PARTITION OF BENGAL AND THE FOUNDATION OF MUSLIM LEAGUE

Bengal was a very large province in British India. The administrative condition of this province
was becoming unmanageable by the British Government. With a view to improve the
administrative structure and to make it more effective, the British Government decided to divide
Bengal into two provinces in 1905 AD. The Hindus were unhappy with this division because the
Muslims were expected to gain some benefits from this change. The Eastern part of Bengal
where the Muslims were in majority started to gain importance. The Hindus then started an
agitation in the form of an organized movement, in which they used all kinds of pressure to
threaten the British Government to get this decision changed.
The Muslims favoured the decision but the British Government without caring either for the
administrative advantages or the wishes of Muslims, changed the earlier orders and reunited the
two provinces of Bengal into one in 1911. After the partition of Bengal in 1905, the agitation by
Hindus of India convinced the Muslims of the Sub-Continent that they must have a political
party of their own which would present their view point in an effective manner before the
Government. The other aim was to have a party which could work only for the Muslims. In the
meantime the Muslim leaders asked the Muslims not to join the Indian National Congress. In
December 1906 the Muslims laid down the foundation of a political party of their own – All
India Muslim League at Dhaka. Nawab Saleem Ullah, Nawab Wiqar ul Mulk and Nawab
Mohsin ul Mulk from Bengal were the prominent founders of the Muslim League. The Muslim
League was created to achieve the following objectives:
1. To safeguard political rights and to place before the Government the demands, needs
and wishes of the Muslims.
2. To remove misunderstandings between the British Government and the Muslims.
3. To explore ways and means to strengthen friendly relations among people of different
religions.
The first political success for the league came in 1909 when under Minto-Morley Reforms,
Muslims were given the right of a separate electorate. Political consciousness among the
Muslims was created mainly after the partition of Bengal and the formation of Muslim League
was the result of this political consciousness.
 KHILAFAT MOVEMENT

When World War I started in 1914, the British needed help of the people of the Sub-Continent.
In return of the Muslim help the British promised that the Turkish Caliphate or “Khilafat” and
their holy places would be respected. After the War these promises were not kept and the British
broke up the Ottoman Empire (Turkish Empire). The Muslims of the Sub-Continent began a
movement after this incident and it is known as the Khilafat Movement. This movement was
started by the Khilafat Committee which was formed in 1919.
Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar and Maulana Shaukat Ali Jauhar were the two brothers who
were the great leaders of this movement. Many Muslims of the Sub-Continent joined this
movement. One of the objectives of this movement was to bring together all the Muslim
countries under one umbrella of love and friendship. Following were the main aims of this
movement:
1. The Holy cities should remain under the control of Turks.
2. The Khilafat should continue.
3. The boundaries of Ottoman Empire should remain the same as before the World War I.
When the Khilafat Committee presented these demands before the British Government they paid
no attention to them. When the people of this movement joined hands with Gandhi’s Non-
Cooperation Movement of India then the Khilafat Movement gained strength. While the
movement was at its peak, Mustafa Kamal Ataturk suddenly declared Turkey a republic in 1920.
That declaration ended the Ottoman Empire and the Khilafat as well. Mr. Gandhi also called off
his Non-Co-operation Movement and at the same time the Khilafat Movement also came to an
end.
Both Non-Cooperation and Khilafat Movement brought about the co-operation between the
Hindus and the Muslims with a common goal. But that unity did not last long, Hindu-Muslim
differences re-appeared and communal riots followed and several organizations rose to finish the
separate identity of the Muslims.