Lucknow Pact: 1. What is Lucknow Pact? Ans: Lucknow Pact refers to the agreement reached between the Indian National National Congress and the Muslim League at the joint session of both parties in Lucknow in the year 1916. Muhammad Ali Jinnha, who was then the member of both the organizations, was the main mastermind behind bringing the two ideologically divergent organizations together on one platform. By this move he intended to pressurize the British Government to adopt a more liberal approach towards India and give Indians more authority to run their country, country, besides safeguarding basic Muslim demands. 2. What is the historical significance of Lucknow Pact? Ans: The Lucknow Pact is famous famous for the following significant developments in the history history of India’s struggle for independence: 1. Hindu-Muslim Unity: The Unity: The British philosophy of Divide and Rule, as manifested by
Lord Curzon’s unpopular decision of partitioning Bengal, got a severe blow first by the annulling of the decision in 1911 and then by the coming together of two parties at the same platform through Lucknow Pact. This pact demonstrated that the Hindus and Muslims stood united in presenting a common demand of more authority to Indians in running their country. country. 2. Reunion of Moderates and Extremists: Extremists : The Congress had split during the Surat Session in 1907 owing to the differences between the Moderate and Extremist factions pertaining to the methodology adopted for pressing their demands against the British Government. This consequently weakened the nationalist movement and hence it was imperative for the two factions to reunite and combine their strengths to fight the British. Lucknow pact was instrumental in bringing the two factions together. 3. Another significance of the Lucknow Lucknow Pact lies in the fact that it was the first first time that the Congress reached an agreement with an organisation which was explicitly a “communal” one while the League, founded to counter the Congress’ claims to represent the whole of India, reached an agreement with same organisation. 4. the Congress for the first time openly and explicitly conceded the principle of communal representation by accepting separate electorates for Muslims, something that it had grudgingly accepted as part of the Morley-Minto package of constitutional reforms. 3. Critically analyze the objectives and achievements of the Lucknow Pact. Objectives: During the first world war, in 1916, both organisations presented a joint scheme of constitutional reforms to the colonial rulers with the expectation that this scheme would be implemented once the war ended. To join hands and present a united face of all the communities of India in order to pressurize the British government for more constitutional reforms.
Achievements: Despite being a controversial decision, the acceptance of the principles of separate electorates represented a serious desire to allay the fears of majority domination. There was a large amount of enthusiasm generated among the people by this reunion. Even the government decided to placate the nationalists by declaring its intentions to grant self-government to Indians, as contained in Montagu’s August 1917 declarations. Criticism: According to B R Ambedkar, despite the concessions on the part of the Hindus, the pact did not produce any rapprochement between the two communities. Some of the historians believe that by agreeing to this pact the Congress compromised its position as the representative organization of all Indians by accepting the representative character of the League. The Hindu nationalists (like Madan Mohan Malviya) described the pact to be a complete surrender to Muslim communalism and separatism The Congress President of Lucknow Session Ambica Charan Mazumdar was hi mself opposed to the provision of communal electorate system agreed upon by the Pact. A major landmark in the evolution of the two-nation theory by the Muslim League which later led to the partition of the country. Though the leaders came together, efforts to bring together the masses of the two communities were not considered. 4. Highlight the features of the Lucknow Pact. Ans: 1. There shall be self government in India. 2. The same method should be adopted for the Executive Councils of Governors. 3. The India Council must be abolished. 4. The salaries of the Secretary of State for Indian Affairs should be paid by the British
government and not from Indian funds. 5. Of the two Under Secretaries, one should be Indian. 6. The executive should be separated from the judiciary. 7. The number of Muslims in the provincial legislatures should be laid down province by
province. 8. Muslims should be given 1/3 representation in Central Govt. 9. There should be separate electorates for all communities until they ask for joint
electorate. 10. System of weight-age should be adopted. 11. Term of Legislative Council should be 5 years.
12. Half of the members of Imperial Legislative Council must be Indians. 13. Half the members of the viceroy’s executive council should be Indians.
5. Despite supporting the Pact during the Lucknow Session why did the Congress leaders repudiate it later? Ans:The Congress had agreed to the pact in the expectation that the long-awaited post-war constitutional reforms would be an extension of the Morley-Minto reforms. This meant that there was no real chance of gaining power. Thus with no substantial power to be shared, it was easy for the Congress leaders to make concessions by accepting the demand for communal electorates and guaranteed representation for the Muslims. The Muslims were merely required to present a united front. Instead, the Montagu-Chelmsford Report came up with a completely different reforms package. Some power was now within the grasp of those who could command majorities in the new provincial legislatures. In the Hindu majority provinces, the Hindu Congressmen could easily hope to secure a majority without the Muslims and thus there was no longer any incentive to secure their cooperation. It is this realisation that power could be had without the Muslims that made them oppose the Lucknow Pact and the communal electorates for the Muslims that it entailed. The Nehru Report of the 1920s is regarded as the turning point when the Congress finally turned away from communal electorates. 6. Despite being hostile to the ideologies of the Congress why did the Muslim League join hands with the Congress and agreed upon the Lucknow Pact? Ans: The reasons for the shift in the stand of the League were as follows: 1. Britain’s refusal to help Turkey (ruled by the Khalifa who claimed religio-political
leadership of all Muslims) in its wars in the Balkans (1912-13) and with Italy (during 1911) had infuriated the Muslims. 2. Annulment of partition of Bengal (1911)had annoyed those sections of Muslims who had supported the partition. 3. The refusal of the British Government in India to set up a university at Aligarh with powers to affiliate colleges all over India also alienated some Muslims. 4. The younger League members were turning to bolder nationalist politics and were trying to outgrow the limited political outlook of the Aligarh School. The Calcutta session of the Muslim League (1912) had committed the League to “working with other groups for a system of self-government suited to India, provided it did not come in conflict with its basic objective of protection of interests of the Indian Muslims”. 5. Younger Muslims were infuriated by the government repression during the War. Maulana Azad’s Al Hilal and Mohammad Ali’s Comrade faced suppression while the Ali brothers, Azad and Hasrat Mohani faced internment. This generated antiimperialist sentiments among the “Young Party” 7. Sarojini Naidu gave Jinnah, the title of "the Ambassador of Hindu-Muslim Unity”.
Did History prove her statement right? Critically comment. 8. “The seeds of partition were sowed long back during the Lucknow Session of Congress in 1916”. Examine the statement in the light of the famous Lucknow Pact
between INC and the Muslim League during the same session. Sources: http://www.academia.edu/3848239/The_Lucknow_Pact_of_1916_A_Second_Look_at_the_Congre ss-Muslim_League_Agreement http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucknow_Pact India’s Struggle for Independence: Bipin Chandra, Mridula Mukherjee, Aditya Mukherjee, Sucheta Mahajan, K.N.Pannikar: Penguin Books A brief History of Modern India: Spectrum’s Publication
