HIS 104-EMERGENCE OF

BANGLADESH
TODAY’S TOPIC-LAHORE RESOLUTION
 Background
The Muslim League goal since its inception in
December 1906 was to protect and advance Muslim
socio-cultural identity, rights and interests in British
India’s socio-political and constitutional context.
Initially the Muslim League demanded separate
electorate.
It also demanded constitutional safeguards and
guarantees for the Muslims.
It supported federalism with autonomy for provinces
The Muslim leaders complained about the discriminatory
policy for recruitment of Muslims to government jobs and they
maintained that the Muslims suffered in the economic domain
in the Congress ruled provinces.
The experience of the congress rule (the Congress formed
governments in United provinces, Bihar, the Central Provinces,
Bombay and Madras) in the provinces was the triggering
factor that led the leaders to explore a political alternative to a
single Indian federation.
Second World War
The Defeat of The Muslim League
Factors Leaded Muslim League to Place Lahore Resolution:

Nationalism among the Muslims in India

 British divide and rule policy
 Political reforms in India
 Permanent minority in a democratic system
 They first demanded for separate electorates.
However, separate electorates would not be enough
and they had to search for some other long term
solution
The Role of Muslim Scholars
 Sir Syed Ahmed Khan
 Chowdhury Rahmat Ali & his Pakistan Declaration in
1933
 Muhammed Allama Iqbal 1930
 Aligarh University professors Syed Jafrul Islam and
Afzal Hossain Kadri.
 Before 1930s Jinnah had been a strong vocal for the
unity of India But finally he was motivated with the
proposals of the above mentioned Muslim Scholars.
British Policy in India
 Birth of Indian National Congress
 Partition of India in 1905 and its annulment in 1911
made the Indian Muslims think their position critically.
 Formation of the Muslim League
 Morley-Minto reform Act of 1909
The Partition of
Bengal 1905 and
The Annulment of
the Partition in
1911
Lucknow Pact, Nehru Report, Jinnah's 14 Points and Failure
of the Round Table Meeting
 Muslim League and Congress agreed to separate electorate
which means congress formally recognized communal
political and tacitly gave recognition that India consisted of
different communities with separate interest of their own.
The result was that this left the way open to the future
resurgence of communalism in Indian politics and the
Muslim member’ strength in legislature was laid down
province by province, thus one of the most dangerous
pacifist policies of congress not only recognized communal
representation but also recognized communal privileges.
Nehru Report Jinnah’s 14 Point
Later on in 1928 the Jinnah's 14 points were
Nehru Report became a framed in 1929
turning point which did protesting the Nehru
not provide for separate
Report where Separate
electorates for any
electorates and
community or weightage
for minorities. Both of weightage to the
thes were liberally Muslim community
provided in the eventual were demanded whereas
Govermment of India Act they were rejected by
1935 the Nehru Report
"Iwas surprised and pained when
Patel in reply said that whether we
liked it or not there were two
nations in India."
Moulana Azad Ballav Bhai Patel
When the consecutive Round Table Meeting were in
1930s the Muslim League as well as Muslim
community became more interested in their demand of
a separate land for them.
Failure of the India Rule Act 1935
 Congress leaders vehemently opposed the Act and formed
public opinion against it.
 Muslim League leaders also claimed the act as against the
interest of them
The Elections of 1937
 The All-India Muslim League failed to form the government in
any province
 After Jawaharlal Nehru declared the Congress and the British
were only two parties in the country
 Taking this as a challange Jinnah declared that there was a third
party- the Muslim League
Jinnah and His Two Nations Theory:
‘Hindus and the Muslims belong to two different religious
philosophies, social customs and literature. They neither inter-marry
nor inter-dine together, and, indeed, they belong to two different
civilizations that are based on conflicting ideas and conceptions.
Their concepts on life and way of life are different.............‘It is
quite clear that Hindus and Muslims derive their inspiration from
different sources of history, they have different epics, different
heroes and different episodes. He further claimed, "Mussalmans are
a nation according to any definition of nationhood. We wish our
people to develop to the fullest spirtual, cultural, economic, social
and political life in a way that we think best and in consonance with
our own ideals and according the genius of our people’.
Lahore Resolution
22–24 March 1940
Iqbal Park, Lahore
The welcome address was made by Sir Shah Nawaz
Khan
Special Working Committee
The Subject Committee
A.K Fazlul Huq
Zafar Ali Khan from Punjab, Sardar Aurangzeb
Khan from North-West Frontier Province, and
Sir Abdullah Haroon from Sindh. Qazi Muhammad
Essa from Baluchistan and other leaders
The statement
‘No constitutional plan would be workable or acceptable to the
Muslims unless geographical contiguous units are demarcated
into regions which should be so constituted with such territorial
readjustments as may be necessary.’
Additionally, it stated: ‘That adequate, effective and mandatory
safeguards shall be specifically provided in the constitution for
minorities in the units and in the regions for the protection of
their religious, cultural, economic, political, administrative and
other rights of the minorities’.
“That geographically contiguous units are demarcated into
regions which should be constituted, with such territorial
readjustments as may be necessary that the areas in which the
Muslims are numerically in a majority as in the North Western
and Eastern Zones of (British) India should be grouped to
constitute 'independent states' in which the constituent units
should be autonomous and sovereign”.
Aims and Objectives of Lahore Resolution:
The Muslim majority areas of India should be merged so that the Indian
Muslims may have an area where they could establish their independent
state.
The Muslims, who are in minority in the independent units and areas,
should be consulted with and their interests should be provided with the
protection in the constitution.
Since the present constitution does not provide protection to the Muslims’
interests, it is not acceptable to the Indian Muslims at all.
The Muslims of India cannot accept the amendments proposed by the
British government in the present constitution so long the entire
constitutional plan is not revised from the scratches.
Prior to implementation of the amended constitution, the Muslim leaders
should be invited to extend their view about the amendments and this
constitution should not be implemented before the consent of the Muslims.
The executive committee of the Muslim League should be advised to
prepare an action plan in the light of the principles mentioned above making
arrangements to take over all the matters and controls in both the wings;
proposed East Wing and West Wing of Pakistan.
Reactions (1/4)
Congress and the Hindu Reaction:
• “Pakistan” demand “anti-national.”
• Vivisection
• Gandhi penetrated the resolution in a way that it would be
executed then both Punjab and Bengal were supposed to be
separate and independent nations.
• He termed the partition of India as a great sin and a suicidal
decision.
• Jawaharlal Nehru referred the resolution an artificial and
impractical scheme. He also claimed and compared the plan as
the Balkan crisis of Europe.
• Congress leaders thought that the plan was the brainchild of
revengeful Jinnah to secure his leadership
• Congress elected Maulana Abul Kalam Azad the party president
Reactions (2/4)
British Reaction
• The British were equally hostile to the Muslim demand
for at least two important reasons.
• First, they had long considered themselves as the
architects of the unity of India and of an Indian nation.
• Second, they had long regarded the super-imposed unity
under Pax Britannica (global policeman) as their greatest
achievement and lasting contribution in history.
• The Pakistan demand threatened to undo these
presumed achievements on which the British had long
prided.
Reactions (3/4)

Bengal Muslims Reactions

 The Lahore Resolution was drafted by a divine hand-the
hand that grove the pen that drafted the resolution, was
really that of God. It set the fate of Pakistan.
 AK Fazlul Huq and SS Suhrawrdy and Their Thoughts

 
Reactions (4/4)
Reactions from the Indian Muslims
Congress president Maulana Abul Kalam Azad vehemently opposed the
scheme
He thought himself a proud Indian and an indivisible part of Indian
Nationalism.
He told that "I am proud of being an Indian. I am part of the indivisible
unity that is Indian nationality. I am indispensable to this noble edifice
and without me this splendid structure is incomplete. I am an essential
element, which has gone to build India. I can never surrender this claim."
Speaking vehemently against Jinnah's Two-Nation Theory. Azad bawled
out religious separatism and exhorted all Muslims to preserve a united
India, as all Hindus and Muslims were Indians who shared deep bonds of
brotherhood and nationhood.
Analysis (1/3)
 First, the phrase “independent states” is used instead of “independent state”
in the content. The presence of “s” with the word state in the original text
becomes significant in context of 1971 secession of East Pakistan to
become Bangladesh. It has been argued that the initial intention was to form
many individual states in the areas where Muslims are in majority rather
than single state for the Muslims of India. The fact that the resolution was
presented by a Bengali nationalist, Fazal-ul-Haq, adds weight to the
argument that according to the resolution East Pakistan was never supposed
to be the part of Pakistan.
 Second, mandating the “safeguards” to be enacted to protect the minorities
in the “regions” that later will become Pakistan and presence of a whole
paragraph in a very short document addressing the issue of minority rights
shows that how concerned the founding fathers were about the subject. Has
enough been done to achieve what the founding fathers wanted for the
minorities living in Pakistan?
Analysis (2/3)
But what strike most is the democratic and the revolutionary nature of the resolution.
The resolution came after thrashing of the Muslim League in 1937 elections where it only
won few seats which were reserved for Muslims in Sindh, Punjab, Bengal, Balochistan,
and NWFP and within 6 years of time  it changed the whole scenario with the
overwhelming success of Muslim League in 1946 elections (425 out of 496 seats reserved
for Muslims) which the League ran on the platform of  creating a state of Pakistan. The
momentum generated by the passage of the Lahore Resolution actually allowed the
Muslims to build a huge support and rally the Muslims of the sub-continent for the
demand of independent state of Pakistan.
Third, Lahore Resolution is allegedly in clear about the areas to be included in the states.
In response to Beverly Nicholas’s question that why Pakistan has not been defined in
detail, Jinnah replied, “All details were left to the future and future is often an admirable
arbitrator….It is beyond the power of any man to provide in advance a blue print in which
every detail is settled.” The resolution was deliberately kept vague to take full advantage
of elements of uncertainty and the power of manipulability. It also distracted the congress
from targeting a visible goal set by the league. Muslim League purposely left this matter
ambiguous to get as many Muslim majority areas as possible, including some in the
Muslim minority provinces.
Analysis (3/3)
Fourth, a question is usually asked as to why the word Pakistan was not mentioned
in the Resolution and why there is no reference to the princely stats like Kashmir.
 The word Pakistan as coined by Chaudhary Rehmat Ali was used in specific context
in which he proposed the idea of Bengal and Assam to constitute a separate Muslim
state of Bang-i-Islam. The Lahore Reolution pointed to the areas of both North-
western and eastern India. The resolution did not favor the exchange of population.
The word was not used as it could give the impression of pan-Islamism and scare
the British and provoke Hindu propaganda. But when the Hindu press regarded the
Lahore Resolution as the Pakistan demand, the Quaid owned it without hesitation.
Madras session of the league in April 1941 formally adopted Pakistan Demand as
the goal of the Muslim League.
 As for making any reference to the princely states, they did not lie within the
constitutional jurisdiction of the British India and the League’s interest was confined
to Kashmir whose ultimate fate depends on the league’s strength in the British India.
Other important issues were, the resolution did not mention of an Islamic state based
on the rule of Shariah. And it also visualized territorial adjustments
Thank You