MAJOR POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS 1857-1918
The year 1857 brought decline to the Muslim rule in India. Muslims and Hindus participated in the War of Independence but the British held only Muslims responsible for the rebellion. The Muslims were persecuted ruthlessly and left at the mercy of time. The post war era was disastrous for the Muslims but some personalities emerged on the national scene and played excellent role to guide their people in this critical situation. The Central Mohammedan Association of Justice Amir Ali Syed and the Aligarh movement are very prominent in this regard. Their efforts for revival of the self-identity and political positioning in the Indian society enabled them to face any challenge in the future. Some important issues have already been discussed in the previous lectures. So a brief reference to events in historical context may be given: • • • • • • Decline after the 1857 Uprising Sir Syed and his colleagues’ efforts for revival Removal of misunderstanding between the Muslims and the British Educational movement or acquisition of modern knowledge and English Hindi-Urdu Controversy was the issue that unearthed the hatred and enmity of Hindu community towards the Muslims. Formation of the Congress was a method to incorporate the Muslims in Hinduism. It popularized the agitational politics that Muslims could not afford because they were still recovering the past gaps. Hindu Revivalist movements mostly targeted the Muslims that accelerated the pace of widening the gulf between the two nations.
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Events Since the Beginning of 20TH Century
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Partition of Bengal, 1905 Simla Deputation, 1906 Formation of the Muslim League, 1906 Changes in the Goals of the Muslim League, 1913 Lucknow Pact, 1916
1: Pratition of Bengal: 1905
United Bengal’s area covered 189,000 sq. miles with 80 million populations. Dr Abdul Hameed writes in his book, Muslim Separatism in India, that the partition was imperative even if