Chapter 6 — How far did the Pakistan Movement develop during the Twentieth century?

1. The Indian National Congress — beginning of Indian Political Awareness.

- end of 19th century = both the Indians and British realized that Indians needed their own political party
- 1883 = put forward twice, once by the Indian Association and once by a member of the British Parliament
- Allan Octavian Hume = sent letters to all graduates of Calcutta University for them to initiate it
- Hume = started the Indian National Union, and installed multiple branches
- Lord Dufferin (Viceroy) = encouraged Hume’s initiative and saw it as a “safety valve” for Indians
- 1883, 28th December = one conference of the Indian National Union at Bombay, another one at Calcutta
- conferences conducted under the name of Congress = huge stepping stone to gain independence
- in the beginning = Congress openly showing respect and loyalty to the British; notably to Queen Victoria
- 1886 = second meeting = 436 delegates, each selected as representatives of their provinces
- second meeting = stated that the aim was creating an organization united to promote the welfare of Indians
- two ways:
(a) educating the Indians and the British = resolutions printed in newspapers + British Committee
formed
(b) convincing the British to stop mistreatment = ICS wanted more Indian representation in councils +
ICS
- Congress unsuccessful, despite the Indian Councils Act of 1892
- Indian Councils Act = more Indians in the councils = were actually ignored and barely had any power
- soon enough, the Congress was disregarded too
- Indian “Moderates” were still hoping for better from the British, and saw the Brits as fair-minded =
believed that the British had brought political stability, modern justice and education, which were
beneficial for India = believed that peaceful protests and persuasion would suffice to convince the British
- other Indians wanted things to move faster, and started “radical nationalism”, as seen through:
(a) the speeches for freedom of Bal Gangadhar Tilak; was imprisoned in 1897 for an article he wrote
(b) late 1870s = many secret societies set up to find ways of overpowering the British
(c) 1897 = assassinations of a British officer and his companion = worried the British & led to the
POB

2. The Partition of Bengal.

- Bengal = largest province in India

- Western Bengal = 54 million || Eastern Bengal + Assam = 31 million
- Bengal = too large to govern as one province
- Curzon suggested its partition into two different provinces, West Bengal and East Bengal (+ Assam,
Dhaka, Chittagong and Mymensingh)
- 1905 = Bengal partitioned = to crush Bengali Nationalism + geographical factors + administration…
- Indians believed that the British had much deeper reasons behind the POB than just administration, such
as creating conflicts between the Hindus and the Muslims.
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• The Muslim View.
- they were delighted, as their position was improved greatly almost overnight + Chittagong Port
- since 1867 = the British had lost trust in the Muslims and didn’t give them education, all while greatly
favoring the Hindus
- this took a sudden turn after the POB, as the Muslims now had almost full authority over East Bengal
- enabled Muslims to escape the oppression of Hindu rule.
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• The Hindu View.
- believed that the British partitioned Bengal as a follow-up to their ‘divide and rule’ policy
- when the POB happened, the Hindus were leading the Congress = that’s why they believed that the British
wanted to weaken Hindu unity, and stop the growing Hindu “threat”
- partition aroused fury; Hindus called the 16th October 1905 a day of mourning.
- went as far as assassination attempts, on Lord Minto for example
- Swadeshi movement = boycott of British goods, and turning to Indian produced goods; British cloth was
lit on fire; Indian workers in Calcutta started strikes to show their disapproval of the POB; made the
British economy collapse
- boycotted the coronation ceremony.

 3. The British Reaction to the Hindu Protest.

- 1908 = Press Act = restrictions placed on newspapers and public meetings; lots of editors were prosecuted
and put in jail
- June 1908 = Tilak was arrested and imprisoned for six years; many leaders fled the country to avoid being
arrested; the British would arrest those they saw as revolutionaries or potential threats, and would
sometimes imprison them without trials
- British soon realized that this wouldn’t be enough, and called Lord Minto to gain the Hindus’ support.
4. The Simla Deputation — winning the support of the Muslims.

- Morley = already decided that the British should take advantage of their good relations with the Muslims
- Muslims = slowly losing hope for the POB as they saw the numerous protests of the Hindus
- Congress = Hindu-dominated, which scared the Muslims, as they felt like it would result in Hindi
becoming the national language, or the Muslims being converted to Hinduism
- the Liberal government of 1905 didn’t comfort the Muslims at all, as it aimed to increase the local
participation in the government through elections; however the Hindus, being in majority, would probably
win every time, which would result in India being Hindu-dominated
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- 8th October 1906 = deputation of 36 prominent Muslims led by Aga Khan visited Lord Minto at Simla
- request = that the position of Muslims in India should be estimated not on their numerical strength, but in
respect to the political importance of their community and its contribution to the Empire
(a) in all local and provincial elections, Muslims should have their own representatives, who would be
elected by Muslims only
(b) in the councils, the Muslims should have a higher percentage of seats than their % of the
population
- Muslim leaders emphasized that these rules reflected the importance of the Muslims in India
- many Muslims were important landowners, and a lot of Muslims were a part of the British army
- without separate Muslim representatives = communal violence b/w Muslims and Hindus would be
common
- Lord Minto agreed, despite John Morley (Secretary of State for India) being reluctant
5. The Importance of the Simla Deputation.

- British acceptance = showed that the efforts and attempts of SAK & others had been successful
- British = now ready to work with the Muslims, and even make concessions with them
- showed that Muslims decided to ensure that they established a secure place in the constitution themselves
- rivalry not limited to day-to-day life anymore, but extended to constitutions
- showed that most Muslims had realized that they were now a completely separate entity that deserved to
be treated well, but differently from the Hindus
- short step from breaking away from the Congress and creating a Muslim political party which could
protect the Muslims’ interests and values
- first step down the long road to the formation of Pakistan.

 6. The Foundation of the All-India Muslims League.

• Aims.
- even after the Simla Deputation and the POB = Muslims still didn’t feel influential bcs of the Congress
- the POB had resulted in a feeling of outrage from Hindus towards Muslims = reinforced their division
- to counter the growing influence of the Congress and represent Muslim views to the British
- Hindus thought that the British had planned the establishment of the Muslim League, but the Muslims did
it themselves
- after the acceptance of the Simla Deputation, the establishment of the Congress, and the opposition to the
POB, it was inevitable that the Muslims would create their own political party.

• Formation.
- 1906 = Muslim leaders met at the 20th session of the Mohammedan Educational Conference at Dhaka
- after this, meeting chaired by Viqar-ul-Mulk = decided that an organization for Muslims was needed.
• Objectives.
- to protect and advance the political rights and interests of Muslims in India
- to represent Muslim needs and aspirations to the government of India
- to promote feelings of loyalty to the British government
- to remove any misunderstandings amongst the Muslims
- to prevent the rise of hostility in Muslims against other communities in India
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- the British welcomed the Muslim League
- led by landowners and princes who were moderate in their views and could help in countering protests
- comparison of the resolutions of the Muslim League and the Congress showed how different their views
were, and these differences would be the focal point in politics for the next generation.

7. The Minto-Morley Reforms — British attempts to win Indian Support.

- Lord Minto and Lord Morley = both believed that the Indians’ demand for representation was valid
- worked together and organized multiple reforms
• main terms:
(a) Imperial Council = increased to 60 members, with more non-official members (didn’t have positions in
the gov), but still made sure that the official members were mostly British
(b) Central Executive Council = increased to 60 members, who would discuss all important matters and
advise on government policies and budget
(c) Provincial Councils = increased to 50 members in large provinces, to 30 in small provinces
(d) Muslims representatives elected only by Muslims/Muslim-only electorate

8. The Importance of the Reforms — a Voice for Indians?

- Minto-Morley reforms = seemed to give Indians a say in how the country was run
- in reality = Councils had no real power and were just advisory; their advices didn’t have to be followed
- the British wanted to know what locals were thinking, but never wanted to give them any power over the
government policies and the country in general
- most important consequence = separate electorate for Muslims = Congress showed opposition for 25 years
- Congress failed to understand the British’s real motive = they never wanted a democracy in India, but
simply wanted to calm down Indians and bring stability by introducing a few reforms, that were actually
more beneficial to the British themselves than the Indians
- Hindus and Muslims had their own political parties, which they used to ask for more rights; the
British didn’t act upon these demands as it would give Indians more power, and instead reversed
the Partition of Bengal; the reversal of the POB brought all the progress of the Muslim community
after 1905 back to zero.

9. The Bengal Partition reversed.

- Lord Harding (Viceroy) = agreed to the reversal; took place on 12/12/1911; announced by King George V
- British suggested it as a part of their government policy, but were faced with the opposition of Bengalis
- British moved capital from Calcutta to Delhi = Muslims realized that the Muslim League must take action.