CSS 2023 Special Solved Pakistan Affairs Past Papers | Separate Electorate System in the SubContinent
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Question Breakdown:
In this question, the examiner has asked you two things: first, about the evolution and development of the separate electorate system in the Indian Subcontinent, and second, regarding the fact that how it can be termed to be the harbinger of the idea of a separate homeland for the Muslims. So, first, you need to briefly introduce the evolution and development of the separate electorate system by providing a chronological sequence of the main events. Then, write your answers by splitting them into parts as the question demands. Finally, end your answer with a critical analysis and conclusion. The following solved question provides a comprehensive answer covering all the main aspects. However, as far as the answer in the paper is concerned, limit yourself to 3 or 4 leading arguments against each part of the question.
Outline
1- Introduction
2- Historical Background of the Socio-Political Conditions of the Indian Subcontinent that Gave Birth to the Idea of Separate Electorate
3- How did the Idea of a separate electoral system for muslims evolve and develop in the Indian Subcontinent?
- ✓Events that Laid the Basis for the Demand for the Separate Electorate System, the Indian Legislative Council of 1861, and the Formation of the Indian National Congress in 1885
- ✓The Formation of the First Muslim Political Party, All-India-Muslim-League AIML in 1906
- ✓Demand for Separate Electorates in the Shimla Deputation in 1906
- ✓AnIntroduction to the Separate Electorate System in British India, the Minto-Morley Reforms 1909
- ✓ The Lucknow Pact of 1916 and the Indian National Congress approval of the Demand of the Separate Electorates
- ✓Expansion of the Separate Electorate System, Enhanced Representation in the Provincial and the Central Legislatures in the Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms 1919
- ✓Rejection of the Indian National Congress (INC) to the Continuation of the Separate Electorate System in the Nehru Report 1928 and Jinnah’s Explicit Demand for its Continuation in his Fourteen Points 1929
- ✓Expansion of the Separate Electorates, Reserved Seats in the Government of India Act 1935
- ✓From Separate Electorate to the Separate State, the Lahore Resolution 1940
4- How was the idea of a separate electorate termed to be the harbinger of the idea of a separate homeland for the Muslims of the Sub-Continent?
- ✓By Institutionalizing the Notion of Political Distinctiveness among the Muslim Leadership
- ✓By Transforming the Muslim Leadership from the Nationalist to the Communalist
- ✓By Entrenching Communal Consciousness
- ✓By Deliberately Transforming AIML Stance from Taking Refuge in United India to the Separate Muslim State
- ✓By Realizing the Failure of the Joint Electorate
- ✓By Escalating the Demand for Pakistan
5- Conclusion
Answer to the Question
Introduction
The demand for separate electorates for the Muslims of the sub-continent evolved throughout the ruling period of the British government in the Indian subcontinent. However, the quest for the attainment of separate electorates started by Indian Muslims on October 1, 1906, when a deputation led by Agha Khan-III met with Lord Minto and presented their demand for separate electorates. Both major Indian political parties, such as the All-India-Muslim-League (AIML) and Indian National Congress (INC) called for self-governance in British India. As a result, the demand was accepted in the Constitutional Act of 1909, which gave the Muslims the right to elect their representatives by separate electorates. However, the continuation of the separate electorates demanded the majority approval in British India. Hence, from 1916-140, the political leadership of the Indian subcontinent made efforts for the reconciliation of Hindus and Muslims. Their efforts succeeded, and in the Lucknow Pact of 1916, the Congress agreed to the demand of the separate electorates for Muslims. Next, the Constitutional Act of 1919 reinforced the communal representation of Muslims and expanded separate electorates. The INC rejected the separate electorate system for Muslims in the Nehru Report 1928. Nonetheless, the Government of India Act of 1935 further enriched it. The All-India-Muslim-League realized after the establishment of the Congress ministries that the separate electorates were no longer sufficient and applicable in a Hindu-dominated India. Hence, Jinnah presented the demand for a separate state in the Lahore Resolution 1940. That is why the idea of a separate electorate was termed as the harbinger of the idea of a separate homeland for the Muslims of the Sub-Continent because it institutionalized the notion of political distinctiveness among the Muslim leadership, transformed them from being the nationalist to the communist and also altered AIML’s stance from taking refuge in united India to the separate Muslim state. In addition, it awakened communal consciousness among the Muslims and helped them realize the failure of the joint electorate. As a result, the demand for a separate electorate escalated to the extent that it reached the demand for a separate state.
Historical Background of the Socio-Political Conditions of the Indian Subcontinent that Gave Birth to the Idea of Separate Electorate
Historically, the evolution of the demand for separate electorates for the Muslims of the sub-continent encapsulates a course of socio-political events that gave birth to this idea and led to its development. Politically, it started when Muslims accepted their defeat against the British in the War of Independence of 1857, which shifted the Indian authority from the Muslims to the British Hands. However, the British government had never been successful in abstaining Muslims from indulging in politics because they were habitual in enjoying vast political power. After the War of Independence of 1857, the doors of Politics opened with the Indian Legislative Council of 1861 for Indians. The Act allowed the inclusion of Indians into the Viceroy Legislative Council as non-official members. As a result, the first pan-Indian political organization, the Indian National Congress INC, was established as a moderate body on December 28, 1885. The party called for significant political representation of Indians in the British Indian government, facilitating only Hindu interests for the most part of its political agenda. To counter-balance the influence of the INC, the All India Muslim League (AIML) was established in 1906 to represent the interests of Muslims in the Indian sub-continent. Then, both the parties competed for the attainment of self-governance. On October 1, 1906, a deputation led by Agha Khan-III met with Lord Minto and demanded separate electorates for the Muslims. From the Indian Council Act of 1961 to the Government of India Act of 1935, the democratic system of governance evolved in the Indian sub-continent, which means the development of Hindu majority rule. So did the idea of separate electorates (1906) for the Muslims developed through the years until it transformed into the demand for a separate state (1940). Socially, the factor that contributed to the birth of this idea was the marginalization of Muslims after the War of Independence in 1857. After the War, the British tilted toward Hindus to abstain Muslims from strengthening their political position. It was proved by the decision of the British government to revoke the Partition of Bengal in 1906 in favour of their Hindu subjects. From unity to Hindu-Muslim rivalry, treachery of Congress after the establishment of Congress Ministries of 1937, Anti-Muslims movements, Muslim religious suppression, and the Urdu-Hindi Controversy 1967, all the factors played a vital role in the development of the idea of separate electorates, which was morphed into the demand for a separate state for the Indian Muslims.
How did the Idea of a separate electoral system for muslims evolve and develop in the Indian Subcontinent?
- ✓ Events that Laid the Basis for the Demand of the Separate Electorate System, the Indian Legislative Council of 1861, and the Formation of Indian National Congress in 1885
As I discussed, the War of Independence in 1857 shifted the Indian authority from the Muslims to the British hands. According to Ahmad Saeed and Kh. Mansur Sarwar, as they aptly said in the book Trek to Pakistan, the War of Independence 1958 gave the final blow to the nominal rule of the Mughals, and India came under the direct authority of Great Britain. The British government needed local support in law-making to govern their territory. As Sir Bartle-Frere, who was a member of the Governor-General Legislative Council, said in 1860, “The addition of the native element has, I think, become necessary owning to our diminished opportunities of learning through indirect channels what native think of our measures and how the community affected by them.” In addition, they ached for the acceptability of the crown’s rule from the locals to abstain from antagonizing the foreign rule. Moreover, they decided to open the doors of Politics for Indians by the Indian Legislative Council of 1861. However, the Act allowed the inclusion of Indians into the Viceroy Legislative Council as non-official members. As a result, the first pan-Indian political organization, the Indian National Congress (INC)that would petition for political reforms, was established as a moderate body on December 28, 1885.
- ✓The Formation of the First Muslim Political Party, All-India-Muslim-League AIML in 1906
However, the calls of the Indian National Congress (INC)for significant political representation of Indians in the British Indian government facilitated only Hindu interests for the most part its political manifesto. Thus, the Muslim Leadership was concerned for the future of the Indian Muslims and the preservation of their political rights. To counter-balance the influence of the INC, the All India Muslim League (AIML) was established in 1906 to represent the interests of Muslims as a distinct minority.
- ✓ Demand for Separate Electorates in the Shimla Deputation in 1906
Then, on October 1, 1906, a delegation of about seventy Muslims under the leadership of Sir Agha Khan-III reached the ballroom of the viceroy’s house at Shimla, where Lord Minto received this delegation. It contained the demand for separate electorates for Muslims in all levels of government, such as District Boards, Municipalities, and Legislative Councils. However, Lord Minto favoured the demand for separate representation. According to a British official, Lord Minto, while responding to the deputation, said, ‘It is nothing less than the pulling back of sixty-two million people from joining the ranks of the seditious position.’ The journey for separate representation started from this deputation; however, the step was motivated by the failure of the joint electorate system in the United Province for the Muslims.
- ✓An Introduction of the Separate Electorate System for the Indian Muslims in the Minto-Morley Reforms 1909
As a result of this constant demand, the British government introduced a separate electorate system for Muslims in the Constitutional Act of 1909, namely the Minto-Morley Reform of 1909. As Khalid bin Sayeed aptly said in his book, Pakistan: The Formative Phase, the separate electorates were given constitutional recognition in the Indian Council Act 1909. The Act gave Muslims the right to elect their representatives by separate electorates and a weightage in the Indian general constituencies. However, they had weak representation in the Indian Legislative Councils, even in a Muslim-majority area of Bengal.
- ✓ The Lucknow Pact of 1916 and the Indian National Congress approval to the Demand of the Separate Electorates
Next, the Congress agreed to the demand of the separate electorates for Muslims in the Lucknow Pact of 1916. The Muslim leadership was nationalist at large during the period of 1916-40 because all they wanted was a united India. Until 1913, the AIML had formally adopted the INC objective of self-government in British India. However, the Congress-League Lucknow Pact of 1916 was a culminating point. Although the weightage formula of this pact gave the Muslims less representation than their population in the legislative Councils in those provinces where they were in the majority and more representation where they were a minority, the pact marked a significant step in the evolution of the separate electorate system.
- ✓Expansion of the Separate Electorate System, Enhanced Representation in the Provincial and the Central Legislatures in the Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms 1919
Nonetheless, the Constitutional Act of 1919 in British India reinforced the communal representation of Muslims. It expanded separate electorates (reserved seats) and gave Muslims more seats in the Provincial Legislature as per the Lucknow Pact of 1916. The following chart explains the number of seats expanded in the Constitutional Act of 1919 as compared to the Constitutional Act of 1909.
| Province | Minto-Morley Reforms 1909 | Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms 1919 |
| Bengal | 4 | 39 |
| Punjab | 7 | 33 |
| Bombay | 1 | 11 |
| UP | 3 | 28 |
| Madras | 0 | 2 |
| Bihar and Orissa | 1 | 14 |
| Assam | 0 | 5 |
| Central Provinces | 0 | 8 |
- ✓ Rejection of the Indian National Congress (INC) to the Continuation of the Separate Electorate System in the Nehru Report 1928 and Jinnah’s Explicit Demand for its Continuation in his Fourteen Points 1929
In contrast, the Nehru Report, which was a constitutional proposal appealed for dominion status with the federal form of government system. The report proposed a joint electorate system with reserved seats for the minorities of the Indian subcontinent. In other words, the report implies the rejection of separate electorates for Muslims. But Jinnah, while responding to this report, regarded the separate electorates as a non-negotiable point for the Muslims in his fourteen points.
- ✓Expansion of the Separate Electorates, Reserved Seats in the Government of India Act 1935
Furthermore, the Government of India Act of 1935 increased the number of reserved seats in Central and Provincial legislatures, thus expanding the separate electorates for the Muslims. The Act deepened the communal divisions and reinforced the idea of varying political identities, which later contributed to the demand for Pakistan. The following chart explains the expansion of a separate electorate system. The following chart explains the expansion in the number of seats for Muslims in the Constitutional Act of 1935 as compared to the Constitutional Act of 1919.
| Reserved Seats | Constitutional Act of 1919 | Government Of India Act 1935 |
| Central Legislative Assembly | 29 seats (out of 144 total) | 82 seats (out of 250 total) |
| Bengal | 39 | 119 |
| Punjab | 33 | 86 |
| Bombay | 11 | 30 |
| UP | 28 | 66 |
| Bihar and Orissa | 14 | 34 |
| CP | 8 | 20 |
| Madras | 2 | 29 |
| Assam | 5 | 34 |
| NWFP | – | 36 |
| Sindh | – | 34 |
- ✓ From Separate Electorate to the Separate State, the Lahore Resolution 1940
The All-India-Muslim-League realized after the treachery of the INC that the separate electorates were no longer sufficient and applicable in a Hindu-dominated India. The establishment of the Congress ministries in 1937 had proved that the INC’s promises were just a mirage. Hence, Jinnah proposed for a separate state. This event marked the end of the quest for separate electorates and the beginning of the quest for a separate state.
How was the idea of a separate electorate termed to be the harbinger of the idea of a separate homeland for the Muslims of the Sub-Continent?
- ✓By Institutionalizing the Notion of Political Distinctiveness among the Muslim Leadership
Generally, minority parties may attract their members and local support through their capacity to provide a social identity. The same case was with the All-India-Muslim-league (AIML), which represented the minority population of Indian Muslims. The Muslims of the Subcontinent were aware of their separate identity from the Hindus and wanted its perseverance and security. So, the AIML’s leadership attracted local support by highlighting their party manifesto to achieve the perseverance of the socio-religious identity of the Muslims. As years passed, the idea of political distinctiveness became institutionalized among the leadership while questing for the socio-political rights of the Muslims. The AIML’s leadership realized that the provision of social identity was not possible in a Hindu-dominated democratic India, so they demanded a separate state.
- ✓By Transforming the Muslim Leadership from the Nationalist to the Communalist
Second, with the Indian Council Act of 1892, there was a strong sense of Nationalism among the Indians. From 1916-140, the leadership of the Indian subcontinent made efforts for the reconciliation of Hindus and Muslims. First, the Nehru Report of 1928, then the treachery of the Congress after the establishment of the Congress Ministries of 1937, all the factors made Muslim leadership conclude that Muslims would not get their due shares in Hindu-dominated India. In 1913, the leadership started to transform from the Nationalist to the Communist.
- ✓By Entrenching Communal Consciousness
Third, the Constitutional Acts of 1909 and 1919 further deepened the communal divisions and awakened communal consciousness among the Muslims. They realized their separate identity and religious distinctness. This realization enhanced the sense of Nationalism among the Muslims but for a separate state.
- ✓By Deliberately Transforming AIML Stance from Taking Refuge in United India to the Separate Muslim State
Until 1940, the AIML leadership wanted separate electorates in a united India or an Indian dominion. But in the Lahore Resolution of 1940, Jinnah explicitly demanded a separate state for the Muslims. The two years rule of Congress Ministries (1937-38) proved disappointing for the Muslim leadership. They realized the numeric preponderance of the Hindus and its implications in democratic India. The problem of Muslims was not a minority status but a minority under the Hindu-dominated India.
- ✓By Realizing the Failure of the Joint Electorate
Then, the Nehru Report 1928 proposed joint electorates instead of separate electorates for the future constitution. Muslims were aware of the drawback of this system; even the proposal of a separate electorate in the Shimla deputation of 1906 was motivated by the failure of joint electorates for the Muslims.
- ✓By Escalating the Demand for Pakistan
Indeed, the evolution of the demand for a separate electorate ended with a demand for a separate state. It started from the Shimla Deputation of 1906, conceded in the Constitutional Act of 1909, and expanded in the Constitutional Act of 1919 and 1935 every time the demand for separate representation escalated. Eventually, the demand reached the extent that it met the demand for Pakistan.
Conclusion
To conclude, the quest of Muslims for the attainment of separate electorates evolved through the years in British India. First, the Shimla Deputation of 1906 proposed separate electorates for Muslims in all levels of government, such as District Boards, Municipalities, and Legislative Councils. However, the separate electorate system for Muslims was introduced in the Constitutional Act of 1909. Second, the constitutional Acts of 1919 and 1935 significantly dilated separate electorates at central and provincial legislatures of the Muslims. However, the establishment of the Congress ministries in 1937 proved that the promises of the Indian National Congress (INC) leadership were just a mirage, and Jinnah proposed a separate state in the Lahore Resolution 1940. The idea of a separate electorate is termed to be the harbinger of the idea of a separate homeland for the Muslims of the Sub-Continent. Because it institutionalized the notion of political distinctiveness among the Muslim leadership by deliberately transforming AIML’s stance from taking refuge in united India to a separate Muslim state. In addition, it entrenched communal consciousness among the Muslims, which led to widespread nationalism in North India. Hence, the evolution of the demand for a separate electorate led to the quest for a separate state.
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