| Title | Nehru Report: Triggering the Muslim Political Cohesion |
|---|---|
| Author | Muhammad Shamshad |
| Category | Studies about Jawaharlal Nehru |
| Number of Pages | 18 |
| Language | English |
| File Size | 295 KB |
| File Type | |
| Country of Publication | Pakistan |
| Main Topics | From a Struggle to the Confidence-Building, Delhi-Muslim Proposals and Dismemberment of the Muslim League, Parting of the Ways, Re-organization of the Muslim League and Pathway to Pakistan, Jinnah's claim |
Summary Note of this Document
The paper by Amjad Abbas Khan (Associate Professor, Pakistan Study Centre, University of the Punjab) and Muhammad Shamshad (Ph.D. Scholar, the same institution) published in the Pakistan Journal of History and Culture (Vol. XLIII, No. 2, July-Dec. 2022), deals with a significant issue of how the Nehru Report 1928 became one of the main factors of Muslim political unity in British India which, in its turn, led to the creation of Pakistan in 1947.
Drawing upon historical facts it was suggested that a report, in a constitutional framework, had gone far to detach the Muslims by negating their main demands, but, at the same time, it had unintentionally made the Muslims stick together.
Historical Background: Muslim Decline and Revival
The article follows the history of Muslims in the Indian Sub-Continent from their arrival in 712 AD (under Muhammad bin Qasim) to the times of Ghaznavid, Ghauri, Delhi Sultanate, and Mughal periods, where they ruled as a minority.
The War of Independence (1857), which the British called a "mutiny" and the Indian nationalists a "war", was a watershed moment. Muslims were severely punished as they were held responsible for the revolt, whereas Hindus who sided with the British had access to education and the economy. The demise of the British East India Company led to the direct rule of the Crown which, in turn, deepened the marginalization of Muslims.
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Sir Syed Ahmed Khan (1817-1898) is shown to be a revolutionary personality. Observing the war and its effects, he composed pieces such as Essay on the Causes of the Indian Revolt (1858) and The Loyal Muhammadans of India (1860) to counter the false British perceptions of Muslims. He promoted a "trinity" for Muslim resurgence:
- Loyalty to the British.
- Industriousness with education (for example, the establishment of Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College in 1875 which has been turning out future leaders).
- Distance from politics so as not to suffer further estrangement.
Such tries, however, were successful only in the first years of the 20th century: Partition of Bengal (1905) supported Muslims but was revoked in 1911 due to Hindu protest; a 1906 Simla Deputation led by Aga Khan achieved separate electorates by Minto-Morley Reforms (1909); and a political platform in the form of the All-India Muslim League (AIML) was born in 1906.
Hindus and Muslims united only temporarily on two occasions: at the time of the Lucknow Pact (1916) when Muhammad Ali Jinnah (dubbed "Ambassador of Hindu-Muslim Unity") got the power to establish separate electorates and the Khilafat Movement (1919-1924) when Congress support was extended to Muslims who were going to lose the Ottoman Caliphate due to British interference. But the alliance was ruptured after Gandhi's Non-Cooperation Movement (1920) and the Chauri Chaura incident (1922) wherein the fissures between the partners came to the fore.
Delhi-Muslim Proposals and League Split (1927)
Muslim political ambitions centered around three demands: separate electorates, one-third central legislature representation, and provincial autonomy. In 1927 March, under Jinnah, AIML put forward the Delhi-Muslim Proposals that abandoned the demand for separate electorates in return for:
- Seats in Punjab and Bengal based on the Muslim population.
- One-third of central seats reserved for Muslims.
- Making Sindh a new province.
- Reforms carried out interestingly in NWFP and Balochistan regions.
Such torrent of protests were not only from Hindu Mahasabha but also some Muslims (e.g., Shafi League of Punjab) against these vehemently that the AIML break up therefore caused an impact where on one side Jinnah League which was pro the negotiation and another, Shafi League which insisted on separate electorates were formed. The all-British Simon Commission (1927) that was boycotted, signed a further rift between the two communities.
Nehru Report: The Turning Point (1928)
As a reaction to British provocations for Indians to compose their own constitution, the Nehru Report came out of the All-Parties Conferences (August 1928). Motilal Nehru was the main drafter assisted by Jawaharlal Nehru, Subhas Chandra Bose, and others. The Report was totally opposed to the Muslim demands:
- No separate electorates or minority weightage will be provided.
- The central government will have residuary powers.
- The Muslim representation at the center is going to be reduced to one-fourth.
Most Hindus including Gandhi were in favor of the Report which made Muslims very angry as they saw it as "majority tyranny." Jinnah considered the event as the "parting of the ways" and labeled Gandhi a communalist. The reply to it was the united front of Muslims, who along with Jinnah's Fourteen Points in March 1929 reaffirmed the old demands.
The article is in line with communalist historiography which sees religious communities of Hindus and Muslims as being naturally antagonistic due to remembered history (Muslims as former rulers, Hindus as subjects). At the same time, incidents such as the Urdu-Hindi Controversy (1867) and the repeal of Bengal Partition also contributed to the deepening of the gulf.
Reorganization and Path to Pakistan
The Nehru Report turned out to be a "blessing in disguise," that brought back the AIML factions. In 1935, Iqbal and Liaquat Ali Khan were of great help to Jinnah as he came back from London exile, and he was very much energized by them. Despite AIML's bad performance in the 1937 elections, the Two-Nation Theory was legitimized by the 1940 Lahore Resolution: Muslims were declared a separate nation and a homeland was demanded. Jinnah saw Islam and Hinduism as two different social orders which could not be compatible and dismissed joint rule.
The Muslim political maturity was evident in the series of events that followed where Congress was accused of treachery as the C.R. Formula (1944), Wavell Plan (1945), and Cabinet Mission Plan (1946) were successively rejected. This was Pakistan's independence in 1947.
Conclusion
This paper contends that although the Muslim revival after 1857 had been primarily through education and organization, it was the Nehru Report's rejection of rights that engendered unity among them against Hindu dominance and British rule. It brought about the reorganization, nationalism, and the strategic negotiations that paved the way to Pakistan. The author addresses the history students and researchers, stating that the Nehru Report was instrumental in the formation of the Muslim solidarity instead of Indian nationalism.