Fourteen Points Of Quaid-e-Azam:

Outline:
• Background
• Quaid’s Fourteen Points
• Hindus’ Reaction
• Muslims’ Reaction
• Importance Of The Fourteen Points
• Comparison Between The Nehru Report And Fourteen Points Of Quaid


Background:

Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah did his best to bring rapprochement between the Muslim League and the Congress. His efforts bore fruit and the Congress and the Muslim League reached an agreement in the annual session at Lucknow in 1916. In Lucknow Pact, Congress first time conceded the right of separate electorate for Muslims and provided for the provincial autonomy. but the way in which Gandhi withdrew from the Khilafat Movement, opened the eyes of the Muslims. Furthermore, the publication of Nehru Report in which Congress adopted a stubborn attitude and withdrew its acceptance of separate electorate of the Muslims, shocked the Muslim leadership out of its dream of Hindu-Muslim unity. Quaid-e-Azam decided to give his own formula for the constitutional reforms in reply to the Nehru Report. He gave his famous 14 points in the Muslim League session of Delhi in 1929. These points were:

Quaid’s Fourteen Points:

i) The form of the future constitution shall be federal, with the residuary powers vested in provinces.
ii) A uniform measures for autonomy shall be granted to all provinces.
iii) All legislatures in the country and other elected bodies shall be constituted on the definite principles of adequate and effective representation to minorities in every province without reducing the majority in any province to a minority or even equality.
iv) Representation of communal groups shall continue by separate electorates provided that it shall be open to any time to abandon its separate electorate in favour of joint electorate.
v) In the central legislature, Muslim representation shall not be less than 1/3rd.
vi) Any territorial redistribution that might at any time be necessary shall not in any way affect the Muslim majority in Punjab, Bengal and NWFP.
vii) Sind should be separated from Bombay.
viii) Reforms should be introduced in the province of NWFP and Baluchistan.
ix) Full religious liberty, that is, the liberty of belief, worship and observance, propaganda, association and education shall be granted to all the communities.
x) No bill or resolution or any part thereof shall be passed in any legislature or any other elected body if 3/4th of the members of any community oppose it as being injurious to the interests of that community.
xi) Provision should be made in the constitution giving Muslims an adequate share along with other Indians in the services of the State and other local self-governing bodied having due regard to the requirements of efficiencies.
xii) No cabinet either central or provincial should be formed without having 1/3rd Muslim ministries.
xiii) The constitution embody adequate safeguard for the protection of Muslim culture, and for the promotion of Muslim religion, education, personal laws and Muslim charitable institutions.
xiv) No change shall be made in the constitution by the central legislature except with the consent of the states constituting the Indian Federation.

Hindus’ Reaction:

Hindus rejected the Fourteen Points and considered these against the concept of united Indian although Quaid had not demanded any separate homeland for Muslims.

Muslims’ Reaction:

The celebrated Fourteen Points of Quaid-e-Azam injected a new life in the frail souls of the Muslims and cleared upon them how they could protect their political, economic, social and cultural rights.

Importance Of The Points:

There was nothing new in these 14 points. These were the demand that Muslims had been put forward time and time again but these points comprehensibly covered all the problems of the Muslims confronting them in 1929.
These points contained the germs of Pakistan. On the basis these points it was agrees that the political power and opportunities for development were to be equally divided among the Hindus and the Muslims. Muslims adopted a stiff attitude towards their demands and successfully achieved a separate homeland under the able guidance of the great Quaid.