Hist 4538
Feb 19, 2004
Muslims after the Uprising
Reading Questions
• In what ways did caste change over the course of the eighteenth century?
• How did Hindu approaches to revival and reform compare to Muslim approaches?
Educational Disadvantages
• Muslims more reluctant than Hindus to take part in British educational system
◦ 1850: only 10% of students in EIC-funded schools were Muslim
◦ 1870s: only 5% of students passing Calcutta Univ. entrance exam were Muslim
• British suspicious of Muslim “treachery” after 1857
• But gradually came to see Muslims as potentially crucial supporters
Syed Ahmed Khan (1817-1898)
• Born to respected family at Mughal court but entered EIC service
• Appalled by events of 1857
• Demanded Indians have greater influence in their own government
• Urged Muslims to be active in colonial society, not focus on past glories
• Mohamed Ali (1912): Muslims “moodily sulking in [their] tents”
Aligarh: Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College (founded 1875 by Khan)
• Modeled on Harrow School and Cambridge University
• Received official British support
• Attracted students, both Muslim and Hindu, from across India
• Became the breeding ground for Muslim leaders
• Offered education in both Islamic teaching and Western topics
Syed Ahmed Khan’s Controversial Religious and Political Views
• Advocated new interpretations of Quran
• Believed that Islam need not be hostile to Christianity
• But believed that “India [was] inhabited by different nationalities”
◦ Not inherently incompatible: “India is like a bride which has got two beautiful and lustrous eyes—Hindus and Mussalmans” (Hay 193)
◦ But their harmony depended on British rule: “for the peace of India . . . the English Government should remain for many years—in fact for ever!” (Hay 195)
Deoband Movement (school established 1867)
• Founders sought to purify Islam; some had fought against British in 1857
• Offered traditional Muslim education (based in “Wahhabi” traditions)
• Focused on middle- and lower-class Muslims, functioned without British support
• Largely apolitical, gained prestige as a guardian of Islam
Themes
• Both schools contributed to sense of unity and identity among Indians Muslims
• Their variations also show that Indian Muslims were never a monolithic group