Unionist Muslim League
Encyclopedia
The Unionist Muslim League, also known simply as the Unionist Party was a political party
based in the province of Punjab
during the period of British rule in India
. The Unionist Party mainly represented the interests of the landed gentry
and landlords of Punjab, which included Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs. The Unionists dominated the political scene in Punjab from World War I
to the independence of India
and Pakistan
(and the partition of the province
) in 1947.
, Sir Fazli Husain
and Sir Chhotu Ram
were the co-founders of the party. Although a majority of Unionists were Muslims, a large number of Hindus and Sikhs also supported and participated in the Unionist Party.
In contrast with the Indian National Congress
and many other parties of the time, the Unionist Party did not have a mass-based approach. Also in contrast with Congress, the Unionists supported the British Raj
, and contested elections for the Punjab Legislative Council and the central Legislative Council
at a time when Congress and the Muslim League were boycotting them. As a result, the Unionist Party dominated the provincial legislature for a number of years, allowing an elected provincial government to function when other provinces were governed by direct rule.
became the League's president in the mid-1930s. However, the rule of Unionist leader Sir Sikander Hyat Khan
was undisputed in the Punjab. Sir Sikander served numerous terms as Punjab's chief minister, often forming alliances with the Congress and the Shiromani Akali Dal
despite Jinnah's opposition to both parties. Sir Sikander remained the most popular and influential politician in Punjab during his lifetime, preventing both Jinnah and Sir Muhammad Iqbal from gaining the support of a majority of Punjabi Muslims.
, calling for a separate Muslim state. But Sir Sikander formed an alliance with the Akali Dal to govern the province. After Sir Sikander's death in 1942, Sir Chhotu Ram was invited to be the premier, but he declined in favour of young Nawab Sir Malik Khizar Hyat Tiwana. Sir Chhotu Ram died of overwork as he held innumerable rallies and undertook a revolutionary blitzkrieg march from Hodal to Peshawar to warn people against communalism while at the same time he struggled for the approval of Bhakra-Nangal with the unrelenting Raja of Bilaspur. Sir Chhotu Ram died the day the Bhakra file was passed and his dream project to irrigate and power Punjab came through.
The Unionist Party under Khizar Hyat could not match Sir Sikander's popularity, and with the increasing popularity and influence of Jinnah, the Party waned. Although Sir Khizar supported the demand for the creation of Pakistan, the Unionists formed an alliance with the Congress and the Akali Dal to rule Punjab in 1946, even though the Congress and the League were hostile to each other on the national stage.
campaign brought the downfall of Sir Khizar's ministry, which depended on Congress and Akali support; inter-community relations were effectively destroyed as communal violence across India claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people. With the partition of India in August 1947 into the two independent dominion
s of India
and Pakistan
, Punjab was itself partitioned between the two new countries, with the Muslim-majority West Punjab
forming part of Pakistan, and the Hindu/Sikh-majority East Punjab
forming part of independent India. The Unionist Party's diverse pan-provincial organisation was destroyed, with Muslim Unionists integrating themselves into the Muslim League; the party ceased to exist in independent Pakistan.
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
based in the province of Punjab
Punjab (British India)
Punjab was a province of British India, it was one of the last areas of the Indian subcontinent to fall under British rule. With the end of British rule in 1947 the province was split between West Punjab, which went to Pakistan, and East Punjab, which went to India...
during the period of British rule in India
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
. The Unionist Party mainly represented the interests of the landed gentry
Gentry
Gentry denotes "well-born and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past....
and landlords of Punjab, which included Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs. The Unionists dominated the political scene in Punjab from World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
to the independence of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
(and the partition of the province
Partition of India
The Partition of India was the partition of British India on the basis of religious demographics that led to the creation of the sovereign states of the Dominion of Pakistan and the Union of India on 14 and 15...
) in 1947.
Organisation
The Unionist Party, a secular party, was formed to represent the interests of Punjab's large feudal classes and gentry. Sir Sikander Hyat KhanSikander Hyat Khan
Sardar Sir Sikander Hayat Khan, KB, KCSI, Doctor of Oriental Lit etc. was a renowned British Indian politician and statesman from the Punjab.-Early Life:...
, Sir Fazli Husain
Fazli Husain
Sir Fazli Husain, KCSI, Kt. was a Muslim politician in Punjab in the 1920s. He is credited with having been the main engineer of the scheme to establish employment quotas for Muslims in the Indian civil service....
and Sir Chhotu Ram
Chhotu Ram
Rao Bahadur Sir Chhotu Ram was one of the most prominent pre-partition politicians in Punjab and an ideologue of the Jat peasantry and a champion of its interests. Sir Chottu Ram was the first Stephanian to be knighted in 1937...
were the co-founders of the party. Although a majority of Unionists were Muslims, a large number of Hindus and Sikhs also supported and participated in the Unionist Party.
In contrast with the Indian National Congress
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
and many other parties of the time, the Unionist Party did not have a mass-based approach. Also in contrast with Congress, the Unionists supported the British Raj
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
, and contested elections for the Punjab Legislative Council and the central Legislative Council
Imperial Legislative Council
The Imperial Legislative Council was a legislature for India during the middle years of the British Raj.The Indian Councils Act 1909 increased the number of members of the Legislative Council to sixty, of which twenty-seven were to be elected...
at a time when Congress and the Muslim League were boycotting them. As a result, the Unionist Party dominated the provincial legislature for a number of years, allowing an elected provincial government to function when other provinces were governed by direct rule.
Link with the Muslim League
The Unionists shared a common constitution with the Muslim League and followed a common policy and agenda for national issues. But the Unionist organisation and activities in Punjab were virtually independent of the League. The Unionists were virtually an independent political party in the 1920s and 1930s, when the Muslim League was unpopular and divided into feuding factions. The links improved after Muhammad Ali JinnahMuhammad Ali Jinnah
Muhammad Ali Jinnah was a Muslim lawyer, politician, statesman and the founder of Pakistan. He is popularly and officially known in Pakistan as Quaid-e-Azam and Baba-e-Qaum ....
became the League's president in the mid-1930s. However, the rule of Unionist leader Sir Sikander Hyat Khan
Sikander Hyat Khan
Sardar Sir Sikander Hayat Khan, KB, KCSI, Doctor of Oriental Lit etc. was a renowned British Indian politician and statesman from the Punjab.-Early Life:...
was undisputed in the Punjab. Sir Sikander served numerous terms as Punjab's chief minister, often forming alliances with the Congress and the Shiromani Akali Dal
Shiromani Akali Dal
The Shiromani Akali Dal , translation: Supreme Akali Party) is a Sikh nationalist political parties based in Punjab. The current party to be recognized by the Election Commission of India is the one led by Parkash Singh Badal...
despite Jinnah's opposition to both parties. Sir Sikander remained the most popular and influential politician in Punjab during his lifetime, preventing both Jinnah and Sir Muhammad Iqbal from gaining the support of a majority of Punjabi Muslims.
1940s
The Unionists grew closer to the All India Muslim League in the late 1930s. Sir Sikander was one of the movers of the Pakistan Resolution that was passed in LahoreLahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
, calling for a separate Muslim state. But Sir Sikander formed an alliance with the Akali Dal to govern the province. After Sir Sikander's death in 1942, Sir Chhotu Ram was invited to be the premier, but he declined in favour of young Nawab Sir Malik Khizar Hyat Tiwana. Sir Chhotu Ram died of overwork as he held innumerable rallies and undertook a revolutionary blitzkrieg march from Hodal to Peshawar to warn people against communalism while at the same time he struggled for the approval of Bhakra-Nangal with the unrelenting Raja of Bilaspur. Sir Chhotu Ram died the day the Bhakra file was passed and his dream project to irrigate and power Punjab came through.
The Unionist Party under Khizar Hyat could not match Sir Sikander's popularity, and with the increasing popularity and influence of Jinnah, the Party waned. Although Sir Khizar supported the demand for the creation of Pakistan, the Unionists formed an alliance with the Congress and the Akali Dal to rule Punjab in 1946, even though the Congress and the League were hostile to each other on the national stage.
Decline
As the demand for Pakistan grew more intense, political loyalties in the Punjab were reshaped on religious lines. The Direct Action DayDirect Action Day
Direct Action Day , also known as the Great Calcutta Killings, was a day of widespread riot and manslaughter in the city of Calcutta in the Bengal province of British India...
campaign brought the downfall of Sir Khizar's ministry, which depended on Congress and Akali support; inter-community relations were effectively destroyed as communal violence across India claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people. With the partition of India in August 1947 into the two independent dominion
Dominion
A dominion, often Dominion, refers to one of a group of autonomous polities that were nominally under British sovereignty, constituting the British Empire and British Commonwealth, beginning in the latter part of the 19th century. They have included Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland,...
s of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, Punjab was itself partitioned between the two new countries, with the Muslim-majority West Punjab
West Punjab
West Punjab was a province of Pakistan from 1947 to 1955. The province covered an area of 160,622 km², including much of the current Punjab province and the Islamabad Capital Territory, but excluding the former princely state of Bahawalpur. The capital was the city of Lahore and the province...
forming part of Pakistan, and the Hindu/Sikh-majority East Punjab
Punjab (India)
Punjab ) is a state in the northwest of the Republic of India, forming part of the larger Punjab region. The state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the east, Haryana to the south and southeast and Rajasthan to the southwest as well as the Pakistani province of Punjab to the...
forming part of independent India. The Unionist Party's diverse pan-provincial organisation was destroyed, with Muslim Unionists integrating themselves into the Muslim League; the party ceased to exist in independent Pakistan.
See also
- Allama Mashriqi
- Khaksar Tehrik
- Majlis-e-Ahrar-ul-IslamMajlis-e-Ahrar-ul-IslamMajlis-e-Ahrar-ul-Islam or Majlis-e-Ah'rãr-e-Islam , also known in short as Ahrar, was a conservative Sunni Muslim political party in Pakistan prior to the Partition of India...
- Syed Ata Ullah Shah BukhariSyed Ata Ullah Shah BukhariSyed Ata Ullah Shah Bukhari , was an Indian Muslim scholar, religious and senior political leader from the Indian subcontinent. He was one of the Majlis-e-Ahrar-e-Islam's founding members...