Correspondence Between Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Major T.H.P. Gardiner

Sub title : Secret Political Negotiations and Wartime Diplomacy with British Leadership

Subject: Gardiner, T.H.P. | World War -- India | Muslim League -- Political activity | Constitutional negotiations -- India

Date of publication: 1940

Language: English

Page: 41 p.

Source: National Archives of Pakistan

Serial no: 27810

Keyword: M.A. Jinnah -- Major T.H.P. Gardiner -- Secret Negotiations | World War II India -- L.S. Amery -- Winston Churchill -- Lahore Resolution | Muslim League Representation -- Constitutional Impasse -- Direct Diplomacy

Abstract: This collection comprises confidential correspondence between M.A. Jinnah and Major T.H.P. Gardiner, a British army officer acting as an intermediary, during 1940-1941. The documents detail their secret political discussions aimed at breaking the constitutional impasse in India during World War II. Gardiner facilitated the transmission of Jinnah's demands and the Muslim League's perspective directly to top British leaders, including Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Secretary of State for India L.S. Amery. The letters include a summarized interview of Jinnah, copies of cables sent, and discussions about the backlash Gardiner faced from his military superiors for his unauthorized political role. The correspondence reveals Jinnah's strategic efforts to bypass the Viceroy and appeal directly to the British government, emphasizing the Muslim League's representative strength and seeking a political settlement.

Description: This archive offers a rare glimpse into a covert channel of political communication between M.A. Jinnah and the British government during a critical period of World War II. The correspondence with Major Gardiner shows Jinnah's proactive diplomacy to ensure the Muslim League's demands for Pakistan were heard at the highest levels in London, alongside his frustration with the official channel of the Viceroy. Gardiner's role as a passionate, if unofficial, intermediary who faced military discipline for his actions adds a unique human dimension to the high politics of the era. The collection includes the formal but non-committal response from the India Office, effectively closing this particular initiative. These documents are crucial for understanding the multifaceted diplomatic strategies employed by Jinnah and the challenges of wartime political negotiation between Indian leaders and the British Crown. SCANNED BY: NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF PAKISTAN.

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