Lucknow Pact

Lucknow Pact (Hindustani: लखनऊ का मुआहिदा, لکھنؤ کا معاہدہ Lakhnaū kā Mu'āhidā) refers to an agreement between the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League. In 1916, Muhammed Ali Jinnah, a member of the Muslim League, negotiated with the Indian National Congress to reach an agreement to pressure the British government to adopt a more liberal approach to India and give Indians more authority to run their country. This was a considerable change of policy for the Muslim League, as its position had been that to preserve Muslim interests in India, it needed to support British rule. After the unpopular partition of Bengal, the Muslim League was confused about its stand and it was at that time that Jinnah approached the League. Jinnah was the mastermind and architect of the pact.

The Lucknow Pact also marked the establishment of cordial relations between the two prominent groups of the Indian National Congress – the bold, fierce leaders or garam dal led by Bal Gangadhar Tilak, and the moderates or the naram dal led by Gopal Krishna Gokhale.