8. LUCKNOW PACT (1916)

8. LUCKNOW PACT (1916)

• Signed at the joint session of INC and the All India Muslim League (founded 1906, Dacca, by Aga Khan, Nawab Salimullah) held at Lucknow, December 1916.
• Historic agreement between the Congress (Moderates and Extremists reunited) and the Muslim League — the two organisations agreed to work together for constitutional reforms and self-government.
• Congress accepted separate electorates for Muslims (a controversial concession, first introduced by the Morley-Minto Reforms/Indian Councils Act, 1909) — considered by later critics as a step that entrenched communal politics.
• Key figures: Tilak (Congress) and Muhammad Ali Jinnah (then a member of both INC and Muslim League, called at the time the "Ambassador of Hindu-Muslim Unity" by Sarojini Naidu).
• Also the session where the Moderate-Extremist split (Surat 1907) was healed, and Congress and League demanded dominion self-government and reforms in legislative councils.

Key Facts / Quick Revision Points — Lucknow Pact

• Lucknow Pact — December 1916; INC + Muslim League joint session.
• Accepted separate electorates for Muslims.
• Jinnah — called "Ambassador of Hindu-Muslim Unity" (by Sarojini Naidu).
• Same session (1916) also saw Congress reunification of Moderates & Extremists.