Professional Documents
Culture Documents
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
Reaction by Hindus
Lawyers
Journalists
Business Community
Educated Elite
Hindu Nationalists
Anglo-Indian and British Press
Indian National Conference
Swadeshi Movement
Students
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.
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
Founding Fathers
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.
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
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
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
Khilafat Movement
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.
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.
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