Correspondence with Muhammad Ali Jinnah Regarding Minority Alliances and Provincial Politics

Sub title : Proposals for a Minorities Union and Political Dialogues in Sind

Subject: Minorities -- India -- Political activity | Anglo-Indians -- India -- Political activity | Muslim League

Date of publication: 1941

Language: English

Page: 8 p.

Source: National Archives of Pakistan

Serial no: 27811

Keyword: M.A. Jinnah -- V.C.W. Harvey -- Anglo-Indian Minority -- Minorities Union -- Caste-Hindu Combine | Dr. W. Roondraj -- Sind Politics -- Hindu-Muslim Relations in Sind -- Muslim League and Minorities -- Frank Anthony

Abstract: This collection features diverse correspondence addressed to M.A. Jinnah, primarily focusing on two themes. The first includes impassioned letters from V.C.W. Harvey, an elderly Anglo-Indian leader in Dehradun, proposing the formation of a "Union of Minorities Organisation" under Jinnah's leadership to counter what he termed the "Caste-Hindu Combine" of the Congress. Harvey's letters reveal his personal admiration for Jinnah and his strategic vision for minority solidarity. The second theme comprises Jinnah's correspondence with various officials (Hodson, Holland, Eollard) regarding meeting arrangements, and more substantive exchanges with Dr. W. Roondraj, a Hindu leader from Sind. In these letters, Jinnah encourages the consolidation of a "solid and healthy leadership among the Hindus of Sind" that is independent of the Congress and capable of cooperating with the Muslim League for the province's stability.

Description: This archive provides insight into the political outreach M.A. Jinnah received from minority communities and his engagement with regional Hindu leaders. The poignant letters from V.C.W. Harvey are a significant record of how some minority figures viewed Jinnah as their primary protector against perceived Congress majoritarianism, proposing a strategic alliance that aligned with the Muslim League's own political positioning. Jinnah's replies to Dr. Roondraj reveal his tactical approach to provincial politics, particularly in Sind, where he sought to cultivate a pragmatic Hindu leadership that would work with the Muslim League rather than against it. This collection underscores the complex political landscape of the 1940s, where alliances were being negotiated not just between the Congress and the League, but also between the League and various smaller groups whose futures hung in the balance. SCANNED BY: NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF PAKISTAN.

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