ABSTRACT
Much of the history of twentieth-century India is concerned with the struggle between the Hindus and the Muslims as to what should be the form of the constitution and the distribution of power when India attained self-government. The basis of the Muslim League was the conviction of many Muslims that their interests were fundamentally different from those of the Hindus and that they would never receive fair treatment under any system of majority rule, which would necessarily be Hindu rule. The replacement of the Mughal by the British Empire was far more serious in its consequences for the Muslims than for the Hindus. The courtiers and viceroys gave way to English servants of the Company. In areas such as Bengal Muslim landowners were ousted, and their places taken by enterprising Hindu revenue farmers; while in the field of law the substitution of English for Muslim law practically disqualified Muslim lawyers from office.
