The Establishment of the Muslim League, 1906

 Establishment of the Muslim League

Pursuant upon the decisions taken earlier at the Lucknow meeting and later in Simla, the annual meeting of the All-India Muhammadan Educational Conference was held in Dhaka from 27 December until 30 December 1906. Three thousand delegates attended, headed by both Nawab Waqar-ul-Mulk and Nawab Mohsin-ul-Mulk (the Secretary of the Muhammadan Educational Conference), in which they explained its objectives and stressed the unity of Muslims under the banner of an association. It was formally proposed by Nawab Sir Khwaja Salimullah Khan and supported by Hakim Ajmal Khan, Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar, Zafar Ali Khan, Syed Nabiullah, a barrister from Lucknow, and Syed Zahur Ahmad, an eminent lawyer, as well as several others.

After the conference had finished, a meeting was called, chaired by Nawab Waqar-ul-Mulk, to consider setting up an organization to be called ‘All-India Muslim League’. On 30 December 1906, the All-India Muslim League was formed in Dhaka.

Reasons for the Establishment of the Muslim League

Simla Deputation:

The acceptance of demands from Muslim groups proved that there was a better understanding between the British and the Muslim community as a result of the work of leaders, like Sir Syed Ahmed Khan. The Simla Deputation showed that many Muslims had now come round to the idea that they were a separate community who should be treated in a different way from the Hindus. Therefore, it guaranteed Muslims an independent role in the political process. From this, it was only a short step to breaking away from Congress to establish a Muslim party, which would represent and protect Muslim interests. So, the Muslims launched a political party to protect the rights of the Indian Muslims, which was named ‘The All-India Muslim League’.

New Liberal Government:

In 1905, a new Liberal government had taken office that seemed likely to make changes in political representation. They decided to expand the council members by including Indians. Thus the Muslim community felt they needed their own political party to protect their own interests and to be a part of the legislative council and to contest the elections.

Indian National Congress was a Hindu-dominated Body:

In 1885, the Indian National Congress was formed. The British saw this body as a means by which they could hear the views of the educated elite in Indian society. The Congress said that it would represent the views of all the communities within India, regardless of their religion. However, it soon became apparent that the Congress was a Hindu-dominated body which was working to establish Hindu supremacy over the Muslims. Congress was demanding that India should be treated as a cultural and political whole and Hindi should be declared the official language and, therefore, was seen by Muslim groups as an organization which would primarily advance the views of the Hindu community leading Muslim groups to conclude that their own political party was needed.

To Protect the Religious Rights of Muslims:

The growth of Hindu nationalist groups, like Arya Samaj, demanding that Muslims be forcibly converted to Hinduism led to a number of prominent Muslim leaders founding the Muslim League as a means of promoting and safeguarding Muslim identity because the Muslims were facing problems to practice Islam freely under the Hindu domination.

Partition of Bengal:

The British had partitioned Bengal, but this had resulted in a feeling of outrage in the Hindu community. When the Hindu community started to protest against the partition of Bengal, Muslim groups saw this as a sign of Hindu influence and became concerned about their own interests. This had reinforced the division between Muslim and Hindu and had led Muslim leaders to believe that it was even more vital to establish their own political organization and began to consider their own survival and political representation. So, another aim of the League was to ensure that Muslim views were represented to the British.

Counter the influence of the Congress:

Although the British had accepted the Simla Deputation and partitioned Bengal to establish a Muslim-dominant East Bengal, the Muslim community still felt that it lacked the influence that the Hindus had gained through their control of Congress. The Muslim community became increasingly concerned that their political rights would not be advanced if they continued to rely on the Indian National Congress and that by organizing a single Muslim political group they would be organized and united. Indeed, one of the declared aims of the new organization was to counter the growing influence of the so-called Indian National Congress.

Educational and Economic Backwardness of the Muslim Community

Muslims had lagged far behind from the Hindus in education and economic progress. Educational and economic conditions could only be upgraded by establishing a separate Muslim organization that could represent the wishes of the Muslims.

Objectives

At the first meeting of the new organization in December 1906, the League declared that its objectives were to:

• Protect and advance the political rights and interests of Muslims in India;

• Represent Muslim needs and aspirations to the government of India;

• Promote feelings of loyalty to the British government;

• Remove any misunderstandings amongst the Muslims as to the intentions of any government measure;

• Prevent the rise of hostility in Muslims towards other communities in India.

However, it is true that the British welcomed the formation of the Muslim League. It was led by landowners andprinces, who were moderate in their views and who could help to counter the Hindu protests that were growing,particularly after the Partition of Bengal in 1905. A comparison of the resolutions passed by the League and theCongress in three main policy areas show how different their views were. This opposition between the Leagueand the Congress was to be a feature of Indian politics for the next generation.