Tag Archives: Maulana Azad

Abdul Hadi — Gandhi of Rajasthan

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Burahan Ka Tala Village (Barmer District), RAJASTHAN :

Alhaj Abdul Hadi, a prominent public representative of western Rajasthan passed away in the government hospital, Barmer, on 6 November 2010. He was born on 5 May, 1926.

He led a life full of struggle and was elected an MLA seven times. He belonged to a famous martial race samma (Sindhi) family. His ancestors were religious and learned people. His father Alhaj Mohammed Hasan was a great Moulvi of his time. He was a poet of Sindhi language. He was a scholar of Sindhi, Urdu, Persian and Arabic languages.

Abdul Hadi published his father’s poetry in Sindhi language as ‘Bayaaz-e-kosri’ in 1999. Before partition, Sindh and Rajasthan were very close. Sindh was a prosperous region. Those interested in education would visit Sindh which was a great seat of knowledge in those days. Moulvi Mohammed Hasan Hadi’s father received his education in Sindh. Abdul Hadi respected his father too much and served him well till his end.

Abdul Hadi was a man of letters and had a good knowledge of Sindhi, Hindi, English and Urdu languages. He was fond of Sindhi sufi saint poet Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai and used to study Shah Abdul Latif’s ‘Risala’ regularly along with the recitation of the Holy Qur’an. Abdul Hadi joined politics in his teens for the service of the people. He was a great freedom fighter and active associate and follower of Jai Narayan Vyas who himself was a great freedom fighter and architect of modern Rajasthan. He was the Chief Minister of Rajasthan in the formative years of the state. In those days zamindari system was abolished which made feudals very angry. They used to harass and persecute poor farmers for taxes on land – a system abolished after the freedom of India. Abdul Hadi had been Sarpanch of Burhan-ka-tala tehsil of Chohtan in Barmer in the beginning of the Panchayati Raj. He rose from grass roots to the level of representative of state and further national level.

He was the pradhan of panchayat samiti of Chohtan 1959. He had been the president (Adhyaksh) of Central-Co-operative Bank from 1972 to 1980, i. e. for almost a decade. He had been the District President of Congress (Adhyaksh) twice for the district of Barmer. For 11 years, during 1995-2006 he had been a member of the All India Congress Committee and was a member of the State Congress Committee for many years. He was elected member of the legislative assembly for the first time in 1953 from Sanchore when Chohatan and Sanchore formed one assembly segment. His periods of assembly membership are as follows:

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Election year   / Constituency

1953 Sanchore, Dist. Jalore & Barmer

1967 Chohatan, District Barmer

1971 Chohatan

1975 Chohatan

1985 Chohatan

1990 Chohatan

1999 up to 2004 Chohatan

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Chart :

Abdul Hadi was a man of character and full of virtues. He was a disciplined politician, selfless, large-hearted, most secular and most obedient servant of the people of border area. He was closely associated with the first generation of Indian political leaders after independence like Nehru, Maulana Azad and Rafi Ahmad Qidwai. He was very close to Indira Gandhi who had great respect for him and had a special liking for Barmer and Jaisalmer and always remembered Abdul Hadi whenever she visited the area. Abdul Hadi had great personal qualities like piety, honesty, hospitality and patience and led a frugal life style. He was very kind to farmers, down trodden and poor people irrespective of caste, creed and religion. He would never surrender before an oppressor.

In 1956, his relative Mohammed Hayat Khan was killed by the notorious dacoit Balwant Singh of village Bakhasar district Barmer. Balwant Singh was an unkind, cruel and ferocious oppressor in the border area of Barmer dist. In those formative years of the Rajasthan state, there was a great menace of dacoits and cattle-lifters. They used to commit robberies and murders and then often absconded to Pakistan.

Abdul Hadi opposed dacoits and led a farmers agitation. Balwant Singh was against Abdul Hadi as he opposed him. Due to Abdul Hadi’s Congress links, Balwant killed his real brother Mohammed Hussain in his village Burhan-ka-tala. He came to kill Abdul Hadi but he was not at his house at the time, so his brother was killed instead. Abdul Hadi fought with legal methods and with the support of the Congress and men like Nathu Ram Mirdha, a kisan leader. Balwant Singh was arrested, tried and jailed. Feudalists and the old system of rulers were finished gradually.

Abdul Hadi was an honest public representative and man of action. In late fifties, there was a dishonest sub-divisional-magistrate posted in Barmer district headquarters. In spite of repeated warnings, he did not improve. He used to take bribes from farmers. Hadi warned him again and again but to no avail. The magistrate used to boast that he was very close to higher ups. Having no other course, Abdul Hadi approached the then Anti Corruption Dy. S. P. Nand Singh Chudawat who was an honest officer. In those days scientific aids of investigation were not of high standards. Dy. S. P. told Hadi that he wanted to see with his own eyes the magistrate accepting bribes. So he changed his dress to look like a farmer of the area. The SDM demanded and received bribe. Caught red-handed, the SDM was promptly arrested for receiving bribe. He was tried and punished by the Supreme Court of India. Abdul Hadi was instrumental in laying this trap.

Abdul Hadi was a real frontier leader not only of minorities but of all western Rajasthan. He was the beacon of Rajasthan from Punjab to Gujarat, i.e. for people living near 1000 kms of international borders Ganganagar, Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Barmer to Jalore, Jodhpur, Sirohi and Pali on the western side of Rajasthan. He was the most trusted sentinel of Indian borders. Abdul Hadi was a man of development. He caused development not only in Barmer district but also in the whole western Rajasthan. He made his efforts for public utility services like roads, water supplies, electricity, hospitals, schools, hostels, community house and other public amenities. For the uplift of society, education is very important. He did all his best efforts to promote education. He helped in the construction of a hostel in Barmer for the students of the area. He emphasized the importance of education. He would say: without education we cannot make any progress in modern world. He used to help poor students financially and morally.

Abdul Hadi lived for the service of people. Whenever there would be some natural disaster, he would extend all his resources for the help of the people. In western Rajasthan, due to erratic and uncertain rains, chronic famines were common. He would always stand up to extend all possible help and would ask the government to start daily wages scheme for the victims. If there were matrimonial disputes or other social issues, he would try to get them solved. If there were agrarian disputes between the farmers, he would always be there to get them solved with the help of the police and revenue officers. If someone was sick, he would be helpful to him by getting him medical and administrative help. He was against use of drugs like opium etc. He also opposed unequal marriages. He was against social evils like “osar mosar” when somebody died. He was against hypocrisy in all forms.

Abdul Hadi was a large-hearted and magnanimous man. He had great rapport with the administration of the district and the state. He was very popular in Congress party circles due to his honesty and candidness. He was clear in his thoughts and would always be helpful for both the administration and public in their hour of need. He would work as a bridge between people and administration. Sonia Gandhi used to call him “Adhyakshji” and would meet him whenever he visited Delhi or she visited western Rajasthan.

While an MLA living in Jaipur’s Vidhaykpuri and MLA quarters, he would help the poor who came from the Barmer district. His house was always occupied by people of his area. He would get up early in the morning and take the needy to the concerned minister and get their problems solved. He was a man of wisdom and action. His approach to ministers and officers was very persuasive and humble. He was loved by the people of his area, his friends, colleagues and administrative officers.

On his death, thousands of people came to pay their last respects to him including all MLAs from Barmer and Jaisalmer districts and western Rajasthan.

A few days before his death, the Chief Minister of Rajasthan Ashok Gehlot came to see him in his village of Burahan-ka-tala. Ashok Gehlot respected him very much. All the administrative officers including the collector were present during his burial in his ancestral graveyard in his native village Burahan-ka-tala.

The author, a retired Inspector General of Police (IGP), had been close to Abdul Hadi since his student days. He had lived with Abdul Hadi in his MLA house for almost three years in the early seventies after completing his education from AMU. He had been his admirer and an ardent follower and was with him on his last day.

source: http://www.milligazette.com / The Milli Gazette / Home> News> National / by The Milli Gazette / March 17th, 2011

Maulana Azad’s Profound Legacy in Education at Ranchi Facing Extinction

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Ranchi, JHARKHAND :

It is ironical that, just in the year of its centenary, the historic Madrasa Islamiya of Ranchi, founded by Maulana Azad (1888-1958) in 1917, is facing extinction. The BJP government of Jharkhand is reportedly contemplating to strangulate it to death by withdrawing its affiliation/recognition as well as fund. Much of the land of the institution has either been encroached upon or been sold out, by the self-serving Muslims, influential in the management of the Anjuman-e-Islamiya, which runs almost 12 subsidiary institutions, including the Madrasa Islamiya. In 1987, it formed a subsidiary called, “Muslim Higher Education Society”, which added a degree college named after Maulana Azad. This Muslim minority college is recognised and funded by the government of Jharkhand. It has got around 500 students.

The management of the Anjuman-e-Islamiya stands divided between two warring factions, respectively by Haji Ibrar and Haji Nesar. The latter is supposed to be making too much of interferences into the functioning of the Anjuman-e-Islamiya. Sections of local population admire Haji Ibrar for having done a lot for the Anjuman; they are supposed to have recently purchased a land few kilometres away from Ranchi, where the Azad College is likely to be shifted.

Because of this dispute, mainly around composition of the electoral college of the Anjuman, election for the managing committee of the Anjuman has not been held since last November. According to the bye-laws of the Anjuman, every three years elections are supposed to be held.  Convenor for the election from the provincial government is the Chairman, Jharkhand Waqf Board. The government has not appointed any Chairman since 2014. In its place, an ad hoc CEO is there for the Waqf Board. He has not shown much interest in resolving the dispute, and convening elections, as per the bye-laws of the Anjuman-e-Islamiya. There are various petitions lying before the CEO regarding the composition of the electoral college. The factionalism is also around caste (Biradri). Haji Ibrar is supposed to be representing the Ashrafiya Muslims, whereas Haji Nesar is supposed to be representing Pasmanda (mainly the community of Kalaal) Muslims.      

The property (including the buildings) of the Anjuman-e-Islamiya, located in the commercially significant, prime location of the city of Ranchi, has got around 200 shops. Because of self-serving factionalism within the Anjuman-e-Islamiya, the rent of the shops is kept so very nominal and unrealistic that the Anjuman deprives itself of huge revenue. The Anjuman-e-Islamiya also runs a 60 bed, relatively better-furnished, hospital, besides the Rahmaniya Musafirkhana, existing since the days of Maulana Azad. This is a separate (now a four-storey) building. Few years ago, with some fund from the Local Area Development Scheme of the local Parliamentarian, this building has been renovated. It has added a library, a study circle, etc.

There has been some efforts towards getting the main building of the Anjuman-e-Islamiya declared as National Monument, but to no avail, as yet.

The Madrasa Islamiya, at present, has got 900 students, some of them are boarders too. This is an educational institution recognised and funded by the government of Jharkhand’s body, the Jharkhand Academic Council (JAC). Before the creation of the province of Jharkhand in 2000, this was recognised and funded by the Bihar State Madrasa Education Board (BSMEB, Patna), a statutory body of the government of Bihar. There were 126 such madrasas falling in what became Jharkhand. All the 126 madrasas continue to get fund from the Jharkhand government.  

After the creation of the province of Jharkhand in 2000, the Anjuman-e-Islamiya, with its ‘autonomy’, has been functioning under the administrative supervision of the Jharkhand Waqf Board.     

A Proud History of Anti-colonial Assertion

It is worth re-visiting the historical context in which the Madrasa Islamiya was founded and the ideal objectives its founder envisioned. For this, let us benefit from some historians, such as S. Irfan Habib and Rizwan Qaiser.

For his revolutionary activities, he was into, right since his early ages, Azad was externed from Calcutta in March 1916 under the Defence of India Regulation. In April 1916 he was sent to Ranchi. Influenced with Shyam Sundar Chakravarty (1869-1932) and Aurobindo Ghosh (1872-1950), the Maulana was involved in revolutionary struggle and was preparing for a violent overthrow of British rule. His “continuous exhortation of the Muslims towards education including political education which essentially meant building up self-confidence to resist British rule”, was inviting anxious watch of the colonial regime on him, says Qaiser.

During his internment at Ranchi, for nearly four years (1 April 1916-31 December 1919), Azad established an organization Anjuman-e-Islamiya in August 1917 which started the Madrasa Islamiya. In a list of thirty one donors, headed by Rai Saheb Thakur Das, Rais-i- Ranchi and Babu Jagatpal Sahai, vakil, were also there, among other people, from all walks of life, including Sheikh safdar Ali of Milki (Gaya), informs Prof. Rizwan Qaiser, in his research on the subject. He says that behind all these activities of Azad, the guiding motive was to spread the Islamic education among the less fortunate co-religionists at Ranchi and to mobilise his co-religionists towards the freedom movement. According to Qaiser, Maulana Azad had been thinking around the issues of education in sciences, and also on the medium of instruction, since as early as in 1902, as it comes out of some of the correspondences of Azad. 

For the Madrasa Islamiya, a 200 page long document of curricula was prepared by the Maulana Azad; the subjects such as English, mathematics, Indian geography, Indian history, history of Islam and sciences had to be introduced to bring it at par with the government run schools. Azad was very clear about the fact that no system of education could be complete unless the elements of Government University system were also to be introduced. Maulana Azad highlighted the importance of producing more educationists (Mutallemeen), rather than teachers (Muallemeen) alone. The education had to inculcate mazhabi ham-aahangi (mutual religious understanding) and rawadari (tolerance). He addressed from the Jama Masjid on every Friday, teaching them in Hubb-ul-Watani (patriotism), qaumi yekjahti (integration of nationalities), and Mushtareka Wataniyat (composite nationalism). The curricula were actually a part of the one prepared by Maulana Azad for the Madrasa Aliya of Calcutta (established in 1780 by Warren Hastings, mainly to study Arabic, Persian and Muslim Law; during 1826-36, it also taught medical sciences till the Calcutta Medical College was established in 1836;  in 2007 it was upgraded as University)

S. Irfan Habib tells us that under Ibn Khaldun’s influence, unquestioning acceptance of theology was something Azad wanted to rectify. Azad found the curricula in the pre-existing Islamic madrasas fundamentally narrow. Its significant omission was mathematics, which is the basis of science and technology. Azad agreed with Rousseau in his advocacy of the children’s necessity and ability to grasp the truth through their own insight.

Another significant influence on Maulana Azad, in the context of science and education was Sir Syed Ahmad Khan Bahadur (1817-98), which attracted Azad towards modern education and modern science for the Muslims, as admitted by Azad, in his very eloquent convocation speech (February 1949) in the Aligarh Muslim University. This is another matter that on political questions, Azad had sharp differences against Sir Syed.

By way of recollection and re-dissemination, Azad’s profound contributions were put together when the National University of Education Planning and Administration (NUEPA), New Delhi, convened a seminar in 2009, and the essays were published in 2010. In the seminar, the then Speaker, Lok Sabha, Somnath Chatterjee, had described that Maulana Azad had re-emphasized the fivefold programme for the expansion of education in the country: These were (a) Universal compulsory basic education for all children of school age, (b) Social education for our adult illiterates, (c) Measures for improvement in the quality of and expansion of facilities for secondary and higher education, (d) Technical and scientific education on a scale adequate to the nation’s needs, and (e) Measures for the enrichment of the cultural life of the community by encouraging the arts and providing facilities for recreation and other amenities.

It is not without any reason that Nehru preferred to take Azad along, as his Education Minister, where he served with great distinction till his death in 1958. It is a lesser known fact that ever since Gokhale proposed in 1910 for right to compulsory free education, it was Azad who pursued it in the Constituent Assembly. Though, it was only as late as in 2009-10, that such a legislation (RTE) could actually be enacted.

During the colonial period unlike Uttar Pradesh, in Bihar, essentially speaking, there was not much of a difference between the votaries of modern education and those of the traditional learning. The Muslim elites of both the streams in Bihar cooperated with each other in imparting both kinds of education. Thus, a modern educated elite, a judge, Nur-ul-Hoda (1854-1935; son of Shams-ul-Hoda) set up the Madrasa Shams-ul-Hoda, at Patna in 1912. It endures till date with buildings constructed in colonial architectural styles, and have got good hostels too. It was recognised by the Government of Bihar in 1919, which affiliated Madrasas across the province, in the capacity of serving as the Bihar State Madrasa Education Board, BSMEB, Patna; the Board was made a statutory body by the Karpuri Thakur led government during 1977-79 ). In 1927, it affiliated the Madrasa Islamiya, Ranchi as well. Ever since then, this Madrasa remains a government recognised and funded institution.

Its syllabi, till Fauqaniya (class X), has all the modern subjects of Natural Sciences, Mathematics, Social Sciences and Literatures of Indian and English language. It has board examination at Middle (Wastania) level as well, which is class VIII. After Independence, this Board became a statutory body.  

Interestingly, both the Madrasas (of Patna and of Ranchi) had one person in common, in preparing the curriculum—-Syed Sulaiman Nadvi (1884-1953).  The Madrasa Shams-ul-Hoda of Patna produced many students and teachers who participated in the Quit India Movement; after independence some of its students joined the Indian Administrative Services and Indian Police Services.  

Another Gift of Maulana Azad’s Stay at Ranchi    

Besides the Madrasa Islamiya, another enduring gift of Azad’s stay at Ranchi is the foundation of Imarat-e-Shariah (in 1921, at Phulwari Sharif, Patna) in collaboration with Maulana Sajjad (1880-1940), and the Anjuman-e-Ulema-e-Bihar (founded in June 1917), a precursor of the Jamiat-ul-Ulema-e-Hind. The Sufi shrines—Khanqah-e-Rahmaniya (Monghyr) and Khanqah-e-Mujibiya (Phulwari Sharif, Patna) extended its support.

Maulana Azad elaborated upon this scheme of mobilizing Muslims against the anti- colonial struggle in his Urdu weekly, Paighaam (November 25, 1921).

The Imarat-e-Shariah went on to unwaveringly resist the communal-territorial separatism of the Muslim League. Azad’s protégé, Maulana Sajjad, also talked of confining religion into private spaces, and wrote many letters to Jinnah raising serious questions against his divisive [Pakistan] Resolution of Lahore, 23 March 1940.

He consistently remained in touch with the masses and also edited an Urdu weekly, Naqeeb, (after its fortnightly Imarat was gagged by the colonial state during the Civil Disobedience Movement 1930-34). On 14 April 1940, he wrote in Naqeeb against Jinnah’s scheme of dividing India, Muslim India aur Hindu India Ki Scheme par Ek Aham Tabserah (reprinted in the Naqeeb, 10 January 1946). The Patna historian, Papiya Ghosh (1953-2006), wrote an elaborate academic essay (1997) on the history of Imarat-e-Shariah, 1921-47.

Maulana Sajjad wrote letters to Jinnah asking pertinent questions. Jinnah never responded back. Sajjad, therefore, brought the letters in public circulation, specifically of 26 December 1938 and of 23 January 1939.

Maulana Sajjad also advocated the idea of confining the religious processions and rituals into private spaces rather than a public display of it causing disharmony and group violence. His pamphlet to this effect was captioned, Firqa Warana Ma’amlaat Ka Faisla Kin UsuloN Par Hona Chahiye? (Naqeeb, 20 February 1940)

He launched a political outfit, Muslim Independent Party (MIP) in 1936, with agrarian issues being its chief concern. In 1937, in collaboration with the Congress it contested the provincial elections and emerged second largest party. As the Congress, the largest party refused to form ministry on certain issues of discretionary powers vested in the Governor according to the Act of 1935, it was MIP which formed a provisional ministry, which ran for four months (April-July 1937). Barrister Md. Yunus (1884-1952) was the premier. In its short tenure, it performed very well on all counts, including its agrarian concerns such as irrigation facilities, soft loans, river embankments, etc.

Today, the Imarat-e-Shariah runs charitable institutions of education and health. In its self-proclamation, its jurisdiction extends to Jharkhand and Orissa as well. Should not it look upon the Madrasa Islamiya, Ranchi, in order to resuscitate and revitalise it?

However, this is also a puzzle for the local population that ever since Maulana Azad left Ranchi in 1920, he never looked back towards it. It is something like Gandhiji’s visit to Champaran in 1917. Even though he did re-visit, yet, the three schools established by Gandhiji in Champaran could not survive. As against this, the Madrasa at Ranchi did survive and endures till date.

The Maulana Azad Educational Foundation (MAEF) of the Union government in its existence of about three decades (founded in 1988 to commemorate Azad’s birth centenary) is doing a lot in the stated direction of education. Should not it make an intervention into it to rescuing this wonderful legacy facing extinction? Recognizing the historical significance of Azad’s stay at Ranchi, the then Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, had inaugurated Maulana Azad Research Centre, on the Tagore Hills, Ranchi. It subsequently disappeared with no traces even of the stone plaque testifying the inauguration by Rajiv Gandhi. In January 2015, however, the then Chancellor (of the Ranchi University) cum Governor of Jharkhand, took note of it and persuaded the Ranchi University to establish Maulana Azad Research Centre. Its incumbent Director, Prof. Manzar Husain, has now made it functional, with a library in its building. Besides, the Senate Hall of the University is also named after Maulana Azad, as a token of gratitude.   

In 2009-10, Qaiser had also highlighted the sorry state of the institution and gross negligence of the Madrasa by the Muslim dominated management. Yet, it continues to languish in disarray. Qaiser concluded, “There are people who swear by Maulana Azad and his association with Ranchi but have not been able to accord the level of respect that an institution such as Madrasa-i-Islamia deserves”.

Mention may be made specifically of Najma Heptullah, claiming to be a descendant of Azad. Till very recently she was the Union Ministry of Minority Affairs in the cabinet of Narendra Modi. Shall she really make a meaningful intervention to draw attention of the provincial and the Union governments to rescue this dying institution? The then Chairman, Jharkhand State Minority Commission, had approached the minister, Najma Heptullah. She sent her emissary to obtain first-hand knowledge about the state of affairs and requirements of the institution. Nobody knows what really happened to this. Then she no longer remained the minister. People have also been approaching Najma Heptullah’s successor, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi.

The problem afflicting the Anjuman-e-Islamiya is not convening election of its management committee.  The government of Jharkhand and its ad hoc functionary, Hasib Akhtar (CEO, Jharkhand Waqf Board, who is by rules, Convenor of election for the Anjuman-e-Islamiya), rather than convening election, is now contemplating to just withdraw the funding (and recognition) of the historic educational institution, Madrasa Islamiya, sources in the ministry of education, confide.

It is worthwhile recalling that delay in granting affiliation by the government of Jharkhand had compelled the Muslim minority managed Kabir Women’s Degree College (Jamshedpur) to close down. It had more than sufficient infrastructure in comparison to most of the other constituent colleges in the state. But it was forced to pull its shutter down, after having functioned for over two decades.

The local Muslims feel helpless at this attitude of the BJP government of Jharkhand. With a sense of hopeless-ness, they say, ‘this is the kind of era we are living in’. Local media, particularly, ETV Urdu, has been exposing all these details, which fall on the deaf ears of the government of Jharkhand. Let it be said that even the Union government of BJP is keeping such bodies head-less. For instance, the National Commission for Minorities, had become defunct, owing to vacancies. It is only few weeks ago that the Chairman and its members have been appointed. The National Commission for minority Educational Institutions (NCMEI) has got no Chairman, with vacancy of one member too. Yet another testimony that the dominant political wisdom of the day believes in peripheralising the minorities!

(This article was first published in August 2017. It is being republished because of PM Modi’s Madrasa modernisation push)

source: http://www.beyoundheadlines.in / Beyond Headlines / Home> History / by Mohammad Sajjad / June 19th, 2019

Tracing the roots of Aligarh and its famous university, often hailed as a mini-India

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Aligarh, UTTAR PRADESH:

Aligarh Muslim University has given the town itself a facelift. Many luminaries have graced the halls of AMU, and it remains an oasis of learning amid uncertainties and controversies that surround the old town

A view of the Aligarh Muslim University Campus | Photo Credit: Sandeep Saxena

There is something about Aligarh that tells us that the past never dies. It merely reinvents itself to suit contemporary demands. Back in 1937, Mohammed Ali Jinnah, soon to transform into Quaid-e-Azam, took the route with a rare flourish. Recalling the Muslim League session in Lucknow in 1937, author-journalist Mohammed Wajihuddin writes in his persuasively argued, lucidly expressed book, Aligarh Muslim University, “The October 1937 Lucknow session was so important to Jinnah that he discarded his well-cut suits and donned flowing trousers and a long coat. From Mr. Jinnah, he transformed into Janab Jinnah and Quaid-e-Azam. While he had kept himself aloof from ordinary Muslims, now he began mingling with them….He travelled extensively, and Aligarh became a regular place to visit during these travels.” Around the same time, he raised the rhetorical slogan of ‘Islam in danger’ too.

Passing storm(s)

The following year when Jinnah visited AMU, which had begun as the Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College in 1875, he was given a rousing welcome. The students’ union made him an honorary life member. “It was a tradition the union had followed since 1920, when Mahatma Gandhi was given this membership. In those days they would also put up a portrait of the guests they honoured on the Union Club’s wall. It was such a portrait of Jinnah’s at the AMU Students’ Union Club that created a storm on the campus on May 2, 2018,” writes Wajihuddin.

The storm, essentially a passing one, was caused by local MP Satish Gautam writing to the Vice Chancellor Tariq Mansoor demanding the removal of Jinnah’s portrait from the campus. The demand was not conceded but it made sure the university was in the spotlight, and as a consequence, Aligarh remained in the headlines for days on end. Like it did when the anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act protests hit the campus in December 2019. Controversies and Aligarh seem to go together. Yet, AMU, despite frequent protests, occasional violence and various stirs, seems to be an island by itself wherein students seek knowledge, chart out great careers and soak in its culture just as the university’s founder Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, would have advised them. As academic-literary critic Shafey Kidwai, author of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan: Reason, Religion and Nation, said, “The question of his (Jinnah’s) glorification does not arise, but the university’s job is to protect the truth of history. His photo was there as the hall carried the names and photographs of all who visited it. The list incudes Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, Maulana Azad and Sarojini Naidu.” Unsurprisingly, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called it ‘mini-India’ in an online address.

The story of a name

AMU has the unique distinction of taking along with it the name of the township where it is based, and giving the town itself a facelift. Otherwise, known for its brassware and lock industries, Aligarh has a chequered past, one that has seen many a nawab, maharaja or local leader make an attempt to leave an indelible impression on the town; the most recent one being an attempt by zila panchayat members to rename the place Harigarh. Vijay Singh, zila panchayat chairman, stated, “It was a long-pending demand to rename Aligarh as Harigarh.” He was probably referring to a similar call given in the late 1970s by members of the Jan Sangh, the precursor of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). At that time, a new temple was also called Harigarh Mandir. Nevertheless, the demand to rename the place died down soon enough.

There is an interesting tale behind the name of Aligarh. It was initially called Kol or Koil. Though obscurity surrounds the origin of Kol, according to Edwin Atkinson, who compiled the first gazetteer of the district, the name Kol was given by Balram who slew the great Asura called Kol over here. Noted medieval India historian, Syed Ali Nadeem Rezavi, explained the genealogy of the place, at the height of the Harigarh controversy, stating, “Sometime before the Muslim invasion, Kol is said to have been held by the Dor Rajputs. Sultanate period sources, both Persian and non-Persian, mention Kol as a centre for the production of distilled wine. The sources of the period of Alauddin Khalji mention this town as Iqta Kol; Iqta was an administrative unit.” It continued to be called Kol during the Mughal age too with Emperor Jahangir calling it Kol in his memoirs.

However, things changed in the 18th century. The Jats captured the fort briefly and called it Ramgarh, quite removed from the earlier nomenclature of Sabitgarh and Muhammadgarh. Then came the Marathas who dubbed the fort as Aligarh after their governor Najaf Ali Khan. By the 19th century, the town itself came to be called Aligarh. Some locals dispute this fact-based assertion, claiming Aligarh is named after Hazrat Ali, the last caliph and son-in-law of Prophet Muhammad.

City of joy

In reality, Aligarh, not Kolkata, was the original City of Joy; it was only in 1985 that Dominique Lapierre called Kolkata the City of Joy. Some 50 years before that, popular Urdu poet Asrar-ul-Haq Majaz had called Aligarh as ‘Shahr-e-Tarab’ or the City of Joy! Moreover, Aligarh, and AMU, whose tarana (anthem) was penned by Majaz, transmits joy.

Here studied Begum Para, the heroine of the first talkie Alam Ara. In her painstakingly researched and elegantly produced book, The Allure of Aligarh, Huma Khalil writes, “The musical leanings of Padma Bhushan winner Talat Mahmood…can be traced back to when he used to sing the works of Ghalib and Mir, at the age of 16 in the school functions of Minto Circle. Award-winning film and theatre actor Naseeruddin Shah is still remembered as the finest badminton player of the university.” Not to forget Anubhav Sinha, Surekha Sikri and Zarina Hashmi. Incidentally, Hashmi brought Aligarh to her canvas. A mathematics graduate from AMU, Hashmi had seen villages burning around Aligarh in 1947 and could never forget her home and relatives who were dispersed in the violence.

If violence was here, could prayers have been far behind? Not quite. Hence, besides its historic mosque where countless students stand in neat rows for prayers, Aligarh has the age-old Khereshwar temple which, Khalil tells us, “is the oldest Shiva temple”. Tansen’s guru, Swami Haridas, lived here and Mughal emperors are said to have come down to the temple “to witness the magic of raga Malhaar”.

The persistence of knowledge

Of course, Aligarh has been a happy host to the annual numaish (exhibition) and for years its students frequented Tasveer Mahal, one of a dozen cinema halls in the city. Tasveer Mahal was more than a cinema. It was like a gateway to the University, a rendezvous point for students in the evening. It’s all gone now. What remains untouched is the determination of the students to learn. As Khalil recounts in her book, “Ilm (knowledge) is the second most used word in the Quran after Allah; Aligarh’s motto captures this ethos, ‘(Allah) taught man what he knew not’.” As youngsters seek to know more and more, Aligarh is like the body and AMU its soul.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Books / by Zia Us Salam / February 09th, 2023

Dr Mukhtar Ahmad Ansari: A Committed Nationalist, Founder and 2nd Chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia

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Yusufpur- Mohammadabad (Ghazipur) , UTTAR PRADESH / NEW DELHI :

As Jamia celebrates 100 years of its foundation, we extend our gratitude to Dr Mukhtar Ansari for his contribution

Dr M A Ansari’s bust during a photo-exhibition at M.F. Husain Art Gallery, JMI on 24 Dec. 2014. (Photo Courtesy: Aniket Dikshit)

The three most important persons who, undoubtedly, not only played the most significant role in the foundation of Jamia Millia Islamia, but also shifted it from the makeshift arrangement of Aligarh to Delhi’s Karol Bagh on 7 July, 1925, are Hakim Ajmal Khan, Abdul Majeed Khwaja and Dr Mukhtar Ahmad Ansari.

In view of upheavals faced in Aligarh, Jamia was shifted but problems existed. The problems that made many think that Jamia will not survive long. However, the trio’s efforts were no way trivial. They set the future course of Jamia as ‘an institution with a difference.’

Mukhtar Ahmad Ansari’s consistent efforts bore fruits. Not only did Jamia get its first house in Karol Bagh in 1931, it was also shifted to a much bigger plot of land of its own in 1936 in its present location in South Delhi’s Okhla, then a ‘non-descript village’ where now it has a panoramic sprawling campus.

However, the journey was not as simple as it might look to a casual viewer. Within those ten years, much sweat and blood went in to nurse the tender sapling whose seed was sown in Aligarh on 29 October, 1920. Dr Ansari’s contribution through all these years is one of the most unforgettable and astonishingly stout chapters in the history of Jamia Millia Islamia.

Born on 25 December, 1880 in Yusufpur-Mohammadabad, Ghazipur in eastern Uttar Pradesh, son of Haji Abdur Rahman and Ilahan Bibi, Mukhtar Ahmad Ansari, received primary and secondary education at Ghazipur and Allahabad, then studied medicine and graduated from Madras Medical College. He went to England from where he achieved M.D. and M.S. degrees. He earned the Master of Surgery degree from the University of Edinburgh in 1910. Being a top-class student and a pioneering surgeon he worked in some well-known hospitals of England where “he had a successful medical career”.

Dr Ansari had everything – money, fame, fortune, and life that could be lived luxuriously. This brief background is provided to underscore the significance of his passion, devotion and commitment not just for Jamia but for the country’s struggle for freedom as those were the years of heightened activism for independence during which Dr Ansari – through his active involvement in and unwavering support for freedom, emerged as a committed nationalist leader.

From England, Dr Ansari returned to India in 1910 and started medical practice at Delhi. His contact with leaders like Motilal Nehru, Hakim Ajmal Khan and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru rekindled in him the desire to take part in the country’s political developments.

Dr M A Ansari Health Centre, Jamia Millia Islamia. (Photo: Manzar Imam)

During the Balkan Wars of 1912-13, he led a Medical Mission to Turkey to provide medical aid to the Turkish army. “The mission”, according to Dr. Burak Akçapar, Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey to India, “not only established two field hospitals, but also did other humanitarian and political work.”

This was among his first political works which won the hearts and minds of the Turkish public and leaders which created a deep bond between Turkey and Jamia. Many Turkish leaders and prominent literary figures visited Jamia. The series of ‘Extension Lectures’ that began was his brainchild. It was on his invitation that famous Turkish scholars Dr Husein Raouf Bey (1933) and Ms Halide Edib (1936) and Dr Behadjet Wahbi of Cairo (1934) then delivered their lectures at Jamia.

His role in the Khilafat Movement was pivotal and his presence both in the Congress and Muslim League was equally felt. His Delhi house ‘Darus-Salam’ was a meeting point for leading Congressmen. For many years he was General Secretary of Congress and remained a member of the Congress Working Committee all through his life.

Dr M A Ansari Auditorium, Jamia Millia Islamia. (Photo: Manzar Imam)

Dr Ansari was the leader of the Khilafat delegation of 1920 which went to meet the Viceroy. He was also a member of the second delegation of Khilafat which went to England and other countries of Europe under the leadership of Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar. He was also president of the Delhi Khilafat Committee. During his presidential address at the Nagpur session of Muslim League in 1920 he demanded Swaraj.

When his name was proposed for the Secretary of the Foundation Committee of Jamia during its foundation, he requested not to appoint him for the post as it would require regular visits to Aligarh. Nevertheless, his interest in the activities of Jamia persisted.

Dr Ansari was among the front leaders of the Congress and was made its president in 1927. According to Prof Zafar Ahmad Nizami his name for the president of Congress was proposed at the instance of Mahatma Gandhi in 1924 who believed that “only he could make the efforts of Hindu-Muslim unity successful.”

Although Dr Ansari could not live long to see Jamia blossom into a beautiful university or see India breathing in freedom from the strangulating slavish life under the colonial rule, he had played his gigantic role both as a freedom seeker and as a founder of Jamia. He was a prominent member of the sixteen-member Foundation Committee formed on 29 October, 1920 to establish Jamia which would become a historic institution and the first one to be set up in response to call for boycott of the British Indian government-run, aided and supported academic institutions.

According to The British Medical Journal:

“As leader of the Congress movement, though at first opposed to the teaching of Gandhi on civil disobedience, he actively associated himself later with the various non-cooperative movements, and served at least one term of imprisonment.”

When it comes to Jamia as also to some other movements that were the currency of the 1920’s and 1930’s, it is very difficult to dissociate the trio of Hakim Ajmal Khan, Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar and Dr Mukhtar Ahmad Ansari, the “great Muslim trio of Indian politics”, as they were quite befittingly called so. However, each person has certain unique and individual personality traits and characteristics which separate him from others.

According to Dr Hamida Riaz (1988, p.119), Dr Ansari had a great passion for education. Initially, he highly appreciated Western education and culture and would keep himself completely away from what did not interest him. However, on the call of Mohammad Ali Jauhar, he participated in the medical delegation that went to Turkey and did a tremendous service. In a way, the beginning of international politics in India was made by Dr Ansari’s delegation.

Together with Hakim Ajmal Khan, Motilal Nehru and Maulana Azad, Dr Ansari formed a non-sectarian “Indian National Union.” He had opposed the Rowlatt Bill and participated in Home Rule and Non-Cooperation movements. In 1929, Dr Ansari formed the All India Muslim Nationalist Party. Besides Jamia, he was also associated with the foundation of Kashi Vidyapith, Benaras.

Faculty of Dentistry, Jamia Millia Islamia. (Photo: Manzar Imam)

Riaz (p.121) writes that all through his life he [Dr Ansari] “stayed away from sectarian groups” and continued his efforts to forge “Hindu-Muslim unity”. His wife Shamsun Nisa Begum too, was committed to the cause of women uplift.

Dr Ansari actively participated in the Jamia’s establishment, nurtured it, and, following the demise of Hakim Ajmal Khan in December 1927, served as its second Chancellor from 1928 to 1936. The financial needs that Hakim Sahab used to carry had fallen on his shoulder which he discharged diligently.

The “Ajmal Khan Fund”, set up exclusively for the purpose, was a result of his efforts. At a critical juncture when Jamia faced great financial crisis a Board of Trustees was created. Dr Ansari was appointed its chairman. It was at Gandhiji’s indication that industrialist Jamnalal Bajaj (1889-1942) was made its treasurer. Other bodies were also formed in which he was there.

As Chancellor of Jamia, Dr Ansari could not be an employee and Life Member of the ‘Anjuman Talim-e-Milli’. However, he extended all his support to all the bodies and continued to serve Jamia all his life. Remembering the services of Hakim Ajmal Khan and Dr Mukhtar Ahmad Ansari during a lecture in Jamia on 26 August 2014, former VC and renowned historian Prof Mushirul Hasan (d. 10 December 2018), terming the duo as the “real founders” of Jamia, had said, “Ansari raised money for Jamia and Hakim Ajmal Khan provided nobility and support.”

As mentioned earlier, Dr Ansari did not live long after Jamia was shifted to its present place in the national capital. He passed away on 10 May, 1936 and buried in the Jamia graveyard.

A radio speech which Dr Zakir Hussain had prepared for the 1936 Foundation Day of Jamia, which Dr Ansari could not hear as he passed away before it, sheds enough light both on the impact Dr Ansari had on Dr Zakir Husain and on his character and sphere of activity. It read:

[Dr Ansari] set out for a journey from which no one looks back…Dr Sahab’s personality was a fountain of blessings…a mainstay for anyone in times of need. His heart was a refuge where many would seek solace for their heartfelt grief.

As in life, in death too, he did not part ways from Jamia, writes Ghulam Haider, as he became the first among the founders of Jamia, to find his resting abode in Jamia Nagar where he was laid to rest three months before the primary madrasa of Jamia moved in.

Dr Mukhtar Ahmad Ansari, who died near Delhi on May 10th, at the age of 56, had been a member of the British Medical Association since 1909, and had gained distinction in India as a medical practitioner as well as in politics. In view of his services and to keep his memory as a prominent physician, Jamia has named its health centre and a big auditorium after him.

It was his sincerity for the national cause and his passionate commitment for Jamia that whenever Gandhiji would come to Jamia, he would definitely pay a visit to his grave. As Jamia celebrates 100 years of its foundation, we extend our gratitude to its architect for nurturing it with his consistent remedial care, unflinching commitment and great sacrifices!

[Sources: Celebrating India : Reflections on Eminent Indian Muslims 1857-2007, Meher Fatima Hussain (2009, Manak Publications, New Delhi), “Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari”, The British Medical Journal (Vol. 1, No. 3933 (May 23, 1936) p.1082, Mohammad Ali Jauhar, authored and published by Hamida Riaz (1988, Nagpur), Nuqoosh-e-Jamia (Jamia ki Kahani Jamia Walon ki Zabani or the Story of Jamia from Jamiites) by Ghulam Haider (2012, Maktaba Jamia Limited in collaboration with National Council for Promotion of Urdu Langue, New Delhi), www.jmi.ac.in.

Manzar Imam is a Ph.D. Candidate at Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Academy of International Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia. He can be reached at manzarimam@rediffmail.com. The above article is ummid.com special series titled ‘Founders of Jamia Millia Islamia’. Read the first part here. To read the second article of the series click here. To read the 3rd article of the series, click here.]

source: http://www.ummid.com / Ummid.com / Home> India / by Manzar Imam, ummid.com / October 28th, 2020

Maulana Azad: The Voice Behind the Dream for a Unified India

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NEW DELHI  :

(This story was first published on 10 November 2017. It has been republished from The Quint’s archives to mark Maulana Azad’s death anniversary.)

“I am an essential element, which has gone into building India. I can never surrender this claim.”

These were the famous words uttered by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, when he stared at the daunting prospect of Partition. On his birth anniversary, we remember his contribution to the country.

source: http://www.youtube.com / The Quint

Azad was among the many Muslim leaders in India who opposed the Partition of Unified India into Pakistan and Hindustan. As the leader of the All India Congress Committee in 1946, he put forth a Cabinet Mission proposal that advocated a federal structure of government, with autonomy for states. Though the proposal did face a great deal of skepticism, the Working Committee passed it, with even Jinnah agreeing to it for ‘the greater good of Indian Muslims’.

This proposal was certainly considered a breakthrough, as Jinnah and Azad had never enjoyed very good relations, predominantly owing to their opposing stances on Partition. Where one batted for Hindu-Muslim unity under a larger India, the other was vehement on the creation of two separate states. But their souring relations never stopped Azad from attempting to convince Jinnah to consider a ‘unified India’.

For instance, when Jinnah’s clamour for Pakistan grew louder, Azad is known to have sent a telegram insisting on the perils of a two-state ideology. Jinnah is said to have insulted Azad in his response, calling him Congress’ ‘show boy President’.

Don’t you feel that the Congress has made you a show boy President to hoodwink non-Congress parties and other countries of the world? You represent neither Muslims nor Hindus.

Having failed at getting Jinnah to reconsider, Azad then unsuccessfully tried to convince the Congress leaders to wait till a solution could be found. But even Patel, who earlier backed Azad’s proposal, was now vehemently pro-partition. Azad in his autobiography later writes that the party agreed to the Partition as “blindness of Congress leaders to facts, and their anger and frustration clouded their vision.”

According to Azad, as he writes in his autobiography, Nehru too contributed to angering the Muslims, by committing two mistakes which ultimately drove Jinnah to lose faith in the proposal and go through with partition.

The first was when Nehru refused to take two Muslim League leaders as Cabinet Ministers in the UP elections of 1937. The second mistake was when after taking over as the President of the Congress in 1946, he indicated that the earlier Cabinet Mission proposal could be changed, which culminated in Jinnah insisting on the formation of Pakistan.

Maulana had not only opposed Partition as an Indian leader, but also as a Muslim. He was, in fact, of the opinion, that the two-state policy will only “create more problems than solve”.

And true to his word, even today the relations between the two countries are strained at best, despite their shared history.

source: http://www.thequint.com / The Quint / Home> News Videos / November 10th, 2017 / and February 22nd, 2020

A Look At the ‘Life and Times of a Nationalist Muslim’

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Aligarh, UTTAR PRADESH :

M. Hashim Kidwai’s memoir recollects the student movements at Lucknow University, the role of Muslims in resisting Partition, and their participation in politics and academics after Independence.

Muslims hold pigeons during a march to celebrate India’s Independence Day in Ahmedabad, India, August 15, 2016. REUTERS/Amit Dave
Muslims hold pigeons during a march to celebrate India’s Independence Day in Ahmedabad, India, August 15, 2016. REUTERS/Amit Dave

There is a remarkable similarity in the rise and ascension of religious reactionaries between the majority and minority communities in the decade before Independence. During the period of 1938-47, the Muslim League’s communal separatism was in fierce contest with the majoritarian assertion of the Hindu Mahasabha and the RSS, while at the same time it also benefitted from the extremism of the other party. The colonial state abetted such reactionary forces.

Other than the presence of the colonial state during that era, the Congress was the most powerful political force in the country, and was led by the likes of Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Maulana Azad, even though the ideologies of many members of the provincial and district Congress leadership overlapped considerably with the Hindu Mahasabha.

Another reassuring difference is that today we do not have a Muslim political force comparable with Jinnah’s Muslim League, even though we do have the likes of Asaduddin Owaisi, Azam Khan and the sympathisers of the illiberal, non-plural, exclusionary traditions among Muslims and Hindus. If one may add, at the global scale as well, such forces seem to be on the rise today.

Born in 1921, Muhammad Hashim Kidwai saw all of this from close proximity. In his diary, he recollects the days of the late colonial India while living in today’s era. The title of the book itself is interesting. He describes himself as a ‘nationalist Muslim’.

In the late colonial period, the likes of Maulana Azad and Rafi Kidwai were banking upon the nationalist Muslims against the onslaught of the Muslim nationalists (or the votaries of the separate nationhood), just as the likes of Gandhi and Nehru were fighting with the Hindu nationalists, the rabid majoritarian reactionaries.

One should read the first volume of Kidwai’s reminiscence in the backdrop of these events. His account is rich in details pertaining to politics up to the Nehru era. His presence in Lucknow as a student till his late 20s and then his role as a teacher of political science at the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) immediately after Independence and Partition enabled him to articulate significant narratives.

The fact that he was also an activist – both as a student and as a teacher – adds to the sharpness of his observations and insights. His long chapter on the student movement in Lucknow University provides vivid details of various little and big political organisations and fronts, literary associations and journalistic initiatives. The details captured in that chapter provide a valuable account of the political evolution of the Lucknow youth in the popular phase of the national movement.

In terms of academic explorations in India, we have an inadequate understanding of student movements as well the role of Muslims in resisting partition. This chapter invites us to make attempts towards filling the gap. The subsequent brief chapter on the consequences of Partition reflects on how Muslims adjusted thereafter.

Vice President Muhammad Hamid Ansari with Hashim Kidwai (C) at the launch of his book Life and Times of a Nationalist Muslim. Credit: Aligarh Movement
Vice President Muhammad Hamid Ansari with Hashim Kidwai (C) at the launch of his book Life and Times of a Nationalist Muslim. Credit: Aligarh Movement

It also hints at the relatively greater communalisation of the regional politics of Uttar Pradesh, which pushed Rafi Kidwai out of UP politics and then led to Nehru accommodating him in national politics.

There are a number of Urdu memoirs about the socio-political life on the huge AMU campus, but rather than offering informed criticism and reflections, most are essentially exaggerated eulogies. Kidwai’s memoir is not very critical either, but it does stand out for being able to relate campus life to the world outside. To him, the AMU campus was neither politically insulated nor did it suffer from an ‘isolation syndrome.’

Life and Times of a Nationalist Muslim M. Hashim Kidwai Universal Book House Aligarh, 2015
Life and Times of a Nationalist Muslim
M. Hashim Kidwai
Universal Book House Aligarh, 2015

Being a quintessential Congressman, his narrative about the stealth placing of an idol in the Babri Masjid in December 1949 is focussed more against socialists like Ram Manohar Lohia and Acharya Narendra Dev, who according to him, remained silent to this injustice. Kidwai, however, does show his reservations against G.B. Pant, the then chief minister of UP. He complains, “Both Pandit Nehru and Sardar Patel urged Pandit Pant, the UP premier, to take strong action… But for reasons best known to him, Pantji did not take any action… Pantji’s policy of leaving everything to the district authorities was very much condemned and resented by a large number of Congressmen.”

Progressing strictly in chronological sequence and living up to its name as a diary, almost half of the memoir is devoted to AMU. Kidwai served there not only as a teacher but also as a writer of textbooks, a teacher activist and also contributed in academic governance.

In a huge residential university like AMU, which houses more than 30,000 students, “policing” students is a challenging task. Kidwai describes his roles as that of a provost of a residential hall as well as a proctor. While describing the role of the various vice chancellors, he, unfortunately, neglects their impact on establishing or encouraging academic rigour.

Kidwai is almost solely concerned with the socio-political life on the campus and the narrative gives the impression that the Youth Congress dominated the campus. Other accounts of post-Independence AMU inform us that Left activism had gained a significant presence at the university in the 1960s. Kidwai’s account ignores this and also does not dwell on the composition of the student body, that is, the regions the students came from or their socio-economic status.

The volume concludes with the death of Nehru in 1964.

A close reading of India’s comparative history that draws few parallels between the elections of 1946 and of 2014, and the consequences thereof, is still awaited. One hopes that the sequel volume of Kidwai’s memoir will delve deeper into such issues.

By his own admission in the preface, Kidwai, as a parliamentarian, stood behind the clergy, jarringly conservative on gender issues. He was also one of those that ill-advisedly encouraged Rajiv Gandhi to legislate against the Supreme Court verdict on the Shah Bano issue. Therefore, this first volume really sets up expectations for the next and about how he will recollect the days of 1985-86, especially at a time when the same gender issues have once again acquired significant political saliency. Equally important will be to read his views on the decline of the Congress post-1980s.

This is an important book, one which will become a resource for scholars interested in the participation of Muslims in both politics and in academics after Independence.

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source:  http://www.thewire.in / The Wire / Home> Books / by Mohammad Sajjad / November 04th, 2016