Editing Pakistan Movement (section)

==Political campaigns and support==

===Punjab===
[[File:Chaudhry Khaliquzzaman.jpg|250px|thumb|right|Chaudhry Khaliquzzaman seconding the Resolution with Jinnah and Liaquat presiding the session.]]

In the British Indian province of [[Punjab (British India)|Punjab]], Muslims placed more emphasis on the Punjabi identity they shared with Hindus and Sikhs, rather than on their religion.{{citation needed|date=September 2020}} The [[Unionist Party (Punjab)|Unionist Party]], which prevailed in the [[1923 Indian general election]], [[1934 Indian general election]] and the [[1937 Indian provincial elections]], had the mass support of the Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs of the Punjab; its leaders included Muslim Punjabis, such as [[Fazl-i-Hussain]] and Hindu Punjabis, such as [[Chhotu Ram]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Jaffrelot |first1=Christophe |author-link=Christophe Jaffrelot |year=2015 |title=The Pakistan Paradox: Instability and Resilience |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i5GMCwAAQBAJ&pg=PG71 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=71 |isbn=978-0-19-061330-3 |access-date=16 September 2020 |archive-date=30 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200930210100/https://books.google.com/books?id=i5GMCwAAQBAJ&pg=PG71 |url-status=live }}</ref> The Punjab had a slight Muslim majority, and local politics had been dominated by the secular Unionist Party and its longtime leader Sir [[Sikandar Hayat Khan (Punjabi politician)|Sikandar Hayat Khan]]. The Unionists had built a formidable power base in the Punjabi countryside through policies of patronage allowing them to retain the loyalty of landlords and pirs who exerted significant local influence.<ref name="Talbot">{{cite journal|last=Talbot|first=I. A.|year=1980|title=The 1946 Punjab Elections|journal=Modern Asian Studies|volume=14|issue=1|pages=65–91|jstor=312214|doi=10.1017/S0026749X00012178|s2cid=145320008 }}</ref>

For the Muslim League to claim to represent the Muslim vote, they would need to win over the majority of the seats held by the Unionists. Following the death of Sir Sikander in 1942, and bidding to overcome their dismal showing in the elections of 1937, the Muslim League intensified campaigning throughout rural and urban Punjab.<ref>W. W. J. "The Indian Elections – 1946." The World Today, vol. 2, no. 4, 1946, pp. 167–175</ref> A major thrust of the Muslim's League's campaign was the promotion of [[Communalism (South Asia)|communalism]] and spreading fear of a supposed "Hindu threat" in a future united India.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Jaffrelot |first1=Christophe |author-link=Christophe Jaffrelot |year=2015 |title=The Pakistan Paradox: Instability and Resilience |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i5GMCwAAQBAJ&pg=PG76 |publisher=Oxford University Press |pages=76–77 |isbn=978-0-19-061330-3 |access-date=16 September 2020 |archive-date=4 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204131356/https://books.google.com/books?id=i5GMCwAAQBAJ&pg=PG76 |url-status=live }}</ref> Muslim League activists were advised to join in communal prayers when visiting villages, and gain permission to hold meetings after the Friday prayers.<ref name="Talbot" /> The [[Quran]] became a symbol of the Muslim League at rallies, and pledges to vote were made on it.<ref name="Talbot" /> Students, a key component of the Muslim League's activists, were trained to appeal to the electorate on communal lines, and at the peak of student activity during the Christmas holidays of 1945, 250 students from [[Aligarh Muslim University|Aligarh]] were invited to campaign in the province along with 1550 members of the Punjab Muslim Student's Federation.<ref name="Talbot" /> A key achievement of these efforts came in enticing [[Jat Muslim|Muslim Jats]] and [[Gurjar|Gujjars]] from their intercommunal tribal loyalties.<ref name="Talbot" /> In response, the Unionists attempted to counter the growing religious appeal of the Muslim League by introducing religious symbolism into their own campaign, but with no student activists to rely upon and dwindling support amongst the landlords, their attempts met with little success.

[[File:Pir-mehar-ali-shah.jpg|Pir Meher Ali Shah|thumb]]
To further their religious appeal, the Muslim League also launched efforts to entice [[Pir (Sufism)|Pirs]] towards their cause. Pirs dominated the religious landscape, and were individuals who claimed to inherit religious authority from [[Sufism in India|Sufi Saints]] who had proselytised in the region since the eleventh century.<ref name="Talbot" /> By the twentieth century, most Punjabi Muslims offered allegiance to a Pir as their religious guide, thus providing them considerable political influence.<ref name="Talbot" /> The Unionists had successfully cultivated the support of Pirs to achieve success in the 1937 elections, and the Muslim League now attempted to replicate their method of doing so. To do so, the Muslim League created the Masheikh Committee, used [[Urs]] ceremonies and shrines for meetings and rallies and encouraged fatwas urging support for the Muslim League.<ref name="Talbot" />

Reasons for the pirs switching allegiance varied. For the Gilani Pirs of Multan the overriding factor was local longstanding factional rivalries, whilst for many others a shrine's size and relationship with the government dictated its allegiance.<ref name="Talbot" />

Despite the Muslim League's aim to foster a united Muslim loyalty, it also recognised the need to better exploit the [[Baradari (brotherhood)|biradari]] network and appeal to primordial tribal loyalties. In 1946 it held a special [[Gurjar|Gujjar]] conference intending to appeal to all Muslim Gujjars, and reversed its expulsion of [[Jahanara Shahnawaz]] with the hope of appealing to [[Arain]] constituencies.<ref name="Talbot" /> Appealing to biradari ties enabled the Muslim League to accelerate support amongst landlords, and in turn use the landlords's client-patron economic relationship with their tenants to guarantee votes for the forthcoming election.<ref name="Talbot" />

A separate strategy of the Muslim League was to exploit the economic slump suffered in the Punjab as a result of the [[Second World War]].<ref name="Talbot" /> The Punjab had supplied 27 per cent of the [[Indian Army]] recruits during the war, constituting 800,000 men, and representing a significant part of the electorate. By 1946, less than 20 per cent of those servicemen returning home had found employment.<ref name="Talbot" /> This in part was exacerbated by the speedy end to the war in Asia, which caught the Unionists by surprise, and meant their plans to deploy servicemen to work in canal colonies were not yet ready.<ref name="Talbot" /> The Muslim League took advantage of this weakness and followed Congress's example of providing work to servicemen within its organisation.<ref name="Talbot" /> The Muslim League's ability to offer an alternative to the Unionist government, namely the promise of Pakistan as an answer to the economic dislocation suffered by Punjabi villagers, was identified as a key issue for the election.<ref name="Talbot" />

On the eve of the elections, the political landscape in the Punjab was finely poised, and the Muslim League offered a credible alternative to the Unionist Party. The transformation itself had been rapid, as most landlords and pirs had not switched allegiance until after 1944.<ref name="Talbot" /> The breakdown of talks between the Punjab Premier, [[Malik Khizar Hayat Tiwana]], and Jinnah in late 1944 had meant many Muslims were now forced to choose between the two parties at the forthcoming election.<ref name="Talbot" /> A further blow for the Unionists came with death of its leading statesman Sir [[Chhotu Ram]] in early 1945.

The [[West Punjab|Western Punjab]] was home to a minority population of Punjabi Sikhs and Hindus up to 1947 apart from the Muslim majority.<ref name="Royal Book Company">{{cite book|last=Salamat|first=Zarina|title=The Punjab in 1920s : a case study of Muslims|year=1997|publisher=Royal Book Company|location=Karachi|isbn=978-969-407-230-2}}</ref> In 1947, the [[Provincial Assembly of the Punjab|Punjab Assembly]] cast its vote in favour of Pakistan with [[Super-majority|supermajority rule]], which made many minority Hindus and Sikhs migrate to India while Muslim refugees from India settled in the Western Punjab and across Pakistan.<ref>Dube, I. &. S. (2009). From ancient to modern: Religion, power, and community in India hardcover. Oxford University Press.</ref>

===Sindh===
[[File:A Beautiful Night View Of Adnan Asim's Karachi City. Also Mazar-e-Quaid— The Mausoleum Is Viewable In The Picture.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Sindh is the [[Wazir Mansion|birthplace]] and [[Tomb of Jinnah|burial place]] of [[Muhammad Ali Jinnah|Jinnah]], the Founder of Pakistan.]]
In the [[Sind Province (1936–55)|Sind]] province of British India, the [[Sind United Party]] promoted communal harmony between Hindus and Muslims, winning 22 out of 33 seats in the [[1937 Indian provincial elections]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Jaffrelot |first1=Christophe |author-link=Christophe Jaffrelot |year=2015 |title=The Pakistan Paradox: Instability and Resilience |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i5GMCwAAQBAJ&pg=PG85 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=85 |isbn=978-0-19-061330-3 |access-date=16 September 2020 |archive-date=4 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204130526/https://books.google.com/books?id=i5GMCwAAQBAJ&pg=PG85 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Sindhi Foot Soldiers.jpg|thumb|Sindhi foot soldiers, 1816]]
Both the Muslim landed elite, ''waderas'', and the Hindu commercial elements, ''banias'', collaborated in exploiting the predominantly Muslim peasantry of the British Indian province of Sind. In Sind's first provincial election after its separation from Bombay in 1936, economic interests were an essential factor of politics, informed by religious and cultural issues.<ref name="Jalal2002">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Sa6CAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA415|title=Self and Sovereignty: Individual and Community in South Asian Islam Since 1850|author=Ayesha Jalal|date=4 January 2002|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-134-59937-0|pages=415–|access-date=8 January 2018|archive-date=17 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200117035616/https://books.google.com/books?id=Sa6CAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA415|url-status=live}}</ref> Due to British policies, much land in Sind was transferred from Muslim to Hindu hands over the decades.<ref name="SinghIyer2016">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tmA0DAAAQBAJ&pg=PA127|title=Revisiting India's Partition: New Essays on Memory, Culture, and Politics|author1=Amritjit Singh|author2=Nalini Iyer|author3=Rahul K. Gairola|date=15 June 2016|publisher=Lexington Books|isbn=978-1-4985-3105-4|pages=127–|access-date=8 January 2018|archive-date=25 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200125080700/https://books.google.com/books?id=tmA0DAAAQBAJ&pg=PA127|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Korejo1993">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JGduAAAAMAAJ|title=The Frontier Gandhi: His Place in History|author=Muhammad Soaleh Korejo|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1993|isbn=978-0-19-577461-0|access-date=8 January 2018|archive-date=23 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211223023747/https://books.google.com/books?id=JGduAAAAMAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> In Sind, "the dispute over the Sukkur Manzilgah had been fabricated by provincial Leaguers to unsettle Allah Bakhsh Soomro's ministry which was dependent on support from the Congress and the Hindu Independent Party."<ref name="Jalal2002" /> The Sind Muslim League exploited the issue and agitated for what they said was an abandoned mosque to be given to the Muslim League. Consequentially, a thousand members of the Muslim League were imprisoned. Eventually, due to panic the government restored the mosque to Muslims.<ref name="Jalal2002" />

The separation of Sind from the [[Bombay Presidency]] triggered Sindhi Muslim nationalists to support the Pakistan Movement. Even while the Punjab and North-West Frontier Province were ruled by parties hostile to the Muslim League, Sindh remained loyal to Jinnah.<ref name="Ahmed2016">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TbzBDAAAQBAJ&pg=PT230|title=Sleepwalking to Surrender: Dealing with Terrorism in Pakistan|author=Khaled Ahmed|date=18 August 2016|publisher=Penguin Books Limited|isbn=978-93-86057-62-4|pages=230–|access-date=8 January 2018|archive-date=20 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200120065747/https://books.google.com/books?id=TbzBDAAAQBAJ&pg=PT230|url-status=live}}</ref> Although the prominent Sindhi Muslim nationalist G.M. Syed (who admired both Hindu and Muslim rulers of Sindh) left the All India Muslim League in the mid-1940s,<ref name="Jaffrelot2015">{{cite book |last1=Jaffrelot |first1=Christophe |author-link=Christophe Jaffrelot |year=2015 |title=The Pakistan Paradox: Instability and Resilience |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i5GMCwAAQBAJ&pg=PG85 |publisher=Oxford University Press |pages=85–86 |isbn=978-0-19-061330-3 |access-date=16 September 2020 |archive-date=4 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204130526/https://books.google.com/books?id=i5GMCwAAQBAJ&pg=PG85 |url-status=live }}</ref> the overwhelming majority of Sindhi Muslims supported the creation of Pakistan, seeing in it their deliverance.<ref name="Malik1999">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oyWBDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA56|title=Islam, Nationalism and the West: Issues of Identity in Pakistan|author=I. Malik|date=3 June 1999|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan UK|isbn=978-0-230-37539-0|pages=56–|access-date=8 January 2018|archive-date=20 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200120033816/https://books.google.com/books?id=oyWBDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA56|url-status=live}}</ref> Sindhi support for the Pakistan Movement arose from the desire of the Sindhi Muslim business class to drive out their Hindu competitors.<ref name="Kukreja2003">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dp05sFFSAbIC&pg=PA138|title=Contemporary Pakistan: Political Processes, Conflicts and Crises|author=Veena Kukreja|date=24 February 2003|publisher=SAGE Publications|isbn=978-0-7619-9683-5|pages=138–|access-date=8 January 2018|archive-date=10 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200110173725/https://books.google.com/books?id=dp05sFFSAbIC&pg=PA138|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Muslim League's rise to becoming the party with the strongest support in Sind was in large part linked to its winning over of the religious pir families. Although the Muslim League had previously fared poorly in the 1937 elections in Sind, when local Sindhi Muslim parties won more seats,<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_kC421xzMKsC&pg=PA115|title=Sufi Saints and State Power: The Pirs of Sind, 1843-1947|author=Sarah F. D. Ansari|date=31 January 1992|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-40530-0|pages=115–|access-date=8 January 2018|archive-date=4 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204130812/https://books.google.com/books?id=_kC421xzMKsC&pg=PA115|url-status=live}}</ref> the Muslim League's cultivation of support from the pirs and saiyids of Sind in 1946 helped it gain a foothold in the province.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_kC421xzMKsC&pg=PA122|title=Sufi Saints and State Power: The Pirs of Sind, 1843-1947|author=Sarah F. D. Ansari|date=31 January 1992|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-40530-0|pages=122–|access-date=8 January 2018|archive-date=20 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191220133320/https://books.google.com/books?id=_kC421xzMKsC&pg=PA122|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== North-West Frontier Province ===
[[File:Gandhi and Abdul Gaffa Khan.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan|Bacha Khan]] with Gandhi in 1946.]]
The Muslim League had little support in [[North-West Frontier Province (1901–2010)|North-West Frontier Province]]. Here the Congress and [[Pashtunistan|Pashtun nationalist]] leader [[Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan|Abdul Ghaffar Khan]] had considerable support for the cause of a united India.<ref name="Encyclopædia Britannica-Abdul Ghaffar Khan">{{cite encyclopedia|url = https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/232353/Khan-Abdul-Ghaffar-Khan|title = Abdul Ghaffar Khan|encyclopedia = Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date = 24 September 2008|archive-date = 27 May 2008|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080527182525/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/232353/Khan-Abdul-Ghaffar-Khan/|url-status = live}}</ref>

During the Independence period there was a [[Congress party of India|Congress]]-led ministry in the province, which was led by secular [[Pashtuns|Pashtun]] leaders, including [[Abdul Ghaffar Khan]], who preferred joining [[India]] instead of Pakistan. The secular Pashtun leadership was also of the view that if joining India was not an option then they should espouse the cause of an independent ethnic Pashtun state rather than Pakistan.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ceg-kSmft94C&q=congress+party+united+india+north+west+frontier+province&pg=PA66|title=Explaining Pakistan's Foreign Policy: Escaping India|last=Pande|first=Aparna|publisher=Taylor & Francis|year=2011|isbn=9781136818943|pages=66|quote=At Independence there was a Congress-led ministry in the North West Frontier...The Congress-supported government of the North West Frontier led by the secular Pashtun leaders, the Khan brothers, wanted to join India and not Pakistan. If joining India was not an option, then the secular Pashtun leaders espoused the cause of Pashtunistan: an ethnic state for Pashtuns.|access-date=18 November 2020|archive-date=26 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126145454/https://books.google.com/books?id=ceg-kSmft94C&q=congress+party+united+india+north+west+frontier+province&pg=PA66|url-status=live}}</ref> The secular stance of Abdul Ghaffar Khan had driven a wedge between the Jamiyatul Ulama Sarhad (JUS) and the otherwise pro-Congress (and pro-Indian unity) [[Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind|Jamiat Ulema Hind]], as well as Abdul Ghaffar Khan's [[Khudai Khidmatgar]]s, who also espoused [[Hindu-Muslim unity]]. Unlike the centre JUH, the directives of the JUS in the province began to take on communal tones. The JUS ulama saw the Hindus in the province as a 'threat' to Muslims. Accusations of molesting Muslim women were leveled at Hindu shopkeepers in [[Nowshera, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa|Nowshera]], a town where anti-Hindu sermons were delivered by mullas. Tensions also rose in 1936 over the abduction of a Hindu girl in [[Bannu]]. Such controversies stirred up anti-Hindu sentiments amongst the province's Muslim population.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Haroon|first=Sana|year=2008|title=The Rise of Deobandi Islam in the North-West Frontier Province and Its Implications in Colonial India and Pakistan 1914–1996|journal=Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society|volume=18|issue=1|page=55|jstor=27755911|doi=10.1017/S1356186307007778|s2cid=154959326|quote=The stance of the central JUH was pro-Congress, and accordingly the JUS supported the Congressite Khudai Khidmatgars through to the elections of 1937. However the secular stance of Ghaffar Khan, leader of the Khudai Khidmatgars, disparaging the role of religion in government and social leadership, was driving a wedge between the ulama of the JUS and the Khudai Khidmatgars, irrespective of the commitments of mutual support between the JUH and Congress leaderships. In trying to highlight the separateness and vulnerability of Muslims in a religiously diverse public space, the directives of the NWFP ulama began to veer away from simple religious injunctions to take on a communalist tone. The ulama highlighted 'threats' posed by Hindus to Muslims in the province. Accusations of improper behaviour and molestation of Muslim women were levelled against 'Hindu shopkeepers' in Nowshera. Sermons given by two JUS-connected maulvis in Nowshera declared the Hindus the 'enemies' of Islam and Muslims. Posters were distributed in the city warning Muslims not to buy or consume food prepared and sold by Hindus in the bazaars. In 1936, a Hindu girl was abducted by a Muslim in Bannu and then married to him. The government demanded the girl's return, But popular Muslim opinion, supported by a resolution passed by the Jamiyatul Ulama Bannu, demanded that she stay, stating that she had come of her free will, had converted to Islam, and was now lawfully married and had to remain with her husband. Government efforts to retrieve the girl led to accusations of the government being anti-Muslim and of encouraging apostasy, and so stirred up strong anti-Hindu sentiment across the majority Muslim NWFP. ... Involvement of the Deobandi ''ulama'' in public political activity and in the negotiation of a Muslim identity in the NWFP appeared in no way to rely upon a wider consensus of Indian Deobandis.}}</ref> By 1947 the majority of the JUS ulama in the province began supporting the Muslim League's idea of Pakistan.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Haroon|first=Sana|year=2008|title=The Rise of Deobandi Islam in the North-West Frontier Province and Its Implications in Colonial India and Pakistan 1914–1996|journal=Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society|volume=18|issue=1|pages=57–58|jstor=27755911|doi=10.1017/S1356186307007778|s2cid=154959326|quote=By 1947 the majority of NWFP ulama supported the Muslim League idea of Pakistan. Because of the now long-standing relations between JUS ulama and the Muslim League, and the strong communalist tone in the NWFP, the move away from the pro-Congress and anti-Pakistan party line of the central JUH to interest and participation in the creation of Pakistan by the NWFP Deobandis was not a dramatic one.}}</ref>

Immediately prior to Pakistani independence from [[Great Britain|Britain]] in 1947, the British held a referendum in the NWFP to allow voters to choose between joining Pakistan or India.  The referendum was held on 2 July 1947 while polling began on 6 July 1947 and the referendum results were made public on 20 July 1947. According to the official results, there were 572,798 registered voters out of which 289,244 (99.02%) votes were cast in favor of Pakistan while only 2874 (0.98%) were cast in favor of India. According to an estimate the total turnout for the referendum was only 15% less than the total turnout in the 1946 elections.<ref>{{cite thesis |author=Muhammad Shakeel Ahmad |year=2010 |title=Electoral politics In NWFP. 1988-1999 |type=PhD |chapter=Chapter-3: Electoral history of NWFP |publisher=Quaid-i-Azam University |chapter-url=http://prr.hec.gov.pk/Chapters/1159S-3.pdf |url-status=dead |access-date=28 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130810052331/http://prr.hec.gov.pk/Chapters/1159S-3.pdf |archive-date=10 August 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Pj8DIT_bva0C&q=nwfp+referendum&pg=PA108|title=The Origins of Conflict in Afghanistan|author=Jeffrey J. Roberts|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=9780275978785|pages=108–109|access-date=18 April 2015|year=2003|archive-date=4 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210604145017/https://books.google.com/books?id=Pj8DIT_bva0C&q=nwfp+referendum&pg=PA108|url-status=live}}</ref> At the same time a large number of Khudai Khidmatgar supporters boycotted the referendum and intimidation against Hindu and Sikh voters by supporters of the Pakistan Movement was also reported.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Meyer |first1=Karl E. |year=2008 |title=The Dust of Empire: The Race for Mastery in the Asian Heartland |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M9iwFmvKTwcC |publisher=PublicAffairs |page=107 |isbn=978-0-7867-2481-9 |access-date=20 November 2013 |archive-date=11 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210211035434/https://books.google.com/books?id=M9iwFmvKTwcC |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Baluchistan===
[[File:Swaraaj-bugti jinnah.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Jinnah meeting with Baluchistan's leaders.]]During British rule in India, [[Baluchistan (Chief Commissioner's Province)|Baluchistan]] was under the rule of a Chief Commissioner and did not have the same status as other provinces of British India. The Muslim League in the period 1927-1947 strived under Jinnah to introduce reforms in Baluchistan to bring it on par with other provinces of British India. Apart from the pro-partition Muslim League that was led by [[Qazi Muhammad Isa]], "three pro-Congress parties were still active in Balochistan's politics", such as the [[Anjuman-i-Watan Baluchistan]], which favoured a united India.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Afzal |first1=M. Rafique |title=Pakistan: History and Politics 1947-1971 |date=2001 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=40 |isbn=978-0-19-579634-6 |quote=Besides the Balochistan Muslim League, three pro-Congress parties were still active in Balochistan's politics: the Anjuman-i Watan, the Jamiatul Ulama u Hind, and the Qalat State National Party.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Ranjan |first1=Amit |title=Partition of India: Postcolonial Legacies |date=2018 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=9780429750526 |language=en|quote=Furthermore, Congress leadership of Balochistan was united and there was no disagreement over its president, Samad Khan Achakzai. On the other hand, Qazi Isa was the president of the League in Balochistan. Surprisingly, he was neither a Balochi nor a Sardar. Consequently, all Sardars except Jaffar Khan Jamali, were against Qazi Isa for contesting this seat.}}</ref>

In British-ruled Colonial India, Baluchistan contained a [[Balochistan (Chief Commissioner's Province)|Chief Commissioner's province]] and [[princely state]]s (including [[Makran (princely state)|Makran]], [[Las Bela (princely state)|Las Bela]] and [[Kharan (princely state)|Kharan]]) that became a part of Pakistan.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hasnat |first=Syed Farooq |year=2011 |title=Global Security Watch–Pakistan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KiELa2EoA04C |publisher=Praeger |isbn=978-0-313-34697-2 |access-date=27 June 2020 |archive-date=30 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200730172155/https://books.google.com/books?id=KiELa2EoA04C |url-status=live }}</ref> The instrument of referendum was applied in [[Chagai District|Chaghi]] to [[Zhob District|Zhob]] (in northern Balochistan), to determine the will of the people which resulted in a victory for the Muslim League.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Chawla |first=Muhammad Iqbal |title=Mountbatten and Balochistan: An Appraisal |date=2014 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44158478 |journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress |volume=75 |pages=928–957 |jstor=44158478 |issn=2249-1937}}</ref> The province's Shahi Jirga and the non-official members of the Quetta Municipality, agreed to join Pakistan unanimously on 29 June 1947;<ref name="CheemaRiemer1990">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CX6xCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA60|title=Pakistan's Defence Policy 1947-58|author1=Pervaiz I Cheema|author2=Manuel Riemer|date=22 August 1990|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan UK|isbn=978-1-349-20942-2|pages=60–|access-date=8 January 2018|archive-date=22 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180122104910/https://books.google.com/books?id=CX6xCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA60|url-status=live}}</ref> however, the Shahi Jirga was stripped of its members from the Kalat State prior to the vote.<ref name="sheikh">{{cite book |last1=Sheikh |first1=Salman Rafi |title=The Genesis of Baloch Nationalism: Politics and Ethnicity in Pakistan, 1947–1977 |date=2018 |publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]] |isbn=978-1-351-02068-8}}</ref> According to Rafi Sheikh, the then president of the Baluchistan Muslim League, Qazi Muhammad Isa, informed Jinnah that "Shahi Jirga in no way represents the popular wishes of the masses" and that members of the Kalat State were "excluded from voting; only representatives from the British part of the province voted and the British part included the leased areas of Quetta, Nasirabad Tehsil, Nushki and Bolan Agency."<ref name="sheikh"/> Following the referendum, the Khan of Kalat, on 22 June 1947, received a letter from members of the Shahi Jirga, as well as sardars from the leased areas of Baluchistan, stating that they, "as a part of the Baloch nation, were a part of the Kalat state too" and that if the question of Baluchistan's accession to Pakistan arise, "they should be deemed part of the Kalat state rather than (British) Balochistan".<ref name="sheikh"/> This has brought into question whether a vote took place in the princely Kalat state, the consensus of which remains disputed.<ref name="sheikh"/>

The pro-India Congress, which drew support from Hindus and some Muslims, sensing that geographic and demographic compulsions would not allow the province's inclusion into the newly Independent India, began to encourage separatist elements in Balochistan, and other Muslim majority provinces such as NWFP.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Chawla |first1=Iqbal |date=July–December 2012 |title=Prelude to the Accession of the Kalat State to Pakistan in 1948: An Appraisal |url=https://www.academia.edu/13372388 |journal=Journal of the Research Society of Pakistan |volume=49 |issue=2 |pages=85 |access-date=24 February 2019 |archive-date=14 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220914170710/https://www.academia.edu/13372388 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Kalat finally acceded to Pakistan on 27 March 1948 after the help of All India Radio and a period of negotiations and bureaucracy.<ref name=":0">{{cite news|url=http://tns.thenews.com.pk/the-princely-india/|title=The princely India|author=Yaqoob Khan Bangash|date=10 May 2015|newspaper=The News on Sunday|access-date=8 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151225043014/http://tns.thenews.com.pk/the-princely-india/|archive-date=25 December 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> The signing of the Instrument of Accession by Ahmad Yar Khan, led his brother, Prince Abdul Karim, to revolt against his brother's decision<ref name=":1">{{cite news|url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/538820/princely-liaisons-the-khan-family-controls-politics-in-kalat/|title=Princely Liaisons: The Khan family controls politics in Kalat|author=Qaiser Butt|date=22 April 2013|newspaper=The Express Tribune|access-date=8 January 2018|archive-date=22 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222175413/http://tribune.com.pk/story/538820/princely-liaisons-the-khan-family-controls-politics-in-kalat/|url-status=live}}</ref> in July 1948.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nzivCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA82|title=State and Nation-Building in Pakistan: Beyond Islam and Security|last1=D. Long|first1=Roger|last2=Singh|first2=Gurharpal|last3=Samad|first3=Yunas|last4=Talbot|first4=Ian|publisher=Routledge|year=2015|isbn=978-1-317-44820-4|page=82|access-date=8 January 2018|archive-date=10 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170410235846/https://books.google.com/books?id=nzivCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA82|url-status=live}}</ref> Princes Agha Abdul Karim Baloch and Muhammad Rahim refused to lay down arms, leading the Dosht-e Jhalawan in unconventional attacks on the army until 1950.<ref name=":1" /> Though the Princes fought a lone battle without support from the rest of Baluchistan.<ref name="Siddiqi2012">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tDb6i9x1FKgC&pg=PA71|title=The Politics of Ethnicity in Pakistan: The Balochi, Sindhi and Mohajir Ethnic Movements|author=Farhan Hanif Siddiqi|publisher=Routledge|year=2012|isbn=978-0-415-68614-3|pages=71–|access-date=8 January 2018|archive-date=22 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180122104911/https://books.google.com/books?id=tDb6i9x1FKgC&pg=PA71|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Bengal ===
[[File:Map of Bengal.svg|thumb|250px|Map of United Bengal]]

Dhaka was the birthplace of the [[All India Muslim League]] in 1906. The Pakistan Movement was highly popular in the Muslim population of Bengal.<ref name="Ahmed2004">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Szfqq7ruqWgC&pg=PA129|title=Bangladesh: Past and Present|author=Salahuddin Ahmed|publisher=APH Publishing|year=2004|isbn=978-81-7648-469-5|pages=129–|access-date=8 January 2018|archive-date=4 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204131359/https://books.google.com/books?id=Szfqq7ruqWgC&pg=PA129|url-status=live}}</ref> Many of the Muslim League's notable statesmen and activists hailed from [[East Bengal]], including [[Khabeeruddin Ahmed]], [[Abdul Halim Ghaznavi|Sir Abdul Halim Ghuznavi]], Anwar-ul Azim, [[Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy]], [[Jogendra Nath Mandal]], [[Khawaja Nazimuddin]], and [[Nurul Amin]], many among whom later became Prime ministers of Pakistan. Following the [[Partition of Bengal (1947)|partition of Bengal]], violence erupted in the region, which was mainly contained to [[Kolkata]] and [[Noakhali]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Jalal |first=Ayesha |author-link=Ayesha Jalal |year=1985 |title=The Sole Spokesman: Jinnah, the Muslim League and the demand for Pakistan |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=3 |isbn=978-0-521-45850-4}}</ref>

It is documented by Pakistani historians that Suhrawardy wanted Bengal to be an independent state that would neither join Pakistan or India but would remain unpartitioned. Despite the heavy criticism from the Muslim League, Jinnah realised the validity of Suhrawardy's argument and gave his tacit support to the idea of an Independent Bengal.<ref>{{cite book |last=Jalal |first=Ayesha |author-link=Ayesha Jalal |year=1985 |title=The Sole Spokesman: Jinnah, the Muslim League and the demand for Pakistan |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=266 |isbn=978-0-521-45850-4}}</ref><ref name="Ahmed2005">{{cite book |author=Akbar S. Ahmed |author-link=Akbar Ahmed |year=2005 |orig-year=First published 1997 |title=Jinnah, Pakistan and Islamic Identity: The Search for Saladin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RqyniTHXFxUC&pg=PG342 |publisher=Routledge |page=235 |isbn=978-1-134-75022-1 |access-date=2 February 2019 |archive-date=7 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210207010352/https://books.google.com/books?id=RqyniTHXFxUC&pg=PG342 |url-status=live }}</ref> Nevertheless, the Indian National Congress decided for partition of Bengal in 1947, which was additionally ratified in the subsequent years.

=== Rohingya Muslims ===
During the Pakistan Movement in the 1940s, [[Rohingya people|Rohingya Muslims]] in western Burma had an ambition to [[Rohingya insurgency in Western Burma|annex and merge]] their region into [[East Pakistan|East-Pakistan]].<ref name="yegar-1">{{cite book|last=Yegar|first=Moshe|title=Muslims of Burma|year=1972|publisher=Verlag Otto Harrassowitz|location=Wiesbaden|page=96}}</ref> Before the [[Burma Campaign|independence]] of Burma in January 1948, Muslim leaders from Arakan addressed themselves to Jinnah, the [[founder of Pakistan]], and asked his assistance in annexing of the Mayu region to Pakistan which was about to be formed.<ref name="yegar-1"/> Two months later, the North Arakan Muslim League was founded in [[Akyab]] (modern: [[Sittwe]], capital of Arakan State), it, too demanding annexation to Pakistan.<ref name="yegar-1"/> However, it is noted that the proposal never materialised after it was reportedly turned down by Jinnah.<ref name="yegar-1"/>

=== Role of Ulama ===

The [[Ulama]] support for the Pakistan Movement came in the form of the New Medina construct, which was formulated by the [[Barelvi]]s and a section of the [[Deobandi]] clergy.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Usmani |first1=Shabbir Ahmad |title=ہمارا پاکستان: خطبہا صدارت پنجاب جمیعتول علامہ کانفرنس |language=ur |trans-title=Our Pakistan: Presidential Address at Punjab Jamiatul Ulama Conference |date=1946 |publisher=Majlis-e-Istaqbaliya Jamiat Ulma-e-Islam Conference |publication-place=Lahore |url=https://www.rekhta.org/ebook-detail/khutba-e-sadarat-hamara-pakistan-shabbir-ahmad-usmani-ebooks |access-date=20 May 2021 |archive-date=20 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420200922/https://www.rekhta.org/ebook-detail/khutba-e-sadarat-hamara-pakistan-shabbir-ahmad-usmani-ebooks |url-status=live }}</ref> In its election campaign in 1946 the Muslim League drew upon the support of Islamic scholars and Sufis with the rallying cry of 'Islam in danger'.<ref name="Metcalf2012"/> The majority of Barelvis supported the creation of Pakistan and Barelvi ulama issued fatwas in support of the Muslim League.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nzivCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA167|title=State and Nation-Building in Pakistan: Beyond Islam and Security|last1=Long|first1=Roger D.|last2=Singh|first2=Gurharpal|last3=Samad|first3=Yunas|last4=Talbot|first4=Ian|publisher=Routledge|year=2015|isbn=9781317448204|page=167|quote=In the 1940s a solid majority of the Barelvis were supporters of the Pakistan Movement and played a supporting role in its final phase (1940–7), mostly under the banner of the All-India Sunni Conference which had been founded in 1925.|access-date=15 May 2017|archive-date=28 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728053232/https://books.google.com/books?id=nzivCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA167|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WgFeAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA135|title=The Awakening of Muslim Democracy: Religion, Modernity, and the State|last=Cesari|first=Jocelyne|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2014|isbn=9781107513297|page=135|quote=For example, the Barelvi ulama supported the formation of the state of Pakistan and thought that any alliance with Hindus (such as that between the Indian National Congress and the Jamiat ulama-I-Hind [JUH]) was counterproductive.|access-date=15 May 2017|archive-date=20 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200220023053/https://books.google.com/books?id=WgFeAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA135|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XfI-hEI8a9wC&pg=PA87|title=Pakistan: The Struggle Within|last=John|first=Wilson|publisher=Pearson Education India|year=2009|isbn=9788131725047|page=87|quote=During the 1946 election, Barelvi Ulama issued fatwas in favour of the Muslim League.|access-date=15 May 2017|archive-date=9 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200709003415/https://books.google.com/books?id=XfI-hEI8a9wC&pg=PA87|url-status=live}}</ref> In contrast, most Deobandi ulama (led by [[Hussain Ahmad Madani]]) opposed the creation of Pakistan and the two-nation theory. Husain Ahmad Madani and the Deobandis advocated [[composite nationalism]], according to which Muslims and Hindus were one nation (cf. ''[[Composite Nationalism and Islam]]'').<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q9sI_Y2CKAcC&pg=PA224|title=A History of Pakistan and Its Origins|last=Jaffrelot|first=Christophe|publisher=Anthem Press|year=2004|isbn=9781843311492|page=224|quote=Believing that Islam was a universal religion, the Deobandi advocated a notion of a composite nationalism according to which Hindus and Muslims constituted one nation.|access-date=15 May 2017|archive-date=28 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728053221/https://books.google.com/books?id=Q9sI_Y2CKAcC&pg=PA224|url-status=live}}</ref> Madani differentiated between ''qaum'' -which meant a multi-religious nation - and ''millat'' - which was exclusively the social unity of Muslims.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KPKoCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA26|title=Indian Muslims and Citizenship: Spaces for Jihād in Everyday Life|last=Abdelhalim|first=Julten|publisher=Routledge|year=2015|isbn=9781317508755|page=26|quote=Madani...stressed the difference between ''qaum'', meaning a nation, hence a territorial concept, and ''millat'', meaning an Ummah and thus a religious concept.|access-date=15 May 2017|archive-date=28 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728053223/https://books.google.com/books?id=KPKoCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA26|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7-tWCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA52|title=Living with Religious Diversity|last=Sikka|first=Sonia|publisher=Routledge|year=2015|isbn=9781317370994|page=52|quote=Madani makes a crucial distinction between ''qaum'' and ''millat''. According to him, qaum connotes a territorial multi-religious entity, while millat refers to the cultural, social and religious unity of Muslims exclusively.|access-date=15 May 2017|archive-date=4 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204130811/https://books.google.com/books?id=7-tWCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA52|url-status=live}}</ref>

However, a few highly influential Deobandi clerics did support the creation of Pakistan.<ref name=":10">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0Mx5DQAAQBAJ&pg=PA379|title=Faith-Based Violence and Deobandi Militancy in Pakistan|last1=Syed|first1=Jawad|last2=Pio|first2=Edwina|last3=Kamran|first3=Tahir|last4=Zaidi|first4=Abbas|publisher=Springer|year=2016|isbn=9781349949663|page=379|quote=Ironically, Islamic state politics in Pakistan was mostly in favour of Deobandi, and more recently Ahl-e Hadith/Salafi, institutions. Only a few Deobandi clerics decided to support the Pakistan Movement, but they were highly influential.|access-date=15 May 2017|archive-date=4 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204131105/https://books.google.com/books?id=0Mx5DQAAQBAJ&pg=PA379|url-status=live}}</ref> Such Deobandi ulama included [[Ashraf Ali Thanwi]], [[Muhammad Shafi]], [[Shabbir Ahmad Usmani]], and [[Zafar Ahmad Usmani]].<ref name="Hardy1972">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RDw4AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA242|title=The Muslims of British India|date=1972|publisher=CUP Archive|isbn=978-0-521-09783-3|page=242|author=Hardy|access-date=15 May 2017|archive-date=4 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204132527/https://books.google.com/books?id=RDw4AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA242|url-status=live}}</ref> Thanwi was one of the chief proponent of this Movement.<ref>{{Citation |last=Naeem |first=Fuad |title=Thānvī, Mawlānā Ashraf ʿAlī |date=2009 |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195305135.001.0001/acref-9780195305135-e-1108 |encyclopedia=The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World |publisher=Oxford University Press |language=en |doi= |isbn=978-0-19-530513-5 |access-date=8 November 2022}}</ref> He also sent groups of Muslim scholars to give religious advice and reminders to Jinnah,<ref name=":02">{{Cite book |last=Khan |first=Munshi Abdur Rahman |url=https://archive.org/details/toobaa-research-library-TameerEPakistan |title=Tehreek e Pakistan aur Ulama e Rabbani |publisher=Idara-i Islamiya |year=1992 |location=Pakistan |language=ur}}</ref> he dismissed the criticism that most Muslim League members were not practising Muslims. Thanwi was of the view that the Muslim League should be supported and also be advised at the same time to become religiously observant.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PrqLBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA104|title=Creating a New Medina: State Power, Islam, and the Quest for Pakistan in Late Colonial North India|last=Dhulipala|first=Venkat|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2015|isbn=9781316258385|page=104|quote=The senior alim conceded that the ML leaders still had some work to do before they could be seen as conscientious and observant Muslims,,, He instead emphasised the virtues of patient and quiet counseling...At the same time though, Thanawi dismissed criticisms of ML leaders as being non-observant Muslims as a case of the pot calling the kettle black.|access-date=15 May 2017|archive-date=5 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210205035712/https://books.google.com/books?id=PrqLBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA104|url-status=live}}</ref> Thanwi's disciples Shabbir Ahmad Usmani and Zafar Ahmad Usmani were key players in religious support for the creation of Pakistan.<ref name="Naeem 2009">{{Citation |last=Naeem |first=Fuad |title=Thānvī, Mawlānā Ashraf ʿAlī |date=2009 |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195305135.001.0001/acref-9780195305135-e-1108 |access-date=25 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220625205424/https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195305135.001.0001/acref-9780195305135-e-1108 |archive-date=25 June 2022 |url-status=live |publisher=Oxford University Press |language=en |doi= |isbn=978-0-19-530513-5 |encyclopedia=The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World}}</ref>

Acknowledging the services of these ulema, Shabbir Ahmad Usmani was honoured to raise the flag of Pakistan in Karachi and Zafar Ahamd Usmani in Dhaka.{{Sfn|Akhtar|2022|p=92}} Once, the Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah was asked whether there was any Islamic cleric who authenticated the division of India on religious bases. Jinnah replied that there was Arshraf Ali Thanwi, and his support to the cause of Muslim League was enough.{{Sfn|Akhtar|2022|p=92}} The Barelvis had no representation in the constituent assemblies of Pakistan, whereas the Deobandis had their representatives even in the first Constituent Assembly.{{Sfn|Long|Singh|Samad|Talbot|2015|p=167}}

===Muslim minority provinces of British India===
{{Expand section|date=November 2023}}
The idea of Pakistan received overwhelming support from Muslim minority provinces of British India, specially the Muslim cultural heartland of U.P. The [[Muslim League (Opposition)|Muslim League]] was known to gain its first foothold in the [[United Provinces (1937–1950)|United Provinces]], from where it derived a substantial portion of its leadership.<ref>Dhulipala, Venkat (2015).&nbsp;[https://books.google.com/books?id=PrqLBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA496 ''Creating a New Medina: State Power, Islam, and the Quest for Pakistan in Late Colonial North India'']. Cambridge University Press. p.&nbsp;496.&nbsp;{{ISBN|978-1-316-25838-5}}. "The idea of Pakistan may have had its share of ambiguities, but its dismissal as a vague emotive symbol hardly illuminates the reasons as to why it received such overwhelmingly popular support among Indian Muslims, especially those in the 'minority provinces' of British India such as U.P."</ref><ref name="AhmadRafiq2016">{{cite book |author1=Ishtiaq Ahmad |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nzMlDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA127 |title=Pakistan's Democratic Transition: Change and Persistence |author2=Adnan Rafiq |date=3 November 2016 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-317-23595-8 |pages=127– |access-date=8 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200714144656/https://books.google.com/books?id=nzMlDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA127 |archive-date=14 July 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Talbot |first1=Ian |year=1982 |title=The growth of the Muslim League in Punjab, 1937–1946 |journal=Journal of Commonwealth & Comparative Politics |volume=20 |issue=1 |pages=5–24 |doi=10.1080/14662048208447395 |quote=Despite their different viewpoints all these theories have tended either to concentrate on the All-India struggle between the Muslim League and the Congress in the pre-partition period or to turn their interest to the Muslim cultural heartland of the UP where the League gained its earliest foothold and where the demand for Pakistan was strongest.}}</ref>