Establishment of Muslim League - General Knowledge of Modern India
The partition of Bengal also gave rise to communal division. The Muslim League was formed on 30 December 1906 under the leadership of Nawab Aga Khan of Dhaka and Nawab Mohsin-ul-Mulk to protect the rights of Indian Muslims. Initially it got a lot of support from the British but when it adopted the idea of self-government, the support from the British ended.
Read More History: Rajagopalachari Formula (1944 AD) - General Knowledge of Modern India
In the Amritsar session of the League in 1908, under the chairmanship of Sir Syed Ali Imam, a demand for separate electorates for Muslims was made, which was fulfilled by the British through the Morley-Minto Reforms of 1909. Maulana Muhammad Ali started the English Journal 'Comrade' and the Urdu paper 'Hamdard' to propagate his anti-League views. He also started 'Al-Hilal' which was the mouthpiece of his nationalist ideas.
Factors that encouraged the Muslim League
British Plan: British wanted to divide Indians on communal lines and that is why they included divisive tendencies in Indian politics, the proof of this was the arrangement of separate electorates and playing the game of caste politics between Brahmins and non-Brahmins.
Lack of Education: Muslims were untouched by western and technical education.
Fall of Muslim Sovereignty: The Revolution of 1857 forced the British to think that Muslims could be a threat to their colonial policies because they had laid the foundation of their rule by removing the Mughal power.
Expression Of Religious Sentiments: Most historians and militant-nationalists glorified only one aspect of Indian composite culture. He praised Shivaji, Rana Pratap etc. but remained silent about Akbar, Sher Shah Suri, Alauddin Khilji, Tipu Sultan etc.
Economic Backwardness Of India: Unemployment had taken a severe form in the absence of industrialization and the attitude of the British towards domestic industries was pathetic.
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