Correspondence of M.A. Jinnah: Telegram and Letters on Indian Political Crisis and Civil War Fears

Sub title : Exchange with Tamizuddin Khan regarding Muslim League Discipline and Inter-Communal Peace

Subject: Jinnah, M. A. -- Correspondence | All-India Muslim League -- History -- 20th century

Date of publication: 1941

Language: English

Page: 6 p.

Source: National Archives of Pakistan

Serial no: 27669

Keyword: M.A. Jinnah -- Tamizuddin Khan -- All India Muslim League | Indian Independence -- 1941 | Communal Violence -- Civil War | Gandhi -- Hindu Mahasabha -- Political Correspondence | Muslim League Discipline -- British India -- World War II India

Abstract: This collection comprises a 1941 telegram and subsequent letters between Muhammad Ali Jinnah, President of the All-India Muslim League, and Tamizuddin Khan, a Bengal Minister and Muslim League member. The documents center on Khan's public statement warning of a potential civil war and his proposal for the Congress, Muslim League, and Hindu Mahasabha to collaborate solely on maintaining internal peace. Jinnah's reply is a sharp critique of Khan's method, emphasizing party discipline and condemning public airing of proposals by individual members as harmful to League solidarity and a gift to political opponents. The papers offer a stark view of the political tensions and communal anxieties in India during World War II.

Description: This is a primary source file from May 1941, beginning with an Id greeting telegram to Jinnah. The core of the collection is a political disagreement: Tamizuddin Khan sends Jinnah a press statement expressing fears of an imminent civil war and suggesting a temporary, apolitical coalition of India's major parties to maintain law and order. Jinnah's firm response defends internal party protocol, criticizing the act of "rushing to the press" as detrimental to the Muslim League's unified front. The included press statement details Khan's alarm at growing communal clashes and his plea for Gandhi, Jinnah, and Savarkar to meet and jointly quell the disturbances, setting aside political demands for the sake of national peace. This exchange highlights a critical internal debate within the Muslim League regarding strategy and public discourse on the eve of Partition. SCANNED BY: NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF PAKISTAN.

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