Formation of the Muslim League

Muhammad Ali Jinnah

Reason — The Muslim League was founded in 1906 under the leadership of Agha Khan (Nawab of Dhaka), Nawab Waqar-ul-Mulk, and Nawab Mohsin-ul-Mulk.

Nawab Mohsin-ul-Mulk

Reason — Nawab Mohsin-ul-Mulk led the Aligarh Movement after the death of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan in 1898, instilling in the Muslims a spirit of loyalty towards the British and keeping them away from the mainstream of Indian political life.

Lord Minto

Reason — Lord Minto received the Muslim deputation led by Agha Khan on 1 October 1906 and committed himself to grant the Muslims separate electorates, thus becoming associated with the formation of the Muslim League.

Sir Syed Ahmad Khan

Reason — Sir Syed Ahmad Khan advised the Muslims to remain away from the Hindus, the Congress and the National Movement and to support British Rule, thereby inciting communalism in India.

Dhaka

Reason — a meeting of the Mohammedan Educational Conference was held at Dhaka in December 1906, where the Muslim League was founded.

Both Assertion (A) and Reason (R) are correct but Reason (R) is not the correct explanation of Assertion (A).

Explanation — Nawab Mohsin-ul-Mulk did lead the Aligarh Movement after the death of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan. The Aligarh Movement also aimed to instill loyalty towards the British Government and keep Muslims away from the mainstream of Indian political life. However, these aims do not explain why Nawab Mohsin-ul-Mulk became the leader of the movement.

P and Q

Reason — the British policy of divide and rule after 1857 (P) and the rise of radical nationalism (Q) were among the factors that led to the foundation of the Muslim League. The League was not founded on communal politics incited by M.A. Jinnah (R), as he was not among its founders, and the Muslims suffered economic backwardness rather than a rise in prosperity (S).

(A) and (B) are independent of each other

Reason — Both statements were separate objectives of the Muslim League as stated at the time of its formation. Promoting loyalty to the British Government and preventing the growth of hostility towards other communities were independent aims; one was not intended to explain the other.

To promote among Muslims of India support for the British Government.

Reason — One of the declared aims of the Muslim League was the promotion of the feelings of loyalty to the British Government; the other options were not among its objectives.

To abolish the zamindari system

Reason — Abolition of the zamindari system was never an objective of the Muslim League; its declared aims were to promote loyalty to the British Government and to protect and advance the political rights and interests of the Muslims of India.

The Muslim League was founded in December, 1906 at Dhaka.

The economic backwardness of the Muslims led to the rise of communalism in India in the following ways:

1. The Muslims were not recruited to civil and military services.
2. Government jobs were mostly given to the Hindus. The Muslims remained poor and unemployed.
3. They found few opportunities in trade, industry, business or professions.
4. The crippling of arts and crafts in villages also led to poverty among the Muslims.

After the Uprising of 1857, the British treated the Muslims with suspicion. They adopted the policy of 'Divide and Rule' to prevent the unification of the different classes of Indian society so that no united challenge could be posed to British rule.

The British divided the Indian history into Hindu and the Muslim periods. In the Hindu period, they dubbed the Muslims as foreign invaders who settled here as conquerors. In the Muslim period, they identified the Muslims as rulers and the Hindus as a subjugated people. By exposing and playing aloud the atrocities committed by individual rulers, the English historians tried to create hatred among the Hindus against the Muslims and the Muslims against the Hindus. All this created a rift between the two communities.

Sir Syed Ahmad Khan founded the Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental (MAO) College at Aligarh in 1875 .

Lord Minto assured the Muslim deputation that:

1. The Muslims would be granted separate electorates.
2. Their political rights and interests would receive special consideration through adequate representation in the legislatures.

Two factors that led to the formation of the Muslim League are given below:

1. British Policy of 'Divide and Rule': After the uprising of 1857, the British treated the Muslims with suspicion and encouraged communalism to sow the seeds of disunity between the Hindus and the Muslims.
2. Economic Backwardness of the Muslims: The Muslims were not recruited to civil and military services and remained poor and unemployed. This economic backwardness gave birth to feelings of resentment and separatism among them.

Two objectives of the Muslim League are given below:

1. Promotion of the feelings of loyalty towards the British government.
2. Protection and advancement of the political rights and interests of the Muslims of India.

(a) After the uprising of 1857, the British treated the Muslims with suspicion. They followed the policy of 'Divide and Rule' to prevent the unification of the different classes of Indian society.

1. They presented the Muslim rulers as plunderers and tyrannical bigots to create hatred for them among the Hindus. Similarly, they painted several Hindu rulers as cruel to their Muslim subjects.
2. In 1905, they tried to justify the partition of Bengal by telling the Muslims that Bengal was being partitioned to create a new Muslim majority province where the Hindus would not be able to subvert their interests.
3. The foundation of the Muslim League in 1906 was an attempt to drive a wedge between the two communities. As a result, the Muslims began to support the partition of Bengal and called the Swadeshi Movement a mere hoax.
4. The Morley-Minto Reforms of 1909 introduced the principle of communal representation in the legislatures.

(b) The Radical nationalists gave great impetus to the National Movement but some of their actions led to the growth of communalism.

1. Tilak organised Shivaji and Ganapati festivals.
2. Aurobindo Ghosh considered India as mother and nationalism as religion. There was a certain tinge of religion in the political work and ideas of the radical nationalists.

As a result, a large number of educated Muslims remained aloof or turned hostile to the National Movement.

(c) Sir Syed Ahmad Khan played a crucial role in the foundation of the Muslim League. He believed that the interests of Muslims were different from those of Hindus, and he feared that the growing political consciousness among Indians, especially the rise of the Indian National Congress, might harm the interests of the Muslim community.

1. Sir Syed Ahmad Khan advised the Muslims to receive western education.
2. He founded the Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental (MAO) College at Aligarh in 1875 to spread education among the Muslims.
3. He advised the Muslims to remain away from the Hindus, the Congress and the National Movement, and to support the British Rule in India and receive Western education.

(a) The main objectives of the Muslim League were declared as follows :

1. Promotion of the feelings of loyalty to the British Government.
2. Protection and advancement of the political rights and interests of the Muslims of India.
3. Prevention of the rise of hostility towards other communities.

(b) The formation of the Muslim League weakened the National Movement.

1. The Muslim League's political activities were directed against the Hindus and the National Congress, hence they began to oppose every nationalist and democratic demand of the Congress.
2. It strengthened the policy of 'Divide and Rule'.
3. Demand for separate electorates for Muslims was only accepted by the Congress after the Lucknow Pact was signed. This added to the communal bitterness.

Thus, the formation of the Muslim League weakened the National Movement.

(a) The given picture shows Sir Syed Ahmad Khan.

(b) Sir Syed Ahmad Khan founded the Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental (MAO) College at Aligarh in 1875.

(c) Two ideas/views of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan are given below:

1. Loyalty to the British Government: Sir Syed Ahmad Khan believed that Muslims should remain loyal to the British. He advised the Muslim community not to join political movements against the British, as he felt cooperation with the rulers would help Muslims progress socially and economically.

2. Promotion of Western Education: Sir Syed Ahmad Khan urged Muslims to receive Western education. To spread modern education among Muslims, he founded the Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College at Aligarh in 1875.