Cripps Mission

The British government wanted to get the cooperation of the Indian people in order to deal with the war situation. The divergence between the two major representative parties of the country harassed the British government. It found it difficult to make the war a success without the cooperation of both the Hindus and the Muslims.

On March 22, 1942, Britain sent Sir Stafford Cripps with constitutional proposals.

The important points of the declaration were as follows:

• General elections in the provinces would be arranged as soon as the war ended.
• A new Indian dominion, associated with the United Kingdom would be created.
• Those provinces not joining the dominion could form their own separate union.
• Minorities were to be protected.

However, both the Congress and the Muslim League rejected these proposals. Jinnah opposed the plan, as it did not concede Pakistan. Thus the plan came to nothing.

Lahore Resolution

From March 22 to March 24, 1940, the All India Muslim League held its annual session at Minto Park, Lahore. This session proved to be historical.

On the first day of the session, Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah narrated the events of the last few months. In an extempore speech he presented his own solution of the Muslim problem. He said that the problem of India was not of an inter-communal nature, but manifestly an international one and must be treated as such. To him the differences between Hindus and the Muslims were so great and so sharp that their union under one central government was full of serious risks. They belonged to two separate and distinct nations and therefore the only chance open was to allow them to have separate states.

In the words of Quaid-i-Azam: “Hindus and the Muslims belong to two different religions, philosophies, social customs and literature. They neither inter-marry nor inter-dine and, indeed, they belong to two different civilizations that are based mainly on conflicting ideas and conceptions. Their concepts on life and of life are different. It is quite clear that Hindus and Muslims derive their inspiration from different sources of history. They have different epics, different heroes and different episodes. Very often the hero of one is a foe of the other, and likewise, their victories and defeats overlap. To yoke together two such nations under a single state, one as a numerical minority and the other as a majority, must lead to growing discontent and final destruction of any fabric that may be so built up for the government of such a state”.

He further said, “Mussalmans are a nation according to any definition of nation. We wish our people to develop to the fullest spiritual, cultural, economic, social and political life in a way that we think best and in consonance with our own ideals and according to the genius of our people”.

On the basis of the above mentioned ideas of the Quaid, A. K. Fazl-ul-Haq, the then Chief Minister of Bengal, moved the historical resolution which has since come to be known as Lahore Resolution or Pakistan Resolution.

The Resolution declared: “No constitutional plan would be workable or acceptable to the Muslims unless geographical contiguous units are demarcated into regions which should be so constituted with such territorial readjustments as may be necessary. That the areas in which the Muslims are numerically in majority as in the North-Western and Eastern zones of India should be grouped to constitute independent states in which the constituent units shall be autonomous and sovereign”.

It further reads, “That adequate, effective and mandatory safeguards shall be specifically provided in the constitution for minorities in the units and in the regions for the protection of their religious, cultural, economic, political, administrative and other rights of the minorities, with their consultation. Arrangements thus should be made for the security of Muslims where they were in a minority”.

The Resolution repudiated the concept of United India and recommended the creation of an independent Muslim state consisting of Punjab, N. W. F. P., Sindh and Baluchistan in the northwest, and Bengal and Assam in the northeast. The Resolution was seconded by Maulana Zafar Ali Khan from Punjab,
Sardar Aurangzeb from the N. W. F. P., Sir Abdullah Haroon from Sindh, and Qazi Esa from Baluchistan, along with many others.

The Resolution was passed on March 24. It laid down only the principles, with the details left to be worked out at a future date. It was made a part of the All India Muslim League’s constitution in 1941. It was on the basis of this resolution that in 1946 the Muslim League decided to go for one state for the Muslims, instead of two.

Having passed the Pakistan Resolution, the Muslims of India changed their ultimate goal. Instead of seeking alliance with the Hindu community, they set out on a path whose destination was a separate homeland for the Muslims of India.

Shaheed Gunj Mosque Incident

he Shahidganj mosque, located in Landa bazaar outside Delhi gate at Lahore, was considered as the holy place for both Muslims and Sikhs. It was occupied by Sikhs in the eighteenth century and was used as a Sikh gurdwara for almost 170 years. Though through out that period Muslims were not allowed to offer prayers in the mosque, yet the building was physically kept intact.

The Muslims kept on protesting against the Sikh occupation of the Mosque for a long time. However, the situation got out of control when, suddenly on 29 June 1935, the Sikh community announced to demolish the Mosque. On the same night, a Muslim crowd of three or four thousand assembled in front of the mosque to protect it. A direct fight between this crowd and the Sikhs inside the gurdwara was averted by the intervention of the government authorities. Later, the British took an undertaking from the Sikhs that they would not further demolish the mosque. But, during the next week, while strenuous efforts were being made to persuade the leaders to reach an amicable settlement, the Sikh leaders, under pressure from the extremist element, again set out to demolish the mosque.

In the beginning, the Muslim leaders reacted in a mild way. Anjuman-i-Tahaffuz-i-Masjid Shahidganj (a committee for the protection of the Shahidganj mosque) was founded by a wide spectrum of Unionist Muslims, lawyers, journalists and biradari leaders to find legal means to protect the mosque and press for peaceful settlement of the issue. However, leaders like Maulana Zafar Ali Khan warned that the issue could lead to a great bloodshed if the matter was not settled immediately for the Muslims would not hesitate to make any sacrifice to preserve the mosque.

Appreciating the importance of the issue, Sir Herbert Emerson, the Governor of the Punjab, encouraged a negotiated
settlement. But, on the night of July 7, the Sikhs demolished the mosque. The news spread like wild fire throughout Lahore, but, before any serious reaction, curfew was enforced in the city and the situation was controlled. When the curfew was lifted, the Muslims, under Maulana Zafar Ali Khan, formed the Majlis Ittehad-i-Millat on July 14, with an object to fight for the mosque. They even planned to recruit volunteers, dressed them in blue shirts, for the purpose of carrying on the agitation. The fact of the matter was that behind the Shahidganj agitation lay the impulse of Lahore’s Muslims to assert the moral sovereignty of the Muslim community of which the mosque itself was a symbol and of which the principle of the supremacy of the Shariat was more than a symbol.

The Muslims held a public meeting on July 19 at the Badshahi mosque, after Friday prayers. The speakers urged the worshippers to march directly on the Shahidganj mosque. Inspired with the religious zeal and shouting religious slogans, the Muslims gathered at the entrance to Landa bazaar in front of the city police station. They did not want to listen to the police. They were ready to die in the way of their mission. When police failed to get control of the situation, and unable to disperse processionist peacefully, they, twice, opened fire on the crowd on July 20. The Muslims finally dispersed when more than a dozen of them died due to heavy firing by the police on the evening of July 21. The situation in Lahore continued to cause anxiety till the close of the year.

The Ideology of Pakistan: Two-Nation Theory

The ideology of Pakistan stems from the instinct of the Muslim community of South Asia to maintain their individuality by resisting all attempts by the Hindu society to absorb it. Muslims of South Asia believe that Islam and Hinduism are not only two religions, but also two social orders that have given birth to two distinct cultures with no similarities. A deep study of the history of this land proves that the differences between Hindus and Muslims were not confined to the struggle for political supremacy, but were also manifested in the clash of two social orders. Despite living together for more than a thousand years, they continued to develop different cultures and traditions. Their eating habits, music, architecture and script, are all poles apart. Even the language they speak and the dresses they wear are entirely different.

The ideology of Pakistan took shape through an evolutionary process. Historical experience provided the base; with Sir Syed Ahmad Khan began the period of Muslim self-awakening; Allama Iqbal provided the philosophical explanation; Quaid-i-Azam translated it into a political reality; and the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan, by passing Objectives Resolution in March 1949, gave it legal sanction. It was due to the realization of Muslims of South Asia that they are different from the Hindus that they demanded separate electorates. When they realized that their future in a ‘Democratic India’ dominated by Hindu majority was not safe; they put forward their demand for a separate state.

The Muslims of South Asia believe that they are a nation in the modern sense of the word. The basis of their nationhood is neither territorial, racial, linguistic nor ethnic; rather they are a nation because they belong to the same faith, Islam. On this basis they consider it their fundamental right to be entitled to self-determination. They demanded that areas where they were in majority should be constituted into a sovereign state, wherein they would be enabled to order their lives in individual and collective spheres in accordance with the teachings of Holy Quran and Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (S. A. W.). They further want their state to strengthen the bonds of unity among Muslim countries.

As early as in the beginning of the 11th century, Al-Biruni observed that Hindus differed from the Muslims in all matters and habits. He further elaborated his argument by writing that the Hindus considered Muslims “Mlachha”, or impure. And they forbid having any connection with them, be it intermarriage or any other bond of relationship. They even avoid sitting, eating and drinking with them, because they feel “polluted”. The speech made by Quaid-i-Azam at Minto Park, Lahore on March 22, 1940 was very similar to Al-Biruni’s thesis in theme and tone. In this speech, he stated that Hindus and Muslims belong to two different religious philosophies, with different social customs and literature. They neither intermarry, nor eat together, and indeed belong to two different civilizations whose very foundations are based on conflicting ideas and concepts. Their outlook on life and of life is different. He emphasized that in spite of the passage of about 1,000 years the relations between the Hindus and Muslims could not attain the level of cordiality. The only difference between the writing of Al-Biruni and the speech of Quaid-i-Azam was that Al-Biruni made calculated predictions, while Quaid-i-Azam had history behind him to support his argument.

The Ideology of Pakistan has its roots deep in history. The history of South Asia is largely a history of rivalry and conflict between the Hindus and Muslims of the region. Both communities have been living together in the same area since the early 8th century, since the advent of Islam in India. Yet, the two have failed to develop harmonious relations. In the beginning, one could find the Muslims and Hindus struggling for supremacy in the battlefield. Starting with the war between Muhammad bin Qasim and Raja Dahir in 712, armed conflicts between Hindus and Muslims run in thousands. Clashes between Mahmud of Ghazni and Jaypal, Muhammad Ghuri and Prithvi Raj, Babur and Rana Sanga and Aurangzeb and Shivaji are cases in point.

When the Hindus of South Asia failed to establish Hindu Padshahi through force, they opted for back door conspiracies. Bhakti Movement with the desire to merge Islam and Hinduism was one of the biggest attacks on the ideology of the Muslims of the region. Akbar’s diversion from the main stream Islamic ideology was one of the Hindus’ greatest success stories. However, due to the immediate counterattack by Mujaddid Alf Sani and his pupils, this era proved to be a short one. Muslims once again proved their separate identity during the regimes of Jehangir, Shah Jehan and particularly Aurangzeb. The attempts to bring the two communities close could not succeed because the differences between the two are fundamental and have no meeting point. At the root of the problem lies the difference between the two religions. So long as the two people want to lead their lives according to their respective faith, they cannot be one.

With the advent of the British rule in India in 1858, Hindu-Muslim relations entered a new phase. The British brought with them a new political philosophy commonly known as ‘territorial nationalism’. Before the coming of the British, there was no concept of a ‘nation’ in South Asia and the region had never been a single political unit. The British attempt to weld the two communities in to a ‘nation’ failed. The British concept of a nation did not fit the religious-social system of South Asia. Similarly, the British political system did not suite the political culture of South Asia. The British political system, commonly known as ‘democracy’, gave majority the right to rule. But unlike Britain, the basis of majority and minority in South Asia was not political but religious and ethnic. The attempt to enforce the British political model in South Asia, instead of solving the political problems, only served to make the situation more complex. The Hindus supported the idea while it was strongly opposed by the Muslims. The Muslims knew that implementation of the new order would mean the end of their separate identity and endless rule of the Hindu majority in the name of nationalism and democracy. The Muslims refused to go the British way. They claimed that they were a separate nation and the basis of their nation was the common religion Islam. They refused to accept a political system that would reduce them to a permanent minority. They first demanded separate electorates and later a separate state. Religious and cultural differences between
Hindus and Muslims increased due to political rivalry under the British rule.

On March 24, 1940, the Muslims finally abandoned the idea of federalism and defined a separate homeland as their target. Quaid-i-Azam considered the creation of Pakistan a means to an end and not the end in itself. He wanted Pakistan to be an Islamic and democratic state. According to his wishes and in accordance with the inspirations of the people of Pakistan, the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan passed the Objectives Resolution. The adoption of Objectives Resolution removed all doubts, if there were any, about the ideology of Pakistan. The Muslims of Pakistan decided once and for all to make Pakistan a state wherein the Muslims shall be enabled to order their lives in their individual and collective spheres, in accordance to the teachings and requirements of Islam as set out in the Holy Quran and Sunnah.

Rule of Congress Ministries

The Government of India Act of 1935 was practically implemented in 1937. The provincial elections were held in the winter of 1936-37. There were two major political parties in the Sub-continent at that time, the Congress and the Muslim League. Both parties did their best to persuade the masses before these elections and put before them their manifesto. The political manifestos of both parties were almost identical, although there were two major differences. Congress stood for joint electorate and the League for separate electorates; Congress wanted Hindi as official language with Deva Nagri script of writing while the League wanted Urdu with Persian script.

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Part-2

According to the results of the elections, Congress, as the oldest, richest and best-organized political party, emerged as the single largest representative in the Legislative Assembles. Yet it failed to secure even 40 percent of the total number of seats. Out of the 1,771 total seats in the 11 provinces, Congress was only able to win slightly more then 750. Thus the results clearly disapproved Gandhi’s claim that his party represented 95 percent of the population of India. Its success, moreover, was mainly confined to the Hindu constituencies. Out of the 491 Muslim seats, Congress could only capture 26. Muslim Leagues’ condition was also bad as it could only win 106 Muslim seats. The party only managed to win two seats from the Muslim majority province of Punjab.

The final results of the elections were declared in February 1937. The Indian National Congress had a clear majority in Madras, U. P., C. P., Bihar and Orrisa. It was also able to form a coalition government in Bombay and N. W. F. P. Congress was also able to secure political importance in Sindh and Assam, where they joined the ruling coalition. Thus directly or indirectly, Congress was in power in nine out of eleven provinces. The Unionist Party of Sir Fazl-i-Hussain and Praja Krishak Party of Maulvi Fazl-i-Haq were able to form governments in Punjab and Bengal respectively, without the interference of Congress. Muslim League failed to form government in any province. Quaid-i-Azam offered Congress to form a coalition government with the League but the Congress rejected his offer.

The Congress refused to set up its government until the British agreed to their demand that the Governor would not use his powers in legislative affairs. Many discussions took place between the Congress and the British Government and at last the British Government consented, although it was only a verbal commitment and no amendment was made in the Act of 1935. Eventually, after a four-month delay, Congress formed their ministries in July 1937.

The Congress proved to be a pure Hindu party and worked during its reign only for the betterment of the Hindus. Twenty-seven months of the Congress rule were like a nightmare for the Muslims of South Asia. Some of the Congress leaders even stated that they would take revenge from the Muslims for the last 700 years of their slavery. Even before the formation of government, the Congress started a Muslim Mass Contact Movement, with the aim to convince Muslims that there were only two political parties in India, i.e. the British and the Congress. The aim was to decrease the importance of the Muslim League for the Muslims. After taking charge in July 1937, Congress declared Hindi as the national language and Deva Nagri as the official script. The Congress flag was given the status of national flag, slaughtering of cows was prohibited and it was made compulsory for the children to worship the picture of Gandhi at school. Band-i-Mataram, an anti-Muslim song taken from Bankim Chandra Chatterji’s novel Ananda Math, was made the national anthem of the country. Religious intolerance was the order of the day. Muslims were not allowed to construct new mosques. Hindus would play drums in front of mosques when Muslims were praying.

The Congress government introduced a new educational policy in the provinces under their rule known as the Warda Taleemi Scheme. The main plan was to sway Muslim children against their ideology and to tell them that all the people living in India were Indian and thus belonged to one nation. In Bihar and C. P. the Vidya Mandar Scheme was introduced according to which Mandar education was made compulsory at elementary level. The purpose of the scheme was to obliterate the cultural traditions of the Muslims and to inculcate into the minds of Muslim children the superiority of the Hindu culture.

The Congress ministries did their best to weaken the economy of Muslims. They closed the doors of government offices for them, which was one of the main sources of income for the Muslims in the region. They also harmed Muslim trade and agriculture. When Hindu-Muslim riots broke out due to these biased policies of the Congress ministries, the government pressured the judges; decisions were made in favor of Hindus and Muslims were sent behind bars.

To investigate Muslim grievances, the Muslim League formulated the “Pirpur Report” under the chairmanship of Raja Syed Muhammad Mehdi of Pirpur. Other reports concerning Muslim grievances in Congress run provinces were A. K. Fazl-ul-Haq’s “Muslim Sufferings Under Congress Rule”, and “The Sharif Report”.

The allegation that Congress was representing Hindus only was voiced also by eminent British personalities. The Marquees of Lothian in April 1938 termed the Congress rule as a “rising tide of Hindu rule”. Sir William Barton writing in the “National Review” in June 1939 also termed the Congress rule as “the rising tide of political Hinduism”.

At the outbreak of the World War II, the Viceroy proclaimed India’s involvement without prior consultations with the main political parties. When Congress demanded an immediate transfer of power in return for cooperation of the war efforts, the British government refused. As a result Congress resigned from power. Quaid-i-Azam asked the Muslims to celebrate December 22, 1939 as a day of deliverance and thanksgiving in token of relief from the tyranny and oppression of the Congress rule.

Government of India Act 1935

After the failure of the Third Round Table Conference, the British government gave the Joint Select Committee the task of formulating the new Act for India. The Committee comprised of 16 members each from the House of Commons and House of Lords, 20 representatives from British India and seven from the princely states. Lord Linlithgow was appointed as the president of the Committee. After a year and a half of deliberations, the Committee finally came out with a draft Bill on February 5, 1935. The Bill was discussed in the House of Commons for 43 days and in the House of Lords for 13 days and finally, after being signed by the King, was enforced as the Government of India Act, 1935, in July 1935.

The main features of the Act of 1935 were:

• A Federation of India was promised for, comprising both provinces and states. The provisions of the Act establishing the federal central government were not to go into operation until a specified number of rulers of states had signed Instruments of Accession. Since, this did not happen, the central government continued to function in accordance with the 1919 Act and only the part of the 1935 Act dealing with the provincial governments went into operation.
• The Governor General remained the head of the central administration and enjoyed wide powers concerning administration, legislation and finance.
• No finance bill could be placed in the Central Legislature without the consent of the Governor General.
• The Federal Legislature was to consist of two houses, the Council of State (Upper House) and the Federal Assembly (Lower House).
• The Council of State was to consist of 260 members, out of whom 156 were to be elected from the British India and 104 to be nominated by the rulers of princely states.
• The Federal Assembly was to consist of 375 members; out of which 250 were to be elected by the Legislative Assemblies of the British Indian provinces while 125 were to be nominated by the rulers of princely states.
• The Central Legislature had the right to pass any bill, but the bill required the approval of the Governor General before it became Law. On the other hand Governor General had the power to frame ordinances.
• The Indian Council was abolished. In its place, few advisers were nominated to help the Secretary of State for India.
• The Secretary of State was not expected to interfere in matters that the Governor dealt with, with the help of Indian Ministers.
• The provinces were given autonomy with respect to subjects delegated to them.
• Diarchy, which had been established in the provinces by the Act of 1919, was to be established at the Center. However it came to an end in the provinces.
• Two new provinces Sindh and Orissa were created.
• Reforms were introduced in N. W. F. P. as were in the other provinces.
• Separate electorates were continued as before.
• One-third Muslim representation in the Central Legislature was guaranteed.
• Autonomous provincial governments in 11 provinces, under ministries responsible to legislatures, would be setup.
• Burma and Aden were separated from India.
• The Federal Court was established in the Center.
• The Reserve Bank of India was established.

Both the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League opposed the Act, but participated in the provincial elections of winter 1936-37, conducted under stipulations of the Act. At the time of independence, the two dominions of India and Pakistan accepted the Act of 1935, with few amendments, as their provisional constitution.

Quaid-i-Azam and the Reorganization of Muslim League

The Ambassador of Hindu-Muslim Unity, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, was thoroughly disappointed by the anti Muslim attitude of the Indian National Congress in the Nehru report. He considered it as parting of the ways with Congress and with a broken heart decided to leave India for good. After attending the First Round Table Conference in 1931, he decided to settle down permanently in London.

It was because of his correspondence with Allama Iqbal and his meeting with Liaquat Ali Khan in London that made him revise his decision. Quaid-i-Azam came back to India in 1934 but this time he was a totally different person. With no more interest in Hindu Muslim unity, his only aim was then to work for the betterment of the Muslims of South Asia. Probably he was clear in his mind that the only solution of the problem of South Asian Muslims was a separate homeland for them. However, he knew that this idea should not be made public before doing necessary homework.

At the time of his return to South Asia, All India Muslim League was a political party without any grass root support. The party was also divided into Hidayat League and Aziz League. Quaid-i-Azam’s first success on his return was the reunification of the two factions of the party. The united Muslim League had a lot of expectations from Quaid-i-Azam as they elected him as the President of the party. The Quaid responding to the expectations decided to reorganize the League.

To begin with he decided to popularize the League among the ordinary Muslims. He reduced the annual membership fee from Rs. 4 to only two annas (one-eighth of a rupee). Then central and provincial Parliamentary Boards of the party were set up. Moreover, a well-defined constitution was also prepared. A committee comprising Maulana Akram Khan, Husain Imam and Haji Abdus Sattar was set up to increase the membership of the Muslim League.

In 1938 Muslim League started its separate Women Chapter. In the same year in order to maintain discipline during the sessions of the League, Muslim League National Guards was launched. Quaid-i-Azam also appealed from the Muslims community of South Asia to donate one million rupees to strengthen the financial position of the Party.

The Khaksar Movement

The Khaksar Movement was a paramilitary organization, which was introduced by Allama Inayatullah Mashriqi in a chaotic situation of the political atmosphere of India. After serving for about 17 years in the education department, in 1931, he proceeded to launch a movement to transform the Muslims into well-organized and disciplined force. Earlier in 1926, he had seen Hitler and his Mein Kampf, which impressed him so much and lingered on in his mind. The movement was absolutely non-political though partially based on military basis with aims and objectives undefined for long time. It was assumed to be a social-reformist movement, which had to deal with the objectives set by its founder. The membership was open to everyone with no membership fee irrespective of any caste, color or creed. The organization needed dedicated and selfless people as the founder rejected all those who wanted to join party for their vested interests. The party workers were required to bear their own expenses, and spare time for work of social welfare of the community. The Khaksars mean humble people who had to wear ‘Khaki’ uniform due to its matching with the color of the earth having word ‘Akhuwat’ (brotherhood) on their sleeves. They carried in their right hand a ‘bailcha’ (shovel) which is used for leveling of ground and was a symbol to level the society for equity and equality and remove the existing division of the rich and the poor. The volunteers had to participate daily in military parade and social work without any hesitation.

The organization of the movement was such that Allama Mashriqi was Khaksar-i-Azam (the biggest khaksar) with an advisory council but Allama could overrule any advice. He was entitled to remove any member from the organization while there was no way to remove him. The focal point of the movement was social reforms but it actively participated in politics and the leaders came in working alliance with Muslim League, as League was the only organization, which Khaksars were liable to join. Whenever Allama asked the Khaksars to move from one place to another for public service or called them for a convention/meeting, they followed in unison his orders willingly and most obediently day or night at any time. Their activities for social welfare expanded from Punjab to Sind, Baluchistan and NWFP. The movement had a strong tendency towards the liberation of India from foreign rule but it did not establish cordial relations with any political organization of that period. Due to party’s rigid manifesto and strictness to its ideology the Khaksar leaders including Allama Mashriqi remained in jails for longer period of time. Drilling and parading in playgrounds, streets and neighborhoods Khaksars were seen clad in khaki uniform with spades upon their shoulders. These militant activities, however, brought him indirect conflict with the government of the day. On February 28, 1940, the Punjab premier Sir Sikandar Hayat Khan imposed restrictions on the Khaksar activities. On 19 March 1940, the police opened fire on the Khaksars parading in protest. Many of them were killed or injured while Mashriqi and so many were imprisoned. It is said that in the session in which the Pakistan Resolution was passed by the Muslim League, a condolence resolution was also presented. It placed ‘on record its deep sense of sorrow at the unfortunate and tragic occurrence on the 19th of March, 1940, owing to a clash between the Khaksars and the police’. The Session called upon the Government forthwith to appoint an independent and impartial committee of inquiry with instructions to make complete investigation and inquiry in the whole affair, and make their report as soon as possible. Mashriqi who was kept in jail without any legal proceedings had fasted to the point of death in order to obtain his release and that of his followers. The Government of India at the time kept Mashriqi’s fasting a secret. However, the news was leaked out and Mashriqi along with so many Khaksars had to be released on January 19, 1942 but his movements were kept restricted to Madras. Egged on by some of the Madras Congressmen, Allama Mashriqi issued instructions to the Khaksars to adopt every means to influence the Quaid-i-Azam and make him realize the so-called importance of oneness (unity of India). Consequently a Khaksar from the Punjab found an occasion to assault the Quaid with a knife on 26 July 1943.

The final show of Khaksar was against Muslim League council session in June 1947 at Imperial Hotel Delhi to occupy the floor and to use force to reject the partition plan. But it did not succeed. The movement attracted many Indian Muslims before the partition but after the division it lost its sympathizers due to the failure of party program and its ideology. Khaksar tehreek soon began to shrink and gradually lost its popularity. However after independence, Khaksar movement changed into a civilian political group and comprised PNA (Pakistan National Alliance) in 1977.

The Ahrar Movement (Majlis-i-Ahrar-i-Islam)

A number of nationalist Muslims of Punjab, mainly religious leaders, called themselves “Ahrars” who organized Majlis-i-Ahrar-i-Islam. They were former members of the provincial branch of the All India Khilafat Committee who made the formal announcement after the anti-Muslim Nehru Report in December 1929. It does not mean that the Ahrars were anti-congress. Actually they were pro-congress as the slogan of ‘complete independence’ suited the genesis of the Ahrars. The Ahrars were mainly from lower middle class and they supported the Congress sponsored ‘Satyagarha’ movement through civil disobedience in the Punjab and by courting arrests.

The first Ahrar conference convened on July 31, 1931 declared to achieve independence for the country, make better communal relations among different communities, establish an Islamic system in the country and uplift the Muslim masses to acquire their lost glory of the past. The Ahrars got popularity within short time due to their exploitation of local issues, with which they could easily arouse sentiments of the people. Some issues were, of course, genuine like the issue of J&K for which the people were always ready to join their protest against the oppressive rule of the Hindu Raja in 1931. An issue, which gave them more eminence, was their anti-Ahmadis stand. It gave them an ample opportunity to attract the Muslim population. The Ahrars opened their office at Qadian, the headquarter of Qadianis, in the middle of 1933 and succeeded to turn the Punjabi Muslims against the Ahmadis. The Ahrar campaign was also directed against Sir Mohammad Zafarullah Khan president of the All India Muslim League during 1931 and Pakistan first foreign minister.

The Ahrars, for most of the time, were involved in agitation politics and frequently made speeches to build up their pressure. The leaders were considered to believe in keeping the masses occupied with one issue or another. When the issue of Shaheed Ganj Masjid was exceedingly exploited by the Ahrars and led to agitation, Quaid-i-Azam lost no time in proceeding to Lahore to produce an atmosphere of amity and goodwill. After an unsuccessful alliance with the Muslim League in 1936 the Ahrars gradually drifted away from the mainstream of Muslim politics. Sometimes they sometime rushed to the Congress camp and sometimes liked to follow an independent course. The party claimed its all India Muslim organization but its influence was confined to the Punjab and NWFP. The strength of the party did not depend on membership but it was due to the gifted orators like Attaullah Shah Bukhari, who made the audience spellbound and so easily attracted the masses.

In 1940 Ahrars passed the ‘Hukumat-I-Ilahiyya’ resolution to regain its lost prestige and popularity but did not succeed. They turned against both League and Jinnah and addressed the later as ‘Kafir-I-Azam’ (the Great Infidel). Since the party had no organizational structure, they failed to work at grass-root level and enjoy the people’s support like other organizations. That is why it soon collapsed after Pakistan came into being.

The Unionist Party

Mian Fazl-i-Hussain and Chhotu Ram laid the foundation of the Punjab National Unionist Party in 1923. It was originated by a group of rural members of the Punjab Legislative Council. These members were elected on personal prestigious position and were the big landlords and influential politicians of the Punjab. The fundamental theme of their politics was to defend the provincial interest as well as the interest of the British Raj. The group consisted of 24 Muslim landlords and 6 Hindu Jats under the leadership of Rao Bahadur Lal and the party was based on non-communal basis. The prominent Muslim landed elites were Nawab Muzafar Ali Qazilbash, Nawab Shah Nawaz Mamdot, Malik Khizar Hayat Khan Tiwana, Malik Atta Muhammad Khan Nawab of Kalabagh, Mian Ahmad Yar Khan Daultana and right hand man of Fazl-i-Hussain Sir Mohammad Zafarullah Khan. The membership was open to every community member irrespective of caste, creed, religion or color. Basically it was the fusion of Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs landed gentry of the rural Punjab.

The Punjab being an agriculturists’ province, where the majority of Muslims was marginal, not more than 54%, it was difficult for any political party to form a government purely on communal basis as it was not prone to get a sufficient majority. So it had to coalesce with other members so as to form the government. As Sir Fazl-i-Husain thought a coalition would always be a weak Government, he started the Unionist Party in 1936. This was to safeguard the interests of Muslims and particularly the agriculturists’ class, which was largely Muslim. Most of the agriculturists in the Punjab were Muslim, although there were also very large landowners [who were Muslim], but barring four or five Muslim landowners, they were all indebted as well.
He started it [the Unionist Party]in 1936. Unfortunately his health had been very delicate from 1934 onwards, and when he launched it in 1936, he was a sick man. He also wanted to ensure that the party would continue and have a leader who was capable of taking this party to the polls and making it a success. At that time Sir Sikander Hayat had been Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, which had started a year earlier. Sir Fazl-i-Husain called Sir Sikander and urged him to lead the Unionists’s Party. So Sir Sikander who had decided to come back to the Punjab at the end of 1936 came even earlier and took over the leadership. The deputy leader was Sir Chhotu Ram, who was a Hindu Jat from Rohtak district in eastern Punjab.

The Unionists Party’s main aim was to protect the agriculturist community of the Punjab, whether they were Muslims, Hindus or Sikhs. Sir Chhotu Ram played a pivotal role in bringing agrarian reforms to help the farmers. For instance, the Indebtedness Bill was introduced which setup debt conciliation boards in each district. The debt conciliation board function was for the petty zamindars, small landholders, who were not rich, so that instead of going to the courts of law, the debt conciliation board would meet and decide on their debts. This greatly helped the indebtedness of the agriculturists that was one. Sir Chhotu Ram was the person who initially approved the Bhakhra Dam scheme and laid the foundation of the ‘Green Revolution’ as he saw the peasant as the agent as well as the beneficiary of the change.

The Unionists concentrated on the rural section of the Punjab as urban middle class was already under the influence of either Congress or the Muslim League and other minor organizations.

The only ground left was the rural population, which was exploited by these Unionist leaders for their own interests. The party dominated the political scene of Punjab for a decade, representing the interests of landlords and peasant proprietors but as the same time symbolizing a cross-communal organization.

The pioneer of the party Fazl-i-Hussain died on July 09, 1936 but the popularity of the organization is evident from the results of Provincial elections held in March 1937. In those elections the Unionist Party captured 98 seats in the house of 175, emerging as the leading party, while Muslim League got 2 seats. Later one of its members Raja Ghazanfar Ali Khan also left the league and came in Unionist camp. The party did not believe in the notion of the promotion of one-community interests, so it not only guarded the Muslim interest but also at the same time did not ignore the interests of other minorities.

The great achievement of the Unionist party was their agricultural legislation, which became famous as ‘Golden Bills’, which were introduced to protect the poor peasants from the moneylenders. The next important milestone was the increase of Muslim quota in the Government Services. In 1927 the percentage for Government Services was 40% Muslims, 40% Hindus and 20% Sikhs, while under new laws, which were passed in 1938, the percentage was increased for Muslims to 50%, for Hindus to 30% while for Sikhs remained 20%.
This party played a dynamic role in the Punjab politics in the 3rd and 4th decades but later it was replaced by the Muslim League that aimed to gain independence for the Muslim minority and achieve the goal of a separate homeland for the Muslims.

Khudai Khidmatgar Movement

Khudai Khidmatgar Movement was organized by Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan popularly known as Bacha khan, on a non-violence approach to the socio-political problems of the people of N.W.F.P. The province due to its unique geographical location was treated by the British administration different from the rest of India. This brought social, political and economic backwardness in the Pushtoon society. Participation in the Khilafat Movement by Indian Muslims and their migration (Hijrat) towards Afghanistan brought N.W.F.P and its people in close collaboration with their brethren from rest of India. Ghaffar Khan had realized that migration is not the solution of the multifarious problems they faced.

To eradicate social evils like illiteracy, blood feud, crimes, the use of intoxicants and factionalism from the Pushtoon society, he decided to launch an Educational Program and achieve the goal purely on non-violence and non-political base. He wanted to inculcate unity among the Pushtoon society, eradicate the social evils, prevent lavish spending on the social events, promote Pushto language and literature and real love for the Islam among the Pushtoons.

To achieve his objectives, Anjumen-i-Islah-ul-Afghana, (the society for the reformation of the Afghans) was formed by Ghaffar Khan in April1, 1921. He opened the first Azad Islamia Madrassa at Utmanzai District Charsadda. On Dec 1, 1923 the Madrassa got affiliated with Jamia Millia Islamia Delhi. Later the Anjumen started publishing their own monthly journal “Pukhtoon” covering the socio-political problems of the Pushtoons.

Some members of the Anjumen suggested launching another organization on the model of the Young Turks, Young Afghans, Young Khivas and similar organization outside India, on the plea to attract the Young Pushtoon blood. On September 1, 1929 at Utmanzai another organization by the name of “Zulmo Jirga” was announced and Abdul Ghaffar Khan became its President. The two organizations served the Pushtoon society but in order to accommodate the majority of the Pushtoon another organization “Khudai Khidmatgar” was formed in November 1929. It was socio-reformist movement, struggling for peace and harmony within the society by eliminating all the mess prevailing at that time in the Pushtoon society.

This movement attracted the people from all the walks of life as every section of the society interpreted their program in their own way. For Pushtoon intelligentsia it was based upon promotion of the Pushtoon culture and elimination of the influences of big landlords; for Ulema its anti- British stand became a cause of attraction and for the poor peasants, it meant to check economic oppression of the big landlords. So, every section of the Pushtoon society saw a ray of hope in the manifesto of Khudai- Khidmatgar movement. The volunteers had to wear proper uniform of dark red color and join the routine parade.

This particular dress gave them distinction. Khudai Khidmatgars were later on were called Red Shirts and their movement as the Red Shirts Movement. Two years after its creation, the membership rose to the 200,000, which shows its fame and popularity. Later on the organization joined hands with all India Congress in N.W.F.P for their political motives and got majority in every election till through referendum the people of N.W.F.P. cast their vote in favor of Pakistan. The spirit of the movement took its last breath when it was proclaimed as a political party after the creation of Pakistan. The aims and objectives were changed and gradually people lost their interest in the movement.

Hijrat Movement

The Hijrat Movement was a by-product of the Khilafat Movement. In the summer of 1920 suggestions were made by the local bodies representing the Central Khilafat organization that the Muslims should migrate to place where their religion and national image are not jeopardized. However, the idea gained popularity when Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and Maulana Abdul Bari issued a fatwa declaring India as “Dar-ul-Harab” (Home of War). They urged the Muslims migrate to Afghanistan in religious protest against the British policy. The idea was approved by majority of Muslim scholars including Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi, Maulana Habib-ur-Rahman, Maulana Abdul Rauf Danapuri, Pir Mehr Ali Shah and Hakeem Ajmal Khan.

Immediately after the fatwa was issued, a central office of the movement, Khuddam-ul-Muhajreen, was set up in Delhi and Nazims were appointed in all the big cities to motivate people for migration. The movement first gained popularity in Sind. A group of 750 Muhajreen set out for Kabul in a train from Sindh with Barrister Jan Mohammad Junejo as its leader. The train was given great reception by the Muslims on the railway stations where it stopped. This enhanced the vigor for migration amongst the Muslims of the Punjab. Popularity of the movement can be determined from the fact that more than thirty thousand Muslims had left for Kabul by the second week of August 1920.

The movement also spread to the North West Frontier Province. Rather it would not be wrong to say that the rural areas of Peshawar and Mardan were the worst effected areas. The people of North West Frontier Province wrote and sang songs expressing their emotions about leaving India. They sold their land and property to the local Hindu community on the throwaway prices and started moving towards Kabul.

Those who were migrating to Kabul were under the impression that the Government of Afghanistan was ready to receive them. However, the matter of the fact was that in the beginning the Afghan Government welcomed the Indian Muslims but later on when they found that the flood of refugees would be too difficult for them to handle, they closed down their frontiers and refused to accept further migrants. Even those who managed to enter Afghanistan soon came across so many hardships and miserable conditions in the country that they were forced to take a journey back home. The retreat resulted in a heavy loss of life due to the bad weather and disease.

The Khilafat movement failed and the Muslims were left in the lurch. Once again the Muslims were at the brink of disaster facing Hindu contempt and criticism. In this gloomy state of affairs, it was the Muslim League under the fearless and reliable leadership of the Quaid-i-Azam that came forward to pull the Muslims out of their nightmare.

The Communal Award

When the Indian leadership failed to come up with a constitutional solution of the communal issue, the British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald announced his own formula for solving the problem. He said that he was not only a Prime Minister of Britain but was also a friend of the Indians and thus wanted to solve the problems of his friends.

After the failure of the Second Round Table conference, Mr. MacDonald announced the ‘Communal Award’ on August 16, 1932. According to the Award, the right of separate electorate was not only given to the Muslims of India but also to all the minority communities in the country. The Award also declared untouchables as a minority and thus the Hindu depressed classes were given a number of special seats, to be filled from special depressed class electorates in the area where their voters were concentrated. Under the Communal Award, the principle of weightage was also maintained with some modifications in the Muslim minority provinces. Principle of weightage was also applied for Europeans in Bengal and Assam, Sikhs in the Punjab and North West Frontier Province, and Hindus in Sindh and North West Frontier Province.

Though the Muslims constituted almost 56 percent of the total population of Punjab, they were given only 86 out of 175 seats in the Punjab Assembly. The Muslim majority of 54.8 percent in Punjab was thus reduced to a minority. The formula favored the Sikhs of Punjab, and the Europeans of Bengal the most.

The Award was not popular with any Indian party. Muslims were not happy with the Communal Award, as it has reduced their majority in Punjab and Bengal to a minority. Yet they were prepared to accept it. In its annual session held in November 1933, the All India Muslim League passed a resolution that reads; “Though the decision falls far short of the Muslim demands, the Muslims have accepted it in the best interest of the country, reserving to themselves the right to press for the acceptance of all their demands.”

On the other hand, the Hindus refused to accept the awards and decided to launch a campaign against it. For them it was not possible to accept the Untouchables as a minority. They organized the Allahabad Unity Conference in which they demanded for the replacement of separate electorates by joint electorates. Many nationalist Muslims and Sikhs also participated in the conference. The Congress also rejected the Award in Toto. Gandhi protested against the declaration of Untouchables as a minority and undertook a fast unto death. He also held meetings with the Untouchable leadership for the first time and try to convince them that they were very much part of the mainstream Hindu society. He managed to sign the Poona Pact with Dr. B. R. Ambedker, the leader of Untouchables in which the Congress met many of the Untouchables’ demands.

Round Table Conferences

The Indian political community received the Simon Commission Report issued in June 1930 with great resentment. Different political parties gave vent to their feelings in different ways.

The Congress started a Civil Disobedience Movement under Gandhi’s command. The Muslims reserved their opinion on the Simon Report declaring that the report was not final and the matters should decided after consultations with the leaders representing all communities in India.

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The Indian political situation seemed deadlocked. The British government refused to contemplate any form of self-government for the people of India. This caused frustration amongst the masses, who often expressed their anger in violent clashes.

The Labor Government returned to power in Britain in 1931, and a glimmer of hope ran through Indian hearts. Labor leaders had always been sympathetic to the Indian cause. The government decided to hold a Round Table Conference in London to consider new constitutional reforms. All Indian politicians; Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians were summoned to London for the conference.

Gandhi immediately insisted at the conference that he alone spoke for all Indians, and that the Congress was the party of the people of India. He argued that the other parties only represented sectarian viewpoints, with little or no significant following.

First Round Table Conference

The first session of the conference opened in London on November 12, 1930. All parties were present except for the Congress, whose leaders were in jail due to the Civil Disobedience Movement. Congress leaders stated that they would have nothing to do with further constitutional discussion unless the Nehru Report was enforced in its entirety as the constitution of India.

Almost 89 members attended the conference, out of which 58 were chosen from various communities and interests in British India, and the rest from princely states and other political parties. The prominent among the Muslim delegates invited by the British government were Sir Aga Khan, Quaid-i-Azam, Maulana Muhammad Ali Jouhar, Sir Muhammad Shafi and Maulvi Fazl-i-Haq. Sir Taj Bahadur Sapru, Mr. Jaikar and Dr. Moonje were outstanding amongst the Hindu leaders.

The Muslim-Hindu differences overcastted the conference as the Hindus were pushing for a powerful central government while the Muslims stood for a loose federation of completely autonomous provinces. The Muslims demanded maintenance of weightage and separate electorates, the Hindus their abolition. The Muslims claimed statutory majority in Punjab and Bengal, while Hindus resisted their imposition. In Punjab, the situation was complicated by inflated Sikh claims.

Eight subcommittees were set up to deal with the details. These committees dealt with the federal structure, provincial constitution, franchise, Sindh, the North West Frontier Province, defense services and minorities.

The conference broke up on January 19, 1931, and what emerged from it was a general agreement to write safeguards for minorities into the constitution and a vague desire to devise a federal system for the country.

Gandhi-Irwin Pact

After the conclusion of the First Round Table Conference, the British government realized that the cooperation of the Indian National Congress was necessary for further advancement in the making of the Indian constitution. Thus, Lord Irwin, the Viceroy, extended an invitation to Gandhi for talks. Gandhi agreed to end the Civil Disobedience Movement without laying down any preconditions.

The agreement between Gandhi and Irwin was signed on March 5, 1931. Following are the salient points of this agreement:

• The Congress would discontinue the Civil Disobedience Movement.
• The Congress would participate in the Round Table Conference.
• The Government would withdraw all ordinances issued to curb the Congress.
• The Government would withdraw all prosecutions relating to offenses not involving violence.
• The Government would release all persons undergoing sentences of imprisonment for their activities in the civil disobedience movement.

The pact shows that the British Government was anxious to bring the Congress to the conference table.

Second Round Table Conference

The second session of the conference opened in London on September 7, 1931. The main task of the conference was done through the two committees on federal structure and minorities. Gandhi was a member of both but he adopted a very unreasonable attitude. He claimed that he represented all India and dismissed all other Indian delegates as non-representative because they did not belong to the Congress.

The communal problem represented the most difficult issue for the delegates. Gandhi again tabled the Congress scheme for a settlement, a mere reproduction of the Nehru Report, but all the minorities rejected it.

As a counter to the Congress scheme, the Muslims, the depressed classes, the Indian Christians, the Anglo-Indians, and the Europeans presented a joint statement of claims which they said must stand as an interdependent whole. As their main demands were not acceptable to Gandhi, the communal issue was postponed for future discussion.

Three important committees drafted their reports; the Franchise Committee, the Federal Finance Committee and States Inquiry Committee.

On the concluding day, the British Prime Minister, Ramsay MacDonald appealed to the Indian leaders to reach a communal settlement. Failing to do so, he said, would force the British government would take a unilateral decision.

Quaid-i-Azam did not participate in the session of the Second Round Table Conference as he had decided to keep himself aloof from the Indian politics and to practice as a professional lawyer in England.

On his return to India, Gandhi once again started Civil Disobedience Movement and was duly arrested.

Third Round Table Conference

The third session began on November 17, 1932. It was short and unimportant. The Congress was once again absent, so was the Labor opposition in the British Parliament. Reports of the various committees were scrutinized. The conference ended on December 25, 1932.

The recommendations of the Round Table Conferences were embodied in a White Paper. It was published in March 1933, and debated in parliament directly afterwards, analyzed by the Joint Select Committee and after the final reading and loyal assent, the bill reached the Statute Book on July 24, 1935.