Presidential
Address by Shaikh Abdul Majid Sindhi
Kbilafat
Conference Presidential Address by Shaikb Abdul
Majid: Ajmere
27 September,
1932
In the course of
his address Shaikh Abdul Majid referred to
Mahatmaji's [Gandhi's] hunger-strike as a
confession of the failure on his part to purge
the majority community of the caste mentality by
any other method. He asserted that unless and
until caste system was wholly penalized, there
was no prospect of saving the country as a whole
or the Hindu society from disruption in
water-tight compartments, even with Joint
Electorates which during the last twenty years
were more or less run on caste lines. He
declared that though the Musalmans had staked
their Fourteen Points for the sake of the
Depressed Glasses, yet he would be glad if some
amicable settlement were to be arrived at
between the two sections of the Hindu community
in order to save Mahatmaji's life. When there
were separate schools, separate hostels,
separate hotels, separate wells, separate
cremation grounds,, separate marriages, separate
temples and separate languages, was there any
wonder, he asked, that there should be a demand
for Separate Electorates?
Referring to the
insistence of the Muslim community on the
retention of Separate Electorates, Shaikh Abdul
Majid said that there was no other choice left
to the Musalmans. But the responsibility for
rejecting the Joint Electorates wholly rested
with the Hindu community who would never
tolerate the statutory majorities of the
Musalmans on population basis in some of the
Provinces. Even now if Hindus would agree to
Statutory Muslim Majorities on population basis,
adequate weightage for Muslim Minorities,
separation of Sindh and other innocent cultural
and religious safeguards, the door of
negotiations for an amicable settlement with the
Hindus was open on the basis of Joint
Electorates with the hope that there would one
day be one Nation and one Electorate. But
Musalman majorities must get their fullest quota
of representation on population basis and the
Musalman minorities of India their full
weightage.
Discussing at
length the future goal of the Musalmans of
India, he preferred equal partnership for India
within the Common wealth of British Nations with
His Majesty the King Emperor and his descendants
as the hereditary and constitutional custodians
of this Common wealth. He further opined that
the Imperial Conference be converted into an
Imperial Legislature which may pave the path for
the League of Nations to establish an
International Legislature for the nations of the
world. He at the same time asserted that in an
India completely independent of British
connection, the Musalmans have nothing to fear
from the Hindus. They will be quite in a
position to hold their own and protect their own
interests, but practical statesmanship dictates
a course that is possible of achievement. The
Hindu is bent upon having domination in India
with the aid of British bayonets and the real
problem before the Musalmans is how to save
himself [sic.]: from the combined
domination of the Britisher and the Hindu. This
can only be done if the Musalmans definitely
adopt responsible government within the British
Empire as their goal and at the same time insist
on the achievement of their legitimate demands.
Proceeding, the President characterized the
present war between the Congress and Government
as a war for domination over each other and the
rest of the country to the detriment of the
interests of the vast majority of its
population. He said that the Musalmans had
refused to be a party to this war which was an
unholy war with sinister aims on both sides. The
Congress aimed at domination and the Government
wanted to crush the Congress. He suggested peace
in the interests of humanity at large, in the
interests of England and in the interests of
India.
He gave tentative
proposals for a lasting peace as follows:
1.
Civil Disobedience Movement to cease at once.
2.
Declaration by the Government that the responsibility in the center and
in the province will be introduced
simultaneously, the safeguards to be mutually
agreed to in the Third Round Table Conference.
3.
The Congress leaders to co-operate with the Government in putting down
violent outrages and outbreaks.
4.
Withdrawal of Ordinance Bill by the Government
5.
Participation of the Congress in the Third Round Table Conference.
6.
Release of Civil Disobedience Prisoners.
For the
Hindu-Muslim settlement he suggests to [sic.]
alternative formulue [sic.]:
1.
Reservation of seats on population basis for all the communities in all
the Provincial Legislature [sic.] with separate
Electorates.
2.
Reservation of seats on population basis for the Muslim majorities and
existing weightage plus one-third of the
existing nominated seats for Muslim minorities
in the Provincial Legislatures with Joint
Electorates throughout India.
One-third Muslim
representation in the Federal Legislatures [sic.],
separation of Sindh introduction of
reforms in British Baluchistan, residuary
powers to lie with the Provinces, due share in
Central and Provincial Cabinets and Services
and religious and cultural safeguards form [sic.]
the necessary parts of both the proposals.
If no assurance
is given to the Musalmans about the separation
of Sindh simultaneously with the inauguration of
the New Constitution, if British Baluchistan is
denied the reformed Constitution, if the
European Community in Bengal does not see its
way to forego a few seats to restore the Muslim
majority in Bengal as was agreed to between the
minorities delegates at the Round Table
Conference in the Minority Pact, the Musalmans
of India should reject the Award and concert
united measures for wrecking the New
Constitution with all their might. The Award in
the present shape is most unsatisfactory,
disappointing and unjust.
About the
condition of the Muslims in Native States, the
President suggested the appointment of vakils on
behalf of the Khilafat Conference to watch
their interests and to get their grievances
redressed by constitutional agitation. He
expressed the hope that the day would not be
distant when the Muslim world would find out
some solution of the Khilafat question and elect
a Khalifa accepted by all. Until then he would
pay his homage to the exiled Khalifa. The Hedjaz
should be converted into a Muslim international
state, having for its chairman the ruler of the
Hedjaz, whoever he might be. The functions of
the Muslim International Assembly should be
partly advisory and partly legislative, with the
power of veto vested in the chairman.
The President
congratulated the Musalmans of Palestine for
having held the Muslim World Congress at
Jerusalem and hoped that their efforts for the
establishment of a Muslim University would be
crowned with success, and he suggested that the
next World Congress might be held in India, and
that its constitution should be so modified as
to make it workable and acceptable to all so far
as possible. Such a Congress, he said would
help the Muslim Nations to co-operate with one
another in the common work of elevating the
Muslims throughout the world.
Then the
President gave a constructive programme for the
Central Khilafat Committee which is briefly
given here:
1.
Revision of the constitution of the Central Khilafat Committee.
2.
Re-organization of the existing committees and the establishment of new
ones. Introduction of the principal [sic.]
of life insurance in the Constitution of the
committee and charging of four annas per every
month or three rupees annually, the amount so
collected to be given in equal shares to the
heirs of the members who may happen to die in
any month.
3.
Co-operation with the other Muslim organization is in the country to
form a single political organization of the
Musalmans of India.
4.
Encouraging the Musalmans to get their names registered in the next
census as Musalmans, without giving any caste or
race, with Islam as their religion.
5.
To help the other Muslim organizations in the establishment of a Muslim
Jurists Association, whose decisions in matters
affecting the personal law of Musalmans should
be regarded as final and to secure their
recognition by the Government?
6.
To frame a model Wakf Act with a view to its being passed by the
provincial legislatures through the Muslim
members of these legislatures.
7.
To urge the Government to transfer the control of mosques and other
sacred and historical monuments of the Musalmans
to the control of the Muslim community,
whenever such a demand is and [sic.]
by the local Musalmans.
8.
To establish night schools by making it necessary and compulsory on [sic.]
each Khilafat Committee to establish at least
one night school within its own town otherwise
failing which it would not be recognized by the
Central Committee.
9.
To celebrate the anniversary of the late Maulana Muhammad Ali in
co-operation with other organizations and to
establish Joint Committees in as many places as
possible for collecting a fund which may be
handed over to the Jamea Millia, Delhi.
10.
To enroll one volunteer per cent of the population under the auspices of
the Local Committees.
11.
To undertake a general propaganda for the furtherance of education,
retrenchment in expenditure, eradication of
social evils, opening of shops and grain shops
in particular, curtailment of personal
expenses, and to inculcate principles of
religion and morality among the Musalmans.
12.
To educate the electorate that it should elect true, hard-working and
self-sacrificing Musalmans to the self-governing
bodies and the Provincial and Central
legislatures.
The President
concluded by making a fervent appeal to the
Musalmans of India to sink their petty
differences and to unite.
