Modern Muslim India and the birth of Pakistan, 1858-1951

540 Pages·1970·13.644 MB·English

by  S. M. Ikram

GATHERING ON THE EVE OF THE FOUNDATION OF THE ALL-INDIA MUSLIM LEAGUE
SHAH BAGH, DACCA, DECEMBER, 1906
I
pp
^*1
Sithng 07i the ground ■. (1) Nisar Ahmed Khan (2) Shabed Suhrawardy (3) Abdur Rahman Siddiqi (4) M. Muhammad Ali (5) Syed Gholam Hasna’.n (6) Gbazi Abdul Aiiz
(7) M. Sbaukat AH (8) Syed Baquar Hasan (9) Fazal Muhammad Khan.
Srlling on the chairs : il) Shaikh Abdullah (2) A. Majid (3) Syed Nabi-ullah (4) Abdus Salam Rafiqi (5) Sabebzada Aftab Ahmed Khan (^) Nawab Mohamed Ali
(7) Raja Ndushad Ali Ktian (8; Nawab Sir Salimnllah Bahadur (9) Justice Sharfuddin (10) Nawab Mohsin-ul-Mulk (11) Sir Rafiuddin Abmed
(12) A Lawyer of Saharanpur.
Standing (front row) : (1) ZafarAIi Khan (2) Khoishedji (3) Abdul Karim (4) Anwar Ahmed (5) Najmuddin (6) Zahur Ahmed (7) Shah Mustafa (8) Wazir Hasan
(9) Waheeduddin (10) Dr. Ziauddin Ahmed.
Standing (behind) : (1) Shamshad Ahmed Khaa (2) Muhammad Yusuf (3) Choudhury Ghulam Mustafa (4) Syed Zahur Ahmed.
MODERN MUSLIM INDIA
AND THE
BIRTH OF PAKISTAN
(1858—1951)
S. M. IKRAM, M.A., HON. D.LITT.
C. S. p. (Rtd.)
☆
SH. MUHAMMAD ASHRAF
KASHMIKI BAZAR, LAHORE (PAKISTAN)
First Edition, Makers of Pakistan and Modern Muslim, India
First Edition, July 1965, under the Present Title
Second Revised Edition, 1970
Printed by M. Zarreen Khan
at the Zarreen Art Press
Railway Road, Lahore
Published by
Sh. Muhammad Ashraf
Kashmiri Bazar, Lahore (Pakistan)
To
The Memory
of
IQBAL
{p. V.) THE AUTHOR (LondoD, 29-12-1932) ALLAMA IQBAL
T^HIS book was published, in its present form, in the latter half
of 1965. The first edition got exhausted sooner than was
expected and I have been unable to carry out the revision
and rewriting which I had planned. The work of all those who, like
the present writer, undertake such jobs in addition to other heavy
responsibilities must suffer from certain deficiencies. This applies
to all my books, but the present one has had a somewhat peculiar
history. It was originally compiled in 1946, as an amended English
version of my Urdu book, Mauj-i-Kausar. It was unpublished
when the Partition took place and after that the manuscript had
to be laid aside for some years. In 1950 a chapter on Liaquat
Ali Khan was a dded and with some other additions the book
appeared as Makers of Pakistan and Modern Muslim India. The
bulk of the material included in the book was the same as had
been compiled in 1946 and was reaUy a book written by a layman for
laymen. It was not burdened with footnotes or even with citations,
and treatment was kept simple to suit the requirements of the
general reader. Owing to the paucity of the material on the sub­
ject, however, the book was utilised in some educational institu­
tions and I tried to make the enlarged version, issued as Modern
Muslim India and the Birth of Pakistan, somewhat more system­
atic. References were given regularly and copious footnotes added
in respect of the additional matter included in this edition, but the
greater part of the book remained as it had been written in 1946.
I was hoping that when the time came for a second edition of
Modern Muslim India and th e Birth of Pakistan I would be able to
rewrite the whole book, quote authorities for all important state­
ments and omit certain portions—e.g. details relating to the his­
tory of Aligarh College—which were no longer of material signifi­
cance. This has not been possible within the time allowed by the
publisher for the preparation of the second edition. A good deal of
the book, therefore, appears as it was written in 1946, but no
effort has been spared to make it more comprehensive and up-to-
date. An enormous mass of new material relating to the struggle
for Pakistan has appeared in England, Pakistan and India. Every
effort has been made to secure this material and utilise it for pur­
poses of additional information, or rebuttal, where necessary.
Even more strenuous work has gone into the collection of data
regarding the areas which constitute Pakistan. So little work had
been done in the past in relation to these areas that important
figures iike Syed Nawab Ali Chaudhry, Sir Shamsul Huda, and
Sir Abdul Rahim of Bengal, and Sardar Muhammad Hayat Khan
and Khan Bahadur Barkat AU Khan of the Punjab, Hasan Effendi
of former Sind and Sahibzada Sir Abdul Qayum of the Frontier
rarely, find any place in the history of the Muslim struggle. Very
special efforts have been made to collect particulars about theiri
and give them their proper place in the national history. This has
not always been easy and some of the accounts offered here can
be treated as tentative. The section relating to Husain Shaheed
Suhrawardy has been greatly enlarged and it is hoped justice will
be at long last done to that brilliant man, whose share in the
achievement of Pakis^n was, probably, second only to that of the
great Quaid. A special effort has also been made to deal with
those who distinguished themselves in the work for the .Muslim
League in the Punjab, like Malik Barkat Ali, Mian Bashir Ahmad,:
and Hameed Nizami. At the same time an attempt has been made
to achieve a balanced view of the controversies in the Punjab
and to show in what respects the position of the Quaid-i-Azam
differed from that of the group that has found such an eloquent
spokesman in Ashiq Husain Batalvi.
The previous edition of this book contained an important new
chapter entitled Jinnah the Man and the Statesman.The elucidation
of, the achievements and the policies of the Father of the Nation
has been further enlarged in this edition. During my study of the
events relating to the Partition nothing has impressed me more
than the immeasureable superiority of the Quaid over all his;
colleagues and the great qualities of his head and heart. His papers
have yet not been examined ,and will require study by . well-,
formed,: responsible and understanding archivists, but the vast
volume of literature which has poured in recent years regarding
the Partition from quarters often unfriendly to the Quaid enables
us to see fairly clearly the lineaments of his personality and leaves
no doubt about his greatness and essential goodness. The present
writer has been approached by some admirers of the Quaid to
undertake a full-length biography of the Quaid. In the absence of
Quaid’s papers it is not possible to attempt a really satisfactory
biographical study, but in the present volume enough has been
written to bring out not only the Quaid’s sterling qualities but also
show how far removed from the truth is the picture generally pairited
of him in India and Pakistan. Largely, this has been done by
showing the Quaid in action, e.g. by explaining his handling of
the Punjab affairs or by outlining the steps taken by him as
the Governor-General of Pakistan not only to save the State from
being overwhelmed bj^ unprecedented problems but to safe­
guard the interests of the non-Muslim minorities. There are also
some general sections and it is hoped that a sufficient number of
new points have been raised and enough evidence put forward to
enable the future biographer to do justice to this greatly mis­
understood personality.
In the end it is a pleasant duty to record my thanks. Amongst
the many who have helped the uppermost in my mind are Syed
Murtaza Ali and other friends in East Pakistan, who not only
supplied information regarding personalities there, but also helped
me by friendly criticism and suggestions. I am also thankful to
Khwaja Muhammad Asif, Editor of The Pakistan Times, for giving
me access to what was once the Tribune library and to borrow some
books not available elsewhere.
It may be a little odd to thank officials of an organisation
which one has helped to establish and with which one is even
connected in a responsible position. My list of acknowledgments,
however, would not be complete if I do not include the officers of
the Research Society of Pakistan—particularly Mr Rafiq Afzal,
Acting Secretary. In obtaining material not only about the leading
figures of the Punjab but even about the personalities of Muslim
Bengal, I have drawn heavily on the small reference library of the
Society which contains a near-complete file of the Inqilab and the
priceless Mihar Collection of contemporary pamphlets and reports.
S. M. Ikeam
T^HIS book originally appeared in 1950, under the title
Makers of Pakistan and Modern Muslim India (by A.H.
Albiruni) and has been out of print for some years. It was
not reissued earlier, as I wished to bring the account up-to-date.
This has not been found possible, and the present volume deals
only with the period ending with the death of Liaquat All Khan.
The original book has, however, been greatly enlarged, and I hope
the additions are substantial enough to justify the change in the
title. Out of fifteen chapters, five are entirely new—including a
long chapter on developments in the areas which now constitute
Pakistan—and there are considerable additions in others. A new
section, which may not find ready acceptance, but which has
given the writer something of a joy of discovery relates to
“Jinnah, the man and the statesmen”. Some tendentious state­
ments regarding the happenings in East Punjab at the time of
Partition, made by V. P. Menon in his The Transfer of Poewr in
India, which is an important source book for the period, have made
it desirable to deal with that grisly chapter in the history of the
subcontinent at some length.
The book has been inscribed to the memory of I qbal, not only
in acknowledgment of the way he inspired the author’s genera­
tion, but also in gratitude for many acts of personal kindness. In
revising thie text and seeing it through the press I have been helped
by Dr Syed Razi Wasti, to whom my thanks are due.
A word or two about the origin of some of the pictures appear­
ing in t^is bboic inay be of interest, the historic photograph of the
gathering which took part in the foundation of the All-India Muslim
League in 1906 was obtained at Dacca. The author, as Membe r,
Board of Revenue, East Pakistan (1955-7), was in charge of State
Acquisition (Abolition of Zamindari) and the Court of Wards. The
estate of the heirs of 'Nawab Salim Ullah Khan was under the
administration of the Court of Wards, and the Manager of the
Nawab Estate, at my request, borrowed from one of the heirs the