, introduction of reforms in the N. W. F. P. and
Baluchistan on the same footing as in other Provinces. Unless and
until the above two proposals were implemented, the Muslims
would never surrender the right of their representation through
separate electorates in favour of joint electorates with reservation
of seats fixed in proportion to the population of different communi-
ties. Muslim representation in the Central Legislature would not
be less than one-third. Hindu minorities in Sind, Baluchistan and
the N. W. F. P. would be accorded the same concessions in the form
of reservation of seats over and above the proportion of their popu-
lation as the Muslims would get in the Hindu majority provinces.
In addition to provisions like religious freedom, there was to be a
further guarantee in the Constitution that on communal matters
no Bill or Resolution would be considered or passed if a three-
fourths majority of the members of the community concerned were
opposed to it. It is worthy of notice that there was no mention of
the Punjab or Bengal in the above mentioned proposals.
The policy of the British Government at that time was not to
allow the Muslims and the Hindus to unite. This is clear from
the following extract from a letter of Lord Birkenhead a ddressed to
a
Lord Irwin in February 1928: "I should advise Simon to see at
all stages important people who are not boycotting the Commis-
sion, particularly Moslems and the depressed classes. I should
widely advertise all his interviews with representative Moslems.
The whole policy is now obvious. It is to terrify the immense
Hindu population by the apprehension that the Commission having
been got hold of by the Moslems, may present a report altogether
destructive of the Hindu position, thereby securing a solid Moslem
support and leaving Jinnah high and dry. ” It is contended that
if the Congress had gone out of the way to come to a settlement
with Mr. Jinnah and accepted his demands, men like Mohd. Shafi
who were supported by the British Government, would have been
## p. 807 (#849) ############################################
NEHRU REPORT
807
isolated and the course of events in the country would have been
different. Unfortunately, the Nehru report failed to satisfy the
Muslims and the result was that the two factions in the Muslim
League led by Mohd. Shafi and Mr. Jinnah got united.
NEHRU REPORT
The Nehru Report accepted the Muslim demand for the forma-
tion of separate provinces of Sind and the North-West Frontier
Province. However, the Muslims were not given separate electo-
rates or weightage. Seats were reserved for the Muslims at the
Centre and also in those provinces in which they were in a minority.
No seats were reserved for the Muslims in the Punjab and Bengal.
There was to be a unitary Government in the country.
The All Parties National Convention met in Calcutta in the last
week of December 1928 to discuss the Nehru Report. Mr. Jinnah
who was at that time the President of the Muslim League, put
forward his famous fourteen points as amendments to the Nehru
Report in the open Session on 28 December, 1928. His basic
amendments were that the Muslims should have 33-1/3% of the
seats in the Central Legislature. The residuary powers should
vest in the Provinces and not in the Centre. The Muslims in the
Punjab and Bengal should be represented on the basis of popu-
lation for 10 years subject to a subsequent revision. However,
the amendments of Mr. Jinnah were not accepted. It is pointed
out that the difference was not a material one. The Nehru
Report had recommended 30% of the representation in the Central
Legislature to the Muslims and the latter were asking for 33-1/3%
cnly. Gandhiji was inclined to concede the additional 31-1/3%
seats but the others were not willing and hence the attempt failed.
This was going to have very serious consequences. Within a
week, the All India Muslim Conference was held in Delhi on 1
January, 1929 under the Presidentship of the Aga Khan. Many
resolutions were passed in that Conference. It was demanded
that the only form of Government suitable to Indian conditions
was a Federal system with complete autonomy and residuary po-
wers vested in the constituent States. The Muslims should not
be deprived of the right to elect their representatives through sepa-
rate electorates without their consent. The Muslims should con-
tinue to have weightage in the Hindu majority provinces and
they were willing to give the same privilage to the non-Muslim
minorities in Sind, the North-West Frontier Province and Baluchis-
tan.
