The Pakistan Movement was a Muslim nationalist political and social movement, emerging in the early 20th century, that advocated the formation of Pakistan as a separate Muslim homeland in the Muslim-majority parts of what was then the British India. It was rooted in the two-nation theory, which asserted that Muslims were fundamentally and irreconcilably distinct from Hindus (who formed the demographic majority) and would therefore require separate self-determination upon decolonisation. The idea was largely realised when the All-India Muslim League ratified the Lahore Resolution on 23 March 1940, calling for the Muslim-majority regions of the Indian subcontinent to be "grouped to constitute independent states" that would be "autonomous and sovereign" with the aim of securing Muslim socio-political interests vis-à-vis the Hindu majority. It was in the aftermath of the Lahore Resolution under the aegis of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, that the cause of "Pakistan" (though the name was not used in the text itself) became widely popular among the Muslims of South Asia.

Instrumental in establishing a base for the Pakistan Movement was the Aligarh Movement, which consisted of several reforms by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan that ultimately promoted a system of Western-style scientific education among Indian Muslims, seeking to enrich and vitalise their society, culture, and religious thought as well as protect it. Khan's efforts fostered Indian Muslim nationalism and went on to provide both the Pakistan Movement and later the country that it would yield with its leadership.

Several prominent Urdu poets, such as Muhammad Iqbal, used speech, literature, and poetry as a powerful tool for Muslim political awareness; Iqbal is often called the spiritual father of Muslim nationalist thought in his era. The role of British India's ulama, however, was divided into two groups: the first group, denoted by the ideals of Hussain Ahmad Madani, was convinced by the concept of composite nationalism, which argued against religious nationalism on the basis of India's historic identity as a nation of ethnic, cultural, linguistic, and religious diversity; while the second group, denoted by the ideals of Ashraf Ali Thanwi, was a proponent of the perceived uniqueness of the Muslim way of life and accordingly played a significant role in the Pakistan Movement. Likewise, a number of Muslim political parties were split over their support, or lack thereof, for an independent Muslim state. Among the most prominent of these parties was Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, which was Opposition to the partition of India, and from which a pro-separatist group of Islamic scholars, led by Shabbir Ahmad Usmani, founded the breakaway Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam to support the Pakistan Movement.

The ultimate objective of the Pakistan Movement, led by the All-India Muslim League, was achieved with the partition of India on 14 August 1947, when the Radcliffe Line officially demarcated the Dominion of Pakistan over two non-contiguous swaths of territory, which would later be organised as East Pakistan and West Pakistan, with the former comprising East Bengal and the latter comprising Baluchistan, the North-West Frontier, Sind, West Punjab, and various princely states and inheriting British India's borders with Afghanistan and Iran. In 1971, however, the Bangladesh Liberation War resulted in the dissolution of East Pakistan, which seceded from West Pakistan to become present-day Bangladesh.

History of the movement

Background

During the early 19th century, Lord Macaulay's radical and influential educational reforms led to numerous changes to the introduction and teaching of Western languages (e.g. English and Latin), history, and philosophy. Religious studies and the Arabic, Turkish, and Persian languages were completely barred from the state universities. In a short span of time, the English language had become not only the medium of instruction but also the official language in 1835 in place of Persian, disadvantaging those who had built their careers around the latter language.

Class conflict was coloured in a religious shade, as the Muslims were generally agriculturists and soldiers, while Hindus were increasingly seen as successful financiers and businessmen. Therefore, according to the historian Spear, "an industrialised India meant a Hindu India" to the Muslims. Syed Ahmed Khan converted the existing cultural and religious entity among Indian Muslims into a separatist political force, throwing a Western cloak of nationalism over the Islamic concept of culture. The distinct sense of value, culture and tradition among Indian Muslims originated from the nature of Islamisation of the Indian populace during the Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent.

Rise of organised movement

The success of the All India Muhammadan Educational Conference as a part of the Aligarh Movement, the All-India Muslim League, was established with the support provided by Syed Ahmad Khan in 1906. It was founded in Dhaka in a response to the reintegration of Bengal after a mass Hindu protest took place in the subcontinent. Earlier in 1905, viceroy Lord Curzon partitioned Bengal, which was favoured by the Muslims, since it gave them a Muslim majority in the eastern half.

In 1909 Lord Minto promulgated the Council Act and met with a Muslim delegation led by Aga Khan III, a deal to which Minto agreed. The delegation consisted of 35 members, who each represented their respective region proportionately, mentioned hereunder.

thumb|Aga Khan III in 1936.

thumb|260px|Nawab Mohsin ul Mulk, (left) who organised the Simla deputation, with Sir Syed Ahmed Khan (centre), Sir Syed's son [[Syed Mahmood|Justice Syed Mahmood (right). Syed Mahmood was the first Muslim to serve as a High Court judge in the British Raj.]]

  1. Sir Aga Khan III (Head of the delegation); (Bombay).
  2. Nawab Mohsin-ul-Mulk (Aligarh).
  3. Nawab Waqar-ul-Mulk (Muradabad).
  4. Maulvi Hafiz Hakim Ajmal Khan (Delhi).
  5. Maulvi Syed Karamat Husain (Allahabad).
  6. Maulvi Sharifuddin (Patna).
  7. Nawab Syed Sardar Ali Khan (Bombay).
  8. Syed Abdul Rauf (Allahabad).
  9. Maulvi Habiburrehman Khan (Aligarh).
  10. Sahibzada Aftab Ahmed Khan (Aligarh).
  11. Abdul Salam Khan (Rampur).
  12. Raees Muhammed Ahtasham Ali (Lucknow)
  13. Khan Bahadur Muhammad Muzammilullah Khan. (Aligarh).
  14. Haji Muhammed Ismail Khan (Aligarh).
  15. Shehzada Bakhtiar Shah (Calcutta).
  16. Malik Umar Hayat Khan Tiwana (Shahpur).
  17. Khan Bahadur Muhammed Shah Deen (Lahore).
  18. Nawab Hazeem Qureshi (Lahore)
  19. Khan Bahadur Syed Nawab Ali Chaudhary (Mymansingh).
  20. Nawab Bahadur Mirza Shuja'at Ali Baig (Murshidabad).
  21. Nawab Nasir Hussain Khan Bahadur (Patna).
  22. Khan Bahadur Syed Ameer Hassan Khan (Calcutta).
  23. Syed Muhammed Imam (Patna).
  24. Nawab Sarfaraz Hussain Khan Bahadur (Patna).
  25. Maulvi Rafeeuddin Ahmed (Bombay).
  26. Khan Bahadur Ahmed Muhaeeuddin (Madras).
  27. Ibraheem Bhai Adamjee Pirbhai (Bombay).
  28. Maulvi Abdul Raheem (Calcutta).
  29. Syed Allahdad Shah (Khairpur).
  30. Maulana H. M. Malik (Nagpur).
  31. Khan Bahadur Col. Abdul Majeed Khan (Patiala).
  32. Khan Bahadur Khawaja Yousuf Shah (Amritsar).
  33. Khan Bahadur Mian Muhammad Shafi. (Lahore).
  34. Khan Bahadur Shaikh Ghulam Sadiq. (Amritsar).
  35. Syed Nabiullah. (Allahabad).
  36. Khalifa Syed Muhammed Khan Bahadur. (Patna).

Until 1937 the Muslim League had remained an organisation of elite Indian Muslims. The Muslim League leadership then began mass mobilisation and the League then became a popular party with the Muslim masses in the 1940s, especially after the Lahore Resolution. Under Jinnah's leadership its membership grew to over two million and became more religious and even separatist in its outlook. The Muslim League's earliest base was the United Provinces. From 1937 onwards, the Muslim League and Jinnah attracted large crowds throughout India in its processions and strikes.

Lahore Resolution

The Lahore Resolution marked the beginning of the Pakistan movement. At the 27th annual Muslim League session in 1940 at Lahore's Iqbal Park where about 100,000 people gathered to hear Jinnah speak:

<blockquote>Hindus and Muslims belong to two different religions, philosophies, social customs, and literature... It is quite clear that Hindus and Muslims derive their inspiration from different sources of history. They have different epics, different heroes, and different episodes... To yoke together two such nations under a single state, one as a numerical minority and the other as a majority must lead to growing discontent and final destruction of any fabric that may be so built up for the government of such a state.</blockquote>

At Lahore the Muslim League formally committed itself to create an independent Muslim state, including Sindh, Punjab, Baluchistan, the North West Frontier Province and Bengal, that would be "wholly autonomous and sovereign". The resolution guaranteed protection for non-Muslims. The Lahore Resolution, moved by the sitting Chief Minister of Bengal A. K. Fazlul Huq, was adopted on 23 March 1940, and its principles formed the foundation for Pakistan's first constitution.

In opposition to the Lahore Resolution, the All India Azad Muslim Conference gathered in Delhi in April 1940 to voice its support for a united India. Its members included several Islamic organisations in India, as well as 1400 nationalist Muslim delegates.

C. R. formula and Cabinet Mission

Talks were held between Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Mahatma Gandhi in 1944. Jinnah negotiated as the representative of the Muslims. Gandhi rejected and insisted that the Indian National Congress alone represented all of India, including Muslims. Gandhi proposed the C.R Formula, which sought to first achieve independence from the British and then settle the issue of Pakistan through a plebiscite in Muslim majority districts in which the non-Muslims would also vote. Jinnah rejected both postponing decision on partition of British India and the formula in favour of the immediate creation of Pakistan.

In 1945 and 1946 general and provincial elections were held in India respectively. The Muslim League of Jinnah secured most of the Muslim vote in both elections. Jinnah interpreted the results as the entire Muslim nation's demand for partition and a separate state of Pakistan. Congress was forced to recognise the Muslim League as the sole representative of the Muslims.

The same year the British sent a delegation to India to determine its constitutional status and to address the Hindu-Muslim differences. The delegation proposed a plan that three groups in India be formed. One would consist of the Muslim majority Northwest zone, another would consist of the Hindu majority centre and the third the Eastern zone of India. The proposal further contemplated the independence of Muslim majority provinces after ten years of Indian Independence. An interim government was to be set up until independence.

The Congress Party rejected the separation of the provinces but agreed to the formation of an interim government. The plan stated that whichever party will agree to the whole of the plan will be allowed to form the interim government which would be established after the General elections in 1946.

Jinnah decided to agree to the plan. The British still invited the Congress to form a government with the Muslim League and the Viceroy of India assigned the Office of Prime minister to Nehru of the Indian National Congress.

World War II

On 3 September 1939, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain declared the commencement of war with Germany. Shortly thereafter, Viceroy Lord Linlithgow followed suit and announced that India too was at war with Germany.

In 1939, the Congress leaders resigned from all British India government positions to which they had elected.

Following the Congress's effective protest against the United Kingdom unilaterally involving India in the war without consulting with them, the Muslim League went on to support the British war efforts, which allowed them to actively go against the Congress with the argument of "Islam in Danger".

The Indian Congress and Muslim League responded differently over the World War II issue. The Indian Congress refused to support the British unless the whole Indian subcontinent was granted independence. The Muslim League, on the other hand, supported Britain both politically and via human contributions.

American historian Stephen P. Cohen writes in The Idea of Pakistan with regards to the influence of South Asian Muslim nationalism on the Pakistan movement: