in the country. However, the Congress also fought elections on the Muslim seats because it believed that it was a national party and not a party of only Hindus. The Congress won 26 out of the 58 Muslim seats it had contested.

Discuss the importance of addressing the concerns of minorities. Why is it felt that majority based elections are not enough to help minorities?
Separate electorate was one method to protect minority interests. Can you think of some other methods that can be helpful for this purpose? For example, would it help if there was a rule that a non Muslim member of a council must consult the Muslim population of his/ her constituency before voting on an issue that concerned them? When would such a method work and under what conditions would it fail to be effective

In 1937, the Muslim League got only 4.4 percent of the total Muslim votes in the elections. The Muslim League was popular in the United Provinces, Bombay and Madras. However, it was quite weak in the three provinces from which Pakistan was to be made just ten years later, that is, Bengal, the North-West Frontier Province (now in Pakistan) and Punjab. Even in Sind, it failed to form a government. But the situation changed in the next 10 years. In 1946, when elections were held again for the provincial and central assemblies, the League succeeded in winning the Muslim seats

What happened to the Muslim population in the years between 1937 and 1947? The League pointed out many issues. It blamed that Congress was insensitive to the needs of Muslims. For example, the Congress refused to form a coalition government with the Muslim League in the United Provinces where it too had won many seats. The Congress had banned its members from taking membership of the Muslim League. Congress members could be members of the Hindu Mahasabha before. But this was also banned from 1938, only after objections from Muslim Congressmen like Maulana Azad. Thus, the League created the impression that Congress was basically a Hindu party and did not want to share power with the muslims

The Hindu Mahasabha and the RSS

During this period, the Hindu Mahasabha and the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), a national cultural organisation were mobilizing the Hindus. These organisations wished to unite all the Hindus and overcome the divisions of caste and sect to reform their social life. They also gave out the message that India was the land of the Hindus who were in a majority. Many Congressmen were also impressed with the activities of these organisations.

Congress tried very hard to create a secular understanding among its members. It also tried to connect with the Muslim masses and make them feel secure.

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