Fourteen Points/ Demands Of Jinnah - General Knowledge of Modern India

Fourteen Points/ Demands Of Jinnah - General Knowledge of Modern India

The Nehru Report was accepted in the National Conference of 1928. Regarding the Nehru report, Jinnah had said that - 'The Nehru report was a response to the Muslim proposals from the Hindus.' Jinnah considered the Congress resolution, in which the Nehru Report was accepted, as an insult to the Muslim community and concluded that no justice could be obtained from Mahatma Gandhi and the Congress.

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With the aim of bringing unity among the Muslim League factions, Jinnah called a meeting of the League in Delhi in March, 1929 and rejected the Nehru report and demanded fourteen points/14 points/14 of Jinnah. These demands were as follows -

Jinnah's Fourteen Demands

1. The constitution of India should be federal and the residuary rights should be kept under the provinces.
2. Autonomous government should be established equally in all the provinces.
3. All legislatures and elected bodies should be reconstituted and minority castes should be given adequate representation.
4. In the provincial legislatures, the majority should be the majority of the people and it should neither be reduced nor equalized.
5. Muslims had one-third representation in the Central Legislature.
6. All the communities should be represented on the basis of separate electoral system and if any community so desires, it can adopt joint electoral system.
7. Territorial reorganization should be done in Punjab, Bengal and North-West Frontier Province in such a way that due to this the Muslims do not become a minority in these provinces.
8. Full religious freedom should be guaranteed to all religious denominations and no restrictions should be placed on worship, conduct, propagation.
9. Such bills should not be introduced in any legislature whose relation is harmful to a particular community. If 3/4th members of the said community do not express their consent regarding the bill, then it should not be introduced.
10. Sindh should be separated from Bombay province and given the status of an independent province.
11. Constitutional reforms should begin in the North-West Frontier Province and Balochistan as in other provinces.
12. Like other Indians, Muslims should get a fair opportunity to work in government institutions and autonomous bodies on the basis of skill.
13. Proper provision should be made for the development of religion, culture, language and education of Muslims in the future constitution.
14. Muslims should get 1/3 representation in the central and provincial cabinets.
15. The Central Assembly can amend the Constitution only if it has received approval for doing so from the constituent states of the Indian Union.

Brief of Jinnah 14 Points

Jinnah had insisted on the basis of separate electorate and expressed his disagreement on the method of joint election. Special representation should be given to Muslims in Muslim-majority provinces and where they are minorities, they should get more representation. The all-party Muslim Congress expressed its dissent on Jinnah's plan and the Shafi-faction also did not agree. The Muslim League meeting was adjourned amid the uproar. Jinnah's fourteen demands were first approved by the Jamiat-ul-Ulama of Peshawar. Attempts by the nationalist Muslims to convert the communal election into a political election were thwarted.