Lucknow Pact 1916 – Significance, Main Points, Outcome

What is Lucknow Pact 1916?

The Lucknow Pact 1916 was a pact that was signed between the Indian National Congress and the All India Muslim League in Lucknow in December 1916.

Mohammed Ali Jinnah was then a member of both the Indian National Congress and the All-India Muslim League.

Lucknow Pact UPSC

Lucknow Pact 1916 created an amicable relationship between both parties leading to Sarojini Naidu referring to Mohammed Ali Jinnah as the “Ambassador of Hindu-Muslim Unity”. The purpose of signing the Lucknow pact was to bring out the common political rules made by both parties, including the demand for self-governance in India after the First World War.

History of Lucknow Pact

Lucknow session 1916 is important to learn as this tells us about the reason for the growing popularity of the All India Muslim League at that time. To know the significance of the Lucknow Pact 1916, it is important to know its background.

• The Muslim League came into existence in 1906, and the prime motive of the Muslim League was to establish a cordial relationship with the British.
• During the period of the All India Muslim League and Indian National Congress coalition, Jinnah, who was then a member of both parties, used the occasion as a joint venture to pressure the British to reform.
• This was the first time when both parties were together at the joint session.

Significance of Lucknow Pact 1916

The Lucknow pact focused on creating self-governance for Indian citizens. It suggested the following reforms:

• Self-government in India.
• Abolition of the Indian Council.
• Separation of the executive from the judiciary.
• Salaries of the Secretary of State for Indian Affairs to be paid from British coffers and not Indian funds.
• 1/3^rd representation to be given to Muslims in the Central Government.
• The number of Muslims in the provincial legislatures to be laid down for each province.
• Separate electorates for all communities until a joint electorate is demanded by all.
• Introduction of a system of weightage for minority representation (it implied giving minorities more representation than their share in the population).
• Increasing the term of the Legislative Council to 5 years.
• Half the members of the Imperial Legislative Council to be Indians.
• All elected members to be elected directly on the basis of adult franchise. 4/5^th of the members of the provincial legislatures to be elected and 1/5^th to be nominated.
• Members of the Legislative Council to elect their President themselves.

Main Points of Lucknow Pact 1916

There were numerous provisions enshrined in the Lucknow pact since the start. These points will illustrate the importance of the Lucknow Pact 1916; candidates preparing for UPSC must prepare well for this topic to be able to solve questions in the stipulated time frame. Following are some main points of the Lucknow Pact 1916:

• The Muslim League and the Indian National Congress both assented to the idea of separate electorates. This determined that both groups were well-versed in the essentiality of local politics and the self-centred aspirations of numerous communities dwelling in India that might have contributed to the separation of the country in 1947.
• The essentiality of the Muslim community’s representation was admitted. This led the way for communal politics.
• Before the onset of the Lucknow Pact, the League lacked any political presence.
• It was clear that there was a conflict between the leaders and the people. The riots among the people of numerous communities broke out in the regions of Bengal and Bihar.
• If three-fourths of the members did not agree or dissented then the legislature could not sanction the decision, hence Indian legislature had taken into account the concept of veto communalism.
• The agreement made it clear that all of India’s major communities had their own areas of interest.

The Outcome of the Lucknow Pact

The radical wings and the moderates of the Congress were united. At the joint meeting held between both the Parties, the Congress Party and Muslim League assented to an agreement that is called the Lucknow Pact. The result of the signed agreement was that the two parties assented to the agreement that religious minorities could be represented in the provincial legislatures.

• The Congress assented to the idea of separate electorates.
• The development of the two-nation theory was the chief noteworthy point.

Lucknow Pact UPSC

The Lucknow Pact topic is an important topic in Modern Indian History for the IAS exam. Since Lucknow Pact 1916 topic includes many dates, parties, and leaders, there are higher chances of it being asked in Prelims and UPSC mains.

The candidates preparing for the exam can get access to the Lucknow Pact UPSC notes and keep them saved on their devices to comprehensively prepare for the exam. It is important to have a strong base for taking the Civil Services exam hence you can take the help of NCERT books for UPSC to gain in-depth knowledge of this topic.

Questions on Lucknow Pact

The candidates need to practice this topic in order to complete the questions in the stipulated time frame. The questions asked in the IAS exam on Lucknow Pact 1916 have been enlightened herein. The aspirants can get in touch with the Lucknow Pact UPSC questions and accelerate toward achieving their goals.

Question: The Lucknow pact was signed between which two leaders? [a] Aga Khan and Mahatma Gandhi, [b] Mahatma Gandhi and Mohammad Ali Jinnah, [c] Jawaharlal Nehru and Muhammad Ali Jinnah, [d] Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Muhammad Ali Jinnah

Answer – Option D

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