Introduction
- The Fourteen Points of Jinnah were proposed by Muhammad Ali Jinnah during all parties meeting of 1928, in response to Nehru report.
- It basically consisted of four Delhi proposals, the three Calcutta amendments and demands for continuation of separate electorates and reservation of seats for Muslims in government services and self-governing bodies
Background
- The report was given in a meeting of the council of theAll India Muslim League on 9 March 1929.
- The Nehru Reportwas criticized by Muslim leaders Aga Khan and Muhammad Shafi. They considered it as a warrant because it recommended joint electoral rolls for Hindus and Muslims
- In March 1929, the Muslim League session was held atDelhi under the presidency of Jinnah
- In his address to his delegates, he consolidated Muslim viewpoints under fourteen items and these fourteen points became Jinnah’s 14 points
The Fourteen Points
- The form of the future constitution should be federal, with the residuary powers vested in the provinces
- All provinces must be given equal Autonomy
- All legislatures in the country and other elected bodies shall be constituted on the definite principle of adequate and effective representationof minorities in every province without reducing the majority in any province to a minority or even equality
- In the Central Legislature, Muslim representation shall not be less than one-third
- Representation of communal groups shall continue to be by means of the separate electorate at present it shall be open to any community, at any time, to abandon its separate electorate in favour of joint electorate
- Any territorial distribution that might at any time be necessary shall not in any way affect the Muslim majority in Punjab, Bengaland NWFP provinces
- Full religious liberty shall be guaranteed to all communities
- No bill or resolution shall be passed in any legislature if three-fourths of the members of any community in that body oppose the bill
- Separation of Sindh from Bombay
- Reforms should be introduced in the NWFP and Balochistanon the same footings as in the other provinces
- Muslims should be given an adequate share in all services, having due regard to the requirement of efficiency
- The Constitution should embody adequate safeguards for the protection of Muslim culture, education, language, religion and personal laws, as well as for Muslim charitable institutions
- One-third representation shall be given to Muslims in both central and provincial cabinets
- No change will be made in the constitution without the consent of the provinces
After Jinnah’s proposals
- Thus, the fourteen points were a constitutional reform plan to safeguard the political rights of Muslims in a self-governing India
- The amendments as proposed by Jinnah were not accepted by the Congress. So Jinnah refused to participate further
- His aim was to get rights for Muslims.
- The fourteen points covered all of the interests of the Muslims at a heated time
- And in this pursuance, Jinnah stated that it was the “parting of ways” and that he did not want and would not have anything to do with the Indian National Congress in the future
- Further, the League leaders motivated Jinnah to revive the Muslim League and give it direction. As a result, these points became the demands of the Muslims and greatly influenced the Muslims’ thinking for the next two decades till the establishment of Pakistan in 1947
