From British Rule to Self Rule — Comprehensive Study Notes

Partition of Bengal

Bengal was the biggest province in the subcontinent; administered by a single Lieutenant-Governor who could not manage such a vast area alone.
Lord Curzon became the Viceroy of India in $1905$ and felt Bengal was too large to govern effectively; pursued Divide & Rule policies.
Date of partition: $16^{\text{th}} \text{ October } 1905$ .
Result: Bengal divided into Western Bengal and Eastern Bengal.
Eastern Bengal: capital Dhaka; Muslim majority in the new province.
West Bengal: capital Calcutta; Hindu majority.

Muslim Reaction to the Partition

Eastern Bengal’s partition promised better economic, political, and social prospects for Muslims who had been suppressed and dominated before partition.
Muslims expected a significant social uplift in the new province.

Hindu Reaction to the Partition

Hindus opposed the partition, fearing Muslim dominance in the new province.
Hindu lawyers feared their legal practice would be affected as the High Court and other judicial bodies would move to Dhaka.
Intensified movement against partition, driven by religion and color politics to arouse opposition.
The partition was cast as a national insult to Hindu character; the day of enforcement (16 October 1905) was proclaimed a national tragedy.
Actions included tax/rent boycotts, bombings, and attacks on British people; Hindu majority also boycotted British manufacturers.
The agitation disunited Muslims from the Congress and reinforced the Two-Nation Theory.
The partition strengthened the case for a separate Muslim political organization to safeguard Muslim interests.

Simla Deputation (1906)

Liberal Party in England won the General Elections in $1905$ and promised constitutional reforms in India.
A delegation of 35 Muslim leaders, known as the Simla Deputation, met the Viceroy on $1\ October 1906$ in Simla.

Simla Deputation – Demands

Protection of Muslim interests: employment in civil administration, military, and judiciary; ensure Muslims are not excluded from higher posts via competitive exams.
Preservation of Muslim representation: seats for Muslims in municipal/district boards, university senate/syndicate.
Separate election of Muslims to the Provincial Council based on political importance, not population ratio.
Election of a sufficient number of Muslims to the Imperial Legislative Council to prevent Muslims from becoming a minority.
Establishment of a Muslim University as a center of Muslim religious and cultural life.
Separate electorate through which Muslims would elect their own representatives for councils.

Simla Deputation – Outcome

Lord Minto acknowledged the principle of a separate electorate.
Muslims gained a political platform after leaving Congress; the deputation demonstrated success.
The Morley–Minto Reforms of $1909$ provided for a separate electorate for Muslims, giving Muslims constitutional status as a separate community and contributing to Muslim nationalism and, ultimately, the creation of Pakistan in $1947$ .

Formation of All India Muslim League

The All India Muslim Federation emerged from the 1906 All India Muslim Educational Conference held at Dhaka.
Nawab Salim Ullah Khan of Dhaka convened a meeting of Muslim leaders to consider forming a political association for Muslims.
The perceived threat of Hindu opposition to the Bengal partition reinforced the need for political representation.
Nawab Mohsin-ul-Mulk was elected Joint Secretary.
A committee of 60 members was formed, including all members of the Simla Deputation.

Aims and Objectives of the Muslim League

Protect Muslims' political rights and draw government attention to Muslim interests; prevent prejudice against other Indian communities among Muslims.
Foster loyalty to the British government among Indian Muslims and dispel misconceptions about government measures.
Promote political rights and interests of Indian Muslims while respectfully representing their needs and aspirations to the government.
Prevent hostility toward other communities among Indian Muslims without prejudice to the League’s objectives.

Minto–Morley Reforms (1909)

The British realized existing constitutional provisions did not adequately safeguard Muslim interests and prepared a reform bill.
Viceroy Lord Minto and Lord Morley introduced the reforms in $1909$ ; hence the reforms are named after them.

Key Provisions of Minto–Morley Reforms

The separate electorate demand was conceded and included.
Separate electorates were formalized.
The councils gained greater authority; members had more liberty.
The reforms helped ease disturbances in the country.

Annulment of Partition (1911)

Hindu opposition and boycott pressure led the government to reverse the partition.
Viceroy Lord Harding reversed the partition; annulled on $12\ December\ 1911$ .
Linguistic reorganization followed: Bihar and Orissa were carved out of Bengal (Bihar and Orissa became separate provinces in $1936$ ).

Annulment of Partition – Further Changes

A separate Assam province was created.
The capital of British India was moved from Calcutta to Delhi in $1911$ .
Despite annulment, partition left a communal divide between Hindus and Muslims in Bengal.

Change in Muslim League’s Political Strategy

National and international events pushed the Muslim League toward seeking self-rule in India.
Quaid-i-Azam (Muhammad Ali Jinnah) joined the Muslim League in $1913$ .
On $22\ March\ 1913$ a resolution was passed calling for self-rule in India and calling for cooperation across leadership to achieve common objectives.

Lucknow Pact, 1916

Leaders from both parties agreed to cooperate for common objectives.
In December $1916$ , the Muslim League and Congress held their first joint session in Lucknow.
Quaid-i-Azam was elected President of the session; he presented the political situation and asserted that Indians were capable of running the government.

Lucknow Pact – Key Provisions

There shall be self-rule in India.
Congress accepted the Muslim right to separate electorate.
Salaries of the Secretary of State should be paid by the British government, not from Indian funds.
Half of the elected members of the Executive Council of the Governor-General should be Indians; this number should be increased to $150$ .
Four-fifths of the members of the Imperial Council should be Indians; one-third should be Muslims.

Lucknow Pact – Significance

The Pact symbolized Hindu–Muslim unity for the first time in India’s freedom struggle.
It recognized a separate political entity for Muslims.
Quaid-i-Azam earned the title of Ambassador of Hindu–Muslim Unity for his role in fostering this agreement.

Rowlatt Act, 1919

A committee under Justice Rowlatt prepared the Rowlatt Committee Report in $1918$ .
The report provoked sharp protests from political leaders.
The Jallianwala Bagh massacre intensified political unrest and hatred toward the British government.

Montague–Chelmsford Reforms, 1919

Announced by Edwin Montague on $20\ August\ 1917$ ; aimed to address local demands by expanding native representation.
The reforms were discussed in $1919$ and named Montague–Chelmsford Reforms.

Montague–Chelmsford Reforms – Key Provisions

Separate electorate retained for Muslims.
Central Legislature to have two houses: Upper Council of the State and Lower Legislative Assembly.
Self-government to be established gradually in India.
Reforms offered far fewer concessions than the Lucknow Pact and were not accepted by the Muslim League or Congress.

Khilafat Movement

After WWI ended in $1918$ , Allies aimed to dismantle the Khalifate of Turkey; Indian Muslims were disappointed by the fate of Turkey and sought a settlement with Britain on this issue.
Muslims found themselves between British and Turkish interests.

Khilafat Committee

To protect the Khalifat, Muslims formed the Khilafat Committee.
The Committee sent a deputation of Hindus and Muslims to the Viceroy to convey demands for Turkey.
The Viceroy promised to meet the demands and to keep religious and political matters separate.

Treaty of Sevres

End of WWI; Sevres Treaty (1920) allowed Allied occupation of parts of Turkey and separated Syria, Iraq, and Jordan from the Turkish Empire.
Muslims felt betrayed by this arrangement.
In response, Muslims launched the Non-Cooperation Movement to safeguard the Khalifat.

Non-Cooperation Movement

Led by Gandhi with Hindu support for the Khilafat cause; plan to boycott British institutions and goods.
Congress adopted and reaffirmed the program in $Dec\ 1920$ .
Quaid-i-Azam opposed this approach, believing it would incite more violence; he resigned from Congress.

Chauri Chaura Tragedy

Gandhi planned to launch Civil Disobedience in $1922$ from Chauri Chaura.
The people attacked a police station and set it on fire, leading Gandhi to suspend the Non-Cooperation Movement without consultation with other leaders.

End of Khilafat Movement

The Khilafat Movement failed; Muslims felt betrayed after Turkey’s Khalifa was abolished by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.
This left Muslims feeling leaderless and shifted Indian politics back toward Hindu–Muslim rivalries.

Results of the Khilafat Movement

Emergence of political leadership among Muslims.
Experience used to propel the Pakistan movement later on.
Realization of political power and mobilization among Muslims.
Unity among Muslims and (initial) Hindu–Muslim unity in some contexts.
The movement laid the foundations for later Muslim freedom movements and reinforced the Two-Nation Theory.
Gandhi’s perceived betrayal reinforced Muslim skepticism toward Hindu leadership; increased pressures toward independence.
The movement contributed to economic hardships for Muslims and a broader push for self-rule.

Consequences

Economic costs and losses for communities involved.
Educational losses due to upheaval and dislocations.
Torture and murder as part of the colonial suppression and political violence.

Assignment 2 (Review Questions)

What events led Muslims to believe they could not trust Hindus?
Discuss the Khilafat Movement and its results.