G. M. Syed-The Case of Sindh
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APPENDIX 2

Resolution passed by the Working Committee of the All India Muslim League on August 20, 1942 at Bombay:

The Working Committee of the All India Muslim League, having given their deep and anxious consideration to the present political development in the country, deplore the decision arrived at by the All India Congress Committee on August 8th, 1942, to launch an "open rebellion" by resorting to the mass civil disobedience movement in pursuance of their objective of establishing Congress Hindu domination in India which has resulted in lawlessness and considerable destruction of life and property.

It is the considered opinion of the Working Committee that this movement is directed not only to coerce the British Government into handing over power to a Hindu oligarchy and thus disabling them from carrying out their moral obligations and pledges given to the Musalman and other sections of the peoples of India from time to time but also to force the Musalman to submit and surrender to Congress terms and dictation. Ever since the beginning of the war and even prior to that the sole objective of Congress policy has been either to cajole or to coerce the British Government into surrendering power to the Congress—a Hindi body with a microscopic following of other communities in utter suppression of one hundred millions of Musalmans, besides millions of other peoples of this vast sub-continent of India. While claiming the right of self-determination for "India" which is a mere Congress euphemism for a Hindu majority it has persistently opposed the right of self-determination for the Muslim nation to decide and determine their own destiny.

On May 1ST 1942, the All India Congress Committee by their resolution emphatically repudiated the Muslim League demand for the right of self-determination for Muslims and thus closed the door for the settlement of the communal problem, which is a condition precedent to the attainment of the freedom and independence of India. The Congress had also recognized this as an indispensable condition and had therefore made it a prominent plank in the Congress program for over 20 years, but by their recent decisions have suddenly thrown it overboard and substituted the fantastic theory that the solution of the Hindu Muslim problem can only follow the withdrawal of British power from India.

The negotiations of Sir Stafford Cripps with the Congress broke down not on the issue of independence but because of the refusal of the British Government to hand over the Muslims and the minorities to the tender mercies of the Congress. Any acquiescence in this on the part of the British would have been strenuously resisted by the minorities and particularly by the Muslim nation, with memories of tyranny in the Congress-governed provinces still fresh and vivid in their mind.

Balked in their effort to cajole Sir Stafford Cripps to agree to the transfer of power to the Congress caucus, they decided upon a slogan "Quit India" accompanied by the threat of mass civil disobedience. This slogan is mere camouflage and what is really aimed at is supreme control of the government of the country by the Congress. The Muslims are not a whit less insistent on freedom for the country and the achievement of independence of the people of India, which is the creed of the All India Muslim League. They are, however, firmly convinced that the present Congress movement is not directed for securing the independence of all the constituent elements in the life of the country but for the establishment of Hindu Raj and to deal a death blow to the Muslim goal of Pakistan.

The Working Committee of the All India Muslim League notes with dissatisfaction the attitude and policy of the British Government towards the national aspirations of 100 millions of Muslims of India. While the Congress aims at ignoring and Suppressing the Muslim demand, the Working Committee regrets that the British Government has been unresponsive to the Muslim League offer of cooperation. The appeasement of the Congress has been the central pivot of the Government’s policy with barren and sterile results, which have now culminated in open defiance of law and order.

Since the commencement of hostilities, the Muslim League has been ready and willing, either singly or in cooperation with other parties, to shoulder the responsibility for running the administration and mobilizing the resources of the country for the war effort for the defense of India if a real share in the power and authority of the Government at the Center and in the provinces is conceded within the framework of the present constitution and in pursuance of the policy the Muslim League accepted the underlying principles of the August offer of 1940 of the British Government.

But the Government, in implementing the offer, nullified the essential principles of it and so made it impossible for the Muslim League to cooperate with the Government on honorable terms, In spite of the fact that the British Government has spurned the offer of cooperation of the Muslim League, under the imminent shadow of the Japanese menace the Muslim League once again reiterated their offer by their resolution of December 27th, 194 1, in the following words:

In view of the fact that the entry of Japan in the war on the side of the Axis Powers has brought the danger Much closer to India and has forced into greater prominence the question of the defense of India, the Working Committee consider it necessary to reiterate that the Muslim League from the very beginning has expressed its willingness to share the responsibility of defense of the country as is evident from the stand taken by the President of the All India Muslim League as far back as November 1939......

The Working Committee once more declare that they are ready and willing as before to shoulder the burden of defense of the Country, singly or in cooperation with other parties, on the basis that a real share and responsibility is given in the authority of the Government at the Center and the provinces within the framework of the present constitution, but without prejudice to the major political issues involved in the framing of the future constitution.

The British Government completely ignored the offer of the Muslim League, While the proposals of Sir Stafford Cripps virtually conceded the Congress demands of the right of secession from the British Commonwealth of Nations and forming of a constituent Assembly with a preponderantly Hindu majority to( the framing of the post war constitution, they merely recognized the possibility of establishing Pakistan supposed to be implicit in the non accession scheme.

The Working Committees are definitely of the opinion that if the Muslim masses are to be roused to intensify the war effort with all the sacrifices that are involved, it is only possible provided they are assured that it would lead to the accession of the goal of Pakistan. The Muslim League, therefore, calls upon the British Government to come forward without further delay with an unequivocal declaration guaranteeing to the Muslims the right of self-determination and to pledge themselves that they will abide by the verdict of a plebiscite of the Musalmans and give effect to the Pakistan scheme in consonance with the basic principles laid down by the Lahore Resolution of the All India Muslim League passed in March 1940.

Having regard to the oft-repeated declaration of the United Nations to secure and guarantee the freedom and independence of the smaller nations of the world, the Working Committee invite the immediate attention of the United Nations to the demand of 100 millions of Muslims of India to establish sovereign States in the zones which are their homelands and where they are in a majority.

The Working Committee are fully convinced that Pakistan is the only solution of India’s constitutional problem and is in complete consonance with justice and fair play to the two great nations - Muslims and Hindus inhabiting this vast sub-continent, whereas if the Congress demand is accepted it Would bring the 100 millions of Muslims under the yoke of a Hindu Raj which must inevitably result either in anarchy and chaos in India or complete strangulation and annihilation of all that Islam stands for. The Muslim League, as it has been repeatedly made clear, stands not only for Pakistan and the freedom of Muslims but also for the freedom and independence of Hindustan and the Hindus.

The Muslim League has been and is ready and willing to consider any proposals and negotiate with any party on a footing of equality for the setting up of a provisional Government of India in order to mobilize the resources of the country for the purpose of the defense of India and successful prosecution of the war provided the demands of Muslim India, as indicated above, are conceded unequivocally.

In these circumstances the Working Committee of the All India Muslim League, after anxious and careful consideration, call upon the Muslims to abstain from any participation in the movement initiated by the Congress and to continue to pursue their normal peaceful life. The Working Committee hope that no attempt shall be made from any quarter to intimidate, coerce, molest or interfere in any manner with the normal life of the Muslims, otherwise the Muslims will be compelled to offer resistance and adopt all such measures as may be necessary for the protection of their life, honor and property.
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