Pakistan, The Formative Phase, 1857-1948

By Khalid B. Sayeed
Writer's Introduction (Khalid Bin Sayeed)
Khalid Bin Sayeed was born in 1926 in Hyderabad Deccan. He
was the most recognised political scientist of Pakistan. He
proceeded to obtain a degree of Bachelor of Economics from
the London School of Economics and he also studied from
Madras university and his doctorate was from Harvard
University. He remained a very talented and well known
Professor of Political Science at Queen’s University Kingston,
Canada as well as a visiting Professor at McGill University and
Duke University. He also delivered his lectures in various
important parts of the world including Pakistan, Iran, Saudi
Arabia and University of Dhaka(India). He was very famous
because of his educational and political skills. He has superbed
skills through which he helped the people to come to his
opinion quite efficiently. He diversified the various factors of
politics and he helped the people in lowering the tension
between the Hindus and Muslims of the subcontinent. A
perceptive analyst of the politics of South Asia, Khalid bin
Sayeed was the author of numerous scholarly publications,
including Pakistan:The Formative Phase 1857-1948.i.e that was
not only a piece of historical events but also the complete
structure of the phases and all the happenings under 1857-
1948 including Independence of Pakistan.He also mentioned
the illiteracy rate of the muslims in his speeches. He died at the
ripe age of 84. Summary ‘The Formative Phase’ evaluates the
strength and weakness of the Muslim separatist movement
that eventually led to the creation of Pakistan. This book is not
a mere narrative of historical movements. The author has
described the events starting from the war of 1857, proceeds in
chronological order till the formation of Pakistan, and then
ends on the death of Quaid. The war of 1857 was the turning
point for the Muslims of the subcontinent. After the decline of
Mughal Empire, which lasted for almost a thousand years,
British took over the control of the subcontinent. This increased
the tension between Hindus and Muslims of the subcontinent
because Hindus acted cunningly and put blame on the Muslims.
He has focused on working of British viceregal system.
According to the writer this system is the cause of on-going
troubles since the establishment of Pakistan. Hindus connect
many incidents that led to the creation of Pakistan one of those
is the formation of a separate party, Muslim League, which led
Muslims to think of a separate homeland. This was the result of
Congress becoming purely Hindu-party. Some Hindus argue
that separation of subcontinent was the result of British policies
of divide and rule. Actually, according to the author, the British
became victims of their own trap. When they came here, they
had to deal with two nations which were standing apart from
each other. Those nations were not connected in any manner,
socially, culturally or religiously. The Hindus tried their best not
to divide the sub-continent, but due to short-sightedness of
Hindu Leaders as well as the leadership of Jinnah, the
resolution passed in 1940 made the Muslims to think of a
separate homeland. During Allahabdad's address, Allama Iqbal
also suggested that partition is the only solution to the
problems of Muslims of the subcontinent. The uniqueness of
Islam led the Muslims of India towards Two Nation theory given
by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan. Moreover, elections of 1945-46 also
cleared the destination of Muslims towards Pakistan. The
muslims were determined to achieve a separate homeland. A
Mission came to divide the subcontinent, it was biased in favor
of Hindus. At last, the 3rd June plan was that two states would
be set up in the sub-continent, India and Pakistan, and then on
August 7, the Radcliffe line was announced. Although most of
the Muslims majority areas were handed to India due to the
peer pressure of Hindu leaders, Pakistan came into being on
August 14, 1947. After independence, Lord MountBatten gave a
proposal of himself as the common Governor General of two
states but Jinnah denied this proposal because he was a
farsighted man. He knew that MountBatten is the ally of Hindus
so he will be a cause of trouble for both states in future. Quaid-
e-Azam became the first governor general of Pakistan.
Although some of the Pakistanis were not happy with the
Quaid's governance because they thought that Mountbatten
was a better option in order to get their shares equally, they
neglected the fact that he was in a confederation with Gandhi
and other Hindus. Despite being a patient of the noxious
disease of TuberCulosis, Jinnah played an important role in the
rehabilitation of refugees and managing state affairs. In 1948,
Quaid-e-Azam’s health deteriorated and he died. Sayeed
reaches to the conclusion that the creation of Pakistan was
neither a British conspiracy nor an accidental demand by
Muslims. Rather it was the logical conclusion of Quaid-e-Azam.
Conflicting Views about the Orign of Pakistan (Chapter 1) In the
start of the book the author explained how the various people
directly or indirectly participated in the creation of separate
homelands of the Muslims. From the beginning, it was
explained what were the causes that from which Pakistan
originated as there were several disputes about the origin of
Pakistan. Auranzaib was the Mughal Emperor who was ruling
over the subcontinenet and was protecting the values of Islam.
After him there was no one who could manage to stabilize the
country as well as the religion.It became a threat that time So, a
great scholar and religious leader Shah Waliullah, wrote a letter
to Afghan King to explain the situation.Before the British
overtook the subcontinent, it was clear that a separate
homeland was the basic necessity for the muslims and Hindus
and the continuous policies of Hindus and British make it easy
for the muslims to think for the land where they can breathe as
a separate independent nation. After 1857, and before 1909
there was no active political leader for the muslims also there
was no imperial power in the country After 1909, a dispute
arose that general election would be greatly helpful for the
independence of the muslims.There was no executive power
who could be farsighted enough that could help in
rapprochement of the two communities. It was argued that the
joint electorate might worsen the relation between the two
communities while on the other hand the separate electorate
could also be dangerous as muslims could not expect
betterment from the British and Hindus. Hindus wanted British
to leave the subcontinent.If the Britishers divide the
subcontinent then both of the communities would not accept
its policies.Muslims were uneducated and politically
unstable.They have reduced and inferior political status. British
believed that separatism of the Muslims would not lead them
to work on the thesis of “divide and rule”.They were not the
masters to deal with every circumstance. Hindus extremism
was becoming a threat to Muslims security. They didn't want to
divide the subcontinent. After a number of conflicts it was
decided that Pakistan could be the end product of the
subcontinent that could be merged back to India. Muslims were
suffering day by day easing policies of the Hindus as well as
Britishers.There is need to be patient and farsightedness.
Muslims were suffered because of the conflicts caused by the
Indians and British policies.Hence It was argued that Hindus
extremism was the principal cause of separatism of the
Muslims. Even Abul Kalam Azad mentioned that Jinnah should
not be blamed for all of the unrest among the Muslims.
Congress decided to challenge the two nation theory by inviting
those members in their party who accepted Islam. Quaid-e-
Azam worked day and night for Pakistan. Muslims were
demanding land in the name of the religion so that they would
practice their culture and religion there. It was not considered
as a true concept and the significance of Pakistan was not
acceptable in the West. In Fact in today when the Muslims
travel all over the world they are disrespected while the Indians
are involved in social matters worldwide. I think the author has
given the answer to the most crucial question of Pakistan very
accurately. By citing different sources, he has verified the
credibility of this anwer. He has certainly done a good job while
writing this chapter. Anglo Muslim Conciliation and the
Beginnings of Hindu Muslim Tensions in India 1857-1914
(Chapter 2) After the so-called Mutiny of 1857, British had
shown biased behavior towards Muslims from their both
legislative and practical actions. In these hard times for
Muslims, Sir Syed took the mantle to clear the direction of
Muslims of the 19th century. He with his literary books and
magazines started a hard task of changing Muslim's perspective
of British colonizers. On the other hand he also had the difficult
task of doing the same with British. Sir Syed through his
connections with Western influential communities had pretty
much washed the Muslim's terrorizing face of the brains of
British colonizers. He was also successful in persuading the
masses of Muslims to get western education. Writer has briefly
discussed the role of Sir Syed here which I think requires more
words to describe those revolutionary times but I can fully
agree with what the writer has already written. Sir Syed had
always been an adversary of Congress mainly because of its Pro
Hindu stance but he also wanted the Muslims to stay away
from politics. His concerns later proved true in the light of
Bengal events and sectarian violence by Hindus in the watch of
Congress itself. Sir Syed's efforts bore fruit in the upcoming
times. His efforts created an educated middle class with a very
good political sense. It was this educated community and
students who were the main workforce behind the movement
of Pakistan. His efforts to create peace between British and
Muslims later proved very beneficial to the Muslims, as it made
them the first to listen to the demands of the latter. There were
also far right Hindu movements who were very violent in their
approach. Their brutal tactics drove the Muslims further away
from Hindus ultimately resulting in the partition of India. There
were also such movements initiated by Indian Muslims but they
were never that extreme as compared to their Hindu
counterparts. The partition and then union of Bengal was one
of the major events in the start of 20th century. It showed the
Hindu's opposition towards a separate province with a
possibility of prosperous Muslim community. The fact that
Hindu's were so furious over the idea of separate Muslim
province forced the latter to think of other political means to
achieve their goals. Here writer hadn't discussed much about
Muslim population and political leadership's reaction about this
important historical event. In 1909, Muslims got the right of
separate electorates, which was a big victory on Muslim
community's part. On the other hand the new constitution of
1909 also had a downside, while maintaining the rights of
Muslim minorities in Central Indian provinces it greatly reduces
the majority of Muslim population in Punjab and Bengal to
minorities. According to writer these events led to the Hindu-
Muslim break up which then ultimately resulted in the form of
Pakistan and I can't agree more with writer here. Attempts at
Hindu-Muslim Unity (Chapter 3) In the post British colonization
era, masses of Muslims have remained in a constant fear of
Hindu majority. Sir Syed asked the Muslims of India to
concentrate all of their efforts on education and financial
matters. On the other hand he also declared Muslims a
separate nation from the rest of the subcontinent. Nawab
Viqar-ul-Mulq at one point said "Our interests can only be
safeguarded with the continuation of British Raj". At this point
Author hadn't discussed about the First War of Independence
and its effects on Hindu-Muslim unity. He also failed to consider
the two Nation theory and Urdu-Hindi dispute of 1867. In the
start of 20th century, Shibli Nomani published a series of critical
articles on the current political agenda of Muslim league which
was at that time interested in sectarian and communal rights as
compared to Congress's progressive approach. He also accused
the league of being afraid to stand against British. This can also
be regarded as the first time when Muslim league reconsidered
its political approach. The 1911 Bengal reunification created a
communal divide among the Muslims and Hindus in Bengal
province. Here writer hadn't discussed the hostile behavior of
Bengali Hindus who are extremely raged at the concept of a
developed muslim community in East Bengal. In 1913, Muslim
League passed a resolution for self governence in India which
was very close to the Congress's anual resolution. This also
triggered a decade long Hindu-Muslim unity and sense of
national identity across subcontinent owing mostly to Khilafat
and Civil disobedience movements of 1919-20. The importance
of 1916 Lucknow pact can't be undermined while discussing the
Hindu-Muslim unity. It has brought these two nations very
close. Later the events of World War I initiated the
intermingling of religions in the subcontinent. Both the Khilafat
and disobedience movements failed. At this point, the writer
has failed to discuss the catastrophic effects of these
movements on Muslims and how Gandhi has allegedly played
Muslims to achieve his goals. Now, one can say that British
have tried very hard to unite both Muslims and Hindus but the
events of Moplah uprising were a major blow to Hindu-Muslim
unity. The sense of Islamic nationalism created by Khilafat
movement has encouraged individual Muslims to forcibly
convert the local Hindu population. As a result the extreme
movements of Sangathan and Shuddi were initiated by some
Hindus. The author here should be credited for giving us insight
into the Moplah uprising but he can also be criticized for not
explaining the effects of extreme Hindu nationalism. In the
second half of decade, the death of CR Das resulted in a
communal takeover of Congress, which pushed the Muslims
further away mostly owing to Congress's anti-muslim
leadership. The Nehru report of 1928 was a catastrophic blow
on muslim rights. The resulting Fourteen points of Jinnah
became extremely popular in middle classes of Muslim
community. The roundtable conferences are not much
important regarding Hindu-Muslim unity But they rather show
the discriminating behavior of Congress towards all of the
minorities of India including Sikhs and Schedule casts. The
government of India act 1935 wasn't hailed much on both
sides. Later, the joint opposition of Muslim League and
Congress against the laws in legislative assembly during 1935
and 1936 marked the last notable Hindu-Muslim cooperation.
The discriminating behavior of Congress to Muslims and Muslim
league during the formation of provisional government
especially in United Provinces also provoked the Muslim
masses. Later the highly oppressive and discriminatory
behavior of Congress ministries towards Muslims during 1937-
39 forced the Muslims to look the other way. This was the final
blow to Hindu-Muslim unity which proved fatal to the the idea
of United India. At this point the writer again failed to fully
discuss the atrocities of Congress's regime against Muslims. In
conclusion to this chapter, these events later forced the Quaid
to think of another solution to India's constitutional and
sectarian crises. Overall It is an excellent script which gives us
insight to the Pre 1940 era with credible references. It can
somewhat be called a neutral stance but at some points,
writers had been unjust to historic events and their ability in
changing the course of history. Emergence of Pakistan--- 1
(Chapter 4) The foundations of Pakistan can be found as early
as in 1877, when a British statesman proposed the idea of
dividing India on the basis of religious and ethnic boundaries.
The idea of modern day Pakistan came from Muslim league's
Allahabad annual session where, Allama Iqbal proposed the
idea of uniting Muslim majority areas of subcontinent to form
separate sovereign states. The name Pakistan came from a
pamphlet "Now or Never" published by Ch. Rehmat Ali. In this
pamphlet, he suggested to form three Muslim states in North
West, Central and Eastern India, which will eventually then
form triple alliance. While discussing the initial roots of Pakistan
here, the writer hadn't discussed the role of Sir Syed Ahmad
khan and his renowned Two Nation Theory, which was the start
of major split between the two communal groups. In 1938, the
Muslim league of Sindh accepted a resolution that depicted
Muslims and Hindus as two separate nations. Same year, during
the annual session of Muslim league at Patna, league adopted
the same resolution from Sindh. The delegates in this session,
also allowed the president to adopt such a course that might be
necessary in exploring an alternative solution to India. By
keeping these things in mind, the central committee in the
leadership of Mr. Jinnah started looking for alternative
solutions. Many individuals came up with their own schemes
including Dr. Syed Abdul latif of Deccan who proposed the
creation of three sovereign states in North West, East and
South(Hyderabad Deccan). The most influential and credible
scheme was the one postulated by Sir Skindar Hayat Khan. He
proposed three groups of provinces in British India bound to
lose federation in the center. This proposition was later seen in
the Cabinet Mission Plan of 1946. The author here has
explained these events very well by citing from credible sources
which is commendable. In 1940, during the annual session of
Muslim league, Lahore resolution was passed with heavy
mandate. It was later named Pakistan resolution because of
British and Hindu media. The Muslim league after 1940, has
concentrated all of his efforts on achieveing Pakistan. Mass
public contact campaigns were initiated to make the local
Muslim population aware of Pakistan and what actually it is. In
1943 Sindh legislative assembly passed a resolution in support
of the Pakistan resolution of 1940. Here the writer hadn't
discussed the general public reaction to the Pakistan resolution
which was actually very important in this regard. The resolution
had limitations. The areas that were going to be included in the
new state were unclear and vague. The status of provinces like
Punjab and Bengal was unknown. Later this was considered as
the flexibility of the resolution which allowed several changes
to be made in future. Initially, the number of states was also
unknown. The leadership of Muslim league at that time hadn't
any idea of how many states should be made. This was later
changed in 1946 to an idea of a single state. The fact that the
writer here has explained the limitations of the Pakistan
resolution is admirable because it is mostly unknown to most of
Pakistanis. The Cripps Mission of 1942 had a vague gesture of
Pakistan which proved that the roar of Muslim league had been
heared at the house of lords in Britain. It was later rejected by
both Muslim league and Congress. In 1945, lord Irwin viceroy of
India called the Simla Conference to negotiate with the political
leadership of India and to form the post war strategy for Indian
subcontinent. This conference turned into a deadlock upon the
selection of Muslim representatives. Author here has described
these historical events very accurately, especially the Simla
conference. The strategy of Quaid in Simla, then led to the
elections of 1945, which led to the final cornerstone in the
building of Pakistan. This explanation of politics between post
1940 era and Pre election times is very precise and the writer in
this chapter has done a good job again by using credible
sources and references throughout the chapter. Emergence of
Pakistan--- 2 (Chapter 5) After the failure of the Simla
conference, the British decided to have elections to create a
better atmosphere in the Subcontinent. General elections were
held in British India in December 1945 to elect members of the
Central Legislative Assembly and the Council of State. The
Indian National Congress emerged as the largest party, winning
59 of the 102 elected seats. The Muslim League won all Muslim
constituencies but failed to get any other seats. Of the 13
remaining seats, 8 went to Europeans, 3 to Independents, and 2
to Akali candidates in the Sikh constituencies. Congress
successfully enabled their ministries in the provinces Assam,
Bihar, United Provinces Bombay, Madras, the Central
provinces, Orissa, and Frontier Province, But Muslim League
could only be able to enable their ministries in Sindh and
Bengal. The Secretary of India, Lord Pethick announced in the
House of Lords that the Government decided to send a Cabinet
Mission in order to assist the Viceroy. Cabinet Mission was
composed of Lord Pethick Lawrence, Sir Stafford Cripps, and
Mr. A.V. Alexander. The purpose of the mission was “to get
machinery set up for framing the constitutional structure in
which the Indians will have full control of their destiny and the
formation of a new interim government.” The Cabinet Mission
came to India aiming to discuss the transfer of powers from the
British government to the Indian leadership. The book clearly
mentioned the purpose of the cabinet mission. Congress clearly
said that they would never agree on the partition. On the other
hand, Muslim League is demanding another nation for Muslims.
The Mission was biased heavily in favor of Congress. Quaid -e-
Azam convened a meeting of the Muslim League Working
Committee at Delhi in 1946 which passed a resolution that “the
President alone should meet the Cabinet Delegation and the
Viceroy”. This was immediately followed by an All-India Muslim
Legislator’s Convention. Nearly 500 members of the Provincial
and Central Legislatures who had recently been elected on the
Muslim League ticket from all parts of India attended it. It was
the first gathering of its kind in the history of Indian politics and
was called by some “the Muslim Constituent Assembly”. When
they came to know the viewpoints of the League and the
Congress were irreconcilable, they gave a chance to the parties
to agree between themselves. According to it both parties must
nominate four delegates for discussions with one another as
well as with the Mission. But they still both would be unable to
reach the concord. So , it failed again. I totally agree with the
writer as he talked about the two-nation theory. That the
Muslims and Hindus have different opinions. Quaid-e-Azam
asked the Viceroy that the proposal was final, or they wanted
to make any changes or modifications into it. After that Quaid-
e-Azam accepted the proposal . But when Gandhi and Congress
saw that the Quaid-e-Azam agreed on it they rejected it
without any reason. The interpretation of the Quaid-e-Azam
was that if the Congress rejected the proposals, the League
accepted them, or vice versa, the Viceroy would go ahead and
form the interim Government without including the
representatives of the party that decided to stand out. But the
interpretation of the Viceroy and the Cabinet Mission was
different from that of the Quaid-e-Azam. Towards the end of
June, the Cabinet Mission left for England with their task
unfulfilled. It had, however, not been a complete failure. After
reading the book , I totally agreed upon what the writer wrote
about. He clearly said that the cabinet mission was the mission
for Hindus not for Muslims. The Muslim League. Its Role and
Organization (Chapter 6) The All-India Muslim League was one
of the most influential political parties in British India. It was
founded at Dhaka(Bangladesh) in 1906. The League played an
important role during the 1940s in the Indian independence
movement. It was a driving force behind the creation of
Pakistan as a Muslim state on the Indian subcontinent. In early
1935 , Jinnah was elected as president for 3 years .When Jinnah
started reorganizing the Muslim League, he invited Fazal-I-
Husain to preside over the annual session of Muslim League,
but he rejected that invitation and made it clear to Jinnah that
he kept his finger out of the Punjab. After reading context from
book, I came to know that Muslim league was a party that
works for Muslim rights irrespective of their region. At that
time Muslim League was very weak and the main reason is the
elections .As, they won only 4.6 % votes from Muslims. After
that in 1938 , Jinnah claimed that the hundreds of thousand
people joined Muslim League in few 6 months. Before 1940 ,
Muslim League did a campaign that the Islam was in danger . To
secure the rituals of Muslims and culture, Muslims must join
Muslim League. It is the changing phase of the Muslim League.
Large number of Muslims are supporting Muslim League as
their official party.1945 elections proved the strength of
Muslim League .As Muslim League got almost 460 Muslim seats
out of 533 in the central and provincial elections. The one of
the main reasons of Muslim League win was the Lahore
Resolution ( Pakistan Resolution). In which Quaid-e-Azam
demanded a separate homeland for Muslims .On that
homeland Muslims can practice their rituals. This is the time
when the Muslim League got hype . In 1941, Muslim League
was doing conference and in that conference a poem was
recited .The motive of the conference is that we want Pakistan
a proper division If it cannot be achieved by words. Muslim can
use swords and spears .The poem was: “Where are the Muslims
youth? We shall attain The desire of their hearts by tying down
the wild tiger Come quickly ---- break down the Somnath ”
Muslim League and Congress both have developed the cult of
leadership But both parties have different concept of
leadership. Gandhi was the Mahatma, that is associated with
Hindu mind. He was not independent in his decisions while
Quaid-e-Azam was independent. Muslims follow their Leader, it
proves from History. The strength of the Muslim League is the
unity of the people that are the part of Muslim Leagues. In
Muslim league different people were involved like socialists ,
landlords and Ulmaas .They always supported each other and
their candidate. After reading this book , writer talked about
the difference between the Congress and Muslim League . From
the book : “We should support the league candidate even
though he may be a lamp-post.” In the provincial elections
1945-46 Muslim League won 79 Muslims seats out of 86.The
other parties lost the confidence of majority of Muslims.
Muslim league won the hearts of Muslims. Muslims were very
happy after the clear win of Muslim League .After that Muslim
League started making government in the provinces like
Bengal ,Sindh. At first , they faced many difficulties but after
some time they had overcome them. After the struggle and
facing many difficulties , Muslim League finally achieved his
purpose of gaining separate homeland for Muslims in 1947.
Muslims got freedom from British and Congress. It is just
because of the struggle of Muslim League. After having
separate nations , there were still many problems. There are
not proper resources. People started their work with very few
resources. People started fighting with each other. Quaid-e-
Azam handled that situation in a quiet professional manner as
he did before. The writer discussed in his book about the
Muslim League and difficulties that Muslim league faced .He
gave a clear opinion on that the Muslim league was the only
party that was talking about Muslim and their rights. Jinnah's
Appointment as Governor General of Pakistan (Chapter 7) After
the partition, it was suggested that Lord Mountbatten be a
common Governor General of both states But it was not
accepted by Quaid e Azam. Quaid e Azam himself became
Governor General of Pakistan which denied the idea of a
common Governor General completely. The main reason for
denial, the writer has written as “Jinnah might have been
suspicious that if he were to allow a common Governor
Generalship, there might be some difficulties in the future of
Pakistan”. I strongly agree with this. Lord Mountbatten was a
great supporter of Hindus and Congress and there was doubt
that he would not show equality between these new two
states. One example was his alliance with Gandhi, which
messed up the borders of Pakistan and included many
important areas of Pakistan in India. Also, Writer has quoted
some words of Lord Mountbatten from his first meeting with
Quaid e Azam which are “My God, he was cold. It took most of
the time to unfreeze him.” This was Mountbatten’s perspective
of Quaid e Azam. Quaid e Azam was also angry at
Mountbatten’s actions towards Kashmir. So, it shows that
Quaid e Azam and Lord Mountbatten were not that friendly
with each other. Some Pakistanis were not satisfied by this
decision of Quaid e Azam because according to them
Mountbatten had more power than Quaid e Azam to pressure
India and get their assets equally divided. They neglected the
fact he was in alliance with Gandhi and the writer also used the
word "pro-Hindu" for him which means he was completely in
support of Hindus. I strongly agree with this term of the writer
because he was also a relative of Gandhi and he was in support
of Congress as a leading party for supporting Hindus in the
subcontinent. The writer has written “Perhaps equally
important was Jinnah’s position and prestige. He was not
merely a party leader in the Western sense of the term. He was
Quaid e Azam -- the Great leader of a national movement.” I
strongly agree with this point that he deserved to be Governor
General of Pakistan and to decide the future of Pakistan. He
gave a lot of sacrifices and worked all day and night for the
creation of Pakistan. He was not just a party leader but a
creator of a country. When Quaid e Azam found it difficult to
solve the problem of dividing assets, he put forward a proposal
that there should be a Superior Governor-General of both
states and the Governor General of both states will be under
him. If one Governor General of both, does not agree with a
decision on any matter, then the Superior Governor General
can not make that decision. This proposal was rejected, saying
it a selfish step. This is something new that I learned from this
article and it is supported by references which also include “The
Dawn”. In 1948, when Quaid e Azam's health broke down and
he was diagnosed as being a patient with TB. He appointed
Liaqat Ali Khan as Prime Minister of Pakistan. At that time also
Lord Mountbatten requested to choose him as a common
Governor General but Quaid e Azam again rejected and put his
faith in Liaqat Ali Khan. The writer has given a lot of references
in this part of the book which makes me strongly agree with
him and almost every idea is supported by these references.
Constitutional and Political powers of Governor General
(Chapter 8) “This meant that powers of Governor General
would depend upon the manner in which the Government of
India Act 1935 was adapted.” written in the book. The writer
has strongly supported his view by quoting the news of “The
Dawn”. So, when Quaid e Azam rejected the idea of the
common Governor General, according to an act the powers of
Governor-General were agreed. The writer has talked about the
different powers and authorities of the Governor General in the
part 8 of the book. The writer has clearly defined the duties and
authorities of the Governor General as a central government
and concerning Provinces. He also has supported his views with
strong references to other well-known authors and also has
quoted some sections from this act. The writer has written,
supporting it from a section from Government of India Act,
“Section 17 of the adapted Government of India Act, 1935,
empowered the Governor General to make rules for the more
convenient transaction of the Federal Government, and the
allocation among Ministers of the said business.” I strongly
agree with this because at the early age of Pakistan, Pakistan
was not a democratic country and it even doesn’t have a proper
constitution on which laws can be formed. So, the authority of
lawmaking was given to the Governor General. I have learned
something very interesting and shocking, quoting the writer’s
words “Quaid e Azam appointed British officers as Governors in
three of the four provinces of Pakistan.” The reason for
appointing them as Governors is given by the writer as
“Obviously Jinnah wanted experienced and strong Governors.”
The writer has also mentioned the words and actions of these
Governors. The writer here again has supported his words with
references including “The Times”. The writer has also discussed
the dismissals of province governors. He has quoted some
words of Lord Birdwood “For a while, Dr. Khan Sahib clung to
his responsibilities. But on the establishment of Pakistan and
his refusal to take the new oath Mr. Jinnah removed him.” Like
this, the writer has also mentioned several other dismissals of
governors and has supported them with strong references. A
topic, “Powers with Regard to the Chief Commissioner’s
Province of Baluchistan.”, is also discussed by the writer. In this
topic, he has said the Chief Commissioner is also under the
Governor General and the steps of Quaid e Azam towards the
Baluchistan province. A lot of references are also used in this
topic. “Jinnah’s pronouncement as regards purifying the
administration of Pakistan by rooting out corruption, nepotism,
and jobbery was also important.” mentioned the writer. I
strongly agree with this point as Quaid e Azam was against
corruption. He thought that corruption would destroy Pakistan.
So, he addressed the whole nation to avoid corruption. The
writer has mentioned in his text that Quaid e Azam’s name was
read in Khutbah. Quoting writer's line “On Friday, 22 August
1947 Quaid e Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s name was read in
Khutbah at the Pakistan Colony Mosque”. He further has also
mentioned that Pir Illahi Buksh has also requested others to
speak his name in khutbah. But here the writer has failed to
give any reference. So, it is not that much supportable point
mentioned by the writer. The Center and the Provinces 1947-8
(Chapter 9) Chapter discusses that creation of Pakistan
ultimately resulted in political freedom for muslims.Finally the
powers which british used at central level were now available
to muslims. Jinnah was the first governor general of Pakistan.
The powers were further extended by constituent assembly on
31st March, 1949 where Governor General could dissolve the
provincial governments and remove provincial ministers. The
writer emphasized on the need for such a law that will address
the problems of the new state. It was quite apparent that with
many political leaders being immature and irresponsible
problems were likely to happen. Writer discusses the problems
inherited by Pakistan after partition. There was a lack of trained
politicians. An example of this was when the Governor of
Punjab told Jinnah in a letter that there was a small refugee
demonstration in Punjab, they were screaming "Pakistan
Moradabad!!!". A member of the ministry named Shaukat was
afraid to face the muslims in the refugee camp. Economic
backwardness was very severe in Pakistan. India had inherited
all the physical apparatus for the central government. Quoting
from the book the writer has said that ministers use wooden
boxes as their tables hence it was ill equipped to cope with the
refugee crisis.there was exchange of millions of refugees across
the border of two countries. Riots and killings were happening
all over Punjab. Quoting from the book, a report from Lahore
and Amritsar, the two chief cities on either side of the border,
have crumbled and burned out. The latest authoritative
estimates more than 50 000 people died in the last six month.
The rivalry between Muslims and Sikhs also grew as they tried
to equal each other. Muslims took their revenge at
Sheikupura.it became difficult for the West Punjab government
to maintain law and order in the province. Rehabilitation of
refugees was also a cause of concern. There was a problem of
settling Muslims on the lands left by Hindus and also providing
them with medical aid. Thousands of them died due to
starvation as they reached the border. Pakistan acquired
masses of unemployed people who were poor peasants. The
Hindus who left West Punjab were mostly shopkeepers, clerical
officials and middlemen. An economic crisis emerged as banks,
telephone offices could not function as the majority of hindu
staff left. Mian Iftikharuddin, minister of rehabilitation of the
West Punjab government, introduced land reforms breaking up
large estates and distributing land among refugees.
Iftikharuddin resigned after this. The Provincial government
was dominated by powerful landlords who denied this.
Understanding the situation, the central government created
their own ministry of refugees and rehabilitation who was
provided with the task of settling,evacuating and feeding the
refugees. Prime minister Liaquat khan also appealed to the
people to help refugees. Jinnah declared the state of
emergency on 27 august 1948, using the Government of India
act second amendment. Another major issue that the writer
has discussed wss feudalism. An example of this was both the
central government and provincial governor. Sir Francis Mudie
was dissatisfied with the Nawab of Mamdot, a powerful
landlord. He lost all his land in east Punjab so derived his
support from refugees. The writer elaborates on how he is
incapable of this post, lacking administration skills. Later
differences within Muslim league developed Dulatana the
finance minister and Mamdot with having a considerable
majority. Jinnah decided to resolve the issue and asked
Dulatana to take the place of Mamdot and Mamdot to resign.
Daulatana refused the orders as he wanted to be elected by the
party. There was an issue in NWFP where the ministry was of
congress member Khan Sahib even after the partition Jinnah
used his powers as mentioned above on 22 August. Khan sahib
was dismissed. Abdul Qayyum khan was appointed in its place.
Several developments such as making Karachi the capital in July
1948 were also issued. He did had the majority in the house as
their where 15 members of Muslim league and 22 members of
Congress, later he attracted seven members of congress
towards him which increased his support. Writer discusses the
policy of Qayyum towards the pathans, the locals of NWFP. He
was arresting his political opponents which the writer had
criticized him for saying that he did not do the right thing as it
would unite people against him. Writer discussed that there
was a serious discontent in Bengal after partition. East Bengal
had little representation at political level. In undivided India
there was also a shortage of competent officers in east Bengal
which created administrative issues for Pakistan. There was
resentment against Punjabi officials in east Bengal. Writer
explains the main reason was the language barrier. Their
demand for having an assembly session in Dhaka was also
turned down. Bengalis demanded recognition of Bengali as a
state language. To sum up,the author has pretty well
elaborated the political scenario after partition. The Viceregal
System and the Muslim Nationalists (Chapter 10) The writer in
this chapter discusses that the political system of India and how
it paved the way for nationlist movement among Muslims and
Hindus. To start, all the executive powers were in the hands of
the Governor General who himself was the british. Central
legislature had no say as their ruling had to get approval of the
Governor General. After 1937 when the Government of India
act was applied to provinces there was some reasonable
relaxation in powers of Governor General. I agree with the
writer that at central government all the powers were in the
hand of Governor General. It further discusses each district was
appointed a Deputy Commissioner who was responsible for
maintaining law and order in that district. For helping british
administer the Sub Continent the british created Indian Civil
services. Members of who were are also appointed the deputy
commissioners. The writer further discussed the role of Deputy
Commissioner as the French Prefect. Departments like health
and education were under his control of that district. The
chapter further discusses how successful they were in
strengthening their control over India. Quit India movement of
congress, Bengal famine and Inflation had no effect on their
rule but as time passed by, unrest in urban areas was gradually
developing mainly because of urbanization and protests of
political groups like Indian National Congress. The writer has
given sufficient reasons to why Hindus and Muslims both were
unsatisfied with British rule? Some of them were the lack of
powers for them at the Center and high inflation. The relation
between Indians and British was deteriorating. Quoting from
book "After the famous declaration of the british government
of 1917 regarding progressive realization of responsible
government as the goal of british policy, it was clear British
were prepared to set up representative institution in India, but
it was also obvious from the very beginning that the kind of
trust and understanding between the British and Indians were
needed to facilitate the growth. Parliamentary institutions and
orderly transfer of power were lacking in India”. The contrast in
political approaches of Gandhi and Jinnah has been discussed.
Gandhi believed that power from British could only be snatched
via massive protests and violence. Gandhi also participated with
Muslims in the Khilafat movement . Jinnah believed in a
peaceful political approach and strongly condemned massive
demonstrations and protests. There were also protests led by
nationalist leaders such as Tilak. Tilak used religious symbols to
attract Hindus for massive protests against British. The gulf
between Hindus and Muslims was also developing. Firstly they
dually protested against British. This ultimately gave birth to
Muslim nationalism. Writer has written several reasons for that
one such was the change in views of Jinnah. In early 1900s he
believe in Hindu Muslim unity that they could work together for
a separate nation also quoting from text "Jinnah declared in
1919 nothing will please me more than that day comes when all
distinctions between Hindus and Muslims had diissapeared."
Writer throws light on struggles of Jinnah and tough times
through which he has gone in creating a separate nation for
muslims.in 1920s Jinnah felt politically lonely as his views were
totally different from other party leaders neither did he had
support of anyone. Jinnah realized his views were ignored by
congress which was massively organized under Gandhi. He
didn’t even get support of Muslims at that time Jinnah left for
England as he found himself helpless and he was depressed in
February 1929 to further increase his loneliness he lost his wife.
Jinnah came back to India after realizing the grave danger in
which muslims were. It was then his great political skills and
and leader ship qualities due to which he was able to gather
large support of muslims after the 1937 elections in which
Muslim league was heaily defeated. Writer tells the main
reason was the idea of a separate nation through which he was
fulfilling one of the deepest urges of muslim community and
freeing them from torture of Hindus which he presented in
Pakistan resolution 1940. It was his tireless efforts because of
which we are in today's Pakistan. Comprehensive Critical
Analysis As a young country, Pakistan elicited interest of many
writers to write about the formation of it. Mr. Sayeed’s book is
actually examining the political history and giving us the details
about genesis and behavior of this country because he thinks
that the ongoing political problems of our country can only be
understood in the light of history. The author analyzes the
incidents related to creation of Pakistan in a scholarly and
impartial way. In the first three chapters of this book the author
has delineated the origins and growth of the Pakistan
movement that culminated in the creation of Pakistan. The next
chapters deal with the political system of Pakistan. In the first
half, the author shares the solid history of events starting from
1857 that led to the creation of Pakistan in 1947. He beautifully
shared the establishment and development of Pakistan by
briefing about how our Quaid managed to by-pass the plans of
Hindus and achieved his goal. Mr.Sayeed really makes a
valuable contribution to our knowledge of Pakistan. In the next
chapter, the author has examined thorny and important
problems between federal and unitary forms of government.
He has discussed the era of governance of Quaid-e-Azam. The
bulk material explained by the writer is original and
undoubtedly excellent. Mr.Sayeed’s analysis of serious
controversies during the formation of Pakistan is academically
rigorous, honest, sympathetic yet critical. Khalid Bin Sayeed
explains all the diverse factors which systematically heightened
or lowered tension between Hindus and Muslims of the
subcontinent. He has successfully informed us about how both
states grappled with their new situation both internally and
externally, how the task of formulating a republican
constitution, the holding of elections at the state or provincial
and national level was held. The author Khalid Sayeed, has
given us the thorough, well-argued, and thoughtful portrayal of
Pakistan's political history and evolution. He explained
everything magnificently but in my opinion the author should
not be biased. He should never judge the other party on the
basis of their own opinions. They should not be judgmental
while writing a book. At some points, the author hadn't
discussed the crucial choke points in history. The renowned
Two Nation Theory, Independence war of 1857 and Congress
ministries of 1937 are some issues which hadn't been discussed
in much detail. Overall, the book is up to the mark as the author
has discussed every aspect, starting from war of 1857,
independance, capabilities of government in coping with the
political and social change, Islam and other demands that led to
the development of Pakistan. He has used many references
which make us believe in his writing. Conclusion The author has
described historical events and the vision of political leaders to
evaluate the strength and weaknesses of Muslim movement of
Pakistan for a seperate homeland. Mr. Sayeed, instead of taking
sides tries to understand the depth and intensity of ideas that
were presented by Hindu and Muslim leaders. He has perfectly
explained the events of 1857 to 1948 that led to the creation of
Pakistan. In short it is a perfect book for the students of
modern history as it has a very unbiased approach in this
regard. On the other hand it also serves as the beacon of light
and courage for Pakistanis. The events that led to the creation
of Pakistan were much harder than the current problems of
Pakistan. This book also reminds us of the fact that what we
can achieve as a nation.