Historical Background: Political Parties in Punjab

 

Historical Background: Political Parties in Punjab

 

The Akali Dal

The Akali Dal was founded in 1920. Split after 1925 into Central Akali Dal and Shiromani Akali Dal. Guru Govind Singh first used the term ‘Akali’, which means "immortal," to refer to his chosen group of followers who were willing to put everything on the line to defend their places of worship. They are also known as Nihangs. They were highly respected in the Sikh community and were well-known for their sincerity and purity of character. The name Akali became associated with purity and stringent morality because the Akalis had long been the guardians of the Sikh temples and were well-known for the sacrifices they made to maintain ceremonial purity. Sikhs who backed Gurdwara Reform and were willing to endure hardships similar to those of the Akalis in the past in order to accomplish their goals were referred to be Akalis. The Shiromani Akali Dal has been launching significant political agitations in the name of the Sikh Community ever since it first emerged, claiming to be the exclusive voice of the “Sikh interests.” Its greatest asset—and worst liability—has been the use of religious places and slogans to further political objectives. On July 24, 1932, a Sikh conference was held in Lahore, with the Akali Dal and the Central Sikh League being represented. The percentage of seats allotted to Sikhs was rejected by the Conference. The Akali Dal made the independent election decision to run against both the Congress and the Unionist Party. Because of the Arya Samaj leadership, which is primarily Hindu and anti-Sikh, they rejected the Congress. The Akali Dal came out victorious in the Gurdwara elections of 1939. 

The Akali Dal demanded Azad Punjab in opposition to Pakistan becoming a sovereign Muslim state. In addition to the Hindu community's leaders, nationalist Sikhs rejected it. Baba Kharak Singh urged “the Sikh community to back the Congress and criticized the call for Azad Punjab. The Sikh demand became more radicalized. It now took the shape of a sovereign Sikh state. In August 1944 Master Tara Singh” stated, “The Sikhs were a nation, if the country was going to be split, they should not be left at the mercy of either Pakistan or Hindustan.” The Cabinet Mission Proposals were unacceptable to the Sikhs as they provided no guarantees to the Sikhs and the Muslim minority. The Akali Dal President, Giani Kartar Singh, reasserted on June 17, 1947, “The plan of partition of Punjab was unacceptable to the Sikhs and they wanted a separate Sikh homeland where they could develop their culture and preserve their entity.” The Akali leaders abandoned the notion of a separate Sikh state and decided to stay in India. Through the cooperation of the Akali Congress, several Akali officials were able to secure prominent positions in the national and provincial Congress structures, one of which was Master Tara Singh's appointment to the All India Congress Working Committee. The Sikh leadership's broad backing of the Congress position during the power-transfer negotiations and the decision of the Sikhs to side with Independent India on August 15, 1947, were both heavily influenced by this relationship and a strong sense of nationalism.

The Punjab Provincial Congress Party

The Congress Party in Punjab is a branch of the “Indian National Congress”, it was established in the year 1885 by the educated upper-middle-class elite of Indians. Its first Secretary was a Britisher, Lord Allen Octavian Hume. Its aim was to obtain greater privileges from the British Colonial Government. It spearheaded a prolonged mass movement for the attainment of freedom. The Jallianwala Bagh tragedy in 1919 brought the Congress Party to prominence in Punjab for the first time.  The Congress Party had come to be identified with the urban people of the state who constituted only 10 percent of the total population. The 1930s saw a rise in terrorist attacks against British authorities as well as ongoing agitations in the towns, but for the most part, the rural population—which made up about 90% of the total—was untouched by these developments. Up until the middle of the 1940s, Punjabi politics were primarily characterized by collaboration with the British.  The Congress Party became a powerful force in the 1946 elections and went on to rule Punjab's political scene for the next 20 years. As the Congress Party was already in power as a partner in the Coalition in the Punjab, it took over the reins of administration in the post-Partition Punjab also.

The Punjab Muslim League

It wasn't until 1938 that the Punjab Muslim League had a legitimate office. Neither the Congress nor the Muslims League are mentioned by Governor Emerson as significant political groups in the Punjab in his first monthly report to Viceroy Linlithgow on October 19, 1936. They are barely mentioned at all.  Punjab was home to a number of the Muslim League's top leaders at the national level. A prominent landowner and barrister, Sir Muhammad Shafi passed away in 1932 and was a leader comparable to Muhammad Ali Jinnah. In March 1938, the All India Muslim League Council selected a committee under Nawab Ismail Khan’s presidency to decide on the applications for reaffirmation of its provincial organizations. On the basis that the Punjab Muslim League's constitution was erroneous, it declined to reaccredit the organization. An Organizing Committee headed by Sikander Hayat Khan was established at the special Shahidgunj Muslim League Session in April 1938 in Calcutta with the aim of establishing a new Muslim League organization in the Punjab. As per the terms of the Jinnah - Sikander Pact, “In future elections and by-elections for the Legislature after the adoption of this arrangement, the groups constituting the present Unionist Party will jointly support the candidates put by their respective groups.” 

By 1946, the Pir had come to terms with being sucked into the mud of politics surrounding division and had not only publicly supported the Muslim League but also encouraged other Pirs in the community to do the same. The Muslim League's Parliamentary Board supposedly controlled the candidate selection process, which indirectly contributed to the organization's success. Only candidates with strong local support made the cut. The renowned Pakistan Resolution of the Muslim League was adopted in April 1940 during an annual session held in Lahore. The Muslim League's resolve was interpreted by the British Government as a new indication of the ongoing communal division in India. The British Government was unable to consider surrendering its responsibility for India's welfare and peace. The Muslim League, the Princes, and everyone else who might emerge. The Muslim League collaborated with the British Government until August 15, 1947, when Pakistan became a reality, with the intention of accepting it.

The Unionist Party of Punjab

Together, Fazl-i-Hussain and Chhotu Ram created the Punjab Unionist Party in the year 1923. Their electoral manifesto said that their goal was to support and uplift the province's underprivileged neighborhoods and classes. Landowners, mostly Sikh and Hindu landowners and farmers, formed the Unionist Party of the Punjab. Sensing their impending extinction due to competition from the commercial class, the landowners banded together to create the Rural Party, which they later retitled the Unionist Party in 1923. The Unionist Party was supported by the British. Big landowners and peasant proprietors supported the Unionist Party of Punjab, which also made appeals to the Muslim tribes of Western Punjab “and the Hindu Jats of the Ambala division. Chaudhary Chhotu Ram played a leading role in the development of the Unionist Party. The Party emerged as a big political power in the Punjab, in the 1937 elections. There was a decline in the social base of the Unionist Party from 1942 to 1946, among the military personnel, the rich landowners, the official” as well as the nonofficial revenue agency, and other Government officials. By the elections of 1946, the Punjab no longer stood in splendid isolation from the rest of India.

The Kirti Kisan Party of the Punjab

The Communist Party in the Punjab was originally known as the Kirti group. It was founded in 1922. The Kirtis sought to establish a labor and peasant movement in India and were ruthless opponents of capitalism. The origin of the Communist Movement in Punjab can be seen at the beginning of the twentieth century when anti-imperialist Patriotic feelings were high in Punjab in the wake of the Ghadar Movement and the activities of the Muhajirs. Muhajirs returned to India from Kabul and Tashkant with Marxist ideas and founded a Communist group in Lahore. These anti-imperialist movements created an atmosphere forthe establishment of the Communist Movement in the Punjab.

The Punjab Hindu Maha Sabha

The Punjab Hindu Sabha was originated in 1907 and it prepared the ground for the establishment of the All India Hindu Maha Sabha. The All-India Hindu Maha Sabha was born out of it in December, 1913.  The Hindu consciousness led to the formation of local Hindu organizations at various places in North India at the start of the twentieth century in the Punjab. The middle-class comprising merchants, professionals, service persons, etc., came under the influence of Arya Sama jand played a very crucial role in the provincial Hindu Maha Sabha.