Punjab Divided: Politics of the Muslim League and Partition 1935 – 47

Amarjit Singh, did his M.A. (1985) in History and M.Phil. (1987) from Punjab University, Chandigarh. He has obtained doctoral degree from Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra in 1998. The author has distinguished academic career with a Gold Medal at the Honours level and a University Medal at the Masters Level. His areas of specializations are Modern Indian History and Regional Studies. He has published several research articles in the reputed research journals of India. He is working as a senior Lecturer at the Department of History, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra.

Preface

This book is based on my doctoral thesis; The Muslim League and Punjab Politics: 1935-1947, submitted to the Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra in 1998. This is an attempt to explore the role of Muslim League in Punjab politics, how it influenced and shaped the provincial politics in its most turbulent years through its transformation from a narrowly based, essentially an urban party to mass based instrument of political mobilization and realization of specific political goals. By all accounts, it was a remarkable achievement for very few political formations could achieve so much in such a short period of time. Moreover efforts have been made in this work to apportion the responsibility for the partition on the role played. by Muslim League in the Punjab ie. in the heartland of future Pakistan.

The partition of Punjab and the creation of Pakistan was not only a significant event in the historiography of Indian freedom movement against the British Raj but it also added an important chapter in the annals of modern history. Although the Punjab was a Muslim majority province but for a long time its politics was controlled by and dominated by the Unionist party which had maintained an inter-communal character. The Unionist party had occupied a large political space so much so that it articulated even the partisan Muslim interests under a centralist secular umbrella organization. This marginalized the Muslim League, for a long time, in the provincial politics since it had not much role left under such a dispensation. As a result, during the 1930s, the Punjab Muslim League had little political stature and virtually no following nor any organizational structure.

In the provincial Legislative elections of 1937, the Punjab Muslim League bagged only two seats in a house of 175 in comparison to the 95 seats of the Unionist party. This marked the beginning of the adoption of new strategies, techniques and programmes by the Punjab Muslim League in order to establish its dominance in the provincial politics. The politics of the province during the decade which preceded partition, in fact, saw a fierce struggle between the Unionist party and the Muslim League in order to establish their respective hegemony in the provincial politics. However, as late as till 1940 the Muslim league and Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the Sole spokesman of the Muslim India, remained a non-entity in the provincial politics.

The Pakistan Resolution of March 1940 adopted by the All India Muslim League at its Lahore session provided fresh lights to the activities of the Punjab Muslim League. However, it was only after 1942 that the Muslim League began to emerge as a mass based party. By the year 1946 the League positioned itself in the province as the sole champion of Muslim interests and in the provincial Legislative elections of the 1946 the League begged seventy-five seats. Thus, the League was now within a striking distance of achieving its grand goal of Pakistan. What brings about this turn around in the League’s fortunes in such a short span of time has been the focus of this study.

A chronological account of political development is central to its historical reconstruction. However, history is not merely a collection of events but, more importantly, a study of interaction between dominant political ideologies and given power structures at a given point of time and space. In this work, the interplay of these elements is articulated, in order to account for political developments of the province between 1935-47. A systematically constructed account of significant events discloses the dominant ideologies of the different political parties. This work also examine the social bases of provincial politics and mobilization strategies applied by the Muslim League and other political parties. The Government of India Act of 1935, provided an essential politico-administrative framework within which the Muslim League and other political parties organized themselves to pursue their respective ends.

History cannot be studied in isolation. Therefore, an attempt has been made, in this work, to know something about the politics of other provincial political parties vis-a-vis Muslim League. The elements of national politics which affected the provincial politics have also been studied in detail. Reference has also been made of those international events which profoundly influenced the provincial politics. The attitude of the British Raj and the relationship which existed between the Raj and the Muslim League which in turn affected the politics of the province has also been dwelt in.

A great deal of work has been done on the subject by various scholars. Penderel Moon, Divide and Quit; C.H. Philips and M.D. Wainwright (ed.) The Partition of India: Policies and Perspectives 1935-47; Peter Hardy, The Muslims of British India; M.N. Das, Partition and Independence of India; Stanley Wolpert, Jinnah of Pakistan; Ayesha Jalal, The Sole Spokesman: Jinnah, the Muslim League and the Demand for Pakistan; Raj Mohan Gandhi, Understanding the Muslim Mind; Anita Inder Singh, The Origins of the Partition of India 1936-1947; Farzana Shaikh, Community and Consensus in Islam and Mushirul Hasan (ed.), India’s Partition: Process, Strategy and Mobilization are some important works which have discussed at length the growth of Muslim League in Indian politics and the interplay of British, Congress and the Muslim League strategies which culminated in the partition of India. Paul Brass, Language, Religion and Politics in North India; Imran Ali, Punjab Politics in the Decade before Partition; Prem Choudhary, Punjab Politics: The Role of Sir Chhotu Ram; Ian Talbot, Punjab and the Raj 1849-1947; David Gilmartin, Empire and Islam: Punjab and the Making of Pakistan and Ian Talbot, Khizar Tiwana: The Punjab Unionist Party and the Partition of India are some important works which deal with the politics of the Punjab during the decade which preceded partition and growth of the Muslim League in North India and Punjab.

Penderel Moon has held accidents of history responsible for the turn that the provincial politics took. He suggests that the sudden death of Sir Fazl-i-Hussain in 1936 provided a chance to Jinnah to win over the Muslims of Punjab in favour of Muslim League. Peter Hardy argues that Muslim League succeeded in the Punjab by overshadowing the well entrenched

Unionist politicians through more stringent primordial appeals. David Gilmartin suggests that the Muslim League succeeded because of its ability to exploit the factional divisions within the Unionist Party after the death of Sir Sikander Hayat Khan in 1942. He further explains that the Pirs and Sajjada-Nashins, the erstwhile collaborators of the Unionist in rural Punjab shifted their allegiance to Muslim League since they found its religious appeal closer to their likings which subsequently turned the tide of Punjab politics in favour of the Muslim League. Ian Talbot, on the other hand, argues that the Raj deserted its collaborators, the Unionists, by the close of the Second World War. This, in turn, gave unprecedented impetus to the Muslim League. Prem Choudhary argues that the war time unpopular policies of the Unionist Government and the miseries of the people shifted the balance of Punjab politics towards the Congress and the Muslim League in the south- eastern and western Punjab respectively. Paul Brass suggests that the growth of the Muslim separatism in North India was determined and manipulated by an elite whose interests such politics were designed to serve and whose propaganda based on communal identification was responded to by the Muslims of the North India.

The scope and scholarship of the above mentioned works cannot be faulted. However, there are still some aspects which have escaped the scholarly scrutiny. For example, firstly, the role played by the Punjab Muslim Students Federation for the cause of the Muslim League and Pakistan has not been fully mapped. Secondly, why the rural Muslim elite, hitherto the backbone of the Unionists, defected to the Muslim League, has not been adequately commented upon. Thirdly, the causes of the Pirs and Sajjada-Nashins shifting their allegiance to the League, has not been properly understood. Fourthly, the impact of the international events, particularly the Second World War and how it contributed to change relationship between the three principal actors in the province i.e. the Raj, the Unionists and the Muslim League, have not been adequately covered. Lastly, the impact of the national politics, particularly the interplay of the Raj, Muslim League and Congress, have not been examined in detail.

The present work is a humble attempt to dwell on the above mentioned aspects and plug these gaps. Efforts have been made to study and critically examine all the available historigraphy on the subject. And, then every attempt has been made to fill up the gaps in our knowledge in the study of this subject on the basis of above mentioned critical scrutiny. Moreover, this work attempts to explain how the Muslim League reached down to the every voter and to an average Punjabi Muslim who held the key to the creation of Pakistan.

This work is based upon mainly primary sources, secondary sources have also been exhaustively dealt upon. Syed Shamsul Hasan collection, S.S. Pirzada’s Documents, Punjab Muslim Students Federation’s Documents, speeches and writings of M.A. Jinnah and his correspondence with the leaders of the Provincial Muslim League have been studied thoroughly. Other primary sources include government records, Linlithgow Papers, Mountbatten Papers, Private Papers of Indian leaders, Proceedings of the Punjab Legislative Assembly, published Documents of the Muslim League, National and regional newspapers, periodicals and journals. Autobiographies and biographies of contemporary leaders and the twelve volumes of Transfer of Power have also been consulted.

While doing this work I have incurred the debt and gratitude of many people. At the outset I am especially thankful to my supervisor Professor S.C. Mittal, for his helpful guidance, critical suggestions and moreover he helped me to say what I wanted to say. I take this opportunity to express my gratitude to late Professor R.C. Jauhri who has initiated me into the field of research in history and made valuable suggestions on this subject. I owe much to Professor K.C. Yadav for providing me valuable source material on Muslim League and for his useful suggestions on the subject. I am beholden to Professor J.S. Grewal, Professor A.C. Bose, Professor Pardaman Singh, Professor I.H. Siddiqui and Professor Hari Om for giving me an opportunity to discuss my work with them and benefited from their views. I owe thanks to Dr. R.S. Sangwan, my colleague in the department, who read the manuscript of the book and also made useful suggestions. My thanks are due to Sh. Madan Gopal, a contemporary of Sir Khizar Hayat Khan Tiwana, the Premier of Punjab, for sharing his rich experiences of those times with me.

I am thankful to my father, Sh. LD. which has immensely benefited my research work. I do not Girdhar, who has done a great deal of translation work for me have the words to express my gratitude to my friend Sh. Bhupesh Katyal, who has rendered his valuable help at every stage of my work. I am also thankful to Sh. Parveen Kaushik, who drew the maps.

I gratefully acknowledge the help rendered by the staff of the following institutions: The National Archives of India, New Delhi; The Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, New Delhi; The Haryana State Archives, Panchkula; The Punjab State Archives, Patiala; Civil Secretariat Library, Chandigarh; Panjab University Library, Chandigarh; Kurukshetra University Library, Kurukshetra and Department of History Library, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra.

I owe thanks to my brother Dr. Samarjeet Singh and my wife Anamika for their cooperation and encouragement. I am also thankful to Sh. Madan Sachdeva for the publication of this work.

Kurukshetra February, 2001

AMARJIT SINGH