Foundation of All-India Muslim League: The year 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, the Viceroy of India from 1905, at Simla to demand the political rights of the Muslims of India. The deputation to the Viceroy consisted of the most influential leader, 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.
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 organization.
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 ul-Mulk regarding a need to form a Muslim organization 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 organization 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 Syed Hussain Bilgrami was made the Honorary Secretary. 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 October 1, 1906.
The event has been described in the Diary of Lady Minto as 'an epoch in Indian history." According to the Encyclopedia Americana (U.S.A., 1980, 1st vol., pg. 327), "The delegation established the Muslim League, which carried the seeds of Muslim separation and eventual creation of Pakistan."
The Aga Khan III was President of the Muslim League from 1906 to 1913, and resigned on November 3, 1913.
KHILAFAT MOVEMENT: In 1923, the Aga Khan III took a leading part in the Khilafat Movement with the Indian Muslims, and raised his voice through articles in newspapers and letters to British authorities. This was indeed a critical time that his loyalty to the West and his unbounded love for Islam directly clashed, but the Aga Khan decidedly championed the cause of Islam. In 1928, the Aga Khan III presided over the All-India Muslim Conference held in Delhi, where more than 600 delegates represented all provinces of India.
Round Table Conferences: The Aga Khan III led the Muslim delegation to the first Round Table Conference, held in St. James Palace in London on November 12, 1930, to consider the future of India. There were 57 members of the British Indian delegation, representing all the Indian parties except the Congress. The Muslim Delegation was led by the Aga Khan III and other eminent members, like Mohammed Ali Jinnah, Sir Mohammad Shafi, Maulana Mohammad Ali, Dr. Shahfat Ahmad, Sir Zafrullah, Nawab Chhatari and Fazl-ul-Haq. Prominent among the princes were the Maharajas of Bikaner, Alwar and Bhopal, and among the eminent Hindu leaders were Sir Tej Bahadur Supru, Jayakar, Shashtri, Dr. Moonje and others. The Conference was presided over by Lord Sankey. In the deliberations of the Conference, the Aga Khan played a dominating role. At the second Round Table Conference, the British government was keen to secure the co-operation of the Congress, and the Viceroy proposed to nominate Dr. Ansari and Sir Ali Imam. As both were staunch supporters of the Nehru Report, therefore, Sir Fazl-i-Husain (1877-1936) protested and averted all possible dangers to the unity of the Muslim Delegation. The Aga Khan III, as its leader, held at the members together and prevented disruptive tendencies from growing up among the Muslims.
The Aga Khan III was better suited than any other Muslim leader for the negotiations that were to ensue. The second Round Table Conference opened on September 7, 1931 and it was attended by the Congress. The distinguished group of newcomers included Gandhi, Sir Mohammad Iqbal, Dr. S.K. Datta, G.A. Birla, Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, Mrs. Naidu and Sir Ali Imam. M. Abdul Aziz writes in his "The Crescent in the Land of the Rising Sun" (London, 1941, p. 146) that, "The Round Table Conference in London have happily shown us the way how to deal with problems which appeared at first sight to be insoluble, and, in this connection, I desire - and I am sure every Muslim in India desires with me - to pay a tribute to the great services which His Highness the Aga Khan has rendered during the deliberations of the Round Table Conference and the sessions of the Joint Parliamentary Committee to the cause of the Muslims in India."
Writing his congratulations to the Aga Khan III, Sir Abdullah Haroon had routed a telegram to London on December 27, 1932 that: "On behalf of Sindh please convey my heartiest thanks to all Round Table Delegates especially Muslim Delegation whose labours crowned with success. Sindh and Muslims of India never forget Your Highness services which you are rendering. May Allah reward you." (vide "Haji Sir Abdoola Haroon" by Al-Haj Mian Ahmad Shafi, Karachi, 1939, pg. 85-6).
SEPARATION OF SINDH: To separate Sindh from the Bombay Presidency was a colossal problem. It loomed so large on the political horizon that it eclipsed all others, because Sindh separation assumed a communal colour. Long and bitter were those days of uncertainty for Muslims. In 1935, the Aga Khan III was appraised of the benefits that would accrue to Sindh after separation. He gave the problem a close and careful consideration. The Muslims of Sindh were convinced that their cause was in safe hands. Then came that day of rejoicing when Sindh separation was accepted in principle and subsequently confirmed by the Parliament and thus the provincial independence was won for the Muslims of Sindh. It is difficult to sum up the services of the Aga Khan III hitherto he rendered for the cause of the Indian Muslims. K.K. Aziz however writes in his "History of the Idea of Pakistan" (Lahore, 1987, 1st vol., pg. 94) that, "He played an important part in the elevation of the Aligarh College to the status of a Muslim university; his role in the Muslim struggle for winning separate representation was vital and extended from the 1906 Simila deputation to the working of the 1935 reforms; his exertions in the direction of uplifting the community were generous, commandable and sincere; his sustained and anxious efforts to extract safeguards for the Muslims from the British government were often successful and brought much security to the community. These are valuable services which every prejudiced historian will acknowledge gladly and readily".
In this year, the Aga Khan was made the Pre-Chancellor of Aligarh University, and attended its convocation in 1938.
(The first part of this article was published in the Weekend issue of 17th April 2004.)
(TO BE CONCLUDED)