History of Pakistan from 1857 to 1973 Constitution

Causes of the War of Independence

There were many causes of the war of independence 1857, that can be divided into the following,

i.         Political

ii.       Religious (English government banned Satti (the Hindu practice of burning the widow along with the dead body of her husband) and allowed the widows to remarry. Which hurts Hindus a lot.)

iii.     Military (Whenever the English annexed any state of India into their domain they dismantled its army and disemployed the local soldiers)

iv.     Economic (During the rule of the Mughals, not only the Muslims but also the Hindus would be appointed to all important positions but by the English, the Muslims and the Hindus both were deemed as untrustworthy and consequently all the higher posts were held by the White men. )

v.       Social causes

 

The East India Company was aiming to annex all the states of India like Avadh, Tanjore,

Jhansi, Satara, etc. That’s why they introduced systems like Doctrine of Lapse by which Indian states could be taken over by the Company in case the ruler is incompetent or there is no male heir to the throne of the state.

The Doctrine of Lapse was an annexation policy purportedly devised by Lord Dalhousie, who was the Governor-General for the East India Company in India between 1848 and 1856. 

The Company also declared that after the death of the then Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar, his family had to move out of the Red Fort and his successors were also forbidden to use the title of emperor.

There was also an immediate cause that coerced the Indians to go to war. In the words of the Lord

Canning, Lawrence and Syed Ahmed Khan it was, indeed, the most significant cause. For a new Enfield rifle introduced in the early period of 1857 (23 January 1857), the cartridges were covered with some animal fat that was supposed to be either of cow or a pig. Before using these cartridges they were to be cut by teeth. Since the cows were sacred for the Hindus and pigs were haram for the Muslims both of them refused to carry such rifles. But their English officers used force that offended the Hindus and Muslims alike and thus all these causes instigated the war in India which we call the War of Independence 1857.

 

War Of Independence (1857)

Indian rebellion, the Indian mutiny, Indian revolt.

It was an extreme effort made by Indians, but they failed due to certain reasons including lack of communication, lack of planning, lack of central leadership etc.

The Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar (Mirza Abu Zafar Siraj Uddin muhammad) was captured in September 1857, his two sons and a grandson were shot dead before his eyes and he was sent to Rangoon where he died in the year November 1862.

Though the revolt was unsuccessful, the spirit of the people remained unshaken. The revolt left an impression on the minds of the Indian people and thus paved the way for the rise of a strong national movement.

 

Aftermaths of the independence war

The Mughal rule came to an end with the dethroning of the last Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar. He was arrested during the war and sent to Rangoon, Burma where he was sentenced to life imprisonment.

The British Charter of 1852 stated that the government of India was entrusted to the Company by the English crown. And since the war had left the impression that the Company was no longer capable of keeping it safe, the government of India was personally taken over by the Queen of England who would appoint a Viceroy in India to represent the crown. The Board of Directors and the Board of Control of the Company were dissolved and instead, a council of fifteen members was appointed with the Secretary of State for India as its head.

Another point the crown had realized was the obvious mistrust between the Company and the local landlords. The unlawful and corrupt activities of the Company in capturing all the land of India and its resources had enraged the lords of India who collaborated with the revolutionaries. Thus contrary to the policy of the East India Company the crown tried to develop a relationship of trust and confidence with the Indian masses. It was assured that England was no longer interested in capturing the Indian land anymore and that in the future all the agreements signed with the Indian lords would be duly acknowledged. The heirless rulers were also given free hand to adopt males as their successors. The motive was to eventually gain their trust and support

The crown believed that primarily the Muslims had initiated the revolt against British rule. For that reason, they put all the blame on the Indian Muslims and took most of the revenge from them. Most of the Muslims in the government services were dismissed. Except for the betrayers all the

Muslims were ruthlessly looted and killed. The Muslims in repulsion also utterly disgusted the British and rejected not only the White people but also all the new things that were introduced by them.  They kept themselves quite aloof from modern education and thus remained awkwardly uneducated and unfortunately backward. The Hindus on the other hand joined hands with the new government and became well-educated and prosperous.  Muslims thought that although Hindus fought with them it was only the Muslims who were paying the price. This gave rise to the two-nation theory.

 

Government of India Act 1858

 After this war, the British policy towards Indians changed drastically, to address the grievances of the Indian population a new Act was introduced in India by the Crown in 1858. The Act was passed by the British Parliament on 2nd August 1858. The Main Provisions of the Act of 1858 were as follows:

i.         The rule of the British East India Company was abolished and the Government of India was directly taken over by the Crown with Queen Victoria as the supreme monarch.

ii.       The Crown was empowered to appoint a Governor-General and the Governors of the Presidencies.

iii.     The Court of Directors and the Board of Control were abolished and their place was taken over by the Secretary of State for Indian Affairs and the India Council.

iv.     Extensive powers were given to the Secretary of State for Indian Affairs and the Indian Council consisted of 15 members. The Council was made to assist him but only had an advisory role.

v.       The people of India were promised their rights by Queen Victoria under this Act. Complete freedom of religion was ensured and gradual participation in the administration of the country was also proclaimed.

vi.     Pardon was given to all the Indians except those who had killed British people. The Act said that the princes of the states could retain their former status and all agreements with the princes will be honoured.

vii.   Doctrine of Lapse was discarded under this Act.

According to this Act the Secretary of State for Indian Affairs was given extensive powers. He was not answerable to anyone. He could do whatever he wants to do. Neither Parliament nor Indian Council could bind him for taking any action; both of these institutions were not given the power to put limits on his extensive powers. Moreover, the promises that were made by Queen Victoria were never fulfilled by her. The Indian people were not given the due rights that were promised to them under this Act.

 

Government of India Act 1861

The Indian Councils Act 1861 was introduced because the British Government wanted to involve the Indian people in the process of lawmaking. This Act was passed on 1st August 1861. Its main provisions were as under:

i.         The Executive Council of the Governor-General was extended. It was decided the members of his council should not be less than 6 and no more than 12 in number. These members were called the Additional Members of the Executive Council and were not given any significant power with regard to legislation.

ii.       Governor-General was empowered to nominate the Additional Members for 2 years and half of the members must be non-official.

iii.     It was decided that from now Commander-in-chief would be appointed as an extraordinary member of the Executive Council.

iv.     Any bill and regulation passed by the Provincial Council could not become law until and unless Governors and the Governor-General gave their assent for the bill and regulation. Under this Act, the Governor-General was empowered to issue ordinances.

v.       Limited powers of legislation were given to the Presidencies of Bengal and Madras and the Governor-General was empowered to create similar councils for the provinces of Frontier and Punjab.

The biggest drawback of the Act was regarding the selection and the role of the Additional Members. These members did not take part in the discussions and their role was only advisory. The non-official members of the Executive Council were not interested in attending the meetings of the Council, moreover, under this Act, they were not bound to attend them either. The Indian members were not eligible to oppose any bill and most often the bills were passed in one sitting without discussion.

 

Urdu-Hindi Controversy (1867)

The Urdu language was born in India.  India was considered to be a golden sparrow in terms of its fertile land and manpower. That’s why lots of invaders came to occupy it for different purposes. People like Arabs, Persians and Turks etc. when mingled with the native people exchanged many words of their languages and thus with this mingling, a new language emerged which was termed Urdu, meaning the “language of the troops.” Since it was formed by the invaders of the Muslim world and emerged during the rule of the Mughals in India, it was termed the language of the Muslims and that is why initially it was called Musalmani. Since it was a popular language so in 1837, Persian was replaced by Urdu as the court and the state language, and no one objected to that.

With the fall of the Mughal Empire, Hindus, however, started looking at Urdu as the language of the invaders. The British on the other hand, in their disregard for Muslims, adopted the same attitude.

Thus both intentionally started their efforts to get rid of the language of the Muslims.

The first effort was made at the start of the nineteenth century in 1809 (but Urdu was extremely popular in the subcontinent at that time) when a new language was formed with the name Hindi in which words of pure Arabic, Persian and Turkish were removed and replaced by Sanskrit words.

In 1867 the Hindus of Banaras presented a request to their government regarding the replacement of Urdu with Hindi, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan at that demand remarked that "when even the language of a nation is not safe at the hands of other nations in a region, it would be unwise to continue living with them". So Sir Syed, who was in fact a great advocate of Hindu-Muslim unity before that incident, started focusing on the cause of Muslims alone which lead to the thoughts of the two nation theory.

In 1871 the Lt. Governor of Bengal G. Cambell banned Urdu in the province at all levels, courts, administration and even schools. In 1882 during the visit of the Hunter Commission, a commission formed by the English government to analyze the spread of modern English education in India, Hindu organizations again tried to attack Urdu. They held meetings with its chairman, Dr Hunter and tried to force him to admit Urdu as the foreign language and to promulgate Hindi, the native language, for educational purposes. But in this mission, they remained unsuccessful due to the constant efforts of Sir Syed and his comrades.

Later on when Anthony MacDonnell (Pro Hindu/Antimuslim) became the governor of UP in 1900. He dismissed Urdu as the official language of UP, which was in fact considered to be the home of Urdu language and declared Hindi the official language of the province.

Sir Syed’s successors at Aligarh, mainly Nawab Mohsin-ul-Mulk, the then Secretary of the Aligarh

Trust, took action against MacDonnel’s act. He called for a popular gathering of the supporters of Urdu at Aligarh and openly condemned the governor’s work. He also founded Urdu Defense Association and it was decided that the association would take action against the doings of the governor. At that MacDonnell got angry and threatened Mohsin-ul-Mulk that if he continues his aggression against the doings of the government MacDonnell would see to it that Aligarh would cease to get government grants. As the grants were necessary for the institution and Mohsin-ul-Mulk could not part himself from the defence of Urdu, in order to save AligarhCollege he resigned. But since he was dearly beloved to all of his colleagues and students he was forced to take back his resignation. But that did not stop him from defending Urdu and continued his efforts. The result of this Muslim response Urdu too along with Hindi was declared the official language of the province. But Mohsin-ul-Mulk was not satisfied with this outcome and continued his struggle. When UP got rid of MacDonnel, he founded another association called Anjuman-e-Tarraqi-e-Urdu to counter all future attempts of the Hindus and the English against Urdu.

 

Aligarh Movement

After 1857, the Muslims emerged as a backward nation; they were illiterate and hopelessly ignorant in every walk of life. They were deprived of their basic rights and were neglected in every sphere of life. Sir Syed started a movement in order to give respectable position to Muslims in society as they had in past, this movement is known as Aligarh Movement. The main focus of the Aligarh movement was:

i.         Loyalty to British Government.

ii.       Modern western education for the Muslims to compete with Hindus.

iii.     To keep away the Muslims from politics.  

He believed that the cure of every problem of Muslims was the modern education. Therefore, in

1859, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan set up a school for Muslims in Muradabad where English, Persian,

Islamiat, Arabic, Urdu were compulsory subjects. In 1862, Sir Syed was transferred from Muradabad to Ghazipur where he established another school for Muslims, which was known as Madrass Ghazipur.

In 1864, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan laid the foundation of a scientific society at Ghazipur. The purpose of this society was to translate the English books into Urdu language. But, later on, in 1866, after his transfer to Aligarh, the main office of the scientific society was also transferred to Aligarh. In 1866, the scientific society issued a journal named as Aligarh Institute Gazette. This journal was published both in Urdu and English languages. The aim of this journal was to wash away the misconception between Muslims and British government and brought them close to each other. In 1866 sir syed also laid the foundation of british india association, to convey the point of view of indians to the british parliment.

In order to closely watch the educational system of England, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan accompanied his son Syed Mehmud, visited England in 1869 and stayed there for seventeen months studying English educational institutions like Oxford and Cambridge University. Later, after his return to India, he set up a committee known as “Committee Striving for Educational Progress of Muslims”. Under this committee another committee was established named as “Fund Committee for the establishment of a Muslim College” and Sir Syed was selected the secretary of the both committees. For this purpose, Sir Syed toured across the country and collected funds for the establishment of college. Hence, in 1875, Sir Syed established Mohammedan Anglo Oriental School at Aligarh. In 1877, the school was upgraded to the level of college which was inaugurated by Lord Lytton. The main characteristic of this college was that it offered both Western and Eastern educations. Later on, this college was raised to the level of university, after the death of Sir Syed in 1920.

In December 27,1886, Sir Syed set up an organization which is known as Mohammedan Educational Conference,  It aim was to convey the message of education to the Muslim masses. The Conference held its sessions at different towns of the country to know about the educational problems and then tried to solve them. THE CONFERENCE ALSO ESTABLISHED WOMEN COLLEGE ALIGARH & LATER ON MUSLIM LEAGUE. The annual meetings of AIMEC were regularly held every year in different parts of the country. Sir Syed Ahmed acted as the secretary of the Conference till the time of his death. The holding of meeting every year under conference proved a great success for their required results. People from all-India gathered and sit together, to talk about their problems,  solutions, and suggestions. This was the first and the only platform for the Muslims where they gathered for their united cause. 

He also wrote “Loyal Muhammadans of India” in which he recorded a detailed account of the loyal services of the Muslims which they rendered to the British rulers. In 1870, Sir Syed, after his return from England, setup an organization known as “Anjuman-i-Taraqi-i-Muslamanan-i-Hind” in order to impart modern education to the Muslims of India.

Sir Syed wrote the philosophical commentary on Bible named as “Tabaeen-al-Kalam.” In which he draw out the similarities found between Islam and Chirstianity.  He also wrote “Essay on the life of Muhammad” on the response to “Life of Muhammad”, written by William Muir, in which he had criticized the Holy Prophet. Sir Syed also wrote “Anjuman-i-Tariki-i-Urdu” for the protection of Urdu. Sir Syed published another influential magazine named as “Tahzib-ul-Akhlaaq” in which he discussed the Muslim society by criticizing the conservative way of living and emphasized on the new modern way of life.

Sir Syed, although, was the first Muslim member of Central Legislative Council, but he advised the Muslims to remain apart from politics unless and until they would get education.

 

Dar-ul-Uloom Deoband

Intervention in religious affairs of british government (Who were spreading christianity) compelled the Muslims to made a madrasa where the basic of religion to be taught. It was setup on may 30, 1886, also called ummul-madaris. This idea was given by Haji muhammad Hussnain Abid.  Deobandi scholars had opposed the creation of Pakistan, on the religion basis by the demand of muslim league although the real reason of their opposition was the desire to Islamize all India.

Aims and objectives:

i.         Providing comprehensive information to the Muslims about their religion and making arrangements for teaching of Quraan, Tafseer, Hadees, etc.

ii.       Invoking the spirit of Islam among the students.

iii.     Propagation and teaching of Islam.

iv.     Preserving the freedom of thoughts and knowledge.

v.       Establishment of Arabic institution for the propagation of Islam.

 

 

Anjuman Himayat-i-Islam (1884)

It was founded by Maulana Qazi Hamid-ud-Din in september 1884. The Anjuman was set up to achieve the following aims and objectives:

i.         Providing for the religious and general education for male and female for Muslims students.

ii.       Protection and propagation of Islamic values against the Christian missionaries and Hindu revivalists.

iii.     To counteract the propaganda against Islam through speeches and publications.

Its motive was to save Islam for Muslims community. It tried to provide education for the Muslims of the sub-continent. This institution had a great impact on the Muslim community. The Anjuman had its own press and published on religious and literary topics. One important task was producing a correct text of the Holy Quran.

 

Nadvatul Ulema (1894)

Ali ghar movement was emphasizing on advanced westeren education , while dar-ul-uloom deoband was emphasizing islamic education for the muslims. So, there was a great need of the emergence of an institution that could deliver the two types of education at the same time and at one place. Thus for that purpose Nadva-tul-Ulama was founded in 1894 at Lucknow by Moulvi Abdul Ghaffar, who was working as the deputy collector for the British government of India. Institution was established in 1898 and classes started shortly after it.

Nadva witnessed the peak of its popularity when Maulana Shibli Naumani joined it in 1904. 

However, there were some criticisms as well like the Governor of U.P Anthony MacDonnel, famous for his contributions in the Urdu-Hindi controversy on the Hindu side, criticized Nadva for being a part of political activity in the province. But after a few years the government too started patronizing Nadva and government grants were also issued to it. In 1908 Nadva’s grand building started constructing and the British government of U.P laid its foundations.

Abdul kalam azad also studied at this institute.

 

Congress & Muslims

A political party was formed in 1885, its founder was an Ex English CSP officer Mr. Hume. It was called the All Indian National Congress. Its first president was an Indian and Mr. Hume was its first general secretary.

On 28th December 1885 the first session of the Congress was held with 72 members among whom, 58 were Hindus of which only 2 were Muslims. Another Congress session held in 1894 there were 118 Hindu members of Congress and only 20 were Muslims.

In the last decade of 19th century, Congress and its policies became excessively biased and violent toward the Muslims. Inspite of these strict policies, Muslim politicians like Maulana Azad, Maulan Mohammad Ali Johar and even Mohammad Ali Jinnah were also in favor of united India and they believed that in spite of all the newly emerging Hindu-Muslim differences there was still the chance of their unity and that’s why they remained with the Congress.

That’s why Jinnah joined Muslim League as well in 1913 when he was still a member of the Congress.

He tried to become the bridge between the two major political parties of India at that time and because of his efforts in 1916, the famous Lucknow Pact was finalized between the two associations which could create a relationship of mutual trust but even that attempt proved to be futile because of the rigidity of Congress. Their constant claim to be the only representative party of the Indians and their refusal to accept Muslims as an independent nation led to the failure of the Lucknow Pact. Soon Jinnah also realized the non-conciliatory intentions of the Congress and resigned from its membership.

With the passage of time Muslim League started becoming a great representative of the aspirations of the Muslims of India and they started looking towards the League it as their guardian. So the congress lost almost all the support of indian muslims. The Congress, however, did not bother about that much and in 1928 the Nehru Report from the Congress platform distinctly crystallized the anti-Muslim approach of the “political party of the whole of India”.

In the elections of 1937 Congress won the majority seats in the legislature and formed government in India.

Those were terrible times for all Indians except Hindus of course, and particularly for Muslims. Congress during its rule did all in its capacity to work against Muslims and their representative political party Muslim League. Hindu-Muslim riots were common stories of the day in which the Muslims were always accused for everything. Cow slaughter was banned in many regions. All these events proved that all Congress wanted was to destroy Muslims, their heritage and to rule them. That’s why when Congress ministries resigned in 1939; Muslims of India celebrated Day of

Deliverance on 22nd December. The Congress doings intensified the feelings of freedom of the Muslims and though Muslims like Maulana Azad and his party Jamiat-ul-Ulema-i-Hind kept themselves on the Congress side and hailed for a united India, the majority of the Indian Muslims followed Muslim League and finally founded an independent country for themselves called Pakistan in 1947.

 

The Indian Councils Act 1892

The Indian Councils Act 1892 was passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The main provisions of the bills were as under:

i.         The number of non-official members was increased, both in Central and Provincial legislatures.

ii.       The universities, zamindars, municipalities, etc. were authorized to recommend members to Provincial Councils. This was the introduction of the Principle of Representation. iii. This act allowed the councils to discuss each year’s annual financial statement.

iv.     The number of the Additional Members of the Governor General Executive Council was raised up to 16.

v.       Under this act two-fifth of the members of the council was to be non-official.

vi.     The Additional Members of the Council could ask questions of public interest under this Act.

vii.   The numbers of the Additional Members of the provincial councils were also raised, for Bengal it was 20 and 15 for the Awadh.

 This act was an extension of act of 1861.

 

NWFP as an Independent Province (1901)

In 1849 after the defeat and capture of Punjab by the English troops the frontier region came under control of the British Empire. A point to be noted here, that it was the last region in the Sub-continent that was annexed by the East India Company. 

Since the aggressive tribes of the frontier were hard to control the Company divided it into two parts, the plains were under direct rule of the Company with sound administration While, the hard mountainous parts were termed as independent tribal belt. The Company interfered in the affairs of the belt, with various tactics until on 9th November 1901 during the times of Lord Curzon in India it was declared to be a separate province. The new province included districts like Hazara, Peshawar, Kohat, Bannu, and Dera Ismail Khan that were previously part of the province of Punjab.

The formal inauguration was held on April 26, 1902 and the new province was placed under charge of the Chief Commissioner who was directly responsible to the government of India. However NWFP didnot enjoyed constitutional reforms for a long time untill the end of the second Round Table Conference on 1st December 1931 NWFP was given the status of governor’s province and its chief commissioner, Mr. Ralph Griffith was made its first governor.  A legislative council was also set up with 40 members among which 22 were to be Muslims. And in this way after a long period of struggle the province of North-West became an independent province.

 

Partition of Bengal (1905-1911)

The partition of Bengal was the most important event during the rule of Lord Curzon. It was carried out mainly for the convenience of administration. 

i.        The Province was spread over the area of 1, 89, 000 square miles with the population of 80 million, which was too vast to be managed by one lieutenant Governor. He could not make a tour for the whole province due to its vastness once in his tenure.

ii.      The sources of communication in the provinces were limited due to rivers and forests. The law and order condition of the provinces was also worst due to insufficient police and in-efficient management.

iii.    There was also the difference of Languages and civilization of the natives of West Bengal and East Bengal. The natives of West Bengal considered themselves superior in civilization to the resident of East Bengal.  

iv.    Lord Curzon partitioned Bengal and formed two new provinces of manageable size – East and West Bengal. East Bengal consisted of Dacca, Mamansingh, Assam, Kaula, Rangpur, and Bogra district, the Dacca was capital of East Bengal constituted a majority MuslimProvince, while the Bihar and Orissa constituted a separate province to be called as West Bengal with the capital of Calcutta and become the Hindu Majority provinces. Partition was announced in july 1905, & came into effect in october 1905.

The Muslims welcomed the Partition of Bengal for the following reasons:

i.         In the majority province of East Bengal the Muslims would be free from Hindu dominance in economic field. They would get opportunities of services and advancement of agriculture.

ii.       The city of Dacca, where the Muslims were in majority was the centre of Muslim culture. In Dacca Muslims had a great chance of success for social and cultural advancement than in Calcutta.

iii.     The Partition could result in political uplift and securing represent action in the Government.

iv.     The partition of Bengal relieved the Muslims from competing with Hindus, who were more advanced in every field of life.

 

The Hindus didn't accept it, They called it as a deliberate attempt by British Government

i.         The Partition of Bengal had brightened the possibility of betterment of Muslims; while the Hindu landlords, capitalists and traders wanted status quo and to continue the exploitation of the Muslims.

ii.       Hindu lawyers also reacted to the partition of Bengal because they thought that the new province would have its separate courts and thus their practice would be affected.

iii.     Hindu press was not different from that of Hindu advocates. Hindus had their monopoly over almost whole of the province press. They were afraid that new newspapers would be established which would decrease their income naturally.

iv.     The Hindus launched Swadeshi Movement whose sole purpose was to boycott of British goods.

 

Annulment of the Partition

When Lord Hardinage assumed charge as Governor General of India Hindus again became active and sent a representation to him for the annulment of partition of Bengal. He recommended the same to the British Prime Minister for Indian Affairs. He then cancelled the partition of bengal on 12th December 1911.

 

Simla Deputation (1906)

The Indians were not satisfied with the Indian council Act of 1892. Especially, the act failed to ensure the fair representation of indians. So, the Indians were agitating for more power. Due to the growing political pressure and increasing social unrest, the British Government decided to make constitutional reforms relating to the electoral bodies. On 20th July 1906 John Morley the Secretary of State for Indian affairs announced that the Government wanted to increase the number of seats for the legislative councils and also their powers.

John Morley announcement created an anxiety among the Muslims of the sub-continent. The proposed reforms, if implemented, as was demanded by the Congress, would have suppressed the Muslims more under the Hindu Majority. 

Nawab Mohin-ul-Mulk wrote a letter on August 1906, to Archbold, Principal of the college, in which he expressed his apprehensions about the forthcoming constitutional changes. He was of the view that if combined election would be held on a more extended scale, Mohammedans will hardly get a single seat, while Hindus will carry more advantage because of their majority. He asked Archbold to advise for submit memorial from the Mohammedans to the Viceroy and to request his permission to accept a deputation for discus the issue of forthcoming constitutional amendments. Archbold contacted to Viceroy’s secretary and on 10th August 1906. He informed Mohsin-ul-Mulk that the Viceroy was ready to meet the deputation. Finally, a deligation consisting of 35 leaders of Muslim community meet to the viceroy, under the leadership of Sir Aga Khan, in Simla on 1st October 1906. 

The deputation presented the demands that rights of separate electorates should be given to the Muslims; Muslims should be given three more seats in central legislature; quota should be given to the Muslims in civil services; Muslims should be given representation in universities senates and syndicates; an aid should be given to the Muslims for the establishment of a Muslim university. Lord Minto, the Viceroy, assured the Muslim delegation that as long as he is associated with the administrative affairs if the country, their national rights would be preserved. The demand of separate electorates, which were presented through the deputation, was the foundation of all future constitutional amendments for India.

 

Separate Electorates

Separate Electorates are that type of elections in which minorities select their own representatives separately, as opposed to Joint Electorates where people are selected collectively. When minorities fear that they would not get representation in state affairs and government then they demand separate electorates. Same was the case with the Indian Muslims.

During simla dputation the Muslim delegation asked for separate representation at all levels of government, district boards, legislative councils, and municipalities. They mentioned that they were almost one-fifth and in some areas one-fourth of the whole population. So they must be given recognition as an important factor of the state machinery & Muslims should be given separate representation for both local bodies and legislative councils, through separate electorates.

Viceroy listened to them and promised them that their demands would put forward to British Government. With this positive response Muslims established their own political party named as All India Muslim League in December, 1906.

In 1909 the Morley-Minto Reforms granted separate electorates to Muslims. Muslims were given fewer share than their numerical strength, but this was a land mark in the political history of Indian Muslims.

In 1916 Lucknow Pact was passed with the collaboration of Congress and Muslim League. Congress conceded to the legitimate rights of Muslims. In this pact the right of separate electorates for Muslims was recognized. It was declared that Muslims would be given one third central legislature seats. And in provinces minorities were to have more seats than their numerical strength, this was known as the Weightage System. According to this system Muslims got more representation than their population in minority provinces whereas, in Bengal and Punjab their representation was reduced to 50% and 40% from 56% and 55% respectively. In 1919 the Montague Chelmsford Reforms were introduced. The demands of Lucknow Pact were accepted. In centre Muslims were given one third seats. These all rights were denied, and Congress deviated from their own prospective in Nehru Report in 1928.

After many years of constitutional debates, Government of India Act 1935 was passed. And elections were held in 1937 under this act. Congress won 706/1771 seats. It contested for 58/482 Muslim seats and won 26 seats whereas, the newly organized Muslim League won 102 Muslim seats. 

In December 1945 elections to central Legislative Assembly were held, congress demanded for independence of united India and opposed partition of India.  Whereas Quaid-i-Azam announced that Muslims were a separate nation and Muslim League was their representative party. They would not accept any constitution, in which they were relegated as a frustrated minority. He said that they were a separate nation and they must have their own state & the results of elections proved that Muslim League claims and demands were right. In central Assembly 30 seats were reserved for Muslims and Muslim League won all of them. Contrary to that Congress even lost some of general seats. In provincial elections Muslim League won 428/492 seats.

 

Establishment of All India Muslim League (1906)

The events following the partition of Bengal and Urdu-Hindi controversy strengthened the desire of the Muslims to organize themselves politically as separate community. The birth of All India Muslim League at Dacca on 30th December 1906 came as an expression of that desire.

The turning point came in the summer of 1906 during John Morley’s budget speech, in which he hinted of constitutional reforms. At that time Muslims did not have a political platform to demand their share. It was reasserted that they wanted a separate political platform.

The Success of Simla Deputation: Minto offered fullest sympathy to the Muslim demands. The success of Deputation compelled the Muslims to have a separate political party.

A resolution to form the All India Muslim League was passed by Nawab Salimullah Khan and was seconded by Hakim Ajmal Khan, Maulana Muhammad Ali and Moulana Zafar Ali. The resolution was passed by All India Educational Conference on 30th December 1906. Sir Agha Khan was appointed as President and Syed Hassan Balgrami was appointed as secretary, while Nawab Mohsim-ul-Mulk and Nawab Viqar-ul-Mulk were made joint secretaries with six Vice- Presidents, a Central Committee with forty Members was also constituted.  

The main concern of AIML was to Safeguard the political rights of the Muslims and to bring them into the notice of the Government. The first session of all India Muslim league was held at Karachi on 29th December, 1907 and was presided over by Adamji Peer Bhai.

It was being felt from the beginning that the All India Muslim League would not achieve considerable success without winning the British Public opinion to its side. Therefore, Syed Ameer Ali organized the branch of Muslim league at London. The inaugural meeting was held on 6th May 1908, at London Caxton Hall. 

 

Minto-Morley Reforms (1909)

The Liberal Party came to power in Britain in 1906 & they introduced new constitutional reforms to impoverish the grievances of the Indians. 

Reforms are as below

i.         The number of members of legislative council of Governor General and the Governors of various provinces was increased.

ii.       The powers of Members of Legislative were increased. They could now criticize the actions of the executive, ask questions and even supplementary questions, and express their views

by moving resolutions. Matters of public interest were also discussed in the Legislative Council.

iii.     The Indians were included in the councils, where ultimate decisions were made, of the India Secretory and Viceroy. Before these reforms they were excluded from such councils. iv. For the first time, the demand for a separate electorate was accepted.

v.       The Government wanted to give special representation to the loyalist classes. In this context, a special representation was given to landlords, chambers of commerce and other influential.

vi.    Further, S.P. Sinha, an Indian, was included in the Viceroy’s Executive Council. However, this act was bitterly criticized by the Muslims, for they had previously demanded that two Indian members including one Muslim should be included in the Council. The Government promised to appoint Muslim the next time. After Sinha’s resignation, Sayed Ali Imam was appointed as a Member of the Executive Council.

The inclusion of the Indians in Councils was a great experience for the Indians. They became part of Legislative Councils. They could move resolutions, discuss Bills elaborately, and approved Bills. Act of 1909 was a decided step and opened the door for real politics.

 

Kanpur Mosque Tragedy (1913)

The U.P Government granted a total of two and half lack rupees to widen the roads of the Kanpur and to fulfill other welfare works. This scheme also included AB road. The widening of this road became a serious issue. The real problem was that if it were widened straight, there lay in its way, a Hindu temple just opposite to the Mosque in the Machli Bazar.

When Hindus heard of this scheme, they forced the Government to halt its progress. Then the only way left to save the temple was, to turn the road in some other direction, because there was not much space between the mosque and temple, to widen the road. Hence, there was a threat for the Muslims that the eastern part of the mosque might have to be demolished which was used for the purpose of ablution and for baths in order to commence the road.

The governer of UP , sir james meston order to demolish easteren part of the mosque, after they demolished muslim protested and they opened fire on muslims. Then , Muslim Anjumans from all over the India strongly protested against this wicked act of firing on the Muslims. Lord Hardinge called this act as a “stupid blunder.” He said that it was the example of shortsightedness of  Meston. Lord Hardinge felt the pain of the Muslims and visited Kanpur along with Sayyid Ali Imam on 13th to 14th October. He compromised with the Muslims allowing them to build a new building over the public road. He also visited the mosque and ordered to release the prisoners and withdrew the cases.

 

Lukhnow Pact (1916)

With the inclusion of Quaide azam in muslim league, The leaders of the both parties agreed that they should cooperate with each other to make the British accept their demands. It was the first & last pact between congress & muslim league. Following kanpur mosque incident muslim wanted self government in india.

In 1904, Jinnah attended a meeting of the Indian National Congress. In 1906 he joined the congress himself. In 1912, Jinnah attended a meeting of the All India Muslim League, prompting him to join the league the following year. 

Features of the pact are as below

i.        The congress party agreed to the right to separate electorate for the Muslims first and last time in the history of subcontinent.

ii.      The Hindus conceded that the Muslims would have one third representation in the imperial legislative council.  

iii.    A weightage formula was proposed under which the Muslims would get less representation than their population in the legislative council in those provinces where they were in majority but more in provinces where they were in minority.

iv.    The Muslims shall be elected through special electorates and their strength in the different provinces shall be as: Punjab 50%, Bengal 40%, U.P 30%, Bihar 25%, C.P 15%, Madras 15% and Bombay 33 %.

 

This pact was a great success , It was basically give and take sort of agreement between the both parties. The Muslims had to pay a big price of loosing majority in Bengal and Punjab to obtain some concessions. This pact was failed later on, because hindu muslims are two different nation and they have different culture and civilization.

 

The Montague-Chelmsford Reforms (1919)

Minto-Morley reforms, introduced in 1909, proved unsatisfactory for Indian people. Resultantly, Indians demanded more representation and called for greater self-government. Even after one millions of indian soldiers fought for british in world war one but this was in vein.  Thus Indians pressed for immediate reforms and it was felt that a civil disobedience movement might be launched jointly by congress and Muslim league to compel the British to accelerate the reforms.

At that time, Edwin Montague was the Secretary of State for India, lord chelmsford was the governer genral of india, they both collaborated and introduced new reforms in 1919 and it became Act of 1919.

Reforms are as below

i.         The Council of the Secretary of State was to comprise of eight to twelve people. Three of them should be Indian, and at least half of them should have spent at least ten years in India.

ii.       The Central Legislature was to consist of two houses, Upper House (Council of the State), and the Lower House (Legislative Assembly). Council of the State was to consist of 60 members, out of them 35 members would be elected and rest of them would be nominated by the Governor General. The Legislative Assembly was to consist of 144 members, out of them 103 were to be elected and 41 to be nominated by the Governor General. The duration of the Upper House was five and of the Lower House was three years.

iii.     Powers were divided between the center and the provinces. The important subjects were vested with the center and unimportant remained with provinces. The important central subjects were defense, foreign affairs, custom, and relations with Indian states, currency and railway. On the contrary, unworthy provincial subjects were local self-government, public health, education etc.

iv.     The salary of the Secretary of State for Indian Affairs should be paid from British exchequer; previously, his salary was paid by Indian treasury.

v.       The system of ‘Diarchy’ or a kind of double government in the Provinces was introduced.

Provincial subjects were divided into two categories “Transferred and Reserved.” Transferred subjects which were public health, education, local self-government, and agriculture were under the control of Minister; likewise all transferred subjects were unimportant. Reserved subjects included administration, police, land revenue etc. which were under the control of Governor with the help of his secretaries. It was indirect control over transferred department by reserved department. Hence, Governor was the head of transferred and reserved subjects.

 

This act was rejected by congress, The only point of the reforms appreciated by the Indian was that after ten years, a commission was to assess the reforms and to bring further improvement in them.

 

Jalianwala Bagh Massacre (1919)

The Amritsar massacre also known as Jalinawala Bagh Massacre. Where the British Indian army opened fire on gathering who gathered in Jalinawala Bagh for Bisakhi festival. According to official source 379 people were killed but according to private source number was much higher.

In 1919 after the Rowlett Act, Indian National Congress started mass movement across the sub-continent in order to release their leaders, in their protests they burned banks,telepgarph and cut the railway lines etc etc. Then British governor of Punjab Sir Michael O’Dwyer declared martial law in Punjab and instructions were given ”no gathering of person, nor procession of any sort will be allowed”.

Later on in 1940 a survivor of the event , Udam sing killed Mr. O'Dwyer.

 

Khilafat Movement (1919-1922)

During World War I, the Ottoman Empire (Turkey) joined the war in favour of Germany. But Turkey and Germany lost the war and a pact commonly known as Istanbul Accord was concluded between the Allied Forces on 3rd November 1918. According to this Pact the territories of Turkey were to be divided among France, Greece and Britain. Indian Muslims fought this war for british sides due to their promise that they would not harm ottoman empire, but when they devided ottoman empire, muslim started khilafat movement.

In these situations, Indian Muslims rose against the British Government. Muslim leaders like

Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad, Moulana Muhammad Ali Johar, Moulana Shoukat Ali and others reacted against the British Government policy and were put behind the bars.

Thus, Muslims organized a mass movement, which came to be known as Khilafat Movement. The aims of this movement were

i.    To protect the Holy place of Turkey ii. To restore the Territories of Turkey iii. To restore the Ottoman Empire.

 

In order to approve these demands, Muslim league decided to launch Non-cooperation movement, congress extended its full support towards it. & when muslims resinged from all the government posts , hindus joined all of them. They betrayed once again.  One of the main reasons which caused a death blow to Khilafat Movement was the indirect announcement of Gandhi to discontinue the Non Co-operation Movement. Gandhi used an incident of arson on February 1922, when a violent mob set on fire a police choki at Chora Churi at district Gorakpur, burning twenty one constables to death as an excuse to call off the non-cooperation movement. In 1924, Kamal Ataturk set up a government on democratic basis in Turkey by abolishing Khilafat as a system of government which served a finishing blow to Khilafat Movement in India and people had lost whatever interest that they had in the movement. Hijrat movemment 1920 was also occured during this period when many of the muslims(in thousands) migrated to afghanistan after saling their properties in india on cheapest rates, and when afghanistan closed it's frontiers seeing this much rush, they came back with a miserable life. Hijrat movement was an emotional and ill advised movement and it had no potential to have constructive result.

 

Delhi Proposals (1927)

On 20 march 1927, Jinnah and company declared that they would withdraw the demand of Separate Electorates provided the following demands will be accepted by the Congress:

I.                 Sind should be separated from Bombay and should be constituted into an independent province.

II.               Reforms should be introduced in the North-West Frontier Province and Baluchistan on the same footing as in any other province of India.

III.            Reservation of seats according to the population for different communities in the Punjab and Bengal.

IV.            Muslims should be given 1/3rd representation in the Central Legislature.

It was the first time that the Muslim League had agreed to joint electorates and would not do so ever again.

 

Simon Commission (1928)

In, 1927 Lord Irwin was Viceroy of India. Who appoint a commission under instruction of British government which was consist of seven members under Sir John Simon. Sir John Simon was its chairman. The instruction were given to the chairman that they had to investigate the Indian constitution problems then they had to present a detailed report in which they mentioned the adequate reforms .All the members of commission were British, even they did not included a single Indian member. Indian leaders make them to realize that to examine the problems and felling of Indian nation they should appoint Indian member in commission so, they can solve the problems of Indian people because without this they cannot take any decision for the future of Indian.

Simon commission reached at Bombay on 3rd February, 1928. & went back in 1929.

There were following recommendations on Commissions report:

I.                 The Diarchy system in the provinces should be abolished and all the portfolios should be handed over to the provincial ministers.

II.               The power of the central government and the provincial governors should be reduced.

III.            Federal system of government should be introduced in India.

IV.            The right to vote should be extended to more people.

V.               An expert committee should be constituted regarding the separation of Sindh from Bombay. The separation of Sindh was not granted in principal. First there would have to be a close and detailed enquiry into the financial consequences which would follow such a step.

The demand of the frontier for equal status was also neglected.

The report was not acceptable for Muslims, Hindus and also for the elected members of the Indian legislative assembly.

 

Nehru Report (1928)

When Indians boycotted Simon commission, Lord Birkenhead, Secretary of State for Indian Affairs, challenged the Indians, “If they have any political capability and competence then they should form a unanimous constitution and present it to us and we will implement it.”

All parties’ conferences held by Indian leaders and they presented a constitution, as below.

I.                 India should be given Dominion Status with the Parliamentary form of Government.

II.               There should be Federal form of Government in India with Residuary powers to be vested in Centre. (Quaid asked to amend “Residuary powers to be vested in provinces”) 

III.            There will be no reserved seats for communities in Punjab and Bengal. (Quaid asked to amend “ There should be reserved seated in punjab & bangal on population basis”)

IV.            There should be 1/4th Muslim Representation at Centre. (Quaid asked to amend “There should be 1/3^rd Muslim representation at center”)

V.               Sind should be separated from Bombay provided it proves to be financially self-sufficient. ( Quaid asked to amend “sindh should be separated from bombay”)

Jinnah’s proposals were rejected when put to vote in All Parties Conference. The Congress managed to get the majority vote in favour of the Report. Jinnah considered it as the “parting of the ways” and once the “Ambassador of Hindu-Muslim Unity” was now convinced that the Hindu mindset in India was bent upon pushing the Muslim minority to the wall.

 

Fourteen Points of Quaid-i-Azam

In March 1929, In order to counter the proposals made in the Nehru Report, Jinnah presented his proposal in the form of Fourteen Points, insisting that no scheme for the future constitution of the government of India will be satisfactory to the Muslims until and unless stipulations were made to safe guard their interests. The following points were presented by the Quaid to defend the rights of the Muslims of the sub-continent.

 

I.                 The form of the future constitution should be federal, with the residuary powers to be vested in the provinces.

II.               In the Central Legislature, Muslim representation shall not be less than one third.

III.            Sind should be separated from the Bombay Presidency.

IV.            Reforms should be introduced in the NWFP and Baluchistan on the same footing as in other provinces.

Main points were those which were neglected by congress in Nehru report. Muslim League made it clear that no constitutional solution will be acceptable to them unless and until it encooperates the fourteen points.

Later on in 1929, Khudai Khidmatghar movement (Founder: Bacha Khan) started which was fundamentally based on two things, firstly, to serve the humanity by focusing on idioms like education for all, encouraging poetry and music and literature and to eradicate the vicious roots of violence among Pashtoons.

 

Allahabad Address (1930)

He gave the idea and concept about a separate homeland in this address, this demand was due to two main reasons. On the one side, Hindus were creating the restrictions in the way of the Muslim and hurting the feeling of the Muslim to propose the Nehru report as the ultimate constitution for India. On the other side, the British government totally ignored the Muslim’s rights and other facilities were not being provided to them. They were ignored in every field of life, especially in education and government. As the permanent solution to the Muslim Hindus problem, Iqbal proposed that Punjab, North West Frontier province, Baluchistan, and Sindh should be converted into one state.

General Knowledge: A Dominion was the "title" given to the semi-independent polities under the British Crown. It means all laws and regulations of a country are maintained and controlled by its own citizens except for foreign relations, defense and communications.

 

Round table conferences (1930-1932)

The three Round Table Conferences of 1930–32 were a series of conferences to formulate future constitution of India in the light of suggestions given by the Indian Leaders.

The first Round Table Conference convened from 12 November 1930 to 19 January 1931. Congress was absent because Gandhi and Nehru was in jail due to their civil disobedience movement. 

The second Round Table Conference was held in London from 7 September 1931 to 1 December 1931. Gandhi was present & Gandhi claimed to represent all people of India while other groups were also present & they did not agree with this statement and again it failed.

The third Round Table Conference 17 November 1932 - 24 December 1932. Congress was absent because Gandhi again was in jail due to their civil disobedience movement.

Finally a Joint Select Committee was formed (Lord Linlithgow at that time) to analyses the recommendations and formulate a new Act for India. The Committee produced a draft Bill in February 1935 which was enforced as the Government of India Act of 1935 in July 1935.

 

Communal Awards

After first two round table conferences failed, In 1932 the British Government (Prime minister: Ramsey MacDonald) announced its own formula known as Communal Award. This award retained separate electorate for Muslims and all other minorities. On the basis of weightage Muslim received more representation in Muslim minority provinces. 

Europeans got this privilege in Bengal and Assam while Sikhs in Punjab and Hindus in Sind and in N.W.F.P. 

Accepted by Muslim league, rejected by congress.

 

Government India Act of 1935

Following is detailed description,

I.                 The Act proclaimed a bicameral legislature. The one house of the Assembly was called the Indian Legislature Assembly and the other house of the Assembly was The Council of State. The Council of State was the upper house that was a permanent body i.e that it could not be dissolved like the lower house of the Parliament. One-third members of the upper house had to retire after every 3 years. The lower house of the Assembly, the Indian Legislature Assembly, was not an independent body. The laws passed by the Assembly could be Veto by Governor-General. The legislature had no control over the legislature under this Act.

II.               20% of the whole budget could be discussed or amended in the Federal Assembly, Rest 80% could not be discussed or amend.

III.            The provinces were given more authority and powers.

IV.            The system of Diarchy was removed in the provinces and introduced in the center.

V.               The whole country was divided in to 11 provinces.

VI.            The Indian Council that was created to help secretary of state for India was abolished under the Government of India Act 1935.

Both the Muslim League and the Indian National Congress expressed their dissatisfaction over the Act.

Congress Ministries (1937-1939)

Even though Muslim League and Congress were against the Government of India Act 1935, yet it was implemented in the winter of 1937. Elections occurred, congress won 750 seats of 1771 while Muslim league won 106 out 491 Muslim seats. 

The Congress didn’t set up ministries for about four months demanding British government to not interfere in its legislative affairs, British government agreed to this & As a result of which, Congress ministries were formed in July 1937 but with bitter policy against Muslims: Hindi became the national language, Congress flag became the national flag, and Bande Matram became the national anthem. A strict prohibition was laid on cow slaughter and singing of Bande Matram, taken from the novel of Chandra Chatterji, was started in schools. Construction of new mosques was banned and Muslims were harassed while they offered prayers. When World War II started in 1939, the British were fighting against the Axis Powers. The Viceroy of India announced India’s involvement without consulting its representative political leaders. Congress asked for transfer of power in repayment of their cooperation in war, which the British government denied. As a result, Congress ministries resigned. 22^nd December was the day & was celebrated as Day of deliverance by Muslim league. Congress rule length was 27 months.

 

Lahore Resolution (1940)

Quaid-i-Azam called for the 27th annual session of All India Muslim League to be held March 23, 1940 at Lahore. Main Bashir Ahmad was nominated as secretary of the session. Mamdot welcomed the people then Quaid e Azam gave speech. 

On March 23, A.K. Fazul Haq, the Chief Minister of Bengal, presented the resolution. The Government and people of Pakistan wrongly celebrate March 23 as a national day in Pakistan. The actual day when the resolution was passed was March 24. 

Some main points are as below

I.               No revised constitutional plan would be acceptable, unless it was framed with their approval or consent.

II.             Adjacent units where Muslims are in majority, should be constituted as independent states.

A Resolution passed at the 1941 Madras session of the League stated, “Everyone should clearly understand that we are striving for one independent and sovereign Muslim State.”

Hindus called the “Pakistan” demand “anti-national.” With the passage of this Resolution, the Muslims of the sub-continent changed their demand from “Separate Electorates” to a “Separate State.

General knowledge: Lord Linlithgow gave an offer to Indians on 8 august 1940 that if Indians will fight for them, they would be given many benefits. Like independent constituent assembly etc. this offer is known as august offer in history books.

 

Cripps Mission (1942)

The British were alarmed at the successive victories of Japan during 1940s. When Burma was turned into a battle field and the war reached the Indian boarders, the British started feeling more concerned about the future of India. Situation in the country was further complicated as the Congress wanted to take advantage of the situation by accelerating their efforts in their struggle for independence. Moreover the differences between the Congress and the Muslim League were widening fast and visibly there was no chance to bring both the parties on a common agenda.

Crips arrived in Delhi on 22 march 1942 & had a series of meetings with congress and muslim league leaders, In the meetings Cripps tried to plead his case before these political leaders and tried to convince them to accept his following proposals:

I.                 During the course of the war, the British would retain their hold on India. Once the war finished, India would be granted dominion status with complete external and internal autonomy. It would however, be associated with the United Kingdom and other Dominions by a common allegiance to the Crown.

II.               At the end of the war, a Constituent Assembly would be set up with the power to frame the future constitution of India. The members of the assembly were to be elected on the basis of proportional representation by the provincial assemblies. Princely States would also be given representation in the Constituent Assembly.

III.            The provinces not agreeing to the new constitution would have the right to keep itself out of the proposed Union. Such provinces would also be entitled to create their own separate Union. The British government would also invite them to join the commonwealth.

IV.            During the war an interim government comprising of different parties of India would be constituted. However, defense and external affairs would be the sole responsibility of the viceroy.

Crips accepted the scheme of partition of India on the demand of Muslim league.

 

Quit India movement 1942

The Quit India Movement was a civil disobedience movement launched in India in August 1942 in response to Mohandas Gandhi’s call for immediate independence. The British were prepared to act. Almost the entire Indian National Congress leadership was imprisoned without trial within hours. The British refused to grant immediate independence, saying it could happen only after the war ended.

Jinnah & Ghandi Talks 1944

The meeting took place between the two leaders at Bombay from 9th September to 27th September. They met almost daily, and sometimes even twice in a day. On 27th September, Jinnah announced the termination of talks after the failure of the two leaders to reach an agreement.

Gandhi wanted that first the people of India should oust the British with their joint action. When India was free then by mutual settlement and agreement two separate states could be created. Jinnah was not prepared to trust the words of Gandhi or the Congress. He said separation must come first and then matters of common interest between the two states would be settled by a treaty.

 

Wavell Plan (1945)

In October 1943 the British Government decided to replace Lord Linlithgow with Lord Wavell as the Viceroy of India. Before assuming the charge, Wavell worked as the Chief of Indian army and thus had quit an understanding of the Indian situation. Right after assuming charge as Viceroy, Wavell’s most important task was to present a formula for the solution of the Indian problem which was acceptable for both the Congress and the Muslim League.

On June 14, 1945, Wavell Plan presented the following proposals:

I.               All the members of the Council, except the Viceroy and the Commander-in-Chief would be Indians.

II.             Defence of India was to be in the hands of a British authority till Power was transferred to the Indian hands.

In order to discuss the proposal with the Indian leaders (Muslim league & congress) , Wavell summoned a conference in Simla on June 25, 1945.

 

Shimla conference (1945)

The conference began in Shimla on June 24, 1945 and lasted till July 14, 1945. The Viceroy proposed an Interim Central Government in which all the portfolios except that of war would be given to Indians. Muslim league demand was that all the 5 members of the executive council would be nominees of Muslim league, while Khizar Hayyat tawana wanted one seat from Muslim league quota, so this conference was failed.

 

Elections of (1945-46)

21st August 1945 the Viceroy Lord Wavell announced that general elections to the central and provincial legislatures would be held in the coming winter, as for the first phase it was decided that election to the central legislative assembly would be held to be followed by the election to the provincial assemblies. Elections held in December 1945, Muslim league managed to win all the 30 seats reserved for the Muslims. 

The results of the provincial election held in early 1946 were not different. Congress won most of the non-Muslim seats while Muslim League captured approximately 95 percent of the Muslim seats. On the other hand League celebrated January 11, 1946 as the Day of victory.

 

Cabinet Mission 1946

The Mission arrived in Delhi on March 24 and left on June 29.

The main purpose of the mission was setting up a constitutional frame work and Executive council with the help of Indian parties. According to their own proposed plan there would be union of India comprising British India and the Indian states that would deal with Defence, foreign affairs and communication. All residuary power would belong to provinces and the provinces should be divided in to three sections. There would also be an interim government with the support of all political parties.

Quaid e Azam presented demand of Pakistan before cabinet mission saying that no alternative solution is acceptable. So this mission went back unsuccessful. 

 

Interim Government (1946-47)

Lord Wavell wrote letters to Nehru and Jinnah on July 22, 1946 and invited them to join an “Interim Coalition Government.” He suggested that there would be 14 members in the cabinet: 6 of them from Congress, 5 from the Muslim League and the other 3 would represent the minority parties and the important portfolios would be divided equally to the Congress and the League.

Both Muslim league and congress rejected this, but later congress 6 members joined cabinet on the advice of Wavell. Muslim League rejected the idea of installing one party Government & they observed September 2 as black day and throughout India they flew black flags on their houses and shops. 

Later on Muslim League joined the Interim Government on October 25, 1946.Following portfolios were allocated to the different parties:

Congress

I.                 Jawaharlal Nehru External Affairs and Commonwealth Relations

II.               Vallabhbhai Patel Home, Information and Broadcasting

III.            Rajendra Prasad Food and Agriculture

IV.            Rajgopalacharia Education and Arts

V.               Asaf Ali Transport and Railways

VI.            Jagjivan Ram Labour

Muslim League

I.                 Liaquat Ali Khan Finance

II.               I.I. Chundrigar Commerce

III.            Abdur Rab Nishtar Communications

IV.            Ghazanfar Ali Khan Health

V.               J.N. Mandal Legislature

 

Minorities

I.                 John Matthai Industries and Supplies

II.               C.H. Bhabha Works, Mines and Power

III.            Baldel Singh Defence

The Interim government remained in place till the independence of Pakistan and India.

 

Poor Man’s Budget (1947)

Knowing the importance of the ministry Liaquat started putting financial checks on all the ministries run by the Congress members. They could not even hire a peon without the prior consent of Liaquat. The greatest contribution of Liaquat as Finance Minister, however, was the budget he presented on February 28, 1947.

Following are details of his budget,

I.                 Salt Tax was completely abolished for the first time.

II.               Minimum exemption limit for income tax was raised from Rs. 2000 to Rs. 2500.

III.            Special income tax of 25% was introduced on the businessmen whose annual profit was more than Rs. 100000.

IV.            A commission was proposed to look in to the accounts of those who accumulated wealth during the Second World War and to introduce heavy taxes on them.

On one hand the budget was hailed in the local press and was appreciated by the common people, on the other the hand the capitalist, most of whom were the pro-Congress Hindu industrialists and businessmen, termed it as “Millionaire’s howls” and decided to stop the funding of the Indian National Congress. 

 

First Cabinet (1947)

The newly created state of Pakistan formed its first constituent assembly in August 1947.

Quaid-i-Azam Jinnah took oath on 15th August 1947 and became the first Governor General of Pakistan. The first cabinet of Pakistan was also created by Quaid-i-Azam Jinnah, The first cabinet of Pakistan took oath on 15th August 1947. It included the following members:

I.                   Liaquat Ali Khan Prime Minister, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defense

II.                 I.I. Chundrigar Minister for Commerce, Industries and Works

III.              Sardar Abdur Rab Nishtar Minister for Communications

IV.              Raja Ghazanfar Ali Minister for Food, Agriculture and Health (In December he was shifted to Evacuee and Refugee Rehabilitation).

V.                 Jogendra Nath Mandal Minister for Labour and Law

VI.              Ghulam Muhammad Minister for Finance

VII.            Fazlur Rahman Minister for Interior, Information and Education

Quaid-i-Azam also asked for many skilled British technocrats to stay and serve in the Pakistani government; 3 out of the 4 provincial governors were British. Sir Frederick Bourne was the Governor of East Bengal, Sir Francis Mudie the Governor of West Punjab and Sir George Cunningham the Governor of N.W.F.P. Sir Ghulam Hussain Hidayatullah, the Governor of Sindh)

was the only local governor, while Balochistan did not have a governor as it was  Governor-General’s province.

 

First Constituent Assembly of Pakistan (1947-1954)

The inaugural session of the first constituent assembly of Pakistan was held in Karachi in August 1947. Mr. J.N. Mandal was elected as temporary chairman of Constituent Assembly of Pakistan.

Jinnah was selected as the president of the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan, on 11th August 1947 and Maulvi Tamizuddin Khan as its Deputy President. The Constituent Assembly of Pakistan functioned from 1947 to 1954 and involved two major parties—the Muslim League representing all Muslims with the exception of few and The Congress Party representing the twelve million Hindus in Pakistan.

Under the Indian Independence Act Constituent Assembly of Pakistan was given two tasks – to prepare a Constitution and to act as the federal legislature.

The Constituent Assembly was suspended by the Governor General Ghulam Muhammad, on 24th October 1954. He stated that the Constituent Assembly had lost the confidence of the people; this ruined the efforts of the first Constituent Assembly of Pakistan which had been working towards formulating a viable constitution for seven years.

Objectives Resolution (1949)

Objective Resolution was presented in the Constituent Assembly by Liaquat Ali Khan on March 7, 1949 and was debated for five days by the members from both the treasury and opposition benches. The resolution was ultimately passed on March 12. The main point of this resolution was that “Constitution of Pakistan should be framed by the Constituent Assembly”.

 

Basic Principle Committee Interim Report (1950)

The Basic Principles Committee was formed on 12th March 1949 by the first Constituent

Assembly of Pakistan. It was headed by Maulvi Tamizuddin Khan and Liaquat Ali Khan was its Vice President. The task assigned to the Basic Principles Committee was to determine the basic principles for framing the future constitution of Pakistan.

On 28th September 1950 the BPC presented its interim report to the Constituent Assembly. The salient features of this report were as following:

 

i.                      Objectives Resolution should be made part of the constitution and should serve as the directive principle of state policy.

ii.                    The state of Pakistan was to be a federation.

iii.                  The Central Legislature was to be bicameral. It would consist of a House of Unit (Upper House) with 100 members and a House of People (Lower House) with 400 members.

iv.                  The Upper House was to be the representative institution of the provinces, elected by provincial legislature. While the Lower House was to be elected by the people on the basis of adult franchise.

v.                    The tenure of both the Houses was to be five years and both were to enjoy equal power.

vi.                  The decisions regarding budget or monetary bills were to be decided in joint sessions of the two houses.

vii.                The Head of state was to be elected by a joint session of the two houses for a term of five years and would work on the advice of the Prime Minister.

viii.              Federal legislature had the authority to remove the head of state.

ix.                  Each province was to have its own legislature; elected on the basis of adult franchise for a term of five years.

x.                    Head of the provincial legislature was to be elected by the head of state for a term of five years and he was to work on the advice of Chief Minister.

xi.                  Legislative power was to be divided in three lists: 1) The Federal list comprising of 67 subjects on which the central legislature would legislate. 2) The Provincial list comprising of

35 items, the provincial legislature would legislate on these subjects. And 3) The

Concurrent list of 37 items on which both the central and provincial legislatures had the authority to legislate. The residuary powers were vested in the center.

 

xii.                In case of a dispute, the Supreme Court had the authority to interpret the constitution.

xiii.              The procedure to amend the constitution was very rigid; it required a majority approval from the central and provincial legislatures.

xiv.              Head of the state was given added powers like the authority to abrogate the constitution and issue ordinances.

xv.                 Urdu was to be the state language.

xvi.              The Supreme Court was the head of judiciary. It would consist of the Chief Justice and 2 to 6 judges. And High Courts for each province were to be established.

xvii.            A Board of Ulama would be appointed by the head of state and provincial governors to examine the process of law making and to ensure that laws were in accordance with the Quran and Sunnah.

This report was highly criticized by East Pakistan as Urdu was suggested to be the state language & it puts the threat in the minds of East Pakistan that their interests were not safe with West Pakistan. Later on this report was revised in 1952, but it was also criticized because it was not upto the expectations of different groups. Ulema’s also gave 22 points constitution in January 1951. 

Rawalpindi Conspiracy (1951)

Rawalpindi Conspiracy case was an attempted coup d’état against the government of Liaquat Ali

Khan who the first Prime Minister of country. The master mind behind the whole plan was Major General Akbar Khan who was a senior commander of Pakistan Army at that time. He was against the government of Kashmir issue policies like ceasefire. The civilians and the junior army officers were imprisoned for four years and were charged with fine and Akbar Khan for 14 years. 

Major General Akbar Khan was released in 1955 soon transformed in Pakistani political life, becoming an adviser to Pakistani politician Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. Upon coming to power in 1971, Bhutto appointed Akbar Khan to be chief of national security.

 

General knowledge: Ghulam Muhammad dismissed Nazimuddin as bureaucracy considered Nazimuddin a weak administrator. Muhammad Ali Bogra became the new Prime Minister of the country on 17th April 1953.

Dismissal of Nazimuddin’s Government (1953) – Establishment in politics

The bureaucracy considered Nazimuddin a weak administrator, However, Ghulam Muhammad with the support of bureaucracy and military leadership dismissed Nazimuddin along with his cabinet. Muhammad Ali Bogra became the new Prime Minister of the country on 17th April 1953. 

Muhammad Ali Bogra Formula (1953)

He presented the formula to the Constituent Assembly on 7th October 1953 and it is known as the Bogra formula,

The major features of the formula were:

I.                   The federal legislature would comprise of two houses – the House of Unit and the House of People. The total strength of the House of Units would be 50, which was to be equally divided among five units namely, East Bengal, Punjab, NWFP, Frontier States, Sindh and Khairpur, Balochistan. The House of Units would be elected indirectly by the legislature of the units. The Bogra formula reduced the 9 units of West Pakistan into 4 units.

II.                 The House of People was to have a total number of three hundred members, to be divided among the five units in this manner – East Bengal 165 members, Punjab 75, NWFP 13, Sindh 19, State of Khairpur 1, Balochistan 3, and Bahawalpur State 7.

III.              Both Houses were to have equal powers in all matters. There was a provision for a joint session of the two for the election of the Head of the State and for the disposal of votes of confidence.

IV.              In case of a difference of opinion between the two Houses, a joint session of the two Houses would be called and the matter would be decided by a majority vote, provided that the majority included thirty percent of the members from each zone.

V.                 It maintained the principle of parity between East and West Pakistan in combined Houses, with 175 seats for each zone. So in total, both the wings were to have 175 seats each in the two Houses of the Legislative Assembly.

VI.              In place of the Board of Ulama, the Supreme Court was given the power to decide if a law was in accordance with the basic teachings of the Holy Quran and Sunnah.

VII.            The two houses of the Legislative Assembly formed the Electoral College for the Presidential elections and the President was to be elected for a term of 5 years.

In 1954 the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan decided that the Bengali and Urdu would be the national languages of Pakistan. This decision facilitated the constitution making process.

Unlike the two reports of the Basic Principles Committee, the Bogra Formula was appreciated by different sections of the society. The proposal was discussed in the Constituent Assembly for 13 days, and a committee was set to draft the constitution on 14th November 1953. However, before the constitution could be finalized, the Assembly was dissolved by Ghulam Muhammad, the then Governor General of Pakistan.

 

Dissolution of the 1st Constituent Assembly Creation of 2^nd Constituent assembly  1956 constitution Enforcement of martial law 1958

Pro-US Governor General, Ghulam Muhammad, and Prime Minister, Muhammad Ali Bogra, were moving well and in a cooperative way. The members of the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan had openly started criticizing the attempts to bring Pakistan closer to the United States.

On October 24 1954 he dissolved the CAP on the ground that it had lost the confidence of the people of Pakistan. He imposed press censorship and promised fresh elections. Maulvi

Tamizuddin, President of the Assembly, challenged the dissolution in the Sindh Chief Court, and won the case. The Government (Bogra) in return, went to the Federal Court, where the famous judgment was given by the then Chief Justice Muhammad Munir, according to which Maulvi Tamizuddin lost the case.

The second Constituent Assembly of Pakistan was created on 28th May 1955 under Governor

General's Order No.12 of 1955. The strength of this Assembly was 80 Members, half each from East Pakistan and West Pakistan. One of the major decisions taken by this Assembly was the establishment of West Pakistan (One Unit), with the aim to create parity between the two wings (East and West Pakistan). This Assembly also achieved its target by giving the first Constitution to the nation i.e. the Constitution of Pakistan 1956. Chaudhary Muhammad Ali was the Prime Minister at that time. The draft of this Constitution was introduced in the Assembly on 9th January 1956 and was passed by the Assembly on 29th February 1956. The assent was given on it by the Governor General on 2nd March 1956. This Constitution was enforced with effect from 23rd March 1956.

With this Pakistan’s status as a dominion ended and the country was declared an Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Constituent Assembly became interim National Assembly and Governor-General Iskander Mirza sworn in as the first President of Pakistan.

A coalition of the Muslim League and the United Front was ultimately formed with Chaudhry Mohammad Ali the Former Finance Minister, as prime minister. Mohammad Ali Bogra quietly resumed his old assignment as Ambassador to the United States.

The Constitution of 1956 consisted of 234 articles, divided into 13 parts and 6 schedules. Following were the chief characteristics of the Constitution:

I.                 Pakistan was declared as an Islamic Republic and it was made mandatory that only a Muslim could become the President of the country.

II.               The constitution provided for the federal form of government with three lists of subjects:

federal, provincial and concurrent. The federal list consisted of 33 items, provincial of 94 items and concurrent list of 19 items.

III.            Any Muslim citizen of Pakistan, who was at least forty years old, could be elected as the President of Pakistan for the term of five years.

IV.            President could appoint from amongst the MNAs a Prime Minister.

V.               The Constitution entitled for a Unicameral Legislature. Legislative powers vested in the Parliament, which consisted of the President and the National Assembly comprising 300 Members divided equally between East and West Pakistan.

VI.            The 1956 constitution provides for Parliamentary form of government with all the executive powers in the hands of Prime Minister. President was Head of the State and was to be elected by all Members of the National and Provincial Assemblies. He was to hold office for 5 years. The President was to act on the advice of Prime Minister.

Although the first general election were scheduled for early 1959, President Sikandar Mirza abrogated the Constitution, dissolved the National and Provincial Assemblies, and declared Martial Law, on 7th October 1958 (ministers were dismissed, Central and Provincial Assemblies were dissolved and all political activities were banned). He appointed General Muhammad Ayyub Khan, Commander-in-Chief of the Army, as the Chief Martial Law Administrator. While Iskander mirza was remained president. The intentions of General Iskander Mirza were quite personal in inviting Ayyub, as he considered democracy as a useless tool in a country like Pakistan where the literacy rate is low and there is lack of political awareness among the people.

President Mirza tried to rationalize the power structure and state framework by appointing Ayyub Prime Minister on 24 October 1958. This did not satisfy Ayyub Khan who had a strong claim to power, being the Commander -in- Chief of the Army. President Mirza was nervous about his own future and he tried to enlist the support of the Air Force and Ayyub’s rivals within the army. He allegedly made an unsuccessful attempt to order Air Commodore Robb, the Chief of Staff of Pakistan Air Force to arrest four Generals close to Ayyub including Major-General Yahya Khan. Ayyub decided to rid himself of Mirza and assume complete control over the affairs of state. Mirza was arrested and sent to exile to Great Britain where he later died.

 

Reforms Introduced by Ayyub Khan

On 27th October 1958 General Muhammad Ayyub Khan took-over as a second President of

Pakistan. One of the first major steps taken by General Ayyub Khan was the appointment of a Constitution Commission on 17th February 1960. The objective of this commission was to submit proposals, as to how best democracy can be strengthened and molded according to the country’s socio-political environment and Islamic principles of justice. The Commission submitted its report to the government on 29th April 1961. On the basis of this report a new Constitution was framed and given to the nation on 1st March 1962.

General elections under the new Constitution were held on 28th March 1962 and elections to the special seats reserved for women were held on 29th May 1962. The first session of the third National Assembly was held on 8th June 1962 at Ayyub Hall, Rawalpindi.

 

Constitution of (1962)

The Constitution of 1962 announced a Federal State with Presidential form of government, with National Assembly at the centre and the Provincial Assemblies in the Provinces. The Legislatures, both at centre and in provinces were unicameral. Provincial Governors to be appointed directly by the President. All executive authority of the Republic of Pakistan, under the Constitution, vested in the office of the President. 

 

Causes of Ayyub’s Decline & His resignation

Immediate measure of the Martial law regime were successful but in the long term failed to solve the problems.  GENERAL REASONS

I.                   Dictatorial powers of President: people wanted parliamentary form of democracy.

II.                 Disqualification of politicians and political parties under Elective Bodies Disqualification Order (EBDO).

III.              Control of Press and Media.

IV.              Withdrawal of military support: Reduction on Armed Forces’ in budget of 1967-68.

V.                 Strong opposition: Wide popularity of Awami League in East Pakistan and P.P.P in West Pakistan.

VI.              Rumors about his illness in the early 1968, about making Gohar Ayub his successor, withdrawal of military support added more to his unpopularity.

VII.            PPP established in Dec. 1967: Objectives of genuine democracy, Islamic Socialism, Adult franchise and Freedom of Press.

By and large, the ten year rule of General Ayub Khan is seen as an era of progress and industrial development. Ayub promulgated mega projects like the construction of Mangla Dam, the Karachi Steel Mills, and oil refineries and above all construction of a new capital at Islamabad. He introduced various reforms to improve the state of affairs, like the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance of 1961, imposing restrictions on polygamy and reinforcing inheritance rights of women. The Land Reforms initiated by him were a step to reduce the increasing power of the landed aristocracy.  He signed a boundary agreement with China in March 1963, which proved to be the beginning of a long term friendship between the two countries.

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto exploited the Tashkent declaration to turn the public opinion against Ayub.

The increasing popularity of Awami League under Sheikh Mujib-ur-Rahman in East Pakistan and

Pakistan People’s Party under Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto in West Pakistan was alarming for the stability of General Ayyub’s Regime. Then there was also Asghar Khan’s movement and few other political alliances which were creating hurdles for a stable Ayyub’s government.

Finally, the movement against his government intensified towards the end of 1968 and in the beginning of 1969. The movement was launched by Urban middle class i.e. Students, lawyers, teachers, doctors, labourers, politicians etc.

It became quite difficult for General Ayub to face so much opposition from politicians as well as common people from all walks of life. He ultimately decided to resign in March 1969. In his last radio address to the nation on 25 March 1969, he said, “I cannot preside over the destruction of my country”.

 

Yahya khan came in power 1969

On 25th March 1969 the second Martial law was imposed and General Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan took over as the President of Pakistan and Chief Martial Law Administrator (CMLA). He later issued a Legal Framework Order (LFO), under which the first ever general elections were held on 7th December 1970. This was the first Assembly elected on the adult franchise and population basis. It consist of 313 members, 169 from East Pakistan and 144 from West Pakistan including 13 reserved seats for women (6 were from West Pakistan and 7 from East Pakistan). Soon after the elections, due to grave political differences, the Province of East Pakistan seceded from West Pakistan and became Bangladesh. On 20th December 1971 Mr. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto took over as the President of Pakistan as well as the first civil Chief Martial Law Administrator.

 

Legal Framework Order 1970

Yahya Khan after becoming the Chief Martial Law Administrator in 1969 announced that he would make it possible that free and fair elections will be conducted in Pakistan and a new constitution will be made soon. For that reason, he introduced a Legal Framework Order in March 1970 that determined principles for the future constitution of Pakistan. It also dissolved the One-Unit scheme on 1st July 1970.

The features of the LFO 1970 are mentioned as under:

I.                 The National Assembly of Pakistan will consist of 313 seats with 13 seats reserved for women. Out of 313, 169 seats were to be for East Pakistan, 85 for Punjab, 28 for Sindh, 19 for NWFP, 5 for Baluchistan and 7 seats were allotted to the tribal areas.

II.               Each province will have a provincial assembly consisting of elected members. East Pakistan provincial assembly will have 400 members, Punjab 186, Sindh 62, Baluchistan 21 and NWFP 42.

III.            The elections for National Assembly will be held on 5 October 1970 and for provincial assemblies not later than 22 October.

IV.            The principles of democracy will prevail by holding free elections for federal and provincial legislatures on the basis of adult franchise. Independent judiciary will be made possible along with fundamental rights for the citizens.

V.               Within 120 days of the first meeting of the National Assembly, it would form a constitution bill and if it fails to do so, it will dissolve.

 

Elections of 1970

As per the promise of Yahya khan, the electoral rolls were printed both in Bengali and Urdu for East and West Pakistan respectively. Initially, the elections were due on 5 October 1970 for the National Assembly and 19 October for the provincial assemblies. But these elections were postponed till December of the same year because of the severe monsoon floods in the eastern wing in August. The new dates announced were 7 and 17 December 1970.

Most prominent political parties were two, among many others. They both were regional, Pakistan People’s Party of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and Awami League of Sheikh Mujib-ur-Rehman. Their prime focus was on economic issues. Elections occurred, the two major winners were the PPP and the Awami league. The AL was first great majority party that secured 160 seats of National Assembly out of which only seven candidates belonged to the West Pakistan. However, the AL could not win a single provincial assembly seat from any of the west wing provinces. The PPP won second great majority in the National Assembly. It got 81 seats out of 130 allotted to the western wing but it did not have a single seat from the East Pakistan. The LFO had declared that the National Assembly was responsible for making constitution within 120 days. & that never happened due to six point demand of Awami league & finally to independent states established.

 

War of 1971 and the Birth of Bangladesh

After the elections of 1970, the leaders of the two leading political parties didn’t seem to compromise with each other at any cost. Sheikh Mujib-ur-Rehman continued insisting on his specific Six-Point Program while Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto with his reservations asked for some amendments. Thus they couldn’t get to the bottom of the predicament due to their inflexibility. President Yahya Khan was himself too incompetent to instigate them to negotiate and co-operate with each other. “Operation Searchlight” was launched at midnight on 25 March 1971 under Lieutenant-General Tikka Khan, the newly appointed Martial Law Administrator and governor of the eastern wing, to handle the strike that were demanding the implementation of AL six points, but that added fuel to the fire. 

Eventually a war started b/w mukti bahini (Bangladesh force) & Pakistan military. Indian military intervention followed on 3rd December 1971and a full-fledged war broke out on the Eastern front of Pakistan. Already from 21 November India had started direct attacks on Pakistan border regions and a plan was previously devised to occupy Dhaka on 6 December. Mukti Bahini and the public in general fully supported intrusion of the Indian army that was duly aided by the Indian Air Force.

Worldwide appeals were made for ceasefire but Indian army continued the war that lasted for nearly two weeks. At length Pakistani commander Lieutenant-General Niazi in East Pakistan had to surrender on the orders of his superiors along with his 93,000 troops at Dacca on 16 December.   In the “remaining” West Pakistan people came out on the streets declaring Yahya and his fellows as

traitors	and asked for his resignation. Thus Bhutto, President of the PPP was asked to come back
from New York to take over the charge of the country. On 20 December 1971 he assumed the rank

of the President of new Pakistan and Civil Martial Law Administrator.

 

The Interim Constitution of 1972

It was decided that until a permanent constitution and interim constitution would be adopted to lift up martial law. On 17th April 1972 an Interim Constitution was adopted by the National Assembly, which provided for a Presidential form of Government. Later on the permanent constitution was adopted by the assembly and replaced the interim constitution on 14th Aug 1973.

 

 

Z.A Bhutto as President of Pakistan

The interim constitution provided for a presidential form of government and Bhutto held the office of president till 14th August 1973 when he switched over to premiership under the newly enforced constitution of 1973.

On foreign front, Bhutto made some bold decision like unilateral withdrawal of Pakistan from the Commonwealth in Feb 1972 and also from SEATO in the same year. An agreement was reached with India in July 1972 for making possible the return of 90,000 soldiers, popularly known as Shimla Accord. 

 

Constitution of 1973

The constitution of Pakistan 1973 was enforced on 14th Aug 1973. It consists of 280 articles and 7 schedules. It is regarded as the landmark accomplishment of Bhutto’s era as it was a unanimous act of the parliament with complete consensus of all the political parties.

The constitution declared Pakistan an Islamic republic laying down condition for head of state and head of the government to be Muslims. However, 8th amendment has made the Objective

Resolution a substantial part of the constitution by incorporating it as article 2A according to which all laws made in Pakistan should be in accordance with the injunctions of Quran and Sunnah. Its Islamic character is further reinforced by accepting the sovereignty of Almighty Allah, Islam to be the state religion and by promising the Muslims to enable them to order their lives in accordance with the fundamental principles of Islam. It also provides a long list of fundamental rights as well directive principles of state policy. Besides, the constitution envisages a federation of Pakistan and affords a parliamentary form of government leaving president with only ceremonious functions. The federal legislature is bicameral i.e. senate the upper house and national assembly the lower house. Moreover, the constitution provides an independent judiciary, provincial autonomy to the federating units, a council of common interests, a council of Islamic ideology etc.

Soon after coming into power as president in December 1971 he started working to establish its nuclear program. In 1956 Pakistan Energy Commission (PAEC) was founded but this department went under serious business under Bhutto which in future proved to be the father institution for Pakistan’s nuclear program. After India’s first explosion of atom bomb on 18th may 1974 Pak-Army collaborated with (PAEC) to help Kahuta enrichment plant in 1976.