Date: 29 January 1910
Location: Delhi
Speaker: Aga Khan III
Source: Speeches of Aga Khan III – K K Aziz
Full Text
Session Delhi: 29 January 1910 The awakening of Muslims in India – formation of the Muslim League- separate representation for Muslims a starting point for good relations between Hindus and Muslims – co-operation and use of the opportunity for further advance towards constitutional government – the Councils as a means to improving the welfare. of Indians – Muslim aims and interests – co-operation with the Hindus – plea for avoiding narrow political outlook and selfish aims problems of education, agriculture, commerce and industry – help sought for Indians in South Mrica in their struggle for equality the ideals of the future Muslim University of Aligarh-co-operation with all communities- the system of wakfalal-Aulad- support law and order-blessings of British rule – elevate the quality of Muslim life and hold forth the highest ideals before the younger gen eration.
Seven years ago I had the honour of presiding at the Moham medan Educational Conference held in this Imperial city at the time of the historic Proclamation Durbar of His Majesty the King Emperor. During the interval many things have happened, and one of the most gratifying signs of the times is the partial awak ening of the Musalmans of India. The recent march of events has been as rapid as it has been momentous; its course is indicated by the enactment in the Indian Empire of what Lord Morley called the “signal transaction”, with which benevolent and states manlike policy his Lordship’s name will be permanently associated – and by the formation of our League. At first the idea of the formation of the League was actually pooh-poohed in some quarters, while in others it did not receive the attention it merited. But as subsequent events have shown, it has more than justified its existence, and I am proud to say that I was one of the originators of the movement. The necessity for the immediate formation of a Muslim League impressed me on the occasion of my visit to Aligarh in 1906, and I communicated the idea to my late and most lamented friend, Nawab Mohsin-ul-Mulk, by whose death we have suffered a serious and irreparable loss. With characteristic foresight, he accepted my suggestion, worked for its attainment, and brought about the Deputation which, waiting on H. E. Lord Minto in 1906, was the starting point of the recognition of the principle that the important Muslim minority in this country should have its fair and legitimate share in the administration of the country. We must not, however, forget that a sympathetic Viceroy whose memory is dear to Hindu and Muslim alike-the Hon’ble Lord Ripon-had in the early eighties laid down the principle of communal representation. For the maintenance of our due share in the political life in this country, and for the removal of an old-standing exclusion, which formed a bone of contention between the Hindus and Mohammedans, the separate electorate for Musalmans was deemed to be an absolute necessity. Now that we have secured it, I hope it will result in a permanent political sympathy and a genuine working entente cordiale between the members of the two great sister com munities.
Let me make it clear that we have not received any undue perference [sic], as has been alleged in some quarters. In fact, we have not got all that we thought was promised or all that we had asked for; but in their final shape, the Reforms were publicly and gratefully acknowledged by us as a fair and reasonable compromise. Here, I must recognize the loyal support which your representatives in England, Syed Ameer Ali and myself, received from practically the whole of the Muslim community; and I must say that without this practically absolute unanimity, we should never have had the fair share of representation in the new Councils to which we are entitled. “When the elements of constitutional government were being introduced into India, it was only natural and right and just that we should press for the reasonable recognition of the special interests and peculiar needs of a vast and important community like the Muslims. I am glad our just demand has been recognized. Now that the Reform Scheme has been finally settled and is actually in active operation, we must accept it as final in an appreciative spirit, worthy of our traditions, and try to make the best of it as loyal subjects of our beloved Sovereign the King Emperor and as citizens of India.
May I venture also to say most emphatically that it is to the interests of Indians – Hindus and Muslims, Christians and Parsis alike – to accept the Reforms in a spirit of cordial appreciation, and that it now lies with us to do our utmost as enlightened citizens to co-operate with [the] Government and our representa tives in the Councils in working them for the common welfare of the people, remembering that if we make a practical and beneficent use of this opportunity, we shall surely, in time to come, get a further advance towards constitutional government.
In fact I may say that self-government has come to our very doors.
On the other hand, if we waste our time in squabbles over the form of the Regulations, and in general hostility towards what should be regarded as a settled fact, we shall lose the sympathy of our well-wishers in India and England, and the result will be that the growth of liberal institutions, and our slow progress on the long path towards ultimate parliamentary institutions in India, will be greatly retarded. We must also remember that if these Reforms fail, the alternative will not be a more liberal set of regulations, but a return to the status quo ante that will check the realization of our aspirations. Public opinion in England scrutinizes India carefully and is watching to see how we dis charge the great trust committed to us. Are we Indians prepared to go forward on the road to reform or to recede and disappoint our friends? Do we desire further liberal concessions, or do we wish the curtailment of the rights now at last granted? There can be no doubt as to the reply. Is it not then the duty of all, Hindus as well as Mohammedans, to prove by our conduct and ability that we are capable of making practical improvements in the moral and material conditions of the people, which is after all the aim of wise -governments? If we fail in the initial stage, what prospect is there of our obtaining the further liberalization of the rules and regulations at a later stage? A grave duty rests upon us in connection with the new Councils; they are not an end in themselves but are only the means to achieve an end, namely, the improvement of the moral, material and economic condition of our people by the diffusion of education and science, so as to develop the intelligence and humanity of our peoples in the highest sense. If we prove by our knowledge of the conditions of the country, by our zeal and efficiency, that our co-operation is an indispensable factor in the improvement of the administration of the country, then I have no doubt that gradually our area of utility and opportunity and powers will expand. But, if on the other hand, we view the Reform Scheme and the regulations under it in a spirit of obstructive particularism instead of using the wide powers placed in our hands for the conservation and development of those forces which are the dynamic factors in national progress all the world over, then as surely as night follows day, we shall divert the slant of fair wind which ought to drive us far on towards the realization of many of our cherished ambitions.
Now that we Musalmans have striven for and obtained a reason able recognition of our rights, should we not consider what our aims are, what interests we have in common with our Hindu brethren, and what are the peculiar communal interests which will demand the steady attention of our representatives? Our first and foremost duty is to prove our active loyalty towards our Sovereign and his heirs and successors by our endeavours to strengthen the foundation of British rule in India and its perma nence by consolidating the sentiments of loyalty which permeate the land, by taking a ligitimate [sic] pride in the glorious Empire in which we are partners, by uniting the great sister communities through the bonds of sympathy, affection, and a community of interests. And may I plead again for no mere cold calculating loyalty, bound up with a materialistic sense of favours to come; but a warm passionate attachment to the Imperial house under which this country has made such gigantic strides, which has given us the most liberal raj the world has ever seen, and which alone guarantees us the peaceful attainment of those grand national destinies that we believe to be in our hand – an attach ment to His Majesty’s throne and person, and through that to the historic institutions of which he is the head, which shall burn in our hearts and colour all our actions … [Our representatives’] function in the Council is of a threefold character. In the first place, they must co-operate, as representative Indian citizens, with other Indians in advancing the well-being of the country by working wholeheartedly for the spread of education, for the establishment of free and universal primary education, for the promotion of commerce and industry, and for the improvement of agriculture by the establishment of co-operative credit and distribution societies, and for the development of all the natural resources of the country. Here indeed is a wide field of work for Hindus and Mohammedans acting together, in forwarding practical measures that must tend to the permanent welfare of the country. In the second place, our representatives must be ready to co-operate with the Hindus and all other sections of society in securing for them all those advantages that serve their peculiar conditions and help their social welfare, for although the two sister-communities have developed on different lines, each suffers from some peculiar weakness in addition to the misfortunes common to general economic and educational back wardness. And then our representatives must watch and promote social measures exclusively for the benefit of their Muslim co religionists with the co-operation, we hope, of the Hindu members; for we, too, have needs that are not known to them and which we alone can fully understand. We have committed to us the sacred duty of helping forward, with our sympathy and advice and practical help, the interest not only of Indian Musal mans, but also of our co-religionists outside India, whose true and permanent welfare depends, in no small measure, upon the greatness of England and upon the maintenance of the British Empire foremost in the councils of the world.
I have no hesitation in asserting that unless Hindus and Mohammedans co-operate with each other in the general devel opment of the country as a whole and in all matters affecting their mutual interest, neither will develop to the full its legitimate aspirations or give full scope to its possibilities. In ord”er to develop their common economic and other interests, both should remember that one is the elder sister of the, other, and that India is their common parent; religious differences should be naturally reduced to the minor position, as such differences have been in America and Western Europe. We must bear in mind that the healthy national unity which we seek to establish will not be promoted but retarded by forgetting the historical and social differences that have made Hindus and Mohamme dans what they are to-day. We must determine what are the interests that we have in common with the Hindus, and _co operate for their advancement; then remember the measures necessary for the removal of our peculiar ills, and again help each other in removing them. What is the actual work of those who sit in the different Councils as our representatives, what is to become of the League, what is its legitimate sphere of work?
My respected friend the Right Hon ‘ble Syed Ameer Ali has to some extent defined the proposed division ofwork of the League, and I fully and cordially agree with him. I need therefore say no more about it than this, that nothing would be more disastrous to our interests than the impression that its work is to be con fined to the narrow limits of political activity or the attainment of merely selfish ends. It must embrace catholic interests in their broadest sense. We must ascertain the real, pressing needs of India; and then devote our attention and energies to satisfying them.
We have then before us a comprehensive programme involving a vigorous, practical, sustained attack on the problems relating to education, agriculture, commerce and industry. I place free primary education for the masses in the front rank. Our aim must be to see that it is not only free and universal but also sufficiently practical to be of use to agriculturists and labourers.
In arranging our courses of elementary education, we must keep in mind the fact that an immense proportion of those attending the primary schools do not proceed beyond them, and that they should be so designed that the pupil will fully benefit from the primary schools without reaching the secondary. We must concentrate our energies on primary education in such a way that there shall be no redundance or superfluity, so as to make it of real benefit to the recipients. The agricultural classes should in particular be given such training as will secure them the fruits of their industry. Our system of secondary education stands in need of a twofold development. We should extend and improve the facilities for imparting a sound grounding to those who are proceeding to the Arts Course, and then, on the other hand, we need urgently to develop a “modern” side, which will be com plete in itself, and will fully equip the student for a career in the rapidly increasing commercial activities of the country, or for the specialized scientific course, for which there is an ever growing field. So far we have made little or no progress towards securing that diffused knowledge of science, which is absolutely essential if the country is to take its rightful place amongst the producer nations of the world. Until our teaching machinery is enormously improved, students in these special courses must obtain their instruction abroad, and there is no method better than the multiplication of Government and other scholarships.
But we shall not rest content until there are provided in this country facilities for the instruction of its students up to the highest pitch demanded by the stress of modern industrial life.
Then when we have our trained men, we have to assist them to develop the economic resources of the country. We must send our boys not only to England and the Continent but to America and Japan, so that they may learn the various processes in the lives of that great industrial commonwealth. Those who have acquired proficiency in commercial training should be helped by co-operative societies to open business not only in Europe and America but in Mrica and Asia to find markets for indigenous Indian products. To foster local industries, to relieve agricultural indebtedness, and to ameliorate the lot of the peasantry and encourage artisans, it is necessary to form extensive co-operative societies under the aegis of the Government.
To obtain the regeneration of Indian arts and industries, either a temporary moderate system of protection, or, some corre sponding economic expedient should be adopted, so as to prevent the strangulation of these infant industries. We must have ever before our eyes the fact that the great mass of the Indian population is dependent upon agriculture … Hindus and Mohammedans have ample scope for improving the lot of the toiling agriculturists, impoverished by the ravages of famine consequent upon drought and their social customs and thriftless habits. Here we have an immense agricultural class; our duty is to make that agriculture pay. By a rational system -of elementary education we can keep the peasant from the coils of the usurer; by the extension of irrigation we can reduce his. dependence upon an erratic rainfall. But the history of agriculture all the world over tells us that the salvation of the small cultivator lies in co-operation. Co-operation to secure cheap credit and. wipe off the burden of hopeless debt that hangs round the necks of our ryots; co-operation to secure cheap and efficient distribution; co-operation in the introduction of agricultural implements and to profit by the lessons of our Research Institute and experi mental farms – this is the only agency that can permanently benefit our backward agriculture. Then our industrial develop ment must equally claim our united attention. No country in the world can be great or prosperous until its agricultural and industrial activities have been made mutualy [sic] dependent on each other. It is commerce and trade that have made European countries prosperous and powerful; and if we aspire to our legit imate place in the British Empire, we must concentrate our mind on our economic development.
Another direction in which the two communities must immedi ately work together is on the burning question of the Indians in South Mrica. Our fellow subjects, who are there maintaining an unequal struggle in a heroic manner that commands our admiration are wilfully subjected to persecution, insults and indignity and are branded with the undeserved stigma of an inferior race. We must all do all in our power to help our compat riots in South Mrica. Hindus and Mohammedans have combined there in the common defence of the prestige of the whole Indian population; and the passive resistance they offer, amid untold privations and sufferings, with patience and martyrdom, must set an example to those here who are not ashamed to have a recourse to measures that have brought infinite shame and disgrace to India. If no better method can be found of bringing the Colonial Government to see the glaring injustice and cruelty of their acts to our brethren, we must ask the Government to stop all indented labour to South Mrica as a mild step of retaliation. Yet another channel, and even more important for immediate purposes than anything else, in which Hindus and Mohammedans can co operate with all their powers of mind and will, is the wiping out of the blot on the fair name of India by the extirpation of the anarchical cult. We must send earnest missionaries, form organizations and vigilance committees, and from pulpits and platforms, from mosques and temples, orders must emanate for the prevention of political crime, inflicting social disabilities on sedition-mongers and their disciples. In particular, students must be guarded from the tainted influence of the foolish and insane people who would ruin the country. All these are questions in which loyal and patriotic Hindus and loyal and patriotic Moham medans can work hand in hand for a common goal with singleness of purpose and awakened conscience.
Now I will come to the questions of separate or exclusive Muslim interests, which, let me at once add, in no way clash with the interests of the great sister community, but still affect us only.
Pre-eminent amongst these practical questions is the foundation of a Muslim University at Aligarh. As I pointed out here seven years ago, our youth must be in a position to acquire, in addition to modem science, a knowledge of the glorious past of our religion. Without a sincere and deep but unobtrusive and chari table faith, without that childlike feeling of dependence on the Unseen Power of which the visible universe is but a sign, our youth can never develop their highest and noblest faculties, their spiritual and emotional qualities. Our univc~~,rsity must be a resi dential university. Like those great seats of learning, Oxford and Cambridge, it will strive to form the character, as well as train the intellect, and satisfy the emotions through the medium of a loving and charitable faith, of discipline, of field sport, and that intangible atmosphere that environs all which is best in university life. It should be the home of our great ideas and great ideals.
But it should also be much more: our efforts ought to be bent to the task of making Aligarh a Muslim Oxford – an educational centre and intellectual capital to which all Muslims should turn for light and guidance. We should lay bare before the rising generations the treasures concealed in ancient Arabic lore with a view to developing the spiritual and emotional side of their nature, which in its true sense is now even more backward than our economic condition. In order to enable us to come in touch with what is best in the ancient Hindu civilizations and better to enable us to understand the origin and structure of Hindu thought and religion in its widest sense, as well as to inculcate in us a feeling of respect and affection for our fellow~subjects, and to teach us to consider their customs and their prejudices, San skrit and other Oriental literature ought also to be given due prominence in the curricula. The object of the university is not to gratify mere sentiment or vanity; we believe it to be necessary for the true development of our principles and the ultimate spiritual unity of our faith. Commonsense and science alike teach us that we are not independent agents but links between the past and the future; and all that is healthy and glorious in the past should be preserved, taught and understood, because it exercises a beneficial influence on the future. It is therefore necessary that all that is good should be conserved to enable us to hold a spiritual communion with the beloved figures of the Prophet and his companions and with our splendid ~istoric’ past.
To avoid the catastrophe involved in the radical separation of ancient and modern ideals, the university is our great need.
Moreover, it is our aim to develop discipline and reverence in our youth, and instil in their minds the principles of toleration, piety and charity, so that they can live in concord and harmony with other races. Our loyalty to the Throne must be absolute, and our relations with the Hindus and all other Indian communi ties who share that loyalty must frankly be most cordial. Otherwise our political activities will tend to the undoing of both, and ultimately prove detrimental even to the British Power. The true interests of the British Empire can never lie in a policy of ‘divide and rule’. Such a policy, as British and Indian statesmen worthy of the name well know, can only weaken their ultimate power and make India a source of anxiety instead of a source of strength.
Whilst we hold fast to our own religious, social, and ethical ideals, whilst we hold equally fast to the separate organization and separate representation which are essential for their maintenance and to secure for our community its due influence in the body politic, it must be the desire of our rulers, no less than of our selves, to pursue these ideals, to work out our constructive programme, in harmonious co-operation with all other Indians who accept the cardinal principles of our political faith·- the ordered development of this country under the Imperial Crown.
Time, the opportunities for co-operation in stimulating the social and economic progress of this country, and the diffusion of education will also, I believe, remove the acerbities attaching to the religious difficulties and caste disabilities which sap the foundation of Indian society, so that they will become, in the distant future, the minor forces that they are now in Western Europe and America. If we extend hearty and sincere co-oper ation in each other’s transactions and interests and pursue higher ideals and act with moderation and judicious calm, then I have no apprehension for the future of India.
Now I will say a few words in special support of the suggestions made by my distinguished friend Syed Ameer Ali, the President of the London Branch of this League – whose absence from our deliberations I deplore more than I can say – as to the system of Wakfalal-Aulad. This is again our exclusive interest, but I hope the Hindus will co-operate with us in seeing that Muslim families are not broken into pieces. We must strive to bring about a satisfactory solution of this important question, as it is necessary that Muslim families should be protected against ~e impover ishing influence of constant and vexatious sub-divisions. I feel very strongly on the subject, with Syed Ameer Ali, and I think this is a question where our Muslim representatives can directly set to work, and thus benefit the community. I fully endorse the various practical suggestions made by Syed Ameer Ali, but I do not wish to tire you out by treading the same ground, as most of you are already familiar with my full agreement with his views on the practical proposals placed before us in his usual forceful manner by the London President.
And now, gentlemen, let me say a final word with regard to the future. We have before us a convincing demonstration of the altruism and liberality of British statesmanship. In the midst of difficulties so great that at times they threatened to overcast the political horizons, undaunted by acts of anarchy in India and those conservative influences that must beset the path of the reformer in every country and in every age, Lord Minto and Lord Morley have turned a bright new page in Indian history. We do not know which to admire most-the courage and sympathy of the Viceroy, or the judgment, intellectual strength and sober liberalism of Lord Morley. But we are confronted by the fruits of their work. We see the representatives of all classes of people in this country brought to the Councils of the Imperial and provin cial governments in numbers never before approached. We see these Councils endowed with an authority, with opportunities for making the opinions of its members known and operative, to a degree far transcending any that existed in the past, associating us indeed with the daily administration of the country. The future lies more largely than ever with ourselves. By the measure in which we rise to these responsibilities shall we be judged, will the fortunes of the land to which we are passionately attached rise or fall. Fully conscious of these opportunities, let me once again earnestly appeal to all to support law and order, remembering the immense blessings British rule has conferred upon this land.
Never was the condition of Indians more happy than it is to day. Never was peace of the country so serene and secure as under the Crown. Fifty years of British rule in India, since it passed to the direct control of the Crown from the East India Company, has changed the entire character and pol~tical aspect of the country. We have been secured against strife and disorder.
The elevation of the people in the scale of civilization by means of Western training, the development of the country by encouraging foreign capital, the gradual disappearance of social and tra ditional barriers through the levelling influence of education, the security of life, property and peace, and the dispensation of justice with an even hand to rich and poor alike, the’ guarantee of freedom of thought and speech, and liberty of press, and above all religious toleration, have all brought about a silent but steady change in the thoughts, aspirations and manners and behaviour of the people. We are at the beginning of a period of renaissance and reform in the social, economic and political life of the people, and by ethical teachings we may inspire our youth and their descendants, with a genuine love of their country and fellowmen. The moral and material and intellectual condition of the population presents a curious and on the whole a favourable contrast with the pre-British period; and in the words of the philosopher-statesman that rules India, the bureaucracy in India has proved to be “a great and splendid machine for performing the most difficult task that ever was committed to the charge of any nation”. Indian public spirit is cultivated on Western lines, the intellectual expansion is quickened in a marvellous degree.
New hopes and new ambitions have been created as a natural sequence of this instruction, and to meet them British statesmen have wisely resolved to give Indians a far larger share in the administration of the country. No human agency can be perfect in this world and that applies to British rule as to all others; but even if the British Government had no other claim on our affections, these great political concessions alone would entitle them to our deep and sincere gratitude. But they have, as you and I know full well, changed the destiny of the country, set afoot progressive agencies, the end of which is not yet in sight, and brought the country into line with the civilized countries of Europe, proving in the words of the great English poet:
Peace has her victories, No less renowned than war.
All this is due to the beneficial influence of Pax Britannica.
Now may I ask whether we have paid our debt to the Empire, to our country and to our community? The community that carried culture to the Pyrenees and to Central Asia, the community that can still recall with emotional pride the greatness of Cordova and Damascus cannot be dead to its sense of duty. I appeal to you with all the force in my power, I entreat you with all the earnestness at my command, to imitate the spirit of those who made Toledo and Baghdad, to dream day and night, to work day in day out, for the noble object of elevating Muslim life so as to hold forth the highest ideals before the younger generation. The task before us is of stupendous magnitude, the path of progress is endless; but if we have at heart the true interests of Islam, no obstacle and no sacrifice will be too great to speed our onward march on the path of progress. . . . our immediate aim shall be to make young generations virtuous and efficient and our posterity robust and healthy, so that it may fulfil its legitimate part in the Empire with honour to the race. Let our pole-star be active and unimpeachable loyalty to the Sovereign and the glory of India and of Islam.
Source: Syed Sharifuddin Pirzada ( ed.), Foundations ofP akistan: All India Muslim League Documents, 1906-1947, National Publishing House, Karachi, n.d. (?1969), Vol. I (1906-24), pp. 94-103.
This address was delivered at the first sitting on the morning of the opening day (a Saturday) of the third annual session of the All India Muslim League held at the Sangam Theatre in Delhi on 29-30 January 1910. Hakim Muhammad Ajmal Khan was the President of the Reception Committee, and after his speech Maulana Syed Ahmad, the Imam of the Juma Masjid of Delhi, recited a few verses of the Quran. Then the Aga Khan gave his address, at the end of which he introduced to the audience the president of the session, Sir Ghulam Muhammad Ali Khan Bahadur, c.I.E., the Prince of Arcot. This cer emony was followed by the Prince’s presidential address of the year. As soon as the presidential speech came to an end, Mian Muhammad Shafi announced that the Aga Khan had made a permanent annual grant of Rs. 4,000 to the All India Muslim League besides that of Rs. 1,600 to its London branch.
On the following day, the Aga Khan moved a resolution asking for the election of sixteen vice-presidents, one honorary secretary and two joint secretaries of the League. It was adopted unanimously. Mawlawi Muhammad Aziz Mirza was named honorary secretary, and Haji Muhammad Musa Khan of Aligarh and Mawlawi Sayyid Wazir Hasan of Lucknow were appointed joint secretaries.
On the fourth sitting on Sunday, a resolution, moved by the President himself and adopted without dissent, said that the All India Muslim League “places on record its appreciation of the great services rendered to the Muhammadan cause by His Highness the Aga Khan, G.C.I.E., and assures him of its continued confidence and trust in his statesmanship and in his leadership of the Musal mans of India”.
The session ended with three cheers for His Imperial Majesty the King Emperor.
It was in this session that the League decided and announced the shifting of its headquarters from Aligarh to Lucknow.
For the official record of this session see Proceedings of the Third Afl,nual Session of the All-India Muslim League Held at Delhi, published by the party on 9 July 1910, reproduced in Pirzada, op. cit., pp. 87-139.
For the All India Muslim League see Muhammad Aziz Mirza, A Talk on Muslim Politics, Lucknow, 1910; A. B. Rajput,. Muslim League Yesterday and Today, Lahore, 1948; Muhammad Noman, Muslim India: Rise and Growth of the All-India Muslim League, Allahabad, 1942; M. R. T., Nationalism in Conflict in India; Bombay, n.d. (?1942); W. C. Smith, The Muslim League, 1942-45, Lahore, 1945; M.A. Jinnah, Presidential Addresses of Quaid-i-Azam M. A. ]innah Delivered to the Sessions of the All India Muslim League, Delhi, 1946; I. H. Qureshi, The Struggle for Pakistan, Karachi, 1965; Chaudhuri Khaliquzzaman, Pathway to Pakistan, Lahore, 1961;’ Lal Bahadur, The Muslim League: Its History, Activities and Achievements, Agra, 1954; Abdul Hamid, Muslim Separatism in India: A Brief Survey, 1858-1!j47, Lahore, 1967; Syed Sharifuddin Pirzada (ed.), Foundations of Pakistan: All India Muslim League Documents, 1906-1947, Karachi, n.d., 2 vols; and M. L. Becker, “The All India Muslim League, 1906-1947: A Study of Leadership in the Evolution of a Nation”, unpublished Ph.D. thesis, University of Harvard, 1957.