The Second World War and the Pakistan Resolution, 1940

O Level Pakistan Studies History · The emergence of Pakistan: 1940 to 1947. A short explanation of the idea, the rules to remember, the mistake to avoid, a worked example and practice questions with answers.

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The idea

In September 1939 the Viceroy, Lord Linlithgow, declared India at war without asking Indian leaders. The Congress ministries resigned in protest. Britain now needed Indian support, and the Muslim League, which did not obstruct the war effort, gained weight in British eyes.

In March 1940 at Lahore the League passed the Lahore Resolution. For the first time it asked for independent states in the Muslim-majority areas of the north-west and the east. It rested on the Two-Nation Theory: Muslims and Hindus were two separate nations.

In 1942 the Congress began the Quit India Movement. Its leaders were jailed, leaving the field open to the League.

Rules to remember

Lahore Resolution: passed at the Muslim League session in Lahore, March 1940 (23 March is remembered as Pakistan Day).
Moved by A. K. Fazlul Haq, the premier of Bengal; Jinnah presided over the session.
Demand: Muslim-majority areas in the north-west and east to be grouped into 'independent states' whose units would be autonomous and sovereign.
The text did not use the word 'Pakistan'; the Hindu press named it the 'Pakistan Resolution' and the name stayed.
Significance: the League's aim changed from safeguards inside India to a separate homeland, giving Muslims one clear goal.
Quit India, August 1942: a Congress campaign for the British to leave at once; Gandhi, Nehru and other leaders were arrested.
The League did not join Quit India; Jinnah's reply was 'Divide and Quit'.

Common mistake

Many students write that the Lahore Resolution demanded 'Pakistan' by name, or that Iqbal or Jinnah moved it. The word 'Pakistan' is not in the text, and it was moved by A. K. Fazlul Haq.

Worked example

A source says: 'We ask for separate electorates and one-third of the seats in a federal India.' Could this be from the Lahore Resolution of 1940?

Separate electorates and one-third of seats are safeguards for a minority inside one Indian state.
These were the demands of the Fourteen Points in 1929.
The Lahore Resolution went further: it asked for independent states in the Muslim-majority areas.

Answer: No. The source matches the Fourteen Points; the Lahore Resolution asked for independent states, not safeguards.

Practice questions

Try each one, then open the answer.

1. In which year did the Muslim League pass the Lahore (Pakistan) Resolution?

A
1930
B
1940
C
1942
D
1946

Show answer

Answer: B. It was passed at the League's session at Lahore in March 1940. 1930 was Iqbal's Allahabad address.

2. How did the Quit India Movement help the Muslim League?

A
Britain rewarded the League by promising Pakistan in 1942
B
Congress members left their party and joined the League
C
it ended the League's long rivalry with the Unionist Party
D
with Congress leaders in prison, the League could build support

Show answer

Answer: D. The League organised and expanded while the Congress was banned, and it formed ministries in several provinces.

3. What was the Quit India Movement of 1942?

A
a Congress campaign for immediate British withdrawal
B
a League campaign against the Congress ministries
C
a British plan to leave India by June 1948
D
a migration of Indian Muslims to Afghanistan

Show answer

Answer: A. The Congress launched Quit India in August 1942; the British jailed its leaders for most of the war.

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← The Government of India Act 1935 and Congress rule, 1937-1939 The Cripps Mission, the Gandhi-Jinnah talks and the Simla Conference, 1942-1945 →All rules on one page Stuck? Ask a question