Municipal Government and Muslim Separatism in the United Provinces, 1883 to 1916

Abstract

British rule cut down Muslim power in the United Provinces. Between 1868 and 1916, municipalities and councils acts tempered the rule of officials, many of whom were Muslims, with the rule of the people, few of whom were Muslims. Up to 1916, Muslims felt this loss of power most severely in the towns. But, because the municipalities were electorates for the provincial councils, this decline of Muslim power in the towns was reflected in the province as a whole. UP Muslims directed their politics towards compensating for this loss. They aimed for a protected share of power. This essay analyses the local origins of this Muslim demand.

Impact of the Improved Means of Communication on the Manufacturing Urban Centres of the 19th Century U. P.

“…Fair railway charges encouraged buyers and brokers to congregate at a few favored cities and especially in Kanpur, Faizabad and Delhi. 32 On account of steam and railway facilities, European presence…”

Gandhi, Ambedkar and British Policy on the Communal Award: A Response to Sujay Biswas

“…On one occasion, he condemned separate representation for being 'a noxious weed in the fair garden of national unity'. 54 But he went further and commissioned his own report in the province that, in his words, should make explicit 'reference to the theory and principles of democratic self-government'. 55 He emphasised the need for 'the production of the largest possible competent electorate within the shortest possible period'.…”

Who got a piece of the action? A century of urban politics in Faizabad Municipality

“…A major reason for this concession was the unrest which the Raj had encountered through its attempts to impose taxation for the purpose of raising funds to pay for the improvement of public facilities in the cities and towns of India. As Robinson (1971) put it, Indians no less than Americans wehreluctant to submit to 'taxation without representation'. By 1855, there were 725 municipal boards in India of which 472 (65.1 I per cent) consisted partly or wholly of elected members and 178 (24.6 per cent) had non-officials as chairmen.…”

“…Concomitantly with the growth of open politics at the local level had come an increased, explicitly Hindu political self-consciousness strongly articulated by organisations like the Hindu Sabha and the Arya Samaj. This, too, ironically, had been intensified by the policy towards Bengal (see Robinson 1973). In Faizabad the Khattri party had become strongly identified in the public mind with the propaga-.…”