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Muhammad Ayoob
Khuhro:
The
Iron man of Sindh
Part-XXIII
Review
& Excerpted by Momin Bullo
It is therefore your moral as well
as official duty to strain every bit of your energy for the
success of Mr. Yusuf Haroon. I have done my best for the success
of Mr. Yusuf by touring along with him and separately in all parts
of Sindh and by meeting the voters and influential persons in each
district and calling upon them to support the League nominee, Mr.
Yusuf A. Haroon. It is also expected that you and your friends and
prominent Leaguers in Sindh should do likewise.
Surely as the President of the
League organisation in Sindh, our organisation expects from you
the same support to the League nominee. There is hardly a
fortnight between now and the polling day.
I therefore request you to devote
your entire attention from now on to the electioneering work of
the League nominee for the Central Assembly. Let it not be said
that we failed in our duty at a time when the Muslim League High
Command expected us to be up and doing. I also pray issue a public
statement as quickly as possible supporting Yusuf Haroon and
calling upon others to do the same.
I hope this personal appeal to you
as the President of the Sindh Provincial Muslim League will not go
unheeded and you will please let me know early what steps you are
taking to help the organisation of this election.”
The election results were declared
on 4 December and Haroon won the seat from Sindh. All the Muslim
seats in the Central Legislature were won by Muslim League
immensely strengthening its position as the genuine representative
of the Muslims of India. The provincial elections were due to take
place in early January and the position was very difficult for
Muslim League in Sindh with its President openly at war with the
official candidates causing extreme confusion in the rank and
file. The major burden of electioneering was carried by Khuhro who
had to be everywhere and provide counsel and comfort to the
workers and office bearers alike, in the whole of Sindh. Khuhro
kept Jinnah informed of the course of the campaign and the
difficulties in the different constituencies. His communications
were always positive, putting forward problems which needed
Jinnah’s help and suggesting ways which could help the course of
the campaign, whether it was getting the help of some Pir or that
of Khan of Kalat in influencing voters.”
Eventually on 20 December the
Central Parliamentary Board withdrew the League tickets from
Syed’s candidates. A week later Syed resigned from the All India
Muslim League and announced his decision to fight the election on
a separate platform of Sindh Muslim League. He issued a long and
bitter statement calling the Muslim League leadership reactionary
and accusing it of helping vested interests:
“When they are questioned if it is
for men like Sir Ghulam Hussain that we are asked to secure
Pakistan, we are snubbed...” and that Muslim League policies were
being controlled by Muslims of minority Muslim provinces and
against the interests of the Muslims of the majority provinces and
were essentially against the interests of the masses: “in Congress
there was some hope; in the League there is none.”
Syed put up 11 candidates and
forged an alliance with Congress which also supported him hoping
to break the appeal of Muslim League. Congress was rumoured to
have sent large sums of money to support the opponents of Muslim
League and it certainly sent some of its biggest guns to gain
support. Jawaharlal Nehru and Sarojini Naidu for example toured
Sindh. Congress hoped to win all the 22 Hindu and General seats.
At the same time all the anti League groups came together to
oppose it. A Muslim Board was formed with Maulvi Mohammed Sadiq
(of the Khadda Madressah in Karachi) and the’Baluchistan Gandhi’
Abdus Samad Achakzai which put up 15 candidates. Maulvis of
Jamaat-i-Ulemai Hind as well as others came in their numbers from
other provinces to preach against Muslim League. They were joined
by Khaksars of Allama Mashriqi and other’ Nationalist’ Muslims to
’bury Pakistan in Sindh’. With one hand tied behind its back in
the person of a hostile President, a divided Working Committee as
well as an organisation split down the middle, League fought back
largely in the person of Khuhro. The only certain seats were in
some pocket constituencies.
Finally on 2 January the Central
Committee of Action having “carefully considered the statement
dated 26 December issued to the Press by G. M. Syed ...” decided
to remove Syed from the Presidentship of Muslim League and
expelled him from the party. Gazdar, the Vice President was made
Acting President and “in view of the fact that elections to the
Provincial Legislature are in full swing,” a Committee was
appointed with a few prominent Leaguers “to take immediate charge
of the election work in the province.”
Khuhro now officially in charge of
the campaign, and himself elected unopposed in Larkana East, was
free to work for the Muslim League candidates throughout Sindh.
Without the damaging friction and divided loyalties hampering his
every step, the campaign went much better. He however refused to
go into Syed’s constituency to work against him. Khuhro was
mindful of the personal relationship and political association
which went back nearly two decades and also the fact that unlike
most other fellow Muslim politicians, Syed had had the courage to
acknowledge his mistakes and stand with him in the murder trial.
Khuhro therefore declined requests which came even from the ’High
Command’ to campaign against Syed.
The results came in by the middle
of the month with Muslim League winning 28 out of 35 Muslim seats,
the best ever result for the Party and a brilliant victory. Syed
won just four seats including his own and there were three
independent Muslims some of whom could be expected to join Muslim
League as it was likely to form the government. Congress won all
the Hindu seats and with! (four other had 22 members in the
Assembly. Congress and the Syed group immediately formed an
alliance so in spite of the good showing of Muslim League in the
elections, its position in the Legislature as the majority party
was not secure.
An alliance or ’Coalition’ as it
was called, was formed between the Syed group, Independent Muslims
and Congress. Syed and his group would continue to style
themselves as the advance wing of the League and have Pakistan as
their ideal but with certain conditions, mainly that there was a
separate existence of ’Nationalist’ Muslims outside Muslim League
who stood for a joint struggle with Congress. It would also
introduce the joint electorate system in the local bodies
elections. The ’Coalition,’ “would carry out the constructive
programme of the Congress as enunciated in its manifesto.”
Both Azad and Patel came to Sindh
to try and get the ’Coalition’ to form the government which
appeared quite feasible as there was a very narrow margin between
it and the League and in view of past experience the new alliance
could expect to wean away some of the League members. The final
position was Muslim League with 28 members, the Coalition also
with 28 and four neutral members including 3 Europeans. One of the
Independent Muslims came over to Muslim League but it was only
with the support of the Governor who brought his considerable
weight over to the side of Muslim League that the Muslim League
Ministry could eventually be formed.
The new Governor, Sir Francis
Mudie, who had taken over on 15 January, was very supportive of
Muslim League though if this was his own predilection or
instructions from above was not clear. He tried to persuade Syed
to reconcile with Muslim League but without success. Muslim League
itself was in a dilemma about the leadership of its Parliamentary
Party. Of the six member Committee nominated by the Central
Parliamentary Board to run the election campaign, Khuhro was the
only one with influence in the whole of the province. Three
members, Haroon, Gazdar and Alavi were confined to Karachi, Pathan
had till the last moment been with Syed and Mir Ghulam Ali was
limited to the Talpur circle so it was Khuhro who had run the
entire election throughout the province.
The tradition in Sindh was that
the leader of the Parliamentary Party was elected and the majority
of the elected members supported Khuhro for Premiership. Khuhro
himself felt that he had earned the right to the job. He had stood
aside once if not twice in the past in the interests of the Party.
This time the successful election for Muslim League would have
been difficult, to say the least, without his efforts. He felt
that he had the programme which he could put through as Premier
and win Sindh for Muslim League at a forthcoming election on the
basis of that record.
But Jinnah was well aware of the
fickle nature of most of the Muslim members particularly
Hidayetullah. The elected Muslim Leaguers gave their support in
writing for Khuhro but even so Jinnah asked him to stand aside as
otherwise Hidayetullah might leave the Party. He was promised that
when the situation was not so critical he would be given the
Premiership. Khuhro had to be content with this assurance although
he had offers from the Coalition. It was difficult to imagine any
other member of the Assembly turning down these offers, but Khuhro
would not betray his party - a fact well understood by Jinnah.
The Governor called Hidayetullah
to form the Muslim League government which was only possible with
the support of the European members who were instructed by the
Governor to do so. Apart from the Premier there were three
Ministers with Khuhro as the Senior Minister in charge of Public
Works and Revenue. Two seats were kept vacant for Hindu Ministers
as had been customary in Sindh governments hitherto. This time
however all the Hindu members were under Congress discipline so
although the Premier tried hard to get some Hindus to come in he
could not succeed. In fact the Coalition Party was quick to move a
No Confidence motion against the Government as soon as the Budget
session started. The Ministry was very precarious with just a
majority of one and the Muslim members, as was their wont, used
this fact to blackmail the government.
Realising that it would be
difficult to keep the support of the members if they were offered
jobs by the other side Khuhro and Hidayetullah tried to pre-empt
any blackmail by trying to get an understanding with the Muslim
partners of the Coalition. Syed went to see the Premier and
offered to come to an understanding with the Muslim League
leadership. Both Hidayetullah as Leader and Khuhro as Deputy
Leader of the Parliamentary party sent a telegram to Jinnah
advising some compromise. They gave their opinion that it was in
the interests of the party and the province that the expulsion
order against Syed be removed and he and his friends be
re-admitted to Muslim League:
(Continued)
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Hamari
Manzil:
Walking
with History
(Part-X)
Review & Excerpted by Momin Bullo
As for the reference in this
Resolution to the scheme of the All-India Federation as embodied
in the Government of India Act, 1935, a couple of years earlier,
the Quaid had severely criticized and rejected the Federal part of
the Government of India Bill of 1935, while commenting on it in
the Indian Central Assembly. When the Law Minister observed that
the criticism of the Federal Part of the Bill was based on a
misunderstanding and suggested certain conditions for the
successful operation of the Scheme, the Quaid told the Law
Minister:
My reply, Sir, is, I have seen
your Federal Scheme. I do not want to wait for these conditions.
The scheme is thoroughly rotten, fundamentally bad and totally
unacceptable. Withdraw it.
The Karachi Resolution of 1938,
described the faults of omission and commission on the part of the
Congress in specific terms. It expounded the basis of the
two-nation theory. It was during the 27th Session of the All-India
Muslim League which met at Lahore on March 22-24, 1940, that the
Resolution popularly termed “The Pakistan Resolution” was passed.
The Lahore Resolution of 1940 did not modify the Karachi
Resolution of 1938 in any manner. For facility of reference, I
quote the Lahore Resolution:
While approving and endorsing the
action taken by the Council and the Working committee of the
All-India Muslim League, as indicated in their resolutions dated
the 17th August, 17th and 18th of September, and 22nd of October,
1939 and 3rd of February, 1940, on the constitutional issue, this
Session of the All-India Muslim League emphatically reiterates
that the scheme of federation embodied in the Government of India
Act, 1935, is totally unsuited to, and unworkable in the peculiar
conditions of this country, and is altogether unacceptable to
Muslim India.
It further records its emphatic
view that while the declaration dated the 18th October, 1939, made
by the Viceroy on behalf of His Majesty’s Government is reassuring
insofar as it declares that the policy and plan on which the
Government of India Act, 1935, is based will be reconsidered in
consultation with the various parties, interests and communities
in India, Muslim India will not be satisfied unless the whole
constitutional plan is reconsidered de nova, and that no revised
plan would be acceptable to the Muslims unless it is framed with
their approval and consent.
Resolved that it is the considered
view of this Session of the All India Muslim League that no
constitutional plan would be workable in this country or
acceptable to the Muslims unless it is designed on the following
basic principles, viz., that geographically contiguous units are
demarcated into regions which should be so constituted, with such
territorial readjustments as may be necessary, that the areas in
which the Muslims are numerically in a majority, as in the
North-Western and Eastern Zones of India, should be grouped to
constitute units which shall be autonomous and sovereign.
That adequate, effective and
mandatory safeguards should be specifically provided in the
constitution for minorities in these units and in the region, for
the protection of their religious, cultural, economic, political,
administrative and other rights and interests in consultation with
them; and in other parts of India where the Mussulmans are in a
minority, adequate, effective and mandatory safeguards shall be
specifically provided in the constitution, for them and other
minorities, for the protection of their religious, cultural,
economic, political, administrative and other rights and interests
in consultation with them.
This Session further authorize the
Working Committee to frame a scheme of constitution in accordance
with these basic principles, providing for the assumption finally,
by the respective regions, of all powers, such as defence,
external affairs, communications, customs and such other matters
as may be necessary.
Except for the words ’the areas
in which the Muslims are numerically in a majority, as in the
North-Western and Eastern zones of India, should be grouped to
constitute Independent States in which the constituent units shall
be autonomous and sovereign’, the Karachi Resolution and the
Lahore Resolution are identical. The demand for Independent States
for the Muslims in the North-Western and Eastern zones of India
was modified as the Movement for Pakistan progressed and came into
full swing.- All the speeches of the Quaid-e-Azam and his
lieutenants from 1940 to 1946 speak of one State of Pakistan and
not of two independent States. The Quaid being a great
constitutionalist, he called a Convention of All-India Muslim
League Legislations in Delhi on April 7-9, 1946, in order to
ascertain the views of the newly elected members of the Central
Assembly and of all the provinces of India whether there should be
two independent States as in the Lahore Resolution or only one
State as understood by the Muslim voters throughout the
Sub-continent. That Convention was a unique gathering in the
political history of the Muslims of India. It was Mr. H.S.
Suhrawardy, Premier of undivided Bengal, who moved the Resolution
that:
That the zones comprising Bengal
and Assam in the North-East and the Punjab, North-West Frontier
Province, Sindh and Balochistan in the North-West of India, namely
Pakistan zones where the Muslims are in a dominant majority be
constituted into a sovereign independent State and that an
unequivocal undertaking be given to implement the establishment of
Pakistan without delay.
Mr. Suhrawardy said: “We are a
nation and we believe that we have something to contribute to the
civilization of the world.” He paid a warm tribute to the Muslims
of the minority provinces and observed that the wave of Muslim
freedom originated from them. Addressing the Quaid-e-Azam, he
said: “I call upon you to test us. Muslims of Bengal are prepared
to make every sacrifice for the great glory of Pakistan.”
At that Convention, Chaudhry
Khaliquzzaman said that the Hindu Press was asking the Muslims of
the minority provinces how they would benefit from the Pakistan
which they were supporting. He said that Muslims were wise enough
to decide what was good for them, and they needed no advice from
the Hindu Press.
Addressing the Quaid-e-Azam,
Chaudhry Khaliquzzaman said:
We will lay down our lives for
Pakistan. We are awaiting the order.
Sir Ghulam Hussain Hidayatullah,
Premier of Sindh, congratulated the Muslims of the minority
provinces for joining their Muslim brethren in their struggle for
Pakistan. There was no Muslim who did not believe in Pakistan.
Even Malik Khizar Hayat Khan and Dr. Khan Sahib were not against
it.
The Sindh Premier said that Hindus
were not democrats; and had they not been in a majority, they
would not have demanded a democratic government. He referred to
the intrigues of the Congress in Sindh, and said that educated
Hindus had accepted the leadership of four Muslims to hoodwink the
Muslims. They had accepted such people as their leaders who had
not even been to school.
The Sindh Premier said that
elections had proved that 90 percent Muslims were with the League,
and were determined to achieve Pakistan. He said that Muslims
would get Pakistan in spite of strong opposition. He declared:
We shall not accept anything less
than Pakistan. Every man in Sindh will resist the imposition of a
Government unacceptable to Muslims with all possible means.
In his concluding address, the
Quaid-e-Azam remarked:
What are we fighting for? What are
we aiming at? It is not theocracy - not for a theocratic State.
Religion is there, and religion is dear to us. All the worldly
goods are nothing to us when we talk of religion; but there are
other things which are very vital - our social life, our economic
life; but without political power, how can you defend your faith
and your economic life?
After deliberations, we have made
a resolve - we have made a solemn declaration in this august and
historic Convention that while we hope for the best, we are
prepared for the worst. In a clear, emphatic and definite
declaration, we have expressed our determination to face all
dangers. For us there is not other course.
Referring to Muslim minority
provinces, Mr. Jinnah said:
I too belong to a minority
province. Muslims in these provinces are the pioneers and first
soldiers of Pakistan. But now no question of minority or majority
is left on the issue of Pakistan. It is now unanimity, except for
a few who are still not with us.
The Muslim members of the Sindh
Assembly scored another distinction in being the first to resolve
the Province of Sindh would join the State of Pakistan. Another
feather in the cap of the Sindh Government was to have offered
their capital to be used as the capital of the Federation of
Pakistan.
When I reflect upon my service
career, I thank God that I was allotted to the Bombay-Sindh Cadre
of the I.C.S., which enabled me to join the Province of Sindh on
the 1st of January, 1939. I made a request to the Government of
Bombay in 1938 to transfer me to the Province of Sindh, a step
which showed my faith in the establishment of Pakistan nine years
before this God-gifted State came into being.
THE MEMORABLE 1947
August 1947 marks a water-shed in
my administrative career. On the 14th of August, the control of
the members of the Indian Civil Service who opted out for
Pakistan, was transferred from the Secretary of State for India to
the Government of Pakistan.
This was a joyous occasion for
myself and my colleagues who till August 1947 were sometimes
dubbed as agents of an alien Government. Being Civil Servants, we
could not join any political organization or take part in
political activities. But 90 per cent of the Muslim members of the
I.C.S. supported the Pakistan Movement and used their influence in
enlisting the support of the politicians with whom they came in
contact for strengthening the Pakistan Movement.
(Continued)
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