Muslim League (1906) – A New Horizon: Muslim League’s Crusade for Rights and Recognition
Introduction
The Muslim League was a political organization in British India formed in 1906. It could hardly construct mosques, schools, and hospitals and fought for Muslims’ rights; it finally resulted in the creation of Pakistan in 1947.
It was born on the issues of under-representation and marginalization of Muslims in the Indian political scenario, which was largely spearheaded by Indian Nationalism with the Indian National Congress.
Emergence of the Muslim League:-
The League was founded because of the start of organized Muslim politics in India.
Background
Political and Social Context in British India:-
By the early 20th century, the Indian political arena was primarily dominated by the Indian National Congress, which was established in 1885 and advocated for reforms in the government of Britain.
Although Congress professed to represent all Indians, Muslims felt that Congress had gradually become a party for greater Hindu majority interests by ignoring Muslim interests.
Muslims apprehended that under a democratic system in which governance would depend on majority decisions, they would suffer political isolation since Hindus constituted the overwhelming majority.
The partition of Bengal in 1905 further polarized Hindu and Muslim communities. While Muslims were largely in support of partition, Hindus were opposed to it, and the anti-partition agitation led by the Congress further enhanced the Muslim apprehension of Hindu domination
Role of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan:
Sir Syed Ahmad Khan was a very early reformer and advocate for Muslim education and had been preaching that Muslims should align with the British instead of with the INC, fearing the ultimate outcome would be Hinduism. He was one of the founders of the Aligarh Movement, which aimed to modernize Muslims and improve their rights as far as politics and education were concerned in British India.
His activism formed the ideological basis upon which a group of Muslims could be able to stratify themselves apart as an independent political entity.
Smoldering Resentment and a Necessity for a Separate Muslim Political Identity:-
It was during the 1890s and the initial years of the twentieth century that the first cracks in the relationship between Hindus and Muslims began to emerge. The Muslim leadership realized that their group required a separate political identity and ideology.
The INC, in failing to heed Muslim apprehensions over political representation within the framework of British reforms such as the Indian Councils Act of 1892, provided a warning for an independent Muslim entity.
Establishment of the Muslim League (1906)
Dhaka Session:-
On 30 December 1906 the All India Muslim League was formed at Dhaka with the All-India Muhammadan Educational Conference. The conference was presided over by Nawab Salimullah of Dhaka.
Well-known Muslim leaders such as Sir Aga Khan, Nawab Viqar-ul-Mulk, and Nawab Mohsin-ul-Mulk were prominent participants in the gathering.
Aims of the Muslim League: The Muslim League had three significant aims established for the League
Encourage loyalty to the British government: The League was not anti-British in the early stages. In fact, it attempted to place itself with British concerns for safeguarding the rights of Muslims.
Defend and advance Muslim political and other rights: The key objective here was to safeguard the political, social, and economic rights of the Muslims in a pluralistic India.
Constitute a united body for Indian Muslims: The League aimed at forming a unified body that could represent the interests of Muslims all across British India.
Leaders and Key Personalities
Sir Aga Khan III:-
Sir Aga Khan became the first elected president of the Muslim League. He took the League through some of its formative years.
Nawab Salimullah:-
The Nawab of Dhaka, who hosted the initial conference, was a shaper of the League in its very creation.
Nawab Viqar-ul-Mulk and Nawab Mohsin-ul-Mulk:-
These two aristocratic leaders were among the founders and provided the much-needed intellectual and organizational strength to the League.
Early Function of the Muslim League (1906-1913)
Politics Reorientation:-
The Muslim League demanded political rights from the British government, primarily separate electorates. Separate electorates were important because it ensured Muslims could elect their elected representatives not from Hindus but on their own, fearing that a Hindu-majority democracy may sideline them.
The Muslim League’s demands had been translated in the British reforms of 1909 also known as Morley-Minto Reforms that brought forth separate electorates for Muslims in the provincial legislatures and the Imperial Legislative Council.
Early Interaction with Congress:-
The Muslim League was not overly opposed to the INC in its initial years and had dreamed to operate within the larger Indian political landscape.
However, the political distinctions began to clearly emerge later as the Congress took on even stronger Hindu-majoritarian rhetoric and Muslim concerns were relegated to the background.
Efforts towards the Modernization of Muslim Education and Society:-
The League continued to support the goals of the Aligarh Movement and worked towards the cause of modern education for Muslims.
It underscored for themselves the imperative of Muslims political awareness and politics in a transforming Britain Indian landscape.
League’s Shift in Focus (1913-1930)
Demand for Self-Rule:-
By 1913, the Muslim League had voted through unanimously a resolution to seek self-government or autonomy for India within the British Empire. It was a vital juncture that marked where the League would alter the course it had undertaken earlier by its stance for the British Empire.
It began to actively collaborate with the INC to demand political reforms from the British government.
Lucknow Pact (1916):-
Lucknow Pact between the Muslim League and INC in 1916 was another important event of this period. The Lucknow Pact was a temporary agreement between Hindus and Muslims.
Under the pact, both Congress and the League agreed to a system of separate electorates for Muslims and accepted the principle that Muslims be given adequate representation in legislatures.
The pact was the culmination of Hindu-Muslim cooperation within the Indian freedom movement.
Khilafat Movement (1919-1924):-
The Muslim League also supported the Khilafat Movement aimed at saving the Ottoman Caliphate, which epitomized Muslim unity, after the end of the First World War.
While a short-term success, the Khilafat Movement was a failure in the long run as it gave Hindus and Muslims a common cause against British imperialism.
Failure of the movement also marked growing alienation among the Muslims since most Muslims came to feel that the Congress had used them for its anti-British aims.
Risings divisions and quest for an independent Muslim identity, 1930-1940
Conception of an Independent Muslim State by Allama Iqbal, 1930:-
In his speech at the 1930 Muslim League session in Allahabad, philosopher as well as poet Allama Muhammad Iqbal articulated the dream of a separate Muslim state in northwest India
Despite the myth that he made an explicit plea for partition, actually, he provided the intellectual infrastructure for contemplating a unique Muslim polity, an idea that would eventually take the form of Pakistan
Rise of Muhammad Ali Jinnah
Muhammad Ali Jinnah, who had been an early follower of INC and played a key role in the Lucknow Pact, became increasingly disillusioned with the lack of Congress’ willingness to safeguard Muslim rights
In the late 1930s, Jinnah had emerged as the uncontested leader of the Muslim League and began to guide the party towards more strident claims for Muslim self-rule
Government of India Act, 1935:-
The Muslim League contests the elections of 1935, held under the Government of India Act. Provincial autonomy is proposed by this act.
But the election results exposed the weakness of the League and the Congress’s unwillingness to enter into coalition provincial governments with the League in important provinces exacerbated the distance between the two parties.
The Lahore Resolution and the demand for Pakistan was proposed in 1940
Lahore Resolution (1940)
It was at one such session held in Lahore when, on 23 March 1940, the Muslim League, led by Jinnah, officially adopted the Lahore Resolution.
The resolution called for the setting up of “independent states” in regions of northwestern and eastern India in which Muslims formed a majority-a blueprint toward the eventual creation of Pakistan.
The demand for a separate Muslim state was argued as an argument that Muslims were not the minority but a separate nation with different cultural, religious, and political interests.
Role of Jinnah:-
Muhammad Ali Jinnah became a household name in the process of achieving Pakistan. His leadership transformed the Muslim League from an insignificant party into a mass movement capable of mobilizing Muslims across India.
Conclusion:-
The Muslim League, established in 1906, was important for forging the political future of Muslims in India.
From early goals such as the protection of rights of Muslims in a united India, the League slowly became to demand a separate state for Muslims.
The great leadership of Sir Aga Khan, Nawab Salimullah, Allama Iqbal, and Muhammad Ali Jinnah led to the Muslim League turning into the premier political organization of Muslims in India that, eventually, led to the birth of Pakistan in 1947.
One of the most crucial landmarks in the history of South Asia is the establishment of the Muslim League, which greatly altered the course of the political landscape of the subcontinent.
Also Read:- The Montford Reforms: A Step Toward Freedom or a Symbol of Delay of 1919?