Pakistan came into existence as a dominion within the Commonwealth in August 1947, with Jinnah as Governor-General and Liaquat Al Khan as Prime Minister. With West and East Pakistan separated by more than

After holding talks with political leaders and parties, Mountbatten prepared a Partition Plan for the transfer of power which, after its approval by the British Govemment, was announced on June 3, 1947.

In October 1946, an Interim Government was formed. The Muslim League sent its representatives under the leadership of its General Secretary, Mr. Liaquat Ali Khan, with the aim to fight for the party objective

In eariy 1946, the British Government sent a Cabinet Mission to the Sub- continent to resolve the constitutional deadłock. The Mission conducted negotiations with various political parties but failed to

The Muslim League swept all the thirty seats in the central legisiature and in the provincial elections also its victory was outstanding. After the elections, on April 8-9, 1946, the All-india Muslim League

The support gained by the All-India Muslim League and its demand for Pakistan was tested after the failure of the Simla Conference 1945. Elections were calied to determine the respective strength of the

The Pakistan demand was popularized during the Second World War. Every section of the Muslim community--women, students, ulema and businessmen-was organized under the banner of the All-India Muslim League.

The British Government recognized the genuineness of the Pakistan demand. indirectly in the proposals for the transfer of power which, Sir Stafford Cripps brought to India in 1942. Both the Congress and

During 1937-1939, several. Muslim leaders and thinkers inspired by Allama Iqbal's ideas, presented elaborate schemes of partitioning the Sub-continent on communal lines. The All-India Muslim League on

Another important Congress move after the 1937 elections was its Muslim mass contact movement to persuade the Muslims to join the Congress and not the Muslim League. One of its leaders, Jawaharlal Nehru,

All-India Muslim League, which had remained dormant for sóme time, was reorganized by Muhammad Ali Jinnah who had retumed to India in 1935 after a self- imposed exile of nearly five years in England. The

Meanwhile, three Round Table Conferences were convened in London during the period 1930-32, to resolve the Indian constitutional problem. The Hindu and Muslim leaders could not draw up an agreed formula

Several leaders and thinkers- having insight into the Hindu-Muslim question proposed separation of Muslim India. However, the most lucid exposition of thhe inner feelings of the Muslim community was given

It was partly to press these demands that one section of the All-India Muslim League cooperated with the Statutory Commission sent by the British Government, under the chairmanship of Sir John Simon in

In the 1920s, the frequency of communal riots was unprecedented. In the light of this situation, the Muslims revised their constitutional demands. They now wanted preservation of their numerical majorities

The Hindu-Muslim unity reached its climax during the Khilafat and the Non- cooperation Movements. The Muslims ot South Asia, under the leadership of Ali Brothers, Maulana Muhammad All and Maulana Shaukat

The visible trend of the two major communities going in opposite directions caused deep concern to leaders of all-India stature. They struggled to bring the Congress and the Muslim League on one platform.

system get representation. October 1906, a deputation comprising 35 Muslim leaders met the Viceroy In at Simla and demanded separate electorates. Three months later, the All-India Muslim League was founded

At the dawn of the 20th century, a number of factors convinced the Muslims of the need to have an effective political organization. One of the factors was the replacement of Urdu by Hindi in the United

The contemporary of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan and a great scholar of Islam, Syed Ameer Ali (1849-1928) shared his views about the Congress, but he was not opposed to Muslims organizing themselves politically.