Quaid-e-Azam learned a bitter lesson from the All Parties National Convention of 1928. He had played the role of a compromiser and negotiator successfully in composing Hindu-Muslim differences at Lucknow in 1916. He thought in 1928 he could play the same role in negotiating a compromise. But he was bluntly reminded that he had no right to speak on behalf of the Muslims because he did not represent them. There he learnt the lesson that political leadership did not rest merely on one’s forensic ability to plead a political case. It also depended on political strength, that is, the actual support that one had among the masses of people. It was only when Jinnah acquired a large political following among Muslims and with his political astuteness (like Gandhi) succeeded in uniting different factions and interests of Muslims that he became a leader who was respected and feared by his opponents because he could veto any proposal that was not acceptable to the Muslim League.

The Quaid-e-Azam decided to give his own formula for the constitutional reforms in reply to Nehru Report. He convened the meeting of the Muslim League in 1929 in Delhi and gave his famous Fourteen Points Formula. While delivering his Presidential Address, the Quaid-e-Azam declared that no constitution shall be accepted by the Muslims of India without the Fourteen Points which were as Follow:-

1. The form of the future constitution should be federal with the residuary powers vested in the provinces.
2. A uniform measure of autonomy shall be granted to all the provinces.
3. All legislatures in the country and other elected bodies shall be constituted on the definite principle of adequate and effective representation of minorities in every province without reducing the majority in any province to a minority or even equality.
4. In the Central Legislature, Muslim representation shall not be less than one-third.
5. Representation of communal groups shall continue to be by means of separate electorates as at present, provided it shall be open to any community at any time to abandon its separate electorate in favor of a joint electorate.
6. Any territorial distribution that might at any time be necessary shall not in any way affect the Muslim majority in the Punjab, Bengal and the North-West Frontier Province.
7. Full religious liberty, i.e. liberty of belief, worship, and observance, propaganda, association and education, shall be guaranteed to all communities.
8. No bill or any resolution or any part thereof shall be passed in any legislature or any other elected body if three-fourths of the members of any community in that particular body oppose such a bill, resolution or part thereof on the ground that it would be injurious to the interests of that community or in the alternative, such other method is devised as may be found feasible and practicable to deal with such cases.
9. Sindh should be separated from the Bombay Presidency.
10. Reforms should be made in the North-West Frontier Province and Balochistan on the same footing as in the other provinces.
11. Provisions should be made in the constitution giving Muslims an adequate share, along with the other Indians, in all the services of the state and in local self-governing bodies having due regard to the requirements of efficiency.
12. The constitution should embody adequate safeguards for the protection of Muslim culture and for the protection and promotion of Muslim education, language, religion, personal laws and Muslim charitable institution and for their due share in the grants-in-aid given by the state and by local self-governing bodies.
13. No cabinet, either Central or Provincial, should be formed without there being a proportion of at least one-third Muslim Ministers.
14. No change shall be made in the constitution by the Central Legislature except with the concurrence of the State’s contribution of the Indian Federation.


These points were not given any importance in the Congress circle as well as by the Government authorities. As a result of it, the political attitude of the Muslims of India was constituted on the basis of these Points after 1930. As these points also contain the germs of the idea of Pakistan, they postulate the Muslims as a separate national identity. On the basis of these Points, it was suggested that the political power and opportunities for development were to be equally divided among Hindus and Muslims.

With the rejection of Fourteen Points by the Congress and other Hindu leaders, the Nehru Report was also doomed. The Nehru Report created great deal of suspicion in the Muslims who were now seriously thinking for the attainment of a separate homeland for themselves.

These Points attained historic importance. No future constitution could be evolved unless it was within the framework provided by these Points. Even Allama Iqbal seems to have drawn his concept of separate Muslim state in South Asia from these Points of Jinnah.

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Success is never achieved by the size of our brain but it is always achieved by the quality of our thoughts.