Ambedkar, Bhim Rao paid dividends as 100,000 joined the league in the same year There was no turning back for the league after the Pakistan Resolution The league followed a policy of cooperation with the British government and did not support the Quit India movement of August 1942 The league was determined to have a separate Muslim state, whereas the congress was opposed to the idea of partition Reconciliation was not possible, and talks between Gandhi and Jinnah for a united India in September 1944 failed After the end of World War II, Great Britain did not have the economic or political resources to hold the British Empire in India It decided to leave India finally and ordered elections to central and provincial legislatures The league won all 30 seats reserved for Muslims with 86 percent of the votes in the elections of December 1945 for the center The congress captured all the general seats with 91 percent of the votes In the provincial elections of February 1946, the league won 440 seats reserved for Muslims out of a total of 495 with 75 percent of the votes Flush with success, the Muslim members gathered in April for the Delhi convention and demanded a sovereign state and two constitution-making bodies Jinnah addressed the gathering, saying that Pakistan should be established without delay It would consist of the Muslim majority areas of Bengal and Assam in the east and the Punjab, the North-West Frontier Province, Sind, and Baluchistan in the west The British government had dispatched a cabinet mission in March to transfer power The league accepted the plan of the cabinet mission, but the league working committee in July withdrew its earlier acceptance and called for a Direct Action Day on August 16 The league joined the interim government in October but decided not to attend the Constituent Assembly In January 1947 the Muslim League launched a “direct action” against the non–Muslim League government of Khizr Hayat Tiwana (1900–75) of the Punjab Partition was inevitable, and the new viceroy, Lord Louis Mountbatten (1900–79), began to talk with leaders from the league as well as the congress to work out a compromise formula On June 3, 1947, it was announced that India and Pakistan would be granted independence The Indian Independence Act was passed by the British parliament in July, and the deadline was set for midnight on August 14–15 The demand of the league for a separate state was realized when the Islamic Republic of Pakistan was born on August 14 On August 15 Jinnah was sworn in as the first governor-general of Pakistan, and Liaqat Ali Khan 11 (1895–1951) became the prime minister The new nation had 60 million Muslims in East Bengal, West Punjab, Sind, the North-West Frontier Province, and Baluchistan After independence the league did not remain a major political force for long, and dissent resulted in many splinter groups The Pakistan Muslim League had no connection with the original league In India the Indian Union Muslim League was set up in March 1948 with a stronghold in the southern province of Kerala The two-nation theory received a severe jolt when East Pakistan seceded after a liberation struggle against the oppressive regime of the west A new state, Bangladesh, emerged in December 1971 In the early 21st century more Muslims resided in India (175 million) than in Pakistan (159 million) Further reading: Aziz, K K The Making of Pakistan: A Study in Nationalism Lahore: Sang-e-Meel Publications, 1993; Hussain, J A History of the Peoples of Pakistan: Towards Independence Karachi: Oxford University Press, 1997; Jalal, Ayesha The Sole Spokesman: Jinnah, the Muslim League and the Demand for Pakistan New Delhi: Cambridge University Press, 1994; Masselos, Jim Indian Nationalism: A History New Delhi: Sterling Publishers, 1985; Pirzada, Syed Sharifuddin, ed Foundations of Pakistan-All India Muslim League Documents 1906–1947 vols Karachi: Royal Book Company, 1969, 1970, 1990; Ziring, Lawrence Pakistan in the Twentieth Century: A Political History Karachi: Oxford University Press, 1997 Patit Paban Mishra Ambedkar, Bhim Rao (1891–1956) Indian lawyer and reformer Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar was the most important leader of the oppressed untouchable minority in the history of India He acquired the honorific name Babasaheb Fighting for his people, he angered Mohandas K Gandhi, the revered leader of the Indian nationalist movement, as well as many Hindu traditionalists When India became an independent country, he served in its cabinet and drafted its constitution Near the end of his life, he became a Buddhist and encouraged other untouchables to likewise; he had lost hope of justice for his people within Hinduism In Hinduism most people belonged to four hierarchical castes, but a large minority were excluded from the caste system and were regarded as beneath it They did jobs that other Hindus rejected as ritually