The Birth of Pakistan [August 14, 1947]

The birth of Pakistan, August 14, 1947

The British Parliament passed the Indian Independence Act on July 18, 1947. The Act created two dominions, Indian Union and Pakistan. It also provided for the complete end of British control over Indian affairs from August 15, 1947. The Muslims of the Sub-continent had finally achieved their goal to have an independent state for themselves, but only after a long and relentless struggle under the single-minded guidance of the Quaid.

The Muslims faced a gamut of problems immediately after independence. However, keeping true to their traditions, they overcame them after a while. Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah was appointed the first Governor General of Pakistan and Liaquat Ali Khan became its first Prime Minister. Pakistan became a dominion within the British Commonwealth of Nations.

The boundaries of Pakistan emerged on the map of the world in 1947. This was accomplished on the basis of the Two-Nation Theory. This theory held that there were two nations, Hindus and Muslims living in the territory of the Sub-continent. Sir Syed Ahmad Khan was the first exponent of the Two-Nation Theory in the modern era. He believed that India was a continent and not a country, and that among the vast population of different races and different creeds, Hindus and Muslims were the two major nations on the basis of nationality, religion, way-of-life, customs, traditions, culture and historical conditions.

Woman freedom fighter, Begum Liaquat Ali

Woman freedom fighter, Begum Hidayatullah

The politicization of the Muslim community came about as a consequence of three developments:

1. Various efforts towards Islamic reform and revival during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

2. The impact of Hindu-based nationalism.

3. The democratization of the government of British India.

Woman freedom fighter, Begum Shahnawaz

Woman freedom fighter, Begum Abdullah Haroon

While the antecedents of Muslim nationalism in India go back to the early Islamic conquests of the Sub-continent, organizationally it stems from the demands presented by the Simla Deputation to Lord Minto, the Governor General of India, in October 1906, proposing separate electorates for the Indian Muslims. The principal reason behind this demand was the maintenance of a separate identity of the Muslim nationhood.

In the same year, the founding of the All India Muslim League, a separate political organization for Muslims, elucidated the fact that the Muslims of India had lost trust in the Hindu-dominated Indian National Congress. Besides being a Hindu-dominated body, the Congress leaders in order to win grass-root support for their political movements, used Hindu religious symbols and slogans, thereby arousing Muslim suspicions regarding the secular character of the Congress.

Quaid-i-Azam taking oath as the first Governer General of Pakistan

Events like the Urdu-Hindi controversy (1867), the partition of Bengal (1905), and Hindu revivalism, set the two nations, the Hindus and the Muslims, further apart. Re-annulment of the partition of Bengal in 1911 by the British government brought the Congress and the Muslim League on one platform. Starting with the constitutional cooperation in the Lucknow Pact (1916), they launched the Non-Cooperation and Khilafat Movements to press upon the British government the demand for constitutional reforms in India in the post-World War I era.

Quaid-i-Azam administering oath

But after the collapse of the Khilafat Movement, Hindu-Muslim antagonism was revived once again. The Muslim League rejected the proposals forwarded by the Nehru Report and they chose a separate path for themselves. The idea of a separate homeland for the Muslims of Northern India as proposed by Allama Iqbal in his famous Allahabad Address showed that the creation of two separate states for the Muslims and Hindus was the only solution. The idea was reiterated during the Sindh provincial meeting of the League, and finally adopted as the official League position in the Lahore Declaration of March 23, 1940.
Thus these historical, cultural, religious and social differences between the two nations accelerated the pace of political developments, finally leading to the division of British India into two separate, independent states, Pakistan and India, on August 14 & 15, 1947, respectively.

June 3rd Plan 1947

When all of Mountbatten's efforts to keep India united failed, he asked Ismay to chalk out a plan for the transfer of power and the division of the country. It was decided that none of the Indian parties would view it before the plan was finalized.

The plan was finalized in the Governor's Conference in April 1947, and was then sent to Britain in May where the British Government approved it.

Quaid-i-Azam and Fatima Jinnah with Viceroy Lord Mountbatten

However, before the announcement of the plan, Nehru who was staying with Mountbatten as a guest in his residence at Simla, had a look at the plan and rejected it. Mountbatten then asked V. P. Menon, the only Indian in his personal staff, to present a new plan for the transfer of power. Nehru edited Menon's formula and then Mountbatten himself took the new plan to London, where he got it approved without any alteration. Attlee and his cabinet gave the approval in a meeting that lasted not more than five minutes. In this way, the plan that was to decide the future of the Indo-Pak Sub-continent was actually authored by a Congress-minded Hindu and was approved by Nehru himself.

The final phase of partition of India; Quaid-i-Azam and Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan with Viceroy Lord Mountbatten and Congress leaders during their meeting on June 2, 1947

Lord Mountbatten - 11 days before the transfer of power

Mountbatten came back from London on May 31, and on June 2 met seven Indian leaders. These were Nehru, Patel, Kriplalani, Quaid-i-Azam, Liaquat, Nishtar and Baldev Singh. After these leaders approved the plan, Mountbatten discussed it with Gandhi and convinced him that it was the best plan under the circumstances. The plan was made public on June 3, and is thus known as the June 3rd Plan.
The following were the main clauses of this Plan:

1. The Provincial Legislative Assemblies of Punjab and Bengal were to meet in two groups, i.e., Muslim majority districts and non-Muslim majority districts. If any of the two decided in favor of the division of the province, then the Governor General would appoint a boundary commission to demarcate the boundaries of the province on the basis of ascertaining the contiguous majority areas of Muslims and non-Muslims.

2. The Legislative Assembly of Sindh (excluding its European Members) was to decide either to join the existing Constituent Assembly or the New Constituent Assembly.

3. In order to decide the future of the North West Frontier Province, a referendum was proposed. The Electoral College for the referendum was to be the same as the Electoral College for the provincial legislative assembly in 1946.

4. Baluchistan was also to be given the option to express its opinion on the issue.

5. If Bengal decided in favor of partition, a referendum was to be held in the Sylhet District of Assam to decide whether it would continue as a part of Assam, or be merged with the new province of East Bengal.

Cabinet Mission Plan 1946

Quaid-i-Azam with members of the Cabinet Mission: Mr. Alexander (left), Lord Pethic Lawrence and Sir Stafford Cripps; Mr. Liaquat Ali Khan is on the extreme right

All of the British Government's attempts to establish peace between the Congress and the Muslim League had failed. The results of the general elections held in 1945-46 served to underline the urgency to find a solution to the political deadlock, which was the result of non-cooperation between the two major parties. To end this, the British government sent a special mission of cabinet ministers to India.
The mission consisted of Lord Pethic Lawrence, the Secretary of State for India, Sir Stafford Cripps, President of the Board of Trade, and A. V. Alexander, the First Lord of the Admiralty.

The purpose of the mission was:

1. Preparatory discussions with elected representatives of British India and the Indian states in order to secure agreement as to the method of framing the constitution.

2. Setting up of a constitution body.

3. Setting up an Executive Council with the support of the main Indian parties.

The mission arrived on March 24, 1946. After extensive discussions with Congress and the Muslim League, the Cabinet Mission put forward its own proposals on May 16, 1946.

The main points of the plan were:

1. There would be a union of India comprising both British India and the Indian States that would deal with foreign affairs, defense and communications. The union would have an Executive and a Legislature.

2. All residuary powers would belong to the provinces.

3. All provinces would be divided into three sections. Provinces could opt out of any group after the first general elections.

4. There would also be an interim government having the support of the major political parties.

The Muslim League accepted the plan on June 6 1946. Earlier, the Congress had accepted the plan on May 24, 1946, though it rejected the interim setup.

The Viceroy should now have invited the Muslim League to form Government as it had accepted the interim setup; but he did not do so.

Meanwhile Jawaharlal Nehru, addressing a press conference on July 10, said that the Congress had agreed to join the constituent assembly, but saying it would be free to make changes in the Cabinet Mission Plan.

Under these circumstances, the Muslim League disassociated itself from the Cabinet Plan and resorted to "Direct Action" to achieve Pakistan. As a result, Viceroy Wavell invited the Congress to join the interim government, although it had practically rejected the plan.

However, the Viceroy soon realized the futility of the scheme without the participation of the League. Therefore, on October 14, 1946, he extended an invitation to them as well.

Quaid-i-Azam with members of the Cabinet Mission

Jinnah nominated Liaquat Ali Khan, I. I. Chundrigar, Sardar Abdur Rab Nishtar, Ghazanfar Ali Khan and Jogandra Nath Mandal to the cabinet.

Congress allocated the Finance Ministry to the League. This in effect placed the whole governmental setup under the Muslim League. As Minister of Finance, the budget Liaquat Ali Khan presented was called a "poor man's budget" as it adversely affected the Hindu capitalists.

The deadlock between the Congress and the League further worsened in this setup.

On March 22, 1947, Lord Mountbatten arrived as the last Viceroy. It was announced that power would be transferred from British to Indian hands by June 1948.

Lord Mountbatten entered into a series of talks with the Congress and the Muslim League leaders. Quaid-i-Azam made it clear that the demand for Pakistan had the support of all the Muslims of India and that he could not withdraw from it. With staunch extremists as Patel agreeing to the Muslim demand for a separate homeland, Mountbatten now prepared for the partition of the Sub-continent and announced it on June 3, 1947.

Provincial and General Elections 1945-1946

With the failure of the Simla Conference, Lord Wavell announced that the Central and Provincial Legislature elections would be held in the winter of 1945, after which a constitution-making body would be set up. He also announced that after the elections, the Viceroy would set an Executive Council that would have the support of the main Indian political parties. Both the Muslim League and the Congress opposed the proposal.

Quaid-i-Azam declared that Muslims were not ready to accept any settlement less than a separate homeland for them and the All India Congress Committee characterized the proposal as vague, inadequate and unsatisfactory because it had not addressed the issue of independence. Despite this, the two parties launched huge election campaigns. They knew that the elections would be crucial for the future of India, as the results were to play an important role in determining their standing. The League wanted to sweep the Muslim constituencies so as to prove that they were the sole representatives of the Muslims of Sub-continent, while Congress wanted to prove that, irrespective of religion, they represent all the Indians.

Quaid-i-Azam urged the Muslims to vote for the Muslim League

Both the Muslim League and the Congress promulgated opposite slogans during their campaigns. The Muslim League presented a one-point manifesto "if you want Pakistan, vote for the Muslim League". Quaid-i-Azam himself toured the length and breadth of India and tried to unite the Muslim community under the banner of the Muslim League.

The Congress on the other hand stood for United India. To counter the Muslim League, the Congress press abused the Quaid and termed his demand for Pakistan as the "vivisection of Mother India", "reactionary primitivism" and "religious barbarism". Congress tried to brand Muslim League as an ultra-conservative clique of knights, Khan Bahadurs, toadies and government pensioners. The Congress also tried to get the support of all the provincial and central Muslim parties who had some differences with the League, and backed them in the elections.

Elections for the Central Legislature were held in December 1945. Though the franchise was limited, the turnover was extraordinary.

Quaid-i-Azam toured the length and breadth of India and tried to unite the Muslim community under the banner of the Muslim League

The Congress was able to sweep the polls for the non-Muslim seats. They managed to win more then 80 percent of the general seats and about 91.3 percent of the total general votes. The Leagues performance, however, was even more impressive: it managed to win all the 30 seats reserved for the Muslims. The results of the provincial election held in early 1946 were not different. Congress won most of the non-Muslim seats while Muslim League captured approximately 95 percent of the Muslim seats.

In a bulletin issued on January 6, 1946, the Central Election Board of the Congress claimed that the election results had vindicated the party as the biggest, strongest and the most representative organization in the country. On the other hand, the League celebrated January 11, 1946, as the Day of Victory and declared that the election results were enough to prove that Muslim League, under the leadership of Quaid-i-Azam, was the sole representative of the Muslims of the region.

Wavell Plan and Simla Conference 1945

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 that was made public in June 1945. The plan is known as Wavell Plan.

The Plan suggested reconstitution of the Viceroy's Executive Council in which the Viceroy was to select persons nominated by the political parties. Different communities were also to get their due share in the Council and parity was reserved for Cast-Hindus and Muslims. While declaring the plan, the Secretary of State for Indian Affairs made it clear that the British Government wanted to listen to the ideas of all major Indian communities. Yet he said that it was only possible if the leadership of the leading Indian political parties agreed with the suggestions of the British Government.

Quaid-i-Azam shaking hands with Viceroy Wavell, Simla 1945

To discuss these proposals with the leadership of major Indian parties, Wavell called for a conference at Simla on June 25, 1945. Leaders of both the Congress and the Muslim League attended the conference, which is known as the Simla Conference. However, differences arose between the leadership of the two parties on the issue of representation of the Muslim community. The Muslim League claimed that it was the only representative party of the Muslims in India and thus all the Muslim representatives in the Viceroy's Executive Council should be the nominees of the party. Congress, which had sent Maulana Azad as the leader of their delegation, tried to prove that their party represented all the communities living in India and thus should be allowed to nominate Muslim representative as well. Congress also opposed the idea of parity between the Cast-Hindus and the Muslims. All this resulted in a deadlock. Finally, Wavell announced the failure of his efforts on July 14. Thus the Simla Conference couldn't provide any hope of proceeding further.

Gandhi-Jinnah Talks 1944

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. Quaid-i-Azam asked the Muslim League for permission for this meeting. The League readily acquiesced.

The Gandhi-Jinnah talks began in Bombay on September 19, 1944, and lasted till the 24th of the month. The talks were held directly and via correspondence. Gandhi told Quaid-i-Azam that he had come in his personal capacity and was representing neither the Hindus nor the Congress.

Gandhi's real purpose behind these talks was to extract from Jinnah an admission that the whole proposition of Pakistan was absurd.

Quaid-i-Azam with M. K. Gandhi in Bombay, 1944

Quaid-i-Azam painstakingly explained the basis of the demand of Pakistan. "We maintain", he wrote to Gandhi, "that Muslims and Hindus are two major nations by any definition or test of a nation. We are a nation of a 100 million. We have our distinctive outlook on life and of life. By all the cannons of international law, we are a nation". He added that he was "convinced that the true welfare not only of the Muslims but of the rest of India lies in the division of India as proposed in the Lahore Resolution".

Gandhi on the other hand maintained that India was one nation and saw in the Pakistan Resolution "Nothing but ruin for the whole of India". "If, however, Pakistan had to be conceded, the areas in which the Muslims are in an absolute majority should be demarcated by a commission approved by both the Congress and the Muslim League. The wishes of the people of these areas will be obtained through referendum. These areas shall form a separate state as soon as possible after India is free from foreign domination. There shall be a treaty of separation which should also provide for the efficient and satisfactory administration of foreign affairs, defense, internal communication, custom and the like which must necessarily continue to be the matters of common interest between the contracting countries".

This meant, in effect, that power over the whole of India should first be transferred to Congress, which thereafter would allow Muslim majority areas that voted for separation to be constituted, not as independent sovereign state but as part of an Indian federation.

Gandhi contended that his offer gave the substance of the Lahore Resolution. Quaid-i-Azam did not agree to the proposal and the talks ended.

Cripps Mission- 1942

Quaid-i-Azam shaking hands with Sir Stafford Cripps at Delhi, 1942

The British government wanted to get the cooperation of the Indian people in order to deal with the war situation. The divergence between the two major representative parties of the country harassed the British government. It found it difficult to make the war a success without the cooperation of both the Hindus and the Muslims.

On March 22, 1942, Britain sent Sir Stafford Cripps with constitutional proposals.

The important points of the declaration were as follows:

a) General elections in the provinces would be arranged as soon as the war ended.

b) A new Indian dominion, associated with the United Kingdom would be created.

c) Those provinces not joining the dominion could form their own separate union.

d) Minorities were to be protected.

However, both the Congress and the Muslim League rejected these proposals. Jinnah opposed the plan, as it did not concede Pakistan. Thus the plan came to nothing.