Constitution

Constitution:

    In 1930, Gandhi led hundreds of followers on a
240-mile (386-kilometer) march to the sea, where they made salt
from seawater. This action was a protest against the Salt Acts, which
made it a crime to possess salt not bought from the government. The
salt march and other acts of civil disobedience in the early 1930's led
the British to give the Indian people more political power. In 1931,
Gandhi and the viceroy, Lord Irwin, signed an agreement. Gandhi
agreed to give up his campaign of civil disobedience. The British
agreed to release thousands of political prisoners.

    The Government of India Act of 1935 created a new constitution.
This Constitution gave provincial legislatures control over lawmaking
in the provinces. It also increased the representation of Indians in all
branches of government. However, the viceroy and the governors still
kept their veto power over all bills, and the government controlled
finances. As a result, many important changes that Indians wanted
were never approved by the government.

    Meanwhile, the Muslim League had become more politically active.
In 1934, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, who had been an important
Congress leader, was chosen to head the Muslim League. Under
Jinnah's leadership, the league won a number of seats in the provincial
legislatures, and membership increased rapidly. However, the
provincial elections of 1937 showed that most Muslims still supported
the Indian National Congress.

    Jinnah increased his political activity and declared that the Congress
could not speak for Muslims. In 1940, he demanded that a new
country be carved out of India for Muslims. The name Pakistan ,
which means land of the pure in the Urdu language, came to be used
for this proposed nation. According to Jinnah, India was to be for
Hindus, and Pakistan for Muslims.