India, Bharat and Pakistan by J Sai Deepak

India, Bharat and Pakistan by J Sai Deepak

Author:J Sai Deepak
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2022-08-23T00:00:00+00:00


Bengal

40

53

United Provinces

30

14

Punjab

One-half

55

Bombay

One-third

20

Madras

15

6

Bihar and Orissa

25

10

Central Provinces

15

6

In return for concessions in the United Provinces and Bengal, a critical concession was demanded by Jinnah, which was accepted by the Congress: under the proposed reforms, any legislation that affected a particular community would be withdrawn if three-fourths of that community’s legislators opposed it.122 This was a far-sighted and smart concession that Jinnah managed to extract from the Congress, since he knew that although it was available to any community to invoke the principle, Muslim members of the Congress and the League would place the community’s interests over and above any other interest. In stark contrast, the majority of the members of the Congress did not see themselves as preserving Hindu interests, and therefore Hindu interests would either have a minority voice or, worse, would be orphaned. Effectively, under the concession, anything from language policy to cow protection could be objected to by Muslim legislators, leaving the Congress with no other option but to drop such issues, owing to the Lucknow Pact. Effectively, by acceding to this demand, the Congress had bought ‘Hindu–Muslim unity’ at a steep price to secure ‘self-government suitable to India’.

The joint reforms scheme was finally adopted by the Congress and the League at their respective annual sessions in Lucknow in December 1916 and would henceforth be known as the Lucknow Pact. The Congress session was held from 26 December to 30 December 1916 in Lucknow, with Ambika Charan Mazumdar (A.C. Mazumdar, whose book I have quoted from in the previous chapters) as its president. Welcoming the delegates, Pandit Jagat Narain, the chairman of the reception committee, had this to say about the reunion of the Moderates and the Extremists and the party’s collaboration with the Muslim League:123

The present year will be a memorable one in the history of our political evolution. For the first time since the unfortunate split at Surat we witness the spectacle of a united Congress. Realizing that in union alone is strength, both the parties have laid aside their differences and resolved to work shoulder to shoulder to win for India a position compatible with her self-respect and dignity in the British Empire. They have heard the call of the country and, obliterating old divisions, rallied round her in the hour of her need.

Equally hopeful and encouraging is the patriotic spirit which inspires our Mahomedan brethren. There was a time, now happily gone for ever, when short-sighted counsels prevailed among them and they gave to their community what was meant for the country. But education and the new spirit have done their work as surely among them as among the other sections of our countrymen. They grave enlarged their vision and broadened their sympathies. Both the communities share the same aspirations to-day and realize in a larger measure than they ever did before, that united action is essential to the fulfilment of their common destiny. Some of the most important leaders of Muslim public opinion in these provinces have joined our committee. And it is a significant



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