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All-India Muslim League
The All–India Muslim League, was a historic political party established in the early years of the 20th century in the British Indian Empire. Its strong advocacy for the establishment of a separate Muslim-majority nation-state, Pakistan, successfully led to the partition of India in 1947 by the British Empire. Early genesis of the party are founded as an aftermath of literary movement led by Syed Ahmad Khan, who also helped in founding the party. In 1906, the party was officially found at the educational conference held in Dhaka to protest against the integration of Bengal in 1905.Its original political goal was to define and advance the Indian Muslim's civil rights and to provide protection to upper and gentry class of Indian Muslims. From 1906–30s, the party worked on its organizational structure, its credibility in all over the Muslim communities of British Indian Empire, and lacked as a mass organisation but represented the landed and commercial Muslim interests of the United Provinces (today's Uttar Pradesh).
Following in the 1930s, the idea of separate nation-state and influential philosopher Sir Iqbal's vision of uniting the four provinces in North-West British India further support the rational of Two-nation theory. Constitutional struggle of Jinnah and political struggle of founding fathers, the Muslim League played a decisive role in the World War II in 1940s and as the driving force behind the division of India along religious lines and the creation of Pakistan as a Muslim state in 1947. The events leading the World War II, the Congress effective protest against the United Kingdom unilaterally involving India in the war without consulting with the Indian people; the Muslim League went on to support the British war efforts, which was allowed to actively propagandise against the Congress with the cry of. "Islam in Danger".
After the partition and subsequent establishment of Pakistan, the Muslim League continued as a minor party in India where it was often part of the government. In Bangladesh, the Muslim League was revived in 1976 but it was reduced, rendering it insignificant in the political arena. In Pakistan, the Muslim League devolved into Pakistan Muslim League led by Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan but suffered with ill-fate following the military intervention in 1958. One of its faction remained to supportive of President Ayub Khan until 1962 when the all factions decided to reform into the Pakistan Muslim League led by Nurul Amin supporting Fatima Jinnah in the presidential elections in 1965. Furthermore, it was the only party to have receives votes from both East and West Pakistan during the elections held in 1970. During the successive periods of Pakistan, the Muslim League continued to be a ruling party in the different periods of Pakistan.
Since 1985, the Pakistan Muslim League split into various factions; all factions which had little ideological connection with the original Muslim League. However, the PML(N) remains to be influential faction than others, and has been in power during the elections held in 1990 and in the 1997. As of current of 2013 elections, the PML(N) remains to be a ruling party of Pakistan.
Foundation
Sir Syed Ahmad Khan (1817–98) helped form the All-India Muslim League (AIML). His educational proposals and political activism inspired Muslim elites to support the AIML. Sir Syed Ahmad Khan originally founded the All India Muhammadan Educational Conference in 1886 to uplift Western education, especially science and literature, among India's Muslims. The conference, in addition to generating funds for Ahmad Khan's Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College, motivated Muslim elites to propose expansion of educational uplift elsewhere, known as the Aligarh Movement. In turn this new awareness of Muslim needs helped stimulate a political consciousness among Muslim elites that went on to form the AIML.
The formation of a Muslim political party on national level was seen as essential by 1901. The first stage of its formation was the meeting held at Lucknow in September 1906, with participation of representatives from all over India. The decision for re-consideration to form the all Indian Muslim political party was taken and further proceedings were adjourned until the next meeting of All India Muhammadan Educational Conference. The Simla Deputation reconsidered the issue in October 1906 and decided to frame the objectives of the party on the occasion of the annual meeting of Educational Conference; that was later, scheduled to be held at Dhaka. Meanwhile Nawab Salimullah Khan published a detailed scheme through which he suggested the party to be named All India Muslim Confederacy. Pursuant upon the decisions taken earlier in Lukhnow meeting and later in Simla; the annual meeting of All India Muhammadan Educational Conference was held at Dhaka that continued from 27 December, until 30 December 1906. that was headed by both Nawab Waqar-ul-Mulk and Nawab Muhasan-ul-Mulk (the Secretary of the Muhammaden Educational Conference); in which he explained its objectives and stressed the unity of the Muslims under the banner of an association. It was formally proposed by Nawab Salimullah Khan and supported by Hakim Ajmal Khan, Maulana Muhammed Ali Jauhar, Zafar Ali Khan, Syed Nabiullah Bar at Law Lucknow and Syed Zahur Ahmad an eminent lawyer and several others. The Founding meeting was hosted by Nawab Sir Khwaja Salimullah and attended by three thousand delegates, while Ameer Ali, Sir Mian Muhammad Shafi were also the founding fathers who attended this meeting. The name "All India Muslim League" was proposed by Sir Agha Khan III who was appointed its first president. The League's constitution was framed in 1907 in Karachi.
Communalism grows
Politically there was a degree of unity between Muslim and Hindu leaders after the World War I, as typified by the Khilafat Movement. The relationships cooled sharply after 1922, as communalism grew rapidly forcing the two groups of leaders apart. Major riots broke out in numerous cities, including 91 in U.P. alone. At the leadership level, the proportion of Muslims among delegates to Congress fell sharply, from 11% in 1921 to under 4% in 1923.
Muhammad Ali Jinnah became disillusioned with politics after the failure of his attempt to form a Hindu-Muslim alliance, and he spent most of the 1920s in Britain. The leadership of the League was taken over by, Sir Muhammad Iqbal, who in 1930 first put forward the demand for a separate Muslim state in India. The "Two-Nation Theory", the belief that Hindus and Muslims were two different nations who could not live in one country, gained popularity among Muslims. The two-state solution was rejected by the Congress leaders, who favoured a united India based on composite national identity. Congress at all times rejected "communalism"—that is, basing politics on religious identity. Iqbal's policy of uniting the North-West Frontier Province, Baluchistan, Punjab, and Sindh into a new Muslim majority state united the many factions of the League.
The League rejected the Committee report (the Nehru Report), arguing that it gave too little representation (only one quarter) to Muslims, established Devanagari as the official language of the colony, and demanded that India turn into a de facto unitary state, with residuary powers resting at the center – the League had demanded at least one-third representation in the legislature and sizeable autonomy for the Muslim provinces. Jinnah reported a "parting of the ways" after his requests for minor amendments to the proposal were denied outright, and relations between the Congress and the League began to sour.
The Muslim League successfully mobilised the religious community in the United Provinces in the late 1930s. Jinnah worked closely with local politicians. However, there was a lack of uniform political voice by the League during the 1938–1939 Madhe Sahaba riots of Lucknow.
Early years
Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah(Aga Khan III) was appointed the first Honorary President of the Muslim League. The headquarters were established at Lucknow. There were also six vice-presidents, a secretary and two joint secretaries initially appointed for a three-years term, proportionately from different provinces. The principles of the League were espoused in the "Green Book," which included the organisation's constitution, written by Maulana Mohammad Ali. Its goals at this stage did not include establishing an independent Muslim state, but rather concentrated on protecting Muslim liberties and rights, promoting understanding between the Muslim community and other Indians, educating the Muslim and Indian community at large on the actions of the government, and discouraging violence.
Aga Khan III's (1877–1957) played a leading role in founding AIML; his goal was the advancement of Muslim agendas and protection of Muslim rights in India. He shared Ahmad Khan's belief that Muslims should first build up their social capital through advanced education before engaging in politics. Agha Khan boldly told the British Raj that Muslims must be considered a separate nation within India. Even after he resigned as president of the AIML in 1912, he still exerted major influence on its policies and agendas in 1913 Mohammed Ali Jinnah joined the Muslim league.
Establishment of All India Muslim League
On December 30 1906, the annual meeting of Muhammadan Educational Conference was held at Dhaka under the chairmanship of Nawab Viqar-ul-Mulk. Almost 3,000 delegates attended the session making it the largest-ever representative gathering of Muslim India. For the first time the conference lifted its ban on political discussion, when Nawab Salim Ullah Khan presented a proposal for establish a political party to safeguard the interests of the Muslims; the All India Muslim League.
Three factors had kept Muslims away from the Congress, Sir Syed’s advice to the Muslims to give it a wide berth, Hindu agitation against the partition of Bengal and the Hindu religious revivalism’s hostility towards the Muslims. The Muslims remained loyal to Sir Syed’s advice but events were quickly changing the Indian scene and politics were being thrust on all sections of the population.
But the main motivating factor was that the Muslims’ intellectual class wanted representation; the masses needed a platform on which to unite. It was the dissemination of western thought by John Locke, Milton and Thomas Paine, etc. at the M. A. O. College that initiated the emergence of Muslim nationalism.
The headquarters of the All India Muslim League was established in Lucknow, and Sir Aga Khan was elected as its first president. Also elected were six vice-presidents, a secretary and two joint secretaries for a term of three years. The initial membership was 400, with members hailing proportionately from all provinces. Maulana Muhammad Ali Jouhar wrote the constitution of the League, known as the “Green Book”. Branches were also setup in other provinces. Syed Ameer Ali established a branch of the League in London in 1908, supporting the same objectives.
Following were the objectives of the Muslim League:
To inculcate among Muslims a feeling of loyalty to the government and to disabuse their minds of misunderstandings and misconceptions of its actions and intentions.
To protect and advance the political rights and interests of the Muslims of India and to represent their needs and aspirations to the government from time to time.
To prevent the growth of ill will between Muslims and other nationalities without compromising to it’s own purposes.
Many Hindu historians and several British writers have alleged that the Muslim League was founded at official instigation. They argue that it was Lord Minto who inspired the establishment of a Muslim organization so as to divide the Congress and to minimize the strength of the Indian Freedom Movement. But these statements are not supported by evidence. Contrary to this, the widely accepted view is that the Muslim League was basically established to protect and advance the Muslim interests and to combat the growing influence of the Indian National Congress.
Intellectual support and a cadre of young activists emerged from Aligarh Muslim Universityﾧ. Hasan reports that in the early 20th century, this Muslim institution, designed to prepare students for service to the British Rajﾧ, exploded into political activity. Until 1939, the faculty and students supported an all-India nationalist movement. After 1939, however, sentiment shifted dramatically toward a Muslim separatist movement, as students and faculty mobilised behind Jinnah and the Muslim League.

Establishment of All India Muslim League [1906]
With the establishment of All India Muslim League with it’s headquarters at Lucknow, it elected Sir Aga Khan as it’s President. It also elected six vice presidents, a secretary and two joint secretaries for a term of three years. It’s initial membership was four hundred in fixed proportions of the provinces. The constitution of the League known as the "Green Book" was written by Maulana Muhammad Ali Johar. It’s branches were also setup in other provinces. Syed Ameer Ali established a branch of the League in London in 1908, supporting the same objectives.
The Muslim League was established with the following objectives:
1. To inculcate among Muslims a feeling of loyalty to the Government and to disabuse their minds of mis-understandings and misconceptions out of it’s actions and intentions.
2. To protect and advance the political rights and interests of the Muslims of India and to represent to the Government from time to time, their needs and aspirations.
3. To prevent the growth of ill-will between Muslims and other nationalities without prejudice to it’s own purposes.
Many Hindu historians and several British writers have alleged that the Muslim League was founded at official instigation. They argue that Lord Minto who inspired the establishment of a Muslim organization so as to break the Congress and to minimize the strength of Indian Freedom movement. But these statements are not supported by evidence. Contrary to this, the widely accepted view is that the Muslim League was basically established to protect and advance the Muslim interests and to combat the growing influence of the Indian National Congress.
On December 30, 1906, the annual meeting of Mohammadan Educational Conference was held at Dacca under the chairmanship of Nawab Viqar ul Mulk. Almost three thousand delegates attended the session making it the most representative ever gathering of Muslim India. For the first time the conference lifted it’s ban on political discussion, when Nawab Salim ullah Khan presented a proposal to establish a political party to safeguard the interests of the Muslims - All India Muslim League.
So far three factors had kept the Muslims away from the Congress - Sir Syed’s advice to the Muslims to give it a wide berth, the Hindu agitation against the partition of Bengal and the Hindu religious revivalism’s hostility towards the Muslims. The Muslims remained loyal to Sir Syed’s advice but events were fast changing the Indian scene and politics was being thrust on all sections of the population.
Besides these, the motivating factors were that the Muslim intellectual class wanted representation; the masses needed to unite at one platform and it was through the dissemination of western thought of John Locke, Milton, Thomas Paine, etc. at the MAO College that initiated the emergence of Muslim nationalism
Foundation of All-India Muslim League
The year 1324/1906 marks the cleavage and culmination of Muslim politics in the subcontinent, when the Aga Khan III led the Muslim delegation and met Lord Minto (1845-1914), the Viceroy of India from 1905, at Simla to demand the political rights of the Muslims of India. Simla was 1170 miles away from Calcutta, in the hills of northern India, above Delhi. It was the Anglo-Indian Olympus, where the British had been coming every summer since 1860, and by 1906 there were more than 1400 European dwellings, built on a series of ridges with the native town. At the centre of this was the Viceregal Lodge, five storeys high, furnished by Maples of Tottenham Court Road.
The deputation to the Viceroy consisted of the most influential leaders, such as Mohsin al-Mulk, Hakim Ajmal Khan, Sir Ali Imam, Sir Muzammallah Khan, Sir Rafiquddin Ahmad, Sir Muhammad Shafi, Sir Abdul Rahim, Sir Salimullah, Justice Shah Din, etc. Syed Razi Waste writes in "Lord Minto and the Indian Nationalist Movement 1905-1910" (Lahore, 1976, pp. 69-70) that, "Minto received the Muslim Deputation on October 1, 1906. Thirty-five prominent Muslim leaders from all over India gathered in the Ball Room of the Viceregal Lodge at Simla. Their leader was a young man of twenty-nine years, H.H. Aga Sir Sultan Mohamed Shah Aga Khan from Bombay, who besides being the head of the rich Ismaili sect of Muslims had close and friendly relations with prominent British people." Accordingly, a memorandum was submitted to the Viceroy, insisting that the position accorded to the Muslim community in any kind of representation direct or indirect, and all other ways affecting their status should be commensurate not merely with their numerical strength but also with their political importance. Lord Minto gave them a patient hearing, assuring that their political rights and interests as a community will be safeguarded in any administrative organisation. The Aga Khan realized that the Muslims should not keep themselves aloof from politics because the Congress was already proving incapable in representing the Indian Muslims. At length, the demands of separate electorate and weightage in number in representation to all elected bodies were accepted by the Viceroy Lord Minto, and incorporated in the Minto-Morley Reforms of 1909.
On October 24, 1906, the Aga Khan wrote a letter to Mohsin al-Mulk regarding a need to form a Muslim organisation what had been achieved at Simla. The letter reads: "It may well be that provincial associations should be formed with the aim of safeguarding the political interests of Muslims in various portions of India and similarly some central organisation for the whole." In the meantime, The All-India Muslim Educational Conference met at Dacca on December 30, 1906 and the letter of the Aga Khan was circulated among the delegates. The Conference unanimously resolved that a political association styled as the All-India Muslim League be formed to promote among the Muslims the loyalty to the British government, to protect and advance the political rights and interests of Muslims, and to prevent the rise among Muslims of India of any feeling of hostility towards other communities. The Aga Khan III was thus elected permanent President of the All-India Muslim League and Sayed Hussain Bilgrami was made the Honorary Secretary. M. Abdul Aziz writes in "The Crescent in the Land of the Rising Sun" (London, 1941, p. 140) that, "It is well known that His Highness the Aga Khan was the first President of The All-India Moslem League and the way in which he took a keen and sympathetic interest in the organisation and development of the League, is shown from his letter of appreciation in his capacity as its first President." According to "The Foundations of Pakistan" (ed. by Sayed Sharifuddin Pirzada, Dacca, 1969, 1st vol., p. 33), "In tracing the origins of Pakistan, some commentators give decisive importance to the separate electorates secured by the Muslim Deputation which was received by the Viceroy Lord Minto at Simla on Ocotber 1, 1906. The event has been described in the Diary of Lady Minto as `an epoch in Indian history.'" According to "The Encyclopaedia Americana" (U.S.A., 1980, 1st vol., p. 327), "The delegation established the Muslim League, which carried the seeds of Muslim separation and eventual creation of Pakistan." Aziz Ahmed also writes in "Islamic Modernism in India and Pakistan" (London, 1967, p. 66) that, "One of the chief promoters of this design of Muslim separatism in subcontinent was the Agha Khan."
At the sixth annual session of Muslim League held on March 22-23, 1913 at Lucknow, the Aga Khan resigned from the presidency. He hinted a numerous reasons, but did not propose to cut himself away from the League. "Resignation" he said, "frees me from that necessarily judicial character that attaches to the presidency. The League does not need a leader but leaders." According to "Encyclopaedia of Asian History" (ed. Ainslie T. Embree, London, 1988, 1st vol., p. 47), "The Ismaili leader, Agha Khan, who presided over the League's destiny from 1906 to 1913, and resigned on November 3, 1913." On the seventh session of the League at Agra, held on December 30-31, 1913, Sayed Wazir Hasan (1874-1947), the Secretary of League from 1912 to 1929, announced the resignation of the Aga Khan in the meeting, expressing, according to the "Foundations of Pakistan" (Dacca, 1969, 1st vol., p. 323) that, "it would be a calamity for Muslims when His Highness resigned." Sir Ibrahim Rahimtullah appealed to the Aga Khan not to place his resignation in their hands today and to continue as President till the rules of the League were altered. The Aga Khan said that he would remain President for the time suggested. He said also that in no case, it would severe his connection with the League as Vice-President. In a meeting of the Council of the League, held on February 25, 1914, the Aga Khan was declared the Vice-President of Muslim League, and Sir Ali Muhammad Khan (1879-1931), the Raja of Mahmudabad was elected as the second President of Muslim League in the eight session at Bombay on December 30, 1915.
Muslim League
Muslim League, political organization of India and Pakistan, founded 1906 as the All-India Muslim League by Aga Khan III. Its original purpose was to safeguard the political rights of Muslims in India. An early leader in the League, Muhammad Iqbal, was one of the first to propose (1930) the creation of a separate Muslim India.
By 1940, under the leadership of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, it had gained such power that, for the first time, it demanded the establishment of a Muslim state (Pakistan), despite the opposition of the Indian National Congress. During World War II the Congress was banned, but the League, which supported the British war effort, was allowed to function and gained strength. It won nearly all of the Muslim vote in the elections of 1946. The following year saw the division of the Indian subcontinent and the Muslim League became the major political party of newly formed Pakistan. By 1953, however, dissensions within the League had led to the formation of several different political parties.
Between 1958 and 1962, while martial law was in force under Muhammad Ayub Khan, the League was officially defunct. Later, the League reformed into two separate factions: the Convention Muslim League (under Ayub) and the Council Muslim League. This latter group joined a united front with other political parties in 1967 in opposition to the group led by Ayub. The Convention Muslim League ceased to exist when Ayub Khan resigned in 1969. The Council Muslim League, which had brought about the founding of Pakistan, was virtually eliminated from the political scene in the elections of 1970.
Since the lifting of restrictions on political parties in 1985 a number of parties have used the name Pakistan Muslim League, but they have little real connection with the original Muslim League. The Muslim League survived as a minor party in India after partition, and since 1988 has splintered into several groups, the most important of which is the Indian Union Muslim League.
Muslim League
Muslim League, original name All India Muslim League, political group that led the movement calling for a separate Muslim nation to be created at the time of the partition of British India (1947). The Muslim League was founded in 1906 to safeguard the rights of Indian Muslims. At first the league was encouraged by the British and was generally favourable to their rule, but the organization adopted self-government for India as its goal in 1913. For several decades the league and its leaders, notably Mohammed Ali Jinnah, called for Hindu-Muslim unity in a united and independent India. It was not until 1940 that the league called for the formation of a Muslim state that would be separate from the projected independent country of India. The league wanted a separate nation for India’s Muslims because it feared that an independent India would be dominated by Hindus.
Muslim League: 1906
Objectives Of The Muslim League:
The objectives of the Muslim League were as under:
i) To promote among the Muslims of India the feelings of loyalty to the British government and to remove misconception. ii) To promote and advance the political rights and interests of the Muslims of India and to respectfully represent the needs and requirements to the government. iii) To prevent the rise among the Muslims of India any feeling of hostility towards other communities without prejudice to the other aforementioned objectives of the Muslim League.
Services Of The Muslim League From 1906-1913:
After its inception in 1906, the Muslim League became more and more representative and influential with each passing year. Nawab Viqar-ul-Malik and Mian Mohammad Shafi gave this political party purpose and direction in its early years of its inception. Then Jinnah in 10913 injected a new vigour to this Muslim political organization.
During the period from 1906 to 1913 Muslim League got itself established as a Muslim political organization. Muslims joined the League and forged unity among their ranks. The annulment of the partition of Bengal provided another opportunity to the Muslims to join the Muslim League.
The annulment of the partition of Bengal surprised the Muslims and they lost their faith in the British government. Consequently Muslim League in its annual session held in Lucknow in 913 adopted a new strategy to achieve the system of self-government through constitutional means and cooperation with other communities.
Conclusion:
Many Hindu historians and several British writers have alleged that the Muslim League was founded at official instigation. They argue that it was Lord Minto who inspired the establishment of a Muslim organization so as to divide the Congress and to minimize the strength of the Indian Freedom Movement. But these statements are not supported by evidence. Contrary to this, the widely accepted view is that the Muslim League was basically established to protect and advance the Muslim interests and to combat the growing influence of the Indian National Congress.
Introduction:As a result of the Aligarh Movement the Muslims of the Sub-Continent acquired political awakening and started thinking in terms of a nation. As a separate nation they developed their own distinct aspirations. However, Indian National Congress failed to come up to the expectations of the Muslims because it protected Hindu interest at the cost of all considerations. Thus, the Muslims felt the need of the political party which could safeguard their interests.
Factors Leading The Formation Of Muslim League:Following were the main factors which led to the formations of Muslim League:
i) The anti-Muslim attitude shown by the Hindus during the Hindi-Urdu controversy convinced the Muslims that they could not develop just working relationship with the Hindus. ii) The Indian National Congress failed to protect the rights of the Muslim community. The pro-Hindu attitude of the Congress totally disillusioned the Muslims. iii) Frequent Hindu-Muslim riots developed a sense of Muslim nationalism among the Muslims. iv) The Hindus reacted violently towards the Partition of Bengal. The anti-Muslim attitude convinced the Muslims that the Hindus were not interested in their welfare.
v) The success of the Simla Deputation in October, 1906, encouraged the Muslim leaders that they could forge unity among their ranks and protect their political and constitutional rights. vi) Mr. Morley the new Liberal Prime Minister of England promised to introduce constitutional reforms in India. As a result, Muslim leaders decided to establish a party which might protect their rights.
Formation Of Muslim League:
After the successful meeting of Simla deputation, the annual meeting of the Muhammadan Educational conference was held at Decca on 30th December, 1906. After the session, the Muslim leaders approved a resolution of Salim Ullah which proposed the formation of a political organization for the Muslims named as All-India Muslim League. Mohammad Ali Johar, Hakim Ajmal Khan, Maulana Zafar Ali supported the resolution.
The resolution declared that:
"Resolved that the meeting composed of the Muslim leaders from all parts of the country form an organization styled as
All-India Organization/Muslim League for the furtherance of the following objectives".