Simla Deputation

This article is about the 1906 deputation of Indian Muslim leaders for greater political representation. For the 1914 Tibetan-British-Chinese convention, see Simla Convention. For the 1972 India-Pakistan peace treaty, see Simla Agreement. For the 1945 Indian self-government meeting, see Simla Conference.

Aga Khan III, facilitator of the Simla Deputation
Lord Minto, Governor-General of India in 1906

The Simla Deputation was a gathering of 35[note 1] prominent Indian Muslim leaders led by the Aga Khan III at the Viceregal Lodge in Simla in October 1906. The deputation aimed to convince Lord Minto, then Viceroy of india, to grant Muslims greater representation in politics.

The deputation took advantage of the liberal values of the newly-appointed Minto and his Secretary of State, John Morley, following the election of the Liberals in the 1906 United Kingdom general election, as well as the willingness of the British and the Indian Muslims to cooperate – the British wanted to use Indian Muslims as a bulwark against the Indian National Congress and Hindu nationalism, while the Muslims, based in Aligarh Muslim University, wanted to use the opportunity to secure more political representation for themselves.

Minto, finding himself sympathetic to the demands of the Muslims, put many of them into law through the Indian Councils Act 1909, granting the wishes of the deputation. The deputation also led indirectly to the creation of the All-India Muslim League in December that year, as the leaders of the Simla Deputation had taken the time to draft the constitution of the Muslim League to present at the All India Muhammadan Educational Conference.

  1. ^ Purohit 2011, p. 767.
  2. ^ Akhtar 2017, p. 767.
  3. ^ Lal 1986, p. 73.
  4. ^ Metcalf & Metcalf 2012, p. 160.
  5. ^ Rahman 1970, p. 8.


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