The factors leading to the formation of the Muslim League

1. Loss of sovereignty of the Mughal rulers – The British established their

supremacy in India by overthrowing the Mughal rulers who were
followers of Islam. This made the Muslims bitter enemies of the British.
The Muslims participated in the Wahabi movement which aimed in
ending the British domination in India and also participated in the
Uprising of 1857. This made the British view them with suspicion.
However, this attitude of the British changed after the 1870s when the
British began to follow the policy of appeasing the Muslims in order to
undermine the national movement.
2. The British policy of Divide and Rule – The British got a huge shock after
the first war of independence in 1857. The British saw the unity between
the Hindus and Muslims as a great threat to their empire in India and
decided to adopt the policy of “Divide and Rule” and took the following
steps -
I) In 1871, Lord Mayo’s government passed a resolution which made
Urdu the language of instruction in all primary and secondary
schools for the Muslims and increased the government aid for the
institutes run by the Muslims.
II) The British tried to spread communal hatred by literature, posters,
press, and public platform.
III) The British tried to justify the partition of Bengal to the Muslims
by telling them that in the new Bengal which will have a Muslim
majority and the Hindus won’t be able to subvert their interests.
IV) They tried to utilize the cast system by turning the lower castes
and the non – Brahmins against the higher castes.
3. Economical backwardness of the country – The economic backwardness
of the country contributed to the growth of the communalism in India.
Due to the British Colonial Policies, India lacked modern industrial
development, and there was acute unemployment of young educated
Indians. This means that there were a smaller number of jobs and a
greater number of Indians, then the Indians decided to get a job on the
bases of the caste, creed, and religion. British used this to fan the
communal rivalry between the Hindus and the Muslims.
4. The rise of early nationalists - The early nationalists played an important
role in the national movement. But some actions of the early nationalists
marked a step back in terms of national unity. Some action and speeches
 of the early nationalists annoyed some part of the Indians. For example,
the propagation of the Ganpati and Shivaji festivals by Tilak and Ghosh’s
idea that Motherland was a nation and the nationalism was the religion.
Significance of the Lucknow Pact –
1.