Ayeshah Ahmad

 BOOK REVIEW A HISTORY OF ALL INDIA MUSLIM LEAGUE- ABOUT THE AUTHOR Muhammad. Rafique Afzal is presently Professor of History at the Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad. He served as research scholar at the Historical Research Institute, University of the Punjab, Lahore; research supervisor at the Research Society of Pakistan, Lahore; senior/principal research fellow at the National Institute (formerly Commission) of Historical and Cultural Research, Islamabad; He has published works on Muslim leaders of the Freedom Movement including Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Liaquat Ali Khan, Allama Mohammad Iqbal, and Malik Barkat Ali. Other books to his credit are The Case for Pakistan, Political Parties in Pakistan,- in three volumes, History and Politics. INTRODUCTION OF THE BOOK A history of all India Muslim league- was written by Muhammad Rafique Afzal. This book was first published by oxford university press in Karachi Pakistan. This book has 3 parts and each section have four chapters. It has 805 pages and published in 2013. MAIN THEME This book examines the growth and rise of All India Muslim League political party of south Asian sub-continent. How, starting from scratch, the All India Muslim league was the sole representative of Indian Muslims not as religious grounds but on political footings. This major part of the book is preceded the inner workings, and Jinnah’s leadership. SUMMARY OF THE BOOK The author describes the grievances of Muslims in India after the collapse of Muslim rule, the inability to get due share in jobs, the ambition of the politically conscious Muslims to participate in active politics, the unrest caused by official moves against Urdu and Bengali Hindu militant agitation against the partition of Bengal 1905 that had benefited the Bengali Muslims. Muslims had dissatisfied with inadequate representation in legislative council and mode of selection of their representatives; in UP where there 13% they did not have a single seat by joint electorates. Annual meeting of all India Muslim educational conference 27-29 December 1906 Mohsin-ul-Mulk coordinated their efforts for the establishment of Muslim political party in Indian subcontinent. Muslim leaders began formal deliberations to form a Muslim party in Dhaka on 30th December 1906 and decided the objectives of all India Muslim league, urged unity in Muslim ranks, moderation to tolerance of sister community, and loyalty to rulers. During 1906-35, the All India Muslim League could not develop and maintain itself as a well-knit and broad based party although it played a vital role in politics whenever it presented a united Muslim front. Despite all its deficiencies, an overwhelming majority of Indian Muslims looked to the All India Muslim League as their sole all India political party that could address their political problems. No other Muslim political party could gain the confidence of Muslims or similar status in politics of India. All India Muslim League frequently Amended its constitution to make the party broad based and efficient or whenever there was a need to do so far other reasons. The constitution could be amended only at all India session by a ⅔ majority members present. Major amendments were made on three occasions in 1913, 1919, 1931, besides some minor ones that were introduced on other occasions. During 1906-34 All India Muslim League held 23rd annual sessions, one special session and one extra ordinary session besides the inaugural session. Two annual sessions was adjourned; 1 was held in Aligarh in March 1908 and other in Lahore in May 1924. All India Muslim League was split up into 2 parts first in 1927 and then in 1933. Each of two parties held separate annual session. Factionalism crept in to the All India Muslim League which divided its members into progressive and conservatives. The intra part conflict influence the selection of president and venues of each session. All India Muslim League provided the Muslims of different regions of India a common platform to articulate their demands. The league aimed at securing for Muslims due share in political set up for future. . Immediately after its formation, it struggled to safeguard their interest in the act of 1909. Besides taking interest in other topical issues. In addition, it endeavored to secure fair share for the Muslims in government services without which it was difficult to safeguard their interest. It also strove to protect their religious and cultural rights whenever there was an occasion to do so. It provided platform for the promotion for the modern education, primary education, sectarian harmony and social interaction for facilitate candidates and actively campaigned to defend the Urdu language, Muslim Waqfs, and mosques. The primary concern of All India Muslim League was to protect Muslim interests in the proposed constitutional reforms. Therefore, they demanded separate electorate and weightage in view of their historical and political importance and reservation of seats in legislatures and government jobs. In 1911-13, several events in and outside India agitated the Muslims of India shook their confidence in British of fairness and promises major events within India were the annulment of partition of Bengal, refusal of a charter of a Muslim university in accordance with Muslims wishes and Kanpur mosque tragedy, and those outside India were the Indian invasion of Tripoli, Balkan wars and the Russian aggression against Iran. Jinnah as it permanent president -) put them forward from its platform and his 14 points reflected Muslim political consensus. Nehru report and Simon commission divided All India Muslim League, one who opposed this and one who supports it. On the other hand all India congress committee called Delhi proposals would be pre mature and harmful. Political dead-lock was created so the idea Jinnah of round table conference promoted to break serious dead-lock. Congress won the 1937 elections, results and its poor performances in Muslim constituencies, the lack of Muslim support to its candidates and absence of injection with Muslim masses, congress decided to launch Muslim mass contact campaign rather than interaction of Muslim political parties. Congress had two aspects one was the positive projection of the party its leadership and program among Muslim. The congress propagated that it was the only non-communal national party in India that give equal space and treatment to members of al communities. The second aspect of congress mass contact campaign was the negative depiction and verification especially of its main rival, that All India Muslim League and its program. The ML on its part had begun its own mass contact campaign: Jinnah wanted to make All India Muslim League a relay representative parliament of Muslims India. Jinnah advised the Muslim to unite, organize, and consolidate them. On its platform to have self-respect, self-confident, self-reliance, and stop “waiting at the other’s door”. He denied that All India Muslim League a religious party, but it was a political party, which aimed at protecting the rights of Indian Muslim. Jinnah conceded that Nehru personally might not think “on communal lines” but 99%of the people who surrounded him “not only think on communal lines but their words and their deeds speak eloquently”. He asserted that like the congress, the league’s idea was the freedom of the country, but also he wanted a religion, culture, language, and political existence in national life of Muslims adequately and effectively safe guarded. He believed that the Muslims and Hindus could not emerge their identities into each other “because of fundamentally different heritage and culture of the two communities”, but they could join hands to “march together the goal of freedom”. The luck now session was the turning point of All India Muslim Leagues. All India Muslim League changed its creed from full responsible government to full independence of India “in the form of federation of free democratic states”. The All India Muslim League rejected the all India federation under the act of 1935 but decided to work the provincial part of the act for what it was the “worth” till an acceptable alternative was evolved in consultation with the other political parties. The congress rejected the whole constitutional framework provided in the act of 1935 and demanded a constituent assembly elected on the basis of adult franchise to frame a new constitution for a free India. The congress rule in the Hindu majority provinces had an ominous start for the Muslims. . The congress ministries in the Hindu majority provinces revived and advocate those issues that had caused Hindu-Muslim tension in past and added new ones of similar nature with an obsessive favor. They adopted the party and Hindu communal symbols as official and “national” symbols that provided and agitated the Muslims. The leaguers missed no opportunity of use such moves to its advantage. Muslim perceived in the congress attitude and policies a reflection of the “Hindu mind” and administration of the picture as if “Hindustan is for the Hindus”. The All India Muslim League and its provincial branches sent report of Muslims grievances to Hindu leaders and viceroy known as Pirpur report and Shareef report, requested the viceroy to send royal commission for investigation because viceroy and governors were responsible for the protection of minorities rights and interests. During 1935-39, Jinnah interacted with Gandhi and the congress presidents to resolve the Hindu-Muslim problem. On 22-24 march 1940, the All India Muslim League held its session in Lahore to pass the resolution that called for the creation of the separate Muslim state. The All India Muslim League built up a sub-continent-wide network of its organization that led the movement for Pakistan. Under the gifted and inspiring leadership of Jinnah it united a desperate, internally divided and dispersed crowed of socially economically and politically backward Muslims to a “nation” and achieved for them a separate homeland within a short span of seven years against formable odds. Jinnah played a pivotal role in the whole process. He inspired the Muslim elites and masses without the distinction of age, gender, profession, and creed and gave coherence to the league thinking. The All India Muslim League established not only its own organizational structure with an uninterrupted process of regular membership enrolment and party elections of its different tires from the primary to all India level but also encouraged different sections of the Indian Muslim society like women, students, ulema and professionals, workers and businessman to organize their own separate pro-league platforms and then mobilized them to achieve its goal of the separate Muslim state of Pakistan. The process of organizing the league was gradual, and every step was taken carefully and timed well. The focus was on the creation of election machinery, collection of funds, an election campaign and post-election issues. Jinnah had created new bodies, as directed by the Bombay annual session because neither their leagues have ever contested any elections nor the party constitution provided for election machinery. During 1934-37, the party frequently amended and revised its constitution. The league organized itself at the primary, city, district, provincial and all India levels accordance with this constitution. When the All India Muslim League was revived in 1935-37, the strength of All India Muslim League varied from province to province. The Lahore resolution embodied basically three principles: one, establishment of Muslim homeland in Muslim majority regions in the north-west and north-east of the Indian-subcontinent; two, ‘adequate, effective and mandatory’ safeguards for the minorities in the partitioned states, and three; the initiation of the constitution making process based on these principles for the Pakistan region. The tripartite British All India Muslim league- congress negotiations were held in two phases: the first phase began soon after the adoption of Lahore resolution and ended in Shimla conference June-July 1945; and second phase started after the general elections of 1945-46 and concluded with the creation of Pakistan. The premise of the Pakistan demand was that the Muslims of India constituted a ‘nation’ by any definition of that term and had the right to have a separate homeland in the two Muslim majority regions of the subcontinent. The central and provincial legislatures that had functioned in India before the general elections of 1945-46 had a long life. The All India Muslim League had not participated in the 1934 elections to the central assembly under the act of 1919. But the league did not participate in the provincial elections under the act of 1935 but its performance was not noteworthy because the provincial Muslim league had not yet been properly organized in the provinces. From 1938 onwards, it put up candidates in the by-elections on the Muslim seats of various legislatures and the result showed its enhanced strength in Muslim electorates. By 1945, The All India Muslim League had gained so much support at the grass roots that is demand for Pakistan had to be addressed in any long term settlement of the constitutional problem of India. Jinnah disrupts the ‘snare’ that the Wavell laid down to dilute the Pakistan demand. Sir Stafford Cripps realized the constitutional problem could not be settled without solving the Pakistan issue. Before the general elections, the cabinet had decided in talks with Lord Wavell that if the Indian political parties failed to reach an agreement, the Cripps offer would be the basis of post-election negotiations; by the league’s unswerving faith in Pakistan gradually sank in, the British and Hindu politicians looked for strategies to bypass the league demand. Even in 1947, the British government and the congress leadership were unwilling to accept the Pakistan demand. The British policy was reflected in prime minister’s statement of 20th February 1947, in which he announced that British would leave India by a date, not later on June 1948, an, if an agreed constitution not been framed by that date, he mentioned three options for the transfer of power. (a) as a whole to some form of central government for British India; (b) in some areas to the existing provincial governments; or (c) in such other way as might seem most reasonable and ‘in the best interest of the Indian people’. The congress was determined to preserve the unity of India and prevent the creation of Pakistan at all cost. Its leader believed that if the British government speedily transferred power to the existing interim government or under the cabinet mission plan with the modifications suggested by them, without division of armed forces, they could keep India united and control any adverse post-transfer situation. JUDGMENT This book gives the complete information of all India Muslim league, its sessions, working, reorganization and mobilization, and its ups and downs. The Author also discussed the condition of Muslims after failure of 1857 war, and Pakistan movement. In order to make his work unequaled, the author has used versatile bibliography including Secondary and Tertiary Sources like newspapers, monographs, books, articles, documents and collections. The language of this book is easy. The text of this book not only related to politics of Muslim League but also focused on other political parties of sub-continent. The league has three phases: First, the League was, in organizational terms, an inconsequential entity until the 1940s. Second, during its heady ascent in the 1940s as the crisis of British imperial succession deepened, the League was plagued by factionalism and infighting. Third, barely keeping the League in balance was Jinnah and his followers at the central level.