Simla Deputation and All India Muslim League | PDF

COMSATS University Islamabad, Virtual Campus HUM 113 Ideology and Constitution of Pakistan Lecture 04 Handouts Simla Deputation and All India Muslim League Simla Deputation Lord Minto was appointed as the Viceroy of India in 1905. He...

COMSATS University Islamabad, Virtual Campus HUM 113 Ideology and Constitution of Pakistan Lecture 04 Handouts Simla Deputation and All India Muslim League Simla Deputation Lord Minto was appointed as the Viceroy of India in 1905. He announced new reforms in which it was said that the British government would extend the elected principle. The anti- partition agitation had convinced the Muslims of the futility of expecting any fair-play from the Hindu majority. Therefore, to safeguard their interests, the Muslim leaders drew up a plan for separate electorates for their community, and presented it to the Viceroy Lord Minto at Simla, on October 1, 1906.The Simla Deputation consisted of 70 representatives, representing all opinions of the Muslim community, and headed by Sir Aga Khan. The demands of the deputation were accepted. The acceptance of the demands proved to be a turning point in the history of the subcontinent. For the first time, the Hindu-Muslim conflict was raised to the constitutional plane. The Muslims made it clear that they had no confidence in the Hindu majority and that they were not prepared to put their future in the hands of an assembly elected on the assumed basis of a homogenous Indian nation. It is in this sense that the beginning of separate electorate may be seen as the beginning of the realization of the Two-Nation Theory, its final and inevitable consequence being the partition of British India in 1947. The Simla Deputation was successful because the Muslims were strongly urged to protect their separate identity, whereas the British responded to their demands, as Lord Minto was anxious to pull them out of their political discontent. Separate electorates were given statutory recognition in the Indian Councils Act of 1909. The Muslims were accorded not only the right to elect their representatives by separate electorates but also the right to vote in general constituencies. Also, they were also given weightage in representation. All India Muslim League (1906) The Simla Deputation made the Muslim confident of the fact that united effort would be fruitful for the Muslim community. Therefore, to further capitalise on the deputation’s success, a meeting was convened at Dacca in Dec. 1906 presided over by Nawab Waqar ul Mulk which passed the resolution moved by Nawab of Dacca to established separate Muslim organisation name as the All India Muslim League. The most important factor of the establishment of All India Muslim League was that are presentative government be introduced in India. Moreover, the Hindu agitation on the partition of Bengal (1905) had confirmed the Hindu prejudice towards the Muslim interest. Therefore, the Muslims felt the need for a political platform for themselves. And the acceptance of the principle of separate representation by Viceroy in Simla Deputation encouraged the Muslims to establish one for them. Page 1 of 1