PMS 2016 Solved Pakistan Affairs Past Papers | Allama Iqbal’s Presidential Address 1930
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Question Breakdown
In this question, one has to explain the main features of Allama Iqbal’s presidential address in 1930 and its impact on Indian Muslims’ struggle for the creation of independence.
Outline
1-Introduction
2-Political Context in Colonial India
3-Main points of Allama Iqbal’s 1930 Presidential Address
- ✓Idea of a Separate Muslim State
- ✓Failure of Indian National Unity
- ✓Critique of Simon Commission
- ✓Role of Islam in Politics
- ✓Rejection of the Unitary form of government of India
- ✓Distinction of Muslims of India as a Separate Nation
- ✓Need for internal Reorganization of Muslims
- ✓Islam is the saviour of Indian Muslims in these testing times
4-Impacts of Allama Iqbal’s 1930 Presidential Address
- ✓Conceptual Foundation of Two-Nation Theory
- ✓Influence on Indian Muslims’ Leadership and Politics
- ✓Changed Muslim League Position in Punjab
- ✓Basis for Pakistan Movement
5-Conclusion
Answer to the question
Introduction
History cannot forget Rousseau, Plato, Karl Marx, and Mazzini as the forerunners of the republics in France, Greece, Germany, and Italy, respectively. The same is true for Iqbal’s political and ideological ideas that had a transformative impact on the Indian Muslims’ political struggle, which eventually translated into the creation of Pakistan. Allama Iqbal played an important role in the political chapter of Indian Muslims, particularly through his famous presidential address of 1930, which left deep impressions on the political struggle of Indian Muslims. His Allahabad address gave the vision of a separate homeland for Muslims, called Muslims for cooperation and coordination, and insisted they follow Islam to escape the political, economic, and religious persecution faced by them in the united India. His address transformed the mindset of great Muslim leaders, especially Jinnah, from being an advocate of Hindu-Muslim unity to a vehement supporter of a separate homeland for Indian Muslims. As a result, the Indian Muslims succeeded in the creation of an independent homeland where they could practice their religion without any fear and implement the injunctions of Allah and the practices of His Prophet Muhammad (SAW) in all aspects. In all this journey, the role of Allama Muhammad Iqbal’s famous presidential address can never be understated as it played a crucial role in navigating a route for the creation of separate territory for Indian Muslims.
Political Context in Colonial India
After the War of Independence of 1857 was over, and Indians failed to defeat the British, the new colonial masters took control of the entire India. The Hindus, taking the opportunity from the situation, blamed the Muslims for inciting the revolt. As a result, the Muslims were sidelined by the British and their political, social, economic, and religious rights were curtailed, which thwarted the educational, political and economic development of the Indian Muslims. Moreover, the Hindus did not miss any opportunity to suppress Muslims’ rights, which displayed their narrow-mindedness. The hue and cry raised by the Hindus on the partition of Bengal in 1905 and the negation of the political rights of Muslims in the Nehru Report were all part of their evil plans. As a consequence, the ambassador of Hindu-Muslim unity, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, now announced the parting of ways with Congress as he was convinced that the Hindus were bent upon pushing Muslims to the wall. At the same time, Allama Muhammad Iqbal, a renowned poet and political thinker who was also once a supporter of united India, now understood the Hindu mindset and gave away efforts to promote Hindu-Muslim unity. Under the new mindset, he presented his famous 1930 Allahabad address that proved to be a turning point in the Muslim’s struggle for their political, social, economic, and religious rights. The central idea of the address was to partition India, which was considered to be in the best interest of India and Islam. This vision got an endorsement from Muslim leaders, who started putting efforts into the creation of a separate homeland for Muslims. After tremendous efforts, the Indian Muslims got their homeland in form of Pakistan on August 14, 1947.
Main points of Allama Iqbal’s 1930 Presidential Address
- The idea of a Separate Muslim State
Allama Iqbal presented the idea of a separate Muslim state in his address as he despaired from the idea of Hindu-Muslim unity due to the non-cooperative attitude of the Hindu leaders. He expressed his wish in the following words,
“I would like to see the Punjab, North-West Frontier Province, Sindh and Baluchistan amalgamated into a single State. Self-government within the British Empire, or without the British Empire, the formation of a consolidated North-West Indian Muslim State appears to me to be the final destiny of the Muslims, at least of North-West India.”
- Failure of Indian National Unity
Allama Muhammad Iqbal was quite disappointed from the Indian national unity as major ethnic groups, like Muslims and Hindus, were divided on the basis of caste, language and religious differences. To him, unity could only be achieved in India through mutual respect and cooperation among the different sections of the Indian society, which seemed missing, at all, at that time. Capturing this deficiency in the Indian communities, he said,
“Experience, however, shows that the various caste units and religious units in India have shown no inclination to sink their respective individualities in a larger whole. Each group is intensely jealous of the collective existence. The formation of the kind of moral consciousness which constitutes the essence of a nation in Renan’s sense demands a price which the peoples of India are not prepared to pay. The unity of an Indian nation, therefore, must be sought, not in the negation, but in the mutual harmony and cooperation of the many.”
- Critique of Simon Commission
Iqbal was against the idea of bringing democracy to the Indian land before addressing the communal problems of India. He thought that if the communal problems of India were not addressed, the incoming system of governance- democracy- would never work in the Indian case. Due to this, he criticized the Simon Commission report in his 1930 address in the following words,
“The Royal Commissioner’s view of federation….does not go beyond providing means of escape from the situation which the introduction of democracy in India has created for the British, and wholly disregards the communal problem by leaving it where it was.”
- Role of Islam in Politics
Allama Muhammad Iqbal was a staunch supporter of the political ideology of Islam as it did not sperate the religion from the state, unlike in other religions, like Christianity. Iqbal rejected the western notion of separating religion from the state affairs. While addressing this matter, he eloquently put it in words,
“Islam does not bifurcate the unity of man into an irreconcilable duality of spirit and matter. In Islam, God and the universe, spirit and matter, church and state, are organic to each other. Man is not the citizen of a profane world to be renounced in the interest of a world of spirit situated elsewhere. To Islam matter is spirit realizing itself in space and time.”
At the same address, he questioned the fate of the role of Islam in governance matters in the following words,
“Is religion a private affair? Would you like to see Islam as a moral and political ideal, meeting the same fate in the world of Islam as Christianity has already met in Europe?”
- Rejection of a Unitary form of Government in India
Iqbal called for autonomy to respective provinces on the pretext that India is occupied by different communal groups, whereas European Democracy cannot function unless these communal groups are given autonomy. Iqbal rejected the idea of any unitary government in India in the following words,
“The Muslim demand….is actuated by a genuine desire for free development, which is practically impossible under the type of unitary government contemplated by the nationalist Hindu politicians with a view to securing permanent communal dominance in the whole of India.”
- Distinction of Muslims of India as a Separate Nation
Iqbal called Muslims to be a separate and distinct nation, forming an major chunk of the Indian population. He highlighted this to the colonial masters and the nationalistic Hindus that they cannot suppress the distinct identity of Muslims. Emphasizing the significance of Muslim status as a nation, he noted,
“We are seventy millions, and far more homogeneous than any other people in India. Indeed, the Muslims of India are the only Indian people who can truly be described as a nation in the modern sense of the word. The Hindus, though ahead of us in almost all respects, have not yet been able to achieve the kind of homogeneity which is necessary for a nation and which Islam has given you as a free gift.”
- Need for internal Reorganization of Muslims
Iqbal pointed out the lack of internal order in the Indian Muslims. He highlighted that growing individualism can be fatal to Muslim solidarity, especially at the juncture of history, when Muslims political actions need a coordinated and organized approach. He reflected on the idea in the following words,
“But diversity in political action, at a moment when concerted action is needed in the best interests of the very life of our people, may prove fatal… Leading Muslims of all shades of opinion will have to meet together, not to pass resolutions, but finally to decide the Muslim attitude and to show the path to tangible achievement… … The present crisis in the history of India demands complete organization and unity of will and purpose in the Muslim community, both in your own interest as a community and in the interest of India as a whole.”
- Islam is the savior of Indian Muslims in these testing times
Iqbal highlighted the significance of adherence to Islamic teachings in this critical phase of Indian Muslims. Iqbal believed that Muslims could regain their lost glory if they derive inspiration from Islamic injunctions. He shed light on this very idea in the following words,
“At critical moments in their history, it is Islam that has saved Muslims and not vice versa. If today you focus your vision on Islam and seek inspiration from the ever-vitalizing idea embodied in it, you will be only reassembling your scattered forces, regaining your lost integrity, and thereby saving yourself from total destruction…”
Impacts of Allama Iqbal’s 1930 Presidential Address
- Conceptual Foundation of Two-Nation Theory
Iqbal, through his 1930 Allahabad address, presented the Two-Nation theory. His speech convinced the Indian Muslims that both communities have many differences in culture, language and religion- and, therefore, both communities can never live together in peace and tranquillity. So, any effort to unite the two nations will bear no fruit.
- Influence on Indian Muslims’ Leadership and Politics
Iqbal’s historic presidential address left deep marks on the political struggle of Indian Muslims. His speech transformed Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, who was a staunch protagonist of Hindu-Muslim unity, to a man who understood that the division of India on religious, lingual and racial lines would be in the best interest of Indian Muslims. Apart from Jinnah, a number of other prominent political figures of the Muslim League, including Nawab Abdul Latif, Chaudhry Khaliquzzaman, Sikander Hayat Khan, Nawab of Mamdoot, Muhammad Afzal Qadri and Mian Kifayat Ali, came up with the idea of partitioning India and establishing Muslim zones into state (s). So, there was a complete shift in the Muslim League’s agenda after Allama Muhammad Iqbal presented this vision in the 1930 address.
- Changed Muslim League Position in Punjab
Iqbal’s presence in political matters of Indian Muslims played an important role in Punjab, which was, at that time, dominated by the Unionists. Iqbal was able to motivate the youth and intelligentsia of Punjab, which resulted in weakening the position of Unionists in the territory and the Muslims getting a stronghold in the Punjab area. This shift in political landscape in Punjab played a vial role in garnering support for the Muslim League, which emerged a strong political force in India, capable of competing Indian National Congress and other political entities on the Indian land.
- Basis for Pakistan Movement
A number of Muslim political leaders presented partition plans, prominently Chaudry Rehmat Ali in 1933, but the partition plan presented in the Lahore Resolution resembled much of Iqbal’s original proposal. Moreover, the justification given by Jinnah in the presidential address of the Lahore Resolution echoed Iqbal’s ideological justification for a separate homeland for Muslims of India.
This Pakistan Moment eventually resulted in the creation of a separate homeland of the Indian Muslims, where they would be able to profess their religion openly and preserve their unique identity.
Conclusion
Allama Muhammad Iqbal’s famous Allahabad address had some deep and lasting implications on the political struggle of Indian Muslims. The vision of a separate homeland for Indian Muslims, which he implanted in the Indian Muslims through his Allahabad address, helped transform the course of action of Muslim political leaders who earlier pursued a policy of living side-by-side with Hindus in peace and harmony but abandoned this idea and started putting efforts for an independent and sovereign territory for Indian Muslims. This vision got the light of day when the Lahore Resolution was presented, which eventually resulted in the emergence of Pakistan on the world map. In a nutshell, the vision gave by Allama Iqbal in his presidential address became the goal of Indian Muslims, which was attained when the Indian Muslims got blessed with Pakistan.
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