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G M Syed
The Case of
Sindh –
G.M. Syed's Deposition in Court
The Case of Sindh 2
AWord from Publisher
This dissertation (on the Case of Sindh before the Court) by G.M. Sayed, the great leader of the people of Sindh, is the
English translation of its original in Sindhi, published in 1993, entitled "Sindh Galha-ay-thee" (Sindh Speaks).
The purpose of this publication Is to inform the intellectual world at large - since English today commands position of
the foremost communication medium internationally - of what transpired in the politics of the Indian sub-continent,
more particularly in the context of Sindh, during the split- decade of 1937-47, and with what grave consequences,
immediate and distant, both historical and cultural. What happened in the sub-continent was, infect a part of the post-
War 11 convulsions that overtook the human world globally. With time, this world is once again taking now a direction
to a new politico-economic and ideological re-structuring affecting also its geography visibly. What socio-political map
of our world in the sub- continent would emerge at the advent of the twenty first century and onwards depends on the
shape of the wave of change building up before us in this crucial last decade of the 20th century.
Books speak out when courts sit dumb and deaf, and hundreds and thousands of the readers sit on the seats of judgment
on the right and wrong of the causes that clasp the mind and soul of societies for better or worse. Such books, symbolize
the cry of the suffering people and articulate their hopes and aspirations, pose a challenge to the rulers and question the
legitimacy of their mansions and systems of rule. The publication in hand could claim to be one of such books
actualizing the cry of the Sindhi Nation for justice, even as G. M. Sayed, its octogenarian author, languishes In his house
declared as a sub-jail by the Government of Pakistan. Ha sits there confined, charged of the sin of making a public
speech on his Eighty Ninth birth day celebration on 17 January 1992 in Nishtar Park, Karachi. He is neither produced
before the Court to answer the charge nor permitted to step out of the four walls of his house or to meet any friendly
visitor. The 3 years of his on-going house-detention, added to twenty seven years of his political incarcerate on other
counts in the public prison- houses in Pakistan, cover nearly the full two third of the life of Pakistan from 1947 to-date.
For the publication of this book, we owe our gratitude a thanks primarily to our esteemed friends Sayed Afzal Hyder,
Zafar lqbal Mirza and Mohammed Ibrahim Joyo, and also to our c leagues Abdul Wahid Aresar, Taj Joyo, Khadim
Hussain Soomro, Sayed Zia Shah, and Muneer Shah. But for the work and guidance and their assistance and advice,
this publication would not have seen the light of the day.
Hameed Sabzoi
Secretary Naeen Sindh Academy, Karachi
November 29,1994
The Case of Sindh 3
Your Honor!
For three-quarters of a century now, I have struggled for the emancipation of my oppressed people who live in these
parts of South Asia. All this while, I have earned the ire of rulers who have usurped power. On numerous occasions I
have been under house arrest or in jail during the best years of my life. Whenever I have tried to raise my voice against
the vandalization of Sindh, my Motherland, I have been jailed. Several attempts have been made on my life.
I have never once been allowed to state my case in any court of law and to speak on the subjugation of my people. This
is the first time that I have been given an opportunity to speak on my land's laments. I wish to tell this court and through
it to all humanity, especially the thinking people who are living in the closing years of the 20th century, the atrocities that
have been committed against my Motherland, Sindh, by ruthless occupying nations. I want to do so also in order to tell
my people, its intellectuals, how a nation which has given the lead to all peoples of the world in the fields of art and
culture is now being brutalized and held captive by force and fraud. There are people in this land who are under the
influence of migrant feudalistic from India, and are proudly touting subjugation as the panacea for Sindh's problems.
Among our many misfortunes is the fact that some of our compatriots hate independence and love enslavement. At this
juncture, representing the spirit of Sindh, I repudiate these elements. If I don't do so, I shall be considered to have
violated the sanctity of the spirit of independence for Sindh.
I wish to state here, Your Honor, that Sindh is a distinct geographic entity where there are rivers, forests, lakes,
mountains, deserts and verdant valleys. Through the ages it has been expanding and contracting. It has been
independent and enslaved during various stages of its history but, at the same time, it has always had a pure and proud
soul that has never accepted slavery or indignity. It has never surrendered to death despite the fact that attempts have
been made to bond or break it. This spirit has flitted around Sindh like monsoon clouds as the last voice of the
Dravidians of Mohen-jo-Daro. It has emerged from time to time- sometimes in the shape of Raja Dahir, sometimes in
the person of Dodo Soomro, sometimes in the shape of Darya Khan and Makhdoom Bilawal and Shah Hyder Sannai. It
has expressed itself in the love and courage of Shah Inayat,
I feel that these historic persons of Sindh have become part and parcel of my being which would like to reach a logical
end now. Without doubt, it is Sindh's geographic, national, political, economic, cultural and moral beauty, which are
the ingredients of its independence. It is this throbbing spirit which has forced me since early childhood to strive for the
emancipation of Sindh and its people. Whatever shape my political struggle has taken in South Asia, it has had but one
focal point- "independence for Sindh". All that which I will now state about my political endeavors should be seen in the
light of the submissions I have just made.
Your Honor!
I completed my early education in Sindhi in 191 5 when the First World War was at its peak. When I took to studying
English and Persian, I began to see the world in a new light. I came to realize that the world was facing four major
problems - poverty, illiteracy, lawlessness and fear Philosophers, intellectuals and men of wisdom have been trying to
solve these problems down the ages. When pondered over these problems, I came to realize that they were rooted in
these factors:
Colonialism, feudalism and capitalism caused poverty; Nomadic life and lack of civic and educational facilities together
with high cost of education caused illiteracy; And the bloody and barbaric World War on the international level and
disorderly life, superstition and blind faith together with threats from wild animals, thieves and marauding raiders at the
local levels produced fear and lawlessness. As I have said, this was the time when the First World War was at its height.
Human life had become cheaper than animal life and thousands of innocent people were being killed. In war, the brave
man is he who has killed more people than the others. We, the people of Sindh, had by that time been forcibly made part
The Case of Sindh - G.M. Syed's
deposition in court (Part 1)
The Case of Sindh 4
of British India and had become slaves of the British. The Indians were used as gun fodder. The British had made several
promises to the people of the sub-continent in return for their cooperation in the war effort. Among these, the most
important pledge was that all British colonies, including India, would be freed.
The Muslims were assured that despite the fact that Britain was at war with Turkey, their holy places would not be
desecrated and the Muslim lands would be set free. The First World War ended in 1918. Small nations in Europe got
their independence but not so in Asia and Africa. On the contrary, through new divisions and treaties, they were put
under a stronger and sterner colonial rule.
When the Indian Muslims who were even more specially under the influence of religion came to know that the Turkish
Empire was being cut into pieces and that the countries under it would be divided among the British, the Greek and tie
French and that the holy places would be placed under Allied control and that India would not be set free, they were
gravely Perturbed, Generally also, a wave of protest against British imperialism swept across India. The Muslims
launched the Khilafat Movement to express solidarity with Turkey. The All-India Congress, which had hitherto done
little except Passing resolutions or presenting memoranda (to the British), became an active political party after
Mahatma Gandhi's return from South Africa. He used the public sentiment against the Raj to telling effect by forging
Hindu Muslim unity. Sensing that this unity would be dangerous for their interests, the British, instead of introducing
further reforms, clamped the Rowlatt Act on India under which the emergency powers which the government had
assumed during the First World War were perpetuated. All communities in India protested against this black law.
As part of the general protest, a public meeting was held at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar on April 13, 1919. General
Dyer ordered the force under his command to open fire on the protesters. As a result of the brutal and indiscriminate
firing, hundreds of people died and thousands were injured. A storm of protests rose against this massacre. Sindh also
took part in the protest movement.
I was a witness to all this and had reached a stage in my life where I could not remain aloof from what was happening
around me. I began increasingly to wish to join the intrepid and organized struggle that was gathering pace against
British imperialism. I got my opportunity soon enough. Pir Turab Ali Shah and Jan Mohammed Khan Junejo organized
a Khilafat Conference on February 7-9, 1920. It was presided over by the Sindhi veteran Pir Rushdullah Shah
Jhandeywaro; I also attended this conference together with Makhdoom Moeenuddin of Khinyari and Syed Asadullah
Shah Tikhurai. Among those who attended were Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Maulana Abdul Bari Farangi Melhi,
Maulana Shaukat Ali and Shaikh Abdul Majid Sindhi despite my young age, this conference did much to create political
awareness in me. My first political act was to organize a Khilafat Conference in my hometown on March 17, 1920. It
was presided over by Maulvi Hakeem Fateh Mohammed Sehwani. Many prominent Sindhi leaders like Shaikh Abdul
Majid Sindhi, Dr. Nur Mohammed, Shaikh Abdul Aziz, Shaikh Abdus Salam (Editor, Al-Wahid attended the
conference.
Funds were collected for the Turkish cause and several people announced their decision to leave the service of the
British. This was part of the Tehrik-i-Tark-i-Mawalat under which many People renounced British titles and judicial and
other jobs throughout India.
Two days after the conference, a general strike was observed in my hometown on March 19, 1920, to express solidarity
with the Turks, After that, I attended Khilafat conferences in several cities in Sindh. The meeting held at the Dargah of
Makhdoom Bilawal on March 26, 1920 was the most important one of my early life because I made my first public
speech there. Since I was young and of short stature, I spoke from a tabletop. Apart from the leaders referred above, I
met Mahatma Gandhi at the Sann Railway Station when he was on his way from Hyderabad to Dadu on April 27,
1921. In the brief meeting, Gandhi advised me to wear Khaddar that I did the following month. Since I was a minor, I
was under Court of Wards and a warden had been appointed for me. This court of wards managed my family's estate
The Case of Sindh 5
and paid me a certain sum every, month. The Government took a stern view of my participation in the Khilafat
Movement and the Sindh Commissioner, who warned me to keep out of it because it was anti-British, summoned me to
Kotri. The Government was aware of my family's relations with the people of Kotri Tehsil and the Kohistani areas
many of them had attended the Khilafat conferences and the Government feared that the general feeling of discontent
might flare up into an uprising.
The Commissioner threatened that punitive action would be taken against me if I continued to participate in the Khilafat
Movement. I told him that I had no intention of withdrawing into my shell. I was the only male in a four-member
family. The court of wards then suspended m) monthly stipend and I was told that I would be sent to Bombay for forced
education. An official however also proposed that the court of wards should hand over my lands to me so that the cares
of estate management may prevent me from taking part in active politics. In spite of all this, I continued to take part in
the Khilafat Movement with zeal.
Since there was great unity between the Hindus and the Muslims at the time the meetings of the All-India Congress, the
Jamiat-i-Ulema-i-Hind and the Muslim League used to be held at the same city at the same time. As a result, I could
meet many political leaders. Until Hindu-Muslim differences weakened the Khilafat Movement, I continued to take part
in it till 1924. In 1929, Turkey, realizing that the Khilafat was the root cause of its problems, abolished it. Consequently,
the Khilafat Movement fizzled out in India also. This led political workers to think in terms of abandoning agitational
methods and to seek change through constitutional and legal means under the Montagu Cheimsfo Reforms. So taking
politics as a vehicle for social change, I started to work for the welfare of the people after being elected Vice-President of
the Karachi Local Board and President of the Manjhand Tehsil Local Board. I was later elected President of the Karachi
District Board in the year 1925.
It was around this time that the British appointed the Simon Commission to review the Indian situation. No Hindu or
Muslim was represented on the Commission that was, therefore, boycotted both by the All-India Congress and the
Muslim League. I had by then joined the All-India Congress. As a congressite and an old Khilafat Movement worker, I
strove to have the Simon Commission boycotted in Sindh. Wherever the Commission members went, they were greeted
with black flags and 'Simon go back' slogans.
All members elected those days to the Bombay legislative council from Sindh belonged to the feudal class who worked
only for personal or group interests. No wonder they cooperated with the Simon Commission. In 1928, a movement for
the separation of Sindh from Bombay was launched. Three important conferences were held for this purpose in Karachi,
Hyderabad and then again in Karachi. Resolutions giving facts and figures together with cogent arguments were Passed,
The British were told that Sindh had never been a part of India and that its merger with Bombay had no historic, moral
or legal justification. Important leaders like Haji Abdullah Haroon, Shaikh Abdul Majid Sindhi, Mohammed Ayub
Khuhro, Pir Ali Mohammed Rashdi, Jethmal Parsram Mir Mohammed Baloch, Jamshed Nausherwan Mehta, Rustam
Khurshid Sidhwa and myself attended these conferences. The British annexed Sindh after a bloody war in 1843 and a
free people were enslaved. Even so, Sindh remained a separate entity for four years under Governor Sir Charles Napier.
In 1847, Sindh was made part of the Bombay Presidency for administrative purposes. The struggle that we launched was
called the movement for independence from Bombay. I confess to the intellectuals of my nation and its intrepid new
generation that since we did not have adequate political acumen and since we were embroiled in problems of an all-India
nature, instead of demanding complete independence for our country, we only demanded that it be made an
autonomous province of India. Indeed, we should have demanded total independence, Let us not commit the error here
of equating Sindh with the other states of India whose rulers had later risen in revolt to sever them from the rest of the
sub-continent as had happened in the case of Hyderabad Deccan, Mysore, Jodhpur, Junagadh, Jaipur, Baroda and
similar other states which were naturally and historically a part of India. In Sindh, the case was totally different.
Through the ages, Sindh had existed as a separate entity parallel with Hind (India). When the struggle was on for the
The Case of Sindh 6
separation of our land from Bombay, Khan Bahadur Khuhro wrote a book titled 'Sufferings of Sindh' in which he had
argued with the help of historical references that Sindh was an ancient, independent land. As I have stated before, the
feudals of Sindh who were represented on the Bombay Council were in favor of the Simon Commission. That is why the
Commission had constituted a provincial committee headed by Mr. Shahnawaz Bhutto. Some members of the Bombay
Council were put on this committee. Shahnawaz Bhutto was against the separation of Sindh at that stage but Syed
Miran Mohammed Shah had written a note favoring the idea. Subhash Chandra Bose and Dr. Saifuddin Kitchlew were
touring Sindh at the time and I had greeted them warmly and feted them in Karachi. The British Government didn't like
the idea that the scion of a landed Syed family, instead of pursuing politics of toe licking, should be hobnobbing with
fiery revolutionary leaders of the sub-continent. All this while, I was getting farther and farther away from the imperial
administrative structure and getting closer and closer to the patriotic leadership of India.
There were two courses open to me- either to conform to the imperial norms of the Raj or to struggle for the honor,
dignity and independence of the people, no matter what the price. I chose the latter course. I undertook a whirlwind tour
of Karachi District after being elected President of the Local Board and called about thirty meetings at which maps of
India in which Sindh was included were garlanded. I wore khaddar dresses and exhorted others to do likewise anti-
British speeches were also made at all these meetings. While I was on tour, Mr. Gibson, who was then Collector,
Karachi, and who had the authority to oversee the working of the Local Board, sent me a message that what I was doing
was not rural development but the subversive work of the Congress movement which I could not do. He asked me to
cancel the rest of the tour. I did not oblige him and continued with my tour 'in the company of Maulvi Abdul Karim
Chishti, Jethmal Parsram, and others.
This turned Gibson into an enemy. Then something transpired which added fuel to the fire. It so happened that the
Government of Bombay advised the Karachi Local Board to appoint a qualified engineer on its staff. I selected
Mohammed Hashim Gazdar for the job. Now, the Collector of Karachi favored one of his Christian P.A's relatives. The
Collector also had the support of the Local Board's Chief Officer, Qazi Abdur Rehman who was at one time editor of
Al-Wahid and had suffered a great deal for taking part in the Congress movement. It was in recognition of his services
that I had him appointed Chief Officer. Later, however, he was bought off and started to work for the Collector, Mr.
Gibson. Annoyed at my choice, Gibson managed with the Bombay Government to suspend payment of its grant to the
Local Board. I was further warned that if I used the Board for political purposes, I would come to grief, It may be
recalled here that the Government had already lost the loyalty of Karachi, Shikarpur and Hyderabad municipalities and,
therefore, the loss of the Karachi Local Board added to its worries.
To counter the effect of my tour of the Karachi District, the Collector ordered Qazi Abdur Rehman to go to the places
where I had made speeches in favor of the Congress and promote the British cause. He put the services of the Deputy
Collector, the Mukhtiarkars and Patwaris at his disposal. Qazi Abdur Rehman essayed out to do as he was told. At this
the Sindhi nationalist leader, Hakim Fatah Mohammed Sehwani of the Jamiat-i-Ulema-i-Hind wrote an open letter to
Qazi Abdur Rehman through a newspaper July 20, 1930 in which he took him to task. He reminded him that when he
had gone to jail for taking part in the national movement, he had written verses in his favor and lent him his blessings.
He said that while he had used poetry for his praise then, he was now admonishing him in prose. He reminded him that
since he was a paid employee of the Local Board, he should refrain from his nefarious activities and stop playing the tout
for the British.
Hakim Fatah Mohammed also reminded him that the British had opposed G.M. Syed, the President of the District
Local Board when he undertook an honorable mission and campaigned for Goth Sudhar (rural reconstruction), so much
so that the Government had tried to block the funds the Local Board had approved for G.M. Syed's tour program. It was
already being openly said that Qazi Abdur Rehman was part of the conspiracy to block the funds. "Is organizing
meetings in schools and singing paeans for the British part of your official duties? Are chief officers of other local boards
The Case of Sindh 7
doing this? Does the Local Board pay you for holding these law and order meetings? Have you sought permission from
your President? If you are hurt by the nationalists' opposition to the British, go on leave to pursue your nefarious
activities at Government expense. I appeal to the people to tell Qazi Sahib plainly and without fear that what he is doing
is not right. But if they are afraid of bureaucratic repression, they should advise fellow citizens not to attend such
meetings. The people should know that the chief officer is not their ruler but a paid servant. While all this was going on,
the Bombay Government's grant to the local board remained suspended. However, it was eventually restored by the
efforts of the Sindhi members of the Bombay Council, Miran Mohammed Shah, Khan Bahadur Ghulam Nabi Shah, Sir
Shahnawaz Bhutto, Allah Bux Soomro and others. Not only that, engineer Mohammed Hashim Gazdar also retained
his post. All gentlemen named above were themselves presidents of various local boards. It was in their interest that the
collectors should have only a nominal say in the affairs of local boards. That is why they came to my rescue. I was now
able to devote greater time and energy to my Goth Sudhar and Samaj Sudhar (rural and social reconstruction) programs.
When I acquired political awareness and began to look at the world around me politically, I found that poverty was a
universal problem and Sindh was no exception. After the advent of the British, agricultural land was distributed to a
select group of families for services rendered. As a result, excepting these feudal families the common people lost their
land and their stable livelihood. They were forced to work on the land as mazdoors (laborers). Other farmhands were
called kisans (peasants). However, the difference between the farm mazdoors and kisan was that while the mazdoor was
paid daily wages, the kisan got his dues after a year. The mazdoor worked singly but the kisan's entire family had to toil
hard. At payment time, only the leading member of a kisan family was paid. He had no right to the land on which he
worked. Again, a kisan family was put under concocted debt and evicted or made to seek similar position under other
landlords He spent all his life in grinding poverty in utter social degradation, unable to educate his children or afford a
proper health cover to himself or to his family. So in order to save the kisans from the clutches of the landlords, the
bureaucrats, the money-lenders and dacoits and to obtain for them medical, educational and other civic amenities, and
to enable them to live in peace and security, I with the help of my friends, laid the foundations of the Sindh Hari
Committee under the Presidentship of Jamshed, Mehta, in Mirpur khas in 1930. This committee waged a protracted
struggle for the emancipation of kisans, for securing tenancy rights for them, and for educating them. Selfless kisan
workers suffered incarceration. The feudal lords and a brutal bureaucracy tortured many of them to death. They
continued their hard struggle in spite of all this. They achieved several successes, the most important being crop-sharing
on an equal basis with the landlord and the passing of the Tenancy Rights Act. I admit that we could not achieve all of
our basic objectives. An important reason for this was the British policy to sustain the feudal lords in order to retain their
loyalties. This policy was retained after partition by the civil and military bureaucracy; I could not give enough time to
the Hari Committee because of my increasing involvement with all-India politics. Anyhow, I continued to cooperate
with the Committee at every level in spite of the fact that most of my time was taken up with the constitutional and
political problems of the sub-continent.
In 1930, Gandhiji began the Civil Disobedience Movement from the Congress platform. The Congress struggle for
independence was attracting more and more people. In keeping with my family background and traditions, I had also
joined the Congress but was not able to play any significant role in the struggle against the Raj. However, I was deeply
interested in national (especially the rural) reconstruction. In those days, Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan was the one
politician who had successfully combined politics with a struggle for social reform. This was my objective, too. That is
why I was keen to meet Abdul Ghaffar Khan. In 1931, the annual meeting of the Congress was held in Karachi. Khan
Abdul Ghaffar Khan attended it together with his Khudai Khidmatgar followers. I met him and familiarized myself with
his modus operandi. I also hosted a lavish party in his honor.
In spite of his deep involvement with sub-continental politics, Bacha Khan had set up a separate party for his people in
his province, Pashtunkhwa and was struggling for social reform there. Impressed by his strategy, I strengthened my
relations with the Congress and, at the same time, established an exclusively Sindhi party in 1933. It was named the
The Case of Sindh 8
Smith People's Party and was led by Sir Shahnawaz Bhutto. Khan Bahadur Allah Bux Soomro and Miran Mohammed
Shah were elected its deputy leaders. Soon afterwards, in the light of the recommendations of the Round Table
Conference and the Government of India Act, 1935, Sindh became independent of Bombay in April 1936, and acquired
provincial status. However, and advisory committee was appointed to assist the Governor until such time as elections
were held. Sir Shahnawaz Bhutto was named advisor to the Sindh Governor, Sir Lancelot Graham. The same year, we
established the Sindh lttehad Party on the pattern of the Punjab's non-communal Unionist Party. Seth Haji Abdullah
Haroon was elected its president. Allah Bux Soomro also joined it, The Sindh lttehad Party took part in the 1937
elections and achieved notable success. I was among the many lttehad candidates who won. However, our party
president, Abdullah Haroon, lost to Khan Bahadur Allah Bux Gabol in Karachi while deputy leader Shahnawaz Bhutto
conceded victory to Shaikh Abdul Majid Sindhi in Larkana. In a House of 60, the following was the party position:
It is clear that no party enjoyed an absolute majority but since the Sindh lttehad Party had merged as the largest single
entity in the House, it should have been invited to form a government. However, in utter violation of all parliamentary
norms, Governor Lancelot Graham invited Ghulam Hussain Hidayatuilah's Muslim Political Party to form a
government. Three European members were instructed to support Sir Ghulam Hussain, The latter began by offering two
ministries and the speakership of the House of independent Hindu members. Later, he lured the Baloch group of the
lttehad Party by offering them a ministry. As a result, we had to sit on the opposition benches under the Leader-ship of
Allah Bux Soomro together with the Congress members.
I want to state here that in order to seek the separation of Sindh from Bombay, we had to seek the support of all India
parties like the Congress and the Muslim League because certain influential but selfish Hindu elements were trying to
thwart us in our bid to seek an autonomous status for Sindh. The all-India parties did help us out we had to pay a heavy
ideological and political price for it. The Muslim Leaguers got their price in the shape of separate electorates and
weightage in Muslim minority Provinces, and the Government got political mileage by giving the Governor more
powers for recovery of funds advanced for the construction of the Sukkur Barrage. Thus the Sindh Assembly was
paralyzed and throws at the mercy of the Governor. The other loss was that the Sindhi people who were wedded to the
concept of peace, brotherhood and tolerance were held powerless in the background and Sindh fell victim to
communalism and religious intolerance. This was our ideological loss. The Sindh Assembly, instead of serving the
people of the province by removing poverty, ignorance and lawlessness, became a House of horse traders for whom
everything was fair for getting power and pelf. The struggle that the people had waged or were waging to secure a noncommunal
Sindh was undermined. Everyone in the House threw away his Sindhi identity and began to look at things
through Hindu and Muslim glasses. Who know that the communal fire that had been lit in the Assembly would turn
into a conflagration!
Sir Ghulam Hussain Hidayatullah had enticed some self-serving Hindu members by offering them ministries but there
was nothing common in them except lust for office. Therefore, the ministry could not last long. The downfall started
with the resignation from the cabinet of Mukhi Gobind Ram because he had gone bankrupt. The independent Hindu
group wanted Nihchal Das Wazirani to replace Gobind Ram but Ghulam Hussain preferred Dr. Heman Das of
Larkana. At this, the Hindu group fell foul of Ghulam Hussain who in his turn lost faith in the former. He now began to
woo us through Syed Miran Mohammed Shah and Sahibzada Abdus Sattar Sirhindi. But when I said no, he resorted to
strong-arm tactics. He had the bungalow at my native town Sann sealed through Collector Nur Nabi because I owed the
government Rs. 300 in land revenue! My friend Tahil Ramani, who was the Chief Officer of Dadu District Local Board,
was asked to persuade me to support Sir Ghulam Hussain. Tahil Ramani was a gentleman and he refused to put
pressure on me and told the Government that I was not the sort of person who would leave the party on whose ticket I
had been returned to the Assembly for the sake of a cabinet job. Sir Ghulam Hussain dismissed Tahil Ramani and
replaced him with Mohammed Ayub Khuhro's brother-in-law, Abdul Latif Panwhar.
The Case of Sindh 9
This precipitate action further annoyed the Hindu group. Taking advantage of the situation, I moved a motion of no
confidence in the House but Speaker Bhoi Singh, instead of putting the motion to vote resorted to a walkout and thus the
Ghulam Hussain Government was saved. By now Ghulam Hussain had realized, however, that his Government could
not survive except with the cooperation of the lttehad Party. Therefore, he offered the formation of a coalition
government, through Sahibzada Abdus Sattar Jan Sirhindi. We told the intermediary that we had come to the
assemblies with certain definite objectives and that it was not our ambition to vie for ministerial offices. The welfare of
the people of Sindh was an integral part of our manifesto. If Sir Ghulam Hussain undertook to implement the part of our
manifesto for the welfare of the people of Sindh, we could help him without joining his cabinet. We put the following
important points of our manifesto before Sir Ghulam Hussain:
1. The passage of a law on Land Alienation.
2. The passage of the Tenancy Rights Act.
3. Steps to ease off loans through a Debt Reconciliation Act.
4. Exemption from paying interest on government loans.
5.Abolishing protocol restraints and privileges for attendance before the commissioner and collectors.
6. An end to the practice of nominating members to the local bodies.
Points 5 and 6 were accepted but the more substantive points such as 1, 2, 3 and 4 were not. We tried our best to
convince Sir Ghulam Hussain but he was adamant. At this in consultation with the independent group and the
Congress, we threw the Ghulam Hussain Government out on a one-rupee cut motion and formed a new Cabinet with
the help of the Hindus. Khan Bahadur Allah Bux headed it. The new government, too, failed to enact a land alienation
law and the tenancy act, It also did nothing to write off loans and we remained where we were because of opposition
from the Hindu vested interests. Although I was a member of the Congress, I had not fought the election on its ticket.
Therefore, I did not sit with the Congress members in the House. But the lttehad Party had formed a government with
the help of the Congress after defeating the Ghulam Hussain government. However, the Congress opposed our
legislative measures. It said it was true that it was a non-communal party but since it had fought the election on the basis
of separate electorates, it could not afford to ignore the interests of the Hindu Seths (moneybags) who were its voters.
Therefore, it was obliged to oppose our legislative proposals.
This attitude made me sick of the Congress and I got associated with the Muslim League. I had joined politics with some
definite aims and objectives. They all related to securing for the people of Sindh a better deal than they had hitherto. I
joined, and left the Congress and the Muslim League for the same reasons. All-India problems were never one of my
priorities. I found that the Congress High Command was concerned almost wholly with all-India issues and had little
time for the people of Sindh and their problems. I was, therefore, obliged to part ways with them and joined the Muslim
League. For parties constitutions agreements and me have never been any the more sacrosanct. They are meant for the
people and when a group tries to use them to promote its own interests as against those of the people, an honest, and
upright patriot owes it to himself to opt out of such parties, constitutions and agreements. And that is what I did.
Here I may add that I made two attempts to maintain my relationship with the Congress before I joined the Muslim
League. First, I wrote an impassioned letter to the Sindh Congress President, Dr. Choith Ram Gidwani in which I
explained my viewpoint on the Congress at length. I present here excerpts from the letter:
"This is the third letter I am writing to you in your capacity as President of the Sindh Congress. It is the
Congress on which I had pinned all my hopes for a bright future for Sindh. "If I am leaving the party today, I
am doing so only because I hope that the Congress workers will be able to put it on the right track. The
The Case of Sindh 10
Congress should belong to all peoples and not be a plaything in the hands of a few capitalists. I have been free of
the personality cult and communalism, and have been deeply devoted to the Congress. It is not possible for me
to take on the party just for the fun of it. I desire its surgical operation to free it from its diseased trends. It is in
this spirit that I am pinpointing the wrong policies pursued by you and other Congress workers in Sindh."
Towards the end of the letter, I had written:
"It is not my desire at all to corner you. It is my earnest desire that God may endow you with the ability
to recognize facts and appreciate the aspirations of the people a vast majority of whom are Muslims. I
warn you and your colleagues that any error of judgment at this stage will cause an irreparable loss to
Sindh and the Congress. I think that I have done my best to do my duty by the Congress and to apprise
you of the situation on the ground. I will take up the issue with Sardar Valabh Bhai Patel and Maulana
Abul Kalam Azad in the hope that they may be able to rectify the situation. I visualize that a parting of
the ways is at hand. Only time will prove who was in the right and who was responsible for stoking the
fires of communalism".
Sardar Valabh Bhai Patel and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, two central parliamentary leaders of the Congress, came to
Karachi in the third week of August, 1 938. 1 tried to brief them on the Congress attitude in Sindh in the hope that they
might persuade the provincial committee of the party to revise its policies in the light of the aspirations of the people of
Sindh. However, Maulana Azad and Sardar Patel went back after a few days' stay without taking any substantive
decisions. My fond hopes were dashed and the situation, instead of improving, deteriorated further and all the bitterness
of all-India politics was injected into the Sindhi body politics. After having failed in my efforts to persuade the Congress
to see the light of reason, I decided to join the Muslim League.
In October 1938, the central leader of the Muslim League, Mr. Mohammed Ali Jinnah, visited Sindh at the invitation of
Haji Abdullah Haroon. I attended a League meeting as an observer and came to the conclusion that its views on Sindh's
welfare problems were different from those of the Congress whose policies were largely Hindu-oriented. I had come to
realize this through the assembly proceedings and through my talks with All-India Congress leaders and the attitude of
the Sindh Congress and the independent Hindu group. On numerous occasions I tried for the establishment of a
government in Sindh which was free of the communal virus and which could eradicate hunger, poverty and disease from
the province. It was for this purpose that I had worked for the removal of the Ghulam Hussain Ministry and for the
induction into power of Allah Bux Soomro. However, the Sindh Congress, the independent Hindu group and the
timesaving Muslim members of the Assembly, too, cornered Soomro.
The Muslim League was a communal party that had a fair sprinkling of British loyalists, many of whom had been
knighted or made Khan Bahadur. It had no program for the emancipation of the people. It lacked sincere workers and I
thought that if devoted workers like me and my colleagues joined it, we could change its character and turn it into an
anti-imperialist and pro-people Party. It was in this spirit that I joined the Muslim League. I wanted that all Muslim
members of the Assembly should join the Muslim League and thus become a bulwark against the Sindh Congress and
the independent Hindu group. Towards this end, the text of a resolution was prepared in the presence of Mr. Jinnah.
Apart from Allah Box Soomro, some others were also associated with this task. Later, however, Soomro reneged for
frivolous reasons and refused to join the Muslim League and kept his Ministry alive with the help of the Congress and
the independent Hindu group. Together with this, he continued to seek the Governor's help to lure the Muslim members
to his group. He knew that these members cared more for their personal interests than for principles. That was the reason
why my motion of no confidence against the Soomro Government during the budget session was defeated. When I
tabled the motion, twelve members supported it, but when it was put to vote, only seven favored it. Even the
parliamentary leader of the Muslim League party, Sir Ghulam Hussain Hidayatullah and its deputy leader Mir Bande
The Case of Sindh 11
Ali voted against the motion and got cabinet jobs. These were the circumstances, which forced me to seek the support of
an all-India party to work for the betterment of Sindh. It was in this spirit that I joined the Muslim League.
I consider straight politics an integral part of my faith. True service of the people earns for you divine blessings and
spiritual solace. Until such time as individuals or parties use politics for serving humanity, they have my support and
sympathy When I realize that they are using politics for promoting class or individual interests which are likely to hurt
Public interests or that their policies are not based on equality and justice, I consider it my duty to oppose them.
Here I may refer to my policy differences with my friend Jamshed Nusserwanji. The latter was of the view that no matter
how bad the present, one should not strive against it unless one was sure of a better future. Many experienced and
sincere political workers have adhered to this political creed. Contrary to this, however, I have held and continue to hold
the view that if one is not satisfied by the present, one should struggle for change and that the future will take care of
itself. In other words, I have subconsciously subscribed to Shah Waliullah's credo that all unacceptable systems should
be demolished.
Soon after I joined the Muslim League, something happened which vitiated the atmosphere of unity and brotherhood
that had prevailed in Sindh for centuries. The Sindh of Sufis and sadhus was engulfed in the flames of communalism
which reduced the land of love and unity into ashes and as a result of which the sub-continent was divided in 1947. It is
a tragic fact that as a result of partition, the Punjab and Bengal were divided into separate geographic entities while in
Sindh a whole nation was divided and a large numbers of our people were forced to say goodbye to the land of their
ancestors. The people who were obliged to leave were the very same who had played a great role in contributing to the
material welfare of Sindh and to its linguistic and intellectual advancement. Among them were the devotees of Shah
Sachal Sarmast, Shah Inayat and Sami. They had retrieved and collected the works of Sachal and Sami. They included
people like Dr. Gurbakhsani, Kalyan Advani, Lal Chand Amardinomal, Jethmal Parsram, Bherumal M. Advani, T.L.
Waswani and others.
The incident that shook Sindh is known as the Masjid Manzilgah Case. There was an old place in Sukkur, which had
been named Manzilgah Masjid by the Muslims. Several delegations from Shikarpur and Sukkur called on the Prime
Minister of Sindh, Allah Bux Soomro and demanded that the Muslims be given possession of this Masjid. Soomro
deputed some ulema of the Jamiat-i-Islam, Sindh, to visit the site and report back to him as to what were the merits of
the case. These ulema confirmed that the place was indeed a mosque. The Hindus objected that if the place was given
over to the Muslims, they would violate the privacy of the female Hindu devotees who came to pray at the temple,
which was situated on the bank of the Indus.
It had been established that the place was a mosque and there was pressure on Allah Bux Soomro whose government
depended for survival on the support of the Congress and the independent group opposed to the site being handed over
to the Muslims. Therefore, Soomro could not take any decision in the matter.
Tired of Allah Bux Soomro's ambivalent attitude, Muslim delegations called on the Muslim League President, Haji
Abdullah Haroon and proposed that the League should take the matter in its own hands. Haroon called a meeting of his
party's provincial working committee of which I was a member. I suggested that since the Muslim League was a
political party, it should not embroil itself in a dispute that was purely religious because it would stoke the fires of
communalism much against the interests of Sindh.
However, the working committee ruled in favor of taking up the Manzilgah Masjid issue and chalked out a sattyagraha
program. Pir Mian Abdur Rehman of Bharchondi played a major part in this. To defuse the situation, Allah Box
Soomro had an ordinance issued of the Governor under which anyone could be sent to jail without proper legal
proceedings. Around 3,500 people were arrested after the promulgation of the ordinance much to the consternation of
the League leadership, and the agitation began to peter out.
The Case of Sindh 12
My days with the congress had taught me that once it has started, it is extremely insulting and damaging to call off an
agitation halfway through. Therefore,) took over the leadership of the movement and had the Masjid Manzilgah taken
over by force. The Allah Bux government tried to have the occupation vacated by the police. The people set up
barricades to foil the police bid to retake the mosque.
On November 14, 1939, 1 was arrested along with two other sattyagraha leaders and sent to the Central Jail, Hyderabad.
Soon afterwards the Muslims inside the mosque, instead of being arrested, were forced to leave after they had been
baton-charged and tear-gassed. Hindu-Muslim riot started that very day in which several innocent lives were lost and
property worth millions destroyed. This was a black spot on the fair name of Sindh.
Arrested with me were Agha Nazar Ali Pathan, Dr. Mohammed Yamin and Nematullah Qureshi. Others arrested were
Shaikh Wajid Ali from Shikarpur, Qazi Fazlullah from Larkana and Agha Ghulam Nabi Pathan from Sultan Kot. Pir
Ghulam Mujaddid Sirhindi of Shikarpur and some others were also put in jail.
After a while, the Hindus urged Allah Bux Soomro to provide protection to them in the countryside or face the ouster of
his government. Meanwhile, I was released from the Central Jail, Hyderabad, on January 9, 1940, after serving a twomonth
term. I met some sagacious and farsighted Hindu colleagues and told them that I would not stop at anything
short of the removal of Allah Bux Soomro's government who had put my friends and me in jail. Thus we got rid of the
Soomro cabinet with the help of these Hindu friends. Before I proceed further, I want to present two documents here.
They shed some light on my thinking despite the fact that I had taken part in a communal movement.With my release, I
issued the following statement:
"After my arrest and that of my colleagues on October 1 9-20, 1 939, certain extremely tragic events
took place in and around Sukkur. I came to know of these painful events in jail through my Hindu and
Muslim friends. Further details have come to hand after my release. I sympathize with the Hindus and
Muslims for what they have suffered during these riots. My heart goes out especially to those innocent
Hindus who have suffered grievous losses. I could not sympathize with them earlier because I was in
jail. I hope they will forgive me for this.
'When I decided to take part in the Masjid Manzilgah movement, I could not even dream that it would
have such bloody consequences. Murder, dacoits and arson are against our creed and are to be
condemned. Sindh is in the teething stage in politics. It may have to learn several lessons before it can
hope for a better future. The main reason for our recent tribulations is our inexperience and
shortsightedness.
"Hindus and Muslims have been living together with great love and amity for centuries, guided as they
have been by Sufis and man of great learning and piety. It is our ardent desire that in the future, too,
this unity should blossom and be a beacon light for the rest of India. We are pained when we-find that
there are obstacles on the road to the realization of these objectives. A permanent peace between the
two communities is the need of the hour. It is my fervent desire that) should work towards this and.
Our province is passing through a critical period and I appeal to everyone for Hindu-Muslim unity so
that we can live like good neighbors.' (Naeen Sindh laai Jidda Juhud, P. 67-69).
My mentor and spiritual leader and great Sindhi intellectual, Allama I.I. Qazi had written to me before the publication
of the above statement saying that there was a similarity of views between him and me. An important excerpt from his
letter is quoted below:
The Case of Sindh 13
(We think in one direction and Providence in other)
"For Ghulam Murtaza, G.M. Syed, I have a great deal of spiritual attraction but I am also annoyed
with him. Why did he put himself into trouble by taking part in the Masjid Manzilgah Tehrik?
(We think in one direction and providence in another). He was the only one left in 'Sindh and he, too,
chose the path of darkness, that is, he took part in the Manzilgah movement. Therefore, what will
become of us? Five hundred mosques in Sindh are in a state of disrepair. All Madrassahs in Karachi,
Larkana and Tando Bago have gone from bad to worse. The Muslims themselves have ruined all
Islamic institutions. People are seeking martyrdom for Manzilgah I am not sorry that I was not
consulted on the issue. What makes me sorry is that good sense did not prevail."
Qazi Sahib wrote this letter to me in Karachi on January 12, 1940. (Saneh Ja Singhar, p. 102, letter 42). When my
statement on the riots appeared in the Press, the Allama wrote to me again in February 1940. Excerpts:
"Dear Murtaza,
"I congratulate you. You have not yet lost your spiritual purity. This is a miracle. After 11 years of hard
work, we continue to strive. Let us prevent the recurrence of past events...
By recounting all this, I want to show that I had joined the Muslim League thinking that it was a strong political party
which would help me in securing the welfare objectives and not to use it to promote communalism. It was my desire that
Sindh should be free of the communal virus. I continued to strive for this when I became the Minister of Education
Industry, Labor and Forests in the Mir Bande Ali Cabinet As a Minister, I tried to accomplish the following for the
promotion of Sindhi language and literature and for the general welfare of the province:
1. The establishment of a commission for the University of Sindh.
2. The setting up of a Central Advisory Board for Sindhi Literature. This was later to become the Sindhi
Adabi Board.
3. The constitution of a committee comprises intellectuals for the compilation of a dictionary of the Sindhi
language.
4. To promote secondary education, the constitution of a committee, which committee later became the
Board of Secondary and Intermediate Education.
5. Ordered that Sindhi be made compulsory language in all schools in the province.
6. Prepared a plan for the construction of a road from Karachi to Kotri.
However, since we, too, had acceded to power with the help of Hindu members, we could not get legislation through on
the writing off of loans, tenancy matters, mutation of land and other people-oriented projects and plans. Therefore, I told
Mr. Jinnah that since we were not in a position to do any progressive work, we should abandon bothering about the
assembly and our race for power and instead start work on building and organizing public opinion. Mr. Jinnah agreed.
The Case of Sindh 14
However, I thought that before implementing the decision, efforts should be made to form an all-parties coalition of
Muslim members and then I should resign from the Cabinet. For this purpose, I invited Maulana Abul Kalam Azad of
the Indian National Congress and proposed that Allah Bux Soomro should join the Cabinet. It was decided that a sixmember
cabinet should have two ministers each from the Allah Bux, the Muslim League and Independent Hindu
groups. But none of the incumbent ministers was willing to resign. We had tried to cobble this coalition together without
Mr. Jinnah's consent. When he came to know of it, he asked the Sindh Muslim League President to order that no one
should resign from the Cabinet.
Shaikh Abdul Majid did not resign because he was discipline-bound not to do so. It was considered necessary that
Khuhro should be in the cabinet. I had undertaken to secure the resignation of two ministers under the agreement
arrived at in Maulana Azad's presence. Therefore, I resigned to honor the accord and asked Maulana Azad to give me a
month to get the other resignation.
After my resignation, the Muslim League members asked Mr. Jinnah to take disciplinary action against me. Mr. Jinnah
refused to do so and asked me to organize the League and made me chairman of the organizing committee. I put Agha
Ghulam Nabi Pathan (Sukkur, Syed Haji Hasan Bux (Nawab shah), Qazi Fazlullah (Larkana), Mohammed Hashim
Gazdar (Karachi), Sahibzada Abdus Sattar Jan Sirhindi (Hyderabad), Faqir Mohammed Mangrio (Mirpur khas) and
others on the committee and set about the task of organizing the party. I toured most of Sindh for this purpose. In the
speeches I delivered, I also made a critical appraisal of the Ministry's performance and called upon the Muslim League
members of the provincial cabinet to fulfill. The promises they had made to the people.
Within the short span of a year, I succeeded in raising the Sindh Muslim League membership from 6,000 to 300,000
which came to 25 percent of the total number of adult male Muslims in the province. Primary branches rose to 450 in
number that proved that we had spread the League message to every nook and corner of Sindh. We opened a complaint
cell in the provincial office to bring people's problems to the notice of the cabinet and the bureaucracy. The Muslim
League literature was distributed far and wide and every effort was made to introduce Mr. Jinnah to the people. All this
shows the spirit with which I worked for the Pakistan Movement and the Muslims. I reproduce here the text of a poster
that was published during this period.
POSTER
The Muslim League demands Pakistan. Pakistan means an Islamic State. "In Pakistan,
1. The government will be established according to Qura'anic principles.
2. Everyone will have political, social and economic equality.
3. The government will be in the hands of upright and pious people.
4. The foremost duty of the government will be to banish poverty, repression, ignorance, and every effort
will be made to prevent the exploitation of the people for class interests. Gambling, adultery, drinking
and usury shall be outlawed and no one will have to purchase justice. It will be freely available to all in
equal measure.
5. Social status will not depend on power and pelf but on piety.
Ghulam Murtaza,
Chairman,Muslim League
Organizing Committee
The Case of Sindh 15
In addition, a book Hindustan JA Muscleman Ain Pakistan was distributed free of cost on my behalf as Chairman,
Organizing Committee, and Sindh Provincial Muslim League. The book contained translated versions of the articles
published by a Punjab paper, The Asian times, on January 5, February 16, April 12 and 26, 1940.
Thus I struggled day and night, organizing the party, little caring for personal comfort. However, I was aware even then
that the Muslim League was not an end in itself for me but a means to an end. The feudal lords dominated the Muslim
League. I decided that if an attempt was made to put the People on the wrong trail in the name of the League, I would
oppose it. I give an example here. A Bill seeking to conduct a survey of the feudal estates and to ameliorate the lot of the
oppressed peasants was presented in the Sindh Assembly during its budget session in 1941. Had the Bill been passed,
serfdom would have come to an end in Sindh. Mir Bande Ali was then heading the Cabinet. Because I had resigned
from the Cabinet, Khan Bahadur Allah Bux presented the Bill. However, the feudals who had joined the League in
search of office, opposed the Bill and forced the party not to vote for it. I voted for the Bill against party discipline. The
speech I made on the issue in the Assembly on March 26, 1 941 is being reproduced here:
Sir, I feel called upon to make a statement of my views at a moment when I and the majority of the members of my
party do not see eye to eye upon this question of the Amendment of Land Revenue Code. There were times when, if I
differed from the majority view, I did not consider it necessary to explain the reasons that made me adopt a course
different from majority view. But now I feel that I am moving in such environment and surroundings that my individual
actions contrary to the accepted procedure of the day are not going to remain unchallenged. I feel that such occasions do
create misunderstandings and confusion. It is therefore but right on my part to make my position clear when there is a
conflict between my conscience and the majority view of my party which I have accepted with open eyes as an
instrument for the fulfillment of my ideals. Such incidents are of very delicate character in the life of a man whom
politics are the means for spiritual evolution-
"Sir, I must make it clear that with me politics are a faith which has no connection with ambition for power or prestige,
name or fame, or an engagement for leisure hours. It is a serious effort of the spirit for the highest manifestation and
accomplishment of body and soul. Organizations, their codes and regulations, individuals and their mutual attachments
are all to me the means to achieve the end; and the situation becomes indeed delicate when there is a conflict between
ideals and means.
"Sir, Islamic philosophy to me is the means, which will bring us nearer to the realization of our ideal that aims at the
establishment of the long-cherished Kingdom of Heaven on earth. Muslim League Organization in India having taken
upon itself the duty of organizing the Muslims in India for the achievement of the said ideal, becomes identical with
Islamic philosophy and so when t joined the Muslim League, I did it with that idea in my mind. It is true that
organizations are made up of individuals and majority of individuals lack higher perception, with the result that in
democratic organizations it is generally the case that their standard is lowered according to exigencies and requirements
of the majority caprices. It is thus very difficult for those who have a higher vision of life to submit at times to things,
which according to them are contrary to the accepted principles. They are then torn between two powerful forces;
obedience to rules of Organization and obedience to the higher truth, Today I find myself in this position. If the Muslim
League stands for equality, fraternity and equity, on which the foundations of Islam and Pakistan are laid, which latter is
the immediate goal of the Muslim League, then I cannot understand how my friends can compromise this principle by
advocating the perpetuation of a system which is diametrically opposed to the said principles. Jagirs are a remnant of the
old feudal system, where in return for martial, civil and administrative services, or for the maintenance of families of
royal relationship, these lands were given as bestowals. The foundation of this system was based upon inequality and
created class distinctions, which were forbidden by Islam. I cannot understand on what authority in these democratic
days when feudal system is a thing of the past my friends are indirectly helping in the preservation of this system. I know
that we are still controlled by a Government that recognizes class distinctions and is supposed to be the custodian of
The Case of Sindh 16
vested interests. Therefore, if we are not in a position immediately to do away with the jagirdari system, still I cannot see
why we should not strive to relax, if not altogether break, the shackles that hang heavily upon the poor people.
"Now, I shelf go into the details of the Bill itself. It has two main features; survey of Jagirs and settlement of Jagirs lands.
There appears to be no possible reason to oppose the principle of survey of the jagiri lands as in the absence of such
survey, there is always the possibility of undue loss of revenue to Government.
"As regards the settlement itself. We know that there are several honest jagirdars who will be pleased at the passage of
this Bill, as at present they hold land-areas beyond their legitimate title to the same. It is only the few dishonest and highhanded
jagirdars who have been accustomed to squeezing their poor tenants that will object to the passage of this Bill.
The jagirdar's position in respect of the jagiri lands is identical to that of the Government in respect of the ordinary
lands. There is no reason why jagirdars should be allowed an opportunity to charge the poor tenants more than what the
Government charge the zamindars.
"On the other hand, it is to be borne in mind that the jagirdar enjoys his right as a form of political pension. So he should
get only some share out of the revenue but he should have no hand in the management of the land. It is high time that
Government should recover the land revenue from the zamindars or Mukhadams in the jagiri lands and pays to the
jagirdars a share out of the collected revenue. The jagirdars should now become pattedars, until Government revises the
whole land policy,
"Sir, these are my views which I believe to be the real views of the Muslim League; but if I have not been fortunate
enough to convince some of my colleagues of this truth, I am not disappointed. I shall carry on my work patiently until I
succeed in converting my friends to the true ideals of our Organization"
It was strange that the same Muslim League was opposing those Bills for whose passage we had joined it after protracted
opposition to these measures by the Hindu members of the Assembly and the Allah Bux Ministry. Our own League was
opposing our basic aims and objectives whereas members of the Sindh Assembly and Allah Bux were trying to get these
measures approved by the House!
The Case of Sindh 17
In 1941, I was nominated to the Working Committee of the All-India Muslim League. Haji Abdullah Haroon was
already a member. The first meeting of the Committee was held on October 26 the same year in Delhi. It was for the first
time that I acquainted myself with important all-India political problems, which gave me fresh impetus to continue to
work for the welfare of the Muslims.
Towards the end of the year, the Second World War took a turn for the worse. Japan's sudden decision to jump into the
fray and its initial successes put Indian security into jeopardy. This had a deep impact on the internal situation in India,
especially in Sindh. The year 1942 has a special significance in the history of Sindh and will always be remembered.
First, there was the Hur rebellion as a result of which the British imposed Martial Law on the province and an avalanche
of suffering overwhelmed the people. Then there were devastating floods in Upper Sindh that affected half a million
people and destroyed property worth millions. Yet again, the Indian National Congress launched the Quit India
Movement against British imperialism.
The year brought untold personal grief for me when on April 27. The President of the Sindh Muslim League, Haji
Abdullah Haroon, died suddenly. It was the Haji Sahib's probity, loyalty and personality, which had lured me into the
Muslim League. Differences arose over the election of his successor. A meeting of the Muslim League Council decided
that it was not the right time for a contest and nominated Khan Bahadur Mohammed Ayub Khuhro, a member of the
party's Working Committee, as President of the Sindh League for the time being.
In the meantime, I started canvassing for Yusuf Haroon's candidature for the central legislative assembly seat that had
fallen vacant (because of Abdullah Haroon's death). Allah Bux's brother, Maula Bux, was persuaded by me to withdraw
from the contest, and Yusuf Haroon was returned unopposed.
All this while, Martial Law was enforced on both sides of the Indus with great severity. I had plans to challenge the
imposition of military rule in a court of law but Mr. Jinnah directed us sternly not to do so. Military rule had a negative
impact both on the hot uprising and the Quit India Movement in Sindh. Therefore, I deem it necessary to throw some
light on the events of the time.
The Hurs had been simmering with discontent for quite some time but their struggle caught the limelight when the
British arrested their spiritual leader, Syed Sibghatullah Shah Rashdi 11, The arrest forced the Hors into taking the law
into their own hands and resorting to a violent struggle against British imperialism. There is no documentary evidence
on the real objectives of the hot struggle. But one thing is clear, When I met the Pir before his arrest, I became convinced
that he was totally opposed to communalism and regarded the Muslim League was dangerous to Muslim interests. Also,
he wanted an end to British rule over Sindh, In this regard, he thought that a struggle should be launched in
collaboration with all the revolutionary forces in the rest of India. Here I want to reproduce adverbum the dialogue I had
with the Pir and which was included in the noted Sindhi intellectual, the late Mohammed Usman Deplai's historic work,
Sanghar pp. 100-101.
"The moving spirit behind the Sindh Muslim League, G.M. Syed, led a delegation to Pir Sibghatullah
Shah 11 to request him to join the Muslim League.
'Why?' the Pir asked smilingly.
So that we should struggle for the independence of the country as laid down in the 1940 (Lahore) Resolution,' Syed
Sahib replied.
"The Pir laughed and said, 'The Muslim League and independence? Shah Sahib, I thought you were a
big politician but you don't know the basics of politics."
The Case of Sindh - G.M. Syed's
deposition in court (Part 2)
The Case of Sindh 18
"Syed Sahib had informal relations with the Pir. He smiled and said, 'Since you have been kept in
several jails and have had the opportunity of meeting political prisoners you have politics on your
finger-tips.'
I don't claim that I know everything about politics but a party which acts under British instructions, a
party which has all the Sirs, Khan Bahadur, waderas feudal lords) and the money bags on its roll, and
which yet 'talks about independence, then there is nothing further I can say in the matter,' the Pir said,
"Shah Sahib became sombre, 'Sir, we shall soon have the Sindh Assembly pass a resolution demanding
independence for Pakistan.'
"Smiling, the Pir said, 'Yes, the moment you get the resolution through, the British will give you
independence! Remember this, Shah Sahib. In the first place, the British will not grant you
independence. And even if the demand for Pakistan is conceded, the new country will be a tailored
affair where the British will call the shots for years.'
'We'll not allow the British to have any say in the affairs of our independent country,' Shah Sahib said
heatedly.
"The Pir smiled, 'Where will you be then? Will you hold the reins then? You forget, Shah Sahib, that
while you fight, when victory comes; only those will be in the saddle who have been born British
lackeys. You will be the fly in the ointment and you will be thrown out of the ointment. Not only
thrown out but possibly put in prison, If we live and if my predictions come true, then we'll know who
is more adapt at politics between the two of us. I will, by the grace of God, either gets my country or
my coffin, but you will be nursing your wounds,'
"At this Shah Sahib said a quiet goodbye to the Pir and left. Anyhow, most of the Pir's bitter
predictions have turned out to be true. He was a true nationalist, a staunch anti-imperialist and a great
votary of communal harmony. He did not reveal the plan he had in his mind for the attainment of a
new Sindh nor did he live long enough to do so. But in my view, he never accepted alien domination
over Sindh. It is a matter of regret that his successor and eldest son is so different from his father and
has aligned himself with the inheritors of British imperialism, the Punjabis."
After Pir Sibghatullah Shah's martyrdom, there was no moral force that could give direction to the Hur movement. As a
result, rudderless as they had become, the Hurs fall into inexperienced hands and became a band of terrorists. The
British treated them with bestial brutality. Hundreds of these intrepid patriotic Sindhis were sent to the gallows' shot
dead or tortured because of their love for their spiritual mentor. Women were dishonored and their lands and other
property was confiscated without due process of law. Punitive fines were imposed. Special tribunals and military courts
handed out heavy sentences. 'Many people were expelled from Sindh and kept in special camps and jails or exiled to the
Andamans. When jails began to overflow, thousands of men and women, both young and old, and even children were
put in concentration camps where there were no provisions for medical treatment or educational facilities for the young.
This was their plight, and State repression continued till 1951.
Now I come to the Quit India Movement. The World War had, begun in 1939. The British also threw India into the
inferno, against the wishes of its people. The Indian National Congress reacted very strongly against it. It maintained
that unless the Indians were made masters of their own resources, they would never take part in the war. The Americans
put pressure on the British to hold talks with the Indian leadership. The British sent several powerful delegations to India
for detailed discussions with Indian leaders but they all proved inconclusive because the British were not willing to give
total independence to India and the Congress would not accept anything less.
The Case of Sindh 19
As a result of the impasse, the Indian National Congress passed a historic resolution at Bombay in August 1942, which
came to be called the Quit India Resolution.
As soon as this resolution was passed, large-scale punitive action started against the Congress. The moving spirit behind
the party, Mahatma Gandhi, its President, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and all members of its Working Committee
except Raj gopal achari were arrested. This provoked a nation-wide protest and a non-violent movement turned violent.
The British Government tried to counter violence with violence but the agitation continued to mount. Sindh took full
part in the movement.
After the passage of the Quit India Resolution, Mr. Jinnah sided with the British. He said it was not directed against the
British but was a Congress conspiracy against the Muslims. Consequently, he called a meeting of the Working
Committee of the All India Muslim League at Bombay on August 16, 1942, to consider the Quit India Resolution. Ayub
Khuhro and Yusuf Haroon reached Bombay to Represent Sindh. Yusuf Haroon proposed that since Nawab Bahadur
Yar Jang was also in town, certain matters should be discussed with him. So Khuhro Yusuf Haroon and myself called
on the Nawab at the Green Hotel, which is now part of the Tai Mahal Hotel. The Nawab said that all Congress leaders
except Raj gopal achari have been arrested. However, the Congress leaders had learnt from Mr. V.P. Memon, Secretary
to the Viceroy at the Central Secretariat that the Government had been assured that Mr. Jinnah would persuade the
Muslim League Working Committee to endorse a resolution to the effect that the Quit India Movement was in effect
against the Muslims and not against the British. The Nawab said that since such a move, if carried, would serve no-one
except the British and be extremely detrimental for the Muslims, it should be opposed, He then turned to me and said,
"Mr. (G.M.) Syed, don't let any such resolution) be carried because it would be extremely inappropriate at this stage.
The Nawab then told us that the Congress leaders wanted to meet us. However since all male leaders were in jail, Mrs.
Krishna Hutheesingh, Mirdula Sarabai and Khurshid Bar Dadabhai Nauroji wanted to see us and that we should agree
to do so. We accepted the Nawab's advice and attended a lunch hosted the following day by Mirdula Sarabai. The ladies
gathered there told us that the Congress was willing to accept the Muslim League demand that there should be free and
autonomous Muslim governments in the provinces in which they were in majority. Other demands could also be met
and Mr. Jinnah could work out the modalities in consultation with Mr. Raj gopal achari. And, if possible, he (Mr.
Jinnah) could meet Gandhi for a personal assurance in the matter. They asked us to keep trying to prevent the passage of
the proposed anti-Quit India resolution that Mr. Jinnah wanted moved at the behest of the Viceroy. We undertook to
make every effort to abort the move.
In spite of my differences with the Congress, I felt as a progressive Muslim that if there were an agreement between the
Muslim League and the Congress, the alien rulers would dare not harass the people who were struggling for
independence in the manner in which they had been doing.
The All India Muslim League Working Committee met at Mr. Jinnah's Mount Pleasant residence on August 16, 1942.
Mr. Jinnah presented the resolution against the Quit India call as he had pledged to the Viceroy to do. Speaking against
the resolution, I said that it would be highly improper for us to regard that the Congress Quit India Resolution that was
part of its independent struggle was against the Muslims. I added that since the Congress wanted the British to leave
India. We should not torpedo its struggle against imperialism by endorsing the proposed resolution because this would
close the doors on any future League-Congress settlement.
Mr. Jinnah reacted angrily to this. It was not possible to negotiate any settlement with Congress, he said. At this, I
proposed an amendment to the effect that we should hold talks with the Congress and if it accepted our terms, we should
enter into an agreement with it but if it didn't, we would be free to pass any resolution. A one-sided resolution would not
be appropriate, I said. Mr. Ayub Khuhro supported me, as did the Raja Sahib of Mohmoodabad. Mr. Jinnah at which
he walked out in protest snubbed the latter. Hasan Isphahani was also not allowed to speak nor was Nawab Ismail
The Case of Sindh 20
Khan. My proposed amendment was shot down and the resolution was carried as moved but with a note of dissent by
me. The full text of the resolution successfully moved by Mr. Jinnah, (Appendix 2) would show how the Quaid-e-Azam
of the Muslims of India sabotaged the independence struggle and how he played into the hands of the British
imperialists.
The proceedings of the Muslim League Working Committee meeting left me heart-broken but I did not lose courage. I
continued to think, as did some of my Communist friends such as Syed Sajjad Zaheer, Dange and Comrade Ashraf, that
the Muslim League could be put on course despite all the faults of its High Command. "So, I continued to work as a
leader of the Sindh Muslim League. I persisted with my efforts for party reform and for the betterment of the Muslims.
In this regard, I moved a historic resolution, which was passed by the Sindh Assembly on March 3, 1943. This was the
time when Allah Box Soomro, an important Congress supporter, had been dismissed' from the Cabinet, and Congress
leaders who were members of the Assembly were in jail because of their participation in the Quit India Movement.
Those of them not arrested were not members of the House. The text of the resolution and the speech I made on the
occasion can be seen in Appendix 3.
This resolution had the support of all Muslim members present in the House. Khan Bahadur Allah Box was not present
in Karachi. Two Hindu Ministers and a parliamentary secretary voted against it while the independent Hindu members
walked out in protest. It may be recalled here that Khan Bahadur Ayub Khuhro had become the Acting President of the
Sindh Muslim League after the death of Sir Haji Abdullah Haroon. When Khuhro became Revenue Minister, some
progressive workers of the League wanted to make the party truly representative of the rights and aspirations of the
people. It was felt that it was necessary to keep the functioning of the League independent of the influence of the
Ministry and make the League Ministers answerable to the party.
Contrary to our wishes, Khan Bahadur Ayub Khuhro, the Acting League President, did not leave the Ministry. As
election time for the League offices approached in 1943 differences between the progressive and conservative groups of
the party deepened. The Progressives were working under the leadership of Shaikh Abdul Majid Sindhi. To sort out
these differences, we attended the meeting of the All India Muslim League Working Committee on April 23, 1943, in
Delhi and complained about the anti people steps of the Ministry. However, Mr. Jinnah paid no attention to these
complaints but said that he would look into them when he visited Sindh.
On our return from Delhi, a great tragedy occurred in the martyrdom of Allah Box Soomro. I had several differences
with him but he was a patriotic Sindhi politician and a true son of the soil whom, unfortunately, I couldn't fathom while
he lived. Shaheed Allah Bux was a strong-willed and able politician and a true friend. In 1942, he renounced his titles of
Khan Bahadur and OBE in a letter he wrote to the Viceroy on September 26. He was punished for this by being
dismissed as Prime Minister and a new Muslim League Ministry, headed by Sir Ghulam Hussain Hidayatullah was
formed. Excerpts from Shaheed Allah Bux's letter to the Viceroy are being reproduced here:
"I have come to the conclusion that in view of the public opinion prevailing in the country, I cannot keep the titles given
to me by the British Government. I have decided, therefore, to return them. The Indians have been struggling for
freedom for quite some time. After the start of the War, it was being hoped that on the basis of the principles, for which
the Allies were fighting the forces of fascism, India would be freed and allowed the privilege to take part in the War
independently. This was not done. It is my firm belief that the Indians have the right to independence. Recent statements
by the British Government indicate that by creating hurdles in the way of a settlement among various Indian political
parties, the British want to maintain their imperial stranglehold over India, The latest speech made in the House of
Commons by the Prime Minister, Mr. Winston Churchill, has gravely disappointed concerned and nationalistic circles
in India. It clearly shows that the British have no intention of granting freedom to India. Therefore, I cannot keep titles
given to me by such a Government and am, therefore, returning them.'
The Case of Sindh 21
The Khan Bahadur was a nationalist. The views expressed by him while presiding over the Muslim Azad Conference in
Delhi on April 10, 1940, is now part of history. In addition, I want to put the record straight and I consider it necessary
to reproduce parts of the dialogue he had with me. I in answer to the questions put these to him.
Q 1: What differences do you have with Mr. Jinnah?
Q 2: What do you think about a Congress-Muslim League agreement?
Answer to Q 1: "Mr. Jinnah's view that the country should be divided because the Muslims are a separate nation on the
basis of religion is not acceptable to me because this ideology is UN-Islamic, archaic and against all modern principles of
nationalism.'
Answer to Q 2: 'The Congress and the Muslim League are both all-India Parties, Joining them would be detrimental to
the separate identity and interests of Sindh. The Sindhis have attained separation from Bombay with great difficulty,
Now they should not do anything, which ends Sindh's autonomy. G.M. Syed, you still think that the creation of
Pakistan will solve all problems facing Sindh? This is wrong and far removed from facts. You will get to know that our
difficulties will begin after Pakistan has come into being. If You read the presidential address delivered by Dr. Shaikh
Mohammed lqbal at the Allahabad session of the Muslim League in 1930 with any degree of care, you will discover that
he wants to end Sindh's freedom and make it subservient to the Punjab. At present, the Hindu trader and moneylender's
plunder is worrying you but later you will have to face the Punjabi bureaucracy and soldiery and the mind of U.P. Then
you will know whether the partition of India was good or bad. You live in a dream world about the 1940 Resolution.
That is why you are ignorant of the practicalities of politics. In practical politics, there is little room for promises,
resolutions and principles. Read history and you will find that religious edicts and agreements among governments, have
been often sacrificed at the altar of power, facts, individual and group interests and local situations, requirements and
considerations. The Pakistan for which you keep worrying day and night will, at a later stage, become a headache for
you. It will pose a threat to Sindhi independence, Indian unity and the peace and progress of Asian nations, After the
creation of this aberration, you will have to struggle to fight its concomitant evils."
The causes of Allah Bux's martyrdom are not known. Some people think the Hors were responsible while the others feel
the deed was born out of the Muslim League's policy of vindictiveness. Soon afterwards (in June 1943), 1 was
unanimously elected President of the Sindh Muslim League in the presence of Mr. Jinnah. It was an office held in an
acting capacity for quite some time by Khan Bahadur Ayub Khuhro after Haji Abdullah Haroon's death. Although I
was an active worker of the Muslim League, I tried not to accept the office. I was reluctant because the Muslim League
preferred to cling to office instead of working for the welfare of the people. Nevertheless, I accepted the office at Mr.
Jinnah's insistence and tried to make the ministers answerable to the party and take the League out of the influence of
the conservatives and let the Progressives who wanted to serve the people take over control. I waged a protracted
struggle to achieve this end and I continued to apprise Mr. Jinnah of the Ministry's corruption and shortcomings i6
letters and reports and often in person. But all this was fruitless. All these ills were rooted in the mental make-up of the
Muslim League High Command and, therefore, there was no remedy for them. Public opinion, democratic decisions
and the submissions of the Sindh league's leadership had no impact on the party High Command which was quite
dictatorial in nature despite all this, I continued to improve the party with the help of my friends. Impressed by my
efforts and concerned at the League attitude, my friend Pir Ali Mohammed Rashdi wrote me an impassioned letter from
Delhi on November 15, 1943, parts of which are being presented here:
"Consider the ideas you had in 1938 and decide whether six years later you are fighting for the same high ideals or
whether you have been driven away from them. You had embarked on your political career to free the poor from the
stranglehold of the oppressors, to cleanse the Muslim community and to put it on the road to progress, to save the rural
The Case of Sindh 22
populace from the rigors and flaws of law, to secure a reduction in land revenue and to fight bureaucratic corruption and
pomp. Recall your writings and speeches of these days and you will realize that
(the path you are treading leads to Turkistan).
Forgive me if I remind you where you have reached after six years of rigorous effort. Have you not made yourself an
instrument of the very forces of evil the extermination of which you had made the sole objective of your life? After all,
what is your Position in the provincial politics?
You have been put in the position where you are so that they (the oppressors can achieve their objectives while you get
them into power by singing their praises in public and overriding the objectives you had set for yourself in 1938. They
will indulge in corruption and all manner of wrongdoing while you give them cover and hide their misdeeds from the
public eye, and have to continue proving that they are nice public servants.
"All this is being done under cover of Muslim unity and solidarity and Pakistan as if Islam means that parties should be
set up in its name and then converted into dens of depravity. Islam is being used as a haven for exploiters. If you don't
mind, let me tell you I have seen the efforts you have made but I am afraid that at this moment you are not serving the
cause of the Muslims but are strengthening their enemies. You have abandoned your principles. If the Muslim League is
going to entrust the protection of our rights to these men (Ministers) who are the enemies of the people, It would be
futile to expect anything to happen in our lifetime..... If Pakistan is the best (solution) it will not be secured through evil.
Good is never born out of evil. It is my sincere advice to you that if you have lost the will to secure the aims and
objectives you had set for yourself in 1938, don't make yourself a tool for these to be subverted. Everything you do must
be done in the light of the political standards you had set for yourself in 1938. Anything below these standards should be
resisted manfully. Why shouldn't all your friends abandon you in this contest so that you are left alone? Even if the
whole world prevents you from following your high principles, you should stand up and give it a fight. No matter at
what stage they are now, the traditionalists will be nowhere in a year or two.."¦ I have reviewed your political
performance over the last two years. It is falling steeply. Moreover, from being a revolutionary and a defender of the
civilization and culture of Sindh, you have become a tool in the hands of the corrupt and the conservatives.
"Don't pride yourself on your new and colorful robes or your presidency (of the League), but hark and think for a
moment that the very thing you were opposed to you are helping in the name of Islam! These thieves have appointed
you the so-called president of their party. It was but a petty price to pay to buy off your conscience. I wonder how your
conscience has been clouded over by unreason. I have been suffering from a serious heart ailment for some time now
and I can die any moment. That is why I have written you this letter to take it all off my chest. The way you have chosen
for yourself, you may also die heartbroken one day. The epitaph on your grave will read:
'Here lies a man who tried
Who wanted good out of evil
He started off as a revolutionary
But ended up as an extreme reactionary
And whose struggle in national affairs created confusion
The Case of Sindh 23
Rather than improvement'
This letter is from a close friend of 28 years standing, Pir Ali Mohammed Rashdi, who had warned me after a careful
study and understanding of the Muslim League's policies. His warning had impressed me a great deal but I was still
determined to improve the party and turn it into one geared to the service of the people. Therefore, I did not attach too
much importance to the letter and continued with my organizational work.
Soon afterwards, a meeting of the All India Muslim League was held in Karachi in a gorgeous manner after months of
tireless efforts. It proved to be the last meeting of its kind. Sindh's traditional hospitality was fully on display; and
organizationally, the meeting was a great success. The Muslim League meetings so long had in a way subsisted on
Nawab Bahadur Yar Jang's speeches. When he clod sometime later, the All India Muslim League died with him.
The Karachi meeting appointed an action committee. Nawab Ismail Khan with Liaquat Ali Khan as secretary headed it.
I was one of its members. Others included Nawab lftikhar Hussain Mamdot, Seth Abdus Sattar of Madras and Qazi
Mohammed Isa. Meeting on February 2, 1944, this Committee appointed another committee on which several leaders
from all over India was co-opted. They included Chaudhry KhaliQuzzaman, Maulana Abdul Wahab, Jamal Mian
Farangi Mehli, Maulana Abdul Hamid Badayuni, Haji Syed Ali Akbar Shah, Maulana Ghulam Murshed, (Khatib,
Jamia Masjid), Lahore, Allama I.I. Qazi, Raja Sahib Mahmudabad and Maulana Akram Khan (Bengal). This
committee was asked to define and determine how true Islamic spirit could be enkindled among Muslims and how
Muslim society could be cleansed of UN-Islamic customs and influences.
I prepared a questionnaire and a covering letter for eliciting opinions on the task assigned to the committee and had the
same circulated to the best ulema all over India through the provincial branches of the Muslim League.
Questionnaire:
On what basis and in the light of what Islamic injunctions can the social, political and economic life of the Muslims will
be transformed?
a. Please give such suggestions as can bring Muslims belonging to different sects to a single platform so that they
can become one united nation.
b. Please give a plan for attaining the progress and prosperity of the Muslim society in the light of Islamic
principles.
c. Do you think that politics and religion can go hand in hand with each other? If they can, please explain how.
d. Please give a scheme for the social, cultural and educational uplift of the Muslims in the light of Islamic tenets.
e. Outline a plan for bringing the religious institutions, charities, auqaf (trusts) and other means of income
belonging to various sects under one central system without creating a clash among different schools of thought.
We sent this questionnaire to the following ulema and leaders, for favor of response:
1. His Highness Sir Agha Khan (Ismaili leader)
2. Syedna Saifuddin Tahir (Bohra community)
3. Allama Inayatullah Khan Mashriqi (Khaksar Tehrik)
4. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad
5. Khwaja Hasan Nizami
The Case of Sindh 24
6. Maulana Hussain Ahmad Madani
7. Muslim professors of philosophy in various colleges
8. Members of the Committee
9. Administrators of important Arabic Madrassahs and the khatibs of Jamia Masjid.
We received several useful suggestions in response but Alas; there was no room for them in the counsels of the League
because it was a party of a power-hungry coterie, which wanted to perpetuate self-interest in the name of Islam. The
reconstruction of the Muslim society on the basis of these suggestions was against their class interests.
While I was deep in the quagmire of the provincial Muslim League's politics, my old colleague and excellent politician,
Shaikh Abdul Majid Sindhi, sick of the goings-on in the Muslim League, resigned from the primary membership of the
party. This put the entire burden of leading the sincere and progressive workers of the party on me. All this while the
ministers and assembly members remained busy with their capricious and anti-people activities. I spent the whole year of
19 44 in reorganization work but I could not succeed in mending matters. Nor did the League High Command pay any
heed to my repeated reminders.
However, I did not consider it expedient to withdraw from the Muslim League because that would have made the party
a hand maiden of the opportunists and the anti-people elements and they would have used it pretty much as they
pleased. I had the full support for all that I was doing of the sincere and selfless party workers not only in Sindh but also
from all over the sub-continent. Therefore, I didn't lose hope. Differences between the Sindh Muslim League and the
Ministry had deepened but because of my lack of experience and naiveté, I was under the impression that if these
matters were brought to Mr. Jinnah's notice in a person-to-person meeting, he would take the necessary remedial steps. I
kept on apprising him of the situation in quarterly reports.
On July 28, 1944, a delegation of the Sindh Assembly Party and the Provincial Working Committee of the League
wanted to call on Mr. Jinnah at Lahore. I was asked to seek an appointment. Mr. Jinnah refused to meet the delegation.
He asked me to present the delegation's point of view to him. I was, therefore, obliged to work as the delegation's
spokesman. I apprised him in detail of the grievances we had against the Ministry. Mr. Jinnah said the War was on and
the Prime Minister of Sindh was in the good books of the British and that the Muslim League Ministries were
functioning with the help of the British bureaucracy. It would be expedient under the circumstances, therefore, to
tolerate the Ministers' acts of omission and commission. I was also told that the Ministry was answerable only to the
party's Central High Command and the provincial wing of the League should not interfere in its working. The Ministry
should be kept intact under all circumstances. At this I told him I was not willing to accept this nor would the majority
of the Muslim League in Sindh and the conscientious elements in the Assembly party do so. At this Mr. Jinnah lost his
temper and said he was not willing to listen to this kind of talk.
I told Mr. Jinnah that I had brought the Sindh case to him hoping for justice but I was sorry to point out that I had not
presented the case to an impartial judge but to Sir Ghulam Hussain's defense counsel. This incensed Mr. Jinnah and he
asked me to apologize for using such disrespectful language. I refused to do so and he left the room angrily. I apprised
the delegation of the situation. Members of the team were greatly annoyed and expressed their willingness to leave the
Muslim League. However, I told them that it would be precipitate to do so and will harm the struggle for the
achievement of Pakistan.
It was under these circumstances that the year 1945 began. The War ended and the British authorized the Viceroy, Lord
Wavell, to set up an interim government and to arrive at a settlement with the Indian leadership. Accordingly, he
summoned a conference of Indian leaders in Simla on June 2 5. Earlier on June 15, several leaders of the Congress
The Case of Sindh 25
Working Committee were released. On June 14, Lord Wavell issued an important statement that is being excerpted
here:
The British Government awaits a settlement with the Indians on a new constitution. The Government has no desire to
impose a constitution of its own and wants no changes in it except a rapprochement among the various communities in
India. However, the Government intends to present certain proposals for an interim acceptance by the leading parties.
"It is proposed that the Viceroy should reconstitute his Executive Council on which Hindus and Muslims from amongst
the important parties should have equal representation. In this regard, the Viceroy has summoned an all parties'
conference. The Executive Council shall be reconstituted in consultation with them. Except for the Viceroy and the
commander-in-chief, all other members of the Council shall be Indians....."
To consider these proposals, the Congress and the Muslim League held meetings of their Working Committees in Simla.
Since I was a member of the League Working Committee, 1, too, had to go to Simla. I took Pir Ali Mohammed Rashdi,
Yusuf Haroon and Shaikh Abdul Majid Sindhi along with me so that I could benefit from their advice.
The following important leaders attended the Simla conference:
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, President, All India Congress.
Mr. B.N. Bannerjee, Nationalist Party.
Mr. Bhola Bhai Desai, Leader of the Congress Assembly Party.
Sir Ghulam Hussain, Prime Minister of Sindh.
Mr. Hussain Imam, Leader of the Muslim Council of States.
Mr. Mohammed Ali Jinnah, President, All India Muslim League.
Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan, Deputy Leader, Muslim League.
Sir Khizar Hayat Tiwana, Prime Minister of the Punjab.
Mr. B.G. Khere, former Prime Minister of Bombay.
Mr. G.S. Moti Lal, All India Congress.
Khwaja Nazimuddin, ex-Prime Minister, Bengal.
Pundit G.B. Pant, ex-Prime Minister, U.P
Maharaja Parlkandi, ex-Prime Minister, Orissa.
Mr. Rajagopalachari, ex-Prime Minister, Madras.
Mr. Henry Richardson, leader of the European Group.
Sir Syed Mohammed Saadullah, Prime Minister of Assam.
Dr. Khan Sahib, Prime Minister of the NWFP. Mr. R.S. Shukla, Prime Minister, U.P.
Master Tara Singh, leader of the Sikh Akali Dal. Mr. S.K. Sinha, ex Prime Minister, Bihar.
Mr. N.G. Shivraj, leader of the Scheduled Castes.
The Case of Sindh 26
Several meetings were held in which the British Government proposed that until the election of a constituent assembly
for an independent India, there should be an interim administration on which the Muslims and the Hindus should have
equal representation but should have European, Scheduled Castes and other members. Mr. Asif Ali and Pundit Pant told
me that Mr. Jinnah was trying to sabotage the interim government idea at the behest of the British. The British
contemplated the induction of five members each from the Congress and the Muslim League into the interim cabinet but
Mr. Jinnah insisted that the Congress should not nominate any Muslim to the cabinet out of its quota because it
represented only the Hindus. Only the League should have the right to do so because it was the only party, which
represented the Muslims. In spite of the fact that there were no Muslim League governments in Bengal, the NWFP and
the Punjab, Mr. Jinnah stood his ground. 130th Asif Ali and Pundit Pant thought that Mr. Jinnah's opposition to
Muslims being nominated to the interim government by the Congress was neither just nor principled. They said that the
Congress was nationals party whose President, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad himself was a Muslim. Therefore, failure to
reach a settlement on the issue would jeopardize the interests of an independent India. Mr. Jinnah was in constant
consultation with a so-called Working Committee of the Muslim League. However, he kept the Committee in the dark
about what transpired between him and the Viceroy and between him and the Congress. Nawab Ismail Khan, Chaudhry
KhaliQuzzaman and the Raja Sahib of Mohmoodabad had already had discussions on the issue with Mr. Jinnah but
had failed to bring him round. When I told Mr. Jinnah that the talks were about to breakdown because he was not
willing to come to terms with the Congress and that whether the Congress nominated Hindus or Muslims to the interim
government was its internal matter, Mr. Jinnah lost his temper. He said he wanted to prove that the Congress
represented only the Hindus. While we were discussing the issue, Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan walked in. Mr. Jinnah
told him that the Raja Sabah of Mohmoodabad and G.M. Syed were trying to force him to arrive at a settlement with
the Congress. Liaquat Ali Khan told Mr. Jinnah that my (G.M. Syed's) policies were becoming more and more
intolerable, There and then Ghulam Hussain Hidayatullah too complained about me, at which Mr. Jinnah told me
angrily that my attitude had become unacceptable and that it would be better if we parted company.
In short, Mr. Jinnah was adamant on wrecking a Congress-Muslim League settlement. The Muslim League Working
Committee met the following day to consider a reduction in the powers of the provincial leadership 6, the party and to
give greater authority to the All India League. I opposed the move because it was palpably against the principle of
provincial autonomy for which we were fighting. I said any decision in this regard would not be acceptable and if it were
forced on us, we would leave the Party. When Liaquat Ali Khan told all this to Mr. Jinnah, he said bitterly that time had
arrived for a parting of the ways. I replied that if he felt so, I was ready to go my own way. Thus the differences between
us went on increasing, but being simple and inexperienced at the time, I could not then decide to leave the League,
otherwise I would not have let myself to be later answerable to myself for plunging yet further into difficulties. Anyhow,
the Simla Conference failed because of Mr. Jinnah's pro-British policies. The Congress President, Maulana Abul Kalam
Azad publicly held the Muslim League responsible for the breakdown. Mr. Jinnah was demanding the right to nominate
Muslims to the interim government for the League, which, if ceded by the Congress, would have turned it into a non-
Muslim Organization in violation of its 50-year traditions. Azad said he himself was a Muslim and he could not accept
Mr. Jinnah's demand while being in the Congress.
The next important development after the failure of the Simla Conference was Mr. Churchill's defeat in the British
general elections. The Conservatives were ousted from power and Clement Attlee of the Labor Party formed the new
government. The Viceroy of India left for Britain to hold talks with the new administration on the future of the subcontinent.
Before leaving, he had a meeting with all provincial governors and announced that elections to the provincial
assemblies would be held in 1946. He left for England on August 24, 1945 for detailed discussions with the British
Government. It was decided that the Indian leaders would be consulted on a new constitution for India after the
elections. The Viceroy returned to India on September 16 and issued the following statement on the 19th:
The Case of Sindh 27
While inaugurating the new Parliament, His Majesty the King Emperor had announced that autonomous governments
would be established as soon as possible in India in consultation with the Indians themselves. I have had detailed
discussions on the issue with the British Government during my stay in London. I have already announced that elections
will be held during the winter, after which, the British Government hopes, the winning parties will accept ministerial
responsibilities in all the provinces. The British Government has decided that a constituent assembly is established as
soon as possible. I have been authorized to solicit the provincial representatives' views after the elections as to whether
the 1942 proposals made by the Government or any other amended formula is acceptable to them or not. Talks shall
also he held with the representatives of the Indian princely states on the methodology of their participation in the
constituent assembly. The British Government is working out an accord, which will be signed between it and the
government of India. For the time being the Government of India will continue to function as it is doing at present, and
work for the social and economic uplift of the country will go on.
"Later, India will have to participate in international affairs. I have been authorized by His Majesty's Government to
constitute an Executive Council with the support of all parties after the elections to run the affairs of State. The new
British Government has taken in hand the India Question in spite of the fact that it is faced with grave problems, This
shows its resolve to solve the India Question as soon as possible. The task of constitution making will be extremely
intricate and difficult. All parties must address it coolly and sympathetically. After the elections, talks will be held with
the Indian leaders as to what shape to give to the constituent assembly. The best thing to do would be to give them an
opportunity to decide their own future. The British Government and the Viceroy are well aware of the obstacles in the
way. However, they are determined to find a permanent solution for the problem."
The same day, Prime Minister Attlee also said in a radio speech that although he knew that the Cripps proposals would
not be acceptable to the Indian Political parties, his Government was determined to move ahead on the basis of these
proposals He assured that the settlement between Britain and India would include nothing detrimental to the interests of
the latter, He appealed to the Indian leaders to gather together and work out a constitution acceptable to all.
The Working Committee of the All India Congress, meeting in Bombay on September 23, 1945, Passed a resolution,
declaring that Lord Wavell's proposals were unsatisfactory and that nothing short of complete independence would be
acceptable to the Indians. However, the meeting decided to take part in the elections and all parties started making
preparations for the contests. The Congress demanded a new ministerial pattern in the provinces in which it was in
majority but could not succeed because of opposition from the Muslim League and the governors,
The Muslim League wanted to fight the elections on its demand for Pakistan. Therefore, its High Command decided, at
the behest of Mr. Jinnah, that independent, progressive and broadminded party candidates should not be allowed to be
returned to the assemblies. It was urged that if the League decided that all Muslims should vote for even an electric pole,
all of them should vote for it. Discerning politicians didn't take long to foresee the way the wind was blowing, It was
apparent that sycophants would gain advantages for themselves in the Muslim majority areas where the League would
be helped by the British. Sensing this, many Muslims in the Congress joined the League. Prominent among such people
was Khan Abdul Qayum Khan. In Sindh, a group in the League, because of its naiveté, could not decide to leave the
party. Even so, its members refused to play yes-men to the party High Command, which is to say, Mr. Jinnah. It
decided, however, to stay back in the Muslim League for the sake of achieving Pakistan.
Towards the end of August 1945, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad presented a plan for resolving the communal issue. Some
of the important points of the Azad plan were:
1. Efforts should not be made to establish a unitary form of government.
2. Partition of the country would be against the interests of the Muslims.
The Case of Sindh 28
3. The future set-up should be federal in nature with the center having only those powers that the provinces were
willing to cede to it. The provinces' right to self-determination should be recognized.
4. Muslims should be given representation equal to that of the Hindus in the central assembly and the Executive
Council until such time as communalism existed and this parity should continue until political parties begin to
work as political parties.
5. A convention should be established under which the head of the Federation should be a Hindu for one term and
a Muslim for the next. If the Muslims are convinced that no decisions would he foisted on them by the majority
community, they might, in time, stop thinking in terms of partition and begin to realize that their interests lie in
a united India. Once power was transferred to the Indians, economic, political and regional problems would
relegate communal issues to the background.
I do not know how did the Congress Working Committee react to these proposals. However, as usual, it pissed a
resolution in favor of a united India in September 1945. The only addition in the resolution was that while every effort
would be made to establish a strong central government, no Province would be forced to join the center against ifs will,
The resolution also proposed that instead of working for a settlement with the Muslim League. It would be more
Profitable if direct contact was made with the Muslim masses.
Elections were held towards the end of the year for the Central Assembly. Congress secured 19.3 Percent of the non-
Muslim votes while the Muslim League won 36.6 patient Of the Muslim votes, Out of a total of 102 seats, the Congress
won 57, the Muslim League bagged 30. There were five independents, two Akali Sikhs and eight Europeans.
A look here at the scene in Sindh would be in order. Having reorganized the Muslim League, we held elections to
Provincial offices of the party on June 3-4, 1945. 1 was reelected President. The resolutions passed at the time included
one condemning interference in the affairs of the provincial League by the central party. I had already earned Mr.
Jinnah's ire by bringing this matter to his notice during the Simla Conference. However, it was time now to constitute a
new parliamentary board so that the party could take part in the provincial assembly elections. It was decided to put up
progressive candidates since the constituent assembly was about to come into being and we had to have only such people
elected who could give the new country, Pakistan, a clean and honest leadership.
The ministerial group opposed all this and invited Mr. Jinnah to Sindh. He asked me to reconstitute the parliamentary
board in a manner in which the ministerial group could gain a majority in it. Important members of the assembly
strongly opposed this move. However, partly because of the weaknesses of some Sindhi feudals and partly because of my
commitment to Mr. Jinnah, I persuaded the Provincial Muslim League to pass a resolution giving the ministerial group
four out of the seven seats on the parliamentary board. Thus it was that, on our own, we made the party that much
subservient to the cabinet.
When the time came to award party tickets towards the end of the year, the ministerial group began patronizing its
toadies. Al this, the provincial party revolted, The Ministers called Mr. Jinnah to their rescue. The latter asked us to
surrender the award of party tickets to the Central Parliamentary Board. We were beginning now to lose faith in the
central leaders, especially the High Command and Mr. Jinnah. Therefore, I refused to obey Mr. Jinnah because had I
done his bidding, it would have meant trampling underfoot the rights of the people. It would also have meant sacrificing
the future of Sindh at the altar of All India interests at a time when our hopes for a better tomorrow were about to come
true.
Apart from this, I was among the leaders of the progressive elements in the party who had made untold sacrifices in the
hope that the awakened masses would transform the League and that it would never go back to its bad old ways. I
convened a meeting of the provincial party on October 14, 1945, where great fervor was shown for this point of view.
The Case of Sindh 29
The meeting appealed to the Central Parliamentary Board that party tickets in Sindh should be awarded in consultation
with G.M. Syed, Khair Shah, Agha Ghulam Nabi Pathan, Syed Mohammed Ali Shah and Rais Ghulam Mustafa
Bhurgri.
When Mr. Jinnah came to Karachi and stayed at Sir Ghulam Husain's bungalow, I apprised him of the provincial
party's resolution. He was greatly annoyed and said the meeting that had passed the resolution consisted of irrelevant
people who had nothing to do with the issue at hand. I felt that the time had come to go my own way. I had been sailing
on two boats for a long time and was under great mental strain,
On the one side was a man whom I had regarded at one time as the Quaid-e-Azam and a guardian of the future of the
Muslims and at the wrong news of whose death I had cried myself into a swoon, On the other side, was my love for
Sindh, my country, where I was born and brought up and where twenty generations of my family lay buried and for
whose independence and prosperity, thousands of men of piety and commitment had sacrificed their lives.
During this internal struggle, I became convinced that I would have to choose between the two. After Jinnah's
dictatorial attitude, it was my duty to express my dissent and rebel. I wish to make it clear here that these conferences
were not between two personalities, as is generally thought, but a conflict between two distinct political points of view.
The President of the All India Muslim League had complete disregard for the interests of Sindh. It was for him to order
and for the others to obey. I refused thus to obey him. At this, Jinnah Sahib asked me in cold anger to reconsider my
views because I had no realization of the consequences of my stance. I told him that I had been thinking things over for
two years and I knew fully well what I was doing. My first loyalty was for the provincial Muslim League Party without
whose permission I would endorse no decision taken by anyone. Jinnah Sahib said my refusal amounted to a violation
of party discipline and asked me once again to review my decision and consider its repercussions. I thanked him but
reminded him that during our last meeting, he had talked of the possibility of a parting of the ways. Now, after due
consideration, I had reached the conclusion that it would not be possible for me to renege on the provincial council of
the party and accept the one-sided decision of the League's Central Parliamentary Board. Jinnah Sahib thought that
since the provincial party was a branch of the All India Muslim League, it was subservient to the latter and had no
independent status. I was not willing to accept this position for Sindh.
It was tinder these circumstances that I thought it advisable to take the Sindh Muslim League out of the central party in
order to protect the interests of the people of the province. My last meeting with the League President was a testing and
challenging occasion for me; I was pitted against the power and glory of office. Not only the League High Command, I
was also earning the ire of hundreds of thousands of Muslims. But I decided to face all this. Mr. Jinnah had left me with
but two options: unconditional obedience or separation. I opted for the latter course. As a last warning, Mr. Jinnah sent
me a list of candidates approved by the League High Command and asked me to support them. I refused to do so and
decided to explain my standpoint through the Press. Accordingly, I issued a lengthy Press statement on October 28, 1
945, in which I explained my differences with Sir Ghulam Hussain Hidayatuilah's Ministry and the Central High
Command. A summary of this statement is being reproduced here. Newspapers published this summary or concise
version on October 29- 30, 1945. I had started that -The Quaid-i-Azam's Press statement of October 27 has made it
incumbent upon me to place a few facts before the people. The coming elections were vital for the future of a hundred
million Muslims of India and the prosperity of the people of Sindh. Any misunderstanding on these two issues at this
stage would have grave consequences. I thought it necessary to explain that so far as the Muslim League's claim that it
represented the hundred million Muslims of India was concerned, there could tie no two opinions. We were also
wedded to the arms and objectives of the party and would go along with it to the last and make whatever sacrifices were
required of us. However, so far as the elections in Sindh were concerned, it was necessary to narrate the causes, which
had led to the impasse.
The Case of Sindh 30
The Case of Sindh 31
The conditions in Sindh
None of those who knew even a little about Sindh could deny the fact that the legislators returned to the provincial
Assembly in 1937 were not suitable for the task either from the point of view of social welfare, administrative probity,
moral rectitude or loyalty to the Muslim League, there was nothing new in it for me. I did not come to that realization
because the Central Parliamentary Board had not given party tickets to some of my special friends. The fact was that
during the eight years past, not only myself but also every Sindhi had been pained at the situation in the Province. I
present here a portion of the letter I had then written to the Quaid-e-Azam:
""¦ It may be seen that the plaint we are mating and the anxiety that has been created in us is neither recent nor born of
personal reasons.
"The Corruption and repression that is rampant have Proved that the present Ministry has become a constant menace
for, and an intolerable burden on the people of Sindh. Anyone, who questions the veracity of this charge, can himself
look into the state of affairs on behalf of the League. It is unfortunate for the people of Sindh that those sent here by the
League High Command (to probe things) have never taken the trouble to visit the interior of the province. Nor have they
tried to find out what are the feelings of the people there about the Ministry. They just come to Karachi and, therefore,
their knowledge of Sindh is limited to that city. The Cabinet is corrupt and so are people serving in top positions. The
subordinate bureaucracy is also following in their footsteps. People have to spend millions of rupees every year in order
to meet the ever-increasing demands of those running the government machinery. The other evils born of graft need not
detain us here.
"The situation in the countryside is alarming. There is no law and order and the people, especially the Muslims have lost
all hope. The syndicate created to control wheat prices has created disaffection among the growers who have already
been ruined by the exorbitant rates of abiana (water charges). All this is in violation of the promises the League had made
to the people and has created a general feeling of hatred for the party. The government's policy towards the bureaucracy
is so weak that the latter has gone berserk. People feel that instead of a representative government, some ancient tyrant is
ruling them. The Cabinet has embarrassed its own supporters. In view of all this, how strong can the party emerge in the
future? Such a government should not be allowed to stay in power another minute.
"I have raised this issue at different forums on several occasions. I apprised Nawab Mohammed Ismail Khan and
Chaudhry KhaliQuzzaman of the situation when the two were last here, Under these circumstances, how can it be said
that the step we have taken after two years is the result of a sudden suspicion or conspiracy? Keeping such a Ministry in
power will result in the loss of prestige for the party which can gain in popularity and prestige only if it works for the
welfare of the Muslims.' "Here I wish to refer to the political behavior of some important people who were favored by
the League's Central Parliamentary Board. The then Prime Minister of Sindh, Sir Ghulam Hussain joined the League in
1938 and left it a year later. Not only that. He issued statements against the party and Pakistan itself. When the Sindh
Governor dismissed the late Mr. Allah Bux in 1942, Sir Ghulam Hussain realized that it would he difficult for him to
become Prime Minister without joining the Muslim League. He did so accordingly. In spite of being a Leaguer, he had
Khan Bahadur Maula Bux Soomro elected from the Shikarpur constituency and made him Revenue Minister and
removed him only when we accepted his terms. Likewise, Khan Bahadur Mir Ghulam Ali Talpur and Pir Illahi Bux
kept shuttling in and out of the party. It is an open secret that when the Hindus of Hyderabad offered Mir Talpur the
presidency of the District Local Board, he left the League for the sake of that petty office. It is significant that the Central
Parliamentary Board should have given tickets to these gentlemen and their supporters some among whom were not
even paying members of the part. Some had joined the party only a month or so ago, some had always betrayed the
League and there were others who came in because they had things to hide from the people. Some were totally illiterate.
The Case of Sindh - G.M. Syed's
deposition in court (Part 3)
The Case of Sindh 32
On the other hand, those ignored had always been loyal to the party, had been helping it or were highly educated and
were greatly popular.
"It may be recalled here that whenever we protested against the situation in Sindh, we were assured by the central party
that the best candidates would be chosen for the Sindh Assembly for the new elections. Pinning its hopes on this
assurance the Muslim League Council, Sindh hall, appointed members of its choice on the provincial parliamentary
Board at its annual meeting in 1945. When the Quaid visited Karachi in August that year, Khan Bahadur Mr. Ghulam
Ali Talpur, Khan Bahadur Mohammed Ayub Khuhro and his friends told him that the Parliamentary Board appointed
by the council was not acceptable to them because most of its members had a majority in the Sindh League Council.
They wanted equal representation on the Board.
"Earlier, Mir Ghulam Ali Khan Talpur had created quite a rumpus through his letters and statements and he was aided
and abetted by Ayub Khuhro in his attempt to get not even parity but a majority representation on the Parliamentary
Board. Khan Bahadur Ghulam Ali Khan announced that he would field his candidates under the flag of the Baloch
Party. He also started a campaign against the Muslim League candidates, The Council was of the view that if members
belonging to conflicting groups were put on the Board, electoral work Would not be able to proceed satisfactorily and
the League would not be able to field deserving candidates in the elections. Therefore, when the Quaid came to Karachi,
the above facts were presented to him. The Quaid expressed the opinion that the Board should be reconstituted and the
views of Mir Ghulam Ali Khan Talpur and Khan Bahadur Ayub Khuhro and others be given due consideration. But
these gentlemen wanted that their representation on the Board should be larger than the Council's. This was brought to
the Quaid's notice as well as the difficulties that such a course of action would entail. However, these gentlemen assured
the Quaid that their members would act honestly and justly in the selection of the League's candidates. Accordingly, the
Board was reconstituted under a Council resolution. Mir Ghulam Ali Khan Talpur and Pir Illahi Bux represented the
Council while Khan Bahadur Mohammed Ayub Khuhro represented the Sindh Assembly Muslim League. Thus the
new Board was constituted on the basis of conciliation.
"When the Quaid left Karachi, the Sindh Muslim League President invited applications from prospective candidates and
laid down rules of procedure in consultation with the members of the new Board.
"The new Parliamentary Board was constituted in the hope that it would work impartially. However, no sooner had the
Quaid left Karachi than its members started to indulge in factionalism Mir Ghulam Ali Talpur began making efforts to
get his men returned to the Assembly. He lost no time in contacting Sir Ghulam, Hussain along with others and in
collusion with Pir Illahi Bux and had 'consultations' with him over the nomination of candidates. It was also decided to
help Shahmir Khan Kachi against the President of the Sindh Muslim League in his bid for election to the provincial
Assembly. The Makhdoom Sahib of Hala also attended these parleys. He was made to write to all his followers in the
League President's constituency to help the party President's opponents. The Quaid was apprised of this. These
gentlemen also proposed that they should field their own men against some important members of the League who did
not see eye to eye with them.
"Even before the Parliamentary Board had met, the Makhdoom of Hala, Mir Ghulam Ali Talpur, Pir Illahi Bux and
Ayub Khuhro started writing to various people and began working for their own men. Talpur went especially to Nawab
shah to work against Khair Shah who was a member of the Board. Khuhro toured the province together with Yusuf
Haroon and spoke in favor of the latter and Qazi Fazlullah at several meetings. He also wrote to several people, seeking
support for Seth Yusuf Haroon.
"All this happened when the matter of selecting candidates had not yet come up before the Board. Talpur told a meeting
of the Balochis in Karachi that if a Baloch was riot given a party ticket for the Lyari constituency, he would unit the
League, Pir Illahi Bux was party to the plan hatched against G.M. Syed. These gentlemen worked for increasing the rift
The Case of Sindh 33
between the Bhutto and Khuhro 'parties' At the same time, they had changes made in the wards in the Shikarpur
constituency in complicity with Khan Bahadur Maula Bux and to the latter's advantage Likewise, Sir Ghulam Hussain,
using his official Position, had those officials appointed in Sukkur District for whom Khan Bahadur Muala Bux had
requested. Sir Ghulam Hussain also helped Mir Ghulam Ali Talpur in his doings. Secret meetings were held and
factionalism promoted. "The activities of these four gentlemen were found to create doubts in the minds of the
prospective candidates thus pushed against the wall. As many as 25 members of the council moved an application on
October 1, 1945, in which it was demanded that the above facts be presented before an emergent meeting of the Council.
Such grave charges had been leveled against the four gentlemen that the President of the Provincial League adjourned
the meeting of the Parliamentary Board. After the adjournment, these four gentlemen met at the house of Khan Bahadur
Ayub Khuhro where candidates were awarded party tickets in violation of the rules, which had been agreed upon
beforehand. Some of the people thus favored were not even two-Anna members of the League. These four gentlemen,
Sir Ghulam Hussain Hidayatullah, Khan Bahadur Mir Ghulam Ali Talpur, Pir Illahi Box and Khan Bahadur Ayub
Khuhro issued a joint statement to the Press which was published 6y the Daily Gazette in October 1945. They said that
Mr. G.M. Syed's statement had pained them greatly. They alleged that the statement had been made at the behest of
those to whose tune I was dancing. They said I was annoyed because the candidates of my choice had not been awarded
party tickets in Tharparkar and Hyderabad districts by the majority of the Parliamentary Board in whose view they did
not deserve them nor had they any chance of winning! They claimed that they were working only for the candidates who
were likely to win. They alleged that I wanted to get tickets at all cost but when they saw that a good many of the Board
members had stuck to their scruples and were not willing to play their game, they secured a wrong ruling from the
League President. They even floated a canard to score their point against the Sindh League Council that Mr. Rashdi was
leading the Council astray at the behest of forces inimical to the Central League.
"It may be noted here that the Parliamentary Board had set the following criteria for eligibility for awarding tickets:
1. Chances of success.
2. Loyalty to the League and record of national service.
3. Educational qualifications.
4. In case of a tie on the above conditions, preference to be given to one who had been a member of the Assembly
previously.
5. Minimum six months of League membership. This condition was to be ignored if a candidate was an all-India
or all-Sindh personality and if the rival candidate for a ticket did not stand a chance of securing 25 percent of the
votes.
"It was also decided that all decisions taken by the Board should be unanimous. Where this was not possible, the
majority view should prevail, If the vote was 4-3, the decision should be left to the Central Board.
"However, in the first two meetings, these criteria were thrown overboard. This was proved by the decisions taken about
Khan Bahadur Ghulam Mohammed lsran, Mr. Nabi Bux Bhutto and Mr. Allahdino Shah Rashdi.
"The Provincial League Council met on October 14, 1945, and passed a motion of no-confidence against some members
of the Parliamentary Board by 35 votes to 5. The Council also appointed five of its members to advise the Central Board
on matters relating to the elections. They were:
1. Mr. G M Syed.
2. Syed Khair Shah
The Case of Sindh 34
3. Agha Ghulam Ali Khan Pathan
4. Syed Mohammed Ali Shah
5. Mr. Ghulam Mustafa Bhurgari
"Shortly afterwards, I called on the Quaid-e-Azam when he came to Karachi He expressed great displeasure at my
attitude and said he was not prepared to tolerate it. HE said once again that the time for a parting of the ways had
arrived I tried to convince him and apprised him of the Council's sentiments The Quaid said that the Council would not
be allowed to act like 'a herd of cattle'. At this, I said nothing more. "The members of the Central Parliamentary Board
remained in Karachi for 12 days. It was expected that they would consult the five members appointed by the Council,
summon prospective candidates and review the situation generally but they did nothing of the sort. Tickets were
awarded to those, a reference to whom has been made above. In fact, the Central Board endorsed the decisions taken by
the four members of the Provincial Board who had met at a private house to award party tickets. I consider it necessary
to state here that members of the Central Board did not take a step Out of Karachi to ascertain the sentiments of the
ordinary Muslims is of Sindh. The recommendations sent to the Central Board by the five Council members which were
meant to reconcile various factions and groups were also ignored, especially those which were not acceptable to the four
favorites of the Provincial Board.'
"I was summoned by the Quaid and asked whether the decisions taken by the Central Board were acceptable to me.
Since I didn't know what these decisions were, I refused to accept them unless they were endorsed by a majority of the
Provincial Council. At this, I was handed over a sealed envelop containing those decisions Now the question was: were
the decisions taken by the Central Board acceptable to the ordinary Muslims of Sindh and would those selected as
League candidates be able to do anything for the betterment of the. Muslims who were in anguish at the Situation in the
province? I wanted to ascertain the wishes of the Muslims of the province before deciding what to do. But this was not
meant as a parting of the ways. It was in a spirit of combativeness that the provincial Muslim league fielded its
candidates and we got busy with election work. During this period, efforts were made for reconciliation between the
League High Command and us. The Punjab leadership also tried their hand but all efforts failed. I received letters and
telegrams from all over India from league workers and friends. All of them praised my sincerity and service and agreed
that the High Command had been unfair to me but requested that I should bow to the latter unconditionally.
Before filing my nomination papers, there was an agreement between me and Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan and Qazi
Mohammed Isa who both came to Sindh for the purpose. However, when I went to Dadu to file my nomination papers,
I came to know that the Central leadership had canceled tickets of the four members of the progressive group. Only I had
been spared in the group. This action of the High Command brought matters to a head and I resigned from the All India
Muslim League Working Committee and the Committee of Action. Returning my ticket, I issued a statement on
October 16, 1945 in which I explained my decision and defended my position. Excerpts are being presented here:
"Alas, that which I had feared has come to pass. All progressive elements have been eliminated from the list of
candidates approved by the Central Muslim League, including the four originally selected. This has been done in
violation of the pledge given to me by the Chairman of the Central Parliamentary Board and one of its members, Qazi
Isa, that this would not be done. I am convinced that the decision has been taken at the behest of those who want to use
the League to further their own interests. In spite of that, I had agreed to approve the list of the selected candidates in
view of the above pledge and I had also hoped that by doing so, I would be helping to promote unity in the party. But
the action of the central leadership has come as a painful surprise to me. I felt betrayed. The four tickets withdrawn have
been given to those who are not even members of the party of to those who had not even applied for them, How
inappropriate is the central party's decision can be gauged from the fact that a man with a criminal record who is even
now facing trial, has been preferred to a man as talented as Mr. Mohammed Ali Shah.
The Case of Sindh 35
"Everyone knows that I was once a member of the All India Congress but when that party ignored the welfare of the
People of Sindh and began interfering in the internal affairs of the Province, I left it along with my friends and joined the
Muslim League. We did so because we hoped that our action would enable us to save the Muslims from the clutches of
the capitalists and the bureaucracy and make the achievement of an independent Pakistan that much easier. We have
struggled hard and made every sacrifice to achieve the high objectives of the party so that we should be able to work for a
better deal for the Muslims of Sindh. But this was a vain hope. Instead of being allowed to work for the welfare of
Muslims, we were forced to ensure that the domination of Muslim capitalists, gentlemen with big titles and the chosen
ones of the British bureaucracy should continue. The idea was to replace bloodsucking Hindu capitalists with their
Muslim counterparts as the lords and masters of ordinary Muslims who should remain in a perpetual state of bondage
and nothing should be done to ameliorate their lot. The main reasons for our differences (with the central leadership) are
as under:
1. We have been ordered in season and out to forget about the welfare of the poor people of Sindh because of the
unclear, incoherent and dubious policies of the central leadership. Those who belong to the Muslim minority
provinces determine the policies of the All India Muslim League. Our friends keep claiming that they want to
free the Muslims of Hindu bondage. In fact, they want that Sindh and other Muslim majority provinces should
remain under their tutelage. To keep central leadership in their own hands, they not only helped the reactionary
elements in Sindh but also helped them to maintain their stranglehold over the poor people of the province.
2. Mismanagement and corruption stalk the province. Nothing has been done to rid the League of these evils. On
the contrary, everything has been done to promote them, and everything done for the betterment of poor
Muslims is, therefore, nullified. Anti-Hindu propaganda is resorted in order to divert the attention of the people
from these shortcomings. All this has prevented us from being of any help to the people. Only the Nawabs and
the landlords are being strengthened when these people do not simply have it in them to resist the British. We
are, for this purpose, being prevented from fighting the Raj. Al the same time, differences between the Congress
and the Muslim League are increasing every day, which will not only hamper the struggle for the independence
of India and Pakistan but also create problems for similar struggles elsewhere in the East.
3. In order to maintain the hegemony of the rich, the League High Command wants us to return deadwood to the
Sindh Assembly. When such ignorant, selfish and bloodsucking parasites are elected to the constituent
assembly, they will continue to serve the interests of the feudals and the capitalists even after the creation of
Pakistan. We are being asked in the name of democratic unity among Muslims to overlook all this. When
anyone asks them whether we are trying to achieve Pakistan for the Khan Bahadurs, the Nawab Bahadur, the
Sardars and the capitalists, he is threatened into silence and told not to raise such questions till after the creation
of Pakistan. Similarly, when we are asked which class will prosper in Pakistan, we are accused of being anti-
Islam in order to silence us, The League capitalists are clever in the extreme. Honesty and truth are virtues
unknown to them. If the President of the Sindh Muslim League raises his voice in favor of the downtrodden
peasantry, they put him in the straitjacket of rules and regulations. Nothing is low enough or mean enough or
crude enough for them when they want to eliminate their opponents.
"In spite of all this, we are ordered by the Central leadership to trust such people and to continue helping them to
enhance their power and prestige. In fact, the reasons for parting company with the All India Muslim League had
existed for a long time but we continued to try for an honorable settlement in Smith but, unfortunately, these elements
are afraid of the unity for which we had worked so hard. It is apparent now that when Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan
and Qazi Isa arrived at a settlement with me, they had no intention of honoring it because they gave all the tickets to
their toe tickers in violation of all party rules, aims and objectives and by completely ignoring the President of the Sindh
Muslim League All this was done to a loyalist like me who kept the dignity of the All India Muslim League alive in spite
The Case of Sindh 36
of criticism from the ordinary Muslims of Sindh. Under these circumstances, I am constrained to take the following
decisions with the greatest of regret:
1. I am returning the party ticket awarded to me so that my opponents may do as they please and make such use of
this ticket as they want. These friends have already set their lackeys at work against me and I don't want that
there should be any hurdle in their way.
2. I am resigning front the All India Muslim League Working Committee and the Action Committee.
3. So long as the leadership of the All India Muslim league is in reactionary hands, the Sindh Muslim league shall
work as an independent and autonomous party.
4. Only the Council of the Sindh Muslim League will decide whether to maintain the list of ticket awardees
approved by it through a resolution or amend it or recall it and issue fresh tickets.
"I have written to the All India Muslim League regarding these decisions. The following candidates will contest the
elections as the Sindh Muslim League nominees from the constituencies mentioned against their names:
1. Nawab shah North: Hon'ble Syed Mohammed Ali Shah.
2. Nawab shahWest: Syed Hassan Bux Shah.
3. Nawab shah last: Syed Khair Shah.
4. Nawab Shah Northwest: Pir Qurban Ali.
5. Hyderabad North: Pir Baqadar Shah.
6. Hyderabad South: Pir Aali Shah.
7. Hyderabad East: Mr. Ghulam Nabi Memon.
8. Tharparkar West: Mr. Ghulam Mustafa Bhurgri.
9. Tharparkar North: Syed Ghulam Hyder Shah.
10. Dadu South: Mr. G.M. Syed.
11. Karachi East: Pir Ghulam Hyder Shah.
12. Sindhi Landlord: Mr. Ghulam Rasool Bhurgri.
More names to be announced later.
"I cannot hide from my ordinary Muslim brethren the anguish with which I had to take the decision to take the. Sindh
Muslim League out of the central party. I was forced to do so because of the central party's current policies and attitude.
The central leadership's attitude towards the Sindh League or for that matter any other Muslim majority province is
more or less the same, It wants the capitalists to continue to dominate and exploit poor Muslims. Men with big titles,
real estates or large farm lands men who want ministerial office, men who put self above everything else, help in such
exploitation of the poor. I know it fully well that they are men of great power but 1, too, will continue to fight this policy
with all the strength at my command, no matter what the cost I am Sure that if this noble effort, I will have the support
and sympathy of the poor That is why I am sure that God will crown my efforts with success. There will be many
hurdles in the way and many difficulties but since I think that my Struggle is lost and since God is always with it just, I
hope and pray that I will have His support. Amen."
The Case of Sindh 37
Immediately after the publication of this statement on December 26, 1945, the League High Command decided that
disciplinary action should be taken against me and should be expelled from the League, The High Command at the time
was extremity repressive. It sent goondas to take Over the Sindh League office but we did not take retaliatory measures
because we were determined 10 prevent violence, But their action showed how afraid the Nawabs and the feudals were
of progressive elements. We stood firm on our democratic path. We depended on the peasantry and other downtrodden
sections of society. We wanted to inform them of the stakes involved, and become conscious of their rights. We stood
convinced that the people would wake up to the truth and respond ably to the challenge in due course.
We fielded 16 candidates against the Central League nominees in the elections held on January 21, 1946. The
reactionaries used religion against us. People were told that if G.M. Syed and his colleagues succeeded, Islam would be
in jeopardy. We were called Hindu agents. We also exposed the misdeeds of the League Ministry in every nook and
corner of Sindh, but such was the power of their propaganda and pelf that only four of our candidates could win while
Haji Maula Bux's independent group secured three seats. After an alliance with the latter, I was elected leader and
Maula Box the deputy leader of the enlarged group. The party position was like this:
Muslim League (central) 27
Congress 21
Sindh League plus
independents
7
Labor 1
We decided to form a coalition with the Congress and the labor member. This could have given us strength of 29 and we
could have formed the government. But for the sake of the larger interests of Sindh, we thought that a Congress League
settlement would be more advisable and could lead to the formation of a strong ministry. But Mr. Hashim Gazdar tried
for a coalition between the Muslim League and our group. Later, we tried for a League-Congress settlement when
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and Sardar Patel visited Sindh, so that the communal issue could be resolved. We assured
them of all possible help in this regard. This is proved by the speech Mr. Hashim Gazdar made in the Assembly. We
were willing to stay out of the Ministry in case there was a settlement between the League and the Congress. Mr. Gazdar
lauded this spirit of political accommodation in his speech. However, Sir Ghulam Hussain was not willing for this. He
had the support of the Muslim League High Command in the name of the so-called unity of the Muslim nation. Hired
propagandists were used against us who declared us anti-Islam. Even the Sindh League President was not spared and
goondas were sent to threaten him.
We could have formed a government in coalition with the Congress. The new Governor of Sindh, Sir Francis Mudie,
summoned me. I gave him a true picture of all parties but he advised me to join the Central Muslim League. His view
was that we were harming Muslim interests by being outside the Muslim League fold. I was amazed at the way the
British Governor, instead of performing his duties, decided to become a patron of the Muslim League. I refused to do his
bidding but was astonished when the Governor invited Sir Ghulam Hussain to form a government even though his party
did not command a majority in the House. He also asked the European members to support the Ghulam Hussain
Ministry- Thus gradually we came to understand as to why Mr. Jinnah himself persisted in his preference of time-servers
The Case of Sindh 38
to the progressive elements. We gave notice of a motion of no confidence against the government during the budget
session at which the Leaguers retaliated in an unexpected manner.
Qazi Mujtaba was a noted communist but was at the time in the Muslim League under the influence of the Haroon
family. He was made to go on a hunger strike unto) death at my door. Apart from this, poisonous speeches were made
against me and my group at the Eidgaah Maidaan in Karachi every night.
When the Assembly's budget session began, we moved a no-confidence motion against the Government. Explaining my
party's stance during discussion in the house, I made the following speech:
"No-one can deny that I have always been associated with the Muslim League, In fact I have played a considerable role
in strengthening the League in Sindh. The responsibility for my present position into which I have been forced ties with
those who tried to throw the progressive group out of the party during the last elections. It was only after my progressive
colleagues had been thrown out one after another, that I returned the League ticket. This was considered an
unpardonable sin and I was expelled from the party. During the elections, every kind of propaganda was used against us.
We were declared enemies of Islam and the Muslim nation. It was charged that we had sold out to the Hindus In spite of
all this, we forgave those who had or maligned or otherwise harmed us and said let bygones be bygones. But an
unconditional surrender was demanded of us, as if we had committed a big sin because of which we were being
reluctantly expelled from the party, It was also claimed that the criticism against us was clean and pure. In spite of this,
when I realized that my group leads only four members, I made an appeal, through a statement, to both the Muslim
League and the Congress to form a united and honest government committed to the welfare of Sindh. I had also offered
to help them in this regard. But the Sarkari (official) Muslim League talked neither with the Congress nor with us on the
formation of a Ministry. After this we were left with no option but to negotiate with other parties so that together they
should save the Constitution from being Suspended.
"At the time of coalition formation, I had said in a statement that I still subscribed to the basic principles of the Muslim
League and I stick to what I had said. The Hon'ble Mr. Gazdar made his attempt when a coalition party had already
been formed under my leadership. Only an all-party government could be formed then, provided its leaders had been
unanimously elected. But the Muslim Leaguers did not accept any of the several proposals made to them for reasons
known only to them in spite of the fact that except for the European members I had, and continue to have, the support of
a majority of the Assembly members. It is true that after becoming Prim - Minister, Sir Ghulam Hussain did indeed ask
only the Congress to nominate two Hindu members to the Cabinet. However, as a seasoned politician, he should have
realized ' that the Congress Could not do so because it had already formed a coalition with the nationalist group of the
Muslim League and Haji Maula Bux's independent group In the circumstances now prevailing, neither we nor the
Congress can be of any help to the Muslim League Ministry until it is dissolved and then reconstituted in consultation
with, and the consent of, all groups.
"In this regard, I wish to inform the House of a fresh development of which I came to know rather late. The clay the
motion of no confidence was moved, some members of the Treasury Benches and a European member appealed to our
party to arrive at some settlement with them in the larger interests of Sindh. Keeping this in view and after consulting my
party, I called on Sir Ghulam Hussain at his residence And I came to know through reliable sources that Sir Ghulam
Hussain and the deputy leader of the League, Khan Bahadur Ayub Khuhro had sent a telegram to the Muslim League
High Command, requesting that in the interests of the province and the Muslim masses, the ban on G.M. Syed and his
group's entry into the party should be lifted.
"The response from the High Command reflects its mentality. It is willing to form a coalition with the Congress and the
Mahasabha which are against the very creation of Pakistan but will not deal with sincere and principled people who are
flesh of their flesh and bone of their bones. These were the telegraphic exchanges, which took place:
The Case of Sindh 39
From Mr. Jinnah to the Sindh Premier
Received your telegram. In my view the ban on Syed and others cannot be lifted. They should
apologize and offer unconditional obedience. For as long as he is with the enemies, there can be no
talks with Syed under any conditions.
Jinnah
From Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan to Sir Ghulam Hussain.
Received joint telegram from you and Khuhro. Syed must offer unconditional obedience and apologize
for violating party discipline and decisions and offer loyalty in future, Only then can the lifting of the
ban on him
"This is the policy of the High Command which it thinks will lead to Muslim unity and which it hopes will persuade us
to assist the Muslim League Ministry. The Muslim League Press may do whatever it wants to tarnish my spirit or me but
the people at least should know that my followers or I do not hanker after office. Pursuit of power is not for me and my
past record shows it. I don't have to say anything more to satisfy the people.
"We shall not oppose the League if it reshuffles its Cabinet-on its own and chooses the best Ministers it can find to serve
the people. To subscribe to the League does not mean liberty to play foul in the name of the party. I stand for an end to
bureaucratic corruption, for law and order, for communal harmony and for better economic and educational
opportunities for the people. I hold these objectives above the party's mere name. Expulsion from the League and other
repressive measures cannot make me leave the path I have chosen for myself. My conscience is clear. I shall never stop
from serving Sindh and its people. I have not left the League; I have been forcibly expelled. I can't help saying that no
honest, self-respecting and principled individual can be made to leave the righteous path through bluff and bluster. If
there is truth in what the Leaguers say and if they have any respect for their party (for which I struggled so hard), they
should make immediate changes in the Ministry and replace incompetent and needless Ministers with honest and able
people. After that, I'll have no dispute with them. However, if their ultimate aim is power, let them stick to it for as long
as they can but then let no one expect any help from me. Under these circumstances, I have no option but to support the
motion of no-confidence."
The motion failed by 30-29 with the European member making the difference. However, before the session ended, Mir
Bande Ali Talpur moved a cut motion in which the Government was defeated. However, instead of asking Sir Ghulam
Hussain to resign, the Governor summoned Mr. Bands Ali Talpur, had him made a Minister and thus saved the day for
the Government! This was the moral rebuff to the League High Command's attitude towards us. We were penalized
while those who abused the League and kept on shifting loyalties were rewarded with Ministries. Perhaps in the eyes of
the League leaders, rules and regulations and principles were only for the Progressives while they and their cabinet could
do pretty much as they pleased no matter how wrong or how reprehensible.
The Cabinet Mission appointed by the British Government arrived in India on March 24, 1946, to work out the
modalities of the country's independence and to arrive at a mutually agreed interim arrangement for the period of
transition. I was called to Delhi in my capacity as the leader of the Congress opposition coalition. I presented my group's
views on all-India problems to the Commission an April 2, 1946. We demanded the right of self-determination for every
state together with full autonomy. This was, in our view, the only solution for India's increasing political problems and
communal frenzy. I may explain here that although I had my differences with the League High Command, I was not
against its basic objective, Pakistan. That's why I Supported the Pakistan idea before the Cabinet Mission. I supported
even the Muslim League in my speech. However, there was one difference between my standpoint and the League-s- 1
The Case of Sindh 40
was for an independent India with complete autonomy for the provinces, it meant that there should be two federations,
one for the provinces with Hindu majorities and the other for Muslim majority provinces, which two should, for specific
purposes, act as a confederation on the basis of equality of members and Ministers. This scheme was, similar to the
Cabinet Mission's Regional Plan.
On April 3, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad made his proposals to the Commission, which included independence, a
constituent assembly and the formation of an interim government. In his view, the Congress was totally opposed to the
partition of India and stood for a federal government with only three subjects - defense, foreign affairs and
communications. Mahatma Gandhi met the Commission in his personal capacity and declared that the Pakistan idea
was a bad idea. He said that the two-nation theory was inimical to the interests of the country. He proposed that the first
chance for forming a government should be given to Jinnah, and the Congress should be invited to do so only after
Jinnah did not accept the offer.
Mr. Jinnah appeared before the Commission on April 4 and told it that, under the circumstances, partition was
inevitable. Further talks could be possible only when partition had been agreed upon in principle. The leader of the
Liberal League, Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru, stressed the need for the immediate formation of an interim government and
expressed the fear that partition would lead to grave results.
Parlays with the Cabinet Mission were continuing when Mr. Jinnah summoned a meeting of the legislators who had
been elected on League tickets. Around 400 persons participated. He wanted the legislators to pass a resolution
demanding that Assam, Bengal, Sindh, Baluchistan, the NWFP and the Punjab should constitute Pakistan. The
legislators obliged him. The resolution also called for a separate constituent assembly and warned that if any other
solution were forcibly imposed; it would be resisted at all cost. This resolution was against the Pakistan Resolution
passed in Lahore in 1 940 which had called for the creation of independent and sovereign States in the north west and
east of India in provinces with Muslim majorities. But the Delhi resolution called for the creation of a single/central
government. This was not only against the 1940 Resolution but was also against the spirit of the resolutions passed by
the Sindh Muslim League Conference in 1938 and the Sindh Assembly on March 3, 1943. The 1 938 and 1 940
resolution can be seen in Appendix 4.
In the meantime, the Cabinet Mission held several meetings with the Congress and the Muslim League on the future of
India. On May 12, 1946, both parties held meetings but they could not arrive at a settlement. However, the Cabinet
Mission continued its efforts. At last on May 1 6, the Commission came out with a lengthy statement in which it made
its final proposal saying that an interim government would be set up in India tinder a)) circumstances. The following is
the text of the Cabinet Mission statement:
Cabinet Mission's Recommendations as to the Basic Form of Constitution
On 16th May 1946 the Cabinet Mission made its own decision and recommended that the constitution should take the
following has form:
i. There should be a Union of India, embracing both British India and the States, which should deal with the
following subjects: Foreign Affairs, Defense and Communications and should have the powers necessary to
raise the finance required for the above subjects.
ii. The Union should have an Executive and a legislature constituted from British India and State representatives,
Any question raising a major communal issue in the Legislature should require for its decision a majority of the
representatives present and voting of each of the two major communities as well as a majority of all the
members present and voting.
iii. All subjects other than the Union subjects and all residue powers should be vested in the Provinces.
The Case of Sindh 41
iv. The States will retain all subjects and powers other than those ceded to the Union.
v. Provinces should be free to form groups with executives and legislatures, and each group could determine the
provincial subjects to be taken in common.
vi. The constitutions of the Union and of the groups should contain a provision where by any province could, by a
majority vote of its Legislative Assembly, call for reconsideration of the terms of the constitution after an initial
period of ten years and at the yearly intervals thereafter.
In our view, this grouping proposal of the Cabinet mission was unjust because it militated against Sindh's independence
due to domination by the large province, the Punjab. The scheme rejected the right of self-determination to the
provinces, which is to say, states. On November 6-1946, Mr. Jinnah had this scheme approved by the Muslim League
Council but with certain pre-conditions. The Council also authorized Mr. Jinnah to hold talks with the Viceroy.
Therefore, by forcibly accepting the grouping scheme, Mr. Jinnah in effect put aside the Lahore or Pakistan Resolution
of 1940. This showed which direction the League was taking politically and how Sindh's interests were being sacrificed
in the name of the so-called Muslim nationhood. Others, too, had realized this for quite some time but no one had the
courage to oppose it. Sindh's leadership was in the hands of selfish and incompetent people who did not have the ability
to expose a foreign conspiracy. As a result, non-Sindhis had started settling in the province to the disadvantage of the
locals, particularly with respect to land and jobs. They were largely responsible for creating communal tension. Fanning
communal sentiments among the Leaguers and the creation of disunity among the Muslims was also the handiwork of
these outside elements. Thus the way was clear for outside conspiracies to flourish in Sindh. The outsiders did their best
to establish their control over the province by promoting communalism in the name of Islam and Pakistan. Our group
was trying its best to stem all this.
During my stay in Delhi, progressive Leaguers from the Punjab, Mian Bashir Ahmed and Mian lftikharuddin, tried to
resolve the differences between us and the party High Command but in vain, because of the latter's egoistic attitude and
because of our refusal to compromise on basic principles. Hence all the efforts of our sincere friends failed. Our fears and
feelings were expressed in a poignant article that was addressed to me by Pir Ali Mohammed Rashdi on June 2, 1946.
The newspaper 'Qurbani' published this article on June 13, 1946. It was titled 'Sindh Jay Siyasi Zindagi jo Nazuk Daur'
A critical phase in the political life of Sindh). This phase started after the Cabinet Mission had announced its plan. One
era was at an end while another was due to begin. Who would give shape to the new phase? Who would run it and how?
How beneficial would it be for Sindh? I would like to make a brief comment on the Cabinet Mission proposals in order
to throw light on all these issues. According to these proposals, the Center was to manage foreign affairs,
communications and defense on behalf of the provinces. All other matters were to be in the hands of the sub-federations.
These sub-federations were to be three in number one comprising the Punjab, Sindh, Frontier and Baluchistan, the
second comprising the rest of India including Central India and the third was to include Bengal and Assam. In our subfederation,
the Punjab, because of being the majority province, would dominate. In the constituent assembly, Sindh was
to get four seats (including one for a Hindu) in a House of 38. The Sindhi members would have been under the central
high commands of their respective parties. The result was inevitable: the Punjabis would make a constitution of their
own choice on the strength of their majority and Sindh would be subjugated by them This would have curtailed the
Sindhis' independence, autonomy and disregarded their aspirations. All this would be as inevitable as night follows day.
Was all this acceptable to us? The Punjabis would have run the sub-federation in the name of Allah without being
accountable to anyone.
Having studied the Cabinet Mission proposals carefully, I came to the conclusion that it was a plan for the cremation of
Sindh and that Sindh should reject it for several reasons. For one thing, Sindh had been a distinct geo- graphic, historic,
cultural, linguistic and social entity and, apart from periodic losses of sovereignty, had always been independent. Sindh
and India had been two separate countries down the ages. Sindh had never accepted subjugation lying down. Were the
The Case of Sindh 42
Sindhis prepared to lose their heritage? The Cabinet Mission proposals spelt disaster for the future of Sindh. Nature bad
given Sindh everything, fertile soil, the Indus River and its barrages and the nearest air link with Europe in the sub
continent. If only we could keep Sindh independent and free of alien intervention, we could transform it into a happy
land of plenty. Nothing could have been impossible of achievement if, instead of a selfish leadership, Sindh had honest
and sincere people at the helm.
If the Sindh Ministry had been accountable to the people, we could have generated an income of Rs. 400 million from
the Port Trust and Customs. Add to this income tax, postal and railway revenues, and Sindh could have had Rs. 1,000
million at its disposal every year, All this money could have been used to mechanize farming, set up industry, send
students abroad for higher education, job generation for hundreds of thousands of Sindhis to the exclusion of non
Sindhis and for securing employment for Sindhis in the Indian Union. In the event of total independence, Sindh could
appoint its own ambassadors, trade agents and maintain its army. All this would have raised Sindh's political status and
enabled its people to prove their mettle in the comity of nations.
All this would have enabled us to raise the standard of living of our people and enabled us to provide a free health cover
to them together with free education. For all this, however, total freedom was an essential concomitant together with an
end to communalism which, among other things, divided us and rendered us an easy prey to all-alien depredations and
slave existence.
Now, the other side of the picture. What would have happened had the Cabinet Mission plan been accepted? Sindh
would have had to forget its past, forget about all its development hopes and its national identity, accept a constitution
imposed by aliens, surrender its productive resources to them and generally agree to become a Punjabi colony. There
would have been the same illiteracy and the same communal strife. The Sindhis had to keep both sides of the picture in
mind before deciding which way to go. On the question of Sindh's independence, I came to the firm conclusion that the
province should not join any of the two federations and that it should refuse to contribute a single penny to either, but
work out its own constitution and remain independent, I also felt that Sindh should refuse to become a Punjabi colony
and resist all attempts aimed at usurping its independence. It was my view that in any union, it should not cede more
than defense and foreign affairs, pay its part of the expenses for the two subjects and keep the rest of its resources to
itself.
The Muslim communalists of Sindh were nursing the delusion that after union with the Punjab, they would be rid of
Hindu hegemony while the latter thought that after accession with India, they would be freed of the unjust Muslim
domination However, both groups were forgetting the fact that such a feeling of mistrust and fear arose out of a situation
when either the Muslims or the Hindus got more than their due share, and, that in either of the two cases, each
conceived for itself that there would not be any economic competition nor any further communal differences between
them. But these doubts and fears would have persisted for as long as a third group was amongst us. Once this group was
out of our body politics, unity among the Sindhis would have been restored once again. For as long as the Sindhis ruled
themselves, Hindu-Muslim unity was never in doubt. Now, whether the third group amongst us is of British origin or
comprises Indian Muslims or Punjabi Muslims, they are all the same for us.
It would be unwise for us to hand over the reins of government to others just because there is no unity in our ranks. The
coming generations will never forgives us for that. If we hand over the control to other hands, which are stronger than
ours, it would amount to setting fire to our house in order to kill some rats.
No plan for the economic development of Sindh would succeed unless the province achieves independence for itself.
Once we surrendered our means of production to the others, we would have lost them forever. This was a critical
situation and we had very little time left with us. The Sindhis, I felt, had to decide for themselves. Anyhow, when the
Congress rejected the Cabinet Mission Plan of May 16, 1946, Mr. Jinnah termed it a violation of the promises made to
The Case of Sindh 43
the Muslim League. Be that as it may, having failed in its interim government plan, the Cabinet Mission left for England
on May 29.
Pundit Jawaharlal Nehru was elected the Congress President in place of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad on July 6, 1946. He
made it clear at a meeting that the Congress could accept the Cabinet mission plan only to the extent of joining the
constituent assembly. It had nothing to do with the rest of the scheme. It said the Congress would be free to do what it
wanted to do inside the constituent assembly. He also said that his party would oppose the inclusion of the NWFP in the
western sub-federation. Nor would the inclusion of Assam in the eastern sub-federation be acceptable to it. Later, the
Muslim League decided to abandon constitutional means and launch a movement. Elections to the constituent assembly
were held towards the end of July 1946. A special session of the Sindh Assembly was called for the purpose on July 11th .
The Muslim Leaguers came over to us and we had the support of 31 members in the House. We decided to reintroduce a
motion of no confidence against the Ministry but the Governor prorogued the Assembly the day it was to take up the
motion for discussion. The purpose was nothing but to save their favorite Ministry by the British. It may be added here
that Sir Khizar Hayat Tiwana's Ministry was facing a similar motion in the Punjab where the League was in the
opposition. There, the Punjab Governor did not prorogue the House and allowed the discussion on the no-confidence
motion to take place. This shows how the British patronized their own agents in the Muslim League.
We wrote against the Sindh Governor's unconstitutional act to the Governor General and the Secretary of State for
India, but justice was denied us. From July to September 1946, the Governor and the bureaucracy did everything in their
power to secure a majority for the Muslim League in the Sindh Assembly. On September 5, the Assembly met to
approve supplementary grants. All possible methods were used to win over the loyalties of the members but the League
still fell one vote short of the required majority. Finally, the day the House was to meet, Speaker Miran Mohammed
Shah was persuaded to resign to gain temporary reprieve for the Ministry. This forced us to ask the Deputy Speaker,
Miss. Jetty Sipahimalani to do likewise. Now the two side, were locked at 30-30, creating a constitutional deadlock,
obliging the Governor to postpone the session. The Ministry failed to have the supplementary grants approved by the
House nor could it succeed in getting a new Speaker elected. Under these circumstances, the Governor should have
invite us to form a ministry but since he was partisan, it was futile to expect this of him, Later, when some other
members also turned against the Ministry, the Governor dissolved the Assembly and ordered fresh elections. All
manners of irregularities were resorted to which would have put even Hitler to shame. Some of these irregularities are
being detailed below:
1. In selected areas officials friendly to the League candidates were appointed who not only helped their favorites
but also harassed their opponents.
2. Many of our important workers were implicated in false cases under Sections 107 and 110 of the Frontier Crime
Regulations, and some of them were jailed.
3. Polling stations were changed and set up in the bungalows of the League's polling agents and such other places
and our voters were not allowed to go there.
4. Presiding and polling officers handed over ballot boxes and books to the League candidates.
5. Ballot papers were torn out of books in large numbers, thumb-marked and handed over to the Leaguers. These
ballot papers were cast late at night, long after polling time. The objections made by our polling agents were
ignored.
6. Section 144, Cr. P.C. was clamped on large parts of Sindh to prevent the opponents of the League from making
speeches or canvassing for their candidates. However, the Leaguers were free to do as they pleased.
The Case of Sindh 44
7. Ministers, officials and important League workers were allowed entry into the polling booths where they
snatched ballot papers from the voters and cast them for their party.
8. The presiding and polling officers were either the supporters of the League candidates or their relatives and chief
workers.
9. At some polling stations, help was provided to presiding officers and polling officers and League agents through
the police, rangers and army personnel.
10. Bogus voters and bad characters were brought from other parts of India.
11. Where the local people were aware of these tactics and where there were comparatively fewer chances of
irregularities, the league's agents used obstructive tactics under advice from presiding officers, and hundreds of
our supporters could not vote.
12. Votes of those who had died or were in jail or were otherwise absent were cast despite our protests.
13. When bogus voters were detected, caught and presented to the presiding officers, they were let off at the
recommendation of the League candidates.
14. The Prime Minister, other Ministers and collectors and deputy collectors visited the polling stations and
encouraged people to cast bogus votes. Not only that. They did so themselves as did those who were under their
influence.
15. The League disseminated made-up photographs and cartoons full of malice.
16. The League opponents were deprived of their gun licenses and shops.
17. The League opponents were deprived of irrigation water and their land allotments were canceled.
18. Ballot boxes were opened and bogus votes were cast or those cast in favor of the League opponents were
disfigured.
19. When votes were being counted, bound bundles of ballot papers were found in the boxes.
Under these circumstances, the results were a foregone conclusion. Only two of our candidates could succeed Haji
Maula Box Soomro (on a joint Hindu-Muslim seat) and Khan Sahib Sardar Khan Khoso who won only by 16 votes.
The, mean tactics employed to defeat me need not be recounted here. I am only reproducing (Appendix 5) a copy of the
decision of the Election Tribunal published in the official gazette on the basis of which my rival, Qazi Mohammed
Akbar, and two of his colleagues, Pir Illahi Bux and Pir Mohammed Shah were disqualified from contesting elections for
a period of six years in 1949.
The Case of Sindh 45
In the light of this decision, Pir Illahi Bux was removed from premiership. In the Assembly born out of these
irregularities, Khan Bahadur Ayub Khuhro of the League had the support of 25 out of 35 members but the Party High
Command, which is to say Mr. Jinnah, ordered that Sir Ghulam Hussain be retained as Prime Minister and this is how
it happened. Before this, he had the support of the British Governor, Now he had the blessings of Mr., Jinnah also. The
British were about to quit India but they were leaving Sir Ghulam Hussain behind as a 'democratic legacy'. The
conspiracies hatched by the British in order to keep India one included the Cabinet Mission's three-zone plan which, as
we have seen, failed. There were many reasons for this, the main among them being Assam's refusal to join the Eastern
Zone and the decision of the Congress not to go into the constituent assembly with any pre-conditions. At this, Mr.
Jinnah went back on his decision to accept the Cabinet Mission Plan and started to plead for partition with renewed
vigor and ordered direct action on August 16, 1946. This order was undefined and the Muslims did not know exactly
what to do. As a result, Hindu-Muslim riots erupted on a large scale in Bengal, Assam and Bihar in which about 5,000
people lost their lives and more than 100,000 were rendered homeless. In view of this, the Cabinet Mission admitted that
it had failed and the Viceroy, Lord Wavell, left for home at the completion of his term. Lord Mountbatten, a member of
the British royal family, replaced him; He brought with him the partition plan. Although the British had accepted the
partition plan, Lord Mountbatten did try to keep India united for some time at least and for this purpose, he held parleys
with the Congress and the Muslim League, but by that time Mr. Jinnah had gone too far and had gained immeasurably
in confidence. He told Mountbatten that evens it Pakistan was as small as a matchbox, he was determined to get it, and
he must get it even if it was confined to the Thar Desert. Things having gone thus far, the British had no option but to
partition India. The Congress, on the other hand, was of the view that until the communal issue was sorted out within a
united India, the British must continue their efforts to keep the country one. However, the Second World War had
weakened the British financially and, moreover, they were under pressure from the U.S. to free India. Another reason
for their impatience in the matter was that there were signs of rebellion in the British Indian armed forces, which had
manifested itself in the naval uprising and strikes in Bombay and Karachi. Fearing a bloody revolution in India, the
British announced the partition formula on June 3, 1947. Its salient features were:
I. India's division into two States.
2. The two States were to form their own constituent assemblies.
3. There would be a referendum in the NWFP to decide whether it wanted to join India or Pakistan.
4. There would be no fresh elections in the NWFP but the people of the province would be asked
whether they wanted to join Pakistan or India,
5. The provinces of Bengal and the Punjab would be partitioned.
6. In Assam, the people of Sylhet would, through a referendum, be asked which country they wanted to
join.
7. India would get Calcutta while Lahore would be part of Pakistan.
8.A boundary commission would be appointed to demarcate the frontiers between the two countries.
9.A commission would be appointed to divide financial and military assets between the two countries.
10.British sovereignty ending over India, the princely states would be given the right to choose which of
the two countries to join.
11.The British would hand over power to the two States in August.
The Case of Sindh - G.M. Syed's
deposition in court (Part 4)
The Case of Sindh 46
The Congress and other nationalist parties as a solution to the communication problem accepted the partition plan but it
only exacerbated it, and Hindu-Muslim riots assumed all-India dimensions during which hundreds of thousands of
people lost their lives including innocent children. Countless women were raped, and property worth millions was
destroyed and hundreds of thousands of people were forced to migrate from the land of their ancestors, Love was
replaced by hatred and terrorism, Sindh was no exception, and the Sindhis were divided into two with around 1,300,000
people leaving their homes and hearths for India, with the rest mourning their departure along the banks of the Indus.
We were helpless against this flood tide of madness. Therefore, we sat back to think what had Pakistan, for achieving
which we had given the best years of our lives, in store for us. Was this the independence for which countless people
across India, including the Sindhis, sacrificed their lives? The independence we had been dreaming of meant a life of
beauty and happiness. What we got instead was death and hatred and murder and terrorism. How to save our simple
and innocent people from all this? This was to be the core of my political struggle thence.
Here I would like to ruminate whether the demand for Pakistan was the part of an immediate but well thought-out
strategy or an outcome of a series of accidents in history and a British gift for the Muslim League which it did not
deserve because it did not have the ability to protect, preserve and manage it. Since the latter is the case, Pakistan has
been and will continue to live from crisis to crisis. I would thus like to analyze the demand for Pakistan from three points
of view historical, religious and Britain's India policy.
Historically, no such country as Pakistan existed before August 14, 1947. Chaudhry Rehmat Ali, a Punjabi Muslim who
was a student at Cambridge in 1930, and was used by him in several pamphlets, coined the word. No Hindu or Muslim
politician in India had taken it seriously, so much so that Mr. Jinnah, the moving spirit behind the Pakistan Movement,
had not considered the word or the demand implicit in it worthy of comment. This is proved by the fact that when the
leader of the Muslim delegation to the Round Table Conference was asked what it thought of Rehmat Ali's Pakistan
scheme, he had described it as childish. Mr. Jinnah was present at the conference. A telltale documentary evidence is
presented here. In the fifth preliminary meeting of the Indian Round Table Conference, Mr. Jinnah had explained the
term 'the Dominion of India' thus:
I say the cordial principle which will guide us through the deliberations of this conference is that India wants to
be mistress in her own house, and I cannot conceive of any constitution that you may frame, which will not
transfer responsibilities of the Central Government to a cabinet requisible to the legislature. (Indian Round
Table Conference, 12th November, 1930 _ 19th January, 1931 proceedings)
Similarly, the learned author of Jinnah's Tragedy, Kailash Chander, says-
At the first round table conference, when a joint deputation of the Muslim League & Muslim Conference was giving its
evidence before Indian Constitutional Reforms Committee, a member of the Committee, Sir Reginald Graddock, put a
question as to "what the Muslim League and Muslim Conference thought about the Pakistan Scheme." The leader of the
two deputations replied, "As far as I know it is only a students' scheme. No responsible people have put it forward. So
far as we have CONSIDERED IT, CHIMERICAL and UNPRACTICABLE. It means the federation of certain
provinces,
On being further pursued by Sir Reginald the deputation replied, "Perhaps it would be enough to say that no such
scheme has been considered by any representative gentleman or association so far." Most of the present day supporters
of the Pakistani idea had condemned it in most severe language. Mr. M.A. Jinnah was also opposed to it. At the very
first speech that he delivered at the Round Table Conference, he thought of a United India.
He was thinking in terms of Dominion status for India when at the 5th plenary meeting on 20th November, 1930, Mr.
Jinnah said, 'the cardinal principle is that India wants to be a mistress in her own home and I cannot conceive any
The Case of Sindh 47
constitution that you may frame, which will not transfer responsibility in the central Government to a cabinet response
to the legislature.
Jinnah Sahib was himself the member of a federal structure committee and did not oppose the idea of an Indian
federation. The Pakistan idea would have died its natural death, but it got some sympathetic response in some notorious
die- hard quarters in England, in time of the second R.T. Conference (Tragedy of Jinnah pp. 221-22)
Yet further and detailed evidence is provided by Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the first President of India, in his book, 'India
Divided in the following words:
In 1933 for the first time a Punjabi Muslim, Chaudhri Rehmat Ali (an undergraduate of Cambridge) who gave the
movement a shape and a form called the Muslims, hitherto called a minority community, 'a nation'. He propounded the
idea that the Punjab, N.W.F.P (Afghan Province), Kashmir, Sindh and Baluchistan should be formed into a separate
Muslim State called Pakistan. This proposal was different from that of Dr. Iqbal in that while Dr. Iqbal proposed the
amalgamation of those provinces into a single state forming a unit of the All Sindh Federation, Chaudhry Rehmat Ali
proposed that these provinces should have an independent federation of their own. Leaflets advocating Pakistan were
distributed by Chaudhry Rehmat Ali to the nuclei of Parliament as members the Round Table Conference, no Indian,
Hindu or Muslim, took interest in them. Muslim witness described the Pakistan scheme in August 1933, to the joint
parliamentary select committee as follows.
" A. Yusuf Ali: As far as I know it is only a student scheme, no responsible people have put it forward."
"Ch. Zafarullah Khan: So far as we have considered it, we have considered it chimerical and impracticable."
"Dr. Khalifa Shujauddin: Perhaps it will be enough to say that no such scheme has been considered by any
representative gentleman or association so far."
Leaving everything aside, even Dr. Iqbal, who is regarded as the author of the Pakistan idea, had no clear concept of
what he meant by it. In his presidential address to the All India Muslim League in Allahabad in 1 930, he had said that
the Rehmat Ali scheme would be harmful for the Hindus and Muslims of India as well as for the British themselves.
Saying that Dr. Iqbal was not in favor of the Pakistan plan, Edward Thomson writes in his book, Enlist India for
Freedom:
"On my vast undisciplined and starving land, Pakistan would be disastrous to the British Government,
disastrous to the Hindu Community, disastrous to Muslims. But I am president of the Muslim League and
therefore it is my duty to support it."
Let us move from here and review the Muslim League performance. It had never seriously regarded Pakistan as the
Indian Muslims' objective but as a pressure tactic against the Congress. There was a dialogue between Mr., Jinnah who
was the League President in 1939, and his colleagues Sir Zafarullah Khan, Sir Yamin and Dr. Sir Ziauddin, which has
be ' en described lucidly by Sir Yamin in his book, Nama-I-Aamal. (P 725) The upshot, of which dialogue is that late in
1939 and early in 1940, the Quaid-e-Azam was not in favor of the partition of India. It wag' later in reference to a
document delineating a detailed Plan of division of India worked out by a Committee of which Maulana Ghulam
Rasool Mehr was also a member, and yet more at the insistence of Seth Haji Abdullah Haroon that the Quaid agreed to
accept the partition plan, (Khatoot, p.99, by Maulana Ghulam Rasool Mehr)
In the biography of Mr. Jinnah The Leader, which was commissioned by the Government of Pakistan, Hector Bolitho
quotes from M.H. Sayed's book, Jinnah: A Political Study, to the effect that Mr. Jinnah, writing on March 9, 1940 in
Time and Tide, had used the term 'two nations', and urged that the Constitution of India should be so drafted as to be
acceptable to the 'two nations' living in India, their 'common motherland'. This was the last time Mr. Jinnah used also
The Case of Sindh 48
the term 'common motherland.' Two weeks later, he presided over a meeting of the All India Muslim League in Lahore
on March 23, 1940. The question here is: how could a man who was the President of the Muslim League and who, until
March 13 and, according to Ghulam Rasool Mehr, right till the beginning of his party's Lahore session, was opposed to
the partition plan become a proponent of the division of India? Not only did he become a proponent of partition but was
also convinced that the target was achievable when till not very long earlier, he had dismissed the same idea as childish.
How did he bring himself round to becoming such an implacable champion of partition? History is cruel. With the
passage of time it exposes hidden faces, intentions and secrets. Seemingly pious personalities then emerge as ugly tools.
In all this drama, Jinnah and his followers do begin to look like British lackeys. Jinnah did become adamant in his
demand for Pakistan but not for the benefit of the Muslims of India but at the behest of the British. There is enough
documentary evidence to support this. Here only two examples would suffice. First, it was under the Lord Linlithgow
move that Sir Zafarullah Khan prepared a draft for the partition plan. The British feared that the Muslims of India would
not accept a scheme authored by a Qadiani. Therefore, a copy of the scheme was sent to Mr. Jinnah under the
suggestion that it would be presented to the Muslims as part of the League manifesto. This, a bit of a feeler, was later to
provide the basis for the Pakistan Resolution. For evidence, excerpts are being reproduced here from Wali Khan's book,
Facts Are Facts, to show what the British view of the Pakistan idea was:
The Viceroy of India, Lord Linlithgow, told the leaders of the Muslim League that the Government of Great Britain
would not tolerate negative politics. This view was conveyed to the Muslim League Working Committee through Sir
Sikander Hayat. Therefore, various sub-committees started preparing a concrete plan of action. The Viceroy wrote to the
Secretary of State for India that Chaudhry KhaliQuzzaman had suggested to Lumley, the Governor of Bombay that
India should be divided into three dominions. It seems that KhaliQuzzaman wanted to create one dominion each for
Hindus, Muslims, and Rulers of Princely States.
The Governor of Northwest Frontier Province, Sir George Cunningham, wrote to the Viceroy that, upon his return from
the Muslim League Convention, Sardar Aurangzeb reported to him:
'The scheme, which they Muslim League were now contemplating, would involve the creation of 6 or 7 Indian
dominions.... and that this novel scheme now holds the field to preference to the original Pakistan proposal.'
Lord Zetland, Secretary of State for India, had detailed discussion on the above subject with Sir Feroz Khan Noon. He
suggested that the northwestern part of India should be separated from the rest of the continent, in a manner similar to
Burma, and a new country, Pakistan, should be created. The Secretary said that he saw 'almost insuperable difficulties in
the way of our acceptance of such a policy'. Feroz Khan Noon's response to this was, 'If it was so he would not himself
encourage it when he returned to India.' [Letter dated 13 December 1938].
These were different schemes. Chaudhry Rehmat All, a student of Cambridge, had an esoteric scheme for Pakistan. Sir
Muhammad Iqbal proposed yet another format. What remained to be seen was what the British had up their sleeves?
The Muslims were hatching the above schemes; the final decision rested with the British. When the British saw that their
objectives could not be met by the schemes presented by Sikander Hayat Khan or the Muslim League Working
Committee, they unilaterally rejected all the proposals submitted by the Muslims. Chaudhry Zafarullah, a member of the
Viceroy's Executive Council, was asked to submit a map of two dominions. On that subject, on 12 March 1940, Viceroy
Lord Linlithgow wrote to the Secretary of State for India:
'Upon my instruction Zafarullah wrote a memorandum on the subject, Two Dominion States. I have already sent it for
your attention. I have also asked him for further clarification, which, he says, is forthcoming. He is anxious, however,
that no one should find out that he has prepared this plan. He has, however, given me the right to do with it what I like,
including sending a copy to you. Copies have been passed on to Jinnah, and, I think, to Sir Akbar Hydiri. While he,
The Case of Sindh 49
Zafarullah, cannot admit its authorship, the Muslim League with a view to giving it the fullest publicity has prepared his
document for adoption.'
The Viceroy explains this further. Since Zafarullah was a Qadiani he had to be cautious. The Muslims would become
irritated if they found that a Qadiani prepared this scheme. The Viceroy said that Jinnah had been given a copy to make
the Muslim League adopt it and publicize its contents. Sir Akbar was given a copy because he was responsible for fundraising.
The dates take on a special significance, The Viceroy's letter to the Secretary of State was written on 12 April
1940. The Pakistan scheme had been dispatched earlier. Twelve days later the Muslim League adopted this very
proposal at their Lahore Annual Meeting. It was called Pakistan Agreement,
Sir Zafarullah's term on the Viceroy's Executive Council was expiring in March. Due to his loyal service, however, the
term was extended. Two days after the Muslim League had adopted this proposal, on 25 March 1940, the Viceroy
wrote:
'The Congress is putting forward a preposterous claim, which they know is incapable of being accepted. He (Jinnah) will
put forward just as extreme a claim, of the impracticability of realizing which he is probably just well aware; but the
existence of which, will, while reaffirming the Muslim attitude of hostility to the Congress scheme, take away some, at
any rate, of the damaging charges which are hitherto being leveled against them [Muslim League] that they have no
constructive ideas of their own.'
When the Muslim League accepted the Viceroy's proposal [author, Sir Zafarullah, the British were convinced of their
dependability. It was natural, then, for the British to refuse to recognize the existence of any party other than the Muslim
League. During those days, a large representative gathering of nationalist Muslims was held in Delhi. The Chief
Minister of Sindh, Allah Bux Soomro, chaired the Assembly. The Secretary of State, Lord Zetland, asked the Viceroy to
report on this gathering. On 14 May, 1 940, the Viceroy wrote:
'I attach no particular importance to the Delhi Conference of the Muslims, which took place a few days ago. It has been
well organized and the Congress press machine has written it up admirably.... We both are, of course, aware that there is
a not unimportant Muslim element outside the Muslim League.... Indeed, I am sure that Jinnah remains the man to deal
with on the Muslim side.'
The British deliberately ignored those Muslims, who, along with the Congress, were struggling for freedom. Their very
faith was called I questionable'. More than 100 representatives, who had gathered together under the leadership of an
elected Chief Minister, were totally disregarded. The Viceroy did not mince his words when he wrote to the Secretary of
State that 'Jinnah is our man and we accept him as a representative of all Muslims.'
The Khaksars were in a peculiar position. The objection to other Muslims was that they were not assisting the British but
the Khaksars, who, in all humility, had offered help! On 24 May 1940, the Viceroy wrote, "Meanwhile the Khaksars
have formally renewed their offer to me of 50,000 men to help in the war."
Their offer to fight for the British in the war against Germany was rejected due to Jinnah's negative attitude. 'Jinnah
accepts no responsibility for Khaksars or their activities since they have declined his advice.' The Viceroy adopted the
following stand:
'Considering the present attitude of the Khaksars in Punjab, it would not be advisable for me to enter into any
correspondence with them or their leaders, and I propose, accordingly, to leave the telegram unanswered.'
The British were trying to make it very clear to every Indian Muslim that except Jinnah and the Muslim League, they
were not ready to accept any other party. To gain British support, the Muslims were obliged to join the Muslim League.
Earlier, the British had severed relations with the Congress because they were not prepared to assist them in the war
The Case of Sindh 50
against Germany. Their inconsistency becomes evident in their refusing the help of 50,000 Khaksars, while at the same
time, rejecting the Congress because they did not offer 50,000 men to fight the same war'
Second, In 1941, Ayub Khuhro told me that the Punjabi President Sir Sikander Hayat was in Karachi and that I should
meet him. Accordingly, I called on Sir Sikander Hayat in the company of Ayub Khuhro, Allah Bux Soomro and Sheikh
Abdul Majid Sindhi at the Carlton Hotel. Among other things, the Punjab Premier told us that it would be better if an all
parties government was formed in Sindh under Allah Bux Soomro's leadership, He told me that I had done well to work
for the establishment of such a government in Sindh because it would enable us to get laws protecting the rights of the
people such as debt relief, the tenancy act, etc., passed by the Assembly. During the course of our discussion, Sir
Sikander Hayat advised Soomro to join the Muslim League at which the latter said that he would not do so because he
considered the very existence of the League detrimental to the interests of the Muslims of India, to Sindh, to the rest of
the sub-continent and to Islam itself.
Sir Sikander Hayat told Soomro: 'Look, I am in League Myself 'Allah Bux Soomro retorted by saying that Sir Sikander
Hayat had criticized the Pakistan plan in the Punjab Assembly only a few days ago. How was it possible to be in the
Muslim League and be opposed to the Pakistan scheme? he asked. 'At least my conscience does not allow me to indulge
in this kind of two-timingness," he added. He also said that in his view, Pakistan would be detrimental to Muslim
interests and be deadly for Sindh. At this, Sir Sikander Hayat said even the central President of the League, Mr. Jinnah,
was not in favor of Pakistan and the proceedings of the Round Table Conference were proof of that. He had opposed the
Pakistan idea in the light of Jinnah's views, he added. Allah Bux Soomro said he was not capable of that kind of
hypocrisy. Only Sir Sikander and Mr. Jinnah could do it. Later, Sir Sikander left for Cairo when Rommel was
threatening to take over the Suez Canal for Germany. Gen. Montgomery who was lea ' ding Sikh and Muslim troops
from the Punjab, was facing the Germans. Sir Sikander Hayat had gone to Egypt to boost the morale of the Indian
troops. He performed this duty with great loyalty. Shortly afterwards, the German advance turned into retreat. At this,
Winston Churchill met Sir Sikander in Cairo and personally thanked him for having helped the British in their hour of
trial while the Congress had added to their problems Therefore; the Congress did not deserve British attention or
friendship. He said that the British could not ' remain in India in the face of opposition from its 400 million people. He
asked Sir Sikander Hayat to assure Mr. Jinnah that in order to teach the Congress a lesson, the British would quit the
sub-continent soon after the War but only after having created a 'Muslim India' in India. Mr. Jinnah need not be afraid,
and he could have this pledge verified by the Viceroy of India.
Sir Sikander Hayat left Cairo for Bombay where he met Mr. Jinnah and conveyed Mr. Churchill's message to him Mr.
Jinnah had the promise made by the British Prime Minister verified by the Viceroy through the Governor of Bombay.
The Viceroy then summoned Mr. Jinnah to Delhi and told him that a framework for the division of India was already
on the anvil and he could check on this from Sir Zafarullah Khan, on the condition that he would not enter into any
settlement with the Congress. Jinnah agreed to do so and began to work against the Congress with renewed vigor. It is
possible that at this may yet be regarded as not fully established. Therefore, I am citing an excerpt from Syed Nor
Ahmed's book, "Martial Law Se Martial Law Tak" in which he says that even after the passage of the Lahore
Resolution, Sir Sikander Hayat was not mentally prepared to accept the Pakistan plan because he believed in provincial
autonomy. However, he was in favor of partition because of autonomy for the Muslim nation, which was the basis of
the Lahore Resolution. However, he wanted that the Punjab should remain united. He wanted partition to take place in
such a manner that the martial races of the Punjab should be free of the influence of the pundits and Brahmins of the
majority party in the center. He probably thought that the Punjabi Hindus and Sikhs would agree with his point of view.
He made a strange effort towards this end over and above the heads of the League leadership. At the request 'of the
British Government, he visited the War theaters once again to buck up the Indians, which is to say, Punjabi soldiers. In
the winter of 1941-42, he had the occasion to meet Churchill in Cairo. On his return home, he told some of his Cabinet
The Case of Sindh 51
colleagues, including Sir Chotu Ram and other friends that apart from other things, he had discussed India's
constitutional problem with the British Prime Minister and had tired to make two points clear to him.
1. He had tried to impress upon him the fact that only the martial races of the Punjab had contributed to the
British War effort with loyalty and it would be a travesty of justice if they were made subservient to the
Congress and the Brahmins who would be in majority at the center in a free India.
2. A loyal Punjab deserved to be the leader of a separate dominion, which should include Sindh, the NWFP and
Baluchistan. This could be easily achieved provided the British statesmen were convinced of its advantages.
Such a federation would be loyal to the British under all circumstances. The defense of the new dominion and
the rest of India should for some time, be joined under British supervision. Later, a mutually agreed formula
could be evolved for the purpose. The new dominion would be economically self-sufficient.
Is it too difficult to surmise what effect this proposal had on Churchill? Obviously, this is exactly what Churchill wanted
and it is for this reason that the proposal had been made. It is interesting to note that six months after his talks with Sir
Sikander Hayat, Churchill sent a member of his War Cabinet, Sir Stafford Cripps, to India with a plan for Indian
independence under which any province could opt out of India if it so desired and the British Government would give it
separate dominion status. If this plan was the result of Sir Sikander Hayat's efforts, he must have been disappointed
when both the Congress and the Muslim League rejected it. Nevertheless, the demand for Pakistan gained strength to
the extent that the British offer had brought the concept of partition to the realm of practical politics. (Martial Law se
Martial Law Tak, pp 204-5, with the author quoting Raja Ghazanfar Ali Khan who was in Lahore in 1948), This excerpt
raises two points. As I have stated, the partition plan was offered by Churchill himself with the assurance that it would
be implemented while the excerpt given above shows that the author of the scheme was Sir Sikander Hayat which was
not only approved by Churchill but he also sent Sir Stafford Cripps to India as a practical proof of his approval.
The second point is that under the Sikander Hayat Scheme, the new federation was to have been led by the Punjab
because it had been loyal to the British. Isn't the present Pakistan exactly what he had demanded? Then how does the
author of the book cited above say that Sir Sikander Hayat was disappointed? We would, therefore, be right in saving
that the British imperialists staged the whole drama and our politicians were mere actors in it. For as long as Mr.
Churchill was Prime Minister, Mr. Jinnah played his role in the drama well but when Churchill was defeated and Attlee
became the new Labor Prime Minister, Mr. Jinnah suddenly changed his stance on partition when he saw the mood of
the new Government in London. He accepted the Cabinet Mission Plan which could not be put into effect because it
was rejected by the Congress, forcing Jinnah to revert to his old demand because he had been assured by his friends that
the British would not remain in India for long. Mr. Jinnah took this to mean that the Labor Government did not want to
reverse all of Mr. Churchill's policies and considered the partition of the sub-continent necessary to keep British
influence intact in the region, Pakistan was a gift in return for the loyalty with which the Punjabis had served the British
and is cause of all our problems. In this regard, I cite former Prime Minister Feroze Khan Noon's book, "Chashm Deed"
in which he says that the Punjabis had played a major role in the British victory in the First World War and were
rewarded with the Government of India Act of 1935, The Punjabis fought equally bravely and loyally during the Second
World War and lost the best of its youth in Africa and Europe. ' In gratitude for this loyalty, the British gave them
Pakistan.' It may be added here that Sir Feroze Khan Noon wrote the book cited here after he had left office. I have
always believed that Pakistan was created by the British to maintain their domination by creating bases in different parts
of the world. But nature wreaked a terrible vengeance on the British for their treachery against the People of India
because their world domination ended after the Second World War and the bases established by them fell into the hands
of American imperialism.
The Case of Sindh 52
I am certain that just as British imperialism vas drowned in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, the order established by their
agents too will be swept away by the Arabian Sea. Religion was used as a weapon for the creation of Pakistan. It was
said that the new country would be a sanctuary for the Islamic order. It was also said that since the Muslims were a
better people among other peoples, they had the right to lead the rest of the world and this right would accrue to them
through Pakistan. However this concept was based on a non-political, non-religious and inhuman fraud because the
Muslims are neither the chosen people nor the best in the world nor yet has any nation come into existence on the basis
of a marriage between politics and religion. Apart from the first few years of Islam, there might have been Muslim
nation-States but none of them has ever been an Islamic State. They did not have popularly elected governments but
were ruled by despots or were the personal fiefs of despotic kings and were based on barbaric murder and mayhem and
had nothing to do with Islam. The Prophet of Islam, Mohammed (May peace be upon him) was a social and spiritual
guide for mankind and not a despotic ruler who conquered territories by force. There are clear guidelines from the Holy
Prophet (May peace be upon him) on stagecraft which indicate that he had nothing to do with mundaneness of State
power. In this regard, I wish to recall an incident from history. In A.H. 5, a group of Muslims, led by Hazrat Jafar
Tayyar, fleeing from the repression of the people of Makkah, sought refuge in Habasha. The group took a letter from the
Holy Prophet (may peace be upon him) in which he had asked the King of Habasha to accept Islam. The king agreed to
do so. Later, the Holy Prophet (may peace be upon him) allowed him to continue as king and never asked him to step
down from the throne and accept him as his leader. Nor did he ask him to change his system of government. (Seeratun
Nabi by Shibli Nomani, Part I)
This shows that the Holy Prophet (may peace be upon him) never wanted to wrest the independence of other nations or
to force them to change their system of governance. He wrote letters to several kings, asking them to embrace Islam.
These letters invariably ended with the sentence: "Accept Islam and live long" (twice). Explaining this sentence,
Maulana Hifzur Rehman Seharwi, the noted religious scholar and freedom-fighter, says that its repetition meant that the
Holy Prophet (may peace be upon him) wanted the recipient of the letter not only to retain his throne but also to prosper
in the Hereafter (Albalaghul Mubeen, Darul Mussanefin, Delhi).
The early history of Islam shows the battles fought by the Arabs after the Holy Prophet (may peace be upon him) were
motivated by expansionism and a lust for territory and not for establishing the Islamic order in conquered countries. It is
another matter that the Holy Prophet (may peace be upon him) had gained control over the Arabian Peninsula during
his lifetime and he persuaded people to accept the Islamic way of life voluntarily. That is why I think that to choose a
piece of land and call it Pakistan in the name of Islam is against the teachings of the Holy Prophet (may peace be upon
him). The Arabian Peninsula has acquired a certain amount of sanctity because it is the birthplace of the Holy Prophet
(may peace be upon him) and because the Holy Qura'an was revealed to him there but in spite of it, he did not rename it
'Pak Astaan'. As Maulana Abul Kalam Azad writes in his book, India Wins Freedom:
I must confess that the very term Pakistani goes against my grain. It suggests that some portions of the world are
pure while others are impure. , Such a division of territories into pure and impure is un-Islamic and a
repudiation of the very spirit of Islam. Islam recognizes no such division and the Prophet says: 'God has made
the whole world a mosque for me.' (p. 142)
'It is one of the greatest frauds on the people to suggest that religious affinity can unite areas which are
geographically, economically, linguistically and culturally different. It is true that Islam sought to establish a
society, which transcends racial, linguistic, economic and political frontiers. History has however proved that
after the first few decades, or at most after the first century, Islam was not able to unite all the Muslim Countries
into one state on the basis of Islam alone.' (p. 227)
Pakistan came into being on the basis of the two-nation theory but, history has proved that those who used the Muslim
nation and Islamic order slogans, had deceived the Muslim masses in order to protect their own class interests, The
The Case of Sindh 53
concept of Muslim nationhood is wrong and Pakistan's solidarity and stability on its basis is impossible. An Islamic,
which is to say, a religious order is a huge fraud. . This is not my view alone. Noted religious scholars and intellectuals
are of the same opinion. Maulana Obaidullah Sindhi is a respected, Popular and political name in Sindh and the
subcontinent. He left India shortly before World War I and lived for 27 years in Afghanistan, Turkistan, Russia, Turkey
and the Hejaz, On his return to Sindh, he used to say that the Indian Muslims had a dreamy notion about their identity,
which had no basis in practical life. They had been thinking in terms of a party and a nation about which they had no
clear-cut idea in their minds. They had confined themselves to a dream world and had isolated themselves from the
struggles for independence in other Muslim countries. Also, they did not have any agreed concept of a practical ideology
or way of life in the modern world (Malfuzat-i-Maulana Obaidullah Sindhi).
The conclusions arrived at by Maulana Obaidullah Sindhi can be summarized as under:
1. Muslims all over the world have no clear concept of a true Islamic society and no Muslim government is
being run on the basis of such a concept.
2. Because of the current international situation and the backwardness of the Muslim countries, no pan-Islamic
movement is possible. Therefore, Muslim countries will run themselves on the basis of modern nationalism.
3. The peoples living in the sub-continent are different nations on the basis of their ancient geographic
boundaries, language, culture and politico-economic interests.
In this regard, the noted scholar of Sindh and my spiritual mentor, Allama 1. I Qazi was against the creation of Pakistan
on the basis of religious hatred. One of his statements was published by me Sindhi paper, Qurbani, on January 22, 1939,
parts of which are being excerpted here:
"We have been brought to the Muslim League platform. We had hoped that we would be able to work shoulder to
shoulder with each other for doing good work. Sadly, it does not look as if this hope would be realized. The
Organization is like the man who gathers all people together and throws bombs on them to kill everyone at one go.
Bringing the Muslims of India on one platform is a matter of some concern but more tragic is the fact that not only are
the Muslims of India being destroyed but the standards and objectives of the Holy Qura'an are also being obliterated.
This will be a loss not only for the Muslims but also for all humankind. It is being said that efforts will be made to save
the Islamic order through Pakistan. But what has the Holy Qura'an to say on Pakistan and our concept of it? Consider
the following injunctions:
1. Spread in all corners of the world.
2. Step out and see the world around,
3. The world is a wide-open place. Go everywhere to serve the people.
4. (The Muslims) will set examples for all of humankind.
5. You (the Muslims) are the righteous Ummah for and among all humanity.
According to these injunctions, the Muslims were to be an example for the rest of the world to follow. They bad to
spread to the four corners of the world and give the lead to other peoples everywhere, Until the fifteenth century A.D.,
the Muslims did exactly that and spread to the four corners of the world. They were above personal considerations, and
food, I housing, comfort and security aside, they were not afraid even of death. It his to be kept in mind above
everything else that in doing their duty, they did not look at things from majority-minority considerations and were
never afraid of the superior strength of their foes. The 'Pakistani' isolationists should pause and ponder over the fact how
far removed they are from the Quranic objectives. Pakistan is being created so that Muslims from here there and
The Case of Sindh 54
everywhere should take refuge in it and save themselves from death and other losses. But to leave a place only for fear of
death and other losses is nowhere near the Islamic concept of life. Had Alberuni and Ibn Batuta been alive today, what
would have they thought of this tendency to run away from fear)? The entire policy of the Muslim League has been
based on the fear of the Hindus. A Muslim today trembles at the very mention of a Hindu. Since the day we went over
to the Muslim League, we have been shouting that we are afraid of the Hindus and that they would do us in, any
moment. Are these the Muslims who used to claim that they were not afraid of death? The principle used to be if you are
true, challenge death. Will the present leader of the Muslims, Mr. Jinnah, tell us whether he is of the opinion that the
Muslims today have nothing to do with the spirit of Islam and that they are no longer capable of spreading to the four
corners of the world and that their security lies in bringing them to a protective home or orphanage? Does he think that
the Muslims are so sick and poor that if they are not brought together at one place, their spirit will die, and since they are
sick, they need constant nursing? Does he think that they are mentally retarded and physically ill, and that they have lost
wisdom and courage and have become weak and lazy, and that they are constantly awaiting death? If such indeed is the
state of the Muslims, then even the fortress of Pakistan cannot save them. For instance, let us look at the Sindhi part of
Pakistan. Is this an example of the protective house called Pakistan? The situation that has been created here is amazing.
Instead of becoming a protective home or Pakistan, Sindh has been turned into a graveyard in which every Quranic
precept is being trampled underfoot. It appears as if the colorful and attractive name of Pakistan is being used only to
hide the real facts. It is like calling a sickhouse a hospital or naming a sweeper the Mehtar (the Chief). If by Pakistan we
mean what has been created in Sindh, then there will be no chance for inmates of this sickhouse even in the new
country. And they (the Sindhis) will perhaps be obliterated. To make the demand for Pakistan for fear of the Hindus is
against all tenets of the Holy Qura'an. (Pakistan, Mazi, Haal Ain Mustaqbil, p. p 22-27
The wise and far-sighted persons quoted above are known not only in the sub-continent but also in the entire Muslim
world. There can be no two opinions about their sagacity, capabilities and the sacrifices they have made. They are
recognized by friends and foes alike. They have never served as agents of any foreign power or otherwise been on its
payroll. On the other hand, those who have appointed themselves as custodians of Islam and the Muslims have been
ruthlessly exposed by history. On top of the list are Allama Iqbal and Mr. Jinnah. Let us first have a look at Allama
Iqbal. His morals were not in any way worthy of emulation by the Muslim masses. He was well-versed in western
philosophy and an excellent poet but he was to the end of his days a recipient of largesse from Bhopal, a small Muslim
princely state in the sub-continent whose Nawab Habibullah Khan was his patron. One need not go into the moral
aspects of his life at length. Only three examples will suffice here.
1. Abdul Majid Salik says in his book, Zikr-i-Iqbal: "Before his second marriage, family elders were trying that
the Allama should settle things with his first spouse. However, Iqbal was under great mental strain, which is
proved by the letter he wrote to Atiya Begum in which he said that he did not want to do any work. All he
desired was to leave India as soon as he could. These were the feelings of a person who had written: Sarey jahan
se accha Hindustan hamara. Only one thing, he wrote, had prevented him from running away from India. He
was, he said, under such a debt of gratitude to his brother that he could not leave the country. His life had
become hell for him because his relatives wanted to impose his wife On him. He told Atiya Begum that he had
written to his father telling him that he had no right to marry him, especially when he had refused to accept the
girl he had chosen for him. He was willing to pay living expenses to her but was not ready to torture himself by
living with her. As a human being, he had every right to happiness and if society or destiny denied him this
right, he would rebel against both. He had only two options: either to leave the ill-starred country for good or to
seek solace in alcohol which made it easy to commit suicide.
Look at the man of letters and philosophy, and his views on books: "The dead and desolate pages of books can
give me no happiness," he says. 'My soul has gone so far ahead that I want to burn all these books together with
society and its traditions. - April 9, 1909," Zikr-i-Iqbal, Abdul Majid Salik p.p. 73-74).
The Case of Sindh 55
This shows of what disposition was the man who is called the creator of the Pakistan idea. Abdul Majid Salik
writes at another place that final Iqbal decided to marry again. But he did not bring his second wife home
because he had received letters alleging that she was a woman of easy virtue who had had relations with several
people. The Allama had his own doubts and he had decided to divorce her. 'But in case he had to marry the
same girl again, what would he do?' This was the question worrying him! And for this purpose, he sent Mirza
Jalaluddin to Hakim Nur Din in Qadian, (Nur Din was Mirza Ghulam Ahmad's first 'caliph') to find out the
religious implications of the matter. The Maulvi advised that mere intention to divorce did not constitute
divorce. However, if he had any doubts, he should go in for another 'nikah' (marriage license). At this, the
Allama called a maulvi, had another nikah performed and took the girl to Sialkot. He came back after eight days
and told Mirza Jalaluddin that he was feeling so good that he felt he was in heaven.
Abdul Majid Salik concludes this account saying that Iqbal was no different from the other young men of his
time. He always lived as a fly lived for sugar but never as a bee for honey. Many of his old friends must still be
around whom must be cherishing the memory of those colorful days and nights. Iqbal himself has admitted that
he was for a long time a devotee of Eros and the requirements that went with it but it was his wish to die in
Madina!
[I spent a long time clinging to the breasts of beautiful damsels and their curly locks. I drank both with the moon and silver and put out
the light of my redemption]. (Zikr-i-Iqbal, p. 7 1 - 7 2).
3. Allama Iqbal's father had married him when he was 19 to Karim Bibi who was a homely type. But he began
ignoring her and started to think in terms of a second marriage. However, he did not divorce her first wife nor
did he pay her household expenses. He had two children from her, son Aftab and daughter Metal Bibi who were
not mentioned in his will, Iqbal's brother asked them to institute a case for the restitution of their rights after the
Allama's death. The two children and their mother lived in poverty all their lives and no one knows them in
relation to Iqbal today. One of Iqbal's admirers, Syed Hamid Raze Jalali writes in his book, "Allama Iqbal our
Unki Pehli Bivi", that he (Allama) wrote a letter to his father, saying that he was not satisfied with his (first) wife
and by marrying her to him he had done grave injustice to him. Iqbal wrote this letter to his father in 1909 while
he had been married in 1893. After 16 years of marriage, which could not have taken place without his consent,
and after having had two children whom he had named himself, the Allama, poisoned by the evil European
influences, deserted him. One may say nothing out of respect to the Allama but if his first wife had any failings,
he should have revealed them. However, if being, older to Iqbal was her only crime, the Allama himself was 40,
when he was complaining about her to Atiya Begum. It was reprehensible on his part to abandon his wife and
children and look for young girls at that age. His conduct was unbecoming of a man of letters. It Vas neither just
nor gentlemanly nor wise. Islam permits four marriages, no doubt, but there are restraints for that and when a
man divorces his wife, he must pay her alimony and give her other rights. If he does not do so, he has no moral
right to marry again, at least not a man like the Allama. If it was under European influence that he did what he
did, then European education must be condemned a thousand times. One can understand that the colorful life
he had led in Europe had created in Iqbal a certain type of way wardens which made him sick not only of his
wife but also of his country which he wanted to leave soon after his return home. 'Iqbal Ki Pehli Bevi' Syed
Hamid Raze Jalali, President, Majlis-i-Mohibban-i-Iqbal, Pakistan, June 1967, Anjuman Press, Karachi. Some
Persian lines from the poet of the East and Hakimul Ummat are being presented here:
(Pani Manjh Pasaah, Sher Mohammed Khuda Bux Baloch, retired Secretary, Irrigation, Governments of Sindh and
West Pakistan, p. 70) Iqbal does not meet even the minimum standards so far as love and concern for the Muslims are
concerned. This is so because when the imperialists were trampling the Muslim world underfoot in 1914, the Caliphate
The Case of
Sindh –
G.M. Syed's Deposition in Court
The Case of Sindh 2
AWord from Publisher
This dissertation (on the Case of Sindh before the Court) by G.M. Sayed, the great leader of the people of Sindh, is the
English translation of its original in Sindhi, published in 1993, entitled "Sindh Galha-ay-thee" (Sindh Speaks).
The purpose of this publication Is to inform the intellectual world at large - since English today commands position of
the foremost communication medium internationally - of what transpired in the politics of the Indian sub-continent,
more particularly in the context of Sindh, during the split- decade of 1937-47, and with what grave consequences,
immediate and distant, both historical and cultural. What happened in the sub-continent was, infect a part of the post-
War 11 convulsions that overtook the human world globally. With time, this world is once again taking now a direction
to a new politico-economic and ideological re-structuring affecting also its geography visibly. What socio-political map
of our world in the sub- continent would emerge at the advent of the twenty first century and onwards depends on the
shape of the wave of change building up before us in this crucial last decade of the 20th century.
Books speak out when courts sit dumb and deaf, and hundreds and thousands of the readers sit on the seats of judgment
on the right and wrong of the causes that clasp the mind and soul of societies for better or worse. Such books, symbolize
the cry of the suffering people and articulate their hopes and aspirations, pose a challenge to the rulers and question the
legitimacy of their mansions and systems of rule. The publication in hand could claim to be one of such books
actualizing the cry of the Sindhi Nation for justice, even as G. M. Sayed, its octogenarian author, languishes In his house
declared as a sub-jail by the Government of Pakistan. Ha sits there confined, charged of the sin of making a public
speech on his Eighty Ninth birth day celebration on 17 January 1992 in Nishtar Park, Karachi. He is neither produced
before the Court to answer the charge nor permitted to step out of the four walls of his house or to meet any friendly
visitor. The 3 years of his on-going house-detention, added to twenty seven years of his political incarcerate on other
counts in the public prison- houses in Pakistan, cover nearly the full two third of the life of Pakistan from 1947 to-date.
For the publication of this book, we owe our gratitude a thanks primarily to our esteemed friends Sayed Afzal Hyder,
Zafar lqbal Mirza and Mohammed Ibrahim Joyo, and also to our c leagues Abdul Wahid Aresar, Taj Joyo, Khadim
Hussain Soomro, Sayed Zia Shah, and Muneer Shah. But for the work and guidance and their assistance and advice,
this publication would not have seen the light of the day.
Hameed Sabzoi
Secretary Naeen Sindh Academy, Karachi
November 29,1994
The Case of Sindh 3
Your Honor!
For three-quarters of a century now, I have struggled for the emancipation of my oppressed people who live in these
parts of South Asia. All this while, I have earned the ire of rulers who have usurped power. On numerous occasions I
have been under house arrest or in jail during the best years of my life. Whenever I have tried to raise my voice against
the vandalization of Sindh, my Motherland, I have been jailed. Several attempts have been made on my life.
I have never once been allowed to state my case in any court of law and to speak on the subjugation of my people. This
is the first time that I have been given an opportunity to speak on my land's laments. I wish to tell this court and through
it to all humanity, especially the thinking people who are living in the closing years of the 20th century, the atrocities that
have been committed against my Motherland, Sindh, by ruthless occupying nations. I want to do so also in order to tell
my people, its intellectuals, how a nation which has given the lead to all peoples of the world in the fields of art and
culture is now being brutalized and held captive by force and fraud. There are people in this land who are under the
influence of migrant feudalistic from India, and are proudly touting subjugation as the panacea for Sindh's problems.
Among our many misfortunes is the fact that some of our compatriots hate independence and love enslavement. At this
juncture, representing the spirit of Sindh, I repudiate these elements. If I don't do so, I shall be considered to have
violated the sanctity of the spirit of independence for Sindh.
I wish to state here, Your Honor, that Sindh is a distinct geographic entity where there are rivers, forests, lakes,
mountains, deserts and verdant valleys. Through the ages it has been expanding and contracting. It has been
independent and enslaved during various stages of its history but, at the same time, it has always had a pure and proud
soul that has never accepted slavery or indignity. It has never surrendered to death despite the fact that attempts have
been made to bond or break it. This spirit has flitted around Sindh like monsoon clouds as the last voice of the
Dravidians of Mohen-jo-Daro. It has emerged from time to time- sometimes in the shape of Raja Dahir, sometimes in
the person of Dodo Soomro, sometimes in the shape of Darya Khan and Makhdoom Bilawal and Shah Hyder Sannai. It
has expressed itself in the love and courage of Shah Inayat,
I feel that these historic persons of Sindh have become part and parcel of my being which would like to reach a logical
end now. Without doubt, it is Sindh's geographic, national, political, economic, cultural and moral beauty, which are
the ingredients of its independence. It is this throbbing spirit which has forced me since early childhood to strive for the
emancipation of Sindh and its people. Whatever shape my political struggle has taken in South Asia, it has had but one
focal point- "independence for Sindh". All that which I will now state about my political endeavors should be seen in the
light of the submissions I have just made.
Your Honor!
I completed my early education in Sindhi in 191 5 when the First World War was at its peak. When I took to studying
English and Persian, I began to see the world in a new light. I came to realize that the world was facing four major
problems - poverty, illiteracy, lawlessness and fear Philosophers, intellectuals and men of wisdom have been trying to
solve these problems down the ages. When pondered over these problems, I came to realize that they were rooted in
these factors:
Colonialism, feudalism and capitalism caused poverty; Nomadic life and lack of civic and educational facilities together
with high cost of education caused illiteracy; And the bloody and barbaric World War on the international level and
disorderly life, superstition and blind faith together with threats from wild animals, thieves and marauding raiders at the
local levels produced fear and lawlessness. As I have said, this was the time when the First World War was at its height.
Human life had become cheaper than animal life and thousands of innocent people were being killed. In war, the brave
man is he who has killed more people than the others. We, the people of Sindh, had by that time been forcibly made part
The Case of Sindh - G.M. Syed's
deposition in court (Part 1)
The Case of Sindh 4
of British India and had become slaves of the British. The Indians were used as gun fodder. The British had made several
promises to the people of the sub-continent in return for their cooperation in the war effort. Among these, the most
important pledge was that all British colonies, including India, would be freed.
The Muslims were assured that despite the fact that Britain was at war with Turkey, their holy places would not be
desecrated and the Muslim lands would be set free. The First World War ended in 1918. Small nations in Europe got
their independence but not so in Asia and Africa. On the contrary, through new divisions and treaties, they were put
under a stronger and sterner colonial rule.
When the Indian Muslims who were even more specially under the influence of religion came to know that the Turkish
Empire was being cut into pieces and that the countries under it would be divided among the British, the Greek and tie
French and that the holy places would be placed under Allied control and that India would not be set free, they were
gravely Perturbed, Generally also, a wave of protest against British imperialism swept across India. The Muslims
launched the Khilafat Movement to express solidarity with Turkey. The All-India Congress, which had hitherto done
little except Passing resolutions or presenting memoranda (to the British), became an active political party after
Mahatma Gandhi's return from South Africa. He used the public sentiment against the Raj to telling effect by forging
Hindu Muslim unity. Sensing that this unity would be dangerous for their interests, the British, instead of introducing
further reforms, clamped the Rowlatt Act on India under which the emergency powers which the government had
assumed during the First World War were perpetuated. All communities in India protested against this black law.
As part of the general protest, a public meeting was held at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar on April 13, 1919. General
Dyer ordered the force under his command to open fire on the protesters. As a result of the brutal and indiscriminate
firing, hundreds of people died and thousands were injured. A storm of protests rose against this massacre. Sindh also
took part in the protest movement.
I was a witness to all this and had reached a stage in my life where I could not remain aloof from what was happening
around me. I began increasingly to wish to join the intrepid and organized struggle that was gathering pace against
British imperialism. I got my opportunity soon enough. Pir Turab Ali Shah and Jan Mohammed Khan Junejo organized
a Khilafat Conference on February 7-9, 1920. It was presided over by the Sindhi veteran Pir Rushdullah Shah
Jhandeywaro; I also attended this conference together with Makhdoom Moeenuddin of Khinyari and Syed Asadullah
Shah Tikhurai. Among those who attended were Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Maulana Abdul Bari Farangi Melhi,
Maulana Shaukat Ali and Shaikh Abdul Majid Sindhi despite my young age, this conference did much to create political
awareness in me. My first political act was to organize a Khilafat Conference in my hometown on March 17, 1920. It
was presided over by Maulvi Hakeem Fateh Mohammed Sehwani. Many prominent Sindhi leaders like Shaikh Abdul
Majid Sindhi, Dr. Nur Mohammed, Shaikh Abdul Aziz, Shaikh Abdus Salam (Editor, Al-Wahid attended the
conference.
Funds were collected for the Turkish cause and several people announced their decision to leave the service of the
British. This was part of the Tehrik-i-Tark-i-Mawalat under which many People renounced British titles and judicial and
other jobs throughout India.
Two days after the conference, a general strike was observed in my hometown on March 19, 1920, to express solidarity
with the Turks, After that, I attended Khilafat conferences in several cities in Sindh. The meeting held at the Dargah of
Makhdoom Bilawal on March 26, 1920 was the most important one of my early life because I made my first public
speech there. Since I was young and of short stature, I spoke from a tabletop. Apart from the leaders referred above, I
met Mahatma Gandhi at the Sann Railway Station when he was on his way from Hyderabad to Dadu on April 27,
1921. In the brief meeting, Gandhi advised me to wear Khaddar that I did the following month. Since I was a minor, I
was under Court of Wards and a warden had been appointed for me. This court of wards managed my family's estate
The Case of Sindh 5
and paid me a certain sum every, month. The Government took a stern view of my participation in the Khilafat
Movement and the Sindh Commissioner, who warned me to keep out of it because it was anti-British, summoned me to
Kotri. The Government was aware of my family's relations with the people of Kotri Tehsil and the Kohistani areas
many of them had attended the Khilafat conferences and the Government feared that the general feeling of discontent
might flare up into an uprising.
The Commissioner threatened that punitive action would be taken against me if I continued to participate in the Khilafat
Movement. I told him that I had no intention of withdrawing into my shell. I was the only male in a four-member
family. The court of wards then suspended m) monthly stipend and I was told that I would be sent to Bombay for forced
education. An official however also proposed that the court of wards should hand over my lands to me so that the cares
of estate management may prevent me from taking part in active politics. In spite of all this, I continued to take part in
the Khilafat Movement with zeal.
Since there was great unity between the Hindus and the Muslims at the time the meetings of the All-India Congress, the
Jamiat-i-Ulema-i-Hind and the Muslim League used to be held at the same city at the same time. As a result, I could
meet many political leaders. Until Hindu-Muslim differences weakened the Khilafat Movement, I continued to take part
in it till 1924. In 1929, Turkey, realizing that the Khilafat was the root cause of its problems, abolished it. Consequently,
the Khilafat Movement fizzled out in India also. This led political workers to think in terms of abandoning agitational
methods and to seek change through constitutional and legal means under the Montagu Cheimsfo Reforms. So taking
politics as a vehicle for social change, I started to work for the welfare of the people after being elected Vice-President of
the Karachi Local Board and President of the Manjhand Tehsil Local Board. I was later elected President of the Karachi
District Board in the year 1925.
It was around this time that the British appointed the Simon Commission to review the Indian situation. No Hindu or
Muslim was represented on the Commission that was, therefore, boycotted both by the All-India Congress and the
Muslim League. I had by then joined the All-India Congress. As a congressite and an old Khilafat Movement worker, I
strove to have the Simon Commission boycotted in Sindh. Wherever the Commission members went, they were greeted
with black flags and 'Simon go back' slogans.
All members elected those days to the Bombay legislative council from Sindh belonged to the feudal class who worked
only for personal or group interests. No wonder they cooperated with the Simon Commission. In 1928, a movement for
the separation of Sindh from Bombay was launched. Three important conferences were held for this purpose in Karachi,
Hyderabad and then again in Karachi. Resolutions giving facts and figures together with cogent arguments were Passed,
The British were told that Sindh had never been a part of India and that its merger with Bombay had no historic, moral
or legal justification. Important leaders like Haji Abdullah Haroon, Shaikh Abdul Majid Sindhi, Mohammed Ayub
Khuhro, Pir Ali Mohammed Rashdi, Jethmal Parsram Mir Mohammed Baloch, Jamshed Nausherwan Mehta, Rustam
Khurshid Sidhwa and myself attended these conferences. The British annexed Sindh after a bloody war in 1843 and a
free people were enslaved. Even so, Sindh remained a separate entity for four years under Governor Sir Charles Napier.
In 1847, Sindh was made part of the Bombay Presidency for administrative purposes. The struggle that we launched was
called the movement for independence from Bombay. I confess to the intellectuals of my nation and its intrepid new
generation that since we did not have adequate political acumen and since we were embroiled in problems of an all-India
nature, instead of demanding complete independence for our country, we only demanded that it be made an
autonomous province of India. Indeed, we should have demanded total independence, Let us not commit the error here
of equating Sindh with the other states of India whose rulers had later risen in revolt to sever them from the rest of the
sub-continent as had happened in the case of Hyderabad Deccan, Mysore, Jodhpur, Junagadh, Jaipur, Baroda and
similar other states which were naturally and historically a part of India. In Sindh, the case was totally different.
Through the ages, Sindh had existed as a separate entity parallel with Hind (India). When the struggle was on for the
The Case of Sindh 6
separation of our land from Bombay, Khan Bahadur Khuhro wrote a book titled 'Sufferings of Sindh' in which he had
argued with the help of historical references that Sindh was an ancient, independent land. As I have stated before, the
feudals of Sindh who were represented on the Bombay Council were in favor of the Simon Commission. That is why the
Commission had constituted a provincial committee headed by Mr. Shahnawaz Bhutto. Some members of the Bombay
Council were put on this committee. Shahnawaz Bhutto was against the separation of Sindh at that stage but Syed
Miran Mohammed Shah had written a note favoring the idea. Subhash Chandra Bose and Dr. Saifuddin Kitchlew were
touring Sindh at the time and I had greeted them warmly and feted them in Karachi. The British Government didn't like
the idea that the scion of a landed Syed family, instead of pursuing politics of toe licking, should be hobnobbing with
fiery revolutionary leaders of the sub-continent. All this while, I was getting farther and farther away from the imperial
administrative structure and getting closer and closer to the patriotic leadership of India.
There were two courses open to me- either to conform to the imperial norms of the Raj or to struggle for the honor,
dignity and independence of the people, no matter what the price. I chose the latter course. I undertook a whirlwind tour
of Karachi District after being elected President of the Local Board and called about thirty meetings at which maps of
India in which Sindh was included were garlanded. I wore khaddar dresses and exhorted others to do likewise anti-
British speeches were also made at all these meetings. While I was on tour, Mr. Gibson, who was then Collector,
Karachi, and who had the authority to oversee the working of the Local Board, sent me a message that what I was doing
was not rural development but the subversive work of the Congress movement which I could not do. He asked me to
cancel the rest of the tour. I did not oblige him and continued with my tour 'in the company of Maulvi Abdul Karim
Chishti, Jethmal Parsram, and others.
This turned Gibson into an enemy. Then something transpired which added fuel to the fire. It so happened that the
Government of Bombay advised the Karachi Local Board to appoint a qualified engineer on its staff. I selected
Mohammed Hashim Gazdar for the job. Now, the Collector of Karachi favored one of his Christian P.A's relatives. The
Collector also had the support of the Local Board's Chief Officer, Qazi Abdur Rehman who was at one time editor of
Al-Wahid and had suffered a great deal for taking part in the Congress movement. It was in recognition of his services
that I had him appointed Chief Officer. Later, however, he was bought off and started to work for the Collector, Mr.
Gibson. Annoyed at my choice, Gibson managed with the Bombay Government to suspend payment of its grant to the
Local Board. I was further warned that if I used the Board for political purposes, I would come to grief, It may be
recalled here that the Government had already lost the loyalty of Karachi, Shikarpur and Hyderabad municipalities and,
therefore, the loss of the Karachi Local Board added to its worries.
To counter the effect of my tour of the Karachi District, the Collector ordered Qazi Abdur Rehman to go to the places
where I had made speeches in favor of the Congress and promote the British cause. He put the services of the Deputy
Collector, the Mukhtiarkars and Patwaris at his disposal. Qazi Abdur Rehman essayed out to do as he was told. At this
the Sindhi nationalist leader, Hakim Fatah Mohammed Sehwani of the Jamiat-i-Ulema-i-Hind wrote an open letter to
Qazi Abdur Rehman through a newspaper July 20, 1930 in which he took him to task. He reminded him that when he
had gone to jail for taking part in the national movement, he had written verses in his favor and lent him his blessings.
He said that while he had used poetry for his praise then, he was now admonishing him in prose. He reminded him that
since he was a paid employee of the Local Board, he should refrain from his nefarious activities and stop playing the tout
for the British.
Hakim Fatah Mohammed also reminded him that the British had opposed G.M. Syed, the President of the District
Local Board when he undertook an honorable mission and campaigned for Goth Sudhar (rural reconstruction), so much
so that the Government had tried to block the funds the Local Board had approved for G.M. Syed's tour program. It was
already being openly said that Qazi Abdur Rehman was part of the conspiracy to block the funds. "Is organizing
meetings in schools and singing paeans for the British part of your official duties? Are chief officers of other local boards
The Case of Sindh 7
doing this? Does the Local Board pay you for holding these law and order meetings? Have you sought permission from
your President? If you are hurt by the nationalists' opposition to the British, go on leave to pursue your nefarious
activities at Government expense. I appeal to the people to tell Qazi Sahib plainly and without fear that what he is doing
is not right. But if they are afraid of bureaucratic repression, they should advise fellow citizens not to attend such
meetings. The people should know that the chief officer is not their ruler but a paid servant. While all this was going on,
the Bombay Government's grant to the local board remained suspended. However, it was eventually restored by the
efforts of the Sindhi members of the Bombay Council, Miran Mohammed Shah, Khan Bahadur Ghulam Nabi Shah, Sir
Shahnawaz Bhutto, Allah Bux Soomro and others. Not only that, engineer Mohammed Hashim Gazdar also retained
his post. All gentlemen named above were themselves presidents of various local boards. It was in their interest that the
collectors should have only a nominal say in the affairs of local boards. That is why they came to my rescue. I was now
able to devote greater time and energy to my Goth Sudhar and Samaj Sudhar (rural and social reconstruction) programs.
When I acquired political awareness and began to look at the world around me politically, I found that poverty was a
universal problem and Sindh was no exception. After the advent of the British, agricultural land was distributed to a
select group of families for services rendered. As a result, excepting these feudal families the common people lost their
land and their stable livelihood. They were forced to work on the land as mazdoors (laborers). Other farmhands were
called kisans (peasants). However, the difference between the farm mazdoors and kisan was that while the mazdoor was
paid daily wages, the kisan got his dues after a year. The mazdoor worked singly but the kisan's entire family had to toil
hard. At payment time, only the leading member of a kisan family was paid. He had no right to the land on which he
worked. Again, a kisan family was put under concocted debt and evicted or made to seek similar position under other
landlords He spent all his life in grinding poverty in utter social degradation, unable to educate his children or afford a
proper health cover to himself or to his family. So in order to save the kisans from the clutches of the landlords, the
bureaucrats, the money-lenders and dacoits and to obtain for them medical, educational and other civic amenities, and
to enable them to live in peace and security, I with the help of my friends, laid the foundations of the Sindh Hari
Committee under the Presidentship of Jamshed, Mehta, in Mirpur khas in 1930. This committee waged a protracted
struggle for the emancipation of kisans, for securing tenancy rights for them, and for educating them. Selfless kisan
workers suffered incarceration. The feudal lords and a brutal bureaucracy tortured many of them to death. They
continued their hard struggle in spite of all this. They achieved several successes, the most important being crop-sharing
on an equal basis with the landlord and the passing of the Tenancy Rights Act. I admit that we could not achieve all of
our basic objectives. An important reason for this was the British policy to sustain the feudal lords in order to retain their
loyalties. This policy was retained after partition by the civil and military bureaucracy; I could not give enough time to
the Hari Committee because of my increasing involvement with all-India politics. Anyhow, I continued to cooperate
with the Committee at every level in spite of the fact that most of my time was taken up with the constitutional and
political problems of the sub-continent.
In 1930, Gandhiji began the Civil Disobedience Movement from the Congress platform. The Congress struggle for
independence was attracting more and more people. In keeping with my family background and traditions, I had also
joined the Congress but was not able to play any significant role in the struggle against the Raj. However, I was deeply
interested in national (especially the rural) reconstruction. In those days, Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan was the one
politician who had successfully combined politics with a struggle for social reform. This was my objective, too. That is
why I was keen to meet Abdul Ghaffar Khan. In 1931, the annual meeting of the Congress was held in Karachi. Khan
Abdul Ghaffar Khan attended it together with his Khudai Khidmatgar followers. I met him and familiarized myself with
his modus operandi. I also hosted a lavish party in his honor.
In spite of his deep involvement with sub-continental politics, Bacha Khan had set up a separate party for his people in
his province, Pashtunkhwa and was struggling for social reform there. Impressed by his strategy, I strengthened my
relations with the Congress and, at the same time, established an exclusively Sindhi party in 1933. It was named the
The Case of Sindh 8
Smith People's Party and was led by Sir Shahnawaz Bhutto. Khan Bahadur Allah Bux Soomro and Miran Mohammed
Shah were elected its deputy leaders. Soon afterwards, in the light of the recommendations of the Round Table
Conference and the Government of India Act, 1935, Sindh became independent of Bombay in April 1936, and acquired
provincial status. However, and advisory committee was appointed to assist the Governor until such time as elections
were held. Sir Shahnawaz Bhutto was named advisor to the Sindh Governor, Sir Lancelot Graham. The same year, we
established the Sindh lttehad Party on the pattern of the Punjab's non-communal Unionist Party. Seth Haji Abdullah
Haroon was elected its president. Allah Bux Soomro also joined it, The Sindh lttehad Party took part in the 1937
elections and achieved notable success. I was among the many lttehad candidates who won. However, our party
president, Abdullah Haroon, lost to Khan Bahadur Allah Bux Gabol in Karachi while deputy leader Shahnawaz Bhutto
conceded victory to Shaikh Abdul Majid Sindhi in Larkana. In a House of 60, the following was the party position:
It is clear that no party enjoyed an absolute majority but since the Sindh lttehad Party had merged as the largest single
entity in the House, it should have been invited to form a government. However, in utter violation of all parliamentary
norms, Governor Lancelot Graham invited Ghulam Hussain Hidayatuilah's Muslim Political Party to form a
government. Three European members were instructed to support Sir Ghulam Hussain, The latter began by offering two
ministries and the speakership of the House of independent Hindu members. Later, he lured the Baloch group of the
lttehad Party by offering them a ministry. As a result, we had to sit on the opposition benches under the Leader-ship of
Allah Bux Soomro together with the Congress members.
I want to state here that in order to seek the separation of Sindh from Bombay, we had to seek the support of all India
parties like the Congress and the Muslim League because certain influential but selfish Hindu elements were trying to
thwart us in our bid to seek an autonomous status for Sindh. The all-India parties did help us out we had to pay a heavy
ideological and political price for it. The Muslim Leaguers got their price in the shape of separate electorates and
weightage in Muslim minority Provinces, and the Government got political mileage by giving the Governor more
powers for recovery of funds advanced for the construction of the Sukkur Barrage. Thus the Sindh Assembly was
paralyzed and throws at the mercy of the Governor. The other loss was that the Sindhi people who were wedded to the
concept of peace, brotherhood and tolerance were held powerless in the background and Sindh fell victim to
communalism and religious intolerance. This was our ideological loss. The Sindh Assembly, instead of serving the
people of the province by removing poverty, ignorance and lawlessness, became a House of horse traders for whom
everything was fair for getting power and pelf. The struggle that the people had waged or were waging to secure a noncommunal
Sindh was undermined. Everyone in the House threw away his Sindhi identity and began to look at things
through Hindu and Muslim glasses. Who know that the communal fire that had been lit in the Assembly would turn
into a conflagration!
Sir Ghulam Hussain Hidayatullah had enticed some self-serving Hindu members by offering them ministries but there
was nothing common in them except lust for office. Therefore, the ministry could not last long. The downfall started
with the resignation from the cabinet of Mukhi Gobind Ram because he had gone bankrupt. The independent Hindu
group wanted Nihchal Das Wazirani to replace Gobind Ram but Ghulam Hussain preferred Dr. Heman Das of
Larkana. At this, the Hindu group fell foul of Ghulam Hussain who in his turn lost faith in the former. He now began to
woo us through Syed Miran Mohammed Shah and Sahibzada Abdus Sattar Sirhindi. But when I said no, he resorted to
strong-arm tactics. He had the bungalow at my native town Sann sealed through Collector Nur Nabi because I owed the
government Rs. 300 in land revenue! My friend Tahil Ramani, who was the Chief Officer of Dadu District Local Board,
was asked to persuade me to support Sir Ghulam Hussain. Tahil Ramani was a gentleman and he refused to put
pressure on me and told the Government that I was not the sort of person who would leave the party on whose ticket I
had been returned to the Assembly for the sake of a cabinet job. Sir Ghulam Hussain dismissed Tahil Ramani and
replaced him with Mohammed Ayub Khuhro's brother-in-law, Abdul Latif Panwhar.
The Case of Sindh 9
This precipitate action further annoyed the Hindu group. Taking advantage of the situation, I moved a motion of no
confidence in the House but Speaker Bhoi Singh, instead of putting the motion to vote resorted to a walkout and thus the
Ghulam Hussain Government was saved. By now Ghulam Hussain had realized, however, that his Government could
not survive except with the cooperation of the lttehad Party. Therefore, he offered the formation of a coalition
government, through Sahibzada Abdus Sattar Jan Sirhindi. We told the intermediary that we had come to the
assemblies with certain definite objectives and that it was not our ambition to vie for ministerial offices. The welfare of
the people of Sindh was an integral part of our manifesto. If Sir Ghulam Hussain undertook to implement the part of our
manifesto for the welfare of the people of Sindh, we could help him without joining his cabinet. We put the following
important points of our manifesto before Sir Ghulam Hussain:
1. The passage of a law on Land Alienation.
2. The passage of the Tenancy Rights Act.
3. Steps to ease off loans through a Debt Reconciliation Act.
4. Exemption from paying interest on government loans.
5.Abolishing protocol restraints and privileges for attendance before the commissioner and collectors.
6. An end to the practice of nominating members to the local bodies.
Points 5 and 6 were accepted but the more substantive points such as 1, 2, 3 and 4 were not. We tried our best to
convince Sir Ghulam Hussain but he was adamant. At this in consultation with the independent group and the
Congress, we threw the Ghulam Hussain Government out on a one-rupee cut motion and formed a new Cabinet with
the help of the Hindus. Khan Bahadur Allah Bux headed it. The new government, too, failed to enact a land alienation
law and the tenancy act, It also did nothing to write off loans and we remained where we were because of opposition
from the Hindu vested interests. Although I was a member of the Congress, I had not fought the election on its ticket.
Therefore, I did not sit with the Congress members in the House. But the lttehad Party had formed a government with
the help of the Congress after defeating the Ghulam Hussain government. However, the Congress opposed our
legislative measures. It said it was true that it was a non-communal party but since it had fought the election on the basis
of separate electorates, it could not afford to ignore the interests of the Hindu Seths (moneybags) who were its voters.
Therefore, it was obliged to oppose our legislative proposals.
This attitude made me sick of the Congress and I got associated with the Muslim League. I had joined politics with some
definite aims and objectives. They all related to securing for the people of Sindh a better deal than they had hitherto. I
joined, and left the Congress and the Muslim League for the same reasons. All-India problems were never one of my
priorities. I found that the Congress High Command was concerned almost wholly with all-India issues and had little
time for the people of Sindh and their problems. I was, therefore, obliged to part ways with them and joined the Muslim
League. For parties constitutions agreements and me have never been any the more sacrosanct. They are meant for the
people and when a group tries to use them to promote its own interests as against those of the people, an honest, and
upright patriot owes it to himself to opt out of such parties, constitutions and agreements. And that is what I did.
Here I may add that I made two attempts to maintain my relationship with the Congress before I joined the Muslim
League. First, I wrote an impassioned letter to the Sindh Congress President, Dr. Choith Ram Gidwani in which I
explained my viewpoint on the Congress at length. I present here excerpts from the letter:
"This is the third letter I am writing to you in your capacity as President of the Sindh Congress. It is the
Congress on which I had pinned all my hopes for a bright future for Sindh. "If I am leaving the party today, I
am doing so only because I hope that the Congress workers will be able to put it on the right track. The
The Case of Sindh 10
Congress should belong to all peoples and not be a plaything in the hands of a few capitalists. I have been free of
the personality cult and communalism, and have been deeply devoted to the Congress. It is not possible for me
to take on the party just for the fun of it. I desire its surgical operation to free it from its diseased trends. It is in
this spirit that I am pinpointing the wrong policies pursued by you and other Congress workers in Sindh."
Towards the end of the letter, I had written:
"It is not my desire at all to corner you. It is my earnest desire that God may endow you with the ability
to recognize facts and appreciate the aspirations of the people a vast majority of whom are Muslims. I
warn you and your colleagues that any error of judgment at this stage will cause an irreparable loss to
Sindh and the Congress. I think that I have done my best to do my duty by the Congress and to apprise
you of the situation on the ground. I will take up the issue with Sardar Valabh Bhai Patel and Maulana
Abul Kalam Azad in the hope that they may be able to rectify the situation. I visualize that a parting of
the ways is at hand. Only time will prove who was in the right and who was responsible for stoking the
fires of communalism".
Sardar Valabh Bhai Patel and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, two central parliamentary leaders of the Congress, came to
Karachi in the third week of August, 1 938. 1 tried to brief them on the Congress attitude in Sindh in the hope that they
might persuade the provincial committee of the party to revise its policies in the light of the aspirations of the people of
Sindh. However, Maulana Azad and Sardar Patel went back after a few days' stay without taking any substantive
decisions. My fond hopes were dashed and the situation, instead of improving, deteriorated further and all the bitterness
of all-India politics was injected into the Sindhi body politics. After having failed in my efforts to persuade the Congress
to see the light of reason, I decided to join the Muslim League.
In October 1938, the central leader of the Muslim League, Mr. Mohammed Ali Jinnah, visited Sindh at the invitation of
Haji Abdullah Haroon. I attended a League meeting as an observer and came to the conclusion that its views on Sindh's
welfare problems were different from those of the Congress whose policies were largely Hindu-oriented. I had come to
realize this through the assembly proceedings and through my talks with All-India Congress leaders and the attitude of
the Sindh Congress and the independent Hindu group. On numerous occasions I tried for the establishment of a
government in Sindh which was free of the communal virus and which could eradicate hunger, poverty and disease from
the province. It was for this purpose that I had worked for the removal of the Ghulam Hussain Ministry and for the
induction into power of Allah Bux Soomro. However, the Sindh Congress, the independent Hindu group and the
timesaving Muslim members of the Assembly, too, cornered Soomro.
The Muslim League was a communal party that had a fair sprinkling of British loyalists, many of whom had been
knighted or made Khan Bahadur. It had no program for the emancipation of the people. It lacked sincere workers and I
thought that if devoted workers like me and my colleagues joined it, we could change its character and turn it into an
anti-imperialist and pro-people Party. It was in this spirit that I joined the Muslim League. I wanted that all Muslim
members of the Assembly should join the Muslim League and thus become a bulwark against the Sindh Congress and
the independent Hindu group. Towards this end, the text of a resolution was prepared in the presence of Mr. Jinnah.
Apart from Allah Box Soomro, some others were also associated with this task. Later, however, Soomro reneged for
frivolous reasons and refused to join the Muslim League and kept his Ministry alive with the help of the Congress and
the independent Hindu group. Together with this, he continued to seek the Governor's help to lure the Muslim members
to his group. He knew that these members cared more for their personal interests than for principles. That was the reason
why my motion of no confidence against the Soomro Government during the budget session was defeated. When I
tabled the motion, twelve members supported it, but when it was put to vote, only seven favored it. Even the
parliamentary leader of the Muslim League party, Sir Ghulam Hussain Hidayatullah and its deputy leader Mir Bande
The Case of Sindh 11
Ali voted against the motion and got cabinet jobs. These were the circumstances, which forced me to seek the support of
an all-India party to work for the betterment of Sindh. It was in this spirit that I joined the Muslim League.
I consider straight politics an integral part of my faith. True service of the people earns for you divine blessings and
spiritual solace. Until such time as individuals or parties use politics for serving humanity, they have my support and
sympathy When I realize that they are using politics for promoting class or individual interests which are likely to hurt
Public interests or that their policies are not based on equality and justice, I consider it my duty to oppose them.
Here I may refer to my policy differences with my friend Jamshed Nusserwanji. The latter was of the view that no matter
how bad the present, one should not strive against it unless one was sure of a better future. Many experienced and
sincere political workers have adhered to this political creed. Contrary to this, however, I have held and continue to hold
the view that if one is not satisfied by the present, one should struggle for change and that the future will take care of
itself. In other words, I have subconsciously subscribed to Shah Waliullah's credo that all unacceptable systems should
be demolished.
Soon after I joined the Muslim League, something happened which vitiated the atmosphere of unity and brotherhood
that had prevailed in Sindh for centuries. The Sindh of Sufis and sadhus was engulfed in the flames of communalism
which reduced the land of love and unity into ashes and as a result of which the sub-continent was divided in 1947. It is
a tragic fact that as a result of partition, the Punjab and Bengal were divided into separate geographic entities while in
Sindh a whole nation was divided and a large numbers of our people were forced to say goodbye to the land of their
ancestors. The people who were obliged to leave were the very same who had played a great role in contributing to the
material welfare of Sindh and to its linguistic and intellectual advancement. Among them were the devotees of Shah
Sachal Sarmast, Shah Inayat and Sami. They had retrieved and collected the works of Sachal and Sami. They included
people like Dr. Gurbakhsani, Kalyan Advani, Lal Chand Amardinomal, Jethmal Parsram, Bherumal M. Advani, T.L.
Waswani and others.
The incident that shook Sindh is known as the Masjid Manzilgah Case. There was an old place in Sukkur, which had
been named Manzilgah Masjid by the Muslims. Several delegations from Shikarpur and Sukkur called on the Prime
Minister of Sindh, Allah Bux Soomro and demanded that the Muslims be given possession of this Masjid. Soomro
deputed some ulema of the Jamiat-i-Islam, Sindh, to visit the site and report back to him as to what were the merits of
the case. These ulema confirmed that the place was indeed a mosque. The Hindus objected that if the place was given
over to the Muslims, they would violate the privacy of the female Hindu devotees who came to pray at the temple,
which was situated on the bank of the Indus.
It had been established that the place was a mosque and there was pressure on Allah Bux Soomro whose government
depended for survival on the support of the Congress and the independent group opposed to the site being handed over
to the Muslims. Therefore, Soomro could not take any decision in the matter.
Tired of Allah Bux Soomro's ambivalent attitude, Muslim delegations called on the Muslim League President, Haji
Abdullah Haroon and proposed that the League should take the matter in its own hands. Haroon called a meeting of his
party's provincial working committee of which I was a member. I suggested that since the Muslim League was a
political party, it should not embroil itself in a dispute that was purely religious because it would stoke the fires of
communalism much against the interests of Sindh.
However, the working committee ruled in favor of taking up the Manzilgah Masjid issue and chalked out a sattyagraha
program. Pir Mian Abdur Rehman of Bharchondi played a major part in this. To defuse the situation, Allah Box
Soomro had an ordinance issued of the Governor under which anyone could be sent to jail without proper legal
proceedings. Around 3,500 people were arrested after the promulgation of the ordinance much to the consternation of
the League leadership, and the agitation began to peter out.
The Case of Sindh 12
My days with the congress had taught me that once it has started, it is extremely insulting and damaging to call off an
agitation halfway through. Therefore,) took over the leadership of the movement and had the Masjid Manzilgah taken
over by force. The Allah Bux government tried to have the occupation vacated by the police. The people set up
barricades to foil the police bid to retake the mosque.
On November 14, 1939, 1 was arrested along with two other sattyagraha leaders and sent to the Central Jail, Hyderabad.
Soon afterwards the Muslims inside the mosque, instead of being arrested, were forced to leave after they had been
baton-charged and tear-gassed. Hindu-Muslim riot started that very day in which several innocent lives were lost and
property worth millions destroyed. This was a black spot on the fair name of Sindh.
Arrested with me were Agha Nazar Ali Pathan, Dr. Mohammed Yamin and Nematullah Qureshi. Others arrested were
Shaikh Wajid Ali from Shikarpur, Qazi Fazlullah from Larkana and Agha Ghulam Nabi Pathan from Sultan Kot. Pir
Ghulam Mujaddid Sirhindi of Shikarpur and some others were also put in jail.
After a while, the Hindus urged Allah Bux Soomro to provide protection to them in the countryside or face the ouster of
his government. Meanwhile, I was released from the Central Jail, Hyderabad, on January 9, 1940, after serving a twomonth
term. I met some sagacious and farsighted Hindu colleagues and told them that I would not stop at anything
short of the removal of Allah Bux Soomro's government who had put my friends and me in jail. Thus we got rid of the
Soomro cabinet with the help of these Hindu friends. Before I proceed further, I want to present two documents here.
They shed some light on my thinking despite the fact that I had taken part in a communal movement.With my release, I
issued the following statement:
"After my arrest and that of my colleagues on October 1 9-20, 1 939, certain extremely tragic events
took place in and around Sukkur. I came to know of these painful events in jail through my Hindu and
Muslim friends. Further details have come to hand after my release. I sympathize with the Hindus and
Muslims for what they have suffered during these riots. My heart goes out especially to those innocent
Hindus who have suffered grievous losses. I could not sympathize with them earlier because I was in
jail. I hope they will forgive me for this.
'When I decided to take part in the Masjid Manzilgah movement, I could not even dream that it would
have such bloody consequences. Murder, dacoits and arson are against our creed and are to be
condemned. Sindh is in the teething stage in politics. It may have to learn several lessons before it can
hope for a better future. The main reason for our recent tribulations is our inexperience and
shortsightedness.
"Hindus and Muslims have been living together with great love and amity for centuries, guided as they
have been by Sufis and man of great learning and piety. It is our ardent desire that in the future, too,
this unity should blossom and be a beacon light for the rest of India. We are pained when we-find that
there are obstacles on the road to the realization of these objectives. A permanent peace between the
two communities is the need of the hour. It is my fervent desire that) should work towards this and.
Our province is passing through a critical period and I appeal to everyone for Hindu-Muslim unity so
that we can live like good neighbors.' (Naeen Sindh laai Jidda Juhud, P. 67-69).
My mentor and spiritual leader and great Sindhi intellectual, Allama I.I. Qazi had written to me before the publication
of the above statement saying that there was a similarity of views between him and me. An important excerpt from his
letter is quoted below:
The Case of Sindh 13
(We think in one direction and Providence in other)
"For Ghulam Murtaza, G.M. Syed, I have a great deal of spiritual attraction but I am also annoyed
with him. Why did he put himself into trouble by taking part in the Masjid Manzilgah Tehrik?
(We think in one direction and providence in another). He was the only one left in 'Sindh and he, too,
chose the path of darkness, that is, he took part in the Manzilgah movement. Therefore, what will
become of us? Five hundred mosques in Sindh are in a state of disrepair. All Madrassahs in Karachi,
Larkana and Tando Bago have gone from bad to worse. The Muslims themselves have ruined all
Islamic institutions. People are seeking martyrdom for Manzilgah I am not sorry that I was not
consulted on the issue. What makes me sorry is that good sense did not prevail."
Qazi Sahib wrote this letter to me in Karachi on January 12, 1940. (Saneh Ja Singhar, p. 102, letter 42). When my
statement on the riots appeared in the Press, the Allama wrote to me again in February 1940. Excerpts:
"Dear Murtaza,
"I congratulate you. You have not yet lost your spiritual purity. This is a miracle. After 11 years of hard
work, we continue to strive. Let us prevent the recurrence of past events...
By recounting all this, I want to show that I had joined the Muslim League thinking that it was a strong political party
which would help me in securing the welfare objectives and not to use it to promote communalism. It was my desire that
Sindh should be free of the communal virus. I continued to strive for this when I became the Minister of Education
Industry, Labor and Forests in the Mir Bande Ali Cabinet As a Minister, I tried to accomplish the following for the
promotion of Sindhi language and literature and for the general welfare of the province:
1. The establishment of a commission for the University of Sindh.
2. The setting up of a Central Advisory Board for Sindhi Literature. This was later to become the Sindhi
Adabi Board.
3. The constitution of a committee comprises intellectuals for the compilation of a dictionary of the Sindhi
language.
4. To promote secondary education, the constitution of a committee, which committee later became the
Board of Secondary and Intermediate Education.
5. Ordered that Sindhi be made compulsory language in all schools in the province.
6. Prepared a plan for the construction of a road from Karachi to Kotri.
However, since we, too, had acceded to power with the help of Hindu members, we could not get legislation through on
the writing off of loans, tenancy matters, mutation of land and other people-oriented projects and plans. Therefore, I told
Mr. Jinnah that since we were not in a position to do any progressive work, we should abandon bothering about the
assembly and our race for power and instead start work on building and organizing public opinion. Mr. Jinnah agreed.
The Case of Sindh 14
However, I thought that before implementing the decision, efforts should be made to form an all-parties coalition of
Muslim members and then I should resign from the Cabinet. For this purpose, I invited Maulana Abul Kalam Azad of
the Indian National Congress and proposed that Allah Bux Soomro should join the Cabinet. It was decided that a sixmember
cabinet should have two ministers each from the Allah Bux, the Muslim League and Independent Hindu
groups. But none of the incumbent ministers was willing to resign. We had tried to cobble this coalition together without
Mr. Jinnah's consent. When he came to know of it, he asked the Sindh Muslim League President to order that no one
should resign from the Cabinet.
Shaikh Abdul Majid did not resign because he was discipline-bound not to do so. It was considered necessary that
Khuhro should be in the cabinet. I had undertaken to secure the resignation of two ministers under the agreement
arrived at in Maulana Azad's presence. Therefore, I resigned to honor the accord and asked Maulana Azad to give me a
month to get the other resignation.
After my resignation, the Muslim League members asked Mr. Jinnah to take disciplinary action against me. Mr. Jinnah
refused to do so and asked me to organize the League and made me chairman of the organizing committee. I put Agha
Ghulam Nabi Pathan (Sukkur, Syed Haji Hasan Bux (Nawab shah), Qazi Fazlullah (Larkana), Mohammed Hashim
Gazdar (Karachi), Sahibzada Abdus Sattar Jan Sirhindi (Hyderabad), Faqir Mohammed Mangrio (Mirpur khas) and
others on the committee and set about the task of organizing the party. I toured most of Sindh for this purpose. In the
speeches I delivered, I also made a critical appraisal of the Ministry's performance and called upon the Muslim League
members of the provincial cabinet to fulfill. The promises they had made to the people.
Within the short span of a year, I succeeded in raising the Sindh Muslim League membership from 6,000 to 300,000
which came to 25 percent of the total number of adult male Muslims in the province. Primary branches rose to 450 in
number that proved that we had spread the League message to every nook and corner of Sindh. We opened a complaint
cell in the provincial office to bring people's problems to the notice of the cabinet and the bureaucracy. The Muslim
League literature was distributed far and wide and every effort was made to introduce Mr. Jinnah to the people. All this
shows the spirit with which I worked for the Pakistan Movement and the Muslims. I reproduce here the text of a poster
that was published during this period.
POSTER
The Muslim League demands Pakistan. Pakistan means an Islamic State. "In Pakistan,
1. The government will be established according to Qura'anic principles.
2. Everyone will have political, social and economic equality.
3. The government will be in the hands of upright and pious people.
4. The foremost duty of the government will be to banish poverty, repression, ignorance, and every effort
will be made to prevent the exploitation of the people for class interests. Gambling, adultery, drinking
and usury shall be outlawed and no one will have to purchase justice. It will be freely available to all in
equal measure.
5. Social status will not depend on power and pelf but on piety.
Ghulam Murtaza,
Chairman,Muslim League
Organizing Committee
The Case of Sindh 15
In addition, a book Hindustan JA Muscleman Ain Pakistan was distributed free of cost on my behalf as Chairman,
Organizing Committee, and Sindh Provincial Muslim League. The book contained translated versions of the articles
published by a Punjab paper, The Asian times, on January 5, February 16, April 12 and 26, 1940.
Thus I struggled day and night, organizing the party, little caring for personal comfort. However, I was aware even then
that the Muslim League was not an end in itself for me but a means to an end. The feudal lords dominated the Muslim
League. I decided that if an attempt was made to put the People on the wrong trail in the name of the League, I would
oppose it. I give an example here. A Bill seeking to conduct a survey of the feudal estates and to ameliorate the lot of the
oppressed peasants was presented in the Sindh Assembly during its budget session in 1941. Had the Bill been passed,
serfdom would have come to an end in Sindh. Mir Bande Ali was then heading the Cabinet. Because I had resigned
from the Cabinet, Khan Bahadur Allah Bux presented the Bill. However, the feudals who had joined the League in
search of office, opposed the Bill and forced the party not to vote for it. I voted for the Bill against party discipline. The
speech I made on the issue in the Assembly on March 26, 1 941 is being reproduced here:
Sir, I feel called upon to make a statement of my views at a moment when I and the majority of the members of my
party do not see eye to eye upon this question of the Amendment of Land Revenue Code. There were times when, if I
differed from the majority view, I did not consider it necessary to explain the reasons that made me adopt a course
different from majority view. But now I feel that I am moving in such environment and surroundings that my individual
actions contrary to the accepted procedure of the day are not going to remain unchallenged. I feel that such occasions do
create misunderstandings and confusion. It is therefore but right on my part to make my position clear when there is a
conflict between my conscience and the majority view of my party which I have accepted with open eyes as an
instrument for the fulfillment of my ideals. Such incidents are of very delicate character in the life of a man whom
politics are the means for spiritual evolution-
"Sir, I must make it clear that with me politics are a faith which has no connection with ambition for power or prestige,
name or fame, or an engagement for leisure hours. It is a serious effort of the spirit for the highest manifestation and
accomplishment of body and soul. Organizations, their codes and regulations, individuals and their mutual attachments
are all to me the means to achieve the end; and the situation becomes indeed delicate when there is a conflict between
ideals and means.
"Sir, Islamic philosophy to me is the means, which will bring us nearer to the realization of our ideal that aims at the
establishment of the long-cherished Kingdom of Heaven on earth. Muslim League Organization in India having taken
upon itself the duty of organizing the Muslims in India for the achievement of the said ideal, becomes identical with
Islamic philosophy and so when t joined the Muslim League, I did it with that idea in my mind. It is true that
organizations are made up of individuals and majority of individuals lack higher perception, with the result that in
democratic organizations it is generally the case that their standard is lowered according to exigencies and requirements
of the majority caprices. It is thus very difficult for those who have a higher vision of life to submit at times to things,
which according to them are contrary to the accepted principles. They are then torn between two powerful forces;
obedience to rules of Organization and obedience to the higher truth, Today I find myself in this position. If the Muslim
League stands for equality, fraternity and equity, on which the foundations of Islam and Pakistan are laid, which latter is
the immediate goal of the Muslim League, then I cannot understand how my friends can compromise this principle by
advocating the perpetuation of a system which is diametrically opposed to the said principles. Jagirs are a remnant of the
old feudal system, where in return for martial, civil and administrative services, or for the maintenance of families of
royal relationship, these lands were given as bestowals. The foundation of this system was based upon inequality and
created class distinctions, which were forbidden by Islam. I cannot understand on what authority in these democratic
days when feudal system is a thing of the past my friends are indirectly helping in the preservation of this system. I know
that we are still controlled by a Government that recognizes class distinctions and is supposed to be the custodian of
The Case of Sindh 16
vested interests. Therefore, if we are not in a position immediately to do away with the jagirdari system, still I cannot see
why we should not strive to relax, if not altogether break, the shackles that hang heavily upon the poor people.
"Now, I shelf go into the details of the Bill itself. It has two main features; survey of Jagirs and settlement of Jagirs lands.
There appears to be no possible reason to oppose the principle of survey of the jagiri lands as in the absence of such
survey, there is always the possibility of undue loss of revenue to Government.
"As regards the settlement itself. We know that there are several honest jagirdars who will be pleased at the passage of
this Bill, as at present they hold land-areas beyond their legitimate title to the same. It is only the few dishonest and highhanded
jagirdars who have been accustomed to squeezing their poor tenants that will object to the passage of this Bill.
The jagirdar's position in respect of the jagiri lands is identical to that of the Government in respect of the ordinary
lands. There is no reason why jagirdars should be allowed an opportunity to charge the poor tenants more than what the
Government charge the zamindars.
"On the other hand, it is to be borne in mind that the jagirdar enjoys his right as a form of political pension. So he should
get only some share out of the revenue but he should have no hand in the management of the land. It is high time that
Government should recover the land revenue from the zamindars or Mukhadams in the jagiri lands and pays to the
jagirdars a share out of the collected revenue. The jagirdars should now become pattedars, until Government revises the
whole land policy,
"Sir, these are my views which I believe to be the real views of the Muslim League; but if I have not been fortunate
enough to convince some of my colleagues of this truth, I am not disappointed. I shall carry on my work patiently until I
succeed in converting my friends to the true ideals of our Organization"
It was strange that the same Muslim League was opposing those Bills for whose passage we had joined it after protracted
opposition to these measures by the Hindu members of the Assembly and the Allah Bux Ministry. Our own League was
opposing our basic aims and objectives whereas members of the Sindh Assembly and Allah Bux were trying to get these
measures approved by the House!
The Case of Sindh 17
In 1941, I was nominated to the Working Committee of the All-India Muslim League. Haji Abdullah Haroon was
already a member. The first meeting of the Committee was held on October 26 the same year in Delhi. It was for the first
time that I acquainted myself with important all-India political problems, which gave me fresh impetus to continue to
work for the welfare of the Muslims.
Towards the end of the year, the Second World War took a turn for the worse. Japan's sudden decision to jump into the
fray and its initial successes put Indian security into jeopardy. This had a deep impact on the internal situation in India,
especially in Sindh. The year 1942 has a special significance in the history of Sindh and will always be remembered.
First, there was the Hur rebellion as a result of which the British imposed Martial Law on the province and an avalanche
of suffering overwhelmed the people. Then there were devastating floods in Upper Sindh that affected half a million
people and destroyed property worth millions. Yet again, the Indian National Congress launched the Quit India
Movement against British imperialism.
The year brought untold personal grief for me when on April 27. The President of the Sindh Muslim League, Haji
Abdullah Haroon, died suddenly. It was the Haji Sahib's probity, loyalty and personality, which had lured me into the
Muslim League. Differences arose over the election of his successor. A meeting of the Muslim League Council decided
that it was not the right time for a contest and nominated Khan Bahadur Mohammed Ayub Khuhro, a member of the
party's Working Committee, as President of the Sindh League for the time being.
In the meantime, I started canvassing for Yusuf Haroon's candidature for the central legislative assembly seat that had
fallen vacant (because of Abdullah Haroon's death). Allah Bux's brother, Maula Bux, was persuaded by me to withdraw
from the contest, and Yusuf Haroon was returned unopposed.
All this while, Martial Law was enforced on both sides of the Indus with great severity. I had plans to challenge the
imposition of military rule in a court of law but Mr. Jinnah directed us sternly not to do so. Military rule had a negative
impact both on the hot uprising and the Quit India Movement in Sindh. Therefore, I deem it necessary to throw some
light on the events of the time.
The Hurs had been simmering with discontent for quite some time but their struggle caught the limelight when the
British arrested their spiritual leader, Syed Sibghatullah Shah Rashdi 11, The arrest forced the Hors into taking the law
into their own hands and resorting to a violent struggle against British imperialism. There is no documentary evidence
on the real objectives of the hot struggle. But one thing is clear, When I met the Pir before his arrest, I became convinced
that he was totally opposed to communalism and regarded the Muslim League was dangerous to Muslim interests. Also,
he wanted an end to British rule over Sindh, In this regard, he thought that a struggle should be launched in
collaboration with all the revolutionary forces in the rest of India. Here I want to reproduce adverbum the dialogue I had
with the Pir and which was included in the noted Sindhi intellectual, the late Mohammed Usman Deplai's historic work,
Sanghar pp. 100-101.
"The moving spirit behind the Sindh Muslim League, G.M. Syed, led a delegation to Pir Sibghatullah
Shah 11 to request him to join the Muslim League.
'Why?' the Pir asked smilingly.
So that we should struggle for the independence of the country as laid down in the 1940 (Lahore) Resolution,' Syed
Sahib replied.
"The Pir laughed and said, 'The Muslim League and independence? Shah Sahib, I thought you were a
big politician but you don't know the basics of politics."
The Case of Sindh - G.M. Syed's
deposition in court (Part 2)
The Case of Sindh 18
"Syed Sahib had informal relations with the Pir. He smiled and said, 'Since you have been kept in
several jails and have had the opportunity of meeting political prisoners you have politics on your
finger-tips.'
I don't claim that I know everything about politics but a party which acts under British instructions, a
party which has all the Sirs, Khan Bahadur, waderas feudal lords) and the money bags on its roll, and
which yet 'talks about independence, then there is nothing further I can say in the matter,' the Pir said,
"Shah Sahib became sombre, 'Sir, we shall soon have the Sindh Assembly pass a resolution demanding
independence for Pakistan.'
"Smiling, the Pir said, 'Yes, the moment you get the resolution through, the British will give you
independence! Remember this, Shah Sahib. In the first place, the British will not grant you
independence. And even if the demand for Pakistan is conceded, the new country will be a tailored
affair where the British will call the shots for years.'
'We'll not allow the British to have any say in the affairs of our independent country,' Shah Sahib said
heatedly.
"The Pir smiled, 'Where will you be then? Will you hold the reins then? You forget, Shah Sahib, that
while you fight, when victory comes; only those will be in the saddle who have been born British
lackeys. You will be the fly in the ointment and you will be thrown out of the ointment. Not only
thrown out but possibly put in prison, If we live and if my predictions come true, then we'll know who
is more adapt at politics between the two of us. I will, by the grace of God, either gets my country or
my coffin, but you will be nursing your wounds,'
"At this Shah Sahib said a quiet goodbye to the Pir and left. Anyhow, most of the Pir's bitter
predictions have turned out to be true. He was a true nationalist, a staunch anti-imperialist and a great
votary of communal harmony. He did not reveal the plan he had in his mind for the attainment of a
new Sindh nor did he live long enough to do so. But in my view, he never accepted alien domination
over Sindh. It is a matter of regret that his successor and eldest son is so different from his father and
has aligned himself with the inheritors of British imperialism, the Punjabis."
After Pir Sibghatullah Shah's martyrdom, there was no moral force that could give direction to the Hur movement. As a
result, rudderless as they had become, the Hurs fall into inexperienced hands and became a band of terrorists. The
British treated them with bestial brutality. Hundreds of these intrepid patriotic Sindhis were sent to the gallows' shot
dead or tortured because of their love for their spiritual mentor. Women were dishonored and their lands and other
property was confiscated without due process of law. Punitive fines were imposed. Special tribunals and military courts
handed out heavy sentences. 'Many people were expelled from Sindh and kept in special camps and jails or exiled to the
Andamans. When jails began to overflow, thousands of men and women, both young and old, and even children were
put in concentration camps where there were no provisions for medical treatment or educational facilities for the young.
This was their plight, and State repression continued till 1951.
Now I come to the Quit India Movement. The World War had, begun in 1939. The British also threw India into the
inferno, against the wishes of its people. The Indian National Congress reacted very strongly against it. It maintained
that unless the Indians were made masters of their own resources, they would never take part in the war. The Americans
put pressure on the British to hold talks with the Indian leadership. The British sent several powerful delegations to India
for detailed discussions with Indian leaders but they all proved inconclusive because the British were not willing to give
total independence to India and the Congress would not accept anything less.
The Case of Sindh 19
As a result of the impasse, the Indian National Congress passed a historic resolution at Bombay in August 1942, which
came to be called the Quit India Resolution.
As soon as this resolution was passed, large-scale punitive action started against the Congress. The moving spirit behind
the party, Mahatma Gandhi, its President, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and all members of its Working Committee
except Raj gopal achari were arrested. This provoked a nation-wide protest and a non-violent movement turned violent.
The British Government tried to counter violence with violence but the agitation continued to mount. Sindh took full
part in the movement.
After the passage of the Quit India Resolution, Mr. Jinnah sided with the British. He said it was not directed against the
British but was a Congress conspiracy against the Muslims. Consequently, he called a meeting of the Working
Committee of the All India Muslim League at Bombay on August 16, 1942, to consider the Quit India Resolution. Ayub
Khuhro and Yusuf Haroon reached Bombay to Represent Sindh. Yusuf Haroon proposed that since Nawab Bahadur
Yar Jang was also in town, certain matters should be discussed with him. So Khuhro Yusuf Haroon and myself called
on the Nawab at the Green Hotel, which is now part of the Tai Mahal Hotel. The Nawab said that all Congress leaders
except Raj gopal achari have been arrested. However, the Congress leaders had learnt from Mr. V.P. Memon, Secretary
to the Viceroy at the Central Secretariat that the Government had been assured that Mr. Jinnah would persuade the
Muslim League Working Committee to endorse a resolution to the effect that the Quit India Movement was in effect
against the Muslims and not against the British. The Nawab said that since such a move, if carried, would serve no-one
except the British and be extremely detrimental for the Muslims, it should be opposed, He then turned to me and said,
"Mr. (G.M.) Syed, don't let any such resolution) be carried because it would be extremely inappropriate at this stage.
The Nawab then told us that the Congress leaders wanted to meet us. However since all male leaders were in jail, Mrs.
Krishna Hutheesingh, Mirdula Sarabai and Khurshid Bar Dadabhai Nauroji wanted to see us and that we should agree
to do so. We accepted the Nawab's advice and attended a lunch hosted the following day by Mirdula Sarabai. The ladies
gathered there told us that the Congress was willing to accept the Muslim League demand that there should be free and
autonomous Muslim governments in the provinces in which they were in majority. Other demands could also be met
and Mr. Jinnah could work out the modalities in consultation with Mr. Raj gopal achari. And, if possible, he (Mr.
Jinnah) could meet Gandhi for a personal assurance in the matter. They asked us to keep trying to prevent the passage of
the proposed anti-Quit India resolution that Mr. Jinnah wanted moved at the behest of the Viceroy. We undertook to
make every effort to abort the move.
In spite of my differences with the Congress, I felt as a progressive Muslim that if there were an agreement between the
Muslim League and the Congress, the alien rulers would dare not harass the people who were struggling for
independence in the manner in which they had been doing.
The All India Muslim League Working Committee met at Mr. Jinnah's Mount Pleasant residence on August 16, 1942.
Mr. Jinnah presented the resolution against the Quit India call as he had pledged to the Viceroy to do. Speaking against
the resolution, I said that it would be highly improper for us to regard that the Congress Quit India Resolution that was
part of its independent struggle was against the Muslims. I added that since the Congress wanted the British to leave
India. We should not torpedo its struggle against imperialism by endorsing the proposed resolution because this would
close the doors on any future League-Congress settlement.
Mr. Jinnah reacted angrily to this. It was not possible to negotiate any settlement with Congress, he said. At this, I
proposed an amendment to the effect that we should hold talks with the Congress and if it accepted our terms, we should
enter into an agreement with it but if it didn't, we would be free to pass any resolution. A one-sided resolution would not
be appropriate, I said. Mr. Ayub Khuhro supported me, as did the Raja Sahib of Mohmoodabad. Mr. Jinnah at which
he walked out in protest snubbed the latter. Hasan Isphahani was also not allowed to speak nor was Nawab Ismail
The Case of Sindh 20
Khan. My proposed amendment was shot down and the resolution was carried as moved but with a note of dissent by
me. The full text of the resolution successfully moved by Mr. Jinnah, (Appendix 2) would show how the Quaid-e-Azam
of the Muslims of India sabotaged the independence struggle and how he played into the hands of the British
imperialists.
The proceedings of the Muslim League Working Committee meeting left me heart-broken but I did not lose courage. I
continued to think, as did some of my Communist friends such as Syed Sajjad Zaheer, Dange and Comrade Ashraf, that
the Muslim League could be put on course despite all the faults of its High Command. "So, I continued to work as a
leader of the Sindh Muslim League. I persisted with my efforts for party reform and for the betterment of the Muslims.
In this regard, I moved a historic resolution, which was passed by the Sindh Assembly on March 3, 1943. This was the
time when Allah Box Soomro, an important Congress supporter, had been dismissed' from the Cabinet, and Congress
leaders who were members of the Assembly were in jail because of their participation in the Quit India Movement.
Those of them not arrested were not members of the House. The text of the resolution and the speech I made on the
occasion can be seen in Appendix 3.
This resolution had the support of all Muslim members present in the House. Khan Bahadur Allah Box was not present
in Karachi. Two Hindu Ministers and a parliamentary secretary voted against it while the independent Hindu members
walked out in protest. It may be recalled here that Khan Bahadur Ayub Khuhro had become the Acting President of the
Sindh Muslim League after the death of Sir Haji Abdullah Haroon. When Khuhro became Revenue Minister, some
progressive workers of the League wanted to make the party truly representative of the rights and aspirations of the
people. It was felt that it was necessary to keep the functioning of the League independent of the influence of the
Ministry and make the League Ministers answerable to the party.
Contrary to our wishes, Khan Bahadur Ayub Khuhro, the Acting League President, did not leave the Ministry. As
election time for the League offices approached in 1943 differences between the progressive and conservative groups of
the party deepened. The Progressives were working under the leadership of Shaikh Abdul Majid Sindhi. To sort out
these differences, we attended the meeting of the All India Muslim League Working Committee on April 23, 1943, in
Delhi and complained about the anti people steps of the Ministry. However, Mr. Jinnah paid no attention to these
complaints but said that he would look into them when he visited Sindh.
On our return from Delhi, a great tragedy occurred in the martyrdom of Allah Box Soomro. I had several differences
with him but he was a patriotic Sindhi politician and a true son of the soil whom, unfortunately, I couldn't fathom while
he lived. Shaheed Allah Bux was a strong-willed and able politician and a true friend. In 1942, he renounced his titles of
Khan Bahadur and OBE in a letter he wrote to the Viceroy on September 26. He was punished for this by being
dismissed as Prime Minister and a new Muslim League Ministry, headed by Sir Ghulam Hussain Hidayatullah was
formed. Excerpts from Shaheed Allah Bux's letter to the Viceroy are being reproduced here:
"I have come to the conclusion that in view of the public opinion prevailing in the country, I cannot keep the titles given
to me by the British Government. I have decided, therefore, to return them. The Indians have been struggling for
freedom for quite some time. After the start of the War, it was being hoped that on the basis of the principles, for which
the Allies were fighting the forces of fascism, India would be freed and allowed the privilege to take part in the War
independently. This was not done. It is my firm belief that the Indians have the right to independence. Recent statements
by the British Government indicate that by creating hurdles in the way of a settlement among various Indian political
parties, the British want to maintain their imperial stranglehold over India, The latest speech made in the House of
Commons by the Prime Minister, Mr. Winston Churchill, has gravely disappointed concerned and nationalistic circles
in India. It clearly shows that the British have no intention of granting freedom to India. Therefore, I cannot keep titles
given to me by such a Government and am, therefore, returning them.'
The Case of Sindh 21
The Khan Bahadur was a nationalist. The views expressed by him while presiding over the Muslim Azad Conference in
Delhi on April 10, 1940, is now part of history. In addition, I want to put the record straight and I consider it necessary
to reproduce parts of the dialogue he had with me. I in answer to the questions put these to him.
Q 1: What differences do you have with Mr. Jinnah?
Q 2: What do you think about a Congress-Muslim League agreement?
Answer to Q 1: "Mr. Jinnah's view that the country should be divided because the Muslims are a separate nation on the
basis of religion is not acceptable to me because this ideology is UN-Islamic, archaic and against all modern principles of
nationalism.'
Answer to Q 2: 'The Congress and the Muslim League are both all-India Parties, Joining them would be detrimental to
the separate identity and interests of Sindh. The Sindhis have attained separation from Bombay with great difficulty,
Now they should not do anything, which ends Sindh's autonomy. G.M. Syed, you still think that the creation of
Pakistan will solve all problems facing Sindh? This is wrong and far removed from facts. You will get to know that our
difficulties will begin after Pakistan has come into being. If You read the presidential address delivered by Dr. Shaikh
Mohammed lqbal at the Allahabad session of the Muslim League in 1930 with any degree of care, you will discover that
he wants to end Sindh's freedom and make it subservient to the Punjab. At present, the Hindu trader and moneylender's
plunder is worrying you but later you will have to face the Punjabi bureaucracy and soldiery and the mind of U.P. Then
you will know whether the partition of India was good or bad. You live in a dream world about the 1940 Resolution.
That is why you are ignorant of the practicalities of politics. In practical politics, there is little room for promises,
resolutions and principles. Read history and you will find that religious edicts and agreements among governments, have
been often sacrificed at the altar of power, facts, individual and group interests and local situations, requirements and
considerations. The Pakistan for which you keep worrying day and night will, at a later stage, become a headache for
you. It will pose a threat to Sindhi independence, Indian unity and the peace and progress of Asian nations, After the
creation of this aberration, you will have to struggle to fight its concomitant evils."
The causes of Allah Bux's martyrdom are not known. Some people think the Hors were responsible while the others feel
the deed was born out of the Muslim League's policy of vindictiveness. Soon afterwards (in June 1943), 1 was
unanimously elected President of the Sindh Muslim League in the presence of Mr. Jinnah. It was an office held in an
acting capacity for quite some time by Khan Bahadur Ayub Khuhro after Haji Abdullah Haroon's death. Although I
was an active worker of the Muslim League, I tried not to accept the office. I was reluctant because the Muslim League
preferred to cling to office instead of working for the welfare of the people. Nevertheless, I accepted the office at Mr.
Jinnah's insistence and tried to make the ministers answerable to the party and take the League out of the influence of
the conservatives and let the Progressives who wanted to serve the people take over control. I waged a protracted
struggle to achieve this end and I continued to apprise Mr. Jinnah of the Ministry's corruption and shortcomings i6
letters and reports and often in person. But all this was fruitless. All these ills were rooted in the mental make-up of the
Muslim League High Command and, therefore, there was no remedy for them. Public opinion, democratic decisions
and the submissions of the Sindh league's leadership had no impact on the party High Command which was quite
dictatorial in nature despite all this, I continued to improve the party with the help of my friends. Impressed by my
efforts and concerned at the League attitude, my friend Pir Ali Mohammed Rashdi wrote me an impassioned letter from
Delhi on November 15, 1943, parts of which are being presented here:
"Consider the ideas you had in 1938 and decide whether six years later you are fighting for the same high ideals or
whether you have been driven away from them. You had embarked on your political career to free the poor from the
stranglehold of the oppressors, to cleanse the Muslim community and to put it on the road to progress, to save the rural
The Case of Sindh 22
populace from the rigors and flaws of law, to secure a reduction in land revenue and to fight bureaucratic corruption and
pomp. Recall your writings and speeches of these days and you will realize that
(the path you are treading leads to Turkistan).
Forgive me if I remind you where you have reached after six years of rigorous effort. Have you not made yourself an
instrument of the very forces of evil the extermination of which you had made the sole objective of your life? After all,
what is your Position in the provincial politics?
You have been put in the position where you are so that they (the oppressors can achieve their objectives while you get
them into power by singing their praises in public and overriding the objectives you had set for yourself in 1938. They
will indulge in corruption and all manner of wrongdoing while you give them cover and hide their misdeeds from the
public eye, and have to continue proving that they are nice public servants.
"All this is being done under cover of Muslim unity and solidarity and Pakistan as if Islam means that parties should be
set up in its name and then converted into dens of depravity. Islam is being used as a haven for exploiters. If you don't
mind, let me tell you I have seen the efforts you have made but I am afraid that at this moment you are not serving the
cause of the Muslims but are strengthening their enemies. You have abandoned your principles. If the Muslim League is
going to entrust the protection of our rights to these men (Ministers) who are the enemies of the people, It would be
futile to expect anything to happen in our lifetime..... If Pakistan is the best (solution) it will not be secured through evil.
Good is never born out of evil. It is my sincere advice to you that if you have lost the will to secure the aims and
objectives you had set for yourself in 1938, don't make yourself a tool for these to be subverted. Everything you do must
be done in the light of the political standards you had set for yourself in 1938. Anything below these standards should be
resisted manfully. Why shouldn't all your friends abandon you in this contest so that you are left alone? Even if the
whole world prevents you from following your high principles, you should stand up and give it a fight. No matter at
what stage they are now, the traditionalists will be nowhere in a year or two.."¦ I have reviewed your political
performance over the last two years. It is falling steeply. Moreover, from being a revolutionary and a defender of the
civilization and culture of Sindh, you have become a tool in the hands of the corrupt and the conservatives.
"Don't pride yourself on your new and colorful robes or your presidency (of the League), but hark and think for a
moment that the very thing you were opposed to you are helping in the name of Islam! These thieves have appointed
you the so-called president of their party. It was but a petty price to pay to buy off your conscience. I wonder how your
conscience has been clouded over by unreason. I have been suffering from a serious heart ailment for some time now
and I can die any moment. That is why I have written you this letter to take it all off my chest. The way you have chosen
for yourself, you may also die heartbroken one day. The epitaph on your grave will read:
'Here lies a man who tried
Who wanted good out of evil
He started off as a revolutionary
But ended up as an extreme reactionary
And whose struggle in national affairs created confusion
The Case of Sindh 23
Rather than improvement'
This letter is from a close friend of 28 years standing, Pir Ali Mohammed Rashdi, who had warned me after a careful
study and understanding of the Muslim League's policies. His warning had impressed me a great deal but I was still
determined to improve the party and turn it into one geared to the service of the people. Therefore, I did not attach too
much importance to the letter and continued with my organizational work.
Soon afterwards, a meeting of the All India Muslim League was held in Karachi in a gorgeous manner after months of
tireless efforts. It proved to be the last meeting of its kind. Sindh's traditional hospitality was fully on display; and
organizationally, the meeting was a great success. The Muslim League meetings so long had in a way subsisted on
Nawab Bahadur Yar Jang's speeches. When he clod sometime later, the All India Muslim League died with him.
The Karachi meeting appointed an action committee. Nawab Ismail Khan with Liaquat Ali Khan as secretary headed it.
I was one of its members. Others included Nawab lftikhar Hussain Mamdot, Seth Abdus Sattar of Madras and Qazi
Mohammed Isa. Meeting on February 2, 1944, this Committee appointed another committee on which several leaders
from all over India was co-opted. They included Chaudhry KhaliQuzzaman, Maulana Abdul Wahab, Jamal Mian
Farangi Mehli, Maulana Abdul Hamid Badayuni, Haji Syed Ali Akbar Shah, Maulana Ghulam Murshed, (Khatib,
Jamia Masjid), Lahore, Allama I.I. Qazi, Raja Sahib Mahmudabad and Maulana Akram Khan (Bengal). This
committee was asked to define and determine how true Islamic spirit could be enkindled among Muslims and how
Muslim society could be cleansed of UN-Islamic customs and influences.
I prepared a questionnaire and a covering letter for eliciting opinions on the task assigned to the committee and had the
same circulated to the best ulema all over India through the provincial branches of the Muslim League.
Questionnaire:
On what basis and in the light of what Islamic injunctions can the social, political and economic life of the Muslims will
be transformed?
a. Please give such suggestions as can bring Muslims belonging to different sects to a single platform so that they
can become one united nation.
b. Please give a plan for attaining the progress and prosperity of the Muslim society in the light of Islamic
principles.
c. Do you think that politics and religion can go hand in hand with each other? If they can, please explain how.
d. Please give a scheme for the social, cultural and educational uplift of the Muslims in the light of Islamic tenets.
e. Outline a plan for bringing the religious institutions, charities, auqaf (trusts) and other means of income
belonging to various sects under one central system without creating a clash among different schools of thought.
We sent this questionnaire to the following ulema and leaders, for favor of response:
1. His Highness Sir Agha Khan (Ismaili leader)
2. Syedna Saifuddin Tahir (Bohra community)
3. Allama Inayatullah Khan Mashriqi (Khaksar Tehrik)
4. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad
5. Khwaja Hasan Nizami
The Case of Sindh 24
6. Maulana Hussain Ahmad Madani
7. Muslim professors of philosophy in various colleges
8. Members of the Committee
9. Administrators of important Arabic Madrassahs and the khatibs of Jamia Masjid.
We received several useful suggestions in response but Alas; there was no room for them in the counsels of the League
because it was a party of a power-hungry coterie, which wanted to perpetuate self-interest in the name of Islam. The
reconstruction of the Muslim society on the basis of these suggestions was against their class interests.
While I was deep in the quagmire of the provincial Muslim League's politics, my old colleague and excellent politician,
Shaikh Abdul Majid Sindhi, sick of the goings-on in the Muslim League, resigned from the primary membership of the
party. This put the entire burden of leading the sincere and progressive workers of the party on me. All this while the
ministers and assembly members remained busy with their capricious and anti-people activities. I spent the whole year of
19 44 in reorganization work but I could not succeed in mending matters. Nor did the League High Command pay any
heed to my repeated reminders.
However, I did not consider it expedient to withdraw from the Muslim League because that would have made the party
a hand maiden of the opportunists and the anti-people elements and they would have used it pretty much as they
pleased. I had the full support for all that I was doing of the sincere and selfless party workers not only in Sindh but also
from all over the sub-continent. Therefore, I didn't lose hope. Differences between the Sindh Muslim League and the
Ministry had deepened but because of my lack of experience and naiveté, I was under the impression that if these
matters were brought to Mr. Jinnah's notice in a person-to-person meeting, he would take the necessary remedial steps. I
kept on apprising him of the situation in quarterly reports.
On July 28, 1944, a delegation of the Sindh Assembly Party and the Provincial Working Committee of the League
wanted to call on Mr. Jinnah at Lahore. I was asked to seek an appointment. Mr. Jinnah refused to meet the delegation.
He asked me to present the delegation's point of view to him. I was, therefore, obliged to work as the delegation's
spokesman. I apprised him in detail of the grievances we had against the Ministry. Mr. Jinnah said the War was on and
the Prime Minister of Sindh was in the good books of the British and that the Muslim League Ministries were
functioning with the help of the British bureaucracy. It would be expedient under the circumstances, therefore, to
tolerate the Ministers' acts of omission and commission. I was also told that the Ministry was answerable only to the
party's Central High Command and the provincial wing of the League should not interfere in its working. The Ministry
should be kept intact under all circumstances. At this I told him I was not willing to accept this nor would the majority
of the Muslim League in Sindh and the conscientious elements in the Assembly party do so. At this Mr. Jinnah lost his
temper and said he was not willing to listen to this kind of talk.
I told Mr. Jinnah that I had brought the Sindh case to him hoping for justice but I was sorry to point out that I had not
presented the case to an impartial judge but to Sir Ghulam Hussain's defense counsel. This incensed Mr. Jinnah and he
asked me to apologize for using such disrespectful language. I refused to do so and he left the room angrily. I apprised
the delegation of the situation. Members of the team were greatly annoyed and expressed their willingness to leave the
Muslim League. However, I told them that it would be precipitate to do so and will harm the struggle for the
achievement of Pakistan.
It was under these circumstances that the year 1945 began. The War ended and the British authorized the Viceroy, Lord
Wavell, to set up an interim government and to arrive at a settlement with the Indian leadership. Accordingly, he
summoned a conference of Indian leaders in Simla on June 2 5. Earlier on June 15, several leaders of the Congress
The Case of Sindh 25
Working Committee were released. On June 14, Lord Wavell issued an important statement that is being excerpted
here:
The British Government awaits a settlement with the Indians on a new constitution. The Government has no desire to
impose a constitution of its own and wants no changes in it except a rapprochement among the various communities in
India. However, the Government intends to present certain proposals for an interim acceptance by the leading parties.
"It is proposed that the Viceroy should reconstitute his Executive Council on which Hindus and Muslims from amongst
the important parties should have equal representation. In this regard, the Viceroy has summoned an all parties'
conference. The Executive Council shall be reconstituted in consultation with them. Except for the Viceroy and the
commander-in-chief, all other members of the Council shall be Indians....."
To consider these proposals, the Congress and the Muslim League held meetings of their Working Committees in Simla.
Since I was a member of the League Working Committee, 1, too, had to go to Simla. I took Pir Ali Mohammed Rashdi,
Yusuf Haroon and Shaikh Abdul Majid Sindhi along with me so that I could benefit from their advice.
The following important leaders attended the Simla conference:
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, President, All India Congress.
Mr. B.N. Bannerjee, Nationalist Party.
Mr. Bhola Bhai Desai, Leader of the Congress Assembly Party.
Sir Ghulam Hussain, Prime Minister of Sindh.
Mr. Hussain Imam, Leader of the Muslim Council of States.
Mr. Mohammed Ali Jinnah, President, All India Muslim League.
Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan, Deputy Leader, Muslim League.
Sir Khizar Hayat Tiwana, Prime Minister of the Punjab.
Mr. B.G. Khere, former Prime Minister of Bombay.
Mr. G.S. Moti Lal, All India Congress.
Khwaja Nazimuddin, ex-Prime Minister, Bengal.
Pundit G.B. Pant, ex-Prime Minister, U.P
Maharaja Parlkandi, ex-Prime Minister, Orissa.
Mr. Rajagopalachari, ex-Prime Minister, Madras.
Mr. Henry Richardson, leader of the European Group.
Sir Syed Mohammed Saadullah, Prime Minister of Assam.
Dr. Khan Sahib, Prime Minister of the NWFP. Mr. R.S. Shukla, Prime Minister, U.P.
Master Tara Singh, leader of the Sikh Akali Dal. Mr. S.K. Sinha, ex Prime Minister, Bihar.
Mr. N.G. Shivraj, leader of the Scheduled Castes.
The Case of Sindh 26
Several meetings were held in which the British Government proposed that until the election of a constituent assembly
for an independent India, there should be an interim administration on which the Muslims and the Hindus should have
equal representation but should have European, Scheduled Castes and other members. Mr. Asif Ali and Pundit Pant told
me that Mr. Jinnah was trying to sabotage the interim government idea at the behest of the British. The British
contemplated the induction of five members each from the Congress and the Muslim League into the interim cabinet but
Mr. Jinnah insisted that the Congress should not nominate any Muslim to the cabinet out of its quota because it
represented only the Hindus. Only the League should have the right to do so because it was the only party, which
represented the Muslims. In spite of the fact that there were no Muslim League governments in Bengal, the NWFP and
the Punjab, Mr. Jinnah stood his ground. 130th Asif Ali and Pundit Pant thought that Mr. Jinnah's opposition to
Muslims being nominated to the interim government by the Congress was neither just nor principled. They said that the
Congress was nationals party whose President, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad himself was a Muslim. Therefore, failure to
reach a settlement on the issue would jeopardize the interests of an independent India. Mr. Jinnah was in constant
consultation with a so-called Working Committee of the Muslim League. However, he kept the Committee in the dark
about what transpired between him and the Viceroy and between him and the Congress. Nawab Ismail Khan, Chaudhry
KhaliQuzzaman and the Raja Sahib of Mohmoodabad had already had discussions on the issue with Mr. Jinnah but
had failed to bring him round. When I told Mr. Jinnah that the talks were about to breakdown because he was not
willing to come to terms with the Congress and that whether the Congress nominated Hindus or Muslims to the interim
government was its internal matter, Mr. Jinnah lost his temper. He said he wanted to prove that the Congress
represented only the Hindus. While we were discussing the issue, Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan walked in. Mr. Jinnah
told him that the Raja Sabah of Mohmoodabad and G.M. Syed were trying to force him to arrive at a settlement with
the Congress. Liaquat Ali Khan told Mr. Jinnah that my (G.M. Syed's) policies were becoming more and more
intolerable, There and then Ghulam Hussain Hidayatullah too complained about me, at which Mr. Jinnah told me
angrily that my attitude had become unacceptable and that it would be better if we parted company.
In short, Mr. Jinnah was adamant on wrecking a Congress-Muslim League settlement. The Muslim League Working
Committee met the following day to consider a reduction in the powers of the provincial leadership 6, the party and to
give greater authority to the All India League. I opposed the move because it was palpably against the principle of
provincial autonomy for which we were fighting. I said any decision in this regard would not be acceptable and if it were
forced on us, we would leave the Party. When Liaquat Ali Khan told all this to Mr. Jinnah, he said bitterly that time had
arrived for a parting of the ways. I replied that if he felt so, I was ready to go my own way. Thus the differences between
us went on increasing, but being simple and inexperienced at the time, I could not then decide to leave the League,
otherwise I would not have let myself to be later answerable to myself for plunging yet further into difficulties. Anyhow,
the Simla Conference failed because of Mr. Jinnah's pro-British policies. The Congress President, Maulana Abul Kalam
Azad publicly held the Muslim League responsible for the breakdown. Mr. Jinnah was demanding the right to nominate
Muslims to the interim government for the League, which, if ceded by the Congress, would have turned it into a non-
Muslim Organization in violation of its 50-year traditions. Azad said he himself was a Muslim and he could not accept
Mr. Jinnah's demand while being in the Congress.
The next important development after the failure of the Simla Conference was Mr. Churchill's defeat in the British
general elections. The Conservatives were ousted from power and Clement Attlee of the Labor Party formed the new
government. The Viceroy of India left for Britain to hold talks with the new administration on the future of the subcontinent.
Before leaving, he had a meeting with all provincial governors and announced that elections to the provincial
assemblies would be held in 1946. He left for England on August 24, 1945 for detailed discussions with the British
Government. It was decided that the Indian leaders would be consulted on a new constitution for India after the
elections. The Viceroy returned to India on September 16 and issued the following statement on the 19th:
The Case of Sindh 27
While inaugurating the new Parliament, His Majesty the King Emperor had announced that autonomous governments
would be established as soon as possible in India in consultation with the Indians themselves. I have had detailed
discussions on the issue with the British Government during my stay in London. I have already announced that elections
will be held during the winter, after which, the British Government hopes, the winning parties will accept ministerial
responsibilities in all the provinces. The British Government has decided that a constituent assembly is established as
soon as possible. I have been authorized to solicit the provincial representatives' views after the elections as to whether
the 1942 proposals made by the Government or any other amended formula is acceptable to them or not. Talks shall
also he held with the representatives of the Indian princely states on the methodology of their participation in the
constituent assembly. The British Government is working out an accord, which will be signed between it and the
government of India. For the time being the Government of India will continue to function as it is doing at present, and
work for the social and economic uplift of the country will go on.
"Later, India will have to participate in international affairs. I have been authorized by His Majesty's Government to
constitute an Executive Council with the support of all parties after the elections to run the affairs of State. The new
British Government has taken in hand the India Question in spite of the fact that it is faced with grave problems, This
shows its resolve to solve the India Question as soon as possible. The task of constitution making will be extremely
intricate and difficult. All parties must address it coolly and sympathetically. After the elections, talks will be held with
the Indian leaders as to what shape to give to the constituent assembly. The best thing to do would be to give them an
opportunity to decide their own future. The British Government and the Viceroy are well aware of the obstacles in the
way. However, they are determined to find a permanent solution for the problem."
The same day, Prime Minister Attlee also said in a radio speech that although he knew that the Cripps proposals would
not be acceptable to the Indian Political parties, his Government was determined to move ahead on the basis of these
proposals He assured that the settlement between Britain and India would include nothing detrimental to the interests of
the latter, He appealed to the Indian leaders to gather together and work out a constitution acceptable to all.
The Working Committee of the All India Congress, meeting in Bombay on September 23, 1945, Passed a resolution,
declaring that Lord Wavell's proposals were unsatisfactory and that nothing short of complete independence would be
acceptable to the Indians. However, the meeting decided to take part in the elections and all parties started making
preparations for the contests. The Congress demanded a new ministerial pattern in the provinces in which it was in
majority but could not succeed because of opposition from the Muslim League and the governors,
The Muslim League wanted to fight the elections on its demand for Pakistan. Therefore, its High Command decided, at
the behest of Mr. Jinnah, that independent, progressive and broadminded party candidates should not be allowed to be
returned to the assemblies. It was urged that if the League decided that all Muslims should vote for even an electric pole,
all of them should vote for it. Discerning politicians didn't take long to foresee the way the wind was blowing, It was
apparent that sycophants would gain advantages for themselves in the Muslim majority areas where the League would
be helped by the British. Sensing this, many Muslims in the Congress joined the League. Prominent among such people
was Khan Abdul Qayum Khan. In Sindh, a group in the League, because of its naiveté, could not decide to leave the
party. Even so, its members refused to play yes-men to the party High Command, which is to say, Mr. Jinnah. It
decided, however, to stay back in the Muslim League for the sake of achieving Pakistan.
Towards the end of August 1945, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad presented a plan for resolving the communal issue. Some
of the important points of the Azad plan were:
1. Efforts should not be made to establish a unitary form of government.
2. Partition of the country would be against the interests of the Muslims.
The Case of Sindh 28
3. The future set-up should be federal in nature with the center having only those powers that the provinces were
willing to cede to it. The provinces' right to self-determination should be recognized.
4. Muslims should be given representation equal to that of the Hindus in the central assembly and the Executive
Council until such time as communalism existed and this parity should continue until political parties begin to
work as political parties.
5. A convention should be established under which the head of the Federation should be a Hindu for one term and
a Muslim for the next. If the Muslims are convinced that no decisions would he foisted on them by the majority
community, they might, in time, stop thinking in terms of partition and begin to realize that their interests lie in
a united India. Once power was transferred to the Indians, economic, political and regional problems would
relegate communal issues to the background.
I do not know how did the Congress Working Committee react to these proposals. However, as usual, it pissed a
resolution in favor of a united India in September 1945. The only addition in the resolution was that while every effort
would be made to establish a strong central government, no Province would be forced to join the center against ifs will,
The resolution also proposed that instead of working for a settlement with the Muslim League. It would be more
Profitable if direct contact was made with the Muslim masses.
Elections were held towards the end of the year for the Central Assembly. Congress secured 19.3 Percent of the non-
Muslim votes while the Muslim League won 36.6 patient Of the Muslim votes, Out of a total of 102 seats, the Congress
won 57, the Muslim League bagged 30. There were five independents, two Akali Sikhs and eight Europeans.
A look here at the scene in Sindh would be in order. Having reorganized the Muslim League, we held elections to
Provincial offices of the party on June 3-4, 1945. 1 was reelected President. The resolutions passed at the time included
one condemning interference in the affairs of the provincial League by the central party. I had already earned Mr.
Jinnah's ire by bringing this matter to his notice during the Simla Conference. However, it was time now to constitute a
new parliamentary board so that the party could take part in the provincial assembly elections. It was decided to put up
progressive candidates since the constituent assembly was about to come into being and we had to have only such people
elected who could give the new country, Pakistan, a clean and honest leadership.
The ministerial group opposed all this and invited Mr. Jinnah to Sindh. He asked me to reconstitute the parliamentary
board in a manner in which the ministerial group could gain a majority in it. Important members of the assembly
strongly opposed this move. However, partly because of the weaknesses of some Sindhi feudals and partly because of my
commitment to Mr. Jinnah, I persuaded the Provincial Muslim League to pass a resolution giving the ministerial group
four out of the seven seats on the parliamentary board. Thus it was that, on our own, we made the party that much
subservient to the cabinet.
When the time came to award party tickets towards the end of the year, the ministerial group began patronizing its
toadies. Al this, the provincial party revolted, The Ministers called Mr. Jinnah to their rescue. The latter asked us to
surrender the award of party tickets to the Central Parliamentary Board. We were beginning now to lose faith in the
central leaders, especially the High Command and Mr. Jinnah. Therefore, I refused to obey Mr. Jinnah because had I
done his bidding, it would have meant trampling underfoot the rights of the people. It would also have meant sacrificing
the future of Sindh at the altar of All India interests at a time when our hopes for a better tomorrow were about to come
true.
Apart from this, I was among the leaders of the progressive elements in the party who had made untold sacrifices in the
hope that the awakened masses would transform the League and that it would never go back to its bad old ways. I
convened a meeting of the provincial party on October 14, 1945, where great fervor was shown for this point of view.
The Case of Sindh 29
The meeting appealed to the Central Parliamentary Board that party tickets in Sindh should be awarded in consultation
with G.M. Syed, Khair Shah, Agha Ghulam Nabi Pathan, Syed Mohammed Ali Shah and Rais Ghulam Mustafa
Bhurgri.
When Mr. Jinnah came to Karachi and stayed at Sir Ghulam Husain's bungalow, I apprised him of the provincial
party's resolution. He was greatly annoyed and said the meeting that had passed the resolution consisted of irrelevant
people who had nothing to do with the issue at hand. I felt that the time had come to go my own way. I had been sailing
on two boats for a long time and was under great mental strain,
On the one side was a man whom I had regarded at one time as the Quaid-e-Azam and a guardian of the future of the
Muslims and at the wrong news of whose death I had cried myself into a swoon, On the other side, was my love for
Sindh, my country, where I was born and brought up and where twenty generations of my family lay buried and for
whose independence and prosperity, thousands of men of piety and commitment had sacrificed their lives.
During this internal struggle, I became convinced that I would have to choose between the two. After Jinnah's
dictatorial attitude, it was my duty to express my dissent and rebel. I wish to make it clear here that these conferences
were not between two personalities, as is generally thought, but a conflict between two distinct political points of view.
The President of the All India Muslim League had complete disregard for the interests of Sindh. It was for him to order
and for the others to obey. I refused thus to obey him. At this, Jinnah Sahib asked me in cold anger to reconsider my
views because I had no realization of the consequences of my stance. I told him that I had been thinking things over for
two years and I knew fully well what I was doing. My first loyalty was for the provincial Muslim League Party without
whose permission I would endorse no decision taken by anyone. Jinnah Sahib said my refusal amounted to a violation
of party discipline and asked me once again to review my decision and consider its repercussions. I thanked him but
reminded him that during our last meeting, he had talked of the possibility of a parting of the ways. Now, after due
consideration, I had reached the conclusion that it would not be possible for me to renege on the provincial council of
the party and accept the one-sided decision of the League's Central Parliamentary Board. Jinnah Sahib thought that
since the provincial party was a branch of the All India Muslim League, it was subservient to the latter and had no
independent status. I was not willing to accept this position for Sindh.
It was tinder these circumstances that I thought it advisable to take the Sindh Muslim League out of the central party in
order to protect the interests of the people of the province. My last meeting with the League President was a testing and
challenging occasion for me; I was pitted against the power and glory of office. Not only the League High Command, I
was also earning the ire of hundreds of thousands of Muslims. But I decided to face all this. Mr. Jinnah had left me with
but two options: unconditional obedience or separation. I opted for the latter course. As a last warning, Mr. Jinnah sent
me a list of candidates approved by the League High Command and asked me to support them. I refused to do so and
decided to explain my standpoint through the Press. Accordingly, I issued a lengthy Press statement on October 28, 1
945, in which I explained my differences with Sir Ghulam Hussain Hidayatuilah's Ministry and the Central High
Command. A summary of this statement is being reproduced here. Newspapers published this summary or concise
version on October 29- 30, 1945. I had started that -The Quaid-i-Azam's Press statement of October 27 has made it
incumbent upon me to place a few facts before the people. The coming elections were vital for the future of a hundred
million Muslims of India and the prosperity of the people of Sindh. Any misunderstanding on these two issues at this
stage would have grave consequences. I thought it necessary to explain that so far as the Muslim League's claim that it
represented the hundred million Muslims of India was concerned, there could tie no two opinions. We were also
wedded to the arms and objectives of the party and would go along with it to the last and make whatever sacrifices were
required of us. However, so far as the elections in Sindh were concerned, it was necessary to narrate the causes, which
had led to the impasse.
The Case of Sindh 30
The Case of Sindh 31
The conditions in Sindh
None of those who knew even a little about Sindh could deny the fact that the legislators returned to the provincial
Assembly in 1937 were not suitable for the task either from the point of view of social welfare, administrative probity,
moral rectitude or loyalty to the Muslim League, there was nothing new in it for me. I did not come to that realization
because the Central Parliamentary Board had not given party tickets to some of my special friends. The fact was that
during the eight years past, not only myself but also every Sindhi had been pained at the situation in the Province. I
present here a portion of the letter I had then written to the Quaid-e-Azam:
""¦ It may be seen that the plaint we are mating and the anxiety that has been created in us is neither recent nor born of
personal reasons.
"The Corruption and repression that is rampant have Proved that the present Ministry has become a constant menace
for, and an intolerable burden on the people of Sindh. Anyone, who questions the veracity of this charge, can himself
look into the state of affairs on behalf of the League. It is unfortunate for the people of Sindh that those sent here by the
League High Command (to probe things) have never taken the trouble to visit the interior of the province. Nor have they
tried to find out what are the feelings of the people there about the Ministry. They just come to Karachi and, therefore,
their knowledge of Sindh is limited to that city. The Cabinet is corrupt and so are people serving in top positions. The
subordinate bureaucracy is also following in their footsteps. People have to spend millions of rupees every year in order
to meet the ever-increasing demands of those running the government machinery. The other evils born of graft need not
detain us here.
"The situation in the countryside is alarming. There is no law and order and the people, especially the Muslims have lost
all hope. The syndicate created to control wheat prices has created disaffection among the growers who have already
been ruined by the exorbitant rates of abiana (water charges). All this is in violation of the promises the League had made
to the people and has created a general feeling of hatred for the party. The government's policy towards the bureaucracy
is so weak that the latter has gone berserk. People feel that instead of a representative government, some ancient tyrant is
ruling them. The Cabinet has embarrassed its own supporters. In view of all this, how strong can the party emerge in the
future? Such a government should not be allowed to stay in power another minute.
"I have raised this issue at different forums on several occasions. I apprised Nawab Mohammed Ismail Khan and
Chaudhry KhaliQuzzaman of the situation when the two were last here, Under these circumstances, how can it be said
that the step we have taken after two years is the result of a sudden suspicion or conspiracy? Keeping such a Ministry in
power will result in the loss of prestige for the party which can gain in popularity and prestige only if it works for the
welfare of the Muslims.' "Here I wish to refer to the political behavior of some important people who were favored by
the League's Central Parliamentary Board. The then Prime Minister of Sindh, Sir Ghulam Hussain joined the League in
1938 and left it a year later. Not only that. He issued statements against the party and Pakistan itself. When the Sindh
Governor dismissed the late Mr. Allah Bux in 1942, Sir Ghulam Hussain realized that it would he difficult for him to
become Prime Minister without joining the Muslim League. He did so accordingly. In spite of being a Leaguer, he had
Khan Bahadur Maula Bux Soomro elected from the Shikarpur constituency and made him Revenue Minister and
removed him only when we accepted his terms. Likewise, Khan Bahadur Mir Ghulam Ali Talpur and Pir Illahi Bux
kept shuttling in and out of the party. It is an open secret that when the Hindus of Hyderabad offered Mir Talpur the
presidency of the District Local Board, he left the League for the sake of that petty office. It is significant that the Central
Parliamentary Board should have given tickets to these gentlemen and their supporters some among whom were not
even paying members of the part. Some had joined the party only a month or so ago, some had always betrayed the
League and there were others who came in because they had things to hide from the people. Some were totally illiterate.
The Case of Sindh - G.M. Syed's
deposition in court (Part 3)
The Case of Sindh 32
On the other hand, those ignored had always been loyal to the party, had been helping it or were highly educated and
were greatly popular.
"It may be recalled here that whenever we protested against the situation in Sindh, we were assured by the central party
that the best candidates would be chosen for the Sindh Assembly for the new elections. Pinning its hopes on this
assurance the Muslim League Council, Sindh hall, appointed members of its choice on the provincial parliamentary
Board at its annual meeting in 1945. When the Quaid visited Karachi in August that year, Khan Bahadur Mr. Ghulam
Ali Talpur, Khan Bahadur Mohammed Ayub Khuhro and his friends told him that the Parliamentary Board appointed
by the council was not acceptable to them because most of its members had a majority in the Sindh League Council.
They wanted equal representation on the Board.
"Earlier, Mir Ghulam Ali Khan Talpur had created quite a rumpus through his letters and statements and he was aided
and abetted by Ayub Khuhro in his attempt to get not even parity but a majority representation on the Parliamentary
Board. Khan Bahadur Ghulam Ali Khan announced that he would field his candidates under the flag of the Baloch
Party. He also started a campaign against the Muslim League candidates, The Council was of the view that if members
belonging to conflicting groups were put on the Board, electoral work Would not be able to proceed satisfactorily and
the League would not be able to field deserving candidates in the elections. Therefore, when the Quaid came to Karachi,
the above facts were presented to him. The Quaid expressed the opinion that the Board should be reconstituted and the
views of Mir Ghulam Ali Khan Talpur and Khan Bahadur Ayub Khuhro and others be given due consideration. But
these gentlemen wanted that their representation on the Board should be larger than the Council's. This was brought to
the Quaid's notice as well as the difficulties that such a course of action would entail. However, these gentlemen assured
the Quaid that their members would act honestly and justly in the selection of the League's candidates. Accordingly, the
Board was reconstituted under a Council resolution. Mir Ghulam Ali Khan Talpur and Pir Illahi Bux represented the
Council while Khan Bahadur Mohammed Ayub Khuhro represented the Sindh Assembly Muslim League. Thus the
new Board was constituted on the basis of conciliation.
"When the Quaid left Karachi, the Sindh Muslim League President invited applications from prospective candidates and
laid down rules of procedure in consultation with the members of the new Board.
"The new Parliamentary Board was constituted in the hope that it would work impartially. However, no sooner had the
Quaid left Karachi than its members started to indulge in factionalism Mir Ghulam Ali Talpur began making efforts to
get his men returned to the Assembly. He lost no time in contacting Sir Ghulam, Hussain along with others and in
collusion with Pir Illahi Bux and had 'consultations' with him over the nomination of candidates. It was also decided to
help Shahmir Khan Kachi against the President of the Sindh Muslim League in his bid for election to the provincial
Assembly. The Makhdoom Sahib of Hala also attended these parleys. He was made to write to all his followers in the
League President's constituency to help the party President's opponents. The Quaid was apprised of this. These
gentlemen also proposed that they should field their own men against some important members of the League who did
not see eye to eye with them.
"Even before the Parliamentary Board had met, the Makhdoom of Hala, Mir Ghulam Ali Talpur, Pir Illahi Bux and
Ayub Khuhro started writing to various people and began working for their own men. Talpur went especially to Nawab
shah to work against Khair Shah who was a member of the Board. Khuhro toured the province together with Yusuf
Haroon and spoke in favor of the latter and Qazi Fazlullah at several meetings. He also wrote to several people, seeking
support for Seth Yusuf Haroon.
"All this happened when the matter of selecting candidates had not yet come up before the Board. Talpur told a meeting
of the Balochis in Karachi that if a Baloch was riot given a party ticket for the Lyari constituency, he would unit the
League, Pir Illahi Bux was party to the plan hatched against G.M. Syed. These gentlemen worked for increasing the rift
The Case of Sindh 33
between the Bhutto and Khuhro 'parties' At the same time, they had changes made in the wards in the Shikarpur
constituency in complicity with Khan Bahadur Maula Bux and to the latter's advantage Likewise, Sir Ghulam Hussain,
using his official Position, had those officials appointed in Sukkur District for whom Khan Bahadur Muala Bux had
requested. Sir Ghulam Hussain also helped Mir Ghulam Ali Talpur in his doings. Secret meetings were held and
factionalism promoted. "The activities of these four gentlemen were found to create doubts in the minds of the
prospective candidates thus pushed against the wall. As many as 25 members of the council moved an application on
October 1, 1945, in which it was demanded that the above facts be presented before an emergent meeting of the Council.
Such grave charges had been leveled against the four gentlemen that the President of the Provincial League adjourned
the meeting of the Parliamentary Board. After the adjournment, these four gentlemen met at the house of Khan Bahadur
Ayub Khuhro where candidates were awarded party tickets in violation of the rules, which had been agreed upon
beforehand. Some of the people thus favored were not even two-Anna members of the League. These four gentlemen,
Sir Ghulam Hussain Hidayatullah, Khan Bahadur Mir Ghulam Ali Talpur, Pir Illahi Box and Khan Bahadur Ayub
Khuhro issued a joint statement to the Press which was published 6y the Daily Gazette in October 1945. They said that
Mr. G.M. Syed's statement had pained them greatly. They alleged that the statement had been made at the behest of
those to whose tune I was dancing. They said I was annoyed because the candidates of my choice had not been awarded
party tickets in Tharparkar and Hyderabad districts by the majority of the Parliamentary Board in whose view they did
not deserve them nor had they any chance of winning! They claimed that they were working only for the candidates who
were likely to win. They alleged that I wanted to get tickets at all cost but when they saw that a good many of the Board
members had stuck to their scruples and were not willing to play their game, they secured a wrong ruling from the
League President. They even floated a canard to score their point against the Sindh League Council that Mr. Rashdi was
leading the Council astray at the behest of forces inimical to the Central League.
"It may be noted here that the Parliamentary Board had set the following criteria for eligibility for awarding tickets:
1. Chances of success.
2. Loyalty to the League and record of national service.
3. Educational qualifications.
4. In case of a tie on the above conditions, preference to be given to one who had been a member of the Assembly
previously.
5. Minimum six months of League membership. This condition was to be ignored if a candidate was an all-India
or all-Sindh personality and if the rival candidate for a ticket did not stand a chance of securing 25 percent of the
votes.
"It was also decided that all decisions taken by the Board should be unanimous. Where this was not possible, the
majority view should prevail, If the vote was 4-3, the decision should be left to the Central Board.
"However, in the first two meetings, these criteria were thrown overboard. This was proved by the decisions taken about
Khan Bahadur Ghulam Mohammed lsran, Mr. Nabi Bux Bhutto and Mr. Allahdino Shah Rashdi.
"The Provincial League Council met on October 14, 1945, and passed a motion of no-confidence against some members
of the Parliamentary Board by 35 votes to 5. The Council also appointed five of its members to advise the Central Board
on matters relating to the elections. They were:
1. Mr. G M Syed.
2. Syed Khair Shah
The Case of Sindh 34
3. Agha Ghulam Ali Khan Pathan
4. Syed Mohammed Ali Shah
5. Mr. Ghulam Mustafa Bhurgari
"Shortly afterwards, I called on the Quaid-e-Azam when he came to Karachi He expressed great displeasure at my
attitude and said he was not prepared to tolerate it. HE said once again that the time for a parting of the ways had
arrived I tried to convince him and apprised him of the Council's sentiments The Quaid said that the Council would not
be allowed to act like 'a herd of cattle'. At this, I said nothing more. "The members of the Central Parliamentary Board
remained in Karachi for 12 days. It was expected that they would consult the five members appointed by the Council,
summon prospective candidates and review the situation generally but they did nothing of the sort. Tickets were
awarded to those, a reference to whom has been made above. In fact, the Central Board endorsed the decisions taken by
the four members of the Provincial Board who had met at a private house to award party tickets. I consider it necessary
to state here that members of the Central Board did not take a step Out of Karachi to ascertain the sentiments of the
ordinary Muslims is of Sindh. The recommendations sent to the Central Board by the five Council members which were
meant to reconcile various factions and groups were also ignored, especially those which were not acceptable to the four
favorites of the Provincial Board.'
"I was summoned by the Quaid and asked whether the decisions taken by the Central Board were acceptable to me.
Since I didn't know what these decisions were, I refused to accept them unless they were endorsed by a majority of the
Provincial Council. At this, I was handed over a sealed envelop containing those decisions Now the question was: were
the decisions taken by the Central Board acceptable to the ordinary Muslims of Sindh and would those selected as
League candidates be able to do anything for the betterment of the. Muslims who were in anguish at the Situation in the
province? I wanted to ascertain the wishes of the Muslims of the province before deciding what to do. But this was not
meant as a parting of the ways. It was in a spirit of combativeness that the provincial Muslim league fielded its
candidates and we got busy with election work. During this period, efforts were made for reconciliation between the
League High Command and us. The Punjab leadership also tried their hand but all efforts failed. I received letters and
telegrams from all over India from league workers and friends. All of them praised my sincerity and service and agreed
that the High Command had been unfair to me but requested that I should bow to the latter unconditionally.
Before filing my nomination papers, there was an agreement between me and Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan and Qazi
Mohammed Isa who both came to Sindh for the purpose. However, when I went to Dadu to file my nomination papers,
I came to know that the Central leadership had canceled tickets of the four members of the progressive group. Only I had
been spared in the group. This action of the High Command brought matters to a head and I resigned from the All India
Muslim League Working Committee and the Committee of Action. Returning my ticket, I issued a statement on
October 16, 1945 in which I explained my decision and defended my position. Excerpts are being presented here:
"Alas, that which I had feared has come to pass. All progressive elements have been eliminated from the list of
candidates approved by the Central Muslim League, including the four originally selected. This has been done in
violation of the pledge given to me by the Chairman of the Central Parliamentary Board and one of its members, Qazi
Isa, that this would not be done. I am convinced that the decision has been taken at the behest of those who want to use
the League to further their own interests. In spite of that, I had agreed to approve the list of the selected candidates in
view of the above pledge and I had also hoped that by doing so, I would be helping to promote unity in the party. But
the action of the central leadership has come as a painful surprise to me. I felt betrayed. The four tickets withdrawn have
been given to those who are not even members of the party of to those who had not even applied for them, How
inappropriate is the central party's decision can be gauged from the fact that a man with a criminal record who is even
now facing trial, has been preferred to a man as talented as Mr. Mohammed Ali Shah.
The Case of Sindh 35
"Everyone knows that I was once a member of the All India Congress but when that party ignored the welfare of the
People of Sindh and began interfering in the internal affairs of the Province, I left it along with my friends and joined the
Muslim League. We did so because we hoped that our action would enable us to save the Muslims from the clutches of
the capitalists and the bureaucracy and make the achievement of an independent Pakistan that much easier. We have
struggled hard and made every sacrifice to achieve the high objectives of the party so that we should be able to work for a
better deal for the Muslims of Sindh. But this was a vain hope. Instead of being allowed to work for the welfare of
Muslims, we were forced to ensure that the domination of Muslim capitalists, gentlemen with big titles and the chosen
ones of the British bureaucracy should continue. The idea was to replace bloodsucking Hindu capitalists with their
Muslim counterparts as the lords and masters of ordinary Muslims who should remain in a perpetual state of bondage
and nothing should be done to ameliorate their lot. The main reasons for our differences (with the central leadership) are
as under:
1. We have been ordered in season and out to forget about the welfare of the poor people of Sindh because of the
unclear, incoherent and dubious policies of the central leadership. Those who belong to the Muslim minority
provinces determine the policies of the All India Muslim League. Our friends keep claiming that they want to
free the Muslims of Hindu bondage. In fact, they want that Sindh and other Muslim majority provinces should
remain under their tutelage. To keep central leadership in their own hands, they not only helped the reactionary
elements in Sindh but also helped them to maintain their stranglehold over the poor people of the province.
2. Mismanagement and corruption stalk the province. Nothing has been done to rid the League of these evils. On
the contrary, everything has been done to promote them, and everything done for the betterment of poor
Muslims is, therefore, nullified. Anti-Hindu propaganda is resorted in order to divert the attention of the people
from these shortcomings. All this has prevented us from being of any help to the people. Only the Nawabs and
the landlords are being strengthened when these people do not simply have it in them to resist the British. We
are, for this purpose, being prevented from fighting the Raj. Al the same time, differences between the Congress
and the Muslim League are increasing every day, which will not only hamper the struggle for the independence
of India and Pakistan but also create problems for similar struggles elsewhere in the East.
3. In order to maintain the hegemony of the rich, the League High Command wants us to return deadwood to the
Sindh Assembly. When such ignorant, selfish and bloodsucking parasites are elected to the constituent
assembly, they will continue to serve the interests of the feudals and the capitalists even after the creation of
Pakistan. We are being asked in the name of democratic unity among Muslims to overlook all this. When
anyone asks them whether we are trying to achieve Pakistan for the Khan Bahadurs, the Nawab Bahadur, the
Sardars and the capitalists, he is threatened into silence and told not to raise such questions till after the creation
of Pakistan. Similarly, when we are asked which class will prosper in Pakistan, we are accused of being anti-
Islam in order to silence us, The League capitalists are clever in the extreme. Honesty and truth are virtues
unknown to them. If the President of the Sindh Muslim League raises his voice in favor of the downtrodden
peasantry, they put him in the straitjacket of rules and regulations. Nothing is low enough or mean enough or
crude enough for them when they want to eliminate their opponents.
"In spite of all this, we are ordered by the Central leadership to trust such people and to continue helping them to
enhance their power and prestige. In fact, the reasons for parting company with the All India Muslim League had
existed for a long time but we continued to try for an honorable settlement in Smith but, unfortunately, these elements
are afraid of the unity for which we had worked so hard. It is apparent now that when Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan
and Qazi Isa arrived at a settlement with me, they had no intention of honoring it because they gave all the tickets to
their toe tickers in violation of all party rules, aims and objectives and by completely ignoring the President of the Sindh
Muslim League All this was done to a loyalist like me who kept the dignity of the All India Muslim League alive in spite
The Case of Sindh 36
of criticism from the ordinary Muslims of Sindh. Under these circumstances, I am constrained to take the following
decisions with the greatest of regret:
1. I am returning the party ticket awarded to me so that my opponents may do as they please and make such use of
this ticket as they want. These friends have already set their lackeys at work against me and I don't want that
there should be any hurdle in their way.
2. I am resigning front the All India Muslim League Working Committee and the Action Committee.
3. So long as the leadership of the All India Muslim league is in reactionary hands, the Sindh Muslim league shall
work as an independent and autonomous party.
4. Only the Council of the Sindh Muslim League will decide whether to maintain the list of ticket awardees
approved by it through a resolution or amend it or recall it and issue fresh tickets.
"I have written to the All India Muslim League regarding these decisions. The following candidates will contest the
elections as the Sindh Muslim League nominees from the constituencies mentioned against their names:
1. Nawab shah North: Hon'ble Syed Mohammed Ali Shah.
2. Nawab shahWest: Syed Hassan Bux Shah.
3. Nawab shah last: Syed Khair Shah.
4. Nawab Shah Northwest: Pir Qurban Ali.
5. Hyderabad North: Pir Baqadar Shah.
6. Hyderabad South: Pir Aali Shah.
7. Hyderabad East: Mr. Ghulam Nabi Memon.
8. Tharparkar West: Mr. Ghulam Mustafa Bhurgri.
9. Tharparkar North: Syed Ghulam Hyder Shah.
10. Dadu South: Mr. G.M. Syed.
11. Karachi East: Pir Ghulam Hyder Shah.
12. Sindhi Landlord: Mr. Ghulam Rasool Bhurgri.
More names to be announced later.
"I cannot hide from my ordinary Muslim brethren the anguish with which I had to take the decision to take the. Sindh
Muslim League out of the central party. I was forced to do so because of the central party's current policies and attitude.
The central leadership's attitude towards the Sindh League or for that matter any other Muslim majority province is
more or less the same, It wants the capitalists to continue to dominate and exploit poor Muslims. Men with big titles,
real estates or large farm lands men who want ministerial office, men who put self above everything else, help in such
exploitation of the poor. I know it fully well that they are men of great power but 1, too, will continue to fight this policy
with all the strength at my command, no matter what the cost I am Sure that if this noble effort, I will have the support
and sympathy of the poor That is why I am sure that God will crown my efforts with success. There will be many
hurdles in the way and many difficulties but since I think that my Struggle is lost and since God is always with it just, I
hope and pray that I will have His support. Amen."
The Case of Sindh 37
Immediately after the publication of this statement on December 26, 1945, the League High Command decided that
disciplinary action should be taken against me and should be expelled from the League, The High Command at the time
was extremity repressive. It sent goondas to take Over the Sindh League office but we did not take retaliatory measures
because we were determined 10 prevent violence, But their action showed how afraid the Nawabs and the feudals were
of progressive elements. We stood firm on our democratic path. We depended on the peasantry and other downtrodden
sections of society. We wanted to inform them of the stakes involved, and become conscious of their rights. We stood
convinced that the people would wake up to the truth and respond ably to the challenge in due course.
We fielded 16 candidates against the Central League nominees in the elections held on January 21, 1946. The
reactionaries used religion against us. People were told that if G.M. Syed and his colleagues succeeded, Islam would be
in jeopardy. We were called Hindu agents. We also exposed the misdeeds of the League Ministry in every nook and
corner of Sindh, but such was the power of their propaganda and pelf that only four of our candidates could win while
Haji Maula Bux's independent group secured three seats. After an alliance with the latter, I was elected leader and
Maula Box the deputy leader of the enlarged group. The party position was like this:
Muslim League (central) 27
Congress 21
Sindh League plus
independents
7
Labor 1
We decided to form a coalition with the Congress and the labor member. This could have given us strength of 29 and we
could have formed the government. But for the sake of the larger interests of Sindh, we thought that a Congress League
settlement would be more advisable and could lead to the formation of a strong ministry. But Mr. Hashim Gazdar tried
for a coalition between the Muslim League and our group. Later, we tried for a League-Congress settlement when
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and Sardar Patel visited Sindh, so that the communal issue could be resolved. We assured
them of all possible help in this regard. This is proved by the speech Mr. Hashim Gazdar made in the Assembly. We
were willing to stay out of the Ministry in case there was a settlement between the League and the Congress. Mr. Gazdar
lauded this spirit of political accommodation in his speech. However, Sir Ghulam Hussain was not willing for this. He
had the support of the Muslim League High Command in the name of the so-called unity of the Muslim nation. Hired
propagandists were used against us who declared us anti-Islam. Even the Sindh League President was not spared and
goondas were sent to threaten him.
We could have formed a government in coalition with the Congress. The new Governor of Sindh, Sir Francis Mudie,
summoned me. I gave him a true picture of all parties but he advised me to join the Central Muslim League. His view
was that we were harming Muslim interests by being outside the Muslim League fold. I was amazed at the way the
British Governor, instead of performing his duties, decided to become a patron of the Muslim League. I refused to do his
bidding but was astonished when the Governor invited Sir Ghulam Hussain to form a government even though his party
did not command a majority in the House. He also asked the European members to support the Ghulam Hussain
Ministry- Thus gradually we came to understand as to why Mr. Jinnah himself persisted in his preference of time-servers
The Case of Sindh 38
to the progressive elements. We gave notice of a motion of no confidence against the government during the budget
session at which the Leaguers retaliated in an unexpected manner.
Qazi Mujtaba was a noted communist but was at the time in the Muslim League under the influence of the Haroon
family. He was made to go on a hunger strike unto) death at my door. Apart from this, poisonous speeches were made
against me and my group at the Eidgaah Maidaan in Karachi every night.
When the Assembly's budget session began, we moved a no-confidence motion against the Government. Explaining my
party's stance during discussion in the house, I made the following speech:
"No-one can deny that I have always been associated with the Muslim League, In fact I have played a considerable role
in strengthening the League in Sindh. The responsibility for my present position into which I have been forced ties with
those who tried to throw the progressive group out of the party during the last elections. It was only after my progressive
colleagues had been thrown out one after another, that I returned the League ticket. This was considered an
unpardonable sin and I was expelled from the party. During the elections, every kind of propaganda was used against us.
We were declared enemies of Islam and the Muslim nation. It was charged that we had sold out to the Hindus In spite of
all this, we forgave those who had or maligned or otherwise harmed us and said let bygones be bygones. But an
unconditional surrender was demanded of us, as if we had committed a big sin because of which we were being
reluctantly expelled from the party, It was also claimed that the criticism against us was clean and pure. In spite of this,
when I realized that my group leads only four members, I made an appeal, through a statement, to both the Muslim
League and the Congress to form a united and honest government committed to the welfare of Sindh. I had also offered
to help them in this regard. But the Sarkari (official) Muslim League talked neither with the Congress nor with us on the
formation of a Ministry. After this we were left with no option but to negotiate with other parties so that together they
should save the Constitution from being Suspended.
"At the time of coalition formation, I had said in a statement that I still subscribed to the basic principles of the Muslim
League and I stick to what I had said. The Hon'ble Mr. Gazdar made his attempt when a coalition party had already
been formed under my leadership. Only an all-party government could be formed then, provided its leaders had been
unanimously elected. But the Muslim Leaguers did not accept any of the several proposals made to them for reasons
known only to them in spite of the fact that except for the European members I had, and continue to have, the support of
a majority of the Assembly members. It is true that after becoming Prim - Minister, Sir Ghulam Hussain did indeed ask
only the Congress to nominate two Hindu members to the Cabinet. However, as a seasoned politician, he should have
realized ' that the Congress Could not do so because it had already formed a coalition with the nationalist group of the
Muslim League and Haji Maula Bux's independent group In the circumstances now prevailing, neither we nor the
Congress can be of any help to the Muslim League Ministry until it is dissolved and then reconstituted in consultation
with, and the consent of, all groups.
"In this regard, I wish to inform the House of a fresh development of which I came to know rather late. The clay the
motion of no confidence was moved, some members of the Treasury Benches and a European member appealed to our
party to arrive at some settlement with them in the larger interests of Sindh. Keeping this in view and after consulting my
party, I called on Sir Ghulam Hussain at his residence And I came to know through reliable sources that Sir Ghulam
Hussain and the deputy leader of the League, Khan Bahadur Ayub Khuhro had sent a telegram to the Muslim League
High Command, requesting that in the interests of the province and the Muslim masses, the ban on G.M. Syed and his
group's entry into the party should be lifted.
"The response from the High Command reflects its mentality. It is willing to form a coalition with the Congress and the
Mahasabha which are against the very creation of Pakistan but will not deal with sincere and principled people who are
flesh of their flesh and bone of their bones. These were the telegraphic exchanges, which took place:
The Case of Sindh 39
From Mr. Jinnah to the Sindh Premier
Received your telegram. In my view the ban on Syed and others cannot be lifted. They should
apologize and offer unconditional obedience. For as long as he is with the enemies, there can be no
talks with Syed under any conditions.
Jinnah
From Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan to Sir Ghulam Hussain.
Received joint telegram from you and Khuhro. Syed must offer unconditional obedience and apologize
for violating party discipline and decisions and offer loyalty in future, Only then can the lifting of the
ban on him
"This is the policy of the High Command which it thinks will lead to Muslim unity and which it hopes will persuade us
to assist the Muslim League Ministry. The Muslim League Press may do whatever it wants to tarnish my spirit or me but
the people at least should know that my followers or I do not hanker after office. Pursuit of power is not for me and my
past record shows it. I don't have to say anything more to satisfy the people.
"We shall not oppose the League if it reshuffles its Cabinet-on its own and chooses the best Ministers it can find to serve
the people. To subscribe to the League does not mean liberty to play foul in the name of the party. I stand for an end to
bureaucratic corruption, for law and order, for communal harmony and for better economic and educational
opportunities for the people. I hold these objectives above the party's mere name. Expulsion from the League and other
repressive measures cannot make me leave the path I have chosen for myself. My conscience is clear. I shall never stop
from serving Sindh and its people. I have not left the League; I have been forcibly expelled. I can't help saying that no
honest, self-respecting and principled individual can be made to leave the righteous path through bluff and bluster. If
there is truth in what the Leaguers say and if they have any respect for their party (for which I struggled so hard), they
should make immediate changes in the Ministry and replace incompetent and needless Ministers with honest and able
people. After that, I'll have no dispute with them. However, if their ultimate aim is power, let them stick to it for as long
as they can but then let no one expect any help from me. Under these circumstances, I have no option but to support the
motion of no-confidence."
The motion failed by 30-29 with the European member making the difference. However, before the session ended, Mir
Bande Ali Talpur moved a cut motion in which the Government was defeated. However, instead of asking Sir Ghulam
Hussain to resign, the Governor summoned Mr. Bands Ali Talpur, had him made a Minister and thus saved the day for
the Government! This was the moral rebuff to the League High Command's attitude towards us. We were penalized
while those who abused the League and kept on shifting loyalties were rewarded with Ministries. Perhaps in the eyes of
the League leaders, rules and regulations and principles were only for the Progressives while they and their cabinet could
do pretty much as they pleased no matter how wrong or how reprehensible.
The Cabinet Mission appointed by the British Government arrived in India on March 24, 1946, to work out the
modalities of the country's independence and to arrive at a mutually agreed interim arrangement for the period of
transition. I was called to Delhi in my capacity as the leader of the Congress opposition coalition. I presented my group's
views on all-India problems to the Commission an April 2, 1946. We demanded the right of self-determination for every
state together with full autonomy. This was, in our view, the only solution for India's increasing political problems and
communal frenzy. I may explain here that although I had my differences with the League High Command, I was not
against its basic objective, Pakistan. That's why I Supported the Pakistan idea before the Cabinet Mission. I supported
even the Muslim League in my speech. However, there was one difference between my standpoint and the League-s- 1
The Case of Sindh 40
was for an independent India with complete autonomy for the provinces, it meant that there should be two federations,
one for the provinces with Hindu majorities and the other for Muslim majority provinces, which two should, for specific
purposes, act as a confederation on the basis of equality of members and Ministers. This scheme was, similar to the
Cabinet Mission's Regional Plan.
On April 3, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad made his proposals to the Commission, which included independence, a
constituent assembly and the formation of an interim government. In his view, the Congress was totally opposed to the
partition of India and stood for a federal government with only three subjects - defense, foreign affairs and
communications. Mahatma Gandhi met the Commission in his personal capacity and declared that the Pakistan idea
was a bad idea. He said that the two-nation theory was inimical to the interests of the country. He proposed that the first
chance for forming a government should be given to Jinnah, and the Congress should be invited to do so only after
Jinnah did not accept the offer.
Mr. Jinnah appeared before the Commission on April 4 and told it that, under the circumstances, partition was
inevitable. Further talks could be possible only when partition had been agreed upon in principle. The leader of the
Liberal League, Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru, stressed the need for the immediate formation of an interim government and
expressed the fear that partition would lead to grave results.
Parlays with the Cabinet Mission were continuing when Mr. Jinnah summoned a meeting of the legislators who had
been elected on League tickets. Around 400 persons participated. He wanted the legislators to pass a resolution
demanding that Assam, Bengal, Sindh, Baluchistan, the NWFP and the Punjab should constitute Pakistan. The
legislators obliged him. The resolution also called for a separate constituent assembly and warned that if any other
solution were forcibly imposed; it would be resisted at all cost. This resolution was against the Pakistan Resolution
passed in Lahore in 1 940 which had called for the creation of independent and sovereign States in the north west and
east of India in provinces with Muslim majorities. But the Delhi resolution called for the creation of a single/central
government. This was not only against the 1940 Resolution but was also against the spirit of the resolutions passed by
the Sindh Muslim League Conference in 1938 and the Sindh Assembly on March 3, 1943. The 1 938 and 1 940
resolution can be seen in Appendix 4.
In the meantime, the Cabinet Mission held several meetings with the Congress and the Muslim League on the future of
India. On May 12, 1946, both parties held meetings but they could not arrive at a settlement. However, the Cabinet
Mission continued its efforts. At last on May 1 6, the Commission came out with a lengthy statement in which it made
its final proposal saying that an interim government would be set up in India tinder a)) circumstances. The following is
the text of the Cabinet Mission statement:
Cabinet Mission's Recommendations as to the Basic Form of Constitution
On 16th May 1946 the Cabinet Mission made its own decision and recommended that the constitution should take the
following has form:
i. There should be a Union of India, embracing both British India and the States, which should deal with the
following subjects: Foreign Affairs, Defense and Communications and should have the powers necessary to
raise the finance required for the above subjects.
ii. The Union should have an Executive and a legislature constituted from British India and State representatives,
Any question raising a major communal issue in the Legislature should require for its decision a majority of the
representatives present and voting of each of the two major communities as well as a majority of all the
members present and voting.
iii. All subjects other than the Union subjects and all residue powers should be vested in the Provinces.
The Case of Sindh 41
iv. The States will retain all subjects and powers other than those ceded to the Union.
v. Provinces should be free to form groups with executives and legislatures, and each group could determine the
provincial subjects to be taken in common.
vi. The constitutions of the Union and of the groups should contain a provision where by any province could, by a
majority vote of its Legislative Assembly, call for reconsideration of the terms of the constitution after an initial
period of ten years and at the yearly intervals thereafter.
In our view, this grouping proposal of the Cabinet mission was unjust because it militated against Sindh's independence
due to domination by the large province, the Punjab. The scheme rejected the right of self-determination to the
provinces, which is to say, states. On November 6-1946, Mr. Jinnah had this scheme approved by the Muslim League
Council but with certain pre-conditions. The Council also authorized Mr. Jinnah to hold talks with the Viceroy.
Therefore, by forcibly accepting the grouping scheme, Mr. Jinnah in effect put aside the Lahore or Pakistan Resolution
of 1940. This showed which direction the League was taking politically and how Sindh's interests were being sacrificed
in the name of the so-called Muslim nationhood. Others, too, had realized this for quite some time but no one had the
courage to oppose it. Sindh's leadership was in the hands of selfish and incompetent people who did not have the ability
to expose a foreign conspiracy. As a result, non-Sindhis had started settling in the province to the disadvantage of the
locals, particularly with respect to land and jobs. They were largely responsible for creating communal tension. Fanning
communal sentiments among the Leaguers and the creation of disunity among the Muslims was also the handiwork of
these outside elements. Thus the way was clear for outside conspiracies to flourish in Sindh. The outsiders did their best
to establish their control over the province by promoting communalism in the name of Islam and Pakistan. Our group
was trying its best to stem all this.
During my stay in Delhi, progressive Leaguers from the Punjab, Mian Bashir Ahmed and Mian lftikharuddin, tried to
resolve the differences between us and the party High Command but in vain, because of the latter's egoistic attitude and
because of our refusal to compromise on basic principles. Hence all the efforts of our sincere friends failed. Our fears and
feelings were expressed in a poignant article that was addressed to me by Pir Ali Mohammed Rashdi on June 2, 1946.
The newspaper 'Qurbani' published this article on June 13, 1946. It was titled 'Sindh Jay Siyasi Zindagi jo Nazuk Daur'
A critical phase in the political life of Sindh). This phase started after the Cabinet Mission had announced its plan. One
era was at an end while another was due to begin. Who would give shape to the new phase? Who would run it and how?
How beneficial would it be for Sindh? I would like to make a brief comment on the Cabinet Mission proposals in order
to throw light on all these issues. According to these proposals, the Center was to manage foreign affairs,
communications and defense on behalf of the provinces. All other matters were to be in the hands of the sub-federations.
These sub-federations were to be three in number one comprising the Punjab, Sindh, Frontier and Baluchistan, the
second comprising the rest of India including Central India and the third was to include Bengal and Assam. In our subfederation,
the Punjab, because of being the majority province, would dominate. In the constituent assembly, Sindh was
to get four seats (including one for a Hindu) in a House of 38. The Sindhi members would have been under the central
high commands of their respective parties. The result was inevitable: the Punjabis would make a constitution of their
own choice on the strength of their majority and Sindh would be subjugated by them This would have curtailed the
Sindhis' independence, autonomy and disregarded their aspirations. All this would be as inevitable as night follows day.
Was all this acceptable to us? The Punjabis would have run the sub-federation in the name of Allah without being
accountable to anyone.
Having studied the Cabinet Mission proposals carefully, I came to the conclusion that it was a plan for the cremation of
Sindh and that Sindh should reject it for several reasons. For one thing, Sindh had been a distinct geo- graphic, historic,
cultural, linguistic and social entity and, apart from periodic losses of sovereignty, had always been independent. Sindh
and India had been two separate countries down the ages. Sindh had never accepted subjugation lying down. Were the
The Case of Sindh 42
Sindhis prepared to lose their heritage? The Cabinet Mission proposals spelt disaster for the future of Sindh. Nature bad
given Sindh everything, fertile soil, the Indus River and its barrages and the nearest air link with Europe in the sub
continent. If only we could keep Sindh independent and free of alien intervention, we could transform it into a happy
land of plenty. Nothing could have been impossible of achievement if, instead of a selfish leadership, Sindh had honest
and sincere people at the helm.
If the Sindh Ministry had been accountable to the people, we could have generated an income of Rs. 400 million from
the Port Trust and Customs. Add to this income tax, postal and railway revenues, and Sindh could have had Rs. 1,000
million at its disposal every year, All this money could have been used to mechanize farming, set up industry, send
students abroad for higher education, job generation for hundreds of thousands of Sindhis to the exclusion of non
Sindhis and for securing employment for Sindhis in the Indian Union. In the event of total independence, Sindh could
appoint its own ambassadors, trade agents and maintain its army. All this would have raised Sindh's political status and
enabled its people to prove their mettle in the comity of nations.
All this would have enabled us to raise the standard of living of our people and enabled us to provide a free health cover
to them together with free education. For all this, however, total freedom was an essential concomitant together with an
end to communalism which, among other things, divided us and rendered us an easy prey to all-alien depredations and
slave existence.
Now, the other side of the picture. What would have happened had the Cabinet Mission plan been accepted? Sindh
would have had to forget its past, forget about all its development hopes and its national identity, accept a constitution
imposed by aliens, surrender its productive resources to them and generally agree to become a Punjabi colony. There
would have been the same illiteracy and the same communal strife. The Sindhis had to keep both sides of the picture in
mind before deciding which way to go. On the question of Sindh's independence, I came to the firm conclusion that the
province should not join any of the two federations and that it should refuse to contribute a single penny to either, but
work out its own constitution and remain independent, I also felt that Sindh should refuse to become a Punjabi colony
and resist all attempts aimed at usurping its independence. It was my view that in any union, it should not cede more
than defense and foreign affairs, pay its part of the expenses for the two subjects and keep the rest of its resources to
itself.
The Muslim communalists of Sindh were nursing the delusion that after union with the Punjab, they would be rid of
Hindu hegemony while the latter thought that after accession with India, they would be freed of the unjust Muslim
domination However, both groups were forgetting the fact that such a feeling of mistrust and fear arose out of a situation
when either the Muslims or the Hindus got more than their due share, and, that in either of the two cases, each
conceived for itself that there would not be any economic competition nor any further communal differences between
them. But these doubts and fears would have persisted for as long as a third group was amongst us. Once this group was
out of our body politics, unity among the Sindhis would have been restored once again. For as long as the Sindhis ruled
themselves, Hindu-Muslim unity was never in doubt. Now, whether the third group amongst us is of British origin or
comprises Indian Muslims or Punjabi Muslims, they are all the same for us.
It would be unwise for us to hand over the reins of government to others just because there is no unity in our ranks. The
coming generations will never forgives us for that. If we hand over the control to other hands, which are stronger than
ours, it would amount to setting fire to our house in order to kill some rats.
No plan for the economic development of Sindh would succeed unless the province achieves independence for itself.
Once we surrendered our means of production to the others, we would have lost them forever. This was a critical
situation and we had very little time left with us. The Sindhis, I felt, had to decide for themselves. Anyhow, when the
Congress rejected the Cabinet Mission Plan of May 16, 1946, Mr. Jinnah termed it a violation of the promises made to
The Case of Sindh 43
the Muslim League. Be that as it may, having failed in its interim government plan, the Cabinet Mission left for England
on May 29.
Pundit Jawaharlal Nehru was elected the Congress President in place of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad on July 6, 1946. He
made it clear at a meeting that the Congress could accept the Cabinet mission plan only to the extent of joining the
constituent assembly. It had nothing to do with the rest of the scheme. It said the Congress would be free to do what it
wanted to do inside the constituent assembly. He also said that his party would oppose the inclusion of the NWFP in the
western sub-federation. Nor would the inclusion of Assam in the eastern sub-federation be acceptable to it. Later, the
Muslim League decided to abandon constitutional means and launch a movement. Elections to the constituent assembly
were held towards the end of July 1946. A special session of the Sindh Assembly was called for the purpose on July 11th .
The Muslim Leaguers came over to us and we had the support of 31 members in the House. We decided to reintroduce a
motion of no confidence against the Ministry but the Governor prorogued the Assembly the day it was to take up the
motion for discussion. The purpose was nothing but to save their favorite Ministry by the British. It may be added here
that Sir Khizar Hayat Tiwana's Ministry was facing a similar motion in the Punjab where the League was in the
opposition. There, the Punjab Governor did not prorogue the House and allowed the discussion on the no-confidence
motion to take place. This shows how the British patronized their own agents in the Muslim League.
We wrote against the Sindh Governor's unconstitutional act to the Governor General and the Secretary of State for
India, but justice was denied us. From July to September 1946, the Governor and the bureaucracy did everything in their
power to secure a majority for the Muslim League in the Sindh Assembly. On September 5, the Assembly met to
approve supplementary grants. All possible methods were used to win over the loyalties of the members but the League
still fell one vote short of the required majority. Finally, the day the House was to meet, Speaker Miran Mohammed
Shah was persuaded to resign to gain temporary reprieve for the Ministry. This forced us to ask the Deputy Speaker,
Miss. Jetty Sipahimalani to do likewise. Now the two side, were locked at 30-30, creating a constitutional deadlock,
obliging the Governor to postpone the session. The Ministry failed to have the supplementary grants approved by the
House nor could it succeed in getting a new Speaker elected. Under these circumstances, the Governor should have
invite us to form a ministry but since he was partisan, it was futile to expect this of him, Later, when some other
members also turned against the Ministry, the Governor dissolved the Assembly and ordered fresh elections. All
manners of irregularities were resorted to which would have put even Hitler to shame. Some of these irregularities are
being detailed below:
1. In selected areas officials friendly to the League candidates were appointed who not only helped their favorites
but also harassed their opponents.
2. Many of our important workers were implicated in false cases under Sections 107 and 110 of the Frontier Crime
Regulations, and some of them were jailed.
3. Polling stations were changed and set up in the bungalows of the League's polling agents and such other places
and our voters were not allowed to go there.
4. Presiding and polling officers handed over ballot boxes and books to the League candidates.
5. Ballot papers were torn out of books in large numbers, thumb-marked and handed over to the Leaguers. These
ballot papers were cast late at night, long after polling time. The objections made by our polling agents were
ignored.
6. Section 144, Cr. P.C. was clamped on large parts of Sindh to prevent the opponents of the League from making
speeches or canvassing for their candidates. However, the Leaguers were free to do as they pleased.
The Case of Sindh 44
7. Ministers, officials and important League workers were allowed entry into the polling booths where they
snatched ballot papers from the voters and cast them for their party.
8. The presiding and polling officers were either the supporters of the League candidates or their relatives and chief
workers.
9. At some polling stations, help was provided to presiding officers and polling officers and League agents through
the police, rangers and army personnel.
10. Bogus voters and bad characters were brought from other parts of India.
11. Where the local people were aware of these tactics and where there were comparatively fewer chances of
irregularities, the league's agents used obstructive tactics under advice from presiding officers, and hundreds of
our supporters could not vote.
12. Votes of those who had died or were in jail or were otherwise absent were cast despite our protests.
13. When bogus voters were detected, caught and presented to the presiding officers, they were let off at the
recommendation of the League candidates.
14. The Prime Minister, other Ministers and collectors and deputy collectors visited the polling stations and
encouraged people to cast bogus votes. Not only that. They did so themselves as did those who were under their
influence.
15. The League disseminated made-up photographs and cartoons full of malice.
16. The League opponents were deprived of their gun licenses and shops.
17. The League opponents were deprived of irrigation water and their land allotments were canceled.
18. Ballot boxes were opened and bogus votes were cast or those cast in favor of the League opponents were
disfigured.
19. When votes were being counted, bound bundles of ballot papers were found in the boxes.
Under these circumstances, the results were a foregone conclusion. Only two of our candidates could succeed Haji
Maula Box Soomro (on a joint Hindu-Muslim seat) and Khan Sahib Sardar Khan Khoso who won only by 16 votes.
The, mean tactics employed to defeat me need not be recounted here. I am only reproducing (Appendix 5) a copy of the
decision of the Election Tribunal published in the official gazette on the basis of which my rival, Qazi Mohammed
Akbar, and two of his colleagues, Pir Illahi Bux and Pir Mohammed Shah were disqualified from contesting elections for
a period of six years in 1949.
The Case of Sindh 45
In the light of this decision, Pir Illahi Bux was removed from premiership. In the Assembly born out of these
irregularities, Khan Bahadur Ayub Khuhro of the League had the support of 25 out of 35 members but the Party High
Command, which is to say Mr. Jinnah, ordered that Sir Ghulam Hussain be retained as Prime Minister and this is how
it happened. Before this, he had the support of the British Governor, Now he had the blessings of Mr., Jinnah also. The
British were about to quit India but they were leaving Sir Ghulam Hussain behind as a 'democratic legacy'. The
conspiracies hatched by the British in order to keep India one included the Cabinet Mission's three-zone plan which, as
we have seen, failed. There were many reasons for this, the main among them being Assam's refusal to join the Eastern
Zone and the decision of the Congress not to go into the constituent assembly with any pre-conditions. At this, Mr.
Jinnah went back on his decision to accept the Cabinet Mission Plan and started to plead for partition with renewed
vigor and ordered direct action on August 16, 1946. This order was undefined and the Muslims did not know exactly
what to do. As a result, Hindu-Muslim riots erupted on a large scale in Bengal, Assam and Bihar in which about 5,000
people lost their lives and more than 100,000 were rendered homeless. In view of this, the Cabinet Mission admitted that
it had failed and the Viceroy, Lord Wavell, left for home at the completion of his term. Lord Mountbatten, a member of
the British royal family, replaced him; He brought with him the partition plan. Although the British had accepted the
partition plan, Lord Mountbatten did try to keep India united for some time at least and for this purpose, he held parleys
with the Congress and the Muslim League, but by that time Mr. Jinnah had gone too far and had gained immeasurably
in confidence. He told Mountbatten that evens it Pakistan was as small as a matchbox, he was determined to get it, and
he must get it even if it was confined to the Thar Desert. Things having gone thus far, the British had no option but to
partition India. The Congress, on the other hand, was of the view that until the communal issue was sorted out within a
united India, the British must continue their efforts to keep the country one. However, the Second World War had
weakened the British financially and, moreover, they were under pressure from the U.S. to free India. Another reason
for their impatience in the matter was that there were signs of rebellion in the British Indian armed forces, which had
manifested itself in the naval uprising and strikes in Bombay and Karachi. Fearing a bloody revolution in India, the
British announced the partition formula on June 3, 1947. Its salient features were:
I. India's division into two States.
2. The two States were to form their own constituent assemblies.
3. There would be a referendum in the NWFP to decide whether it wanted to join India or Pakistan.
4. There would be no fresh elections in the NWFP but the people of the province would be asked
whether they wanted to join Pakistan or India,
5. The provinces of Bengal and the Punjab would be partitioned.
6. In Assam, the people of Sylhet would, through a referendum, be asked which country they wanted to
join.
7. India would get Calcutta while Lahore would be part of Pakistan.
8.A boundary commission would be appointed to demarcate the frontiers between the two countries.
9.A commission would be appointed to divide financial and military assets between the two countries.
10.British sovereignty ending over India, the princely states would be given the right to choose which of
the two countries to join.
11.The British would hand over power to the two States in August.
The Case of Sindh - G.M. Syed's
deposition in court (Part 4)
The Case of Sindh 46
The Congress and other nationalist parties as a solution to the communication problem accepted the partition plan but it
only exacerbated it, and Hindu-Muslim riots assumed all-India dimensions during which hundreds of thousands of
people lost their lives including innocent children. Countless women were raped, and property worth millions was
destroyed and hundreds of thousands of people were forced to migrate from the land of their ancestors, Love was
replaced by hatred and terrorism, Sindh was no exception, and the Sindhis were divided into two with around 1,300,000
people leaving their homes and hearths for India, with the rest mourning their departure along the banks of the Indus.
We were helpless against this flood tide of madness. Therefore, we sat back to think what had Pakistan, for achieving
which we had given the best years of our lives, in store for us. Was this the independence for which countless people
across India, including the Sindhis, sacrificed their lives? The independence we had been dreaming of meant a life of
beauty and happiness. What we got instead was death and hatred and murder and terrorism. How to save our simple
and innocent people from all this? This was to be the core of my political struggle thence.
Here I would like to ruminate whether the demand for Pakistan was the part of an immediate but well thought-out
strategy or an outcome of a series of accidents in history and a British gift for the Muslim League which it did not
deserve because it did not have the ability to protect, preserve and manage it. Since the latter is the case, Pakistan has
been and will continue to live from crisis to crisis. I would thus like to analyze the demand for Pakistan from three points
of view historical, religious and Britain's India policy.
Historically, no such country as Pakistan existed before August 14, 1947. Chaudhry Rehmat Ali, a Punjabi Muslim who
was a student at Cambridge in 1930, and was used by him in several pamphlets, coined the word. No Hindu or Muslim
politician in India had taken it seriously, so much so that Mr. Jinnah, the moving spirit behind the Pakistan Movement,
had not considered the word or the demand implicit in it worthy of comment. This is proved by the fact that when the
leader of the Muslim delegation to the Round Table Conference was asked what it thought of Rehmat Ali's Pakistan
scheme, he had described it as childish. Mr. Jinnah was present at the conference. A telltale documentary evidence is
presented here. In the fifth preliminary meeting of the Indian Round Table Conference, Mr. Jinnah had explained the
term 'the Dominion of India' thus:
I say the cordial principle which will guide us through the deliberations of this conference is that India wants to
be mistress in her own house, and I cannot conceive of any constitution that you may frame, which will not
transfer responsibilities of the Central Government to a cabinet requisible to the legislature. (Indian Round
Table Conference, 12th November, 1930 _ 19th January, 1931 proceedings)
Similarly, the learned author of Jinnah's Tragedy, Kailash Chander, says-
At the first round table conference, when a joint deputation of the Muslim League & Muslim Conference was giving its
evidence before Indian Constitutional Reforms Committee, a member of the Committee, Sir Reginald Graddock, put a
question as to "what the Muslim League and Muslim Conference thought about the Pakistan Scheme." The leader of the
two deputations replied, "As far as I know it is only a students' scheme. No responsible people have put it forward. So
far as we have CONSIDERED IT, CHIMERICAL and UNPRACTICABLE. It means the federation of certain
provinces,
On being further pursued by Sir Reginald the deputation replied, "Perhaps it would be enough to say that no such
scheme has been considered by any representative gentleman or association so far." Most of the present day supporters
of the Pakistani idea had condemned it in most severe language. Mr. M.A. Jinnah was also opposed to it. At the very
first speech that he delivered at the Round Table Conference, he thought of a United India.
He was thinking in terms of Dominion status for India when at the 5th plenary meeting on 20th November, 1930, Mr.
Jinnah said, 'the cardinal principle is that India wants to be a mistress in her own home and I cannot conceive any
The Case of Sindh 47
constitution that you may frame, which will not transfer responsibility in the central Government to a cabinet response
to the legislature.
Jinnah Sahib was himself the member of a federal structure committee and did not oppose the idea of an Indian
federation. The Pakistan idea would have died its natural death, but it got some sympathetic response in some notorious
die- hard quarters in England, in time of the second R.T. Conference (Tragedy of Jinnah pp. 221-22)
Yet further and detailed evidence is provided by Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the first President of India, in his book, 'India
Divided in the following words:
In 1933 for the first time a Punjabi Muslim, Chaudhri Rehmat Ali (an undergraduate of Cambridge) who gave the
movement a shape and a form called the Muslims, hitherto called a minority community, 'a nation'. He propounded the
idea that the Punjab, N.W.F.P (Afghan Province), Kashmir, Sindh and Baluchistan should be formed into a separate
Muslim State called Pakistan. This proposal was different from that of Dr. Iqbal in that while Dr. Iqbal proposed the
amalgamation of those provinces into a single state forming a unit of the All Sindh Federation, Chaudhry Rehmat Ali
proposed that these provinces should have an independent federation of their own. Leaflets advocating Pakistan were
distributed by Chaudhry Rehmat Ali to the nuclei of Parliament as members the Round Table Conference, no Indian,
Hindu or Muslim, took interest in them. Muslim witness described the Pakistan scheme in August 1933, to the joint
parliamentary select committee as follows.
" A. Yusuf Ali: As far as I know it is only a student scheme, no responsible people have put it forward."
"Ch. Zafarullah Khan: So far as we have considered it, we have considered it chimerical and impracticable."
"Dr. Khalifa Shujauddin: Perhaps it will be enough to say that no such scheme has been considered by any
representative gentleman or association so far."
Leaving everything aside, even Dr. Iqbal, who is regarded as the author of the Pakistan idea, had no clear concept of
what he meant by it. In his presidential address to the All India Muslim League in Allahabad in 1 930, he had said that
the Rehmat Ali scheme would be harmful for the Hindus and Muslims of India as well as for the British themselves.
Saying that Dr. Iqbal was not in favor of the Pakistan plan, Edward Thomson writes in his book, Enlist India for
Freedom:
"On my vast undisciplined and starving land, Pakistan would be disastrous to the British Government,
disastrous to the Hindu Community, disastrous to Muslims. But I am president of the Muslim League and
therefore it is my duty to support it."
Let us move from here and review the Muslim League performance. It had never seriously regarded Pakistan as the
Indian Muslims' objective but as a pressure tactic against the Congress. There was a dialogue between Mr., Jinnah who
was the League President in 1939, and his colleagues Sir Zafarullah Khan, Sir Yamin and Dr. Sir Ziauddin, which has
be ' en described lucidly by Sir Yamin in his book, Nama-I-Aamal. (P 725) The upshot, of which dialogue is that late in
1939 and early in 1940, the Quaid-e-Azam was not in favor of the partition of India. It wag' later in reference to a
document delineating a detailed Plan of division of India worked out by a Committee of which Maulana Ghulam
Rasool Mehr was also a member, and yet more at the insistence of Seth Haji Abdullah Haroon that the Quaid agreed to
accept the partition plan, (Khatoot, p.99, by Maulana Ghulam Rasool Mehr)
In the biography of Mr. Jinnah The Leader, which was commissioned by the Government of Pakistan, Hector Bolitho
quotes from M.H. Sayed's book, Jinnah: A Political Study, to the effect that Mr. Jinnah, writing on March 9, 1940 in
Time and Tide, had used the term 'two nations', and urged that the Constitution of India should be so drafted as to be
acceptable to the 'two nations' living in India, their 'common motherland'. This was the last time Mr. Jinnah used also
The Case of Sindh 48
the term 'common motherland.' Two weeks later, he presided over a meeting of the All India Muslim League in Lahore
on March 23, 1940. The question here is: how could a man who was the President of the Muslim League and who, until
March 13 and, according to Ghulam Rasool Mehr, right till the beginning of his party's Lahore session, was opposed to
the partition plan become a proponent of the division of India? Not only did he become a proponent of partition but was
also convinced that the target was achievable when till not very long earlier, he had dismissed the same idea as childish.
How did he bring himself round to becoming such an implacable champion of partition? History is cruel. With the
passage of time it exposes hidden faces, intentions and secrets. Seemingly pious personalities then emerge as ugly tools.
In all this drama, Jinnah and his followers do begin to look like British lackeys. Jinnah did become adamant in his
demand for Pakistan but not for the benefit of the Muslims of India but at the behest of the British. There is enough
documentary evidence to support this. Here only two examples would suffice. First, it was under the Lord Linlithgow
move that Sir Zafarullah Khan prepared a draft for the partition plan. The British feared that the Muslims of India would
not accept a scheme authored by a Qadiani. Therefore, a copy of the scheme was sent to Mr. Jinnah under the
suggestion that it would be presented to the Muslims as part of the League manifesto. This, a bit of a feeler, was later to
provide the basis for the Pakistan Resolution. For evidence, excerpts are being reproduced here from Wali Khan's book,
Facts Are Facts, to show what the British view of the Pakistan idea was:
The Viceroy of India, Lord Linlithgow, told the leaders of the Muslim League that the Government of Great Britain
would not tolerate negative politics. This view was conveyed to the Muslim League Working Committee through Sir
Sikander Hayat. Therefore, various sub-committees started preparing a concrete plan of action. The Viceroy wrote to the
Secretary of State for India that Chaudhry KhaliQuzzaman had suggested to Lumley, the Governor of Bombay that
India should be divided into three dominions. It seems that KhaliQuzzaman wanted to create one dominion each for
Hindus, Muslims, and Rulers of Princely States.
The Governor of Northwest Frontier Province, Sir George Cunningham, wrote to the Viceroy that, upon his return from
the Muslim League Convention, Sardar Aurangzeb reported to him:
'The scheme, which they Muslim League were now contemplating, would involve the creation of 6 or 7 Indian
dominions.... and that this novel scheme now holds the field to preference to the original Pakistan proposal.'
Lord Zetland, Secretary of State for India, had detailed discussion on the above subject with Sir Feroz Khan Noon. He
suggested that the northwestern part of India should be separated from the rest of the continent, in a manner similar to
Burma, and a new country, Pakistan, should be created. The Secretary said that he saw 'almost insuperable difficulties in
the way of our acceptance of such a policy'. Feroz Khan Noon's response to this was, 'If it was so he would not himself
encourage it when he returned to India.' [Letter dated 13 December 1938].
These were different schemes. Chaudhry Rehmat All, a student of Cambridge, had an esoteric scheme for Pakistan. Sir
Muhammad Iqbal proposed yet another format. What remained to be seen was what the British had up their sleeves?
The Muslims were hatching the above schemes; the final decision rested with the British. When the British saw that their
objectives could not be met by the schemes presented by Sikander Hayat Khan or the Muslim League Working
Committee, they unilaterally rejected all the proposals submitted by the Muslims. Chaudhry Zafarullah, a member of the
Viceroy's Executive Council, was asked to submit a map of two dominions. On that subject, on 12 March 1940, Viceroy
Lord Linlithgow wrote to the Secretary of State for India:
'Upon my instruction Zafarullah wrote a memorandum on the subject, Two Dominion States. I have already sent it for
your attention. I have also asked him for further clarification, which, he says, is forthcoming. He is anxious, however,
that no one should find out that he has prepared this plan. He has, however, given me the right to do with it what I like,
including sending a copy to you. Copies have been passed on to Jinnah, and, I think, to Sir Akbar Hydiri. While he,
The Case of Sindh 49
Zafarullah, cannot admit its authorship, the Muslim League with a view to giving it the fullest publicity has prepared his
document for adoption.'
The Viceroy explains this further. Since Zafarullah was a Qadiani he had to be cautious. The Muslims would become
irritated if they found that a Qadiani prepared this scheme. The Viceroy said that Jinnah had been given a copy to make
the Muslim League adopt it and publicize its contents. Sir Akbar was given a copy because he was responsible for fundraising.
The dates take on a special significance, The Viceroy's letter to the Secretary of State was written on 12 April
1940. The Pakistan scheme had been dispatched earlier. Twelve days later the Muslim League adopted this very
proposal at their Lahore Annual Meeting. It was called Pakistan Agreement,
Sir Zafarullah's term on the Viceroy's Executive Council was expiring in March. Due to his loyal service, however, the
term was extended. Two days after the Muslim League had adopted this proposal, on 25 March 1940, the Viceroy
wrote:
'The Congress is putting forward a preposterous claim, which they know is incapable of being accepted. He (Jinnah) will
put forward just as extreme a claim, of the impracticability of realizing which he is probably just well aware; but the
existence of which, will, while reaffirming the Muslim attitude of hostility to the Congress scheme, take away some, at
any rate, of the damaging charges which are hitherto being leveled against them [Muslim League] that they have no
constructive ideas of their own.'
When the Muslim League accepted the Viceroy's proposal [author, Sir Zafarullah, the British were convinced of their
dependability. It was natural, then, for the British to refuse to recognize the existence of any party other than the Muslim
League. During those days, a large representative gathering of nationalist Muslims was held in Delhi. The Chief
Minister of Sindh, Allah Bux Soomro, chaired the Assembly. The Secretary of State, Lord Zetland, asked the Viceroy to
report on this gathering. On 14 May, 1 940, the Viceroy wrote:
'I attach no particular importance to the Delhi Conference of the Muslims, which took place a few days ago. It has been
well organized and the Congress press machine has written it up admirably.... We both are, of course, aware that there is
a not unimportant Muslim element outside the Muslim League.... Indeed, I am sure that Jinnah remains the man to deal
with on the Muslim side.'
The British deliberately ignored those Muslims, who, along with the Congress, were struggling for freedom. Their very
faith was called I questionable'. More than 100 representatives, who had gathered together under the leadership of an
elected Chief Minister, were totally disregarded. The Viceroy did not mince his words when he wrote to the Secretary of
State that 'Jinnah is our man and we accept him as a representative of all Muslims.'
The Khaksars were in a peculiar position. The objection to other Muslims was that they were not assisting the British but
the Khaksars, who, in all humility, had offered help! On 24 May 1940, the Viceroy wrote, "Meanwhile the Khaksars
have formally renewed their offer to me of 50,000 men to help in the war."
Their offer to fight for the British in the war against Germany was rejected due to Jinnah's negative attitude. 'Jinnah
accepts no responsibility for Khaksars or their activities since they have declined his advice.' The Viceroy adopted the
following stand:
'Considering the present attitude of the Khaksars in Punjab, it would not be advisable for me to enter into any
correspondence with them or their leaders, and I propose, accordingly, to leave the telegram unanswered.'
The British were trying to make it very clear to every Indian Muslim that except Jinnah and the Muslim League, they
were not ready to accept any other party. To gain British support, the Muslims were obliged to join the Muslim League.
Earlier, the British had severed relations with the Congress because they were not prepared to assist them in the war
The Case of Sindh 50
against Germany. Their inconsistency becomes evident in their refusing the help of 50,000 Khaksars, while at the same
time, rejecting the Congress because they did not offer 50,000 men to fight the same war'
Second, In 1941, Ayub Khuhro told me that the Punjabi President Sir Sikander Hayat was in Karachi and that I should
meet him. Accordingly, I called on Sir Sikander Hayat in the company of Ayub Khuhro, Allah Bux Soomro and Sheikh
Abdul Majid Sindhi at the Carlton Hotel. Among other things, the Punjab Premier told us that it would be better if an all
parties government was formed in Sindh under Allah Bux Soomro's leadership, He told me that I had done well to work
for the establishment of such a government in Sindh because it would enable us to get laws protecting the rights of the
people such as debt relief, the tenancy act, etc., passed by the Assembly. During the course of our discussion, Sir
Sikander Hayat advised Soomro to join the Muslim League at which the latter said that he would not do so because he
considered the very existence of the League detrimental to the interests of the Muslims of India, to Sindh, to the rest of
the sub-continent and to Islam itself.
Sir Sikander Hayat told Soomro: 'Look, I am in League Myself 'Allah Bux Soomro retorted by saying that Sir Sikander
Hayat had criticized the Pakistan plan in the Punjab Assembly only a few days ago. How was it possible to be in the
Muslim League and be opposed to the Pakistan scheme? he asked. 'At least my conscience does not allow me to indulge
in this kind of two-timingness," he added. He also said that in his view, Pakistan would be detrimental to Muslim
interests and be deadly for Sindh. At this, Sir Sikander Hayat said even the central President of the League, Mr. Jinnah,
was not in favor of Pakistan and the proceedings of the Round Table Conference were proof of that. He had opposed the
Pakistan idea in the light of Jinnah's views, he added. Allah Bux Soomro said he was not capable of that kind of
hypocrisy. Only Sir Sikander and Mr. Jinnah could do it. Later, Sir Sikander left for Cairo when Rommel was
threatening to take over the Suez Canal for Germany. Gen. Montgomery who was lea ' ding Sikh and Muslim troops
from the Punjab, was facing the Germans. Sir Sikander Hayat had gone to Egypt to boost the morale of the Indian
troops. He performed this duty with great loyalty. Shortly afterwards, the German advance turned into retreat. At this,
Winston Churchill met Sir Sikander in Cairo and personally thanked him for having helped the British in their hour of
trial while the Congress had added to their problems Therefore; the Congress did not deserve British attention or
friendship. He said that the British could not ' remain in India in the face of opposition from its 400 million people. He
asked Sir Sikander Hayat to assure Mr. Jinnah that in order to teach the Congress a lesson, the British would quit the
sub-continent soon after the War but only after having created a 'Muslim India' in India. Mr. Jinnah need not be afraid,
and he could have this pledge verified by the Viceroy of India.
Sir Sikander Hayat left Cairo for Bombay where he met Mr. Jinnah and conveyed Mr. Churchill's message to him Mr.
Jinnah had the promise made by the British Prime Minister verified by the Viceroy through the Governor of Bombay.
The Viceroy then summoned Mr. Jinnah to Delhi and told him that a framework for the division of India was already
on the anvil and he could check on this from Sir Zafarullah Khan, on the condition that he would not enter into any
settlement with the Congress. Jinnah agreed to do so and began to work against the Congress with renewed vigor. It is
possible that at this may yet be regarded as not fully established. Therefore, I am citing an excerpt from Syed Nor
Ahmed's book, "Martial Law Se Martial Law Tak" in which he says that even after the passage of the Lahore
Resolution, Sir Sikander Hayat was not mentally prepared to accept the Pakistan plan because he believed in provincial
autonomy. However, he was in favor of partition because of autonomy for the Muslim nation, which was the basis of
the Lahore Resolution. However, he wanted that the Punjab should remain united. He wanted partition to take place in
such a manner that the martial races of the Punjab should be free of the influence of the pundits and Brahmins of the
majority party in the center. He probably thought that the Punjabi Hindus and Sikhs would agree with his point of view.
He made a strange effort towards this end over and above the heads of the League leadership. At the request 'of the
British Government, he visited the War theaters once again to buck up the Indians, which is to say, Punjabi soldiers. In
the winter of 1941-42, he had the occasion to meet Churchill in Cairo. On his return home, he told some of his Cabinet
The Case of Sindh 51
colleagues, including Sir Chotu Ram and other friends that apart from other things, he had discussed India's
constitutional problem with the British Prime Minister and had tired to make two points clear to him.
1. He had tried to impress upon him the fact that only the martial races of the Punjab had contributed to the
British War effort with loyalty and it would be a travesty of justice if they were made subservient to the
Congress and the Brahmins who would be in majority at the center in a free India.
2. A loyal Punjab deserved to be the leader of a separate dominion, which should include Sindh, the NWFP and
Baluchistan. This could be easily achieved provided the British statesmen were convinced of its advantages.
Such a federation would be loyal to the British under all circumstances. The defense of the new dominion and
the rest of India should for some time, be joined under British supervision. Later, a mutually agreed formula
could be evolved for the purpose. The new dominion would be economically self-sufficient.
Is it too difficult to surmise what effect this proposal had on Churchill? Obviously, this is exactly what Churchill wanted
and it is for this reason that the proposal had been made. It is interesting to note that six months after his talks with Sir
Sikander Hayat, Churchill sent a member of his War Cabinet, Sir Stafford Cripps, to India with a plan for Indian
independence under which any province could opt out of India if it so desired and the British Government would give it
separate dominion status. If this plan was the result of Sir Sikander Hayat's efforts, he must have been disappointed
when both the Congress and the Muslim League rejected it. Nevertheless, the demand for Pakistan gained strength to
the extent that the British offer had brought the concept of partition to the realm of practical politics. (Martial Law se
Martial Law Tak, pp 204-5, with the author quoting Raja Ghazanfar Ali Khan who was in Lahore in 1948), This excerpt
raises two points. As I have stated, the partition plan was offered by Churchill himself with the assurance that it would
be implemented while the excerpt given above shows that the author of the scheme was Sir Sikander Hayat which was
not only approved by Churchill but he also sent Sir Stafford Cripps to India as a practical proof of his approval.
The second point is that under the Sikander Hayat Scheme, the new federation was to have been led by the Punjab
because it had been loyal to the British. Isn't the present Pakistan exactly what he had demanded? Then how does the
author of the book cited above say that Sir Sikander Hayat was disappointed? We would, therefore, be right in saving
that the British imperialists staged the whole drama and our politicians were mere actors in it. For as long as Mr.
Churchill was Prime Minister, Mr. Jinnah played his role in the drama well but when Churchill was defeated and Attlee
became the new Labor Prime Minister, Mr. Jinnah suddenly changed his stance on partition when he saw the mood of
the new Government in London. He accepted the Cabinet Mission Plan which could not be put into effect because it
was rejected by the Congress, forcing Jinnah to revert to his old demand because he had been assured by his friends that
the British would not remain in India for long. Mr. Jinnah took this to mean that the Labor Government did not want to
reverse all of Mr. Churchill's policies and considered the partition of the sub-continent necessary to keep British
influence intact in the region, Pakistan was a gift in return for the loyalty with which the Punjabis had served the British
and is cause of all our problems. In this regard, I cite former Prime Minister Feroze Khan Noon's book, "Chashm Deed"
in which he says that the Punjabis had played a major role in the British victory in the First World War and were
rewarded with the Government of India Act of 1935, The Punjabis fought equally bravely and loyally during the Second
World War and lost the best of its youth in Africa and Europe. ' In gratitude for this loyalty, the British gave them
Pakistan.' It may be added here that Sir Feroze Khan Noon wrote the book cited here after he had left office. I have
always believed that Pakistan was created by the British to maintain their domination by creating bases in different parts
of the world. But nature wreaked a terrible vengeance on the British for their treachery against the People of India
because their world domination ended after the Second World War and the bases established by them fell into the hands
of American imperialism.
The Case of Sindh 52
I am certain that just as British imperialism vas drowned in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, the order established by their
agents too will be swept away by the Arabian Sea. Religion was used as a weapon for the creation of Pakistan. It was
said that the new country would be a sanctuary for the Islamic order. It was also said that since the Muslims were a
better people among other peoples, they had the right to lead the rest of the world and this right would accrue to them
through Pakistan. However this concept was based on a non-political, non-religious and inhuman fraud because the
Muslims are neither the chosen people nor the best in the world nor yet has any nation come into existence on the basis
of a marriage between politics and religion. Apart from the first few years of Islam, there might have been Muslim
nation-States but none of them has ever been an Islamic State. They did not have popularly elected governments but
were ruled by despots or were the personal fiefs of despotic kings and were based on barbaric murder and mayhem and
had nothing to do with Islam. The Prophet of Islam, Mohammed (May peace be upon him) was a social and spiritual
guide for mankind and not a despotic ruler who conquered territories by force. There are clear guidelines from the Holy
Prophet (May peace be upon him) on stagecraft which indicate that he had nothing to do with mundaneness of State
power. In this regard, I wish to recall an incident from history. In A.H. 5, a group of Muslims, led by Hazrat Jafar
Tayyar, fleeing from the repression of the people of Makkah, sought refuge in Habasha. The group took a letter from the
Holy Prophet (may peace be upon him) in which he had asked the King of Habasha to accept Islam. The king agreed to
do so. Later, the Holy Prophet (may peace be upon him) allowed him to continue as king and never asked him to step
down from the throne and accept him as his leader. Nor did he ask him to change his system of government. (Seeratun
Nabi by Shibli Nomani, Part I)
This shows that the Holy Prophet (may peace be upon him) never wanted to wrest the independence of other nations or
to force them to change their system of governance. He wrote letters to several kings, asking them to embrace Islam.
These letters invariably ended with the sentence: "Accept Islam and live long" (twice). Explaining this sentence,
Maulana Hifzur Rehman Seharwi, the noted religious scholar and freedom-fighter, says that its repetition meant that the
Holy Prophet (may peace be upon him) wanted the recipient of the letter not only to retain his throne but also to prosper
in the Hereafter (Albalaghul Mubeen, Darul Mussanefin, Delhi).
The early history of Islam shows the battles fought by the Arabs after the Holy Prophet (may peace be upon him) were
motivated by expansionism and a lust for territory and not for establishing the Islamic order in conquered countries. It is
another matter that the Holy Prophet (may peace be upon him) had gained control over the Arabian Peninsula during
his lifetime and he persuaded people to accept the Islamic way of life voluntarily. That is why I think that to choose a
piece of land and call it Pakistan in the name of Islam is against the teachings of the Holy Prophet (may peace be upon
him). The Arabian Peninsula has acquired a certain amount of sanctity because it is the birthplace of the Holy Prophet
(may peace be upon him) and because the Holy Qura'an was revealed to him there but in spite of it, he did not rename it
'Pak Astaan'. As Maulana Abul Kalam Azad writes in his book, India Wins Freedom:
I must confess that the very term Pakistani goes against my grain. It suggests that some portions of the world are
pure while others are impure. , Such a division of territories into pure and impure is un-Islamic and a
repudiation of the very spirit of Islam. Islam recognizes no such division and the Prophet says: 'God has made
the whole world a mosque for me.' (p. 142)
'It is one of the greatest frauds on the people to suggest that religious affinity can unite areas which are
geographically, economically, linguistically and culturally different. It is true that Islam sought to establish a
society, which transcends racial, linguistic, economic and political frontiers. History has however proved that
after the first few decades, or at most after the first century, Islam was not able to unite all the Muslim Countries
into one state on the basis of Islam alone.' (p. 227)
Pakistan came into being on the basis of the two-nation theory but, history has proved that those who used the Muslim
nation and Islamic order slogans, had deceived the Muslim masses in order to protect their own class interests, The
The Case of Sindh 53
concept of Muslim nationhood is wrong and Pakistan's solidarity and stability on its basis is impossible. An Islamic,
which is to say, a religious order is a huge fraud. . This is not my view alone. Noted religious scholars and intellectuals
are of the same opinion. Maulana Obaidullah Sindhi is a respected, Popular and political name in Sindh and the
subcontinent. He left India shortly before World War I and lived for 27 years in Afghanistan, Turkistan, Russia, Turkey
and the Hejaz, On his return to Sindh, he used to say that the Indian Muslims had a dreamy notion about their identity,
which had no basis in practical life. They had been thinking in terms of a party and a nation about which they had no
clear-cut idea in their minds. They had confined themselves to a dream world and had isolated themselves from the
struggles for independence in other Muslim countries. Also, they did not have any agreed concept of a practical ideology
or way of life in the modern world (Malfuzat-i-Maulana Obaidullah Sindhi).
The conclusions arrived at by Maulana Obaidullah Sindhi can be summarized as under:
1. Muslims all over the world have no clear concept of a true Islamic society and no Muslim government is
being run on the basis of such a concept.
2. Because of the current international situation and the backwardness of the Muslim countries, no pan-Islamic
movement is possible. Therefore, Muslim countries will run themselves on the basis of modern nationalism.
3. The peoples living in the sub-continent are different nations on the basis of their ancient geographic
boundaries, language, culture and politico-economic interests.
In this regard, the noted scholar of Sindh and my spiritual mentor, Allama 1. I Qazi was against the creation of Pakistan
on the basis of religious hatred. One of his statements was published by me Sindhi paper, Qurbani, on January 22, 1939,
parts of which are being excerpted here:
"We have been brought to the Muslim League platform. We had hoped that we would be able to work shoulder to
shoulder with each other for doing good work. Sadly, it does not look as if this hope would be realized. The
Organization is like the man who gathers all people together and throws bombs on them to kill everyone at one go.
Bringing the Muslims of India on one platform is a matter of some concern but more tragic is the fact that not only are
the Muslims of India being destroyed but the standards and objectives of the Holy Qura'an are also being obliterated.
This will be a loss not only for the Muslims but also for all humankind. It is being said that efforts will be made to save
the Islamic order through Pakistan. But what has the Holy Qura'an to say on Pakistan and our concept of it? Consider
the following injunctions:
1. Spread in all corners of the world.
2. Step out and see the world around,
3. The world is a wide-open place. Go everywhere to serve the people.
4. (The Muslims) will set examples for all of humankind.
5. You (the Muslims) are the righteous Ummah for and among all humanity.
According to these injunctions, the Muslims were to be an example for the rest of the world to follow. They bad to
spread to the four corners of the world and give the lead to other peoples everywhere, Until the fifteenth century A.D.,
the Muslims did exactly that and spread to the four corners of the world. They were above personal considerations, and
food, I housing, comfort and security aside, they were not afraid even of death. It his to be kept in mind above
everything else that in doing their duty, they did not look at things from majority-minority considerations and were
never afraid of the superior strength of their foes. The 'Pakistani' isolationists should pause and ponder over the fact how
far removed they are from the Quranic objectives. Pakistan is being created so that Muslims from here there and
The Case of Sindh 54
everywhere should take refuge in it and save themselves from death and other losses. But to leave a place only for fear of
death and other losses is nowhere near the Islamic concept of life. Had Alberuni and Ibn Batuta been alive today, what
would have they thought of this tendency to run away from fear)? The entire policy of the Muslim League has been
based on the fear of the Hindus. A Muslim today trembles at the very mention of a Hindu. Since the day we went over
to the Muslim League, we have been shouting that we are afraid of the Hindus and that they would do us in, any
moment. Are these the Muslims who used to claim that they were not afraid of death? The principle used to be if you are
true, challenge death. Will the present leader of the Muslims, Mr. Jinnah, tell us whether he is of the opinion that the
Muslims today have nothing to do with the spirit of Islam and that they are no longer capable of spreading to the four
corners of the world and that their security lies in bringing them to a protective home or orphanage? Does he think that
the Muslims are so sick and poor that if they are not brought together at one place, their spirit will die, and since they are
sick, they need constant nursing? Does he think that they are mentally retarded and physically ill, and that they have lost
wisdom and courage and have become weak and lazy, and that they are constantly awaiting death? If such indeed is the
state of the Muslims, then even the fortress of Pakistan cannot save them. For instance, let us look at the Sindhi part of
Pakistan. Is this an example of the protective house called Pakistan? The situation that has been created here is amazing.
Instead of becoming a protective home or Pakistan, Sindh has been turned into a graveyard in which every Quranic
precept is being trampled underfoot. It appears as if the colorful and attractive name of Pakistan is being used only to
hide the real facts. It is like calling a sickhouse a hospital or naming a sweeper the Mehtar (the Chief). If by Pakistan we
mean what has been created in Sindh, then there will be no chance for inmates of this sickhouse even in the new
country. And they (the Sindhis) will perhaps be obliterated. To make the demand for Pakistan for fear of the Hindus is
against all tenets of the Holy Qura'an. (Pakistan, Mazi, Haal Ain Mustaqbil, p. p 22-27
The wise and far-sighted persons quoted above are known not only in the sub-continent but also in the entire Muslim
world. There can be no two opinions about their sagacity, capabilities and the sacrifices they have made. They are
recognized by friends and foes alike. They have never served as agents of any foreign power or otherwise been on its
payroll. On the other hand, those who have appointed themselves as custodians of Islam and the Muslims have been
ruthlessly exposed by history. On top of the list are Allama Iqbal and Mr. Jinnah. Let us first have a look at Allama
Iqbal. His morals were not in any way worthy of emulation by the Muslim masses. He was well-versed in western
philosophy and an excellent poet but he was to the end of his days a recipient of largesse from Bhopal, a small Muslim
princely state in the sub-continent whose Nawab Habibullah Khan was his patron. One need not go into the moral
aspects of his life at length. Only three examples will suffice here.
1. Abdul Majid Salik says in his book, Zikr-i-Iqbal: "Before his second marriage, family elders were trying that
the Allama should settle things with his first spouse. However, Iqbal was under great mental strain, which is
proved by the letter he wrote to Atiya Begum in which he said that he did not want to do any work. All he
desired was to leave India as soon as he could. These were the feelings of a person who had written: Sarey jahan
se accha Hindustan hamara. Only one thing, he wrote, had prevented him from running away from India. He
was, he said, under such a debt of gratitude to his brother that he could not leave the country. His life had
become hell for him because his relatives wanted to impose his wife On him. He told Atiya Begum that he had
written to his father telling him that he had no right to marry him, especially when he had refused to accept the
girl he had chosen for him. He was willing to pay living expenses to her but was not ready to torture himself by
living with her. As a human being, he had every right to happiness and if society or destiny denied him this
right, he would rebel against both. He had only two options: either to leave the ill-starred country for good or to
seek solace in alcohol which made it easy to commit suicide.
Look at the man of letters and philosophy, and his views on books: "The dead and desolate pages of books can
give me no happiness," he says. 'My soul has gone so far ahead that I want to burn all these books together with
society and its traditions. - April 9, 1909," Zikr-i-Iqbal, Abdul Majid Salik p.p. 73-74).
The Case of Sindh 55
This shows of what disposition was the man who is called the creator of the Pakistan idea. Abdul Majid Salik
writes at another place that final Iqbal decided to marry again. But he did not bring his second wife home
because he had received letters alleging that she was a woman of easy virtue who had had relations with several
people. The Allama had his own doubts and he had decided to divorce her. 'But in case he had to marry the
same girl again, what would he do?' This was the question worrying him! And for this purpose, he sent Mirza
Jalaluddin to Hakim Nur Din in Qadian, (Nur Din was Mirza Ghulam Ahmad's first 'caliph') to find out the
religious implications of the matter. The Maulvi advised that mere intention to divorce did not constitute
divorce. However, if he had any doubts, he should go in for another 'nikah' (marriage license). At this, the
Allama called a maulvi, had another nikah performed and took the girl to Sialkot. He came back after eight days
and told Mirza Jalaluddin that he was feeling so good that he felt he was in heaven.
Abdul Majid Salik concludes this account saying that Iqbal was no different from the other young men of his
time. He always lived as a fly lived for sugar but never as a bee for honey. Many of his old friends must still be
around whom must be cherishing the memory of those colorful days and nights. Iqbal himself has admitted that
he was for a long time a devotee of Eros and the requirements that went with it but it was his wish to die in
Madina!
[I spent a long time clinging to the breasts of beautiful damsels and their curly locks. I drank both with the moon and silver and put out
the light of my redemption]. (Zikr-i-Iqbal, p. 7 1 - 7 2).
3. Allama Iqbal's father had married him when he was 19 to Karim Bibi who was a homely type. But he began
ignoring her and started to think in terms of a second marriage. However, he did not divorce her first wife nor
did he pay her household expenses. He had two children from her, son Aftab and daughter Metal Bibi who were
not mentioned in his will, Iqbal's brother asked them to institute a case for the restitution of their rights after the
Allama's death. The two children and their mother lived in poverty all their lives and no one knows them in
relation to Iqbal today. One of Iqbal's admirers, Syed Hamid Raze Jalali writes in his book, "Allama Iqbal our
Unki Pehli Bivi", that he (Allama) wrote a letter to his father, saying that he was not satisfied with his (first) wife
and by marrying her to him he had done grave injustice to him. Iqbal wrote this letter to his father in 1909 while
he had been married in 1893. After 16 years of marriage, which could not have taken place without his consent,
and after having had two children whom he had named himself, the Allama, poisoned by the evil European
influences, deserted him. One may say nothing out of respect to the Allama but if his first wife had any failings,
he should have revealed them. However, if being, older to Iqbal was her only crime, the Allama himself was 40,
when he was complaining about her to Atiya Begum. It was reprehensible on his part to abandon his wife and
children and look for young girls at that age. His conduct was unbecoming of a man of letters. It Vas neither just
nor gentlemanly nor wise. Islam permits four marriages, no doubt, but there are restraints for that and when a
man divorces his wife, he must pay her alimony and give her other rights. If he does not do so, he has no moral
right to marry again, at least not a man like the Allama. If it was under European influence that he did what he
did, then European education must be condemned a thousand times. One can understand that the colorful life
he had led in Europe had created in Iqbal a certain type of way wardens which made him sick not only of his
wife but also of his country which he wanted to leave soon after his return home. 'Iqbal Ki Pehli Bevi' Syed
Hamid Raze Jalali, President, Majlis-i-Mohibban-i-Iqbal, Pakistan, June 1967, Anjuman Press, Karachi. Some
Persian lines from the poet of the East and Hakimul Ummat are being presented here:
(Pani Manjh Pasaah, Sher Mohammed Khuda Bux Baloch, retired Secretary, Irrigation, Governments of Sindh and
West Pakistan, p. 70) Iqbal does not meet even the minimum standards so far as love and concern for the Muslims are
concerned. This is so because when the imperialists were trampling the Muslim world underfoot in 1914, the Caliphate