Even before the reforms were introduced, Secretary of State for India, John Morley had decided that the British should take advantage of their improved relations with the Muslims to try to win their support for British rule. It was not long before the Simla Deputation provided an ideal opportunity. The Muslims had watched the reaction of the Hindus to the Partition of Bengal in 1905 with dismay. They saw a massive wave of organized protest which they feared would result in the Partition being reversed. They knew that the Muslims were not able to provide such a level of protest to maintain the Partition.
Further, the Indian National Congress was dominated by Hindus and the Muslims feared that Hindu agitation would lead to Hindi becoming the national language, or even to Muslims being forcibly converted to Hinduism. The vigorous political activities of the party, which had always professed to represent all the communities of India, belied its stated position. The Muslims came to the conclusion that they must have a political platform of their own. Many Muslim leaders began to work for such an organization.
The first step was taken in answer to the new government from the Liberal Party in England. This party had come to power in England under Lloyd George in 1905. When the new government was elected in Britain in 1905, Muslim fears grew. The Liberals had stated that they would increase local participation in the government of India through elections. Since the Hindus were in the majority, the Muslims feared that they would soon be dominated by Hindus in local government. It was time to act.
The Simla Delegation
In October 1906, the British government announced that the constitutional reform was due in India in 1909 and the new legislative council will have more Indian representation. On 8 October 1906, a deputation of prominent Muslims led by the Aga Khan visited the Viceroy, Lord Minto, at Simla. Other prominent Muslim members in the deputation were Nawab Mohsin-ul-Mulk, Nawab Waqar-ul-Mulk, Nawab Sir Khwaja Salimullah Khan and Syed Nawab Ali Chowdhury. At Simla, they requested that the position of the Muslims in India should be estimated not merely on numerical strength but in respect of the political importance of their community and the service it has rendered to the British Empire.
The Simla Deputation
The demands of the Muslim deputation were set out in what has become known as ‘The Simla Deputation’. In it they asked that:
In all local and provincial elections, Muslims should have their own representatives, who would be elected only by Muslim voters.
In the councils, the Muslims should have a higher percentage of seats than their percentage of the population.
Reactions to the Simla Deputation
Both these demands were justified for valid reasons. The Muslim leaders argued that such measures reflected the importance of the Muslim community in Indian society. Many Muslims were major landowners and the percentage of Muslim soldiers in the British army was very high. Equally important was the fact that, without separate Muslim representatives, elected by Muslims only, there was likely to be communal violence between Hindus and Muslims at every election.
Although the Secretary of State for India, John Morley, thought that the Muslims’ proposal was undemocratic, the Viceroy, Lord Minto, accepted their arguments and he agreed to separate representation for the Muslims and promised to give due consideration to these demands. Lord Minto assured the Muslim Delegation that he would do everything possible to have their demands accepted.
In response to the Simla Deputation, the Congress also sent its delegation represented by Feroze Shah Mehta, who totally rejected the proposals extended by the Muslims and due to this the Hindu-Muslim hostility increased.
Importance
The British acceptance of the Simla Deputation was an extremely important moment in the history of Pakistan.
This resulted in a sudden upturn in Muslim-British relations and helped to remove the previous misunderstandings between the two sides. The British acceptance showed that the attempts by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan and others to restore relations between the Muslims and the British had been successful. Muslims got true recognition for the second time after 1857 by getting better relations with the British, following the Partition of Bengal in 1905. The British were now prepared to work with the Muslims, and even to make concessions to them.
The Muslim demands for separate representation, election by only Muslim voters and weightage in all elected bodies were accepted by the British. It was the main demand of the British for a long time. When the group of the Muslims met with the Viceroy, Lord Minto, he accepted their main demand.
The British acceptance also showed that the Muslim community had decided to ensure that it established a secure place in the constitution by its own methods, which also showed the political awareness among the Muslims. The Hindu-Muslim rivalry, which existed in day-to-day life, now existed in the constitution as well.
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. It, therefore, 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’.
The Simla Deputation was perhaps the first step down the long road leading to the formation of Pakistan.
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