All India Muslim League (AIML)

🌍 Formation of the All India Muslim League (1906)

• The British pursued a deliberate policy of “Divide and Rule” after the rise of militant nationalism and the Swadeshi Movement.
• They encouraged aristocratic and elite Muslims to form a separate political body.
• In 1906, at Dacca (Dhaka), the All India Muslim League was founded by:
  • Aga Khan (first President)
  • Nawab of Dacca (Khwaja Salimullah Bahadur)
  • Nawab Mohsin-ul-Mulk
  • Supported by wealthy nawabs, landlords, and educated Muslims aligned with the Aligarh movement.

Nature of AIML:

• Loyalist → declared faith in the British Crown.
• Conservative and communal → supported Partition of Bengal, demanded special safeguards for Muslims in jobs and services.
• Instead of opposing colonial rule, it mostly targeted Hindus and Congress.

⚖️ The Paradox of AIML

• The League claimed to represent all Muslims.
• But it did not represent Muslim masses (peasants, workers).
• Its politics mostly protected the privileges of zamindars and aristocrats.
• Both Hindus and Muslims faced the same imperial exploitation, but the League directed its attacks mainly against Congress.

🔥 Strained Relations with the British

Initially, the League was pro-British, but this loyalty weakened soon after:

1. 1911 → Annulment of Bengal Partition angered the League (it had supported partition).
2. 1912 → Rejection of Aligarh University proposal.
3. Britain’s refusal to help Turkey in the Italian War (1911) and Balkan Wars (1912–13) alienated pro-Caliph Muslims.

👉 Gradually, younger leaders like Muhammad Ali, Shaukat Ali, Hasrat Mohani, Fazlul Haq pushed the League towards a nationalist orientation, demanding self-government and negotiations with Congress.

⚡ Militant Nationalist Muslims

Not all Muslims supported the loyalist Aligarh line. A section of educated youth and ulema took a radical, nationalist stand.

Ahrar Movement

• Leaders: Maulana Mohammed Ali, Hakim Ajmal Khan, Hasan Imam, Maulana Zafar Ali Khan, Mazhar-ul-Haq.
• Rejected the pro-British politics of Aligarh school and zamindars.
• Advocated active participation in nationalist and militant politics.

Al-Hilal Newspaper (1912)

• Edited by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad.
• Declared: There is no contradiction between Islam and Indian nationalism.
• Propagated rationalist, anti-imperialist, nationalist ideas.
• Played a huge role in politically awakening Indian Muslims, especially the youth.

🌐 Religious Angle in Politics

• Most Muslim holy places (Mecca, Medina, Jerusalem) were under the Ottoman Empire.
• The Ottoman Sultan was the Caliph (religious head of Muslims worldwide).
• So, when Turkey fought wars (with Italy in 1911, in the Balkan Wars 1912–13), Indian Muslims strongly supported Turkey.
• Britain’s anti-Turkey stance in these wars made Muslims increasingly anti-imperialist.

👉 While this sympathy strengthened nationalist feeling among Muslims, it also encouraged viewing politics through a religious lens, which later had long-term consequences.

🌍 Syed Ameer Ali and the London Muslim League

• Syed Ameer Ali: pioneer of Muslim political awakening.
• Founding member of AIML (1906).
• 1908 → founded the London Muslim League (independent, not a branch of AIML).
• Strongly lobbied for separate electorates for Muslims.
• First Indian appointed to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (1909–28).
• Also served briefly as Law Member in the Government of India (after S.P. Sinha resigned in 1910).

✨ Significance

• AIML’s formation marked the formal entry of communal politics into Indian nationalism.
• Initially loyalist, it shifted gradually under younger leadership towards self-government and cooperation with Congress.
• At the same time, parallel currents like Ahrar Movement and Al-Hilal show that many Muslims rejected separatism and worked for a common anti-imperialist struggle.
• But British policies (separate electorates, Partition of Bengal, communal patronage) had already sown seeds of Hindu-Muslim division in politics.