Muslim League: Founder, Leadership, and Evolution in India’s Political Landscape

Founding Muslim League: 1906 Political Alternative in British India

The All-India Muslim League was a political party founded in British India in 1906. It was founded as a political alternative to the Indian National Congress to serve the interests of Indian Muslims.

Birth of Muslim League: 1906 Conference and Renaming Proposal

• Formed in Lucknow: By 1901, the establishment of a national Muslim political party was regarded as a critical Movement. The initial step of its establishment was a conference in Lucknow in September 1906, attended by representatives from all around India.
• Simla deputation: In October 1906, the Simla Deputation reassessed the problem and resolved to establish the party’s aims on the occasion of the Educational Conference’s annual conference, which was to be held in Dhaka.
• Renaming: Meanwhile, Nawab Salimullah Khan produced a comprehensive proposal in which he proposed naming the party the All-India Muslim Confederacy.

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Early Year: Aga Khan III’s Leadership and Political Evolution

• Foundation: Sultan Muhammad Shah (Aga Khan III) was named the Muslim League’s first honorary president, though he did not attend the first session in Dhaka. Mohammed Ali Jinnah joined the League in 1913.
• Initial aim: The League was founded to train students for service in the British Raj, but it quickly grew into a political force.

League in Nationalist Struggle: Unity, Alliances, and Two-Nation Theory

The League had always advocated for unity in an independent India, but they were concerned that it would be ruled by Hindus, who made up the majority of the population.

• Allied with Congress: Following World War I (1914-18), the League allied up with Congress to campaign for Home Rule inside the British Empire.
• Jinnah’s 14 points: Furthermore, in the late 1920s and early 1930s, Jinnah compressed the ideas of Indian Muslims into 14 principles. These included ideas for a federal government and one-third of Muslim participation in the central government.
• Supports war involvement: Congress declined to approve this proclamation. While the Muslim League remained critical of British rule, they decided to support India’s involvement in the war to establish a better negotiating position for independence.
• Proponent of two-nation theory: In what became known as the “two-nation theory,” Jinnah began to advocate the establishment of a distinct Muslim state from lands that were then part of British India in 1940.

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Conclusion

The Muslim League’s goals were met four decades after its founding in Dhaka in 1906. The organization’s political leaders proposed a separate country to safeguard Muslim commercial interests. Furthermore, the concept of a distinct Pakistan state began to gain traction among Indian Muslims.

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