Simla Deputation

Was Simla Deputation a command performance?

The Muslim rule declined in 1857. Muslims and Hindus both participated in the war of
Independence but the British believed that the war was all Muslims fault. The post war era was
disatouras for the Muslims but some prominent personalities emerged giving the Muslims the
hope they were starting to lose.

Introduction
The Urdu Hindi Controversy and partition of Bengal revealed it to the Muslims that the Hindus
would never allow the Muslims a respectable position in the Indian society. The political scene
of India, at that time, was dominated by the vigorous activities of the Congress who had no rival
in the political arena. The Muslims believed that they weren’t going to get wanted only an
organized attempt would lead them to success. So when Lord Minto was appointed as British
Viceroy on India in 1905 new reforms were indicated. The political awakening of the Muslims
came into effective expression on 1rst October 1906 when a delegation of 35 Muslim leaders
headed by Agha Khan met Lord Minto to present the demands of the Muslim Community.

Demands of the Muslims

Main demands put forwarded by the delegation were as under:
i) The Muhammadans may be granted the right of a separate electorate to choose their
representatives.
ii) Muslim judges may be appointed more frequently.
iii) The Muslims may be given due representation in the imperial legislative council.
iv) At least one Muslim may be appointed in Viceroy’s Executive council.
v) Muslims may be given due representation in Gazette and Sub-ordinated Ministerial Services

Lord Minto’s Response

Lord Minto gave a patient hearing to the demands of the Muslims presented by Simla
Deputation. He expressed his complete agreement with the principles of the separate
electorates. He promised to give a sympathetic consideration to the demands and assured the
deputation that he would do all what was possible to meet the demands.
Importance of Simla Deputation
Simla Deputation enjoys great importance in the history of Pakistan Movement. It was through
this deputation that the Muslims of India for the first time highlighted their demands as a
community on national level. According to I.H. Qureshi:
“The Simla Deputation occupies a crucially important place in the history of Muslim-India. For
the first time the Hindu-Muslim conflict was lifted to the constitutional plane. The rift in the
society was now to be reflected in legal and political institutions. The Muslims made it clear that
they had no confidence in the Hindu majority that they were not prepared to put their future in
the hands of assemblies elected on the assumed basis of a homogenous Indian nation. By
implication the Muslims rejected the idea of a single Indian nation on the ground of that the
Muslim majority had an entity and could not be merged into Hindu majority.”

Conclusion
It is said that Simla Deputation was no more than a command performance staged by the
British following its divide and rule policy. The first person to say that was Muhammad Ali
Johar. In my opinion it was not a command performance because of all the facts stated above
but a turning point for the Muslims.