Creation of Pakistan (1940–1947)
The seven years between the Lahore Resolution (23 March 1940) and the Independence Day (14 August 1947) witnessed the most intense political negotiations in modern South Asian history. They produced the world's first state founded explicitly on a religious-national identity: Pakistan.
The resolution moved by A. K. Fazlul Haq at the Muslim League's 27th session in Lahore on 23 March 1940, demanding that "areas in which the Muslims are numerically in a majority" be grouped into "Independent States". It became the constitutional charter of the Pakistan demand and is commemorated annually as Pakistan Day.
Jinnah, the Quaid-i-Azam
Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah (1876–1948) transformed the Muslim League from a debating society into a mass political party between 1934 (when he assumed permanent leadership) and 1947. His fourteen points (1929) had earlier rejected the Nehru Report (1928); after 1937, when the Congress refused to share power with the League in the provinces despite the Government of India Act 1935 election results, Jinnah moved decisively toward separation.
The fourteen-fold growth of the League
Between the 1937 provincial elections (which the League fought badly) and the 1945–46 elections (which it swept among Muslim seats), three forces propelled the League:
- Congress provincial ministries (1937–39) — perceived Hindu majoritarianism.
- Khaksar, Khilafat-Khaksar suppression and the Day of Deliverance (22 Dec 1939) when Congress ministries resigned.
- The Lahore Resolution (1940) as a coherent goal.
Wartime missions
| Mission / Plan | Year | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| August Offer (Linlithgow) | 1940 | Promised post-war dominion; rejected |
| Cripps Mission | 1942 | Dominion + secession after war; rejected by both Congress and League |
| Gandhi–Jinnah Talks | 1944 | 14 days at Mumbai; failed over definition of "Muslim nation" |
| Simla Conference (Wavell) | 1945 | Failed: League's sole right to nominate Muslims disputed |
| Cabinet Mission | 1946 | Three-tier federation; League accepted, Congress later wavered |
| Direct Action Day | 16 Aug 1946 | Calcutta riots; over 4,000 killed |
| Mountbatten Plan | 3 June 1947 | Partition formula announced |
| Indian Independence Act | 18 July 1947 | Statute creating both dominions |
Cabinet Mission (1946)
Comprising Lord Pethick-Lawrence (Secretary of State), Sir Stafford Cripps and A. V. Alexander, the Mission arrived in March 1946. Its 16 May 1946 plan envisaged:
- A united Indian Union with three groups: Group A (Hindu-majority), Group B (Muslim-majority NW), Group C (Bengal–Assam).
- A weak centre handling defence, foreign affairs and communications.
- Provinces could opt out after ten years.
Initially both Congress and the Muslim League accepted, but Nehru's press statement (10 July 1946) that the Constituent Assembly would be free to modify the plan led the League on 29 July 1946 to withdraw acceptance and call for Direct Action.
- 22 December 1939 — Day of Deliverance after Congress ministries resign.
- 23 March 1940 — Lahore Resolution adopted.
- 1944 — Gandhi–Jinnah talks; 14 meetings, no agreement.
- 16 August 1946 — Direct Action Day; Great Calcutta Killing.
- 3 June 1947 — Mountbatten Plan announced.
- 17 August 1947 — Radcliffe Award published.
The 3 June Plan
Viceroy Lord Louis Mountbatten (sworn in 24 March 1947) advanced the date of independence and produced the June 3, 1947 Plan:
- The princely states would lapse to either dominion (or, in theory, independence).
- Bengal and Punjab would be partitioned if their legislatures so decided.
- A referendum in the North-West Frontier Province and the Sylhet district of Assam.
- The two dominions would assume power on 15 August 1947.
The Radcliffe Award
A Boundary Commission under Sir Cyril Radcliffe — a London barrister who had never visited India — drew the partition lines for Punjab and Bengal in five weeks. The award was published on 17 August 1947, two days after independence, partly to spare Mountbatten political embarrassment. Its consequences were catastrophic: between 10 and 15 million people migrated and an estimated one million died in the communal violence that followed.
Examiners love three pairs of dates: 3 June 1947 (plan announced) ↔ 18 July 1947 (Act passed) ↔ 17 August 1947 (Radcliffe Award published). Note that the boundary line appeared after the new states existed.
Birth of Pakistan
On 11 August 1947, Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah delivered his foundational address to the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan at Karachi, articulating equality of citizenship irrespective of religion. He was sworn in as the first Governor-General on 14 August 1947, with Liaquat Ali Khan as the first Prime Minister. The Constituent Assembly adopted the Objectives Resolution on 12 March 1949, setting the ideological frame for future constitutions.
The young state inherited grave problems: only one major industrial base, refugee resettlement of over seven million, contested partition of assets, the Kashmir war (October 1947), and the death of the Quaid on 11 September 1948, only thirteen months after independence. The struggle of 1940–47, however, had achieved its single defining objective: an independent Muslim-majority homeland in the subcontinent.