Jinnah-Gandhi Negotiations, 1944

Rajagopalacharia continued his efforts to bring about a Hindu-Muslim accord and in this regard Rajaji formula got famous. It was on 17 July, 1944 that Gandhi set the ball rolling by writing to Jinnah: "I have not written to you since my release. Today my heart says that I should write to you. We will meet whenever you choose. Do not disappoint me." Jinnah, who at that time was in Kashmir, replied that he would be glad to receive Gandhi at his residence in Bombay on his return. They met at Jinnah's house in Bombay on 9 September and thereafter corresponded at some length. They did meet a number of times up to 26 September, but without arriving at an agreement. They did not keep any record of their oral discussions but the text of their letters is available.

The first letter in this series was written by Jinnah to Gandhi on 10 September, and it is learnt from it that during their meeting on the previous day, Jinnah had tried to persuade Gandhi to accept the Pakistan Resolution of March 1940, while Gandhi had put forward the Rajaji Formula. The main points that emerged during the debate were as follows:

Jinnah complained the Gandhi's claim that he had come to discuss Hindu-Muslim settlement in his individual capacity raised "great difficulty" in his way because he himself could speak only in his capacity as the president of the Muslim League. Gandhi characteristically claimed, "though I represent nobody but myself, I aspire to represent all the inhabitants of India", to which Jinnah replied, "I cannot accept that statement of yours. It is quite clear that you represent nobody else but Hindus, and as long as you do not realize your true position and the realities, it is very difficult for me to argue with you."

For his part, Gandhi questioned the right of the Indian Muslims to call themselves a nation, "I find no parallel in history", he wrote in one of his letters, "for a body of converts and their descendants claiming to be a nation apart from the parent stock", to which Jinnah gave the famous reply:

"We maintain and hold that Muslims and Hindus are two major nations by any definition or test of a nation. We are a nation of a hundred million, and, what is more, we are a nation with our own distinctive culture and civilization, language and literature, art and architecture, names and nomenclature, sense of value and proportion, legal laws and moral codes, customs and calendar, history and traditions, aptitudes and ambitions. In short, we have our own distinctive outlook on life. By all canons of international law we are a nation."

The two leaders also differed with regard to the boundaries of Pakistan and how the issue of whether India should be divided at all, was to be determined. Gandhi was adamant on the question of partition and although he appeared to be conceding the possibility of partition he did everything he could to persuade the Quaid to give up his demand for the establishment of two sovereign States.

The British had been watching with anxiety the progress of the Gandhi-Jinnah talks and were making plans to meet the situation if the Congress and the League arrived at an agreement. The failure of these talks spurred the Viceroy to make renewed efforts to break the political deadlock in India.

Though the Gandhi-Jinnah negotiations failed to achieve the avowed goal of the Hindu-Muslim unity, they brought to Jinnah and the Muslim League two important political gains. Firstly, the leadership of the Congress had now offered to discuss the question of Pakistan seriously -- before that, the Congress and Mahatama had kept the door to that subject uncompromisingly shut. Secondly, the Congress could no longer justifiably claim that it stood for all the communities in India including the Muslims.

1942-1943

The failure of the Cripps Mission, though unfortunate in many ways, resulted in strengthening of the Muslim League case for Pakistan. The positive outcome was that Pakistan was considered seriously and not merely regarded as a stunt or bargaining counter. The Congress leadership had tried to exploit the difficulties of the British to wrest power for itself but it had refused to acknowledge the demands made by the Muslim League. A section of the Congress realizing the causes of their failure to compel the British and realizing the danger to India's defence from the advance of Japanese armies, decided to reconsider the question of Pakistan with an intention to arrive at a settlement with the Muslim League without which there could be no political advance in India. Rajagopalacharya, an elderly statesman, accepted in principle the Muslim League demand for Pakistan and passed, Madras Resolution, calling upon the Congress High Command to negotiate with the Muslim League on the question of Pakistan with the object of establishing a national government in India to organize the defence of India. Towards the end of April 1942, in a meeting of the All India Congress held in Allahabad, the Madras Resolution was rejected and the Congress leaders made angry and fiery speeches against Jinnah and his concept of Pakistan. The Hindu Press took the cue from the All India Congress Committee and launched a virulent hate campaign against Jinnah and the Muslim League, holding Jinnah responsible for blocking the path to India's freedom and meanest of all, accusing him of playing the British game.

The Congress decided to launch its final assault on British imperialism in the movement that came to be known as the "Quit India" movement. Gandhi called upon the people to take initiative and "to do or die" in a last struggle for freedom, throwing off the initial pretences of non-violence. He did not consult the Muslim League or any other party and went ahead with his plans in the hope that the momentum of the mass movement would take violent forms and would involve all parties and sections of the people of India. He made a grave mistake of under-estimating the reserves of power of the British to deal with the Indian movement, when they were too deeply involved in their military struggle against the Japanese. Inspire of being warned by the government that it would use all its powers to suppress any movement which obstructed their war effort, the Congress passed the "Quit India" resolution in August 1942. The Government swooped down upon the leadership and locked up them all in jail, including Gandhi. There was turmoil in parts of India for about three months. The rail communications were damaged, police stations were attacked, sacked and burnt, the Congress Socialist Party and other terrorists got busy doing everything they could do to paralyze the war effort, destroy the agencies of the Government and spread anarchy. After a short span, the Government was able to suppress the movement. Large sections of the people who were involved in the war effort and were thriving on war contracts, recruitment to the army and defense services, ignored the Congress appeals and went about their business as usual.

To the Congress slogan of "Quit India", the Quaid's answer was "Divide and Quit". When the Muslim League Working Committee met in Bombay on 16 August, 1942, there were many who wanted the League to plunge blindly into the struggle, while others went to the extreme of giving full and unconditional support to the British and crushing the Congress. The Quaid wisely advocated a middle course avoiding both the Congress and the British traps and concentrated more on building up the Muslim League organization and removing some of its inherent weaknesses.

Jinnah received several threats of murder in June and July 1943 from the Khaksars. The threat to Jinnah's life almost materialized on the afternoon of 26 July 1943. A Khaksar named Rafiq Sabir Maznavi walked up to the Quaid's residence and attacked him with a large knife. Jinnah defended himself by catching hold of the assailant's hand. This softened the blow and Jinnah escaped with no more than a wound on his chin and some cuts on his hand. In the meantime Jinnah's chauffeur and others arrived at the scene and overpowered Sabir. He was subsequently sentenced to five years rigorous imprisonment by a British judge.

In the autumn and winter of 1942-43, Bengal suffered a dreadful famine. The official estimate was that one and a half million died of starvation or by its after-effects. No one knows for sure how many starved to death or died of disease during these months of horror. The shortage of the rice crop would have been overcome by purchases from Burma or Thailand, but these sources were under Japanese control at that time. The provincial government was inefficient and imprudent and allowed the situation to get out of hand, while the central government under Linlithgow did not assert itself effectively. It was not until Wavell took over as Viceroy on 20 October 1943 and took a vigorous interest in the tragedy that anything worthwhile was done to alleviate the suffering.

Cripps Mission 1942

The passing of the Pakistan Resolution was a turning point in the history of Indian Muslims; it brought about a qualitative change in their status as a minority in India. By the middle of 1940, the war had brought disaster for the allies, as France fell in June 1940, the British Government made renewed appeals for co-operation to all parties in India. In the middle of 1941, the war situation had become more serious for the allies, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and America was involved in the war, the initial success of the Japanese armies in South-East Asia brought the war to India's doorstep.

The British under the leadership of the die-hard imperialist Churchill were most reluctant to make any firm commitment regarding Indian independence. Sir Stafford Cripps, who had recently joined the government as Lord Privy Seal and become a member of the War Cabinet and leader of the House of Commons, had decided to proceed to India. Churchill gave the genesis of this new policy, "The crisis in the affairs of India arising out of the Japanese advance has made Britain wish to rally all the forces of Indian life to guard their land from the menace of the invader." The American President Roosevelt urged Churchill to settle matters with India that finally persuaded Churchill to send Cripps to India.

Cripps flew into Karachi on March 22, 1942, and touched down at New Delhi's airport the following day, the "Pakistan Day", the second anniversary of the Lahore resolution that was celebrated in Delhi by a public meeting addressed by Jinnah. During his stay, Cripps met with Maulana Azad, Jinnah , Gandhi and Nehru to discuss the issues regarding India. He met Jinnah on March 25 and explained to Jinnah that he had changed his view about the Muslim League and Pakistan because of the "change in the communal feeling in India and the growth of the Pakistan movement."

Cripps publicly disclosed the contents of the Declaration at a press conference on March 29. The object was "the creation of a new Indian Union which shall constitute a Dominion, associated with the United Kingdom and other Dominions by a common allegiance to the Crown, but equal to them in every respect." The said goal would be achieved in the following manner: immediately after the war, an elected body would be set up to frame a new Constitution for India. Any province of British India not prepared to accept the new Constitution would have the right to retain its present constitutional position. To such non-acceding provinces, his Majesty's Government would be prepared to give the same full status as to the Indian Union.

The proposals brought by Cripps were not received very enthusiastically by any section of Indian opinion. Gandhi and other Congress leaders were against it because they believed that Britain had already lost the war that it had nothing to offer for the future of India and therefore they looked to Japan and other Axis powers who appeared to them to have the key to their future. Hindu chauvinists to whom Pakistan had become a nightmare smelt the germ of the idea of Pakistan, even if it was not the Pakistan of the Muslim League's conception. Jinnah, in his presidential address to the Allahabad session of the League, analyzed the Cripps proposals and expressed the disappointment that their main objective was the creation of a new Indian Union and Pakistan was treated only "as a remote possibility.'

The formal rejection of the Cripps proposals took the form of a Congress Working Committee resolution dated 11 April 1942. The Muslim League too rejected Cripps' proposals by a Working Committee resolution of the same date. It expressed gratification that the possibility of Pakistan was "recognized by implication" but stated that "the only solution of India's constitutional problem is the partition of India into independent zones; and it will therefore be unfair to Muslims to compel them to enter such a constitution-making body whose main object is the creation of a new Indian Union." The Committee concluded that as "the proposals for the future are unacceptable, it will serve no useful purpose to deal further with the question of the immediate arrangements.'

Be a Fan

The Pakisatn Resolution (1940)

Jinnah's Lahore address lowered the final curtain on any prospects for a single united independent India. Those who understood him enough know that once his mind was made up he never reverted to any earlier position realized how momentous a pronouncement their Quaid-i-Azam had just made. The rest of the world would take at least seven years to appreciate that he literally meant every word that he had uttered that important afternoon in March. There was no turning back. The ambassador of Hindu-Muslim unity had totally transformed himself into Pakistan's great leader. All that remained was for his party first, then his inchoate nation, and then his British allies to agree to the formula he had resolved upon. As for Gandhi, Nehru, Azad and the rest, they were advocates of a neighbor state and would be dealt with according to classic canons of diplomacy. - Stanley Wolpert, Jinnah of Pakistan.

The British had been compelled to recognize the Muslim League as the sole representative of the Muslims of India by 1940 and Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah as its undisputed leader.

Time and Tide of London published an article by Jinnah on January 19, 1940 under the caption "The Constitutional Future of India". He maintained: "Democratic systems based on the concept of a homogeneous nation such as England are very definitely not applicable to heterogeneous countries such as India." He called the Hindus and the Muslims "two different nations" with different religions and different social codes. It is obvious that by calling the Hindus and the Muslims two nations, Jinnah had reached the threshold of partition, but he was still reluctant to abandon his lifelong dream that Hindus and the Muslims would come to an understanding and in unison make "their common motherland " one of "the great countries of the world".

The Quaid-i-Azam crossed the barrier at the Lahore session of the Muslim League in March 1940. He traveled to Lahore from Delhi in a colorfully decorated train on which green flags were mounted, bearing the emblem of the Muslim League: the crescent and star.

Jinnah decided to address a public gathering on the opening day. It was a huge gathering of the Leaguers, the Khaksars and the Muslims at Minto Park (now Iqbal Park). Jinnah had expounded the rationale of the resolution in his presidential address that lasted for hundred minutes and frequently punctuated by thunderous applause. Though, most of his audience of over 100,000 did not know English, he held their attention and visibly touched their emotion. He asserted that the Muslims were "a nation by any definition". In his historical address he laid the foundation of a separate state for the Muslims of India:

"The Hindus and the Muslims belong to two different religions, philosophies, social customs, and literature. They neither inter-marry, nor inter-dine together, and indeed they belong to two different civilizations which are based mainly on conflicting ideas and conceptions. Their aspects on life are different. It is quite clear that Hindus and Muslims derive their inspirations from different sources of history. They have different epics, their heroes are different, and they have different episodes. Very often the hero of one is 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 the final destruction of any fabric that may be so built for the government of such a state."

The Pakistan Resolution is moved by A K Fazlul Haq

The session began with Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan presenting the annual report on March 23, 1940. After the report, Maulana Fazlul Haq from Bengal, moved the famous Lahore Resolution, better known as the Pakistan Resolution, "…the areas in which the Muslims are numerically in a 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." The resolution was seconded by Choudhry Khaliquzzaman who gave a brief history of the causes which led the Muslims to demand a separate state for themselves. Maulana Zafar Ali Khan, Sardar Aurangzeb Khan, Sir Abdullah Haroon, Nawab Ismail Khan, Qazi Mohammad Isa and I.I Chundigar supported it, among others.

The resolution passed in Lahore on March 23, created a scare in the minds of the Congress and the Hindus. They could see that the Muslim League had now openly advocated the division of India into "Independent States." The Quaid had anticipated the Hindu reaction and had taken organizational steps to face the opposition of the Hindus. He himself set an example of calm courage and an iron determination to lead the Muslims to their cherished goal of freedom. The Pakistan Resolution released the potential creative energies of the Muslims and even the humblest amongst them made his contribution for the achievement of Pakistan. The Quaid knew that without a well-defined goal that could be understood even by the simplest Muslim, there could be no real awakening of the Muslims. The Pakistan Resolution gave them a legible, objective and reachable goal: Pakistan.
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Minar-e-Pakistan is a tall minaret in Iqbal Park Lahore, built in commemoration of the Pakistan Resolution ( 23 March, 1940) . The minaret reflects a blend of Mughal and modern architecture. Pakistan now celebrates this day as a national holiday each year. Photo credit: Khurram Abbass

1938-1939

innah's primary occupation in the year 1938 and 1939 was to build a mass party. He made tours of India and roused the Muslims with stirring speeches in which he exposed the Congress and answered the propaganda directed against him by the Hindu Press. His countrywide tours were superbly successful. Wherever he went, he was received with great love and fervor, especially by the Muslim students and the younger generation who idealized him and saw him as a beautiful mirror that reflected their future.

A special session of the Muslim League was held in April 1938 in Calcutta in which the Bengal leaders led by Fazlul Haq declared their loyalty to the League. In his presidential address, Jinnah announced that in his extensive tours throughout the country he had come across an insatiable desire among the Muslim masses to unite under the banner of the Muslim League.

The Muslim League had been revolutionized within a very short period and one of the results of this was that members of provincial assemblies gladly joined the Muslim League parliamentary parties.

The twenty-sixth session of the League was held in December 1938 in Patna. Jinnah made another hard-hitting, historical speech to a tumultuous gathering from all over the country. Jinnah made an objective assessment of the development of Muslim consciousness and claimed that the Muslim League had "succeeded in awakening a remarkable national consciousness." He told the meeting, "you have not yet got to the fringe of acquiring that moral, cultural and political consciousness. You have only reached the stage at which an awakening has come, your political conscience has been stirred…You have to develop a national self and a national individuality. It is a big task as I told you, you are yet only on the fringe of it. But I have great hopes for your success."

By the end of 1938, the Muslim League was recognized as the representative of the Muslims by the British Government and soon the Viceroy was giving the same importance to the views and opinions of Jinnah that he gave to those of the Congress leaders. The Second World War broke out in 1939 and the British government was anxious to win the favor and co-operation of the major political parties and leaders in their war effort. The Viceroy made a declaration in October assuring the people of India that after the war, the constitutional problems of India would be re-examined and modifications made in the Act of 1935, according to the opinion of Indian parties. The Congress reacted to that drastically, condemned the Viceroy's policy statement and called upon the Congress ministries to resign by October 31, 1939. On the resignation of the Congress ministries, the Muslim League appealed to the Muslims and other minorities to observe December 22, 1939 as the "Day of Deliverance".

Jinnah and his party were no longer willing to retain the status of a mere "minority", and the capital of Punjab had been chosen purposely as the place to announce the Muslim League's new-born resolve.

lucknow session 1937

Jinnah utilized all his energies on revitalizing the League. With the assistance of the Raja of Mahmudabad, a dedicated adherent of the Muslim League, the Lucknow Session was a grand demonstration of the will of the Muslims of India to stand up to the Congress challenge.

Jinnah travelled by rail from Bombay, and as his train steamed into Kanpur Central Station "a vast crowd of Muslims mobbed his compartment," Jamil-ud-din Ahmad recalled:

'So exuberant was their enthusiasm and so fiery their determination to resist Hindu aggression that Mr. Jinnah , otherwise calm and imperturbable was visibly moved…His face wore a look of grim determination coupled with satisfaction that his people were aroused at last. He spoke a few soothing words to pacify their inflamed passions. Many Muslims, overcome by emotion, wept tears of joy to see their leader who, they felt sure, would deliver them from their bondage'.

He arrived in Lucknow on October 3, 1937, where twenty years before he had acted as a true Ambassador of Hindu-Muslim unity, heralding a bright era of Hindu-Muslim unity that lasted a little longer than World War I. Jinnah's speech at that historic session gave a resounding reply to the Congress policies and exposed the anti-Muslim acts of the Congress ministries.

Jinnah began, addressing the estimated 5,000 Muslims from every province of India:

"This Session of the All-India Muslim League is one of the most critical that has ever taken place during its existence. The present leadership of the Congress, especially during the last 10 years, has been responsible for alienating the Muslims of India more and more, by pursuing a policy which is exclusively Hindu; they are in a majority, they have by their words, deeds and program shown, more and more, the Muslims cannot expect any justice or fair play at their hands. Wherever they were in a majority and wherever it suited them, they refused to co-operate with the Muslim League parties and demanded unconditional surrender and signing of their pledges.

To the Muslims of India in every province, in every district, in every tehsil, in every town, I say: your foremost duty is to formulate a constructive and ameliorative program of work for the people's welfare, and to devise ways and means for the social, economic and political uplift of the Muslims…Organize yourselves, establish your solidarity and complete unity. Equip yourselves as trained and disciplined soldiers. Create the feeling of an esprit de corps, and the cause of your people and your country. No individual or people can achieve anything without industry, suffering and sacrifice. There are forces that may bully you, tyrannize over you and intimidate you, and you may even have to suffer. But it is going through this crucible of the fire of persecution which may be levelled against you, the tyranny that may be exercised, the threats and intimidations that may unnerve you - it is by resisting, by overcoming, by facing these disadvantages, hardships and suffering, and maintaining your true glory and history, and will live to make its future history greater and glorious not only in India, but in the annals of the world. Eighty millions of Muslims in India have nothing to fear. They have their destiny in their hands, and as a well-knit, solid, organized, united force can face any danger, and withstand any opposition to its united front and wishes. There is a magic power in your hands. Take your vital decisions - they may be grave and momentous and far-reaching in their consequences. Think a hundred times before you take any decision, but once a decision is taken, stand by it as one man."

It was at the Lucknow Session that Jinnah persuaded Sir Sikander Hayat Khan to join the Muslim League along with his Muslim colleagues. That development later became famous as the Jinnah-Sikander Pact.

This Session marked a dramatic change not only in the League's platform and political position, but also in Jinnah's personal commitment and final goal. He changed his attire, shedding the Seville Row suit in which he had arrived for a black Punjabi sherwani long coat. It was for the first time he put on the compact cap, which would soon be known throughout the world as "Jinnah cap". It was at that session that the title of Quaid-i-Azam (the great leader) was used for Jinnah and which soon gained such currency and popularity that it almost became a substitute for his name.

The great success was achieved the organization front of the Muslim league. Within three months of the Lucknow session over 170 new branches of the League had been formed, 90 of them in the United Provinces, and it claimed to have enlisted 100,000 new members in the province alone.

Allama Iqbal in last years of his life was a pillar of strength to Jinnah. He was an influential man and his poetry had made a place for itself in the hearts and minds of the people of India and abroad and had a special appeal for the Muslims. He was not an active, practical politician, but he could not remain indifferent to the Muslim majority provinces. In his letter of 28 May, 1937 he wrote to Jinnah to concentrate on Muslim majority provinces. He recognized in Jinnah the man chosen to lead the Muslims. "You are the only Muslim in India today to whom the community has a right to look up for safe guidance through the storm which is coming to North-West India, and perhaps the whole of India."
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1935-1939

The Quaid toured the whole country, visiting every corner of India, addressing meetings, meeting Muslim students, arguing with double-minded local leaders, exposing the policies of the Hindu Congress and slowly creating political consciousness among his people.

Meanwhile, the Act of 1935 was passed that was a clear attempt to crush the forces working for democracy and freedom. Therefore, the Muslim League rejected it.

The provincial part of the constitution was however, accepted "for what it was worth".

Jinnah concentrated on the constitutional struggle within the Legislative Assembly and advocated his point of view with great strength and skill.

"I believe that it (the proposed federation) means nothing but absolute sacrifice of all that British India has stood for and developed during the last 50 years, in the matter of progress in the representative form of the Government. No province was consulted as such. No consent of the provinces has been obtained whether they are willing to federate as federating units on the terms which are laid down… by the British Government. My next objection is that it is not workable."

In order to strengthen the League, bolster its bargaining position, and help prepare it for contesting elections, Jinnah appointed and presided over a new Central Parliamentary Board and affiliated provincial parliamentary boards. These boards, similar to those earlier established by the Congress, were to become Jinnah's organizational arms in extending his power over the entire Muslim community.

In the 1937 elections, the Muslim League did not do well and won only 109 seats out of 482 it contested. The Muslim League failed to win majority in any of the Muslim provinces, where regional non-communal parties like the Unionists in the Punjab won majorities and formed ministries. The results of the elections demoralized many of the League leader. The only redeeming feature was that the Congress had miserably failed to gain any Muslim seat and it had only succeeded in gaining Hindu and Sikh seats in the Muslim provinces. The Congress had failed because it had made no effort to contact the Muslim masses, and was certain that politics based on economic issues would prevail in India. However, the conditions on which the Congress wanted to co-operate with the Muslim League were so humiliating that no self-respecting party could accept them. The Congress was prepared to accept Muslims only if they ceased to have a separate political entity and were merged in the Hindu-dominated Congress. The Muslim League, of course, refused to do that for the sake of a few cabinet posts. The attitude of the Congress towards other parties opened the eyes of all sections of politically conscious people. The Unionists and other small parties who had been cold towards the Muslim League also changed their attitude within a year of the Congress taking control of power in the provinces. Fear of the dictatorial attitude of the Congress and the pressure of Muslim public opinion soon influenced local Muslim parties and one by one they came into the fold of the League or at least allied themselves with it.

Be a Fan

Reorganization of All India Muslim League

While in England, the Quaid had been watching the events that were happening in India and was saddened to see how Muslim interests were being sacrificed by the chaotic situation within the Muslim League. The Muslim League was in the hands of rich landlords or some middle class intellectuals with limited horizons, while the All India Congress was emerging as the leading party for Indian independence.

In 1933, the "Now or Never" pamphlet by Choudhry Rehmat Ali was published in which the concept of a separate Muslim state was not only highlighted but the name "Pakistan" was also proposed for it. This motivated the young intellectuals of Aligarh and other universities to accelerate the growth of Muslim political consciousness throughout India.

Jinnah realized that organizing the Muslims of India into one powerful and dynamic organization was badly needed and that he would face enormous difficulties in that task.

On March 4, 1934, in a combined meeting of various factions of the Muslim League, Delhi, the formation of one Muslim League was decided and Jinnah was elected as president of that Muslim League. He was given an enthusiastic welcome on his arrival in Delhi in April 1934.

He called a meeting of the All India Muslim League Council in Delhi in October 1934 and decisions were taken to prepare grounds for the radical transformation of the Muslim League into a mass party representative of all sections of the Muslim community. After two trips to England in that year, Jinnah finally returned for good in December 1934. This was the start of a new era in India's struggle for independence. The All India Congress was not willing to acknowledge the Muslim cause and insisted on portraying only two parties in this regard, the Congress and the British. Jinnah emphasized the fact that the Congress could not win the battle of freedom until it gained the support of all the communities and assurance was not given to the minorities about their rights and protection of interest in an independent India.

On February 5, 1935 at a meeting of the Muslim Union at Aligarh, Jinnah said, "I am convinced and you will agree with me that the Congress policy is to divide the Muslims among themselves. It is the same old tactics of the British Government. They follow the policy of their masters. Don't fall into the trap. This is a moment of life and death for the Muslims…The Muslim League is determined to win freedom, but it should be a freedom not only for the strong and the dominant but equally for the weak and the suppressed."

He performed two important tasks after his return from England; the first was to unite and activate the Muslim League as the sole representative body of the Muslims of India. The second was to continue the struggle for freedom of India on constitutional lines.

The reorganization of the Muslim League was a difficult task and he was faced with enormous difficulties including opposition from petty politicians with local interests, the propaganda of the Congress-paid nationalist Muslims and open hostility of leaders from different provinces of Muslim majority. He set an example of political and moral rectitude that was unparalleled in India. He meant what he said and was extremely honest in his dealings with friends and foes alike. He followed certain well-defined principles and nothing could persuade him to deviate from this path. He exercised his powers as president with due regard to democratic principles, acted according to the constitution of the Muslim League and never exceeded his powers as president.

London 1931

In January 1931, the Quaid called for his daughter and sister Fatima in London and took up residence there. He was disappointed by the attitude of the British and the Hindus at the Round Table Conferences. He wrote in a letter to his friend Abdul Matin Choudary:

‘I have come to the conclusion that I can be more useful here at any rate for the present. The centre of gravity is here and for the next two or three years London will be the most important scene of the Indian drama of constitutional reforms.’

The Quaid addressing the students of the Muslim University Union said:

“I received the shock of my life at the Round Table conference…. I began to feel that neither could I help India, nor change the Hindu mentality, nor make the Mussalmans realize their precarious position. I felt so disappointed and so depressed that I decided to settle down in London. Not that I did not love India; but I felt utterly helpless. I kept in touch with India. At the end of four years I found that the Mussalmans were in the greatest danger. I made up my mind to come back to India, as I could not do any good from London.”

When the Indians delegates at the Round Table conference had been unable to agree upon any suitable reforms especially concerning the communal issue, the job was left to the British once again. The British Prime Minister announced the Communal Award on the 16th of April 1932, in which he introduced reforms on the lines of Lucknow Pact, which was the only juncture in history when the Muslims and Hindus had agreed uopn any issue. With the introduction of the Award however, the Muslims lost their majority in important provinces like Bengal and Punjab which was a set back for them. The understanding that had been reached between Gandhi and Irwin had been nullified as Nehru was arrested before Gandhi got back from London after the Round Table Conference. Gandhi officially resigned from the Congress in October 1934 but still was a supporter of the Congress.

Allama Iqbal's Presidential Address at Allahabad 1930

Allama Mohammad Iqbal,famous poet and philosopher, gave a monumental presidental address at Allahabad on 29th of december 1930 when most of the Muslim leaders were busy in London at Round Table conference.



He stated:

“I would like to see the Punjab, the North-West Frontier Province, Sind and Balochistan amalgamated into a single State. Self-government within the British Empire, or without the British Empire, the formation of a consolidated North-Western Indian Muslim State appears to me to be the final destiny of the Muslims at least of north-west India.”

“We are 70 million, and far more homogenous than any other people in India. Indeed, the Muslims of India are the only Indian people who can fitly be described as a nation in the modern sense of the word.”

He also stressed that “…the model of British democracy cannot be of any use in a land of many nations.”

The message that he gave through his poetry was that the Muslims should try to revive their past glory and strive as a nation to attain independence. Iqbal was a great friend and supporter of Mohammed Ali Jinnah because he saw in him those very qualities that were needed by the Muslims at the time to lead them to independence. The Quaid was also a great admirer of Allama Iqbal and said about him when he died on the 21th of April 1938 that:

‘He was undoubtedly one of the greatest poets, philosophers and seers of humanity of all times…to me he was a personal friend, philosopher and guide and as such the main source of my inspiration and spiritual support.’

Round Table Conferences (1930-33)

Lord Irwin took over as Viceroy in the beginning of April 1926. His efforts towards the prosperity of India were sincere. It was his integrity and earnestness because of which the Quaid soon developed a strong bond of friendship and respect with him. Lord Irwin made a monumental declaration on the 31st of October 1929, after returning from England from a four-month visit. His declaration made two major points. Firstly, that it was implicit in the declaration of 1917 that the natural issue of India’s constitutional progress, as there contemplated, was the attainment of Dominion Status.

And secondly in response to the Indians outrage over the Simon Commission, he said that the representatives of different parties would discuss any further reforms that would be introduced in the subcontinent in the Round Table conferences.

The Quaid was satisfied by the declaration made by Lord Irwin but Jawaharlal Nehru in his presidential address on the 31st of October 1929 was not as convinced. He said that he appreciated the Viceroy’s good intention but did not trust the British, as they were wary of them. Gandhi passed a resolution stating that he did not expect anything constructive to be achieved by the Round Table conferences; the Congress would therefore boycott them. The All-India Congress Committee also decided to launch a civil-disobedience movement under the leadership of Gandhi.

The King inaugurated the first Round Table conference in the Royal Gallery of the House of Lords on the 12th of November 1930. The total number of members attending this conference was eighty-nine, which included sixteen representatives of the three political parties of Britain and sixteen from the Princely States of India. The remaining fifty-seven were from the political parties of India. The conference was attended by prominent Muslim leaders like Jinnah, Shafi, Aga Khan and Muhammad Ali along with Hindu liberals such as Sastri, Sapru and Jayakar.The Sikhs, the depressed classes, the Anglo-Indians and the Christians were all represented. All except the Congress were present, but the absence of the Congress representatives created a major obstacle in the way of any substantial progress that could have been made by the conference, as it was the largest and most active party operating in the sub-continent.

The Quaid persuaded Lord Irwin to attend the conference but he was unable to do so due to his hectic schedule in India. It was confirmed in the conference that the system of government in the Center would be federal. However, the demand of the Indians to give India Dominion status as soon as possible got a somewhat luke-warm response from the British.

Ramsay MacDonald, the Prime Minister of Britain in his concluding statement said:

‘It is the duty of the communities to come to an agreement’

And also,

‘Those engaged at present in civil disobedience’ should also try and cooperate with the government. Jinnah complained about the delay being made in giving India self-rule to which the British responded saying that all the parties in India must be consulted, implying the Congress, which was not present. Jinnah was exasperated by this and said that as far as this issue was concerned the Congress was in agreement with all the other parties of India. He said:

‘Seventy million of Muslims-all, barring a few individuals here and there- have kept aloof from the non-cooperation movement. Thirty-five or forty millions of depressed classes have set their face against the non-cooperation movement. Sikhs and Christians have not joined it. Do you want every one of the parties who have still maintained that their proper place is to go to this Conference, and across the table to negotiate and come to a settlement which will satisfy the aspirations of India, to go back and join the rest?’

Before the second Round Table conference, Lord Irwin released Gandhi unconditionally from prison. Gandhi had been arrested in connection with his non-cooperation movement. Gandhi and Irwin held talks and reached the Gandhi-Irwin Agreement on the 5th of March 1931.In, which it was, decided that the civil disobedience movement would be ended, and the Congress would attend the second round Table Conference. Gandhi was chosen to represent the Congress in the Conference. The Quaid maintained that without resolving the Hindu-Muslim issue, there was nothing to be achieved by the second Round Table Conference. Lord Willingdon meanwhile succeeded Lord Irwin as the Viceroy. Gandhi claimed at the Conference that the Congress was the only party really representing the whole of India and power over India should be handed over to it. He said that the Congress would solve the minority issue after sovereignty was handed over to it. The Second Round Table Conference was productive for the Muslims for two reasons. Firstly because it was decided that Sind would be separated from Bombay if it could sustain itself financially and secondly, the NWFP was made a Governor’s Province.

The third Round Table Conference had no substantial results. The Quaid and Allama Iqbal were not invited to it. The Congress and most of the Princely States did not participate in it either. Only forty-six delegates attended this Conference.

Quaid-e-Azam's Fourteen Points (1929)

M.A Jinnah presented his famous fourteen points on March 28,1929 to the Muslim League Council at their session in Delhi. Since all the Muslims opposed the Nehru Report, these points were to counter the proposals made in the Nehru Report. The points were to recommend the reforms that would defend the rights of the Muslims of the sub-continent.

These points were as follows:

1- The form of the future constitution should be federal, with the residuary powers to be vested in the provinces.

2- A uniform measure of autonomy shall be granted to all provinces.

3- All legislatures in the country and other elected bodies shall be constituted on the definite principle of adequate and effective representation of minorities in every province without reducing the majority in any province to a minority or even equality.

4- In the Central Legislature, Muslim representation shall not be less than one third.

5- Representation of communal groups shall continue to be by separate electorates: provided that it shall be open to any community, at any time, to abandon its separate electorate in favor of joint electorate.

6- Any territorial redistribution that might at any time be necessary shall not in anyway affect the Muslim majority in the Punjab, Bengal and the NWFP.

7- Full religious liberty i.e. liberty of belief, worship, and observance, propaganda, association, and education, shall be guaranteed to all communities.

8- No bill or resolution or any part thereof shall be passed in any legislature or any other elected body if three fourths of the members of any community in that particular body oppose such a bill, resolution or part thereof on the ground that it would be injurious to that community or in the alternative, such other method is devised as may be found feasible practicable to deal with such cases.

9- Sind should be separated from the Bombay Presidency.

10- Reforms should be introduced in the NWFP and Balochistan on the same footing as in other provinces.

11- Provision should be made in the Constitution giving Muslims an adequate share along with the other Indians in all the services of the State and in local self-governing bodies, having due regard to the requirements of efficiency.

12- The Constitution should embody adequate safeguards for the protection of Muslim culture and for the protection and promotion of Muslim education, language, religion and personal laws and Muslim charitable institutions and for their due share in the grants-in-aid given by the State and by local self-governing bodies.

13- No cabinet, either Central or Provincial, should be formed without there being a proportion of at least one-third Muslim ministers.

14- No change shall be made in the Constitution by the Central Legislature except with the concurrence of the States constituting the Indian Federation.

Nehru Report (1928)

The British Prime Minister, Stanley Baldwin, announced in the House of Commons in November 1927 that a commission would be sent to India to look into the political situation of India and suggest reforms. This commission would ‘inquire into the working of the Indian constitution and consider the desirability of establishing, extending, modifying or restricting the degree of responsible government’. The Simon commission was to be headed by Sir John Simon and would have six other members which included Clement Atlee who was to preside over Indian independence as Prime Minister in 1947.
Simon Commission had no Indian members

When the composition of the commission was announced, it was found that it included only British members and no Indian. This was greeted with strong protest from all parts of India and all assurances that the government would consider the Indian viewpoint in all matters was rejected. Complete equality with the British members of the commission was demanded and no one was satisfied with the status of just being petitioners.

Jinnah and many Hindu and Muslim leaders signed a manifesto which declared that unless Indian members were included in the commission, it was not possible for them to conscientiously share in its work or take any part in it. Jinnah felt that by not allowing Indians to participate in the commission, the British have tried to show that Indians are not capable of making any decisions regarding the constitution of India.

Jinnah protested against this commission along with the Congress and other leaders of the subcontinent. He tried to unite the Muslims to see how this commission would not be beneficial for them, but at this point the Muslim League split into two; Jinnah who opposed the Simon Commission headed one faction known as the ‘Jinnah Group’ while Sir Mohammed Shafi who was in favor of cooperating with the Simon Commission headed the other known as the ‘Shafi Group’.

Jinnah strongly criticized the commission calling it a ‘butchery of our souls’. As president of the Muslim League he said:

‘a constitutional war has been declared on Great Britain. Negotiations for a settlement are not to come from our side…We are denied equal partnership. We will resist the new doctrine to the best of our powers…I welcome Pandit Malaviya, and I welcome the hand of fellowship extended to us by Hindu leaders from the platform of the Congress and the Hindu Mahasabha….this offer is more valuable than any concession which the British Government can make.’

The Quaid moved a resolution that was accepted by the Jinnah group. The resolution was as follows:

“This public meeting of the citizens of Bombay empathetically declare that the statutory commission which has been announced is unacceptable to the people of India as it most flagrantly denies the right of the people of India to participate on equal terms in framing the future constitution of the country. This meeting further resolves that under the circumstances Indians throughout the country should have nothing to do with the commission at any state or in any form.”

Jinnah was distressed at this point. He had worked so hard for Hindu-Muslim unity and than had to face the problem of the Muslims being divided amongst themselves.

After reading the statements of Sir John Simon and the Viceroy, Jinnah issued a statement in which he said that no equality of status was given to the Indian Committee. Indians were not allowed to vote at the proceedings of the Commission. This made the Jinnah that the Indians were left to play a subordinate role.

Lala Lajput Rai passed a resolution in the Legislative Assembly on the 16th of February 1928, which was strongly supported by Jinnah. This resolution declared that the Indians had no confidence in the Simon Commission. The Simon Commission arrived in Bombay on the 3rd of February and was greeted by black flags and loud slogans saying ‘Simon go back’. Wherever the Commission went it was meeted out hostile treatment. The Simon Commission left India on the 31st of March.

The Delhi-Muslim Proposals (1927)

Tension between the Hindus and the Muslims was on the rise from 1922 onwards. The Quaid, seeing that the Hindus had no inclination to cooperate with the Muslims, invited the Muslims leaders of India to meet at Delhi under his presidency. This meeting was held on the 20th of March 1927 and the result was the Delhi-Muslim proposals, which were unanimously accepted by all the Muslim leaders. The proposals were as follows:

1- Sind should be separated from Bombay and made an independent province.
2- Reforms should be introduced in Baluchistan and NWFP on the same footings as in any other province. In that case, Muslims are prepared to accept a joint electorate in all provinces so constituted, and are further willing to make to Hindu minorities in Sind, Balochistan and the NWFP, the same concessions that Hindu majorities in the other provinces are prepared to make to Muslim minorities.

In the Punjab and Bengal the proportion of representation should be in accordance with the population. In the Central Leglislature, Muslim representation shall not be less than a third, and that also, by a mixed electorate.

Mohammed Ali Jinnah; M.H Sayid; p368-9.

The relinquishment of the right to separate electorate was an unprecedented concession by the Muslims and it was a major achievement of Jinnah to have convinced his colleagues to concede this to other communities.

The Hindu community reacted to these proposals by accepting the joint electorates and rejecting the other two. It was the first time that the Muslims had agreed to joint electorates and would not do so ever again. After this the demands of the Muslims increased day-by-day and their stance to safeguard their intrests hardened furthur finally resulting in the demand for partition.

Jinnah's Differences with the Congress

M.A Jinnah differed with Gandhi on the means of achieving self-rule. The League session reassembled at Lahore under Jinnah’s presidency and was attended by a number of Congressmen and leaders of the Khilafat movement. The Quaid, despite his differences with Mahatma Gandhi and the Khilafatists, still enjoyed the trust and admiration of the Muslims of Bombay which can be seen from the fact that he won the Bombay Muslim seat for the Legislative Assembly that he had resigned in protest against the Rowlatt Act.

The Congress had boycotted the first elections under the Act of 1919, which were held in 1920 and so had Jinnah. A group of twenty-four people along with Jinnah formed a group by the name of Independents. In February 1924, The Quaid introduced an important resolution in the National Assembly that went to the heart of India’s struggle for economic independence. According to this resolution, tenders would be invited in India in rupees, which would be an advantage to the businessmen and manufacturers of the country. In 1925, Jinnah was appointed as a member of a committee, which was to survey the possibilities of more Indianization of the army and opening of a military training institute on the lines of Sandhurst. The Quaid was given this privilege in view of his deep interest in the issue of the Indians holding better ranks in the army.

The Khilafat Movement (1919-1924)

The government of India Act of 1919 fell short of the expectations of the Indian political parties. It introduced diarchy in the provinces, which meant subjects were to be divided into reserved and transferred. The reserved were to be administered by nominated Ministers and then transferred by the elected ones. While at the center, the British Governor General remained sole authority. The people could not accept this after the imposition of unsatisfactory Rowlatt Act and the atrocities inflicted on the people of Punjab. The Muslims were also perturbed over the unfair treatment given to Turkey by the victorious allied powers. During the war, the Muslims had shown concern about the developments in Turkey and the institution of the Khilafat.

Lloyd George,the British Prime Minister to pacify the Muslims all over the world, had assured the world that the Allies had no intention to dismember Turkey and after the war Turkish possessions would be made over to Turkey. He said, “nor are we fighting to deprive Turkey of the rich lands of Asia Minor and Thrace, which are predominantly Turkish in race.” But the promise was not honored. The Jazirat-ul-Arab which includes Mesopotamia, Arabia, Syria and Palestine was being divided among allies in the form of a Mandate. This development raised a war of indignation among the Indian Muslims due to sanctity and respect associated with these lands. They demanded that the pledges given to them during the war should be honored. This demand gave rise to what is generally known as the Khilafat Movement. This cause was initially taken up by Jamiat-i-Ulema-i-Hind founded by Maulana Mohammad Ahmed Malani. Maulana Mohammad Ali and Maulana Shaukat Ali also joined it.

Gandhi linked the issue of Swaraj with the Khilafat Movement

The Muslim League met in Calcutta under Jinnah. At this meeting Jinnah said:

“First came the Rowlatt Bill — accompanied by the Punjab atrocities — and then came the spoliation of the Ottoman Empire and the Khilafat. One attacks our liberty and the other our faith…”

In November 1919, a joint conference of the Muslims and Hindus was called at Delhi in pursuance of the Muslim League President Fazl-ul-Haq in which he said, “ we should renounce any lurking spirit of strife and quarrel with other communities and seek their help and assistance in our troubles and difficulties. The question of cow protection was also raised in order to create goodwill between the Muslims and the Hindus. Ghandi suggested to start the non –cooperation movement which was opposed by Jinnah.

In December 1919, the Khilafat Conference held its second session in Amritsar where the Muslim League and the Congress also held their annual sessions. But the tensions raised could not be settled and Jinnah could no longer play a leading role in the Khilafat movement and it passed into the hands of Ali brothers, Dr. Kitchlew and the militant segment of the Ulema. Under that leadership it began to over power the Muslim League. Jinnah took a back seat to all this and did not join the Indian leaders who met the Viceroy on January 19, 1920 to plead for a settlement with Turkey.

The third Khilafat Conference was held in February 1920 at Bombay which passed the resolution for non- cooperation and the Calcutta Provincial Conference decided to “cease all relations of loyalties” with the British and to assist the Caliph in all possible ways to keep his dominion was not kept in tact as it was before the war. Jinnah and other fellow moderates did not participate in this Khilafat agitation. In a letter to Ghandi, Jinnah said that the movement was bound to lead to disaster. He said that this kind of a plan has appealed only to the illiterate and the inexperienced youth of the country. He said that though he had no power to remove the cause, he wished to advise his countrymen against the dire consequences of such an extreme act.

Thus Jinnah opposed Gandhi’s plan of starting a mass non-violent, non-cooperation movement all over the country. Gandhi became the head of the Khilafat movement and declared that the Indians would boycott all British goods, courts, institutions, elections etc. He urged that such large scale protest movement would force the British to grant India self rule. He had envisaged four progressive stages of the movement. First the resignation of titles and offices. Second, with drawl from all government services except police and military. Third, with-drawl from police and military, and fourth, suspension of payment of taxes to the State. The Quaid on the other hand, felt that the Indians should fight Imperialism constitutionally instead. The Nagpur session, which was thirty-fifth Congress, was held in December 1920. Gandhi’s non-cooperation movement had been approved at a special session at Amritsar and during the Nagpur session, Jinnah was the only person who had the courage to openly oppose the resolution proposed by Gandhi, despite strong opposition by the crowd. The Quaid said:

“… the weapon will not destroy the British empire… it is neither logical nor is it politically sound or wise, nor practically capable of being put in execution.”

Colonel Wedgood, who heard Jinnah’s speech was very impressed and commented:

“I do not know enough about Mr. Jinnah’s politics to say whether I agree with him or not, but I do know that a man who has the courage to come to this audience and tell what he has told you is a man of my money. The first thing in every political leader is not brains, but courage.”

Jinnah stayed aloof from Gandhi’s non-cooperation movement along with some other leaders. The start of the movement followed the arrests of leaders and activists associated with it. Problems began emerging when the movement, though remained one of non-cooperation was no more one of non-violence. The Ali brothers were very persistent in their support of the Khilafat movement. Riots started broke out all over the country and encounters with the police became a common occurrence. This was something leaders like the Quaid had predicted.

The Prince of Wales was to arrive in India, and the call to boycott his welcome went forth. On his arrival in Bombay violent outbreaks started in the city and several innocent people lost their lives. Coincidentally, Gandhi was present in Bombay at time and witnessed the horrific situation, which was an outcome of his non-cooperation movement. He commented:

“Swaraj stinks in my nostrils.”

The Khilafat movement intensified when Maulana Abdul Bari called on the Muslims to migrate from India. Many young Muslims migrated to Afghanistan where they were looted and ruined.

Another unpleasant resultant of the Khilafat movement were Moplah riots of 1921. In Malabar, the Moplah Muslim peasants and farmers rose against the Hindu landlords. That development created a rift between the Muslims and the Hindus.

The non-cooperation movement was called off after the Chauri Chaura tragedy in which twenty-two policemen were burnt alive by a mob on February 5th 1922. The Congress negotiated with the government, Pandit Malaviya acting as the mediator. The government agreed to let off the civil disobedience prisoners, if the Congress called off the boycott. Also, a Round Table conference was to be arranged on March 22nd between the government and the Congress.

On the other hand the developments in Turkey were very disappointing for the Indian Muslims as the in itself was abolished. The Muslim League was reduced to an accessory of the Congress and did not meet as a self-sufficient body till 1924.

Jinnah learnt a lot from the Khilafat movement. It disillusioned him with the Congress and the British rulers and strengthened his faith to work for the intrests of the Muslims. He worked hard to bring the Muslims out of their demoralized state of mind and reorganize them under the banner of the Muslim League.