The Lahore Resolution to independence, 1940 to 1947

Last time

Before we start: last time, in The Round Table Conferences, the 1935 Act and Congress Rule, you learned these points. Here they are again on one card. Keep them in mind, because today builds on them.

Seven years to Pakistan

In March 1940 the Muslim League demanded separate states for Muslims. Seven years later, on 14 August 1947, Pakistan was created. This lesson follows the road: the missions, the talks, the elections, and the final plan.

The Lahore Resolution

On 23 March 1940, at Lahore, the Muslim League passed a resolution moved by A. K. Fazlul Haq. It demanded that the Muslim-majority areas in the north-west and the east be grouped into independent states. It became known as the Pakistan Resolution, and Pakistan became the League's aim.

The Cripps Mission

In 1942, with Japan advancing in Asia, Britain sent Sir Stafford Cripps to win Indian support for the war. He offered dominion status after the war, with a right for provinces to stay out of the new union. Congress rejected it and launched the Quit India movement. The League rejected it too, as Pakistan was not clearly granted.

The Gandhi–Jinnah talks

In September 1944, Gandhi and Jinnah met in Bombay for talks. Gandhi accepted some idea of separation, but only after independence and within a federation. Jinnah wanted full Pakistan first. The talks failed, but showed Congress had to discuss Pakistan seriously.

The Simla Conference

In June 1945, the Viceroy, Lord Wavell, called a conference at Simla to form a new Executive Council of Indians. It failed because Jinnah insisted that the League alone should choose all the Muslim members, which Congress refused. It showed the League's claim to be the only voice of Muslims.

The 1945–46 elections

In the elections of 1945 and 1946, the Muslim League won all the Muslim seats in the central assembly. It also won the great majority of Muslim seats in the provincial assemblies. This proved that Muslims supported the demand for Pakistan.

The Cabinet Mission and Direct Action

The Cabinet Mission of 1946 proposed a united India with three groups of provinces, two of them Muslim-majority. The League accepted, but Congress statements suggested it would change the plan, so the League withdrew its acceptance. The League called Direct Action Day on 16 August 1946. Terrible riots broke out in Calcutta and spread.

The 3 June Plan

Lord Mountbatten became Viceroy in March 1947, and decided partition was the only solution. His 3 June Plan divided India into two states, with Punjab and Bengal split, and Sindh, Balochistan and the NWFP choosing. The Indian Independence Act followed, and Pakistan was created on 14 August 1947, with Jinnah as Governor-General.

The road in dates

Here is the road to independence in order. Each failed attempt at a united India made partition more likely.

Jinnah's leadership

Jinnah reorganised the League from the late 1930s and made it a mass party. He refused compromises that weakened the Pakistan demand, at Simla and in the talks with Gandhi. He is called the Quaid-e-Azam, the great leader. Iqbal gave the idea and Rahmat Ali the name; Jinnah turned them into a state.

Mistakes that lose marks

Mistake one: saying the Lahore Resolution named Pakistan. The word was not in it; the press called it that. Mistake two: muddling the order of Cripps, Simla and the Cabinet Mission. Mistake three: giving events without explaining how each moved towards partition. The fix: the order, and how each step led on.

The full-marks tip

The full-marks tip: keep the order: Lahore 1940, Cripps 1942, Gandhi–Jinnah 1944, Simla 1945, elections 1945–46, Cabinet Mission and Direct Action 1946, 3 June Plan 1947. For each, say why it brought partition closer.

On one card

So, on one card: the road to independence. Keep it for revision.