Chapter 5 & 6 1

Chapter 5 Continued… 2

He was educated in eastern and western cultures. It was his speech at Allahbad in December, 1930 where he gave the famous sentences which earned him the title of the father of Pakistan idea. Iqbal carried the idea of Two Nation to its logical conclusion by giving precise reasoning. 3

He was an intelligent barrister but in 1933 he terminated his practice as lawyer and started ‘Pakistan National Movement’. He coined the name ‘Pakistan’ which was composed by the following: P – Punjab A – Afghan province (Kyhber Pakhtunkhwa) K – Kashmir S – Sindh TAN – Balochistan PAKISTAN literally means ‘the land of pure’ (Pak = Pure + stan = land 4

Simon commission was boycotted by the Congress and the Muslim League. In 1929 ‘Civil Disobedience’ movement was launched by Gandhi and violence accompanied it. The committee was declared unlawful and Gandhi and Nehru were arrested. British realized no constitution can be successful unless leaders of all parties were invited and so Round Table Conference was held. It had 3 sessions in 1930, 1931 and In the first session, Congress boycotted it. Other prominent leaders attended. The British Prime Minister Mr. Ramsay MacDonald accepted the proposals. In the second session Gandhi represented Congress and had a stiff and rigid attitude. He stated the Congress should represent all Indian people including the minorities. Because of difference of opinion the session failed completely. The third and last session of the conference was short and unimportant. Congress was absent as Gandhi had started his ‘Civil Disobedience’ Movement. 5

Results of long labor of the three session of the Round Table Conference were collected, summarized and published by the Government as proposals for the Indian Constitution in a document called White Paper. The general elections of 1936 were held in the country on the line of this act. 6 Both Congress and Muslim League were critical of the Government Act 1935 but decided to participate in the elections held under it. The Congress won a great electoral victory. Punjab, Sindh, Bengal and Assam were Muslim majority and Muslim predominance was formed in these provinces.

From 22 nd -24 th March 1940, twenty seventh annual session of Muslim League was held at Minto Park under presidentship of Jinnah. The Lahore resolution bill was passed. Muslims responded to it enthusiastically whereas the Hindus condemned it. 7

Britain and its allies were in an unfavorable turn in March due to Second World War. Sir Stafford Cripps was sent to India who made an offer known as Cripps offer. Jinnah was not satisfied by it and Muslim League rejected the offer. Congress also rejected the offer. However the greatest victory of Muslim nationalism came due to it when they accepted the principle idea of Pakistan. Gandhi began to press from an immediate withdrawal of the British from India and transfer of power to Congress without any settlement with any other party. Violence and chaos, loot and murder plunged the country into darkness. Government arrested Gandhi. Jinnah did not support Gandhi’s slogan ‘Quit India’, he replied with ‘Divide and Quit’. 8

Muslim League demanded for division of India, Congress emphasized on the unity of India at its independence. Gandhi and Jinnah met and the former wanted the latter to prove from his own mouth that the whole of Pakistan proposition is absurd. Gandhi suggested a referendum in favor of separation and said that Britishers should first quit India and give power to Congress and then Congress would divided the Muslim majority areas accordingly. Jinnah did not agree and the talks broke down. 9

The British government presented its own proposal in the shape of Lord Wavell plan. There was no unity in the decision of members of the council. Muslim League demanded all the 5 Muslim seats should be filled by their party but it was not granted. Gandhi wanted the 5 Hindu seats to be filled by 5 caste Hindus. 10

Muslim league contested that it would represent all Muslims of India and that Pakistan was the only solution. Congress demanded that it would represent all Indians and India will remain undivided. Jinnah invited all those persons who had been elected members on Muslim ticket. They all agreed that the destiny of Indian Muslims is Pakistan. 11

The Cabinet Mission had negotiations with top leaders – Gandhi, Jinnah and others. They agreed that there would be two groups of provinces, Hindu and Muslim. The provincial government will deal with other subjects. It rejected the idea of partition and the Pakistan scheme. The Cabinet proposed a long term plan and a short term plan. The former was for constitution making body and latter was for an interim government. It was to be accepted fully or rejected. If rejected the British government had the right to select any group of his choice to form the government. The Muslim League and the Congress accepted the scheme. Congress first refused to join the interim government, Muslim League was expected to go ahead with it but the Viceroy backed out. Muslim League fixed 16 th August as ‘Direct Action Day’ to get rid of British domination. Communal riots took place in Calcutta and there was great killing of the Muslims. 12

The Congress took a sharp turn on August 8 and accepted the Cabinet May 16 Plan. The Muslim League leaders accessed the situation and realized that they cannot leave the field open for Congress and also entered the Interim Government. Nehru was appointed Vice-President in absence of Governor General but he didn’t enjoy any special powers. Government machinery was misused for the party purposes. The coalition was a very uneasy partnership. Communal riots had broken at various parts of the country to the extent of civil war. British Prime Minister Attlee, on 20 th February, 1947 made this statement: His Majesty’s Government wish to make it clear that it is their definite intention to take necessary steps to affect the transfer of power to responsible Indian hands by a date not later that June 1948”. 13

In March 1947, Lord Wavell was recalled and was replaced by Lord Mountbatten as Viceroy of India. He had a good relationship with Nehru. He found India to be gripped in communal riots, British troops wanted to go back to their homeland and he found that partition was the only way out of this tangle. He consulted the British Government and on 3 rd June announced a new plan. Which was that no plan for preserving the political unity of India was acceptable to the political parties and that the solution to the dilemma was transferring the British power to two governments. 14

Total votes were taken in comparison to the favorable votes and if the favorable votes were more, that province was made a part of Pakistan. Thus by free votes of its own people all the Muslim majority areas declared themselves in favor of Pakistan. 15

India Independence Bill was introduced in the House of Commons by Prime Minister Attlee himself on 4 th July. It was passed on 15 th July. Separate provincial governments were set up for India and Pakistan on 20 th July. On 7 th August Jinnah left India for the last time and flew to Karachi, the capital of the new Dominion of Pakistan. The constituent assembly met on 11 August and elected him as its President. On 13 th August Mountbatten came to Karachi and on 14 th August addressed the Constituent Assembly. Pakistan officially became free on 15 th August, 1947 when Jinnah was sworn in as Governor General and the new Pakistan Cabinet took office. 16

Chapter 6 17

The British occupied Punjab in In 1906 Sir Fazl-e-Husain ( ) formed Muslim League at Lahore. The protest against the Rowlatt Act in the Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar took 379 lives and wounded over 1200 people. Khilafat movement started in 1919 and gained momentum in Punjab. Two eminent Punjabis tried to restore communal harmony and these were Fazl-e-Husain and Choudhary Chhotu Ram ( ). In 1930 a powerful man raised his voice, he was none other than Sir Mohammed Iqbal ( ). On 23 rd June 1947, Western section of Punjab voted in favor of partition. 18

The British occupied Sindh by aggression in The All India Muslim Leagues first meeting was held in Karachi in Raisul-Muhajireen Jan Muhammed Junejo participated in the Khilafat movement from Sindh. In 1917 he assisted Mr. Ghulam Mohammed Bhurgri in the establishment of the Muslim Leagues Karachi branch. Sindh was separated from Bombay in the Government of India Act, Sir Abdullah Haroon expressed his utmost support to Pakistan Resolution on 23 rd March 1940, at Lahore. Mr G.M.Syed was appointed by Jinnah to organize Sindhi Muslims for the creation of political conscious in them. On 26 th June 1947, the Sindh Legislative Assembly decided at a special sitting that Sindh should join the new Constitution of Pakistan and thus became the first province to opt for Pakistan. 19

Before partition, Balochistan was the most backward region of Muslim India. Jinnah’s 14 points sponsored the political cause of the province. Yousuf Ali Khan Magsi appointed an editor Abdul Aziz Kurd and also together they founded ‘Anjum-e-Ittehad-e- Balochistan’. Qazi Isa, a young Pathan lawyer of the province, established Balochistan Muslim League in cooperation with Jinnah in A fair representation of Balochis was present at the Lahore Resolution. Jinnah made some visits to Quetta and Kalat. A referendum date was fixed by the members who decided unanimously to join the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan one day earlier. 20