Lahore Resolution

Irfan Waheed Usmani

Outline
1Introduction
2 Background/Factors
3 The Lahore Resolution: Its salient features
4 Analyzing the Lahore Resolution
5 The Congress Reaction
6 The Reaction of the British Press
7 The Critical Questions pertaining to Lahore Resolution
8 The Significance of Lahore Resolution
Introduction
• Landmark/Milestone:
• It is considered among the foundational texts of the Pakistan Movement.
• In terms of significance for the Muslims of India, it assumes the same significance
as a foundational text as Ibrahim Lincoln’s famous Gettysburg Address
( November 1863) and Indian National Congress’s resolution of Purna Swaraj
( December 1929) hold for Americans and Indians in their respective histories.
• Khalid Bin Saeed’s work: “……”
• It marked the rise of Muslim nationalism in organized form:
• It had profound impact on the AIML(its transformation into a Muslim nationalist
movement”), and the Muslim political movement…(Pakistan movement)
• Quotation: Ahmed Saeed…
Background/ Factors
• (I)Unresolved Hindu-Muslim Conflict/Ideological Conflicts: what kind of realization sunk among
Muslims of India?
• (II)The Disillusionment of Muslims towards the INC: (reasons and manifestations)
• (III)Desire to preserve distinct/separatist cultural entity: particularly the bitter experience of the
Congress Ministries to push Muslims towards the realization.
• (IV)Apprehensions of Muslim salariat regarding Hindu dominance in the United India ( Economic
factors + Hamza Alavi’s thesis)
• (V)The Bitter experience of the Congress Ministries ( How it proved to be a disappointing
experience: (I) Abdul Hameed’s Quatation and Sharif al Mujahid’s quotation
• (VII)The Popularity of the Partition Proposals: ( what did it indicate?
• (VIII)The Outbreak of World War II and the resignation of the Congress Ministries( created a
vacuum and allowed him to highlight the importance of the Muslim League as a third party to …..)
• (IX) Jinnah’s Sagacity/Political acumen (
The understanding of Evolutionary factors of Lahore resolution
can be helpful for in providing answers to these four questions as
well.
Why Pakistan? The Evolution of the Trace the factors leading What were the factors
Ideology of Pakistan to the rise/ evolution of and forces that complied
Muslim nationalism in Muslims to raise the
SA. demand of a Separate
state?
Unresolved Hindu-Muslim Conflict/Ideological Conflicts
Comments on nature of Hindu-
Muslim conflict
It remained insoluble..
The failure or the efforts to resolve What Muslims came to realize?
it amicably What realization dawned upon
Muslims?
Examples: (I)The Lucknow Pact Only partition of India could
(II) Delhi Muslim provide peaceful solution.
Proposals Proposals
(III)The negation of
Muslim demands in the Nehru
Report
(IV) Jinnah’s
reconciliatory gestures in the
Congress Ministries
The Disillusionment of Muslims towards the INC

• Argument: Right from the very outset, the INC continued to misread or
moisture the basic demands of Muslims.
Nehru report: Abdul Hameed, “quotation” “By negating Muslim
demand, the NR proved to be the Charter of Hindu Intelligentsia.”
• Fourteen points indicated a shift in Muslims' political strategy. The
disillusionment forced Jinnah to go into self-exile
• He did not lose hope … but the subsequent developments
• What Muslims began to construe the Congress rule: as Trailor of Ram
Raj
• Their celebration of the “Day of Deliverance” on 22 December 1939.
(III)Desire to preserve distinct/separatist cultural entity: L.R. clearly manifested the desire the Muslims felt to
preserve their distinct cultural identity. ( Argument) .

• What did they begin to apprehend or fear while living under a Hindu
majoritarian democracy?: “Cultural ethnocentrism” and its logical
corollary unremitting civilization and “…….”
• their distinct cultural entity would be eroded.
• These developments instilled among Muslims the desire to preserve
distinct cultural entity” ( is another name for the preservation of their
ideology of separatism/ Pakistan )
• Now they realized that it was only possible in a separate Muslim
state>>>
Apprehensions of Muslims’ salariat regarding Hindu dominance in United India(Hamza Alavi) (explains the economic

factors which lead to the rise of demand of Pakistan).

Alavi’s analysis about the nature of The salariat belonging to Bengal, What the salariat apprehended?
Muslim political movement Punjab, Sindh and NWFP and
Baluchistan got united under the
banner of the AIML
Essentially, the movement was The Hindu dominance in United
launched by the salariat. . India
The Bitter experience of the Congress
Ministries
What were the What had they expected How and in what ways Quotation
expectations of Muslims from the INC? the experience of living/
about the enlargement of working under Congress
democratic principles in Ministries proved to be a
India? disappointing experience
for them?
Lead to closer Abdul Hameed:
cooperation between the Sharif al Mujahid“ If
two communities. Islamic way of life cannot
be preserved in an all-
India setup, it should be
saved whatever it was
possible”, Ideology of
Pakistan, p. 60. Ideology
of Pakistan.
:
(VII)The Popularity of the Partition Proposals: Their increasing
popularity highlighted that it was not an isolated demand, but serious-
minded intellectuals and political activists had also begun to think along
similar lines.
The total number of 1917—1940 : name What their That is why it is
partition proposal the more popularity unsurprising that
that were prominent signified? Jinnah instructed
presented between proposals the Muslim League
1858 and 1940 Working Committee
members in 1939,
170 proposals (I) Abdul Haim Sharar The demand for a To look into/
(II) Vilayat Ali separate state had examine the
Bambooq gotten wider partition proposals
(III) Keri Brothers 1917 acceptance… and prepare a plan..
(IV) Iqbal’s Allahabad
Address
(V) 1933: CH Rehmat
Ali
(VI) Nawab Ismail
Khan
(VII) (Sindh Muslim
League Resolution
in 1938
(V) Dr Zafar ul Hasan
The Outbreak of World War II and the
resignation of the Congress Ministries
• It created a vacuum in Indian politics and allowed Jinnah to highlight
the importance of Muslim India:
• Why had Muslim cooperation assumed so much significance for the
British?: 25 per cent, but their representation in the Indian army was
much larger ( 52 per cent).
• What kind of opportunity did it afford to Jinnah to highlight the
importance of Muslims?
• One can draw an analogy: that allowed them to play his “trump
card”– to assert their claim as the third party.
• Lawrence Ziring: Pakistan in the Twentieth Centy
Jinnah’s Sagacity/Political acumen

• Statesmanship:
• Political acumen:
• Sense of timing in the presentation of the resolution was very critical.
He chose to raise the demand for a separate state: the indispensable
need of the British to entice the support of Muslims to carry out war
efforts.
• What did he realize? The public sentiment of Muslims as British
compulsions.
3 The Lahore Resolution: Its main text
4 The Lahore Resolution: Its salient
features(EWO)
• (I) The demand for the creation of “Independent States” (areas) in the
northwestern and Eastern parts of India.
• (II) The “adequate, effective and mandatory safeguards ..for
minorities in these units and regions…
• (III) And in other parts of India where the Muslims are in the minority
5 Analyzing the Lahore Resolution
• “Independent States”…
• Concern for minorities
• Clarity and conviction
6 The Congress Reaction: Ahmed Saeed
• The Congessite Press? Hindu Press
• The Reaction of Leadership
5.1 The reaction of Hindu Press : Ahmed
Saeed
Tribune Modern Hindustan Amrit Bazar Statesman The reaction The Nature’s
Review Times Patrika of British Reaction
( Calcutta) Press
5.2 The Reaction of the Congress leaders
Gandhi Rajgopal Acharya Abul Kalam Azad
6The reaction of the British Press
Ahmed Saeed’s overall comments The Specific examples The Nature ( A scientific Magazine)
The British newspapers did not The Times Nuanced perspective
accord much importance to the Manchester Guardian It tried to appreciate/ understand it
resolution Daily Herald on its own terms.
7 The Critical Questions about Lahore Resolution

• (I)“Sates or State Controversy”.

• (II) Ayesha Jalal: Whether Jinnah presented the Lahore resolution as a
bargaining chip or counter ….Cabinet Mission?
• (III) Why did Jinnah accept the Cabinet Mission?
• (IV) The controversy surrounding the authorship of the resolution
(I)“States or State Controversy”: Three different explanations

(I)Typographical error (II) The words states were included (III) Abdus Salam Khursheed’s
deliberately Perspectives
Oversimplistic (II) It was not clear in which form What did the session/ meeting
partition would transpire in the participants understand? (popular
form of one state and more than perception)? What did the people
one state infer from this?
April 1946 Muslim Legislators
Convention in Calcutta.
H.S.Suhrawardy resolution…. States
was replaced or substituted by the
word state. (It shows the drafters of
the resolution).
(II) Ayesha Jalal: Whether Jinnah presented Lahore resolution
as a bargaining chip or counter. ….Cabinet Mission?
• Ayesha Jalal’s contention: Jinnah was not serious about Pakistan’s
demands: you must contest the point.
• How to defend Pakistani’s point-of-view: Jinnah was very serious in his
demand for a separate state for Muslims. Therefore, the demands of
the Lahore Resolution remained the focal point of Muslim politics
from the onwards…
• He judged all the offers made by British or Congress leaders based on
demands of Lahore resolution. Examples: His rejection of Cripps
Proposals, The rejection of Raja Ji Formula, Jinnah’s stance over the
Wavell Plan
(III) Why Jinnah accepted the Cabinet Mission?

• It was a package deal. It had to be accepted or rejected in totality. He

was left with no other option.
• It accepted all the Muslim demands except for the immediate
creation of Pakistan.
(VI) Who authored Lahore Resolution?

• You have to negate the view that it was a modified version of Sikander
Hayat's scheme (I) Mohammad Aslam Mailk , The Making of Lahore
Resoution; (II) K.F.Yusuf (ed.) Lahore Resolution
• It was outcome of sustained efforts made by the AIML:
8 The Significance of Lahore Resolution
• Milestone in the History of Muslim nationalism
• It marked the rise of Muslim nationalism in an organized form
• Paradigmatic Shift in Jinnah’s Political Strategy
• Its impact on the Muslim Political movement(Pak movement) and the AIML(Muslim mass
movement).
• Jinnah emerged as the undisputed leader of Muslims
• Enormously contributed towards/led to the popularity of the demand of Pakistan
• Impact on Muslim Politics (unifying effect)
• Determined the final direction of the Muslim Politics
• (IX) Its importance for League’s 1945—46 Elections
• (X) It marked the stage/ phase when the TNT developed into a specific ideology of Pakistan.
( S.M.Garewal)
(I)Milestone in the History of Muslim
nationalism :
• Aligarh movement
• Simla Deputation;
• The acceptance of the demand for Separate electorates in 1909;
• Khilafat Movement;
• Iqbal’s Address:
• and Lahore Resolution.
(II) It marked the rise of Muslim nationalism in an organized form

• It was supported by mass movement…

• What kind of impression did the participants of the Muslim league
session in Lahore gain?
• Now, it gained popular support.
(II)Paradigmatic Shift in Jinnah’s Political
Strategy
• The transformation of Jinnah into a separatist…
• Previously what he wanted to achieve was in the framework of United
India. Now, he set himself on the course of secession from united
India.
(III)Its impact on the Muslim Political movement(Pak
movement) and the AIML(Muslim mass movement).
(I) AIML(Muslim mass movement)
It no longer remained a political party. Rather, it was
transformed into a national movement of Muslims in
India.
(IV)Jinnah emerged as the undisputed leader
of Muslims
• Previously, Jinnah faced challenges from the provincial-level
leadership:
• Examples: Mian Mohammad Shafi; Fazl e Hussain; Sikander Hayat;
A.K.Fazl ul Haq
(V) Enormously contributed towards/led to
the popularity of the demand of Pakistan
(VI) Impact on Muslim Politics (unifying
effect)
• Expansion of the social base of the AIML..
(VIII) Determined the final direction of the
Muslim Politics
(IX) Its importance for League’s 1945—46
Elections
• The party contested elections on the main demand the Muslims made
in Lahore resolution.
(X) It marked the stage/ phase when the TNT developed
into a specific ideology known as the ideology of Pakistan..
• ADD S.M.Garewal’s quotation:
8 Summing Up: you must entangle the
disentangled themes
Mile stone and Great manifestation Its tremendous Contributed It marked the
landmark in history of Jinnah's political mobilizational towards enormous critical phase of
of Muslim sagacity and effects popularity of the metamorphosing of
nationalism statesmanship AIML the TNT into the
I.o.P.
It was a transformed
into a mass
movement of
Muslims of India,