The Early 20th Century

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

In this chapter, I will discuss the major dimensions of the Punjab politics and the impact of the central politics on the regional course of political activities, working of the Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms of 1919, Sir Fazl-i-Hussain’s efforts for the general progress of the province and the emergence of a strong rural group in the provincial legislature which was known as the Punjab Unionist Party. Under the leadership of Fazl-i-Hussain, Muslim community of the Punjab became able to make their position better in the field of education and in the Local Self-Government as well. It also brings to light the part played by the thought provoking and a matured politician Sir Sikandar Hayat Khan as the member of Unionist Party.

The early 20th century was in turmoil as the repercussions of the World War I Rowlatt Act, Jallianwala Bagh massacre, Khilafat movement, Akali Movement and Babbar Akali activities put the Punjab into political disorder. The main communities in the Punjab were Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs but the Muslims formed 57 per cent of the population. [1] All of the three communities were engaged in the protests. The Muslims were fighting for the safeguard of the Ottoman Empire. The Congress and the Sikhs were siding with the Indian Muslims in the religious movement. In this scenario, the 2nd decade of the 20th century proved a turning point in the Punjab as well as the Indian history. Apart from this, the division of Bengal and then its annulment and the Congress’ agitation invigorated the spirit of nationalism in the Indian communities. The Khilafat movement ended in an uproar but helped organize the Muslims at the grassroots level. This was the political phase, which confirmed the status of the communitarian identities. The other results like the confidence in the Indian soldier, impact of the Russian Revolution, Britain’s weak position in the War and declining economic prosperity of the local people during the war, were the factors which infused feelings of communal nationalism in the communities. [2] 

The Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus were struggling under the leadership of Gandhi as a nationalist force and the communal harmony was improving day by day but Gandhi without taking the leaders into confidence ended the movement in 1922. To Yadav, Gandhi committed a blunder regarding the Punjab situation in particular. [3] 

In the 1920s, the Akalis campaigned to take possession of the Gurdwaras from the Mahants by force. The government declined their demands and maintained the legal safeguards to the Mahants but later the government tried to impose the legislation designed with the help of the Muslim legislators. The Sikhs vehemently resisted considering it a maneuver against the Sikh religion. In 1923, the government with the Muslim members’ support passed the Gurdwara Act but the Akalis rejected it. The Unionist Muslims’ interference into the Sikh religious affairs amplified the Sikh apprehensions towards the Muslims. [4] 

This interference convinced the Sikh community to demand 30 per cent seats to end the Muslim statutory majority in the province. [5] The Gurdwara Act passed by the Punjab government in 1925 induced the Akalis to trust the Unionists. This act was a message of confidence for the Sikhs which also boosted up the leadership of Master Tara Singh. [6] After the passage of the Gurdwara Act, four stands of affiliation ran through Sikh politics. Most obvious were the semi-aristocratic families who held large estates and supported the Unionist Party. The Unionists, representing Muslims, Hindu and Sikh landlords, governed Punjab in comfortable harmony with the British from 1923 until the elections of 1946. The Akali Dal represented the second strand. Its influences lay among the Jat peasantry, and after 1925 it was often preoccupied with internal feuds. Sikhs who supported the Indian National Congress formed the third strand. They were never large in number, yet some Sikhs were always found in Gandhi’s movement. Finally, a still smaller group of Sikhs attached themselves, in the tradition of the Ghadr revolutionaries of 1914, to revolutionary movements and ultimately to the Communist Party. [7] 

According to The Encyclopedia of Pakistan,

Punjab National Unionist Party founded in December 1923 in Lahore by a member of the Muslim League, Mian Fazl-i-Husayn (1877-1936), a lawyer and a member of the Punjab Legislative Assembly. The party mostly represented the interests of predominantly Muslim Punjabi landowners. The Party was reorganized in 1935. Its leaders, Sikandar Hayat Khan, malik Feroz Khan Noon, Khizar hayat Khan Tiwana, Shah Nawaz Khan Mamdot, and Ahmad Yar Khan Daultana declared their intention to promote the development of the economy, education and culture of Punjab’s agricultural regions; to reduce the electoral property qualifications; to increase the number of representatives of rural constituencies in Punjab’s legislative organs; to bring down taxes and restrict unsurer’s interest rates. In 1937-42 the party’s leader, Sikandar Hayat Khan, headed the provincial government of Punjab. The Party ceased to exist in 1947. [8] 

The Unionist politics was a class politics and the leaders were working purely to retain their concessions and social status. According to the British officials, the Unionist leaders were rewarded heavily:

...the leading Unionists were rewarded with benefits-ranging from revenue grants, titles, jobs in the local government to a seat in the Viceroy’s Council and the Secretary of State’s Council. The Unionist ministers had also been obliging their supporters by awarding them crown lands; Fazli started this tradition, which was continued by Sikandar and Khizer. [9] 

The Unionists asserted to be a cross-communal party in the political arena but they could not erase the label of communalists. The religious identity always maintained its control on the political leadership as Tanwar describes that the basis of its support was too fickle to maintain it for a long time and "even a far weaker tide than that was created by the demand for Pakistan could have dislodged it." [10] 

Tuteja writes that the Unionists claimed to be non-communal but their programme was entirely fraught with communalism and they never seemed sympathetic to the Sikhs. [11] 

Waheed Ahmad writes that Fazl-i-Husain performed more than any other Muslim for the Muslim

uplift which confirms the communal role of the Unionist Muslims. [12] 

Two divisions of the Provincial Government:

`The system of Dyarchy was based on one dominant principle, the division of Government in two section. One of them was wholly bureaucratic and the other was popular to a great extent. The former, which was known as the R served section, was managed by an irremovable executive council. The latter, which was called the Transferred section was given over for management to responsible ministers. These two sets of officials, having a constitutional status fundamentally different from each other, were harassed under the control of the Governor, to carry on thework of administration. They were also associated with, and depended for legislation upon, the same legislature and had a common budget. [13] 

It may be stated that in the 20th century Punjab, policies of the British administration in the Punjab were focused on at least on one major objective that they should do their utmost to keep the Punjab away from the mainstream Indian politics. "Provincialized politics" within the Punjab with little or no connection with the "outside political parties and their leaders" was deeply encouraged by the successive governors in the Punjab like Sir. Michael O’Dwyer, Sir. Edward MacLagan, Sir Malcolm Hailey, Sir Herbert Emerson, Sir Geoffrey de Montmorency, Sir Henry Craik, Sir Bertrand Glancy and Sir Evan Jenkins. All these governors continued this policy with a status quo vision with sincerity and deep commitment. Governors correspondence with the Viceroys unravel the fact that the visits to Lahore by leaders like Gandhi, Nehru, Patel, Bose, Azad and Jinnah had always been that of sadness, pain, worries or at least of greatest attention. Secret and confidential reports also indicate the extent of Punjab’s British administrators involvement in the affairs of what they described in their letters as "Home Grown Politicians". With a great deal of success, the Punjab administration was able to create a very dedicated class of loyal supporters of the British raj among the Punjab Muslims, (represented by the Unionist Party) the Sikhs and the followers of Hindu Mahasabha.3 This loyalist class seriously and most sincerely believed that the interests of their communities they represent were identical with those of the British government. In 1924, the Punjab Unionist party was established to follow this policy as a role model among of course other objectives such as to protect the interest of the landed classes.

The bond of solidarity between the Punjab administration and the Unionist hierarchy strengthened as the time went by and reached its climax at the time of 1945-6 elections in the Punjab. In summa of support, guidance, patronage and supervision was provided to the Unionist

Party leadership in their dealings with other all-India based political parties like the Congress and the All India Muslim League. It may be noted that a majority of the members of Punjab assembly used to spend huge amounts of money during their election campaign and therefore, they expected material advantages not only for themselves but also for their relatives and close supporters in the form of an appointment as registrar, honorary magistrate and even on lower positions in the administration. [14] 

The Punjab Unionist Party found in 1923 was the political advocate of the interests of the Punjabi communities. It was set up in the province of Punjab during the period of the British rule in India. It was a secular party as enunciated by the historians. The agriculturists were the major component in making the Unionist Party effective and influential in the local affairs. A brief review of the political career of this great gentleman named Sir Fazl-i-Hussain will throw light on its real aims and objects:

He was a leading barrister and practiced in Lahore. He took part in the Muslim League and Congress activities and was president of the Punjab Provincial Congress Committee in 1918-19. However, when the war (1914-1918) ended and a new popular upsurge swept the country, Mian Fazl-i-Hussain (as he then was) like so many other Congressmen, who later came to be known as liberals, stepped aside. During the Martial Law days he left the Punjab and came back only when peace was restored in Province. Soon after the Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms were introduced. But the horrors of Martial Law in the Punjab had set the whole country ablaze. The Congress and the Muslims (led by the Khilafatists and the League) boycotted the new Councils. The non-co-operation and Khilafat movements started. It was precisely at this moment that the bureaucracy chose Mian Fazl-i-Hussain—together with the late Lala Harkishan Lal to become Ministers. Henceforth Mian Fazl-i-Hussain made him self-indispensable to the British Government. He occupied this gadi till 1930 and was soon after raised to the post of Viceroy’s Executive Councillorship. What was it which characterized his administration—during the ten years that he was a Minister? Everyone knows that it is precisely during this period that communalism—both Hindu and Muslim–reached its peak in the country and that the Punjab was one of the most communally ridden provinces in India. Fazl-i-Hussain was the leader of Muslim communalists. It was he and his Punjab colleagues who while they opposed the Congress on one hand, opposed all sections of progressive Muslims on other. [15] Fazl-i-Husain a lawyer by profession belonged to Gurdaspur Rajput family. Chhotu Ram belonged to a prosperous Hindu Jatt family of Rohtak. Both proved to be the successful leaders in the regional politics. He had started participating in politics around 1903; and during the First World War, repudiated the Provincial politics of Sir Michael O’Dwyer. In a session of the first Punjab Provincial Conference, held in October 1917, he criticized the British Government openly, and deplored the sad plight of the Punjab, where "at every step one feels that it is the worst treated province in India." Not only, he said, did it have no Executive Council, it also had no High Court. Its representation on the Imperial Council was inadequate and ineffective, as well, because it was not properly recruited. In his later years, Fazl-i-Husaain proved a very dynamic personality, wielding significant influence even on the Viceroys. He can be considered an able Punjabi leader, who skillfully made his way through all sort of communal dissensions. His main achievement was that, realizing the political backwardness of the Punjab, he rose to the occasion and built up his Unionist Party into the most influential political organization in the province, with its cross-communal roots, ruling the province triumphantly until just before the partition of South Asia. [16] 

In the nineteenth century the British had attempted to consolidate a system of rural administration which relied, particularly in west Punjab, on the local political influence of landed, often tribally based, intermediaries. In this the British were not departing from the established traditions of political control in west Punjab. But at the same time the British sought to bolster the position of these rural leaders by isolating the rural areas from the growing economic and political influences emanating from the cities which might have tended to undermine the position of these leaders. This policy found its fullest expression in the Alienation of Land Act of 1900 which, stated in general terms, barred the non-agricultural population from acquiring land in the rural areas. From these roots a political tradition developed which emphasized both the unity of interests of the agricultural classes in opposition to the urban population and the continuing leadership of the agricultural classes by these landed intermediaries. It was this tradition which eventually produced the Unionist Party in the I920s---a provincial party based on a pro-rural agriculturalist ideology and led by the landed leaders of rural society, which dominated Punjab politics for almost a quarter of a century before I947. The political role of sajjadanashins in Punjab politics during this period must be seen in relation to the Unionist Party and to the British administrative policies which had helped to produce it. Many of the sajjadanashins, particularly those associated with the older pre- Mughal shrines, were very strongly tied into these same rural administrative structures which lay behind the development of the Unionists. The political role of many of these shrines in pre-British times has already been indicated; after the fall of the Mughals, many sajjadanashins established themselves as powerful local political figures. After the annexation of the Punjab the British soon discovered that in developing their own rural administration they could not ignore the political influence in the rural areas that many of these sajjadanashins had acquired. Many sajjadanashins were accordingly honored by the British and given positions of local administrative authority. [17] 

The Unionist leadership may be perceived as the rural collaborators between government and people. The Unionist party was the representative of the feudal class. In 1919, the British government introduced Mon-Ford Reforms under which the Punjab Legislative Council was established which attracted prominent leaders including Faroz Khan Noon, Ahmed Yar Khan Daultana, Makhdoom Raza Shah Gilani, Sardar Sundar Singh Majithia, Jogindar Singh and Baba Khatar Singh who were elected under the new constitutional reforms. Sir Sikandar Hayat Khan, Main Fazl-i-Husain and Sir Chhotu Ram were the top organizers of the Unionist Party. [18] 

"With the reforms of I919, these landed elite were inducted into legislative ('responsible') politics through a restrictive mechanism lacking any electoral agenda. A very specific, limited and largely docile role was expected of these largely apolitical and non-ideological elite, whose loyalties totally lay with their self-interests.The reforms of I9I9 had made such a shift possible given the increased significance of the provincial politics. Realizing the backwardness of his province Mian Fazl-i-Husain rose to the occasion and built up the Unionist Party into the most influential political organization in the province. As the founder of the Punjab Unionist Party, Sir Husain proved to be the most influential politician in the province who did not shirk even from challenging Jinnah when the latter tried to popularize the Muslim League in the province in I936. His provincial role did not lessen his espousal of a federal arrangement for India with maximum provincial autonomy." [19] 

In spite of the Minto-Morley Reforms which were embodied in the Act of 1909, introduced for first time, the principle of election to the provincial councils and provided non-official majority over officials. It was definitely a new dimension added to politics but it maintained a traditional discrimination against Punjab because it allowed only thirty members with the proportion of 19 percent elected members out of twenty million Punjabis. [20] On 10th December, 1917 Lord Chelmsford issued Rolt Act which is called "Black Law" or "Kala Qanoon" in all over India. Because according to this act, Police could arrest any person any time without telling the reason and could investigate about him. The real purpose of this investigation was to stop the freedom movement and the meeting held in all over India against this act. Odhum Singh participated in it with great zeal and zest. A big procession was held in Amritsar. The leaders of this procession were Doctor Saif-ud-Din Kachlo and Doctor Satia Paul. Governor Punjab Sir Miachael Odwyer (1864-1940) arrested Doctor Saif-ud-Din Kachlo and Doctor Satia Paul on 9th April 1919 in order to stop all these movements. On 12th April, Governor Odwyer reached Amritsar with an army force and stopped the processions. On 13th April 1919, these decided to get together in Jallian Wala Bagh. On 13th April, there was a day of Baisakhi. A large number of people got together before Golden Temple, JullianWala. Muslims Hindus leaders got together in this Garden for making next strategy. When Cruel Governor of Punjab heard this news, then he called his subordinate. His soldiers collected their guns and weapons. The door of JullianWalaBagh shut down and started firing on women, old people, youngsters and children. People had no weapons they were celebrating the day of Baisakhi. 379 people were killed and 1500 to 2000 people were injured. [21] The Jallian wala Bagh of 1919 is such important turn in the history of India after which the politics of this sub-continent took a new direction. After 1857 this incident disclosed such secrets the consequences of which were unknown before that. When Michael Odwyer was appointed as Lieutenant Governor of Punjab in 1913, his target was to crush the educated class in the Punjab. He thought that the educated people of India like Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus conspired against British Govt. he could not even bear the any trivial movement in Punjab. The only thing, which influenced the politics of the Muslims of Punjab from 1920-47, was the unreal and artificial division of urban and rural Muslims and Odwyer was its preacher and founder. The same division gave birth to Unionist Party in the politics of Punjab. [22] when the Governor was asked about this massacre, he replied, "it was a horrible duty to perform." [23] 

According to B. S. Nijjar in Punjab Under the British Rule 1849-1947, "Sir Fazl-i-Hussain was the greatest Unionist who wanted to unite all the communities of the Punjab. He was mush above the communal bias. As long as he remained alive Muhammad Ali Jinnah could not catch any strength, whatsoever, in this province. He was so dynamic personality among the people, that the communal bodies always suffered a set-back in the Punjab." [24] The idea of organizing a political party was originated with the Lieutenant-Governor who supported the political enlightenment in the Punjab. Fazl-i-Husain had given the shape to this idea by organizing 32 Muslim members in the first Punjab Council into the rural bloc because majority belonged to the rural areas. The main leading factors in the creation of the Unionist party were the British Governor’s support, landed aristocracy, poverty and illiteracy, lack of political awareness and educational reforms, the non-Muslim alliances and the lack of interest of the All-India Muslim League in the provincial politics of the Punjab. With the support of the British Government, the Unionist party had a dominant position in the Punjab politics. The party was subjugated by the landowners but it gradually increased association of the common peasantry of the rural and urban Punjab society.

Aims and Objectives:

In I92I, the Punjab Legislative Council, of which Sir Husain was a member, stood as follows: Nominated: 23; Elected: Muslims 35, Sikhs 15, Hindus and others 21--Total 94. Muslim MLAs being in a majority held the balance of power in the Council and rural colleagues from amongst them organized a Rural Block, which became the Rural Party under the leadership of Fazl-i-Husain. The guiding principles for the Rural Party were: to be open to all communities; to work for the uplift of backward rural areas; and to sponsor programmes and measures to protect the backward people of the Punjab. It was from the Rural Party of the Muslim zamindars that the Punjab Unionist Party emerged bringing together members of the landed aristocracy from all the communities. [25] 312

Fazl-i-Husain and Chhotu Ram chalked out the party manifesto which clearly showed the following party objectives. The draft manifesto was divided into two parts. The first part consisted of the following aims and objectives:

a. It stood for full self-government with provincial autonomy as early as possible. It was to combine all communities and classes with a creed ensuring development of backward classes. The rural interests were to be protected by safeguarding the Land Alienation Act;

b. By disseminating education the backward classes would be assured legitimate share in local and provincial government;

c. The burden of taxation would be distributed equitably and in a fair manner;

d. Individual freedom and liberty of action was guaranteed; and

e. They were against wrecking the Council and favored working of the reform scheme.

The representatives of the agricultural tribes formed the largest single bloc in the Council. Their interests were oriented by the rural policy that emerged from the Land Alienation Act. Fazl-i-Husain was quick to grasp the fact that ultimately the political power must rest with the Muslim members and it was upto him to wield it. He favoured a constructive programme of national education, national panchayats, national industries and temperance program as opposed to Sanga than and Ali Ghols.

The second part of the draft manifesto guaranteed freedom of religion, and cases of conflict such as Azan, arti and music before mosques were to be solved on ‘one principle of general applicability.’

The party’s political program that applied to the whole of India guaranteed:

a. Full and complete provincial autonomy;

b. No territorial reconstruction that would merge the Frontier Province or disturb the Muslim majority in the Punjab and Bengal;

c. Protection of minorities and separate electorates were to continue; and

d. The promotion of local self-government was to guard against the administration of minority over majority, and labour was to receive special attention.

The importance of a ‘National Pact’ was particularly emphasized. It was to become a part of religious teachings, Indian education, Indian culture and Indian character.

The draft manifesto is significant as it was considerably different from thhe manifesto eventually adopted by the Unionist party. Its aims of full self-government and provincial autonomy, safeguard against territorial readjustment of provinces with Muslim majority, protection of minorities, separate electorates and the National Pact did not find a place in the later official manifesto of the party. the issues raised in the above draft manifesto instead became the basic demands of the Muslim community in India, with certain modifications. The manifesto constituted the main plank of the special session of the Muslim League platform in 1924 summoned by Fazl-i-Husian. [26] 

As is obvious, the main objective of the Party was to save rural agriculturalists from the moneylenders, traders and industrialists, and, thus, in a way, was a further fanning of rural versus urban sentiments in the Punjab, as one notices the emphasis on 'backward classes', a slogan which still reverberates on both sides of the borders. A decade later, some non-Muslim Unionists were feeling uneasy with Husain's uni-lateral powers as they suspected a definite pro-Muslim bias in his policies. Such elements, with the secret support from some Muslim colleagues, as we shall see later, even began courting Sir Sikandar Hayat Khan as a substitute for Fazl-i-Husain. [27] 

At first, the British government encouraged Fazl-i-Husain and Chhotu Ram when they were working to unite the members of the rural areas and Jats were totally ignored during this period. Lala Harkishan Lal was appointed as the agriculture minister in 1921 but he did not get the Council support and added many problems which made the government to realize that the rural administration should be made effective properly. So the British government appointed Ch. Lal Chand, the first Hindu Jat, as minister. This was the first time that a Jat got the high office in the Punjab politics. He was greatly criticized by the professional and commercial Hindu classes so he was forced to resign from the ministry and replaced by Chhotu Ram as directed by the Governor Malcolm Hailey. The Unionist leaders were assigned the task of uniting the rural members and to protect the agriculturists from the exploitation by the moneylenders. During the period of 1921-1929, the money lending became a profitable business in spite of the growth of agriculture sector. Due to the dominance of the moneylenders, the landowners demanded for the maintenance of Alienation of Land Act 1901. MianFazl and Chhotu not only accepted these demands but also adopted as a party programme on which they gained support of the rural legislative members. [28] 

In a very short time, they presented many bills such as Money-lenders Registration bill, the Punjab Court Bill, the Punjab Rent Regulation bill in favor of the agriculture class for approval in the Council. The Unionist party was successful to minimize the difficulties of the landowners which they faced and compelled the British government to revise the land Act 1901. In 1923 election, the Unionist party got majority seats in the Legislative Council. It was a great achievement of Fazl-i-Husain and he was appointed as minister of revenue on 11 January 1926. He worked very hard for the improvement of this department. After the few days of his appointment, he passed a bill of Punjab land revenue in the Council. In a very short time, the department not only progressed but also became proficient in service delivery. In 1926, the British government appointed Manohar Lal as minister instead of Chhotu Ram. Malcolm Hailey did not form new ministry of Unionist party during his last days as Governor due to which the position of the Unionist party became weaker in the Punjab politics especially in 1930 when Sir Fazl provided his services for the administrative Council of Viceroy for the period of five years and it was very difficult for Chhotu Ram to unite the party. It was the great effort of Sir Fazl to reserve seats for the Muslim students in the Punjab to improve educational standard. [29] 

The Unionist Party emerged as a formal grouping in the Punjab Legislative Council in 1923. Landlord parties existed in a number of provinces by this time. But the Unionist Party differed in that it cut across ‘class’ and ‘community’ interests. It drew support from large landowners and peasant proprietors and appealed to the Hindu Jats of the Ambala division as well as the Muslim ‘tribes’ of the West Punjab. Indeed the Jat leader Chaudhri Chhotu Ram played a leading role in the party’ development. From a rather uncertain beginning, the Unionist Party emerged as the predominant force in the region. The Punjab’s political landscape thus acquired a unique character. Men committed to the Imperial connection dominted the era of Provincial Autonomy. The Unionists’ continued attachment to the British was symbolized by the fact that a nominated non-official, Owen Roberts representing Europeans and Anglo-Indians played a role in its politics and indeed served as a parliamentary privete secretary in the Khizr Ministry. The colonial state had quite deliberately linked its authority with the structure of rural Punjabi society. The traditions which had emerged during the leadership of Fazl-i-Hussain and Chhotu Ram also of course shaped the party. [30] 

The British adopted a number of policies to secure rural stability in the sword arm of India. Overriding all other considerations, until it was fatally dislocated by the Second World War, was the imperative to defend the rural power structure. This was achieved by the following methods: first by associating the ‘natural leaders’ of the ‘agriculturalsit tribes’ with their executive authority; second, by ensuring that the rural leaders politically controlled the economic forces set in train by the colonial encouragement of a market-oriented agriculture; third by using the resources which this provided to reward the agriculturalist population rather than stimulate industrial development; fourth by establishing a framework of political representation which institutionalized the division between the ‘agriculturalsit’ and ‘non-agriculturalsit’ population. The British therefore created their own around the artificial construct of the ‘agriculturalsit tribe.’ Although this built on pre-existing social structures, it was a political definition enshrined in the 1900 Alienation of Land Act. This measure not only ‘crystallized the assumptions underlying the British Imperial administration’ but ‘translated’ them into popular politics. Henceforth, both the justification of British rule and the program of the leading men of the ‘tribes’ and clans who banded together eventually in the Unionist party was the ‘uplift’ amd ‘protection’ of the ‘backward’ agriculturalist tribes. The British co-opted the ‘natural leaders’ of rural society into their administrative system by menas of the semi-official post of the zaildar. Although the bulk of the land in the Canal Colonies was sold to peasant proprietors, the Punjab Government reserved areas to reward both the ‘martial castes’ and the ‘landed gentry.’ At the end of the First World War over 420,000 acres of Colony land were distributed to just 6,000 Commissioned and Non-Commissioned Army Officers. Under the terms of the ‘landed gentry status’ seven and a half percent of the Lower Bari Doab Canal Colony alone was earmarked for the landowning elite. It is important to note that such land was amongst the best in the whole of the subcontinent and was higly valued. British rule, however, also swept away the barriers which had previously prevented moneylenders from acquiring land in the countryside. As land prices rose, the result of the Pax Britannica, as increasingly was tempting for landowners to pledge land in return for easy credit. Moneylenders supported by a westernized legal system foreclosed mortgages on the lands of agriculturalist debtors. S.S. Thorburn in his book, Mussulmans and Moneylenders in the Punjab, sounded the tocsin. Thorburn, a Deputy Commissioner in the Dera Ghazi Khan district highlighted the alarming rate at which land was being alienated to moneylenders. The large Muslim landlords of the trans-Indus districts were not, however the moneylenders’ only victims. The Hindu Rajputs of the submontane districts of Ambala Division also suffered at the hands of powerful moneylenders who, ‘exact free services and free fuel, fodder and ghi and (take their) dues as much in grain as in cash.’

The British first attempted to solve this problem with piecemeal measures. They took a large number of encumbered estates under the wing of the Court of Wards Administration. It soon became apparent, however, that more sweeping action was required. After a sharp internal debate concerning the virtues of intervention against sticking to laissez-faire principles, the Punjab Government implemented the 1900 Alienation of Land Act. It barred the transfer of land from agriculturalist to non-agriculturalist tribes. [31] 

By and large in this period the political elite was represented by men like Umar Hayat Khan, Fateh Ali Khan Kazilbash, Sunder Singh Majithia, Ram Saran Das, Dewan Kishan Kishore and others of the ‘traditional elite ‘class, who sang the pains of praise of British rule, but there was another type, being groomed mainly by the Arya Samaj (College Party) that was vociferous, somewhat independent and unsympathetic towards British rule and policies. In the Punjab after 1905 the Land Alienation Amendment Bill, the Pre-Emption Bill, the enhancement of the Bari Doab water rates and the colonization Bill left the Punjabis agitated, which led to conflagration in the Ounjab in 1907. In a sense, the shadow of this Act lengthened over the political life of the province up to the partition of India in 1947. It "symbolized British determination to protect the rural and traditional landholding classes." It widened the cleavage between the urban educated elite class and the rural masses, with the official patronage of the latter. Thus the Act was to reflect British policy of divide and rule not only amongst religious communities, but agriculturalist vs. non-agriculturalist, mainly to strengthen their imperialistic hold. In 1907, 1917, 1920, 1922 and 1931, the Punjab Government amended the original legislation. The powerful Unionist Party in the province may well be regarded as a creation of this Act. [32] 

The Unionist Party, which actively stood for furthering the interests of the large landlords, was projected by its ideologues as the party which was founded to protect the small as well as the large land owners against the Urban (largely Hindu) commercial and money-lending groups. Among the statutory agriculturists, Jats constituted a very large percentage. In Chhotu Ram’s estimate, the Jats formed nearly 50 percent of the notified agricultural population of the Punjab. The words "backword classes", "agriculturalists", "Jats", became synonymous, and ‘Jatism’, which conjured up racial affinity, became the unifying ideology of all the ‘Jat’ or ‘Zamindara’ population irrespective of economic status and internal economic contradictions. [33] 

Malcolm Hailey, the new chief executive of the Punjab, resented Husain's growing influence in provincial politics, construing it as an irksome interference in his administration. Sir Husain, confident of his wider support and political credentials, did not budge and his party continued to gain further strength. Given the fact that both the AIML and INC were confined to a few urban-based individuals, and additionally suffered from factional politics, Husain's party kept on growing. It deeply appealed to influential rural elements and manifested electoral, supra-communal credentials no matter how limited they might be. When Sir Husain took up his new assignment as the Revenue Member, Sir Chhotu Ram attended to the party business as his faithful lieutenant. Although he had to stay away from the Punjab from I930 to I935 to occupy a seat on the viceroy's executive council, he kept himself in close contact with all the political developments in his native province. During this period, he largely reposed his confidence in Sikandar Hayat for leading the party. Once, when in I930 a dispute developed between Chaudhary Zafrullah Khan and Firoz Khan Noon over a ministerial position, Fazl-i-Husain asked Sikandar Hayat to arrange a truce between the two colleagues. When the office of the Revenue Minister fell vacant with Husain's departure to join the viceroy's executive council, certain senior Unionists began vying for it. A tussle ensued between the Maliks and Sikandar Hayat and it was only with Husain's support that Sikandar Hayat finally replaced him without causing any breach in the party's ranks. In 1934, when Sikandar Hayat was officiating as chief executive of the province for a few months, Sir Husain reminded him of his commitment towards the province and the entire country: 'It is alleged that as the acting appointment is only for a short term of four months no one cared. This is absolutely false ... There is no one who is interested in the welfare of India, who would take this light-hearted view of the situation. It should be made clear that now as in the past, in the Punjab or elsewhere; Indian representation in the cabinet should remain intact that under no circumstances should an official take the place of a non-official member of Government even for a short time… [34] 

As mentioned above, during the mid-1930s, Sir Husain's position in the Unionist Party came under review owing to some junior colleagues who engaged in compromises and intrigues during his absence in Delhi. As Syed Nur Ahmad pointed out, Muzaffar Khan, a close relative of Sikandar Hayat and Daultana, had even started collaborating with non-Unionists and sought to build up Sikandar Hayat as an acceptable alternative to Husain. But it was a sheer underestimation of Fazl-i-Husain's determination and influence. On his return from England in I934, Sikandar Hayat was appointed Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, a position skillfully managed by Sir Husain, which kept the former away from the Punjab. Even then, Sikandar Hayat kept on harboring ambitions to succeed Husain in the Punjab, especially when the latter had begun to show signs of a failing health. In November I935, Husain was deeply aggrieved to learn that Muzaffar Khan had approached his personal physician to inquire about the seriousness of his ailment. Dr Colonel Harper told Sir Husain that Muzaffar Khan had asked him how long could he be expected to live. Sikandar Hayat, on prodding from Husain, denied any knowledge of such an event. This was the time when the Punjab was a stir with the Ahrar agitation over the Shahidganj and Husain had been receiving threats from various quarters. Some of the Unionists were secretly supporting the Ahrars, to the chagrin of their leader, who considered the issue a major threat to his supra-communal edifice. He genuinely believed that the party politics should be kept higher and supreme over personal ambitions and expected his disciples to follow the code strictly. However, after recuperation, Sir Husain proceeded to put his house in order. Apprising Sikandar Hayat and other Unionists of the dangers of factionalism, he determined to reorganize the party. Sensing a growing conflict between Sikandar Hayat and Noon, he saw to it that both did not stay together in the Punjab simultaneously. Noon, though Husain's relative, got the office of secretary of state on the viceroy's executive council through the latter's intervention which pleased Sikandar Hayat immensely. [35] 

Government of India Act, 1935 and the Unionist Party

Simon Commission discussed to award voting rights to the maximum people. So the Unionist leaders including Mian Mushtaq Ahmad Gormani, Syed Mubarak Ali Shah and Mian Ahmed Yar Khan Daultana demanded more feudal seats (from four to ten) in case of the increase in voting rights. Syed Mubarak said that the representation in the legislative institution was the right of the feudal class. Protection of the feudal class was the actual will of the British government which was expressed through the Unionist party. Under the two party systems, only 745,000 Punjabis had been given the voting right. The British government increased the franchise and more than 2000,000 new people entered the practical politics of the Punjab by enjoying the right to vote. These new voters included different classes of society such as feudal, peasants, municipal voters and the common people of the villages. The terms and conditions of the franchise were flexible only to facilitate the feudal class. The Round Table Conferences produced a white paper which paved the way for the Government of India Act 1935. In these days, Fazl-i- Husain tried his best to protect the Muslim interests because the Muslim League had gone to the background. According to the Government of India Act 1935 following eligibility criteria of the voters:

1. Landlord paying five rupees tax annually was eligible to have voting right.

2. Peasant having 6 acre irrigated land and 12 acre arid land was eligible to cast the vote.

3. Villager paying 8 Rupees tax was given the voting right. [36] 

The deliberations of the Round Table Conffernce resulted in the Governmnet of India Act, 1935, which provided for a "Federation of India", comprising both provinces and states. The Punjab was constituted an autonomous Province on April 1, 1937. The Governor has a Council of ministers to aid and advise him in the exercise of his functions. The Legislature (Legislative Assembly) consist of 175 members, including 4 women. There are 29 districts grouped for administrative purposes under five Commissioners. The system of election has been introduced in the membership of all the district Boards, except Simla. There are 124 Muncipalities. Lahore is the capital, but from May to October the Government Officers are transferred to Simla, where the Governor’s residence is known as Barnes Court. [37] The provisions of the Act establishing the federal central govt were not to go into operation until a specified number of rulers of states had signed instruments of Accession. Since this did not come to pass, the central government continued to function in accordance with the 1919 Act, and only the part of the 1935 Act dealing with provincial governments went into operation. The provinces were given autonomy with respct to subjects delegated to thm. Dyarchy had come to an end, the provincial govts now had full responsibility. The provincial governors were, however, given the "special responsibility" of taking care of minorities. [38] 

These recommendations were greatly criticized by the urban politicians. Sir Gokal Chand Narang raised the point that one-fourth (¼) of the total number of the voters were not agriculturists so Lothene Franchise Committee increased 400,000 in the Punjab constituencies. Overall one out of ten persons in the Punjab fulfilled the eligibility criteria to become voter which shows that the Government of India Act 1935 could not bring a revolutionary change in the electoral process in the Punjab as most of the population was deprived of the democratic right.

With the passing of the Government of India Act of 1935, the history of Indian nationalism underwent a subtle change. Jinnah fully realized that Sir Husain was a power to be reckoned with in the Punjab and tried to bring him into the League. Sir Husain was requested by Jinnah to preside over the 24th annual session of the AIML being held in April I936 at Bombay. The invitation was repeated through the offices of Sir Aga Khan and Ahmed Yar Khan Daultana but the Mian politely refused. After the session Jinnah came to Lahore and saw Sir Husain who had just reorganized his party. Jinnah suggested to him that the Muslim candidates from the province should contest the election as Leaguers not as Unionists, but Sir Husain did not accept it. At this juncture, differences between Sikandar Hayat and Sir Husain came out into the open temporarily though they were quickly patched up through the efforts of Daultana and Shahab-ud-Din. It was reported that Sikandar Hayat wanted to establish a party of his own to lead the next provincial cabinet and the speculation received strength with criticism levelled against Sir Husain by some Hindu politicians like Gulshan Rai, who wrote to Husain: 'The impression I have gathered during the last few months is that the Europeans want Sir Sikandar, and not you to form the first Ministry of the autonomous Punjab. ...But, the fact remains that many non-Muslim Unionists like Sir Ram, Sir Owen and many of their Muslim colleagues remained very close and faithful to Sir Husain. [39] 

In the summer of 1935 a series of violent riots ocured over the Shahidganj Mosque; and this became something of a test case for the sincerity of the non-communal creed of many a Unionist. It also proved a focal issue in the increasing rivalry between the Ahrars and the Unionists, eventually hurting both groups tremendously. Fazl-i-Husain never felt comfortable with the Ahrars; and the Ahrars were never at ease with him and his party. In notes he made at the time, he wrote very critically of the Ahrars: "their position is one of the dangerous unemployed, and they look out for some mischief. Their tendency is to create disruption in Muslim community and thus injure its solidarity." In his Diary, he wrote as bitterly of those who helped the Ahrars as of the Ahrars themselves:

Ahrar-Mirzai controversy, and now Quetta sufferers have helped Ahrars a graet dael. They are the extremists, the riff-raffs of Muslims, and as such Congress seduces them. Firoz is frightened of them and supports them: Sikandar and Muzaffar have been in League with them and encouraging them; Amiruddin is also keeping on the right side of them; while Ahmadyar finances them and encourages them and supports them. Thus they are the recipients of help and support from different persons who hope to use them against each other. Even Government officials and, in particular, the CID are said to be their supports. They are strongly against me. [40] 

Fazl-i-Husain had successfully held together different elements and did 'all the necessary spade-work for giving the Unionist Party a good start under the new constitution so that the fruits of his labor were reaped by Sir Sikandar Hayat Khan. When Sir Husain died on 9 July 1936, the Central Committee of the Unionist Party appointed Sikandar Hayat as the new party chief. Sir Sikandar Hayat, at the time, was the Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, a post he had obtained on recommendation from Sir Husain. With the demise of Sir Husain a long, stable and equally decisive period in Punjabi politics ended. His successor, belonging to the Hayat family of Wah and an industrialist with real estate interests, became the first Chief Minister of the Punjab under the India Act of 1935. While the province entered a new phase in its politics the Punjab tradition went on triumphantly. However, the new premier had to face a more formidable force in the form of a reinvigorated AIML which had begun concentrating on Muslim majority provinces to enlist wider support. [41] 

Historical Elections of 1937:

Though not notice immediately after the introduction of the Act, the provincial elections, held under its provisions in I937, and the results thereof, made this change more apparent and clear. The Indian National Congress secured a sweeping victory in five provinces and was in a position to form coalition ministries in two other provinces--a victory which revealed the efficiency and capability of the party so far as the election machine was concerned. It proved its claim of being a 'National Party'. The Muslim-League, on the other hand, did not fare well at all, especially in the Muslim majority provinces of the Punjab and Bengal. Although it did better in the non-Muslim provinces, yet that was not enough to enable the League to boast of being the sole representative organization of the Muslims. The success of provincial parties like the Krishak Lok Party in Bengal and the Unionist Party in the Punjab showed that the Muslim electorates still thought in terms of 'provincial' or 'local' considerations, and were not moved so much by all-India issues. What was true of the League was also true of the Congress so far as the Muslims were concerned. The latter, too, was not able to capture Muslim seats in numbers adequate enough to demonstrate its popularity amongst Muslims. The elections clearly revealed that neither the Indian National Congress, nor the Muslim League, could claim to represent the Muslims of India. Immediately after I937, therefore, the Congress and the Muslim League set before themselves the task of canvassing Muslim support and enlisting Muslims to their camps in larger numbers. The Congress was motivated by its desire and also its claim of being the only representative organization of the masses of India, irrespective of their religion, caste or creed. For the Muslim League, on the other hand, its very existence was at stake-for if it could not prove its claim to represent the Muslims of India, then it was likely to be lost in oblivion. The only chance lay in proving the validity of its claim of being a 'third party' in the country, which could only be proved by enrolling large numbers of Muslims to its ranks. This 'common objective', therefore, became the major factor which finally led to the 'parting of the ways' so far as the League and the Congress were concerned; for the success of one party naturally was the failure of the other. [42] 

The Act gave self-government and significant autonomy to the provinces that could strengthen the regional parties such as the Unionist party. The first general elections in Punjab were held in 1937. The Unionist party chalked out a manifesto which demanded adult franchise that could help to eliminate the separate electorate system. By this way, the seats reserved for the communal groups were to be suspended automatically. The Unionist manifesto was greatly criticized by the press that the Unionist party included this anti-Muslim demand just to soothe the Sikhs. [43] 

Fazl-i-Hussain busied himself with organizing the election campaign of the Unionist Party on the success of which depended the entire future of the loyalist landlords’ and toadies’ plan. The effort of Mr. Jinnah to unite the progressive Muslims--- the Ahrars, the Congress Muslims, the Leaguers, the Ithad-e-Millat—proved to be abortive. Sir Fazl-i-Hussain had, of course, already refused join this combination. It should be recalled here that the Muslim League was fighting the election on the basis of a fairly progressive popular programme—its election manifesto followed the Congress in many of its aspects. Further in the Central Parliamentary Board of the League—many leading Muslim Congressmen, like Chaudhuri Khaliquzzaman and the Jamiat-ul-Ulema had also joined in. and in the provinces (e.g., U.P.) there was an implicit understanding between the Congress and League to support each other in the election campaign. Thus in his great election tour, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, advised Muslim voters to cast their votes in favor of the

League candidates. Except for two or three places Congress did not put up any candidates against the Muslim League. Hence the chances of Congress-League coalition after the elections were not to be ruled out. Therefore, the reactionaries could not possibly allow the Muslim-League to win in the Punjab.

Not only Sir Fazl-i-Hussain himself refused to have anything to do with the League, he saw to it that that the success achieved by Mr. Jinnah in uniting the Ahrars, the Ittehad-e-Millat and the League was short-lived. Unionist intrigues succeeded. The various constituents of the Muslim League Parliamentary Election Board in the Punjab fell apart shortly after its formation. The progressive camp was disrupted. The strongest Muslim Party in the Punjab at this time, the Ahrars, was the object of a virulent campaign of calumny started directly by Fazl-i-Hussain. They were accused as having deserted the Muslim cause when they did not participate in the satyagraha started for the restoration of Shahidganj to the Muslims from its Sikh owners. On the Election Day itself forged documents alleged to have been written by one Ahrar leader to another stating their disinclination to get entangled in the Shahidganj issue—were distributed in thousands to inflame the Muslim voters against them. This forged letter was meant to be an electioneering weapon as the Zinoviev letter in England. Ahrar and Muslim progressives were defeated and out of a total of 90 Muslim members in the Punjab legislature as many as 80 joined the Unionists.

The Sikh-Muslim tension took a significant political turn for the first time with the announcement of the Communal Award in 1932. According to the Award, the Punjab Muslims got only 49 per cent seats in the provincial assembly, although they were between 55 and 56 per cent of the population of the province. However, the Sikhs felt most hurt due to the Communal Award. They thought that they were much more important than their numbers. Thus, they believed that 20 percent seats for them, in spite of their 13 per cent representation was less than what should have been given to them. Not surprisingly, Sikhs demanded Azad Punjab in the Round Table Conference of 1930-31. [44] 

The Sikh pledged at the Tomb of Maharaja Ranjit Singh that they would make every sacrifice to disparage the Award. But their endeavor failed mainly because the Congress adopted a policy of neutrality towards the Award and Jinnah’s resolution approving the Award was passed without any opposition in the Central Assembly. When Gandhi and his Congress did not oppose the Communal Award, Sikhs felt crestfallen. The Sikh-Muslim relations in the Punjab suffered a great deal during the agitation over the Shahidganj mosque started in 1935. The agitation dramatized as clearly as any other single episode in the twentieth century Muslim politics, the emotional power and political importance of Islamic symbols in the province. The Shahidganj mosque, located in the Landa bazaar outside the Delhi gate at Lahore, was considered as the holy place for the muslims and the Sikhs. It was occupied by Sikhs in the eighteenth century and was used as a Sikh gurdwara for almost 170 years. Though the Muslims were not allowed to offer prayers, the building was physically intact. In spite of the opposition of the Muslims, the officials, in consideration of the long time Sikh occupation of the site palced it under the control of a local Sikh Gurdwaras Committee in early 1930s. [45] 

Although trouble was brewing for some time, the situation got out of control when, on June 29, 1935, the Sikhs announced to demolish the Mosque. On the same night, a Muslim crowd of three or four thousand assembled in front of the mosque to protect it. A direct fight between this crowd and the Sikhs inside the Gurdwara was averted by the intervention of the government authorities. Later, the British took an undertaking from Sikhs that they would not further demolish the mosque. But, during the next week, while strenuous efforts were being made to persuade the leadres to reach an amicable settlement, the Sikh leadres, under pressure from the extremist element, again set about demolishing the mosque. [46] 

In the beginning, the Muslim leaders reacted in a mild way. Anjuman-i-Tahaffuz-i-Masjid Shahidganj (a committee for the protection of the Shahidganj mosque) was founded by a wide spectrum of Unionist Muslims, lawyers, journalists and biradari leadres to find legal means to protect the mosque and press for a peaceful settlement of the issue. However, leadres like Zaffar Ali Khan warned that the issue could lead to a great bloodshed if the matter was not settled immediately for Muslims would not hesitate to make any sacrifice to preserve the mosque. [47] Realizing the significance of the issue, Sir Herbert Emerson, the Governor of the Punjab, encouraged a negotiated settlement. But, on the night of July 7, Sikhs demolished the mosque. The news spread like wild fire throughout Lahore, but, before any serious reaction, curfew was imposed in the city and the situation was controlled. When the curfew was lifted, the Muslims, under Maulana Zafar Ali Khan, formed the Majlis Ittehad-i-Millat on July 14, with an object to fight for the mosque. They even planned to recruit volunteers, dressed them in blue shirts, for the purpose of carrying on the agitation. [48] The fact of the matter was that behind the Shahidganj agitation lay the impulse of the Lahore’s Muslims to assert the moral sovereignty of the Muslim community of which the mosque itself was a symbol and of which the principle of the supremacy of the Sharia was more than a symbol. [49] 

The Muslim held a public meeting on July 19 at Badshahi mosque, after Friday prayers. The speakers urged the worshippers to march directly on to the Shahidganj mosque. Inspired with the religious zeal and shouting religious slogans, the Muslims gathered at the entrance to Landa Bazaar in front of the city police station. They did not pay heed to the police. They were ready ti die for their mission. [50] When Police failed to get control of the situation, and unable to disperse processionist peacefully, they, twice, opened fire on the crowd on July 20. The Muslims finally dispersed when more than a dozen of them died due to heavy firing by the police on the evening of the July 21. The situation in Lahore continued to cause anxiety till the close of the year. On November 6, a Sikh was fatally wounded by a Muslim, which once again, led to tension between the two communities. [