Condition of Muslims after the War

The war of Independence of 1857 was conducted mainly by the Muslims. Its failure started a new era of alien rule in the
Sub-Continent. Although the war was ill planned and short lived yet it shock the British Imperialism to its foundations.
The concern of the British Government can be judged from the fact that immediately after the war the crown took over
the control of the country from the English East India Company. The British Government took stock of the entire
situation and held the Muslims of the Country responsible for the 1857 catastrophe. This attitude turned all the British
wrath and anger against the Muslims. Thus the Muslims were subjected to all sorts of oppression and repression.
Leading Muslims were hanged or sentenced to jails. The properties of the Muslims were confiscated. They were denied
important jobs under the crown. Sir William Hunter’s book “The Indian Mussalmans” published in 1871 gives a lot of
information about the pitiable conditions of the Muslims of India after the 1857 upheaval. Although the observations of
William Hunter are confined only to the Muslims of Bengal yet the condition of the Muslims of rest of India was not
different. The following extracts from his book illustrate the conditions of the Muslims.

About the landowning classes of Eastern Bengal he writes, At Murshidabad a Mohammadan Court still plays its force of
mimic state and in every district the descendent of some line of princes suddenly and proudly eats his heart out among
roofless palaces and weed chocked tanks……. if any statesman wishes to make a sensation in the House of Commons he
has only to truly narrate the history of these Mohammadan families of Bengal.

Then W. Hunter gives the position of the Muslims in the public services in these words,

“In the three grades of Assistant Government Engineers there were fourteen Hindus and not one Muslim; among die
apprentices there were four Hindus and two Englishmen and not one Muslim. Among me Sub-Engineers there were 24
Hindus to one Muslim and in the upper Subordinate Department there were 22 Hindus and again not one Muslim.”
About the causes of the whole state of affairs Hunter writes. “The truth is that when the country passed under our rule
the Muslims were the superior race and superiour not only in the stoutness of me heart and strength of arm but in
power of political organization and the science of political government.” Later on W. Hunter writes, “All sorts of
employments great and small are being gradually snatched away from me Mohammadans and bestowed on men of
other races particularly the Hindus.”

According to another survey in 1871 out of a total of 2141 persons employed by the Bengal Government there were only
92 Muslims, 711 Hindus and 1338 Europeans. Moreover it is stated that between 1852 and 1862 out of 240 natives
admitted as the pleaders of the High Court there was only one Muslim.

An Indian socialist leader Asoka-Mehta in his book “The Communal Triangle” throws light on the status enjoyed by
Muslims in public offices.

“Not only were the Muslims economically crushed, educationally and socially also their position was deliberately
depressed by the government. In 1870 the Mohammadan pleaders presented two memorials to the High Court pointing
out that while closed holidays allowed to the Christians were sixty two and those to Hindus fifty two, only eleven were
granted to the Muhammadans…… In the government offices, no Muhammadan holiday was sanctioned at all.”

These details clearly demonstrate the awe-fully pitiable condition of the Muslims of India after the war. The British were
hostile to Muslims and took all steps to ensure that they could not rise in future. In addition to these misfortunes the
Muslims refused to learn Western education and sciences. They were not prepared to part with their age old customs
and manners. The Muslims considered the acquisition of modern education as a step contrary to their religion. They
hated English language and decided to continue with Persian. But unconsciously, in this manner they were slowly but
surely leaving the field open for the Hindus. This gradual decline in the status of the Muslims as a community was first
diagnosed and checked by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan.
Sir Syed Ahmed Khan and Renaissance of The Muslim Mind
You would come across many people in your life who at times would save you from somebody’s wrath but very few who
would then be concerned about your well-being and then put you on the right path. Sir Syed Ahmad Khan was one
among the few. After the mutiny of 1857, he not only emancipated Muslims from the hornet’s nest but also erased the
misconception from the mind of the British that Muslims had any hand in the mutiny.

When he saw the social, political and economic conditions of the Muslims deteriorating day by day, he thought of an
educational renaissance to overcome all the problems. He collaborated with the British and laid the foundation of
Muhammadan Anglo Oriental College in Aligarh in 1877 where he implemented modern and scientific education, which
was lacking in all the Muslim run institutions at that time. The college took the shape of a full-fledged university in 1920.

He striven hard to achieve such a marvelous feat. He saved the Muslims from the indignation of British and then showed
them the path of success and enlightenment by the establishment of such a huge institution that too under the guidance
and vigil of the British who till then were hungry of the blood of Muslims. He lived within the British and worked for his
community in a cordial and apt way.

Subsequently, he was branded as the British agent and declared Non-Muslim for working with the British and
implementing scientific education in the college. But he scarcely gave a hoot to the stances of the common people of his
community. Being far sighted, he knew that it would be better for them in the long run.

The institution then demanded lots of sacrifices and Sir Syed gave every possible one. He sacrificed his time, honor,
dignity and even his job. He begged door to door and collected everything that people gave, even the busted shoes and
abuses that people used to hurl on him. The university that today stands tall in Aligarh has not come into being on its
own, but it took the hard work and dedication of this renaissance man Sir Syed Ahmad Khan to emerge. He even
disguised himself into a woman dancer in a fair to collect the donation for his college. He was not a common man but a
royal person who sacrificed his dignity for his community. He was then successful in bringing about a great revolution in
India and gave the world, the fruits of his hard work and adherence.

It is said that revolution often devours its own children if not given a proper direction. Sir Syed was holding the helm of
the Muslim community at that time and he would have diverted the ship anywhere. But he put it on the track of
education. He knew that it is only education which has the power to break any shackle and huddle of misery
nonviolently. It has the power to enlighten the minds of the people who can then think about their good and bad
themselves. Verily, time and history proved him right.

We have the cognizance of many revolutions, some of which occurred due to dominion and some with the threat of the
sword. But they all were temporary and faded away with time. Because you can’t saber-rattle someone too long. But the
renaissance which comes due to education is unscathed, like etched on a stone for eternity. Because it is the renaissance
of one’s mind. It has the tendency to change the perceptions and notions one possesses. That is why it is unaltered and
mighty effective.
Sir Syed Ahmad Khan was a man of great vision, a great political leader, reformer and educationist who left his impact in
almost every moral sphere of life not only among Muslims but his co-coreligionists as well. His conscience was also
concerned about their well-being and always guided their destinies time by time for a better future. As he is always
accused of distancing Muslims from the Congress but the very idea of Sir Syed was replete with deep philosophy, which
is beyond the mind of common people. His notions went on to impact a plethora of Muslim intellectuals, scholars and
politicians who then watered the very idea of Sir Syed’s concept of Muslim nationalism into becoming the ideological
doctrine and soul of the very idea of Pakistan. His prolific authorship on the condition of the Muslims of the
subcontinent during the British rule and his activism in the field of education, helped formulate nationalist ideas in the
Muslims of the region. The nationalism of which is the direct outcome of the Muslim nationalism which emerged in India
in the 19th Century, masterminded by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan.

Post Script: - Is Kashmir wallowing in more unrest and turbulence nowadays as Sir Syed was during the time of British? If
he single-handedly managed to tackle the situation so well, why can’t you? He doesn’t possess any kind of manpower,
institutions and intellectuals as you do, still he was able to establish the Oxford of the East. If he was able to emancipate
his illiterate community nonviolently from the hornet’s nest, why can’t you emancipate a literate one? You got the
resources, a peaceful ambiance than Sir Syed’s and above all a literate society with already established institutions.
Certainly, your job is much easier. If your policies and ideas coincide with Sir Syed’s, you will definitely see the new dawn
of renaissance but if it differs you need to rethink and revive it.