Day of Deliverance

The Day of Deliverance was a celebration day marked by the All-India Muslim League and others on 22 December 1939 during the Indian independence movement. It was led by the Muslim League's president Muhammad Ali Jinnah and was intended to celebrate the resignation of all members of the rival Indian National Congress party from provincial and central offices in protest over their not having been consulted over the decision to enter World War II alongside Britain.

Background

In 1938 and 1939, the Muslim League tried to bring light to the grievances of Muslims and Muslim groups in Indian states run by Congress governments; the effort led to documents like the Pirpur Report: 1938, Muslim sufferings under the Congress rule by A. K. Fazlul Huq and Sharif Report: 1938, documenting pro-Hindu and anti-Muslim bias under Congress governments.

Lord Linlithgow, the Viceroy of India, declared India at war with Nazi Germany on 3 September 1939. The Indian National Congress, the dominant political party of Subcontinent, objected strongly to the declaration of war without prior consultation with Indians. The Congress Working Committee suggested that it would cooperate if there were a central Indian national government formed, and a commitment made to India's independence after the war. The Muslim League promised its support to the British, with Jinnah calling on Muslims to help the Raj by "honourable co-operation at the critical and difficult juncture," while asking Linlithgow for increased protection for Muslims.

Congress considered Linlithgow's subsequent response "wholly unsatisfactory and calculated to rouse resentment among all those who are anxious to gain India's independence," and on 22 October 1939, "call[ed] upon all Congress ministries to tender their resignations." The unilateral protest resignation was supported by Jawaharlal Nehru, but less so by Mahatma Gandhi, who felt that it would "strengthen the [Muslim] League and give the British full freedom in militarizing India throughout the war." Both Linlithgow and Jinnah were pleased with the resignations.

Jinnah's appeal

On 2 December 1939, Jinnah put out an appeal, calling for Indian Muslims to celebrate 22 December 1939 as a "Day of Deliverance" from Congress:

I wish the Muslims all over India to observe Friday 22 December as the "Day of Deliverance" and thanksgiving as a mark of relief that the Congress regime has at last ceased to function. I hope that the provincial, district and primary Muslim Leagues all over India will hold public meetings and pass the resolution with such modification as they may be advised, and after Jumma prayers offer prayers by way of thanksgiving for being delivered from the unjust Congress regime.