Lahore resolution: reactions of British, Hindu, sikhs?
Answers
The name Pakistan was not used in the resolution and the official name of the resolution was Lahore Resolution. It was the Hindu newspapers including Partap, Bande Matram, Milap, Tribune etc., who ironically coined the name Pakistan Resolution. However, the idea was appreciated by the Muslim masses and the Resolution is more known as Pakistan Resolution. Secondly, the Government and people of Pakistan wrongly celebrate March 23 as a national day in Pakistan. The actual day when the resolution was passed was March 24. It was only presented on March 23. Lastly, it the word “states” and not “state” was mentioned in the Resolution. It means that the authors of the Resolution were foreseeing two separate states in the north-western and eastern zones of India. But if one has a good look at the developments that followed, he or she would come to the conclusion that either the word “states” was included as a mistake or the League leadership soon had a second thought to their idea. A Resolution passed at the 1941 Madras session of the League stated, “Everyone should clearly understand that we are striving for one independent and sovereign Muslim State.” In all the speeches that Quaid delivered, he also used the word “an independent homeland” or “an independent Muslim state”.
Hindu Reaction
The Hindu reaction was, of course, quick, bitter and malicious. They called the “Pakistan” demand “anti-national.” They characterized it as “vivisection; above all, they denounced it as imperialist – inspired to obstruct India’s march to freedom.” In denouncing the demand outright, they, however, missed the central fact of the Indian political situation; the astonishingly tremendous response of the Pakistan demand had elicited from the Muslim masses. They also failed to take cognizance of the fact that a hundred million Muslims were now supremely conscious of their distinct nationhood and were prepared to stake everything to actualize their self-perceived destiny – the creation of an independent Muslim state in the sub-continent.
British Reaction
The British were equally hostile to the Muslim demand for at least two important reasons. First, they had long considered themselves as the architects of the unity of India and of an Indian nation. Second, they had long regarded the super-imposed unity under tax Britannica as their greatest achievement and lasting contribution in history. And the Pakistan demand threatened to undo these presumed achievements on which the British had long prided. However, despite the Hindu denunciation and the British alarm, the course of Muslim, indeed Indian, politics was from now on firmly set towards Pakistan.