Government of India Act, 1935:
The
Government of India Act, 1935 was formulated after long deliberations but was
not fully promulgated but the only provincial part was introduced in the
country, the central part was not introduced. The British govt deliberated on
it and then the British parliament passed this law and then the king signed
this law and this became the govt of India Act of 1935, under which these
elections were held. The Muslim League criticized this law for a number of
reasons and the same was the case with the Congress party but agreed to contest
provincial elections to make advantage of the opportunities being provided
under the govt of India Act.
The 1937 Elections:
Background:
These
elections of 1937on the provincial levels were held with the restricted
franchise and separate electorate. The principle of universal adult franchise
implies that citizens of certain minimum age are entitled to vote and that
minimum age could be 21, 18, or 16 and that is determined by law. But In case
of 1935 elections the British had put certain restrictions and that’s why it
was not a universal adult franchise. If you compare it with the previous laws
the electorate has been extended and more people were given the right to vote
under this Act than was the case in the past. The second main feature of this
Act was that in these elections the principle of Separate Electorate was
observed. This principle was accepted by the British govt in the govt of India
Act 1909 and since then this principle remained effective since that day and
this principle means that you elect your members of your own by separate
electorate.
Projection of Congress:
The Congress
projected itself as an all-India force representing all religions and factions
of the society. The Muslim League contested for the Muslim seats. The ML
focused only on the Muslims because it claimed to be the sole representative of
the Muslims. There was a tough competition from the other Muslim organizations
in different provinces which were also claiming to be the representatives of
the Muslims. In this way the ML was not only competing with the Congress only
but with a number of other Muslim groups and political parties at the
provincial level. The elections were completed in February 1937. And if we look
at the results of these elections we find that the Congress got majorities in
five provinces and the provinces from where the Congress got very clear
majority were Madras, U.P(United province as it was known at that time),
C.P.(central province), Bihar, and Orissa. It emerged as the largest party in
Bombay and won 704 out of 1585 general seats which were reserved for the
Non-Muslims. But the Congress got less than 30 seats reserved for the Muslims.
Performance of Muslim League:
The Muslim
League performed poorly in the elections and got only about 21 percent of
Muslim seats without winning majority anywhere, Bengal, Punjab, NWFP, and Sind.
These seats were won by local Muslims political parties. It was mostly due to
the organizational problems and opposition by local Muslim groups. And ML
failed poorly in these provinces. In the Muslim majority provinces seats were
very limited which the ML got, in case of Bengal it got only a few seats. The
most interesting situation developed in the province of Punjab which was a
Muslim majority province. Here the Unionist Party was leading and ML got only
two seats and out of those two members who were elected from the ML seats and
one of them left the ML and joined the unionist party and the result was that
the ML was left only with one member in the province of Punjab. The ML
performed relatively well in the Muslim minority provinces but overall it was a
weak performance. The reason was that the ML was still facing organizational
problems.\
Return of Quaid-e-Azam:
Quaid-e-Azam
returned to India from England in 1934 and he took command of the ML and began
to organize the ML but 3 years that is from 1934 to 1937 was a brief period and
therefore the ML was facing organizational problems. Furthermore, the ML was
facing tough competition in Muslim majority provinces by other Muslim
organizations and Muslim groups therefore it could not establish its
credentials in the elections of 1937 as the sole representatives of the Muslims
of India.
Formation of Provincial Governments:
The Congress
rule:
The Congress
won clear majority in the five provinces but it was the largest group in one
more province. In July 1937, Congress therefore formed governments in 6
provinces. However the formation of the ministries of Congress in these
provinces delayed. The provincial system was inaugurated on April first
1937. But in case of the Congress ministries took over the charge in July
1937.The reason was that the Congress wanted categorical assurance from the
British govt that the provincial governors will not exercise their special
powers against the ministries. There was a dialogue between the British Indian
govt and the Congress high command and ultimately the British govt gave a way
kind of commitment not a very that the governors will not interfere in the day
to day affairs of the govt. So this was a good base for the Congress party to
form the govt because they wanted to form the govt. Now in case of the
provinces where Muslims were in majority, in all the four provinces, that is
Punjab, NWFP, Sind and Bengal non ML ministries were formed. In NWFP, Khudai
Khidmatgar party that was the leading party in the elections and Congress
formed a coalition government. In case of Punjab Unionist party lead by Sir
Sikander Hayat Khan formed the govt. In Sind the United Party which was a
Muslim party form the govt. In Bengal a coalition govt was formed, ML was part
of it but it was a kind of minor party in the coalition. So, it was a non
Muslim League govt although supported it. The ML wanted that it should be
given some of the representation in the provinces where Congress have formed
the govt because 3 out of 6 provinces where Congress have formed the govt the
ML could not win even a single Muslim seat.
Plight of Muslim League:
In the
Muslim majority provinces, the Muslim League could not form the governments.
The Muslim League desired to be in government in the U.P. however the
negotiations between the ML and the Congress produced certain demands which
were not acceptable to the ML and the Congress consented to a conditional
support:
Demands of
Congress:
The Congress
demanded that if the ML wanted to be a part of govt in U.P. it will have to do
3 things
1. Dissolve
AIML Parliamentary Board (which was there for elections)
2. AIML
members in the assembly not to function as a separate group
3. AIML
members have to formally express their allegiance or loyalty to the Congress
party.
Refusal of
Muslim League:
Definitely
the above-mentioned terms were a device to subvert the existence of the Muslim
League in that province because if you sign allegiance to Congress and you
don’t function as a party your entity disappears. These conditions were not
acceptable to the ML leadership therefore, no agreement was possible on this
issue and the ML stayed out of the coalition which was understandable. In fact,
the Congress also knew that these conditions were not acceptable to the ML
that’s why they offered such difficult and strict conditions.
Now, we move
on to the 3rd aspect of our today’s lecture which is the policies of
the Congress ministries towards Muslims in different provinces.
Policies of the Congress Governments: (July 1937-Nov. 1939)
Congress
period:
The
Congress ministries were in power from July, 1937 to November, 1939. They
resigned because with the beginning off the World War 2nd in
September 1939 the British went to war and being the colonial rulers of India
they declared on behalf of India that India is also part of the war effort. In
other words, the British declared war on behalf of India. The Congress
protested that this decision made without consulting with the Indian leaders
and as a protest they resigned form the ministries and the Congress rule came
to an end in 1939. These Congress ministries were important both for
the Congress and the ML for 2 different reasons. This was for the first time
that all Congress govt was set up in different provinces. This was for the
first time that Congress had the freedom to pursue its policies at the
provincial level within the framework of the Govt of India Act 1935. For Muslim
especially for the ML this was the first experience of living under Congress
rule, previously there was no representatives govt in India. But now at the
provincial level the Congress had formed the govt and this was the first
occasion that the Muslims had the taste of the Congress rule. Therefore they
realized that what kind of policies the Congress can adopt and what would be
their fate under the Congress rule.
Interest of Muslims:
These
policies were there to adversely affect the Muslims interests. The reason was
that the Congress had become too confident after winning and setting up of
govts in 6 provinces and in the 7th province it had a pro-Congress
govt and it thought that this was an opportunity where it could establish
itself as an All India Force. It also felt that it provided Congress an
opportunity to win over Muslims votes and somehow push aside ML and other
Muslim groups and organizations that existed at that time in India. And the
Congress thought that in this way it could establish itself as the genuine and
truly All India Party and hey would perform better in the next elections.
Muslim mass contact movement:
Therefore,
they started Muslim mass contact movement by emphasizing that the real issues
are the economic issues. The Congress efforts to launch the mass contact
movement did not succeed; it in fact created greater insecurity amongst the
Muslims especially the Muslim organizations and the ML. These organizations
felt that it was an attempt to undercut the roots of the Muslim organizations
amongst the Muslims and what really undermined the efforts of the Congress to
make inroads amongst the Muslim population was the type of policies the
Congress ministries adopted in the provinces. Let’s take up their cultural and
educational policies.
Anti-Muslim drive:
All Congress
governments in the provinces launched anti-Muslim drive basically to exclude
the ML and other Muslim organizations from the government making process. The
Congress leaders had come to know that the ML had got roots in the masses. They
started ‘Muslim Mass Contact’ movement to defame the ML in their favour. Here
under the cover of cultural policies what they were doing, they were projecting
Hindu culture, history and symbols in the name of Indian culture and Indian
history. The Congress did not realized that an over emphasis on Hindu symbols
will cause reaction amongst the Muslims because the Muslims were defining their
identity with reference to their own history, culture, civilization and Islam.
And this approach by the Congress was coming in conflict with that perspective
and that outlook.
The question of language:
Then came
the question of language, most of the provincial govts were projecting now
Hindi language in place of Urdu which also perturbed the Muslims. Let’s take up
the educational policies. They were making cultural and educational policies
that promoted the Hindu culture and symbols in the name of Indian culture. They
introduced the famous anthem Banda-Mataram, an anthem from Annandmath in the
institutions and offices etc. If we go back in the context of Bande Mataram,
this had an anti Muslim connotation and the context is anti Muslims, therefore
when this anthem virtually became a part of their system, the Muslims objected.
Another was the projection of Gandhi’s philosophy that was also objected by the
Muslim leaders because that what incorporated in the courses they were trying
to introduce.
Wardha Educational Scheme:
The Hindi
language was given top most importance in their policies. Wardha Educational
Scheme was introduced by the Congress which was to convert Muslims into Hindus
through primary educational literature. Again under the cover of new education
policies they were projecting certain ideas which were in conflict with the
notion of Muslim identity, Projection of Hindu heroes like Gandhi and
distortion of Muslim history became their moral creed which obviously means
distortion of the Muslim history.
The policy of discrimination:
In addition
to these cultural issues and issues of interpretation of history there were
couple of other issues that alienated the Muslims. They followed the policy of
discrimination in services or new recruitment for jobs. A large number of
Muslim civil servants have complains about discrimination, in the form of
promotion or in the form of up in the cadre and different kinds of
appointments, these were the complaints which a good number of Muslim officers
made to the ML. Additionally there were complaints about new recruitments. A
good number of Muslim applicants for jobs complained that in case of selection
board which comprised mainly of Non-Muslims they had to face a difficult time.
The overall
attitude of these ministries was negative towards Muslims especially, the
activists, those who were active in politics, or active in ML or other Muslims
organizations in the provinces. The major problem was that the Congress party
was not able to understand the Muslim sensitivities about their identity,
culture and about their interests, they did not realize that Islam and the
heritage and the political experience which they had over generations in India
was playing a vital and central role in creating their political identity. All
that experience had become bases of their political identity and their
political demands and unfortunately the Congress govt in the provinces and the
Congress high command was insensitive to all these issues and that is why the
Congress ministries in the provinces could not win over the Muslims. In fact,
they alienated the Muslims. This unjust treatment compelled the Muslims to be
disciplined in every sphere of life. Let’s now move over to the next part of
our lecture, that is the Muslim response, and how did the ML responded to the
situation that I have described.
Muslim Response:
During this
period, that is period over two years, the ML was not sitting idle. The ML was
closely monitoring what was happening in different provinces. They were also
mobilizing the Muslim and they were in interaction with the people in different
provinces, mobilizing them and taking into account their concerns and their
complaints. The Muslims were well aware of the theocratic inclination of the
Hindu people. They arranged a close monitoring of the government. They
publicized their policies and raised the issues. The mobilization of Muslims on
these matters required keen probe to collect the original facts of the Hindu
atrocities. Here we will talk about certain reports during these two years on
the treatment of Muslim interests by the Congress ministries.
The Pirpur Report:
The first
report is entitled as the PIRPUR REPORT which came out on March 28, 1938, the
Council of ML appointed an eight-member committee under the presidentship of
Raja Syed Muhammad Mehdi of Pirpur that presented its report on, November 15,
1938. It tried to dig out the cruelties of the Congress ministries in seven
provinces. The report took up the Congress support to the rival Muslim
organizations, intimidation and threats to the pro-Muslim League people. This
report also talks about the policies which the Congress in different provinces
and how those policies adversely affected the people of those provinces.
The Sharif Report, March 1939
There is
another report the Sharif Report that was released in March 1939, and this
report focuses on the province of Bihar, what was the Congress ministries doing
in Bihar and how the Muslims suffered under the govt of Congress in Bihar. The
ML deputed Mr. Sharif with members to investigate the injustices under the
dictatorial rule of the Hindus. This report mainly collected the facts,
concentrating on ill treatment of the government with the Muslims in Bihar.
The Fazl-ul- Haq Report: (December 1939)
The third
report is a statement or a detailed account given by the chief minister of
Bengal A. K. Fazl-ul-Haq, who published a pamphlet entitled Muslim Sufferings
Under the Rule of Congress and made many alarming revelations e.g. forbidding
of Azan, attacks in mosques, noisy processions of the Hindu scoundrels,
forbidding of the cow-slaughter etc. This pamphlet responded the indictments by
the Congress on the Muslims. At that time the chief minister was described or
labeled as the premier. This report was a list of complaints and grievances
which the Muslims developed against the Congress ministries in different parts
of India.
Overall Assessment:
If we look
at all these reports what we get is an overall impact of how the Muslims
perceived the Congress ministries and what was their reaction to their
policies, and what we get is a negative perception. A sense of a feeling of
insecurity caused by the provincial govts and a desire to protect their
interests, and that was the prominent feature which comes out from the congress
ministries. All the reports described the Congress government as an attempt to
create ‘Hindu Raj’ that wanted to overwhelm the Muslim culture and their
identity. It was a rigorous threat to the Muslims’ interests. Many of the
Muslim leaders especially the Muslim League leaders were arguing that what the
Congress was doing in these provinces where it had its govt was trying to establish
a Hindu Rule, a rule dominated by the Hindus. The Muslims were generally
feeling that this kind of govt in the long run undermine their interests. That
is what was the perception of the Muslim League leadership.
Muslim League Activism:
Policies
and strategies:
The ML
remained very active during this period. The Muslim League highlighted the
issues and the complaints which the ML received and mobilized the Muslims to
counter them adequately. It reorganized the Muslim community to cope with the
situation. The most significant development so far as the ML was concerned was
its session at Lucknow in October 1937. In this session of ML Many prominent
leaders like Fazlul Haq (premier of Bengal) participated in the session while
Sikander Hayat (premier of Punjab) and Sir Saadullah (premier of Assam)
announced their support to the ML. In this session 3 chief ministers or you
could call them the premiers participated in the session and all these 3 Chief
ministers promised to extend support to the ML although the ML had problems of
managing relations with A. K Fazul Haq and Sikander Hayat Khan later on, but
the fact that 3 Muslim CM were there and expressed their support for the ML was
a big achievement for the ML, it was a major success and you could compare the position
of the ML in 1934 with the position in October in 1937.
In 1934 ML
was weak and divided, there were factions in the ML and the Muslim leadership
requested the Quaid to come back to India and when he came back to India. He
took the responsibility to reorganize the ML but in 1937 elections it could not
perform well. Now with the entry of the Chief Ministers on the side of the ML,
it felt more confident and more secure because it could talk about now the
support which it was enjoying. So in other words the ML fate had started
changing from 1937.
This is
ironic that in 1937 elections ML performed poorly then by October the situation
was changing and it was moving up and if we go back to the later period we will
come to know that the ML becomes a very powerful and effective organization.
Now coming back to the 1937 session of the ML
In this
session the Muslim leaders shed a sharp criticism on the Congress policies, and
they explained that how these policies were working against the Muslims. They
protested against the reduction of status of Urdu and other Muslim related
issues. They created realization, amongst the Muslims, of what can happen under
the Congress rule and urged for serious thinking about the future political and
constitutional arrangements. They unearthed the real objectives of the Congress
and urged the need of unity among the Muslims under the banner of Muslim
League. They also expressed their determination to resist these tendencies of
the Congress ministries and to work for protection and promotion of Muslim
interests in the Sub Continent.
Blessing in disguise:
There was a
realization that what has happened in the Congress ministries at the provincial
level, would perhaps be the fate of the Muslims, if Congress assumes power in
all India. They were saying that in a way this is at a limited scale a display
of what Congress would do and that is how it is going to behave if it get power
at the Centre or at the provincial level. This kind of feeling led the ML
leadership to giver a serious thought to alternatives, political alternatives.
Previously, the ML and other ML leaders were primarily were talking of a
federal model, certain safeguards and constitutional guarantees that should be
provided to the Muslims. But here after the Congress Ministries some of the
Muslim leaders began to question that whether a provincial model with autonomy
can solve their problems that if they have a federal system with provincial
autonomy will not solve their problems. If the situation will go as it is going
in the provinces then perhaps it may not provide a satisfactory solution to the
Muslims. It is because of this kind of feelings that the ML leadership began to
think about alternatives.
Sind Muslim League Resolution:
In fact, the
SML was the first regional organization or regional body of the ML that argued
that ML should think beyond the federal model that is instead of demanding
federal model with autonomy to the provinces and in provinces where they are in
majority then would have the security, so the ML was arguing that they will
have to think beyond the federal model and they will have to talk about some
constitutional scheme that talks about freedom for the Muslims. With the
passage of time this thinking caught on and then in 1939 when the 2nd
World War started the Congress party decided to withdraw its ministries, the
ministries resigned and that movement was occasion of pleasure and happiness
for the Muslim League.
Resign of Congress Ministries:
The Second
World War (September 1939) proved blessing for the Muslims in a sense that the
Congress Ministries resigned in November 1939. The Muslims observed Day of
Deliverance on December 22, 1939, to express their satisfaction that there are
no longer Congress Ministries and when the issue of 2nd World War
came the ML argued that new constitution would be framed keeping in view the ML
interests, they also argued that no constitution would be imposed without
taking into account Muslim interests
Conclusion:
The ML
redefined its position during the World War II. They expressed their enthusiasm
that no constitution to be enforced without the consent of the Muslims. They
eradicated their organizational weaknesses and refined their objectives keeping
the experiences of the Congress ministries. This brings to and ends to our
today’s lecture where we focus on the Congress Ministries.
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