An agreement reached in 1916 between the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League at their joint sessions in Lucknow, marking a high point of Hindu-Muslim political unity in the freedom struggle.
- Signed in 1916 at Lucknow during the joint annual sessions of the Congress and the Muslim League.
- Marked the reunion of the Moderate and Extremist factions of the Congress, who had split at the Surat session in 1907; Bal Gangadhar Tilak and others rejoined.
- The Congress, for the first time, accepted the principle of separate electorates for Muslims, conceding it in return for joint political demands.
- Both bodies jointly demanded greater self-government, an expansion of elected representation, and a larger Indian role in the administration.
- It was facilitated by leaders including M.A. Jinnah, then a member of both the Congress and the League, who was called the "ambassador of Hindu-Muslim unity".
It is the key moment of Congress-League unity and Congress reunification, and the Congress acceptance of separate electorates is a significant, often-tested concession.
In the Lucknow Pact the Congress accepted separate electorates for Muslims; it would later oppose them, and the Constitution finally abolished them.
1916 Lucknow Pact: Congress-League unity and Congress (Moderate-Extremist) reunion; Congress accepted separate electorates for Muslims.