The British Turn a Political Somersault: Facts are Facts The untold story of India’s Partition WALI KHAN

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The British were seasoned players in political gamesmanship. They were determined to crush the freedom movements and stop at nothing to fulfill their imperialist policies. In his letter dated 4 December 1939 the Viceroy wrote to the Secretary of State for India:

"I am fully alive, as my letter to you about Jinnah's questions will have shown, to the objection to allowing the Muslim minority to turn itself into a majority with the right of veto and that does seem to appear to be a position that we can accept."

This letter is written to explain his stand on the Muslim League Working Committee's proposal that the British Government should give it assurances that "no declaration of constitutional accord for India should be made without the consent and approval of the All India Muslim League."To put it bluntly, the above statement is an open plea to turn the Muslim minority into a majority, and to accord it the power of veto. It is all too clear that the civilized, egalitarian British ruler did not give a damn for basic human rights, democracy or self-determination. He blatantly declared, "This does seem to appear to be a position that we can accept." Having closed his eyes and ears to facts, he promoted his own interests, using the Muslim League as their vehicle. The Viceroy suggested that the Muslim majority states should be separated from the North West.A dangerous situation will arise if the Islamic Nations, once again, turned towards Jamal-ud-Din Afghani's Pan Islamism. What if they joined hands with the Russians and presented a united opposition to the British Empire? All British-India policies, so far, had been directed against the Muslims. India had been seized from them. The Ottoman Empire had been fragmented. Therefore, the Secretary of State's fear of retaliation by the Muslims was justifiable. Central intelligence was asked to prepare a comprehensive report on the above subject. This report was then submitted to the Secretary of State for India:

Having held detailed discussions with different Muslim groups such as the League, Wahabis, Khaksars, and other groups with special interest in Afghanistan and tribal areas, I have concluded that the differences between Hindus and Muslims have reached a point at which there is only one solution: partition. Thus, shortly, a nation of Muslim India must be established.

On the question of the Muslims creating a defensive position with the help of Russia; the report says:

Such aid is out of the question. If once Bolshevik aid is accepted, Islamic principles will be submerged. And if an opportunity is given to Russian influence to be felt South of the axis, all Muslim nations will degenerate to the level of the Soviet Central Asiatic [Muslim] State.

This point is further clarified, "Muslims will not ask favor from the anti-God Bolshevik Russia.” On the subject of Pan-Islamism, the Viceroy stated: "In the Turkish Treaties are seen the barring of Bolshevism from the Islamic world, and a rapid development of the line up of Muslim nations against Soviet expansionist policy." While listing the advantages of his scheme the Viceroy frankly stated that the success of this scheme may result in Muslim forces uniting to form a solid front against the Russians. Pan-Islamism may become a steel grip around the Bolsheviks. The British were smart enough to befriend those Muslims who were likely to help them in implementing all these policies. These "devout Muslims" were prepared to utilize Islam in drumming up support for the British against the Congress. For the British it was smooth sailing, once they had established control over the League, the rest could be done by manipulation. The outstanding question was that of Russia. The intelligence report made it clear that the English proposed to use Islam against Russia. In India the Muslims were ruled by a Kafir race, the Christians. So to make a distinction between Kafir and Munafiq, they started calling the Russians anti-God. This was a clever use of semantics to create a Muslim aversion for Russia.

The Pakistan Scheme: 

Several times the Viceroy explained to Muslim leaders like Sir Sikandar Hayat and Maulvi Fazlul Haq that their demand that the control not be handed over to the Congress and no elections be held, was a very negative altitude. It was becoming increasingly difficult for the Viceroy or the Secretary of Stale for India to persuade the British Parliament that if Congress had won the elections why should it not form the Government? The Viceroy made an appeal that UK Muslim leaders adopt a positive and constructive attitude. He said that a civilized world would not accept the supremacy of the minority over the majority. It would not allow their constitutional, legal and democratic demands to be ignored. Sir Sikander Hayat agreed with this point of view. The Viceroy referred to it in a letter to the Secretary of State for India:

"He [Sikander Hayat] thoroughly understood the necessity and importance of getting onto a constructive line and having a scheme of his own on which to stand, before attempting any propaganda in England.... He would let me know confidentially how matters went in the meeting of the Muslim League Working Committee on 3 February."

After attending the meeting of the Muslim League Working Committee Sikander Hayat and Maulvi Fazlul Haq, together, went to meet the Viceroy. The Viceroy wrote that Sikander informed him:

That I should be interested to learn that the Working Committee of the Muslim League has now instructed a sub-committee to draft a constructive programme. I said I was delighted to hear it and that I should await its terms with the greatest interest.

Following the Working Committee meeting, Jinnah met the Viceroy on 6 February 1940. The Viceroy wrote, "After the usual compliments he [Jinnah] opened the proceedings by asking me what were we to do, assuming that we meant Muslim League."

This was a strange meeting! The Viceroy referred to the elected Governments established in various states. Jinnah suggested that he should dismiss the Congress in the manner similar to that adopted by Lord Willingdon. The Viceroy stated that the present situation was very different from what existed in the time of Willingdon. The Congress had been elected to form the Government in eight States. If they wanted they could completely cut themselves off from the Empire. Jinnah, however, insisted that unless the Congress was crushed he could trust neither the Empire nor its representatives.

One State Government of special interest to the British was the Frontier Province. At a previous meeting the Viceroy had told Jinnah that if he tried hard it would be possible to prevent the formation of a Congress Government in NWFP. Jinnah promised to consult his colleagues on this subject. Having done so, he informed the Viceroy that his colleagues were not confident of forming the Government.

Ironically, the greatest single impediment in the combined policy of the Muslim League and the British Government was the Frontier Province itself. First, it had the largest majority of Muslims, secondly, it had a strategic location relative to Russia. The fact that this province was governed by the Khudai Khidmatgars instead of the League went against the British external and internal policy. The Government of Khudai Khidmatgars could be used neither against the Congress nor for the British. Jinnah's attention was riveted upon this issue. To establish a non-Congress Government in NWFP would create the right impact on the rest of the world. Hence his insistence was that Cunningham should help in establishing the League. In previous elections not even one League candidate filed his nomination papers. As a result, the Assembly did not have a single member from the Muslim League. Jinnah realizing that the British were ready to patronize his party, went on to suggest to the Viceroy to dismiss the Allah Bakhsh Soomro’s Sind Ministry. The English wanted to make Muslims realize that to obtain British patronage, they should throw in their lot with the League. The Viceroy had no hesitation in propagating this attitude. On 21 April 1940 he wrote, assuring the Secretary of State for India, that he need have no fears. If a Congress confrontation occurred then:

All I can say is that if Congress are set on having a fight here, they are going to have a fight not only with us, but also with the Muslims. [I am glad Jinnah has made the statement].

To summarize, the British attitude was that if the Congress was out for a confrontation, 'we are not alone! We are wearing the colours of our beloved!' The Viceroy had strengthened his alliance with the Muslim League.At this time, the League was like a sandbag, which the British were using as a buffer. If the Congress took the offensive, the sandbag would take the brunt of it leaving the British unscathed. What better means of self-preservation could they have discovered? If the Muslim League was prepared to put the chain of slavery around India, what better token of friendship and love for the British regime could it offer?

BRITISH AND THE POLITICS OF COMMUNALISM: FACTS ARE FACTS The untold story of India’s Partition by WALI KHAN

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At the start of the 20th century, the British had become a very strong force in the country. Afghanistan had fallen into their hands through the contrivance of Amir Abdur Rahman. All doors to the USSR had been closed. After the war of 1857, the Mughal Empire had been completely routed. No military force in the country was strong enough to combat the British. The Sikhs, too, had been put in their place. Six hundred Princely States were British protectorates; their potentates reported to the Viceroy. The British in India had become a super power.

The British were manipulative people experienced in ways of modern sabotage. They seriously set out to find the best means for establishing control over the numerous small kingdoms and millions of individuals. Although they had fought and won several battles, it was not possible to stand guard over each and every territory. Unity among Indians spelt disaster for the British, which they wanted to avoid at all costs. They knew that if the entire nation of Indians decided to stand up united and urinate, they would carry the British Empire in their flood! The British had successfully stripped the Muslims of all their illusions. They realized that although the Muslims had ruled the country for centuries they were numerically much fewer than the non-Muslims. Their first strategy was to ally themselves with the non-Muslims and take advantage of the rift between the two, but they soon realized the fallacy of this stand. They saw that the Hindus, although in far excess of the Muslims, were almost nonexistent in the neighbouring countries. In the entire neighbourhood, it was the Muslim rule that flourished; from North Africa to the Balkan States, and from Turkey to Afghanistan. And above all, the Kingdom of Osmania, which was the Turkish Empire and the citadel for Pan Islamism.

At the Battle of Plassey, in 1757, the British occupied Bengal, establishing their supremacy over the eastern region. With the defeat of Tipu Sultan, they became the power-brokers in the South. Central India was swallowed up following the war of 1857. Northern India had a little more strength, but that too was destroyed in 1831 when the martyrs of Balakot fell. Another stronghold of the Muslims, Afghanistan, fell in line after the agreement of 1893.

The British were now India's undisputed rulers. All internal and external dangers had been laid to rest. In 1907, an agreement signed with the U.S.S.R., declared a policy of mutual non-interference in Afghan affairs. Now the British were in a position to sit back and survey their conquered territory.

The Muslim leaders had learnt their lesson from 1857. They were anxious to unite with the Hindus and with other communities to present a unified front against British imperialism. For example, one of their most respected leaders, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, who is regarded as the father of communal harmony, said, on 27 January 1884, at a function held in Gurdaspur:

We [i.e. Hindus and Mohammadans] should try to become one heart and soul, and act in union. In old historical books and traditions you will have read and heard, we see it even now, that all the people inhabiting one country are designated by the term One Nation. The different tribes of Afghanistan are termed One Nation and so the miscellaneous hordes peopling Iran, distinguished by the term Persians, though abounding in variety of thoughts and religions, are still known as members of One Nation.... Remember that the words Hindu and Mohammadan are only means for religious distinction—otherwise all persons whether Hindus or Mohammadans, even the Christians who reside in the country, are all in this particular respect belonging to one and the same Nation.

I heartily wished to serve my country and my nation faithfully. In the word Nation I include both Hindus and Mohammadans, because that is the only meaning I can attach to it.... These are the different grounds upon which I call both those races which inhabit India by one word, i.e. Hindu, meaning to say that they are the inhabitants of Hindustan.

Sir Syed said that every inhabitant of India, no matter what his personal belief, can be called a Hindu by virtue of his belonging to Hindustan. The essence of his teaching was that Muslims had to unite with Hindus against the British. The Hindus being the favoured community were being provided employment and education. The Muslims, on the other hand, were being deliberately ignored. Therefore the only way out for them was to join forces with Hindus.

The British were becoming conscious of this merging trend. They realized that their position would be considerably weakened if the two communities got together and presented united opposition. To counter this the British decided to introduce reforms based on communalism. The first of these, the Minto-Morley Reforms of 1909, was related to elections to local and municipal committees. According to these, Muslim votes could be cast only for the Muslims and the Hindu votes for the Hindus. In this manner the British laid communalism as the foundation-stone of democracy. This was the first blow they inflicted upon Sir Syed's ideals. By proposing a communal rather than a national basis for politics, they forced the Hindus and Muslims into a position whereby if they wanted to enter municipal or community politics, their electioneering was limited to wooing their religious brethren, and fighting on religious rather than political issues.

The British were delighted with the success of this policy. In 1912, East and West Bengal were once again united as one province. The British realized that although the Hindus were in majority in India, their total population was concentrated only in this country; there were not too many of them anywhere else in the world. But the Muslims were spread all over from Afghanistan to Turkey, from the Balkan Provinces to Northern Africa. They became concerned about the strength of the Muslims, and the movement of Pan-Islamism. At the start of the First World War the British were bent upon wiping out the Ottoman Empire. How could they turn themselves round, and now side with the Muslims in India? Therefore, once again, they stopped their Muslim patronage.

During this time the second series of reforms were introduced, called the Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms. These also used communalism as the basis for elections. During the First World War when the British attacked Turkey, the Indian Muslims united to oppose their move. What unnerved the British was Mahatma Gandhi and the Congress Party joining Maulana Mohamed Ali and Shaukat Ali in this movement. They realized that their two-nation theory was in danger.

The Khilafat Committee placed four proposals before the Muslims: (i) returning all official titles; (ii) resigning from the Government employment; (iii) resigning from the army and the police; and (iv) refusing to pay taxes.

To destroy the Hindu-Muslim unity the British relied upon their Muslim subjects. The Khilafat Movement was primarily a Muslim movement in which the Hindu participation was a matter of principle. The British encouraged the Muslims to break the unity fostered by Khilafat because they knew that this was the best manner of disillusioning the Hindus. The first anti-Khilafat announcement was made by the Nizam of Hyderabad on 22 May 1920. His "firman" stated that since the Khilafat was an anti-Muslim movement it was henceforth declared illegal. During the Khilafat Movement Gandhiji and the Ali Brothers had visited Aligarh Muslim University. To reduce the impact of their visit, the British incited the Muslims of Aligarh against the Hindus, on the pretext of protecting Muslim rights.

On the second of November 1921, Mohammad Shafi, a member of the Viceroy's Executive Council, presented a two-pronged scheme:

(i) To weaken the movement for a united India, it was essential to lure away the Muslims; this could only be done if the British signed the Peace Treaty with Turkey.

(ii) An Anglo-Mohammadan Union in the interest of the British Empire should be organized.

On 21 September 1922, Viceroy Lord Reading wrote to the Secretary of State for India:

I have just sent you a telegram, which will show you, how near we have been to a complete break between Muslims and Hindus. I have been giving the greatest attention to this possibility, and I have had the greatest assistance from Shafi on my council, who is a highly respectable Mohammadan.

The British had to adopt several underhand tactics to reach their goals. But reach they did. On 1 January 1925, the Viceroy announced to the Secretary of State, "The bridge Gandhiji had built to span the gulf between the Hindus and Mohammadans has not only broken down, but, I think, it has completely disappeared." It worried them somewhat to see the Muslims divided into many factions. All factions, however, were prepared to accept the leadership of the British, while none was prepared to accept the leadership of anyone of their own people. In the same letter, the Viceroy wrote that although the Muslims were united in their support of the British Government but, "there is no outstanding man to compose the differences and head them."

Efforts began to swing him towards segregated elections. On 20 May 1929, the Viceroy wrote:

I had a long talk with Jinnah a few days ago, which made it very clear to my mind that he and all the Bombay people, who are not disposed to Congress, are disposed to swing towards our direction if we can give them help later.

After the meeting with Jinnah, the Viceroy was convinced that Jinnah could be won over. Therefore, he turned his attention towards the Muslim League. On 21 March 1929 he predicted:

The two wings of the Muslim League are to meet in Delhi at the end of this month, with a rapprochement between Sir Mohammad Shafi and Jinnah. Jinnah may be expected to gain, before long, his former commanding influence in the Muslim League.

Such clairvoyance! Even before the meeting was held the Viceroy knew that the two parties would make peace and that Sir Mohammad Shafi would clear the way for Jinnah. The next step was to organize the party and to raise funds. On 26 November 1929, the Viceroy wrote:

I hear that suggestions are being put out that government should intervene in some way towards raising funds in order to organise proper Muslim representation, and, of course, we should like them to have the best advocacy they can find.

This was going according to British plan: first to unite the Muslims of India under a proper organisation, and secondly to tell the world that they were unable to relinquish power because of the hostility between the Hindus and the Muslims. During the First Round Table Conference the British took maximum advantage of the communal differences. The next step was to create the conditions which would turn the Muslims against the Congress.

Although Gandhiji was present at the Second Round Table Conference, the British continued their-power play. In this regard Sir Samuel Hoare, Secretary of State, wrote on 2 October 19-31, "The delegates are much further off with each other than they were last year and I don't believe that there is a least chance of a communal settlement in the minorities committees."

On the one hand the British wanted to use the Muslims against the Congress, on the other they wanted to use the Harijans to divide the Hindus further on the issue of caste. This was a sure way of reducing the Hindu strength. They were delighted that in addition to the Princely States, they had virtual control over Ambedkar, the leader of the Harijans. On 28 December 1932, the Viceroy wrote, "Ambedkar had behaved very well at the Round Table Conference, and I am most anxious to strengthen his hands in every reasonable way."

Gandhiji, however, spoiled their game. To protect the Harijan's rights and to accord them a dignified place in society, Gandhiji started a "fast unto death". Ambedkar was faced with a dilemma. If he sided with the British, he would be held responsible for Gandhiji's death. If, however, he made a settlement with Gandhiji, he would have to do without British patronage. At last Gandhiji's fast unto death proved successful. Under the pressure of country wide public opinion Ambedkar was forced to concede the Gandhian way which promised to restore the Harijans to their rightful place in society. The Poona Pact was signed between Gandhiji and the Harijans. This pact bore Ambedkar's signature. Having thus lost the Harijans, the only remaining hope for the British were the Muslims. Here another problem arose. When Lord Willingdon took the place of Lord Irwin as the Viceroy of India, Jinnah-departed for England, leaving India for ever! This sudden departure was due to certain differences between Jinnah and Willingdon when the latter was the Governor of Bombay. 

Meanwhile, the British were smug in the knowledge that, thanks to their efforts, no accord could be reached among the various communities. On 31 October 1932, the Viceroy wrote:

The Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims are to meet on 3 November at Allahabad to endeavour to arrive at an agreement which will do away with the communal accord. I am assured by those who know that no agreement will ever be reached.

From the time of Lord Irwin the British had known that if elections were fought on a communal basis it would blow the emotional lid. Among Muslims the stronger parties would be those which had a religious platform. This would also be incidentally advantageous for the British. First, the Muslim candidates with a religious platform would be pitted against the Congress candidates. Second, Islam would be used to turn the voters against the nationalistic Muslims. In this manner communal representation would take precedence over national representation. All hopes for future Hindu-Muslim unity would be dashed.

To fill this political vacuum, the Viceroy decided to create a Government party. On 24 September 1934, he wrote:

I have written to the Governors asking them to give a hint to the Ministers to help pro-Government candidates and also asked them, if opportunity offers, to see that good candidates are selected...we have to sit up here and say nothing except in private…on publicity we are doing the best we can.

.......Reviewing the outcome of the elections, the British had no alternative other than preparing a strong alternative to the Congress. Glancing in all directions the British found three powerful forces that could be pitted against the Congress Party. The most loyal of the three was the group consisting of rulers of the 600 odd Princely States. These States could neither hold elections nor establish a national and democratic government. The second group that could hurt the Congress was of the scheduled castes. The British raised the slogan that the Congress was an organization of Brahmins and high-class Hindus and that Harijans were a separate race. Churchill estimated their members to be four crores. The third group was of the Muslims who were estimated to be ten crores......

Gandhiji had solved the Harijan problem. His fast unto death left a deep impact. The Hindus told Ambedkar that if he was really interested in Harijans he should throw in his lot with Gandhiji. Ambedkar had no choice but to join hands with Gandhiji. Gandhiji broke his fast the very same day Ambedkar became his co-signatory on the Poona Pact. In this manner British lost their second means of support. Now their only hope was the Muslims.

After the departure of Lord Willingdon, Jinnah returned to India. The new Viceroy gave the following account of his meeting with Jinnah on 9 September 1937, "He took very strongly the view that we did not pay sufficient attention to the Muslims, that there was the real risk of the Muslims being driven into the arms of the Congress."

He further stated that Jinnah was suspicious about his meeting with Gandhiji, "He [Jinnah] suggested that the interview [with Gandhiji] was largely responsible for the lifting of the ban on Abdul Ghaffar Khan's return to the Frontier Provinces and the fall of the Abdul Qayum Ministry."