Table of contents

The Pakistan Resolution The Wavell Plan & the Conference

1940 1945
The WW II & the Political Negotiations
The General Elections 1945
for Independence in India 1939 - 45
The Cabinet Mission Plan
The Cripps Mission 1942
1946
The Quit India Movement
The 3rd June Plan 1947
1942
The Gandhi Jinnah Talks
The Radcliff Award 1947
1944
 01
Pakistan Resolution
1940
Introduction
 Lahore Resolution which is famous as The Resolution of
Pakistan.
 It was passed on 23rd March, 1940 at Minto Park (Lahore)
which is nowadays known as Iqbal Park.
 In Urdu, the Lahore Resolution is known as “Qarardad - e –
Lahore” and Pakistan Resolution is known as “Qarardad - e -
Pakistan”
 The Resolution was presented by the premier of Bengal,
Maulvi Fazl – ul – Haq
Lahore / Pakistan Resolution
Demands
 Partition of India into two entities namely Hindu India &
Muslim India
 Creation of a separate and independent Muslim state
comprising the Muslim majority provinces in the North
Western and North-Eastern zones of India
The Resolution was passed unanimously on 23rd March, 1940 as
the ‘Lahore Resolution’
However, the Hindu Press soon began to call it the ‘Pakistan
Resolution’ in a sarcastic way and the same title was eventually
accepted by the Muslim League
Source based question!
- a scene of Jinnah addressing the historic
session of the Muslim league in March, 1940

Describe the interaction between

Jinnah and his audience.
 The source portrays Jinnah’s strong,
commanding and confident stature
during his address.
 The unusually huge size of the
audience demonstrates success of
Jinnah in mobilizing the Indian
Muslims for the common cause of an
independent Muslim state.
 Jinnah has been garlanded that
shows the degree of warmth in his
reception and the importance of the
occasion.
 Jinnah is wearing a tradition cap
sherwani, a kind of long cloak which
reflects his nationalistic sense.
 His saluting hand conveys the
message that his scheme of partition
of India has been unanimously
accepted by the audience.
Why was the Lahore Resolution passed?
 Muslims wanted their own homeland, Jinnah and the ML had tried
their best to maintain some kind of Hindu-Muslim unity but this
dream was shattered repeatedly.

 During the 2nd RTC, 1931 Gandhi adopted a rude attitude by

refusing to grant them adequate constitutional protection and
insisted that the provision of religious liberty would be sufficient to
safeguard the rights of the minorities.

 The Congress rule, 1937-39 was tyrannical for Muslims.

Importance of Pakistan Resolution
 The Lahore Resolution united the Muslim League
 For the first time, Muslim League demanded a separate homeland
for the Muslims
 Muslims finally got their rallying call – the years of oppression from
the British and the Hindus were to be put behind them
 Now the separate homeland was to become a reality
 Protection to the minorities should be given priority
 A Minar was built on the spot where AIML meeting held in 1940
 02
The WW II & the Political Negotiations
for Independence in India 1939 - 45
WW II (1939-45) & Political Negotiations in India
 3rd September 1939, World War II broke out between Britain & Nazi
Germany
 Viceroy Lord Linlithgow announced that India, too was at war with
Germany
 INC objected – wanted promise of independence as condition to support
the British, but British could promise Dominion status after the war
 INC ministers resigned in protest, but also disapproved of Nazism and
Fascism
 Muslim League demanded an end of anti-muslim policies of INC; no law
about Muslims without approval of 2/3 majority; INC should form
coalition with Muslim League in provinces
 INC and British could not promise this
 Like INC, Muslim League also rejected Nazism and Fascism
 22nd December 1939, Day of Deliverance celebrated by Muslims on
Jinnah’s call marking end to the INC rule
 03
The Cripps Mission
1942
Introduction
 The British government wanted to get the cooperation of the Indian
people in order to deal with the war situation
 They found it difficult to make the war a success without the
cooperation of both the Hindus and the Muslims
 In March 1942, the British government sent Sir Stafford Cripps with
the proposals to try some compromise
Proposals
 After the war Dominion Status would be set up
 Election would be held for constituent assembly
 New constituent assembly should frame new constitution
 The provinces not joining Dominion could form their own separate
union
 Minorities were to be protected
Indian Reaction
 AIML rejected the proposal because it contained no reference to the
establishment of Pakistan
 Congress rejected it because they now demanded immediate control
of India's affairs
Importance
 The rejection of these proposals showed that the Muslim league
wasn’t willing to accept any plan than separate homeland
 It had also realized that the Congress was working only for the
Hindus
 British government had realized that they couldn’t prolong their
time period
 It was the first time when the minorities were given the permission
to frame their own constitution
 Exam Style Question!
Why did the Cripps Mission fail?

 Cripps mission suggested that Dominion status be given to India,

Congress wanted immediate power transfer

 It suggested that Individual Provinces be allowed to opt out, but

this would lead to Pakistan creation/Muslim Majority, so Congress
opposed it.

 Jinnah still rejected it since he wanted a clear cut reference to

Pakistan’s creation
 04
The Quit India Resolution
1942
Reasons for launching the Quit India Resolution
 The Cripps Mission failed and this was one of the reasons of why the
Quit India Movement was launched
 Congress feared that the Japanese might invade India because of
British, so they wanted the British to leave before the invasion.
 The British were also negotiating from a weak position which the
Congress Party - Gandhi began the movement
 Cripps Mission stated that individual provinces could opt out,
alarmed them since this meant British were considering partition
 05
The Gandhi Jinnah Talks
1944
Introduction
 The Gandhi-Jinnah Talks have eminent significance with regard to the
political problems of India and the Pakistan Movement.
 The talks between the two great leaders of the Sub-continent began
in response to the general public’s desire for a settlement of Hindu-
Muslim differences.
 On July 17,1944, Gandhi wrote a letter to Quaid-i-Azam in which he
expressed his desire to meet him, and to discuss the future of India as
British departure was now sure
Reasons for Failure
 Gandhi wanted independence first and then consider partition
 Quaid-i-Azam knew partition must be settled before the British left
 Gandhi still claimed to speak for all Indians
 Quaid-i-Azam said, Gandhi only spoke for Hindus
 Gandhi would not accept the two-nation idea of partition

Importance of talks
 Although the talks failed, they established that Congress and the
League were on an equal footing
 The talks increased Quaid-i-Azam's prestige
 He had dealt firmly with Gandhi and this gave him more authority to
handle any problems on behalf of Muslims
 Source based Questions!
Source A, part of Gandhi’s address to Jinnah in his letter:
“I find no parallel in history for a body of converts and their descendants
claiming to be a nation apart from their parent stock. If India was one
nation before the advent of Islam, it must remain one in spite of the change
of faith of a very large body of her children. The more I think about the two-
nation theory the more alarming it appears to me. Mere assertion is no
proof.”
Q: Describe Gandhi’s views about the two-nation theory.
 Gandhi is rejecting two-nation theory on the ground that a change of

religion is not sufficient to change a community into a nation

 He is persuading Jinnah to accept the reality that with the arrival of the

Muslims there was no impact on Indian nationalism

 Feeling un-impressed by Jinnah’s arguments he is warning him of the
consequences of the partition of India along communal lines
- Source B, Jinnah receiving Gandhi at Jinnah
House Bombay, 1944

With the help of Source B, describe the

scene of the meeting between Gandhi
and Jinnah.
 Jinnah is giving a warm welcome to
Gandhi.
 Gandhi also seems enthusiastic about the
future dialogue with Jinnah.
 The contrast between the outfits of the
two leaders is quite prominent.
 Jinnah, with strong background of living
in England, is wearing an expensive dress
and holding a cigar between his fingers
that reflects his candidness towards
Gandhi.
 The posh looking residence of Jinnah also
shows his good financial status.
 Simple cotton clothing of Gandhi, shows
his devoted Indian nationalism and an
indirect rejection of the British living
style.
 Jinnah seems to have scored first point by
convincing Gandhi to come to his
residence for the talks.
What was the ‘Quit India Resolution?’
 Gandhi urged the INC to start a non-violent protest against the
British in 1942 during the Congress meeting in Allahabad
 August 1942, Quit India Resolution passed by Congress calling for
immediate withdrawal of British from India
 Gandhi argued that if Britain left India, there would be no longer be
threat of Japanese invasion
 Widespread rioting led to loss of British control in some areas but
power restored with force
 Gandhi and Nehru arrested
 Congress banned
 Muslim League didn’t approve of Quit India campaign and saw it as
anti-Muslim
 06
The Wavell Plan & the
Conference
1945
Introduction
 In May 1945, Lord Wavell the Viceroy of India went to London and
discussed his ideas about the future of India with the British
administration

 The talks resulted in the formulation of a plan of action which was

made public on June, 1945. The plan is known as the ‘Wavell Plan’

Wavell’s Plan
 Viceroy proposed an interim government under the present
constitution, India Act 1935 till a new constitution was agreed on
 The Executive Council would contain equal number of Muslims & Hindus
and be entirely Indian, apart from the Viceroy & a member controlling
defence
Reasons for the failure of the Conference
 The differences arose between the leadership of the two parties on
the issue of representation of the Muslim community
 Jinnah not satisfied with the equal number of Hindu & Muslim
ministers, but Jinnah pointed out that as the Sikh and Scheduled
Castes on the council to vote for INC, this would be a permanent
Muslim minority in the Executive Council
 Jinnah apposed INC demand to nominate both Hindu & Muslims
ministers, he argued Muslim League won every by-election in the last
two years and so, the only party to represent Indian Muslims
 Finally, Wavell announced the failure of his efforts on July 14, 1945
 Thus the Simla Conference couldn’t provide any hope of proceeding
further
Importance
 Jinnah handled it intelligently, didn’t compromise on Muslim rights.
Thus image improved among Muslims and support of Pakistan
movement increased

 Deadlock between League and Congress over nomination of seats

led to Wavell realizing partition would be necessary

 Wavell suggested that an Executive Council should be formed in

which Indians would be members with Viceroy and a defense
minister. This transfer of power showed that British were planning
to leave India, so Muslims were also alarmed
 Exam Style Questions!
Why was the Simla Conference, 1945 unsuccessful?

 Congress wanted to nominate Muslim members in executive council,

rejected by Jinnah as he knew that this might loosen the grip of the
Muslim League in some provinces of his proposed map of Pakistan as
the INC was already popular in the NWFP.

 Jinnah and Muslim League wanted to be sole representation of

Muslims in India.

 Jinnah dissatisfied with parity of seats between Muslims & Hindus

since Sikh and low Caste members would side with Hindus, leading
to permanent Muslim minority.
Source Based Question!
- Source B, From Punch magazine 1945

What does source B suggest about the

attempts to solve the problems of the
sub-continent in 1945?
 Two people are playing chess.
 Negotiations aren’t going well. It was a slow
process. They look confused.
 This source is representing the negotiations at
Simla in 1945.
 The negotiators don’t appear to be cooperating
with each other.
 One (Jinnah) is looking bored and the other
(Gandhi) appears to be floating above the ground
suggesting that he is in another place, is thinking
of the problem from a different angle and has
different motives than Jinnah.
 The observer (Lord Wavell the Viceroy from
Britain) is watching.
 His face suggests that he is impatient and he is
looking at his watch.
 They are perhaps thoughtful.
 Their faces show they are thinking about their
next move/waiting to see what move the other
makes. Using a game of chess in the source
suggests the negotiations were complex and took
time which clearly the British didn’t want to
waste.
 07
The General Elections
1945
Introduction
 After the failure of Simla Conference, Lord Wavell announced
general and provincial elections after which constitutional
making body was to be set up
 Viceroy announced the formation of Executive Council with the
support of both Muslims & Hindus parties, but both parties
rejected the proposal
 Quaid-i-Azam declared that Muslims weren’t ready to accept
any settlement less than a separate homeland for them
 Despite this, both parties launched election campaigns, because
they knew that the elections were essential for the future of
India as the results were to play an important role in
determining their standing
Objectives
 Congress: undivided and independent India
 AIML: establishing of independent homeland for Muslims
Results
Congress AIML
The Congress won the same victory in The Muslims league won all the
the Hindu majority areas. 30 Muslims seats in the Central
Assembly
446 out of 495 Muslims seats in the
-
Provincial Assemblies
Muslim League won 17 out of 36 Muslim In Bengal, the Muslim League won 113
seats and Congress took 19 Muslims out of 119 Muslim seats
seats in N.W.F.P
Khizar Hayat Tiwana formed the In Punjab, Muslim league won 79 out
ministry with Congress of 86 Muslim seats
Effects
 Result of the elections approved the Muslim league claim that, it
was a sole representative party of the Muslims of Subcontinent.
 The demand for the establishment for a separate Muslim homeland
was true.

Importance
 Hindus voted for Congress / Independence.
 Muslims voted for League / Pakistan creation. British realized that
they were separate communities. Thus, paved way for Pakistan.
 After winning the 1946 elections, League became a stronger party
with complete Muslim support, thus demands for separate
homelands could not be ignored.
 08
The Cabinet Mission Plan
1946
Introduction
On 19th Feb 1946, P.M Clement Attlee made a statement in House of
commons. A special mission of Cabinet Ministers consisting of Lord
Patrick Lawrence (Secretary of State of India), Sir Stafford Cripps
(President Board of trade) and A.V Alexander (Lord of Admiralty) will
be set to India and will be associated with Viceroy.

Proposals
 An interim government would be set up & in the meantime the
British government would manage the withdrawal (Congress &
AIML rejected)
 The mission proposed a final proposal for India with three tiers
(the provinces, provincial groupings and the centre)
 The centre's power was to be confined to foreign affairs, defence,
currency and communications.
Proposals
 There would be three different parts to post-British India:
 The Hindu majority territories
 The western Muslim provinces
 Bengal and Assam
 Each part would have local autonomy and would be able to draw up
its own constitution
 Foreign affairs defence and communication would be managed by a
central Indian Union
Importance
 Cabinet Mission negotiation found that Congress & the League had
different aims thus it failed
 Though, it can be said that this was another stepping stone for the
Muslims in the establishment of a separate homeland
 Exam Style Question!
Why did the Cabinet Mission Plan fail?
 The Commission found clash between the INC & the AIML. The INC
insisted on an undivided and independent India, whereas the AIML
demanded independence and partition of India.
 The Commission, therefore, proposed the formation of an interim
government that would set up an All India Commission. This
Commission would decide whether there should be one or two states
after the British had left. Both parties rejected it, as they wanted a
permanent settlement in the presence of the British.
 On May 1946, the Cabinet Mission announced its final plan according to
which a federation of India was to be set up comprising three
autonomous units. The Muslim League accepted it and was ready to
nominate members but Nehru stated that INC would not be bound by
the plan after the British departure.
Direct Action Day - 1946
 By late summer 1946, the British were planning to leave India
 The Muslim League feared a Hindu-dominated India if British left
without settling the question of Pakistan
 In that case, they would suffer at the hands of the Hindus
 So, it was important to demonstrate Muslim solidarity on a large
scale to all
 On July 1946, the Muslim League passed a resolution asking
Muslims to be ready for final struggle for Pakistan
 On 16th August 1946, the Muslim League called for a Direct Action
Day to show the strength of Muslims
 This marked the start of widespread communal riots in various
parts of India
 In the ‘Great Calcutta Killing’, 4000 people were killed
Importance
 Direct Action Day made it clear to British & Congress that Pakistan
formation demand was democratic and could not be ignored

 It gave realization to British that these two communities, Hindu &

Muslim could not live together peacefully
 Source based Questions!
Source A, an extract from Jinnah’s speech in July 1946:
“We want peace, but if war is forced upon us, we accept it. Now the time has
come for the Muslim nation to resort to direct action, to achieve Pakistan, to
assert their just rights and get rid of the British slavery and expected future
caste-Hindu domination.”
Q: What message is being conveyed by Jinnah?
 According to Jinnah, the circumstances were forcing the Muslims to

adopt violent means as all their efforts for a peaceful settlement of

division of India had failed.
 He is urging Muslims to be ready to take direct control of the Muslim

majority provinces that would become the independent state of

Pakistan.
 He is asking them to struggle to get rid of the long period of British rule
and a possible Hindu rule on a united India.
- Source B, a scene of riots resulting from
observance of the Direct Action Day

What does Source B tell us about the

political situation of India in August,
1946?
 It is a horrible scene showing several
dead bodies at one place.
 Some people seem to have been killed
recently while the bodies of others have
decayed visibly.
 The condition of the dead and the
presence of vultures over them proves
that local authorities have not paid
attention to this tragedy.
 The buildings in the neighborhood are
damaged and carry a deserted look
which means the inhabitants have
abandoned the place to save their lives.
 The number of the dead conveys the
message that the violence would soon
spread to other parts of India as there
would be a wave of retaliation by the
affected community.
 09
The 3 rd June Plan
1947
 Mountbatten’s 3rd June Plan - 1947
Boundary
Two dominions Commonwealth Princely States
Commission

There would be Both dominions There would be a The rule of the

two new would decide to boundary Princely states
dominions namely join the commission which would end and
India & Pakistan Commonwealth would finalize the they would be free
and their line of control to decide to join
relationship with between the two either of the new
it dominions dominions or
remain
independent
 Mountbatten’s 3rd June Plan - 1947
Constituent Sindh
Bengal & Punjab
Assembly

Bengal & Punjab Both the dominions Likewise the

would vote and would have legislative
decide whether separate assembly of Sindh
they wanted Constituent would decide its
partition or not Assemblies to own fate
finalize their
constitution
 Mountbatten’s 3rd June Plan - 1947
Sylhet Transfer of Power N.W.F.P

The Muslim It was finalized N.W.F.P would

majority Sylhet that the transfer of have a plebiscite to
would decide by power would be decide whether it
referendum to be in done before June, would remain in
India or Pakistan 1948 India or join
Pakistan
Importance
 The viceroy announced that India would be divided into two states,
i.e. India and Pakistan
 Jinnah’s efforts therefore bore fruit and this plan made the
creation of Pakistan official
 10
The Radcliff Award
1947
The Radcliff Award!
 Bengal & Punjab were given to decide the division through their
legislatures & they gave positive answers for the partition
 Two separate boundary commissions were formed: -
 Punjab
 Bengal
 Sir Cyril Radcliffe (lawyer of London) – head of these commissions with
4 assistants (from Congress & League)
 Announced on 16th August 1947
 It was totally against Pakistan as it gave Muslim majority areas from
Punjab & Bengal to India
 In the province of Bengal the most important city, Calcutta major port
and the most developed industrial, commerce and educational hub was
given to India. Calcutta was developed with the help of east Bengal & it
surrounded with the Muslim majority areas so it had to be included in
Pakistan
 In Punjab many Muslim majority areas were taken away from Pakistan &
awarded to India
 In Gurdaspur district two Muslim majority areas, Tehsil of Gurdaspur and
Batala with Pathankot were deliberately awarded to India because it
provided a link to India with Kashmir
 There were many other areas in Punjab which were given to India such as in
Amritsar the area of Jallander
 The main areas of Ferozpur & Madhopur where all the canal headwork were
located, which were controlling the water coming towards Pakistan, were
given to India
 It was also called that in this unjust division Mountbatten was also involved
behind this unfair division because he had very good relations with the
Congress leaders
 Pakistan tried its best to get the Muslim majority areas, Jinnah criticized the
division but he was helpless
 The division of India was a victory of Quaid because he put his whole effort
for getting Pakistan
 On the other hand it was a defeat of Gandhi who tried his best for the unity
of India
The Independence Act!
 The Independence Act was passed on 15th August, 1947.
 It stated that from that day India would be partitioned into two
dominion states, India & Pakistan
 Each state would be totally free to make any laws it wished
 The 1935 Act would serve as interim constitution till both the
states had framed their own constitutions
 Pakistan adopted 14th August, and India 15th August as the
Independence day
Jinnah’s Speech, August 11th
1947!