Daily Times

The Muslims enjoyed a golden period of economic, cultural, and scientific flourishing in the history of Islam traditionally dated from the 8th century to 14th century.

The Muslims, ‘ arrival in the Indian subcontinent in great numbers started with their invasion of Sindh in AD 712 under the leadership of Muhammad Bin Qasim. This progressive period of Muslims is up to the reign of Aurangzeb 1707 and, during this period, Muslims enjoyed a great legitimacy over the entire Indian Subcontinent and thus popularly known as glory and power of the Mughal for laying the foundation of modern administration of India.

The existing means of communication and economic and political structure made it difficult for Mughal Emperor to persist on a stable centralization over the entire parts of the country and thus, after the death of Aurangzeb, Mughal Emperor slowly disintegrated and became ineffective during the reign of Bahadur Shah Zafar. With the appearance of East Indian Company, after deposing their European Rivals, dealt with Muslims, Hindu, and Sikh rulers of the states one by one. The British government set out Legislation to make a colonial expansionism over the entire subcontinent which made the left out the lives of Muslims at the mercy of God.

The last attempt of Indian subcontinent to throw off the British yoke failed in 1857 when the Company’s forces fought back and suppressed the mutiny of Indian soldiers (known as the War of Independence). This is start of Era where Muslims of Subcontinent suffered a lot in their dignity, moral, cultural, and economic values. The Muslims of India bore the main brunt of defeat in 1857, war of independence. Three sons of last Mughal were shot dead, and their heads presented to the Emperor. The Emperor(Bahadur Shah Zafar) was exiled for life to Rangoon. A number of Ulema who had given, “fatwas” of jihad against the British were either killed or deported for life. Muslim in Delhi were particularly victimized, and the city fell into a quagmire of illiteracy and backwardness. Moreover, Muslims were not allowed to enter Delhi. In this mainstream, Constitutional development between 1861 and 1909 by British supremacy gave Muslims a very minute chance to represent their identity, and thus suffered a lot regarding their morally and politically values.

In these difficult times, when Muslims in India was sliding into ignorance and retrogression, a towering figure, Syed Ahmed Khan, possessing a great foresight and courage, appeared on the scene. Syed Ahmed khan, original exponent of the two nation theory, laid the foundation of Muhammadan Anglo- Oriental College in 1875, by hoping for the advancement of the Muslims community lay in their acquisition of western learning, especially science. Politically, his contribution to the political cause of Indian Muslims was formidable especially indicated as the separate nomination of Muslims to the local self-government institutions which were created by Lord Rippon. Moreover, he was in support of two nation theory, and completely opposed the demands of Indian national Congress for the enlargement of representative government in Indian and recruitment of Indian for government service by open competitive examination.

This, somewhat to some extent, raised the courage and self defense for Muslims and gave their an indication to a separate Nation. On the same line, the partition of Bengal in 1905 further embittered relations between Hindus and Muslims and fears of Hindu Domination within the Congress were addressed by some influential leaders by forming the All India Muslim League in Dhaka in 1906 having the aim of protecting political and other rights of Indian Muslims. This was a pivot point or a political organization for Muslims of Indian subcontinent to raise their voice for a separate nation. However, Hindus leaders were continuously trying to get rid of Colonial expansionism of British government and thus, seeing the dreams to rule over entire subcontinent.

With the development of multiple factors like Russo-Japanese War of 1904-5 and growing strength of Indian public opinion, these gave enough power to Indian subcontinent people to get rid of colonial rule of British government. Furthermore, political development from 1919 to 1935 was both important and turbulent from the standpoint of political and constitutional development in Indian.

The Indian National Congress, in its annual session in 1919, condemned the Montford Redorms as ‘ inadequate, unsatisfactory, and disappointing ‘. It called on the British Government to take immediate steps to establish a fully was government in India. During this period, M.K. Gandhi launched a movement of’ Satyagraha’ against the Draconian acts of Britain rule and called for country wide strikes especially nominated as an incident which occurred in, ‘Amritsar ‘ where movement led to violence protests and disorders, and about 4 hundred people died and 1200 were wounded. Muslims in Delhi and Ahmedabad were killed by police fire, and this outrage protest was handled by Martial Law and thus, Gandhi decided to call off this protest. Moreover, the problems for Muslims of Indian Subcontinent were increasing on peak especially nominated as putting off the promise of Turkey affiliation with the lands of Asia Minor and Thrace by Lloyd George, during the first World War (1914-18).

This purpose, latterly, achieved by Mustafa Kamal Ataturk when he expelled the British, French, and the Greek forces from Asia Minor and Thrace. Nehru Report, in 1928, purposed the constitution for India by aiming there will be no reserved seats for any community in the provinces of Punjab and Bengal. This was annulled by All Indian Muslim league and Muhammad Ali Jinnah gave his famous fourteen points in 1929 with proposal of Delhi Muslim, and it was widely accepted. During this time, Indians demanded a Constituent Assembly to draft a constitution for India by doing the negotiation with British government but that was all in vain. Civil disobedience, which was led by Gandhi, led to the killing of thousands of people in India subcontinent. The truly representative party of Muslims, under the leadership of Quaid, took the benefits from it and it gave a clear clue to a separate nation.

Although both the congress and the Muslim League were critical of the government of India across 1935,they decided to participate in the elections during the first weeks of 1937. Unfortunately, the results of the elections shuttered the hopes of Muslims and Congress won the outright majorities in 5 out of 11 provincial assemblies and was the largest party in two others. Their leaders, now drunk with victories, insisted that Congress was a sole national organization and denied the existence of any other party. Singing Bande Matram was made compulsory in legislative assemblies and educational institutions. Vidya Educational Scheme which was introduced to confuse the Muslims about Islamic ideologies, was put into practice. The Congress imposed its will on the Muslim Minorities. Thus, this electoral programmed agitated the difficulties for Muslim.

What occurred between 1937 to 1940 was an eye open for Muslims in India. In 1937, When Congress Ministers, in home-spun dress, sat in the Secretariat and controlled British Revenue officials, magistrates, and police officers, whilst the Congress flag with its spinning wheel, flew on government buildings, they could not bring together two communities. The suggestion of this Hindus oppression and domination were intolerable by the Muslims.

They understood that if the British was leaving, there must be either a Hindu or a Muslim rule, and were thus ready to follow a leader who claimed to save them from Hindu rule. In this background, All Muslim League held its session on 23 March 1940, in which the famous Lahore Resolution was adopted. Unfortunately, it was also used as the basis of the six-point programmed spelled out by Mujibur Rahman in 1966 which ultimately led to the break of Pakistan in 1971. On the other hand, it was clear image of two nation theory and without any doubt it was only a statement on which Jinnah could get a consensus of the Muslim Community over India.

There were, after all, contradictions between Muslim interests in Majority and minority provinces, and between an apparently separatist demand for autonomous Muslim states, and the need for a Center capable of ensuring the interests of Muslim in the rest of India. During the second, World war (1939-45),the league’s attitude toward the government throughout the war was on of limiting cooperation. They had cooperated them and ensured them about a separate nation which also paved a way towards Pakistan. However, the congress at this point opposed the British government for taking participation in the war, and thus, clashes broke out in them.

Elections to the Provincial and center Legislatures,1945-46 electoral Programmed gave the Muslim league enough legitimacy to stand out a separate party for Muslims. Despite the fact that it all, Congress persisted on their core value of vanguard party for Indian subcontinent which was nothing but castle in the air. Muslims represented themselves as a separate nation either politically and theologically. From Cabinet Mission Plan (1946) to the Mountbatten Plan (1947), Jinnah took each and every step with care full of strategically measures. It was critical moment that small mistake could lead to a massive loss.

Even on the opposition of Congress to interim government, which was a part of Mission Plan, Jinnah persisted on it and strongly challenged the good faith of the Congress in accepting the long-term proposal citing the statement of Nehru on 10 July that, ‘the big probability is there will be no grouping.” With his bestowed persistence and audacity, Jinnah proposed ‘Direct Action ‘to achieve Pakistan and to get rid of the slavery under the British. Ultimately, it impelled the Congress to withdraw the objection to enter the interim government and thus it gave a clear clue to Pakistan. In addition, the Congress Government at the center did not act to prevent communal riots, and Muslims interests suffered due to their lack of representation at the center. This meant that if there is no separation then minorities (Muslims)will be dominated and oppressed by majority (Hindu).

With the passage of time, several factors were contributing to the independent state for Muslims but there are still some marginalized problems which were cresting obstacles for it. The Mountbatten plan was completely agreed to delegate the power into Indian hand which means nothing but subjucalotory and Oppression over the Muslims. He tried to take to part in every step in support of Indian, but it was all useless.

Finally, on 3 June 1947, British Government accepted the principle of partition of Indian and undertook to hand over dominion status, to the successor government on 15 August with the implicit rights to secede from the commonwealth. The Mountbateen Plan didn’t, ‘t elaborate any constitutional proposals but it outlined the procedure to ascertain the wishes of the people belongs to specify areas whether they wished to join Pakistan or not? It may be pointed out there that the partitioning of Bengal and the Punjab was a painful act having a Muslim Population of about 55 and 57 percent respectively. Moreover, the vagueness of Lahore Resolution was also appointed out by its opposition that area of Pakistan did not include the entire provinces of Punjab, Bengal and Assam because the Lahore Resolution carefully used the phrase ‘ areas in which the Muslims are numerically in a majority as in north-western and eastern zone of India ‘. Additionally, Princely States, which was numerically 562 in total, also created a lot of obstacles before and after the creation of Pakistan.

Pakistan was only contagious with 14 princely states, and out of them State of Jammu and Kashmir, even today, is a big question for its territorial boundaries to Pakistan Thus, Muslims leader suffered a lot of hardships regarding politically to gain a sovereign state for Muslims of Indian subcontinent. The increasing tempo which marked the new plan, as compared to the

Cabinet Mission Plan , was further accelerated by the Indian Independence Bill. After in only 14 days, it received the Royal assent and titled as Independence

Act, 1947. With the aid of this act, the legal birth of the new dominion was marked out by the splitting of the interim government in New Delhi into two groups, representing the two successor government- Indian and Pakistan. Mountbatten went to Karachi to formally inaugurate the new state of Pakistan on August 14, 1947.