Congress felt so powerful that they refused to
cooperate with the viceroy unless he promised to
not overrule decisions made by provincial govts
Linlithgow reluctantly agrees - no option
Congress refused to include any
Muslim politicians in Provincial govts
Described as "one of the gravest miscalculations by the
Congress leadership in its long history" - Ayesha Jalal
Muslim results
there were 482 Muslim reserved
seats in the 1937 elections
Muslim league only claimed 109 of them
held 15% of all seats in legislatures
Muslim population make up 22% - poor result
Lahore Resolution 1940
Overview
Sets out Muslim demands for an
independent state
ML were demanding areas of Muslim majority
to be separated off as independent states
These states would be autonomous and sovereign
Ambiguity
Much confusion over exact demands
Fazlul Huq, a muslim leader, thought that independent states meant two
equal separations, one in the east - Bengal, one in the west - Pakistan
Jinnah let it be known privately that he
only intended 2 wings to one state
Jinnah also open to idea that
independent muslim states could be
part of an All-India superstate
Jinnah did not announce this until 6 years after
Has caused historians to question his true objectives
Hostage Theory
Lahore resolution came under much scrutiny based on
the idea that minority rights were not protected
Jinnah responded with his idea of hostage theory
He argued that because there would be minorities in
both the Hindu and the Muslim state, the majorities
would be forced to protect the rights of the minorities
to prevent their minorites being attacked in the other state