Partition of Bengal (1905) and

Muslim League (1906)

Muhammad Hamza Shafqaat

Paritition
Partition of Bengal, 1905 effected on 16 October
during the viceroyalty of LORD CURZON (18991905), proved to be a momentous event in the
history of modern Bengal. admittedly much too
large for a single province of British India.
Annulment of Partition:
The British government revoked the partition to
avoid trouble on the visit of King George V. The
Muslims were disappointed by the government
response to the violent strategy of protests
adopted by the Hindus

Reasons
This premier province grew too vast for
efficient administration and required reorganisation and intelligent division
The division was made on geographical rather
than on an avowedly communal basis
Area of 189,000
Population in 1903 had arisen to 78.5 million
Problems of Famine
Development of Assam

Chronology of Events

Published in January 1904.

Curzons Tour
Assent of Bengal and Asaam
New Province included Chittagong, Dhaka and Rajshahi
(excluding Darjeeling) and the district of Malda
amalgamated with Assam
Bengal was to surrender not only these large territories on
the east but also to cede to the Central Provinces the five
Hindi-speaking states. On the west it would gain Sambalpur
and a minor tract of five Uriya-speaking states from the
Central Provinces. Bengal would be left with an area of
141,580 sq. miles and a population of 54 million, of which
42 million would be Hindus and 9 million Muslims

Reaction by Hindus

Lawyers
Journalists
Business Community
Educated Elite
Hindu Nationalists
Anglo-Indian and British Press
Indian National Conference
Swadeshi Movement
Students

Initial Reaction By Muslims

Muslim Press and Leaders

Mohammedan Provincial Union
Farizi and Wahabi Movements
Economic Apprehensions
Factor of Land System in Bengal

Strong Reaction by Muslims

Islamic Conference in Dhaka 1906

Hindu Muslims Riots
Formation of Muslim League
Bampfylde Fuller Lt, Governor

Effect on Muslims
The Partition of Bengal of 1905 left a profound impact on the political
history of India. From a political angle the measure accentuated HinduMuslim differences in the region. One point of view is that by giving the
Muslim's a separate territorial identity in 1905 and a communal electorate
through the Morley-Minto Reforms of 1909 the British Government in a
subtle manner tried to neutralise the possibility of major Muslim
participation in the Indian National Congress.
The Partition of Bengal indeed marks a turning point in the history of
nationalism in India. It may be said that it was out of the travails of Bengal
that Indian nationalism was born. By the same token the agitation against
the partition and the terrorism that it generated was one of the main
factors which gave birth to Muslim nationalism and encouraged them to
engage in separatist politics. The birth of the Muslim League in 1906 at
Dacca (Dhaka) bears testimony to this. The annulment of the partition
sorely disappointed not only the Bengali Muslims but also the Muslims of
the whole of India. They felt that loyalty did not pay but agitation does.
Thereafter, the dejected Muslims gradually took an anti-British stance.

All India Muslim League

Simla Deputation
The Simla Deputation of 1906 was the first systematic
attempt on the part of the Muslims to present their
demands, to the British government and to seek their
acceptance.
The Simla deputation comprised 35 Muslims
from all over India under Sir Agha Khan with the help
of Mr. William Archbold.
The Viceroy was sympathetic towards the demands. It
encouraged the Muslims to launch struggle for their
rights parallel to the Indian National Congress but it
required an organized platform

Demands of The Deputation

Representation more than their population because
of their importance.
Separate electorate
Reservations of Muslims seats in government jobs.
Special share in Municipal or district boards,
University senates and syndicates
Muslim representation in Viceroy Executive Council.
Muslim University at Aligarh.

Founding Fathers

Nawab Sir Khwaja Salimullah

Cooper Trapp
Nawab Mohsi n ul Mulk
Syed Ameer Ali
Sir Mian Muhammad Shafi
Admirers, companions, and followers of the
Aligarh Movement

Formation of Muslim League

Time had come to formally organize the Muslims after the success
of the Simla Deputation. The Muslim leaders desired to create a
permanent political forum. After the meeting of the Mohammedan
Educational Conference, the Muslim leaders met to set up the All
India Muslim League. Wiqar-ul-Mulk chaired the meeting. Nawab
Salimullah proposed Muslim League and Hakim Ajmal Khan and
Maulana Zafar Ali Khan seconded.
In the Karachi session Dec. 1907 its constitution was approved and
in March 1908 at Aligarh, Agha Khan was formally elected its
president.

London Branch: May 1908 Justice Amir Ali Syed organized a branch
of Muslim League at London and responded effectively to the
misunderstandings and conspiracies of the Hindus against the
Muslims

Objectives
Following were the objectives of the Muslim League:
1. To inculcate among Muslims a feeling of loyalty to
the government and to disabuse their minds of
misunderstandings and misconceptions of its actions
and intentions.
2. To protect and advance the political rights and
interests of the Muslims of India and to represent their
needs and aspirations to the government from time to
time.
3. To prevent the growth of ill will between Muslims
and other nationalities without compromising to it's
own purposes.

Change in the Goals of the Muslim

League 1913
Important developments occurred during the first decade of the 20th
century like annulment of the Partition of Bengal and Western aggression
towards Muslim countries, Balkan wars, Libya-Italy war, Demolition of the
mosque in Kawnpur (1913), etc. weakened Muslim faith in the British. This
led to a major drift in the Muslim Leagues policy. In 1913, the League
changed its goals:

Self government under the British Crown keeping in view the peculiar
conditions in India.
Good relations with other communities cooperation with any party
working for similar goals.
This change brought the ML and Congress closer. In this way the era of
cooperation between Hindus and Muslims set in. The role of the Quaid-iAzam is highly noteworthy to bring the Congress and the Muslim League
to the table. He joined the Muslim League in 1913

Efforts of Hindu Muslim Unity,

Lucknow Pact and Khilafat
Movement
Lecture Number 8

Background
Sir Syeds Legacy
Nawab Wiqar-ul-Mulk
Weaknesses in Pro-British Policy
Interests of British
Need of steps towards freedom
Anti-British tradition in Muslim Religious Thought

Annulment of Partition of Bengal

Efforts of Hindu Muslim Unity

Maulana Shiblis article
A turning point in Muslim Politics
Difference in Congress and Muslim League
Objectives
Left and Right Wing of Muslim League
World War I and Muslim Suspicions

Jinnah as Ambassador of Hindu

Muslim Unity
Jinnahs enrolment in Muslim League
Concept of Indian Nationality
Annual Session of both parties in Bomay
(1915)
Jinnah and Mazhar-ul-Haq
Defence of India Act and Press Act
Architect of Lucknow Pact

Jinnah as Ambassador of Hindu

Muslim Unity
Towards the Hindus our attitude should be of
good will and brotherly feelings. Co-operation
in the cause of our motherland should be our
guiding principle. Indias real progress can only
be achieved by a true understanding and
harmonious relations between the two great
sister communities. With regards to our own
affairs, we can depend upon nobody but
ourselves

Lucknow Pact
The right of Muslim Separate electrorate was
accepted by the Congress
Both Muslim League and Congress jointly
demanded self-rule from the government for the
provinces
Muslims were to constitute 1/3rd of elected
members of the central council
Muslims were given weightage in Muslim
Minority provinces and the Hindus will be given
weightage in Muslim Majority provinces

Lucknow Pact
No bill or clause or a resolution introduced by
a non-official member affecting one or the
other community shall be presented in the
assembly without approval of concerned
group
Pujab 50%, UP 30%, Bengal 40%, Bihar 25%,
CP 15%, Madras 15% and Bombbay 33%
Judiciary to be separated from Executive

Analysis and Effects

Concessions and compromise from Both Sides

Separate Electorates
Compromise in Majority Provinces
Advantage in Minority Provinces
Era of Hindu Muslim Unity
Incorporations in Government of India Act,
1919 1935

Analysis and Effects

K.B. Saeed, Pakistan: The Formative Phase
The Hindu-Muslim concordant of Lucknow
was the high-water mark of Hindu Muslim
Unity
Victory of constitutionliast

Khilafat Movement

First Para for Paper

While Mustafa Kemal Pasha was fighting the Britishled European conspiracy to destroy Ottoman/Turkish
civilization, the Muslims of the Subcontinent opened
a second front against their Britain rulers by
launching the Khilafat Movement. The Movement
was an expression of the Subcontinent Muslims
sentimental attachment to the Ottoman Turks, who
were perceived as not only the last stronghold of
Islam but also their Sultan was viewed as the Caliph
of all Muslims. In fact, the spirit of pan-Islamism
among the Muslims of British India had been
growing ever since the collapse of the Mughal
Empire. The Khilafat Movement was led primarily by
Muslims leaders but also participated by Hindu
leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi. It included mass
rallies and arrests, media campaign, non-cooperation
tactics and deputations abroad.

Attitude of Muslims Towards Turks

Sir Syed
Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan, the founder of Aligarh College, had urged them to
stay loyal to the British and emulate the Ottoman Empires progressive
reforms. Sir Sayyid published articles in his magazine Tehzeebul-Akhlaq,
citing examples of Ottoman rulers like Sultan Mahmud II and Sultan Abdul
Hamid who, he argued, gave up religious prejudices and saw no harm in
taking advantage of European arts and sciences, or in adopting European
customs and manners
Deposition of Sultan Abdul Hamid in 1909
Maulana Muhammad Ali, Maulana Zafar Ali Khan, Maulana Abul Kalam
Azad, Nawab Viqarul Mulk, Maulana Altaf Hussain Hali and Maulana Shibli
Nomanipaid warm tributes to Young Turks (Committee of Union and
Progress)
Source: Ishtiaq Ahmed in his research paper From Pan-Islamism to Muslim
Nationalism

Plan of European Powers against

Ottoman Empire
War of Tripoli 1911
Balkan Wars of 1912-13
World War I

Initial Muslim Response

Maulana Muhammad Ali, Maulana Shaukal Ali,
Maulana Zafar Ali Khan and Maulana Azad launched
a massive media and political campaign in support
of the Turks, urging Indian Muslims to provide
material aid to the suffering Turk
Comrade, Hamdard, Zamindar and Hilal
Muslims sent donations worth thousands of British
Pound-Sterling to the Turkish Red Crescent to help it
rehabilitate the Turks displaced during the wars of
Tripoli and the Balkans

Formation of Khilafat Committee

From December 1918, the Muslim leaders launched the
Khilafat Movement, led initially by a small group of leading
individuals like Maulvi Abdul Bari, Dr. Ansari, Hakim Ajmal
Khan, Seth Chotani, Abul Qasim, Maulana Azad, Maulana
Hasrat Mohani, Mushir Husain Kidwai, and, of course, the Ali
BrothersMaulana Shaukat Ali, Maulana Muhammad Ali.
All India Muslim League Annual Session under President Fazl e
Haq condemned the acts of Sherif Hussain and demanded
that Jazeera tul Arab to remain under Caliph rule.
The Central Khilafat Committee, was founded at a meeting
held in Bombay on 14 November 1919 with Seth Chotani as
its president

Objectives of the Khilafat Movement

1. To maintain the Turkish Caliphate.
2. To protect the holy places of the Muslims.
3. To maintain the unity of the Ottoman Empire.
An all-India Khilafat Day was declared on 17
October 1919.

Source: K. K. Aziz, The Indian Khilafat Movement

Khilafat Delegation to Europe

Maulana Muhammed Ali, Sayyid Sulaiman Nadvi, Abul Kasim and
Mr Kidwai on Feb 1, 1920 from Bombay to London at the time of
Peace Conference in London
Anglican Church saw it as a struggle between Cross and Crescent.
The public and the British Parliament were staunchly hostile and
anti-turkish
Meeting with Lloyd George after Treaty of Sevres
The Turks are to be dealt with according to the same principles that
had been applied to other vanquished nations. No preferential
treatment was to be given to them
The British Governments disregard of its assurances of fair
treatment for the Turks was clearly a breach of promise. Hence a
new method of struggle started on.

Rowlett Act, 1919

Rowlett Act was a black law introduced in India. Tothe law, the
government got authority to persecute any Indian and the
arrested had no facility of legal assistance and right to appeal
just as the Lettres de Cachet in France before the French
Revolution. Jinnah resigned from the central legislature as a
protest.
Jallianwala Bagh Incident, April 1919
The people gathered in Jallianwala Bagh at Amritsar but
General Dyer opened fire to disperse the throng that cast a
huge human casualties (379). It is considered one of the great
tragedies in India. In 1940, by killing Governor Punjab, Sir
Michaal O Dayer, Ram Muhammad Singh Azad got revenge of
the Indian massacre. The Nagpur Session of the Congress (Dec.
1920) approved non-cooperation with Government but Jinnah
opposed and left the Congress because he was against the use
of extra-constitutional means of protests.

Role of Gandhiand NonCooperation

Movement
Contemporaneously, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi led his non-violent
nationalist movement satyagraha, as a protest against government
repression evidenced, for example, in the Rowlatt Act of 1919, and the
Jalian Wallah Bagh Massacres of April 1919. To enlist Muslim support in
his movement, Gandhi supported the Khilafat cause and became a
member of the Central Khilafat Committee. At the Nagpur Session (1920)
of the indian national congress Gandhi linked the issue of Swaraj (SelfGovernment) with the Khilafat demands and adopted the noncooperation plan to attain the twin objectives.
By mid-1920 the Khilafat leaders had made common cause with Gandhi's
non-cooperation movement promising non-violence in return for
Gandhi's support of the Khilafat Movement whereby Hindus and
Muslims formed a united front against British rule in India. Support was
received also of Muslim theologians through the Jamiyat-al Ulama-i-Hind
(The Indian Association of Muslim Theologians). Maulana mohmmad
akram khan of Bengal was a member of its Central Executive and
Constitution Committee.

Hijrat Blunder
Summer of 1920 the mass migration of Muslims from a land
viewed as darul-harab to Muslim lands considered darul-Islam.
Maulana Shaukat Ali, at the Khilafat conference in Patna, declared
that
if the Khilafat was tampered with, there were but two courses open to
them: Jihad or Hijret.

Molvi Abdul Bari, Maulana Azad issued Fatwas

Altogether 60,000 Indians were estimated to have attempted
emigration; but, after much suffering and hardship, two-third of
them returned to India. The cold weather, diseases, humiliation,
disillusionment and the hardship of the journey had cost them
dearly. Some of those who did not come back to India were
scattered to Central Asia and some even went to Turkey

Other Important Incidents

The Rowlatt Act, the Jalliwanwala Bagh massacre and martial law in
Punjab had belied the generous wartime promises of the British. The
Montage Chelmsford report with its ill-considered scheme of diarchy
satisfied few. Gandhi, so far believing in the justice and fair play of the
government, now felt that Non-Cooperation with the government must be
started. At the same time, the harsh terms of the Treaty of Sevres
between the Allies and Turkey was resented by the Muslims in India. The
Muslims started the Khilafat movement and Gandhi decided to identify
himself with them. Gandhi's 'skilful top level political game' secured in
winning over the Muslim support in the coming Non-Cooperation
Movement in India.

Gandhis Betrayal
However, the movement's objectives of communal harmony and
nonviolence suffered a setback because of the Hijrat (Exodus) to
Afghanistan in 1920 of about 18,000 Muslim peasants, mostly from Sind
and North Western Provinces, the excesses of Muslims who felt that
India was Dar-ul-Harb (Apostate land), the Moplah rebellion in South
India in August 1921, and the Chauri-Chaura incident in February 1922 in
the United Provinces where a violent mob set fire to a police station
killing twenty-two policemen. Soon after Gandhi called off the Noncooperation movement, leaving Khilafat leaders with a feeling of
betrayal.
The extra-territorial loyalty of Khilafat leaders received a final and deadly
blow from the Turks themselves. The charismatic Turkish nationalist
leader Mustafa Kemal's startling secular renaissance, his victories over
invading Greek forces culminating in the abolition of the Sultanate in
November 1922, and the transformation of Turkey into a Republic in
October 1923, followed by the abolition of the Khilafat in March 1924,
took the Khilafatists unaware. By 1924 the Khilafat Movement, had
become devoid of any relevance and significance and met its end.

Ending of Caliphate by Ata Turk

The extra-territorial loyalty of Khilafat leaders received a final and deadly
blow from the Turks themselves. The charismatic Turkish nationalist leader
Mustafa Kemal's startling secular renaissance, his victories over invading
Greek forces culminating in the abolition of the Sultanate in November
1922, and the transformation of Turkey into a Republic in October 1923,
followed by the abolition of the Khilafat in March 1924, took the
Khilafatists unaware. By 1924 the Khilafat Movement, had become devoid
of any relevance and significance and met its end.
Allama Dr Muhammed Iqbal approved of them saying in Reconstruction
of Religious Thought in Islamthat they involved an exercise o f the right of
Ijtihad. According to Allama Iqbal, the Ottoman Caliphate h ad long
become a mere symbol of power which departed long ago. The idea of a
universal caliphate was a workable idea when the empire of Islam was
intact.

Role of M Ali Jinnah

Meeting of Muslim League in Calcutta
First came the Rowlatt Bill accompanied by the Punjab atrocities
and then came the spoliation of the Ottoman Empire and the Khilafat. One
attacks our liberty and the other our faith
In a letter to Ghandi, Jinnah said
Movement was bound to lead to disaster. This kind of a plan has
appealed only to the illiterate and the inexperienced youth of the
country
He said that though he had no power to remove the cause, he wished to
advise his countrymen against the dire consequences of such an extreme
act.
Jinnah learnt a lot from the Khilafat movement. It disillusioned him with
the Congress and the British rulers and strengthened his faith to work for
the intrests of the Muslims. He worked hard to bring the Muslims out of
their demoralized state of mind and reorganize them under the banner of
the Muslim League

The end of Tehrik-e-Khilafat was the

beginning of Tehrik-i-Pakistan for the
Muslims of British India

Effects of Khilafat Movement: An

Analysis
The goals of Khilafat Movement and Turkish Liberation Movement were
always different, because the former was based on the ideal of panIslamism and the latter was founded upon the realist notion of Turkic
nationalism
The Khilafat leadership was still holding on to its utopian pan-Islamist
vision for post- liberation Turkey, the Turkish nationalist leadership was
busy adopting one modernist-secular reform after another
For the Indian Muslims, the Turkish freedom movement and the
establishment of the Modern Turkish Republic served as a source of
inspiration and as an example of resistance to foreign domination
The pro-Ottoman feelings and proceedings in India undoubtedly
contributed to the development of Indo-Muslim national identity and the
eventual alienation of the Muslims from the British

Effects of Khilafat Movement: An

Analysis
For the first time in history, the Muslims of the Subcontinent could patch
up their differences on a single issue and get together. People from all
walks of life, the Sunnis and the Shiites, the traditional Ulema and the
western educated, the rich and the poor, the men as well as the women all
joined hands in this common cause and united.
It provided a meeting ground for the Muslims and Hindus and unite them
in action against their ruler
The Khilafat Movement was a political ride propelled by the Indian Muslims
minority syndrome and apprehensions about an uncertain future Ishtiaq
Ahmad in his paper, From Pan Islamism to Muslim Nationalism

It was the first country-wide agitation of the Muslims of British India with
a central organization to guide its course. It transformed the psyche of the
people, trained them in political agitation and taught them how to press
come their demands

Effects of Khilafat Movement: An

Analysis
Morale booster for the Turkish nationalist
forces under Mustafa Kemals command
It helped generate the much-needed financial
resources for the Angora Fund from
subcontinent Muslims in the form of British
currency as well as gold and silver ornaments
deposited voluntarily by Indian Muslim
women in the Khilafat account

Emergence of New Leaders

In addition to the front-rank leaders of the Khilafat
movement, a new class of Muslim leaders emerged
during this period from urban as well as from distant
parts of Bengal. They gained experience in organizing
and mobilizing the public. The Khilafat movement
provided an opportunity to throw up a new Mofassil
based leadership, which played a key role in
introducing a coherent self-assertive political identity
for Bengali Muslims. After the 1947 Partition, these
personalities played effective roles in their respective
areas of activity.