|| Jai Sri Gurudev||

BGS WORLD SCHOOL 2024-25

Mahalakshmipuram, Bangalore-86
NOTES (CLASS WORK)
Grade X Subject: History & Civics Date: 13-06-2024
Chapter 5: The Muslim League
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I. Short Answer Questions:

Question 1
Why did the British treat the Muslims harshly immediately after the uprising of 1857?
Why did the British attitude towards the Muslims change in the later part of the 19th
century?

Answer
The British established their supremacy in India after dethroning the Mughal rulers.
Therefore, the Muslims became bitter enemies of the British. They participated in the
Wahabi Movement and also took part in the uprising of 1857. This made the British view
them with suspicion. The British government consciously discriminated against the
Muslims, holding them responsible for the uprising of 1857.

After the 1870s, the British government changed its attitude and followed the policy of
appeasing the Muslims in order to undermine the National Movement. They sowed the
seeds of dissension between the Hindus and the Muslims and encouraged separatist and
communal tendencies.

Question 2
How did the Hindi-Urdu controversy become an important factor in the formation of the
Muslim League?

Answer
In the United Provinces, Urdu was the court language and all the petitions to the offices
and courts were submitted in Urdu. Some sections of the society protested against this
practice. On April 8, 1900, the Government instructed that all petitions were to be
submitted in Hindi, in Devanagari script, and the court summons and official
announcements to be issued in Hindi as well as in Urdu. The Muslims resented this. The
controversy continued for months and relations between the communities became worse.
 || Jai Sri Gurudev||

Question 3
How did the relative economic backwardness of the Muslims foster communal feelings
in India?

Answer
The communal and separatist trend of thinking grew among the Muslims to some extent
because of their relative backwardness in education, trade and industry.

1. The upper class Muslims were conservative and hostile to modern education. Because of
this, the number of Muslims educated in western system of education remained small.
2. The British government in India had consciously discriminated against the Muslims after
1858, holding them responsible for the uprising of 1857. They were discriminated in the
recruitment to civil and military services.
3. The Muslim community was not much involved in the growth of any organised industry.
Here too they lagged behind.
4. Some members of the Muslim community did not keep up with the modern trends in
social and cultural spheres. Many Hindus, on the other hand, adopted the Western system
of education. Since modern education was essential for entry into government service,
the Muslims had the disadvantage in this respect.

In these circumstances, it was quite easy for the British officials to incite the Muslims
against the Hindus.

Question 4
What promises were made by Lord Minto to the Muslim deputation led by Agha Khan in
1906? Why did the British imperialists encourage the formation of the Muslim League?

Answer
The Viceroy, Lord Minto received the deputation led by Agha Khan and expressed his
sympathy with their aspirations. He assured them that their political rights and interests
as a community would be safeguarded.
The British welcomed the formation of the Muslim League. They supported the League
to provide an opposition to the Congress. They won initially the support of the Muslims
by asserting that the Muslim interests were different from those of the Hindus. Thus, the
policies of the Muslim League to some extent weakened nationalist sentiments.
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Question 5
What is meant by Separate (Communal) Electorates?

Answer
Separate electorates means the system of election to legislatures which divides voters on
the basis of religion, caste or occupation. The Morley-Minto Reforms of 1909 provided
separate electorates for Muslim whereby seats were reserved for the Muslims from where
Muslims could vote for the Muslim candidates.

Question 6
What was the Lucknow Pact?

Answer
The joint scheme of political reforms agreed to by both the Congress and the Muslim
League in 1916 is known as the Lucknow Pact.

II. Structured Questions:

Question 1
The growth of communalism in India was encouraged by the British authorities as well
as certain trends in Indian society. In the light of this observation, explain:
(a) The Divide and Rule Policy of the British.
(b) The writings and speeches of the Assertive Nationalists.

(c) The erroneous interpretation of Indian History.

Answer
(a) The British saw the unity between the Hindus and the Muslims as a threat to them.
Thus, to check the growth of a united national feeling in India and to encourage
communal and separatist tendencies in Indian politics, they decided to follow the policy
of 'Divide and Rule'. They did so in the following manner:

1. In 1871, Lord Mayo's government adopted a resolution which made Urdu the medium of
instruction for Muslims in primary and secondary schools and increased government aid
to educational institutions run by the Muslims.
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2. They tried to create hatred among the Hindus and the Muslims by portraying Muslim
rulers as plunderers, and Hindu rulers as cruel kings to their Muslim subjects.
3. They tried to justify the Partition of Bengal by convincing 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.
4. They tried to utilise the caste structure to turn the non-brahmins and the lower castes
against high castes.
5. They treated Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs as separate communities and accepted their
communal leaders as authentic representatives of all their co-religionists.

They tried to spread communal hatred through the Press, posters, literature and public
platform.
(b) The assertive nationalists played an important role in the national movement. But
some of their actions marked a step back in respect of the growth of national unity.

1. The speeches and actions of some of the assertive nationalists annoyed some sections of
Indians.
2. For example, the propagation of Shivaji and Ganapati festivals by Tilak, Aurobindo
Ghosh's concept of India as mother and nationalism as religion and the initiation of the
Anti-Partition agitation with dips in the Ganga did not appeal to some of the Muslims.

(c) The manner in which Indian history was interpreted in those days contributed to the
growth of communal thinking among the Hindus and the Muslims.

1. Some British and communal historians divided Indian history into the Hindu and the
Muslim periods. The rule of Turks, Afghans and Mughals was called the Muslim rule,
where the rulers were said to be the followers of Islam and their subjects, the followers
of other religions. In the so-called Hindu period, Muslim rulers were dubbed as foreign
invaders who had settled in India. They portrayed Rana Pratap and Shivaji as national
heroes and Akbar and Aurangzeb as foreigners and infused communal feelings.
2. The British and communal historians ignored the notion of a composite culture in India
and tried to create a rift between the two communities. They failed to interpret that the
diversity was primarily class-wise and region-wise and not religion-wise.
3. Some communal historians highlighted the myth that Indian society and culture had
reached great heights during the ancient period but was declining during the medieval
period which was dominated by Mughal rulers. They did not give much importance to
the contribution of the medieval period to the development of Indian economy, religion,
art, literature, culture and society.
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4. The communal bias was propagated through poetry, drama, novels, short stories,
newspapers, etc.

Question 2
With reference to the Lucknow Pact, answer the following questions:

(a) Mention any three factors that led to the signing of the Lucknow Pact in 1916.

(b) Mention any three clauses of the Pact.

(c) Why was the signing of the Lucknow Pact an important event towards the growth of
unity in India?

Answer
(a) Three factors that led to the signing of the Lucknow Pact in 1916 were-

1. National Events — There were important national events that changed the attitude of the
Muslim League.
i. Firstly, the Partition of Bengal was cancelled.
ii. Secondly, nationalist Muslims like Abul Kalam Azad and the All Brothers - Maulana
Mohammad Ali and Shaukat Ali — made use of this opportunity to spread nationalist
ideas among the Muslims for mobilising public opinion in favour of self-government.
iii. Thirdly, Tilak was released from jail in 1914, after six years.
iv. Finally, under the 'Seditious Meetings Act,' some prominent Muslim leaders were
arrested. This brought the Muslim League and the Congress closer.
2. Changes in the Objectives of the Muslim League — In the beginning the League had
support for the British Government as one of its objectives.
i. In 1913, the League had amended its Constitution to include, 'a system of self-
government under the aegis of the British Crown' as the ideal of the Muslim League.
Therefore, it agreed with the Congress to have a political goal for India.
ii. The unity of interests and objectives opened the doors for renewed cooperation between
the Congress and the Muslim League.
iii. Annie Besant and Bal Gangadhar Tilak too played a significant role in bringing the two
organisations together.
3. A Compromise Between the Two Factions of the Congress — Annie Besant tried to
reunite the two wings of the Congress — the Early Nationalists and the Assertive
Nationalists. Tilak rejoined the Congress in 1916 and played a major role in resolving
differences between the Congress and the League.
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(b) Three clauses of the Lucknow Pact are as follows-

1. Abolition of the India Council — The India Council of the Secretary of State, operating
from England, should be abolished. The Secretary of State for India was to be assisted by
two Under-Secretaries, of whom one should be an Indian.
2. Minorities in Elected Bodies — The minorities should have adequate separate
representation in elected bodies.
3. Limitation of the Imperial Legislature — Defence, foreign affairs and political
relations of India, i.e., declaration of war, or signing of peace treaties, were excluded from
the control of the Imperial Legislature.

(c) The signing of the Lucknow Pact was an important event towards the growth of unity
in India because of the following reasons-

1. Hindu-Muslim Unity — The joint scheme symbolised Hindu-Muslim unity. Both the
communities agreed to compromise in some areas for the common good. The Congress
compromised on its secular character by accepting the scheme of separate electorates for
Muslims. The Muslim League accepted the principles of election and the majority rule.
As a result of this pact, the Hindus and the Muslims worked together from 1916 to 1922.
2. Unity Within the Congress — The Lucknow Session and the signing of the Lucknow
Pact brought about unity between the Assertive Nationalists and the Early Nationalists.
After the Surat Session of 1907, both wings of the Congress were moving in different
directions. They came together in 1916 and as a result, the Congress was strengthened.

III. Picture Study:

Question 1
Identify the person in the picture and answer the following questions:
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(a) What were his views regarding Hindu-Muslim unity?

(b) What role did he play in the formation of the Muslim League?

Answer
The person shown in the picture is Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan.

(a) His views regarding Hindu-Muslim unity were as follows:

1. He regarded Hindus and Muslims to be one Quam (nation).

2. He founded the Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College at Aligarh which had both Hindu
and Muslim patrons.
3. However, under the influence of the British Principal of Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental
College, in the 1880s, he gave up his earlier views and declared that the political interests
of Hindus and Muslims were different.
4. When the Indian National Congress was founded, Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan opposed it.
5. He founded the United Indian Patriotic Association in 1888 mainly with a view to oppose
the Congress.
6. In this effort, he was supported by Mr. Beck, the British Principal of Mohammedan
Anglo-Oriental (MAO) College (Aligarh). Beck's idea was that Anglo-Muslim unity was
possible, but Hindu-Muslim unity was impossible.
7. It was said that Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan believed that since the Hindus formed the
majority of the Indian population, they would dominate the Muslims in case of a
withdrawal of the British rule.
8. He felt that the continuance of British rule was a "guarantee for the welfare and progress
of the community."
9. Therefore, he declared that if the educated Muslims support the British, the latter would
reward them with government jobs and other special favours.

(b) Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan founded the Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College at
Aligarh which had both Hindu and Muslim patrons.

1. Sir Sayyid Ahmad believed that since the Hindus formed the majority of the Indian
population, they would dominate the Muslims in case of a withdrawal of the British rule.
2. He felt if he supported British, they would secure their rights and be rewarded with
government jobs and other special favors.
3. Theodore Beck was invited by Sir Sayyid Ahmed Khan to serve as the Principal of the
Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College in Aligarh.
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4. He identified with the Indian Muslims and made a systematic effort to alienate them from
the Hindus.
5. His objective was to protect the political rights of the Muslims and to strengthen the
British rule in India.
6. His idea was that Anglo Muslim unity was possible, but Hindu-Muslim unity was
impossible.
7. This paved the way for the formation of the Muslim League.