Cooperation between Muslim League and Congress on Lucknow Pact
Background
Within the context of the Lucknow Pact, a collaboration between the Muslim League and Congress may be found. What was the process that was used in the past? It has an intriguing sound to it. The All India Muslim League was established as a moderate organisation with the primary purpose of fostering amicable ties with the British Crown. This was the group’s major objective when it was first established. The Muslim community’s leadership shifted their stance as a direct result of the decision made by the British government to overturn the partition of Bengal. In 1913, a new generation of Muslim leaders joined the Muslim League with the intention of bringing together Muslims and Hindus who were at odds with one another. Among them was Muhammad Ali Jinnah, who was already a member of the Indian National Congress and was widely considered to be its most influential representative. As a direct consequence of this, the Muslim League and Congress came to the conclusion that they should collaborate in order to put pressure on the government of the United Kingdom. The fact that Lord Chelmsford extended an invitation to members of the Indian parliament to submit reform recommendations following World War I was a factor that contributed to the progression of the situation even further.
Efforts by the Muslim League and Congress
In December 1915, both the Muslim League and the Congress had their annual meetings in Bombay due to Jinnah’s tireless efforts. There had never before been a meeting amongst leaders from both major parties. Both groups’ stage addresses had a similar tenor and subject matter. 19 Muslim and Hindu elected members of the Imperial Legislative Council wrote to the Viceroy in October 1916, just a few months after the Bombay Moot. When the Congress and Muslim League leaders met in Calcutta for the first time in November 1916, their ideas were not reported widely, but they were debated, changed, and adopted. Agreements were reached at this meeting on how each community would be represented in the legislatures and how many seats each community would have in each. At their annual meetings in Lucknow on December 29 and 31, 1916, the Congress and the League agreed to ratify the accord. Sarojini Naidu referred to Jinnah as “the Ambassador of Hindu-Muslim Unity” for his role in the Lucknow Pact’s creation.
Reforms recommended by the Lucknow Pact
- The right of India to rule itself independently.
- The Indian Council has been done away with. This entails maintaining a wall of separation between the executive branch and the judicial arm of the government.
- The proportion of representation to which Muslims are entitled in the Central Government would be reduced to one-third.
- It is necessary to determine, for each province, the proportion of Muslims serving in the provincial legislature.
- There need to be different electorates until such time as all of the communities wish to form one large electorate.
- Putting in place a system of proportional representation for racial and ethnic minorities (it implied giving minorities more representation than their share of the population).
- The current three-year tenure of the Legislative Council will be increased to a five-year term. The Imperial Legislative Council is made up of fifty per cent Indian members.
Outcomes of the Lucknow Pact
- As a result of the Lucknow Pact, there was an impression of collaboration between Hindus and Muslims in the context of the national political scene. On the other hand, that was only a fleeting impression.
- The formalisation of communal politics in India came about as a result of an agreement between the parties to create distinct communal electorates.
- By signing this agreement, the Indian National Congress implicitly admitted that India was made up of two separate populations, each of which had its own unique identity and set of interests (Hindus and Muslims).
- As a result of this partnership, the Muslim League, which had previously been on the political periphery, rose to the forefront of Indian politics alongside the Congress Party.
Conclusion
The Khilafat Movement was ultimately successful in breaking apart this Hindu Muslim Unity after it had only been able to hold together for a total of eight years. Nevertheless, despite the fact that it was only temporary, it was nonetheless an important phase in the history of Muslims living in South Asia. The first occasion on which Congress acknowledged the Muslim League as a political party representing Muslims in the area. The fact that Congress reached a consensus to split the electorates indicated that lawmakers were willing to recognise the Muslim population as a separate country. As a result, they were in agreement with the Two-Nation Theory.
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