Fourteen
Points of Jinnah
The Fourteen Points of Jinnah were proposed by Muhammad Ali Jinnah in response to the Nehru Report. It basically consisted of four Delhi proposals, the
three Calcutta amendments, and demands for the continuation of separate
electorates and reservation of seats for Muslims in government services and
self-governing bodies. In 1928, an All Parties Conference was convened in
reaction to the Simon Commission appointed
to discuss parliamentary reform in British India. A committee was set up under
Motilal Nehru. That committee prepared a report which is known as "Nehru report". This report demanded "Dominion
Status" for India. Separate electorates were refused and the reservation
of seats for the Muslims of Bengal and Punjab was rejected. In this report, not
a single demand of the Muslim League was upheld. In reaction to the Nehru
Report, Mr. Jinnah was authorized by the League to draft in concise terms the
basis of any future constitution that was to be devised for India. Jinnah's aim
was to safeguard the interests of Muslims. He, therefore, gave his 14 points.
These points covered all of the interests of the Muslims at a heated time and
in these 14 points 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. The League leaders motivated Jinnah to revive
the Muslim League and give
it direction. As a result, these points became the demands of the League and
greatly influenced the Muslims' thinking for the next two decades until the
establishment of Pakistan in 1947.
The Fourteen Points:
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 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 of
even equity.
4. In the Central Legislature council,
Muslim representation shall not be less than one-third.
5. Representation of communal groups shall continue to
be by separate electorates: provided that it shall be open to any community, at
any time, to abandon its separate electorate in favour 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 Punjab, Bengal, and NWFP provinces.
7. Full religious liberty, including
belief, worship, observance, propaganda, association, and education, should be
guaranteed to all communities.
8. One-third representation shall be
given to Muslims in both central and provincial cabinets.
9. 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.
10. Sindh should be separated from Bombay to a province.
11. Reforms should be introduced in the NWFP and Balochistan on the same footings as in the other provinces.
12. Muslims should be given an adequate share in all services, having due
regard to the requirement of efficiency.
13. The Constitution should embody adequate safeguards for the protection
of Muslim of
Culture, education, language, religion, and
personal laws, as well as for Muslim charitable institutions.
14. No change will be made in the constitution without the consent of the
province.