Hist Topic 21 The Gandhi Jinnah Talks 1944 PDF
Hist Topic 21 The Gandhi Jinnah Talks 1944 PDF
Hist Topic 21 The Gandhi Jinnah Talks 1944 PDF
Gandhi wanted the League to support Congress in its struggle to remove the British
while Jinnah knew that he had to secure partition before British left.
Gandhi wanted the central government to have control over key issues such as defense
& foreign policy, while Jinnah wanted these matters to be in the hands in the provinces.
Gandhi considered himself to be speaking for all India while Jinnah reminded him that
really he was just the spokesman of Congress.
Ga dhi ga e the i pressio that he did ’t support the Two Nation Theory, where as this
had now become official League policy.
Question No. 1: were the Gandhi Jinnah talks the most important factor during the 1940s that
led to the partition of the sub continent in 1947? Give reasons for your answer. 14
Nov.2005 Q. 4 c
Question No. 2: why did Gandhi Jinnah talks fail in 1944? 7
June 2011 Q.4 b
Answer to Question No.1:
During the period of 1940s, there were many events in the sub-continent led towards the
partition and independence of the sub-continent and Gandhi Jinnah talks remained one of the
important factors in this progress. Gandhi Jinnah talks were held in Sep. 1944 at Bombay. Mr.
Ga dhi’s ai argu e ts ere that All Indians are one nation because Muslims are only
converts. Therefore demand of separate homeland was baseless. He believed that Congress &
ML should cooperate & achieve independence first. Then a referendum may be held in Muslim
majority provinces to find out if they wished to be separated. Punjab & Bengal will have to be
divided because there are non.-Muslim majority districts. Defense & Foreign offices should be in
control of a central authority.
The cabinet Mission plan in March 1946 to find a solution for handing over power in India. After
long negotiations the Mission gave its proposals which were accepted by ML. Congress accepted
it with its own interpretations & later rejected the plan at which the ML withdrew its
acceptance. The Cabinet Mission failed & went back.
Mountbatten, the new Viceroy arrived in March 1947. He realized that the demand for partition
cannot be ignored & chalked out a plan for the partition of the sub continent. After getting it
approved by the British government, Mountbatten announced the partition of India on 3rd June
1947. He fixed the date of 15th August 1947 for handing over power, announced the
appointment of a boundary commission & the division of assets between India & Pakistan.
Briefly speaking from all the events of 1940s the Lahore resolution was the most important
factor that led to the partition of the sub continent. The resolution formed the basis of later
decisions & emerged as the only proper solution for the political problem of India after the
departure of the British.