Published in 1986, ‘Facts are Facts’ by the late Wali Khan was an instant hit. ‘Facts are Facts’ is an attempt to contest text book versions of Pakistan’s history. In a bid to generate debate, the Viewpoint is serializing this text in its entirety
Although the Secretary of State for India wrote several letters to Willingdon asking him to refrain from holding elections, Willingdon was still insistent because he felt that the Congress lost all their grit. Their Civil Disobedience Movement had been a failure. In the strongest words he expressed that Gandhiji was a spent force. The reports submitted by his officials had convinced him that the communal tensions would be so strong, and so much hatred would have been aroused between the two communities that there would be no scope for a Congress victory. The only problem was the lack of a strong opposition to the Congress. On 9 September 1934, he wrote, "But alas! Our backers are a flabby crowd without any courage, while the Congress, however stupid their actions, are not afraid of fighting."
To fill this political vacuum, the Viceroy decided to create a Government party. On 24 September 1934, he wrote:
I have written to the Governors asking them to give a hint to the Ministers to help pro-Government candidates and also asked them, if opportunity offers, to see that good candidates are selected...we have to sit up here and say nothing except in private…on publicity we are doing the best we can.
Preparations For State Elections:
In 1936 Lord Willingdon's term as Viceroy ended. He was replaced by Lord Linlithgow. In London, the Secretary of State for India, Sir Samuel Hoare, was replaced by Lord Zetland. Together, these two gentlemen handled the Hindu- Muslim situation in such a manner that there was not the slightest likelihood of any reconciliation. His (Linlithgow's) philosophy was identical to that of Irwin. Elections fought on a communal basis would bring in a Communal Assembly. There was no possibility of any nationalist Indian becoming a member of this Assembly. Hindu and Muslim members were expected to look at secular issues through religion tinted glasses! To protect their political future they were expected to woo their electorate. Politics would now be steered by communalism rather than nationalism.
Regarding the present situation the Viceroy wrote that differences existed within the Congress Party. The relations between Gandhiji and Jawaharlal were strained. For this reason Gandhiji had summoned earlier a meeting in December although the Congress was not due to meet until April of next year. Gandhiji wanted a new Party President. There was however a difference of opinion about who should be the President. Gandhiji wanted Rajagopalachari while Jawaharlal wanted Abdul Ghaffar Khan.
When the Assembly elections were held, eight out of eleven States went to the Congress [see Appendix]; now the British were in serious trouble. The Indian nation had announced its decision in favour of the Congress. There was no doubt left that, when in accordance with the provisions of the 1935 Act, the Parliamentary elections were held the Indian people would vote for the Congress Government.
Province Muslim League Other Muslim
Reserved Seats Congress
Madras 11 17 159
Bombay 20 9 88
Bengal 40 77 50
United Provinces 27 37 134
Punjab 1 83 18
Bihar Nil 39 98
Central Provinces Nil 14 71
Assam 9 25 35
N.W. Frontier Provinces Nil *36 19
Orissa Nil 4 36
Sind Nil 36 7
Total 108 377 715
Position of seats for legislative assembly elections 1937
Source: ENLIST INDIA FOR FREEDOM by Edward Thompson, Victor Gollancs Ltd., London 1940 p. 24.
Reviewing the outcome of the elections, the British had no alternative other than preparing a strong alternative to the Congress. Glancing in all directions the British found three powerful forces that could be pitted against the Congress Party. The most loyal of the three was the group consisting of rulers of the 600 odd Princely States. These States could neither hold elections nor establish a national and democratic government. The second group that could hurt the Congress was of the scheduled castes. The British raised the slogan that the Congress was an organization of Brahmins and high-class Hindus and that Harijans were a separate race. Churchill estimated their members to be four crores. The third group was of the Muslims who were estimated to be ten crores.
Jawaharlal Nehru organized a group to oppose the Princely States which he called the States' People's Conference. The puppet rulers of the States realized that when the "real rulers" of the country could not stand up to the Congress, what chance did they have? The British had anyhow drained them of all power. There was not a single individual among these rulers with any self respect, or ego. On their part the British knew that they could squeeze nothing more out of these rulers. The Secretary of State for India, Amery, was so disillusioned by these Princes, Rajas and Nawabs that he wrote on 1 October 1943, "It has been a real mistake of ours in the past not to encourage Indian Princes to marry English wives for a succession of generations and so breed a more virile type of a native ruler." His implication was that this race of rulers should be allowed to become extinct.
Meanwhile, Gandhiji had solved the Harijan problem. His fast unto death left a deep impact. The Hindus told Ambedkar that if he was really interested in Harijans he should throw in his lot with Gandhiji. Ambedkar had no choice but to join hands with Gandhiji. Gandhiji broke his fast the very same day Ambedkar became his co-signatory on the Poona Pact. In this manner British lost their second means of support. Now their only hope was the Muslims.
After the departure of Lord Willingdon, Jinnah returned to India. The new Viceroy gave the following account of his meeting with Jinnah on 9 September 1937, "He took very strongly the view that we did not pay sufficient attention to the Muslims, that there was the real risk of the Muslims being driven into the arms of the Congress."
He further stated that Jinnah was suspicious about his meeting with Gandhiji, "He [Jinnah] suggested that the interview [with Gandhiji] was largely responsible for the lifting of the ban on Abdul Ghaffar Khan's return to the Frontier Provinces and the fall of the Abdul Qayum Ministry."
In other words, Jinnah was flattering the British to the extent of saying that if his own Muslim brother was to align with the Congress, he would still align with the British. The interesting fact was that Sir Sahibzada Abdul Qayum was not even a member of the Muslim League! Since this party did not exist in the Frontier Province, the Assembly did not have a single Muslim League member. Jinnah's feeling upset at the fall of the Qayum Government was due to the fact that he was a government agent. His contempt for democratic institutions was proven by the fact that he did not attach any importance to the event of the fall of the Qayum Government as a result of a vote of no-confidence. This matter became apparent at the next meeting. On 19 August 1938, the Viceroy wrote, "He [Jinnah] ended up with the suggestion that we should keep the centre as it is now. That we should make friends with the Muslims by protecting them in the Congress provinces, and if we did that, the Muslims would protect us in the centre."
Such aggressive horse trading! The British knew that General Elections would result in a Congress victory. Therefore they were scratching around to find a way of canceling them. Jinnah did not see any harm in turning this predicament into a vehicle for his own political progress. At any cost, he would rather see the power remaining with the British than be handed over to the Indians.
(To be continued)
The book in PDF form can be accessed at: http://www.awaminationalparty.org/books/factsarefacts.pdf