In August 1928 an all-parties committee chaired by Motilal Nehru proposed a constitution for a self-governing India, the Nehru Report. It would have ended separate electorates and rejected the Muslim League's demand for one-third of the seats in the central legislature. At the All-Parties Convention in Calcutta in December 1928, Jinnah's amendments were voted down, and the League's session was adjourned. In March 1929, on the eve of the resumed session in Delhi, Jinnah circulated this statement and draft resolution to the League's Council. The draft became known as Jinnah's "Fourteen Points." For the next decade they were the standard statement of Muslim constitutional demands, including at the Round Table Conferences. The text is the Indian Annual Register's account: the Register summarizes Jinnah's statement in the third person, then quotes its conclusion and the draft resolution in full. It is a statement and draft resolution, not a speech.
Jinnah's statement concludes that "The Nehru Report proposals can therefore at best be treated only as counter Hindu proposals to Moslem proposals." The draft resolution lays down that no constitution "will be acceptable to Mussalmans of India" unless it embodies fourteen principles. They include "The form of the future constitution should be federal, with the residuary powers vested in the provinces"; "In the Central Legislature, Mussalman representation shall not be less than one third"; separate electorates; no change to "the Moslem majority in the Punjab, Bengal and N. W. F. Province"; the separation of Sind from Bombay; and at least one-third Muslim ministers in every cabinet.
[p. 363] Accordingly on the eve of the open session of the League another largely attended meeting of the Council of the League was held in Delhi on the 28th MARCH to settle the programme for the ensuing session. Mr. Jinnah presided.
The following statement prepared by Mr. Jinnah was circulated among the members, giving a brief history of the controversy on the communal settlement since 1924. The statement recalled the resolutions passed by the League at its sessions in 1924, 1925 and 1926. As the proposals were criticised by the Hindu leaders who insisted on joint electorates, certain leading Moslem members, on Mr. Jinnah's invitation, met in Delhi in March, 1927, and formulated the Delhi proposals, stating the basis on which alone joint electorates could be agreed to by Moslems. The statement declared that the Delhi proposals were substantially accepted by the All-India Congress Committee meeting in Bombay in May 1927, and were later embodied in the resolution adopted by the Madras Congress. This response from the Congress led the Moslem League at its Calcutta session to adopt a resolution appointing a sub-committee to confer with the Congress Working Committee for the purpose of drafting a constitution in which the interests of Moslems would be safeguarded, having regard to the principles laid down by the League. The idea to draw up an agreed constitution led to the summoning of the All-Parties' Conference at Delhi on the 11th February, 1929; but, though this conference sat till 11th March, no agreement could be arrived at. The draft proposals of the conference were considered by the Council of the League as not in conformity with the League's Calcutta resolution. Moreover, the Hindu Maha Sabha had practically rejected the Moslem League proposals. Thereafter, the League was not represented by any body, authorised in their behalf, at the All-Parties Conference, as there were fundamental differences created by the Congress resiling from its position adopted hitherto.
The All-Parties Conference in Bombay in May changed the basis of agreement brought about by the Madras Congress and the Calcutta League session. The All-Parties Conference meeting in Bombay struck out a new line and appointed a small committee, with terms of reference, to which the League was not a party. The Committee's report was considered by the so-called All Parties Conference at Lucknow at which the League was not represented, though it was one of the [p. 364] principal parties to initiate the move by promoting the Delhi Moslem proposals. The Lucknow Conference resolutions were embodied in the Nehru Report. The basic principles of the communal settlement embodied in the Nehru Report were contrary to those whereon Moslem opinion had hitherto expressed itself.
The only occasion when the League gave consideration to the Nehru Report was when it appointed a delegation to the All-Parties Convention; but the points urged by the delegation were summarily rejected. The League could not, therefore, proceed further with the Convention.
The League further found that it did not stand alone in its difficulties with the Nehru Report. The Congress had merely sanctioned it for a year. The Hindu Maha Sabha would withdraw the support even if a comma were changed. The Sikh League had rejected the report while the Liberal Federation had at first adopted an attitude of benevolent neutrality, and subsequently adopted the Nehru Report, without expression of strong views one way or the other regarding Moslem proposals.
Mr. Jinnah's statement concluded :—“Thus the original conception of bringing about a communal pact or national agreement was not feasible ; and the League, after very careful consideration decided to adjourn the session, and instructed the Council of the League to call the adjourned session before May. The Nehru Report proposals can therefore at best be treated only as counter Hindu proposals to Moslem proposals. And as there is no agreement reached, it is now for the League to take such action and adopt such course as the League may think proper in the best interests of the community and the country.”
The following is the text of the draft resolution prepared by Mr. Jinnah to accommodate the various points of view in regard to the policy and programme of the Moslem League in respect of the forthcoming constitutional reforms. It runs :—
"(1) Whereas the basic idea with which the All-Parties' Conference was called in being and a Convention summoned at Calcutta during Christmas Week, 1928, was that a scheme of reforms should be formulated and accepted and ratified by the foremost political organisations in the country as a National Pact; and whereas the Report was adopted by the Indian National Congress only conditionally for the one year ending 31st December 1929, and in the event of the British Parliament not accepting it within the time limit, the Congress stands committed to the policy and programme of complete independence by resort to civil disobedience and non-payment of taxes : and whereas the attitude taken up by the Hindu Maha Sabha from the commencement through their representatives at the Convention was nothing short of an ultimatum, that, if a single word in the Nehru Report in respect of the communal settlement was changed, they would immediately withdraw their support to it; and whereas the National Liberal Federation delegates at the Convention took up an attitude of benevolent neutrality, and subsequently in their open session at Allahabad, adopted a non-committal policy with regard to the Hindu-Moslem differences; and whereas the Sikh League had already declined to agree to the Nehru Report; and whereas the non-Brahmin and depressed classes are entirely opposed to it; and whereas the reasonable and moderate proposals put forward by the delegates of the All India Moslem League at the Convention in modification were not accepted, the Moslem League is unable to accept the Nehru Report.
"The League after anxious and careful consideration most earnestly and emphatically lays down that no scheme for the future constitution of the government of India will be acceptable to Mussalmans of India until and unless the following basic principles are given effect to and provisions are embodied therein to safeguard their rights and interests :—
“(1) The form of the future constitution should be federal, with the residuary powers vested in the provinces.
"(2) A uniform measure of autonomy shall be granted to all provinces.
"(3) All legislatures in the country and other elected bodies shall be constituted on the definite principle of adequate and effective representation of minorities in [p. 365] every Province without reducing the majority in any Province to a minority or even equality.
"(4) In the Central Legislature, Mussalman representation shall not be less than one third.
"(5) Representation of communal groups shall continue to be by means of separate electorates as at present, provided it shall be open to any community, at any time, to abandon its separate electorate in favour of joint electorate.
"(6) Any territorial redistribution that might at any time be necessary shall not in any way, affect the Moslem majority in the Punjab, Bengal and N. W. F. Province.
"(7) Full religious liberty i.e., liberty of belief, worship and observance, propaganda, association and education, shall be guaranteed to all communities.
"(8) No bill or resolution or any part thereof shall be passed in any legislature or any other elected body if three fourths of the members of any community in that particular body oppose such a bill, resolution or part thereof on the ground that it would be injurious to the interests of that community or in the alternative, such other method is devised as may be found feasible and practicable to deal with such cases.
"(9) Sind should be separated from the Bombay Presidency.
"(10) Reforms should be introduced in the N. W. F. Province and Baluchistan on the same footing as in other provinces.
"(11) Provision should be made in the constitution giving Moslems an adequate share along with the other Indians, in all the services of the State and in local self-governing bodies having due regard to the requirements of efficiency.
"(12) The constitution should embody adequate safeguards for the protection of Moslem culture and for the protection and promotion of Moslem education, language, religion, personal laws and Moslem charitable institutions and for their due share in the grants-in-aid given by the State and by local self-governing bodies.
“(13) No cabinet, either Central or Provincial, should be formed without there being a proportion of at least one-third Moslem Ministers.
"(14) No change shall be made in the constitution by the Central Legislature except with the concurrence of the States constituting the Indian Federation.
The draft resolution also mentions an alternative to the above provision in the following terms :
"That, in the present circumstances, representation of Musalmans in the different legislatures of the country and other elected bodies through the separate electorates is inevitable and further, the Government being pledged over and over again not to disturb this franchise so granted to the Moslem community since 1909 till such time as the Musalmans chose to abandon it, the Musalmans will not consent to joint electorates unless Sind is actually constituted into a separate province and reforms in fact are introduced in the N. W. F. Province and Baluchistan on the same footing as in other provinces.
"Further, it is provided that there shall be reservation of seats according to the Moslem population in the various provinces; but where Musalmans are in a majority, they shall not contest more seats than their population warrants.
"The question of excess representation of Musalmans over and above their population in Provinces where they are in a minority is to be considered hereafter."
The Indian Annual Register 1929, vol. I (Calcutta: Annual Register Office), pp. 363–365. The Register summarizes Jinnah's statement in the third person and quotes its conclusion and the draft resolution.