Unionist Party
Also called: National Unionist Party · Topic: The National Movement: Gandhian Era · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The Unionist Party (also called the National Unionist Party) was a party of landlords and farmers in Punjab. It took in members of all religions: Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs. Fazl-i-Husain and Chhotu Ram founded it in 1923. It governed Punjab from 1937 under Sikandar Hayat Khan. For years it kept both the Congress and the Muslim League weak in Punjab.
Example
After the 1937 elections, Sikandar Hayat Khan became premier of Punjab as head of a Unionist ministry. During the Second World War the Muslim League grew in Punjab, and by the 1946 elections it had overtaken the Unionists among Muslim voters.
Don't confuse with
- Muslim League: it spoke only for Muslims and later demanded Pakistan. The Unionists were a cross-religious party built around rural interests.
Related concepts
- Provincial elections of 1937
- Congress ministries 1937-39
- Wardha scheme of basic education
- Congress Socialist Party
- Haripura session 1938
- Tripuri crisis 1939
- Forward Bloc
- Second World War
- Lord Linlithgow
- Resignation of Congress ministries