CHAPTER II

EDUCATION OF MUSLIMS IN INDIA:

PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS

traditions in the past, it witnessed decline and almost became extinct in the

modern history. Certain serious initiatives in the sphere of modern

education began only during the first half of the last century. Before we go

into elaborate discussions of the core area, it would be relevant to examine

here the history of Muslim educational institutions, in the Muslim world.

Lerner (1978), a renowned educationalist and social scientist, in his

study of socio-educational change in the tradition bound Islamic society,

has reported the educational development of six developing Muslim

countries.1

The study was carried out in some selected West Asian countries

such as Afghanistan, Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Iran, where it

exhibited the positive changes that had taken place in the sphere of modern

education. He has also reported the transformations that had happened in

the traditional scheme of education in these countries. Against this

background, it would be tremendously valuable to analyze the various

measures taken in Muslim countries for advancement in general

educational in the twentieth century.

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 Until the first half of the Twentieth century, education in these

countries was imparted through the institutions of traditional learning like

maktabs and madrasas. Maktabs were primary schools where fundamental

or elementary education was imparted. They were also termed as the

Qur'an teaching schools, where necessary portions of the Qur'an were

taught by heart for their daily prayers. Generally, the Imam, the prayer

leader, used to impart instructions in maktabs and madarasahs and he was

usually called miyanji or moulawi. The final stage of education was

memorizing the Qur'an.

A Paradigm Shift of Education towards the Muslim Countries

In the history of Islam, great empires have come and gone, leaving

rich literary and artistic legacies even as their political and military power

evaporated. The caliphate of the Abbasids in Baghdad, the Mamluk rule in

Egypt and Syria, the Safavid Empire in Iran, the empires of the Mughals

and Ottomans all reached breathtaking levels of achievement in education,

science, literature, art and architecture, creating brilliant and enduring

monuments to their common faith.

The traditional way of learning was replaced by modern education

due to the knowledge transformation around the globe. It would be

34
relevant here to examine the measures which have fueled the spread of

modern education in the following important West Asian countries.

Afghanistan, one of the least developed countries in the world

outside Africa, is predominantly occupied by the Muslim. 2 It has taken

various measures to spread modern education for eliminating inadequacy

in education. Infant mortality rates are the highest, unemployment is over

50 percent, inflation is soaring past 500percent3. It has thoroughly

modified teaching and recruiting methods and launched a vigorous

campaign against illiteracy. In order to meet the new challenges, many

secondary, technical and teacher training institutions have been started in

the country. In 1950, the Afghan Institute of Technology was founded in

Kabul and it produced a number of electronics engineers, mining and auto

mobile technicians. To meet the rising demand for technical education both

the government and private individuals started technical institutions. In

1975, around 900,000 students were enrolled; about 80 per cent of these

were pupils in primary school (Ghani 1990, cited in Christensen 1995). In

1990, the number of primary schools was 1,200 - less than in 1978 - and

during the nineties the situation continued to deteriorate. The war had

destroyed 50 per cent of the schools by 1983.4 Now a series of educational

35
institutions were set up all over the country even in the midst of constant

political turmoil.

Iran has played a most pivotal role in the development of education

in the oil era. Unlike other Muslim countries, a number of secondary

schools, engineering colleges and universities were started, but these

institutions were inadequate owing to want of qualified academic staff.

However, arrangements were made for recruiting qualified teachers from

other countries and sent Iranian students for higher education abroad.5 So

Iran has given the green signal for technical education today. The most

important fact is that, all children from eleven to thirteen would henceforth

spent fifty percent of their time on manual work at work benches in city

schools and at school farms in villages. Each village school will have its

own fields for cultivation experiments and special watering systems for

gardening. Each city school will have its workshop complete with tools

and equipment. The feature of modern education was very much

influenced by modernization theory, nationalist historiography, and the

dichotomous notion of reform and reaction.6

Jordan considered as an ancient Islamic land now has become a

modern nation today. The rapid growth of educational institutions in towns

is one of the good auguries of the rapid spread of education. The sacred

36
land of Islam, viz., Saudi Arabia has drawn up an action plan to promote

modern education; science and technology. The major Islamic countries of

South East Asia, viz., Malaysia and Indonesia also experienced the cultural

reform on the Western model. In Singapore, Muslims have greater concern

for Western education.

Turkey, the sick man of Europe, is no longer a traditional society

owing to its close contact with Europe. Turkey has followed an urbanizing

pattern. Kamal Ata Turk in his fifteen years of rule from 1923 until his

death in November, 1938, introduced a series of reforms7 and in 1924 he

established a unified secular system of education. A large number of

educational institutions had come up across the country with a view to

spread western concepts which was a real encroachment against the belief

of practicing Muslims.

However, Kamal Ata Turk initiated a number of very significant

educational reforms. His ultimate goal was to refashion the entire

educational system along Western, secular lines in order to promote

modernization and encourage Turkish nationalism at the expense of

Islamic tradition. He mandated the adoption of the Latin alphabet in 1928.

His government introduced free, public primary education and waged a

campaign against adult illiteracy. Very few Turkish educators and experts

37
were available; so the program concentrated on the cities and larger towns.

In order to alleviate the shortage of teachers the government established a

large number of "Village Institutes".

In 1933, Ata Turk and his ministers recognized a window of

opportunity to modernize the country's system of higher education. Turkey

invited 190 eminent intellectuals who were being persecuted by the Nazis

in their native lands (in 1937-38 citizens of Austria and Chechoslovakia

were included among the invitees) to help her in this regard. This

immigration gave birth to the University of Istanbul which in turn provided

much of the academic feedstock as other universities were established in

ensuing years.

As a result of the adoption of western model by Kemal, the literacy

rate of the country had risen up to 47.8 in 1966 from the pathetic state of

30.4 in the year 1935. With all the adversities of Atta’s Era, the State

attained this growth thanks to the emergence of some educational

institutions.

All the state schools are coeducational and education is made

available to all the people. The educational system is highly centralized,

i.e. Curricula, textbooks and the appointment of the teachers were

controlled by the states. A curious flaw in the system is that the method of

38
imparting instruction in the primary schools was based on German and

Australian practice, the middle schools is run on French lines, and

technical schools follow the Belgian pattern.

Rural education has also received much attention. In rural schools

the syllabus is set depending upon the requirements of the day. The

students spend half of their time in practical work particularly from

secondary schools. Boys receive education in agricultural techniques,

building and carpentry, and for girls training is imparted in housekeeping,

first aid child care. In this way, Turkey has taken various measures for the

development of education.

In Lebanon, the most modern Arab land today, the impact of the

West is even more discernible. It has the highest percentage of people

living in cities, and almost seventy percent of the total population is

literate. It has moved farthest away from Arab Muslim traditionalism. In

Lebanon, educators are busy revising the school text books using scientific

norms, and are now administering psychological text to teacher trainees in

order to select better qualified teachers and provide vocational guidance

for young people.8 Even though the government has taken up the

responsibility of education since independence; private institutions are still

the main stay especially at the secondary and university levels. Primary

39
and secondary schools have proliferated within a short span of time in

Lebanon.

In 1966-1967 there were four universities, and in all these four

universities much emphasis is placed on technical education. The medium

of instruction in the American University of Beirut is English, in the Jesuit

University of Joseph it is French. Thus, educational standards in Lebanon

are the benchmarks in the Arab world and literacy is estimated at 88 % for

those over fourteen years of age.

The demand for the rapid expansion and modernization of education

at all levels from primary to higher, including scientific and technological

training in Gulf countries, viz., Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Abu

Dhabi and Dubai has increased in the oil era. The traditional educational

system remained prevalent among the local and village communities of

these states until the introduction of the modem system of education.

Traditional education was exclusively a male domain with the

exception of a few girls from the elite families, for whom special

arrangements were made at home for teaching elementary reading and

Writing. The teaching of the Qur’an was primarily for religious purpose,

knowledge of writing and basic arithmetic was considered useful for

40
keeping records and accounts of pearl trade and simple commercial

transactions.

It is significant to note that by the beginning of the twentieth

century, both Kuwait and Bahrain had accomplished some limited socio-

economic growth due to their increased sea born trade. They realized the

necessity of transforming the traditional scheme of education which was

imparted in maktabs and madarasahs as they thought that the traditional

education would not suffice to cater to the requirements of society.

Towards the end of the nineteenth century certain Christian

missionaries established a primary school for boys in Bahrain, which was

followed by the opening of community schools by Iranians and Indians.

Several well-to-do Bahraini families took the initiative of sending the boys

to these non-Arab schools.

The first Arab school of this region Madarasah al-Mubarakiyah was

established in Kuwait in 1911 with a modified syllabus and poorly trained

teachers. The basic contents of teaching at that early stage remained very

much like those of the traditional educational system, but in the course of

time the syllabus was thoroughly revised by keeping in mind the

requirements of the time. In 1919, a similar school was started in Bahrain.

41
From 1950, modem type of education was established in Qatar and in the

provinces of the present day United Arab Emirates.

After the consolidation of primary education for boys in Kuwait and

Bahrain they took the initiative of extending the same privilege for girls.

Bahrain took an earlier initiative by opening a girls' school in 1928 nine

years after establishing the boys' school. In Kuwait, however, it was

delayed until 1937, almost twenty-six years after the beginning of its first

boys' school. In Qatar, there was only a one year interval between the

opening of boys' and girls' schools, the former having been established in

1956 and the latter in 1957. In the United Arab Emirates, modern primary

education for boys began in 1953. During the initial years it was organized

and financed by the State of Kuwait. The most significant achievements

came in the late 1930s, when Bahrain and Kuwait extended secondary

educational facilities to both boys and girls. The United Arab Emirates was

a late entrant in this phase of education.

Today, the petro dollars of the Muslim world has achieved much in

the advancement of modern education. A number of modern Islamic

Universities were launched across the world and they provided extensive

learning opportunities to the Muslim masses. These universities are

imparting the best education for the Islamic world.

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 Apart from ancient Universities like Al Azhar, some premier

modern Muslim Universities came into existence in the Muslim countries

during the last century. The following are some landmark institutions in

this genre. The Islamic University of Madinah, Ummul Khura University -

Makkah, The King Saud University - KSA, Qatar University - Doha,

American Open Islamic University - USA, Islamic Research Academy

(ISRA)- Karachi, Harvard Islamic Legal Studies-Harvard, International

College of Islamic Science-London, International Islamic University-

Malaysia, Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University- Saudi Arabia,

Islamic University of Africa, Islamic University of Gaza - Gaza,

International Islamic University Islamabad-Islamabad, International

Islamic University - Chittagong, Internet Islamic University - Los Angeles,

Islamic University of Rotterdam - Netherlands, International Islamic

University London - UK., Mohi-ud-Din Islamic University9 - Pakistan,

Islamic American University - Michigan, Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud

Islamic University - KSA, Al – Ahgaff University, were the new

generation Islamic educational Institutions that emerged in the Muslim

world in the 20th Century. As a result of this, Muslim education across the

world began conquer new horizons of unprecedented development.

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 Moreover, a considerable number of male students are studying

abroad in the United States, England and other western countries. Thus

their percentage has decreased in colleges and Universities in their native

countries, resulting in better employment avenues opening to them. It may

also be noted that the number of female enrolments considerably increased

in the respective countries.

EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS IN INDIA

Early initiatives

India was famous for its learning from very early times. Certain

outstanding, ancient, established educational institutions had their

preeminence in the epoch of Vedic education. Aryan culture was confined

for a long period to the Western provinces. In the age of the Upanishads,

Varanasi came to be counted among the centres of culture, but in modern

times it has not gained much importance in the field of education. Some of

the Important Ancient Educational Institutions are shown below.

Varanasi

Varanasi had a highly esteemed place in the field of Brahmanical

education. The erudition of the scholars of this place was renowned

throughout the length and breadth of the country. Sankaracharya is said to

have consulted the scholars of Varanasi for the confirmation of his tenets.

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Here competent teachers imparted instruction in their individual capacities.

People from distant places began to flock there for education. It had

become an important centre of culture and learning. During the time of

Lord Buddha, it was the principal cultural centre in northern India and it

was here that Buddha started propagating his faith for the first time, at

Saranath.

Taxila

Taxila, the capital of Gandhar province was a great centre of ancient

Indian culture and education. It was one of the oldest Universities in the

world located in the far North West of India, with much emphasis on

general studies. In the hoary past Taxila was an established centre of

Brahmanical education. It is mentioned in the Ramayana that Bharath had

colonized it in the name of his son Taksh. Whatever may be the origin,

Taxila remained popular even in far off lands for thousands of years.

The royal princes used to go to Taxila University for their

education; here education was given in the eighteen arts and crafts and in

the Vedas. The Buddhist Jataka tales shows that young men from all over

the civilized regions of India sought education in this city. It is known that

a trickle of Iranian and Mesopotamian influence found its way to India.

Among the famous learned men connected with Taxila were Panini, the

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grammarian of the 4th century B.C., Kautilya, traditionally the so-called

chief master of the Science of statecraft, the Brahman minister of

Chandragupta Maurya who taught there, and Charaka, one of the two great

masters of Indian medical sciences.10

Taxila had to face various vicissitudes during its long and glorious

existence due to its geographical situation. Several inroads were made

upon it, and as result of the changing political condition the educational

system was also affected and the form of education kept on varying. The

Shakas, the Kushans and the Zorastrians (Parsis), the Indo-Grecians,

invaded and established their sway over it in the first, second and the sixth

centuries respectively. And yet Taxila managed to preserve its own

existence anyhow in spite of these invasive upheavals.

Education was however affected by the different cultures and as a

result of the Sanskrit and the Persian influence the national script ‘Brahmi’

could not be used in Taxila and instruction in Grecian languages was also

started.

Nalanda

The ancient history of India recounts a celebrated seat of learning

during the Gupta period (7thC) the Nalanda University, where thousands

received education in the Mahayana doctrine of Buddhism.11 Hsuen Tsang,

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the famous Chinese traveler, also studied there. It provided free training for

not less than 10,000 students, who had a large staff of servants to serve on

them; it served as a main centre of learning, as did their Christian

counterpart in medieval Europe.12 The number of teachers then at Nalanda

was about 1500, and they were divided into different categories on the

basis of their specialisations.

With the advent of the Muslims in India, begins a clearly defined

period of Indian history. It is, moreover, a period for which the historical

material is much more abundant than that of the preceding eras. The

history of Muslim education in India is as old as Islam in the country.

Arabs used to visit India from the very beginning for trade and commerce

and they established the earliest settlements on the western and eastern

cost-line of India. A chronological account of the well known travelers

Thajir Sulaiman and Ibn Batuta13 had attested these facts at various

junctures. The first conquest by them was made in Sind during the reign of

Walîd Ibn Ábdul Malik (705-715)14, the Umayyad Caliph, under the

command of Muhammad Ibn Qasim in 711.

Later, Mahmud Ghauri’s commanders settled-down in the North

Western parts of India, where they promoted education and founded

madarasa in the conquered area.15 During the 11th century, Muhammad

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Ghaznavi invaded India several times between 999 to 1026.16 They were

followed by the Khiljis, Tughlagh, Sayyid, Lodhis, Suris, and finally the

Mughals came and established educational institutions under their rule.

Education was, by and large, patronized by all Muslim rulers in the

world. Because “the search for learning and knowledge is the duty of every

(male and female) Muslim”.17 This verse shows that the significance of

specialization and attainment of knowledge is an integral part of Muslim

culture. Teaching and imparting knowledge has been considered to be the

noblest of professions. It is clear from the familiar sayings of the Prophet:

“The learned men among my followers are like the prophets of Bani

Israel”,18

The Muslim rulers continued to rule the world with the above

mentioned spirit and guts. The Prophet himself selected a group of Muslim

intellectuals, and introduced them to the cerebral and spiritual basis of

Islam for the dissemination of His message, concepts and details which

would not be easily processed by laymen.19

The Mughals continued to rule the country with this strength of

mind until the last Mughal Emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar, who was

‎deposed by the British in 1857. But after Aurangzeb, (A.D.1707) the

decline of the Mughal Empire had clearly set in and finally ended in its

48
complete collapse under the rebellions and conspiracies of high officials,

governors and courtiers.

The Raj puts, the Sikhs and the Jats gained strength towards the

close of the reign of Aurangazeb and showed their political presence for a

short time. Elsewhere, for a while, the Marathas became the chief political

and military power in India.20 Their predecessors enjoyed high positions in

the royal courts of Muslim rulers so that they could educate themselves in

the state crafts generously. Shanhji, father of famous Shivaji, began his

career as a trooper in the army of the Sultan of Ahmadnagar. 21 They

unsuccessfully tried to establish their own rule in the country.

In the North, the provinces of Oudh and Bengal as well as Punjab

under the Khalsa power became independent of the Mughal rulers of

Delhi. The occupation of Nadir Shah and Ahmad Shah Abdali further

weakened the central rule and vigorously tried to establish their

ascendancy.22 Apart from this, there were a large number of small states

scattered all over India owing allegiance to some neighboring larger state.

Most of these states, whether large or small, were too weak to defend

themselves against any external enemy, i.e., the British. On the other hand

they often sought help from the British against their native rival rulers.

State of Education under the East India Company

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 It was on the last day, last month and the last year of the sixteenth

century that witnessed one of the unparalleled historical tragedies in

Mughal India. That was the formation of the British East India Company.

It had come to India for trading purpose, just like other intruders, and had

no desire of establishing a territorial decree. ‘The East India Company was

cradled in the chilly but invigorating atmosphere of individualism.’ 23 But

gradually, they began to realize that they could trade much more profitably

and freely if they wrested the political control and established their military

supremacy.

In 1609, the Company deputed Captain Hawkins to India, and he

reached the court of Jahanghir in the same year.24 Thanks to his arrival,

India had faced a huge blow of political thunder. Within a short while, a

number of factories were opened at Surat, Agra, Ahmadabad, and Broach.

The Company exploited the natural resources as well as the human power

in the country as their means to accumulate wealth. With this object in

mind, they would fight with the natives and foreigners alike to establish

their indisputable preeminence.

Education, Culture, and heritage of a country became frivolous in

front of their covetous attitudes. Education under East India Company -

one is the process of decay and degeneration and the other is that of

50
grafting of bits of Western Christian oriented system of English education

in India.25 Throughout the period of two and half centuries, from 1600 till

1858, the issue of education, as a basic need of the people, received scanty

attention of the authorities of the companies. “In fact, the Company was

afraid of educating the natives.”26

Depending on the socio-political imperatives, the Company had

taken certain movements in the sphere of education phase by phase. The

first phase was the period of devastating trade wars and the company

showed little interest in matters of indigenous education.27 It spans a

century, from 1600 to 1698.

The second phase is known as the period of gestation which covers

from 1698 to 1764. The Company’s servants in India, mostly men of

average caliber, more adept with the sword than the pen, were mostly

involved in political and commercial pursuits. The gradual dissolution of

local powers further led to the disintegration of the country’s existing

educational institutions.28 Some efforts were made by the Christian

Missionaries to educate the children of the Company’s employees, both

Europeans and of mixed parentage. The British who were trying to

destroy the economic as well as the cultural backbone of the country to

establish their supremacy to a large extent. Macaulay observes, “I have

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travelled across the length and breadth of India, and I have not seen one

person who is a beggar, who is a thief, such wealth I have seen in this

country, such high moral values, people of such caliber, that I do not think

we would ever conquer this country, unless we break the very backbone of

this nation, which is a spiritual and cultural heritage and, therefore, I

propose that we replace that her old culture, for if the Indians think that all

that is foreign and English is good and greater than their own, they will

lose their self-esteem, their native culture and they will become, what we

want them to be, a truly dominated nation.”29 It shows the immense grudge

of the rulers against their subjects.

The next phase was manifested by the allocation of special funds,

which was set apart for the promotion of education. Utilising this, some

initiatives were taken towards this sphere systematically. This was

followed by the content and medium of instruction. Finally between 1835

and 1854 the Company began to show more interest in educational issues,

just for the sake of crafting some English literate men as their menial staff.

But in this endeavor, the Muslims were far away.

Some surveys were made in Bengal, Madras and Bombay to collect

information about the actual state of indigenous educational institutions. A

few charity schools and asylum for the Indian Christian and Eurasian

52
children were founded at Madras, Calcutta and Bombay.30 In fact in the

second half of the nineteenth century the British began to establish some

premier educational institution at the Presidency towns.31 It was the period

of the formation of a number of Universities and colleges across the

nation. In fact, this time was a period of long drawn debates and

controversies with the French who were already struggling for the same

objectives in the South. In 1765, the Company also succeeded in

establishing their control over the Bengal province. After defeating Tippu

Sultan almost all the areas of South India came under their control in 1799.

Thus, by the start of the 19th century, the British trading company brought

almost all the major parts of India under their colonial rule. Wherever the

British went, they crushed and subjugated the local chiefs, disbanded their

armies and took the administration or supervision of the area into their own

hand.

However, as far as Muslim education is concerned, in British India,

Warren Hasting was the first man who took a major step and founded a

madarasah in Calcutta in 1781. The madarasah was solely meant to

promote ‎and encourage the study of Arabic, Persian and Urdu languages.

Moreover, the Islamic law, they often used to term ‘Muhammadan Law,’

was taught there. “The Calcutta Madrassa, or Muhammadan College, was

53
founded at the request of several Muhammadins of distinction, in the year

1781, by the Governor General, Warren Hastings, who provided a building

for it, at a cost of Rs. 57745. The Bengal Government also assigned lands

of the estimated value of Rs. 29000 per annum for the support of the

institution. The original intention of the ‎founder appears to have been to

promote the study of the Arabic and Persian Languages, and of the

Muhammadan Law, with a view, more especially, to the production of well

qualified officers of the courts of Justice."32 ‎

Meanwhile, the work of missionaries was largely promoted by the

Company. They were, however, mainly concerned with the propagation of

their own religion. The government had convened all possible assistance to

the Company to launch a large number of schools across the length and

breadth of the country. However, the educated natives, including Muslims,

opposed the activities of Missionaries.

Nevertheless, to promote Indian education, particularly among the

Hindus, the Government disbursed a huge amount of grant under different

educational committees. With this same spirit, the British established a

Hindu Sanskrit College in ‎Banaras, the sacred place of Hindus. Rajaram

Mohan Roy, Champion of Indian reformation was the man behind the

consolidation of such tendering efforts. As a result, a number of

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Committees of Public Instruction were appointed in Calcutta, Bombay and

Madras mainly with a view to ascertaining the state of education and to aid

and advise the Government to take steps to mobilize people and resources

for education.

Lord William Bentinck accepted Macaulay’s Minutes and passed a

resolution, known as Bentinck’s Resolution, on 7th March 1835. The

minutes had emphasized favouring of English education, undermining the

rich and sublime traditional culture of Indian civilization. Macaulay

observed “to create a class of persons who would be Indian in blood and

colour, but English in taste, in opinion, in morals and in intellect." 33 For

the Muslims, the Minutes were an intimidating step towards their religious

education too. The Lamas, Moulawis, and Muslim social workers in

different parts of the country demanded the government not to discourage

the native education as well as the religious learning. Nonetheless, William

Bentinck’s policy of religious neutrality, due to the appeal of Ulamas, gave

a slight relief to the apprehensions of the Muslim community.

Muslims’ Contribution towards Indian Education

Generally, Education in India, before the advent of Islam, was

considered to be the monopoly of Brahmins. They excluded the lower class

people to acquire knowledge because they thought themselves superior.34

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There were mass rebellions against this notion resulting in the creation of

Buddhism and Jainism. However, the fact cannot be overlooked that the

common people were always deprived of education in earlier Hindu

periods. When Islam came to India it had to fight this mindset that

prevailed among the masses.

Ultimately, due to the efforts of Muslim rulers every citizen of the

country, whether Muslim or Hindu, man or woman, rich or poor, was

enshrined with the right to acquire knowledge.35 It is the tradition of the

Prophet Muhammad. According to various traditions, he himself prayed

for knowledge as “My lord, enhance me in knowledge.”36 He directed the

believers ‘to seek knowledge from the cradle to the grave, no matter if

their search took them as far as China.’37 It is quite true that Muslim rulers

in India, under various dynasties, patronized education and learning. It was

noted right from the very beginning, they had adopted a secular policy

towards education.

The Mughals welcomed the Europeans for commerce and showed

liberal attitude towards Christians and permitted them even to carry on

missionary activities. "The extent of patronage shown to the missionaries

under the Emperors of the house of Babar was extraordinary. They were

56
the honored guests of the Emperors; they enjoyed privileges which even

caused envy among the Mughal nobility."38

Many Europeans had been appointed to the higher military posts in the

18th century.39 The Muslim rulers from the early period took interest in the

advancement of education. They encouraged and patronized the scholars

and the people of pen. There existed many schools and madarasahs and ran

smoothly through proper financial ‎arrangement, i.e. wakf ‘endowments’,

sadaqa, and zakath. When the British became the political masters this

situation further deteriorated as they confiscated or curtailed public trusts

and endowments of madrasas.

In the beginning of the 17th century, The East India Company was

deliberately unkind to promote education among the Indians generally and

for the Muslims in particularly. In 1659, the Court of Directors explicitly

stated that it was their earnest desire by all possible means to spread

Christianity among the people of India and allowed missionaries to act

‎boldly in this regard.40 According to Charter Act of 1698 C

appointed in Bombay, Calcutta and Madras to look after the education of

the Christian children and Anglo-Indian Children.

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 It is quite true that Muslim rulers in India under all dynasties

promoted education in different ways. The systems prevalent then were

overwhelming and much envious of the period of the Tudors.

Many Europeans had been appointed to higher military posts in the

18th century. As 'Aziz Ahmad observed that this showed the technical

superiority of the Europeans in the manufacture and use of the more

sophisticated weapons as well as in their ‎strategy of war.41‎

Attitude of Muslims towards Western Education

The Muslim response towards Western education was immensely

terrible during the period of British India. They had hatred of the British in

their taste and culture so that they had kept themselves away from Western

education, which led the community to doom. They were rebelling

generally, as if by instinct against the subaltern sensibility preventing the

community from accepting British imperialism. The Muslims were very

much adamant in their religious belief, practice and worship. The majority

of the Muslims were fond of trade and commerce rather than to seek

employment under any regime.

Regarding the Muslim's response towards the British as Mujeeb

Ashraf, after evaluating, divided them into four categories:

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 "One group of nobles sincerely considered friendship and

alliance with the British indispensable for the continued

existence of the Indian states and made it their policy to be

friendly with the British ... Another group was so completely

impressed by the British and their culture that it sought to

organise the affairs of State and the conditions of the society

on British lines. A third group was loyal neither to the state

nor to the British Government and followed a policy which,

in its view, best suited its own personal and selfish interests.

There was, finally, a fourth group which was totally opposed

to British dominance and the British connection." 42

The behavior of the Muslims of Southern and Northern part of India

differed from each other in many respects. Southern sections of Muslims

showed positive response towards English and Western sciences, while the

Muslims of Northern India, to some extent also Hindus, refused to accept

Western learning. Abid Husain discussed in detail the reasons for the

behaviors of Southern and Northern Indian Muslims which differed from

each other in terms of their attitude towards Western culture and sciences.

The abstract of his thinking are given in the following sentence: 43

59
 ‘The Muslims of the Southern and Western parts of India were

descendants of Arab merchants and sailors. To fulfill their material

aspirations, they preferred a peaceful society, having good relation with the

Hindu rulers, ready to adjust with every new circumstance and were

generally educated. While the Muslims of Northern India were

descendants of nobles, officers and soldiers who were holding high posts

and enjoying privileges. But after the British dominance, all the privileges

were curtailed or abolished. They considered the British as usurpers and

openly showed their hostility due to social, cultural and political

prejudice.’

The study of political events and their impact on Muslims are

important to understand the Muslim response. The political events in the

aftermath of the battle of Plassey (1757) and the battle of Buxar (1764) had

changed the attitude of the British towards Muslims. The British then

onwards were highly cautious regarding Muslims. After establishing their

hegemony, the British began to destroy the financial strength of the

Muslims.

The commercial policy of East India Company destroyed the

centres of Indian industries that even Englishmen like Sir Charles

Trevelyan and Montgomery Martin felt sorry for, over the plight of Indian

60
manufactures and laborers.44 Many of the finer industrial arts of India

which was in the hands of skilled Muslims were ruined. Particularly, the

Muslims of Bengal were the greatest losers.45 In 1793, the British passed

the land Act, which adversely influenced the economic condition of the

Muslims. They changed the relationship with the landlords, especially with

regard to the Muslims, and closed the door to their landlordism.46

The substitution of English language for Persian as the Court

language in 1837 greatly affected the Muslim subordinate officers. Hafiz

Malik rightly remarks, "Their strategy was to oust the Muslims from the

profession and the position of economic and administrative control.47

Enrolment of Muslim Students in English Educational Institutions

When Islam came to India, it had to fight the then mindset that

prevailed among the masses. Ultimately, due to the efforts of Muslim

rulers, every citizen of the country, whether Muslim or Hindu, man or

woman, rich or poor, was enshrined with the right to acquire knowledge.48

By the emergence of the British Power in India, the Muslims

became the great losers of a splendid heritage. They are afraid that Western

culture and education would undermine the religious faith of the

community. As this concept was hurling in the sky, the concern of the

pupils in the community in terms of attaining modern education was

61
declining day by day. The following table shows the enrolment of the

Muslim students in the institutions where instructions were provided in

English.

Table.2.1
Enrolment of Muslim Students in the Important Provinces Compared
to the Percentage of Other Communities49

Sl.
Total Number Muslim
No Provinces Class of Institution %
of Students s
.
Colleges 1669 30 1.7
Eng. High Schools 4836 117 2.4
1 Madras
Eng. Middle 18553 702 3.8
Total 25058 870 3.4
Colleges 475 7 1.4
Eng. High Schools 5731 118 2.0
2 Bombay
Eng. Middle 14257 781 5.4
Total 20463 906 4.4
Colleges 2738 106 3.8
Eng. High Schools 43747 3831 8.7
3 Bengal
Eng. Middle 37959 5032 13.2
Total 84444 8969 10.6
Colleges 223 29 13.0
North
Eng. High Schools
4 Western 4273 697 16.3
Eng. Middle
Provinces
Total 4496 726 16.3
Colleges 126 7 5.5
Eng. High Schools
5 Oudh 1081 195 18.0
Eng. Middle
Total 1207 202 16.7
Colleges 103 13 12.6
Eng. High Schools 453 91 20.0
6 Punjab Eng. Middle 2671 703 26.3
Total 3227 807 25.0
7 All the Colleges 5334 192 3.6

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 above Eng. High Schools
133561 12288 9.2
Provinces Eng. Middle
Total 138895 124840 8.9

According to the Education Commission of 1882, enrolment of

Muslims was generally very meager. Table.2.1 indicates the percentage of

Muslim students’ enrolment compared to others in English colleges and

Schools in six provinces under British India. The total number of students’

enrolment in the Madras province was 25058; out of this 870 students were

Muslims. Meanwhile, enrolment of Muslim students in other provinces

such as Bombay, Bengal, North – Western provinces, Oudh and Punjab

were showing little signs of improvement The alarming decrease in the

percentage of enrolment highlights the various historical causes as well as

the ideological differences of Ulamas. Such an indifferent attitude of the

community as well as the aversion of the British towards the Muslims,

were largely responsible for the complete ousting from Civil Service too.

Representation of Muslims in the British Services

In the second half of the 19th century, Muslims were treated as the

main accused of the Mutiny of 1857. As a result, many Muslim families

were assaulted to death or persecuted. So the British hardly had desired to

include the Muslims in the prestigious British Indian Civil Service. Sir

William Hunter in his book Indian Musalmans gave the data by which the

63
pitiable condition of the Muslims during those days could be gleaned.

Hunter has shown the Muslim position in the three aristocracy departments

such as Military, Revenue and Judiciary. The following chart shows the

representation of Muslims and others in the services.

As a whole, Syed Amir Ali writes that up to this time, in 1793, high

offices, fiscal as well as judicial were filled by Muslims. But now the

higher executive appointments were reserved exclusively for Europeans.50

The following table is quite sufficient to learn the contemptible condition

of Muslim representation in the colonial Indian Civil Services.

Table.2.2

Representation of Muslims in the British Indian Services51

Sl. No.
Name of Posts European Hindus Muslims Total
1 Covenanted Civil Nil
260 Nil 260
Services
2 Nil
Judicial officers 47 Nil 47
3 Assistant
26 7 Nil 33
Commissioners
4 Deputy Magistrates
53 113 30 196
& Deputy Collectors
5
Income tax officers 11 43 6 60
6 Registration
33 25 2 60
Department
Judges of Lower
7
Court & Subordinate 14 25 8 47
Judges

64
8
Munsif 1 178 37 216
9
Police Department 106 3 Nil 109
Total 551 394 83 1028

Table.2.2 is the detailed statistics of gazetted posts during 1860 –

1870. Hunter categorically explained that representation of Muslims in the

services is in a very pitiable position. Out of 1028 prestigious officers in

the British Services, only 83 officers were hailing from the Muslim

community. This was an irony in the political history of India. Hunter

observed “a hundred years ago, the Musalmans were monopolizing all the

important offices of the State”52.

Against this sorrowful condition of the community in India, a

countrywide alertness was aroused. The Muslims of Bengal, Bihar, Orissa,

Oudh, Punjab and Madras strongly began to think of their incomparable

backwardness. The distressed Muslims from Orissa submitted a petition to

their Commissioner E.W. Malony appealing redressal of these grave

grievances. It can be seen in the following lines.

"As loyal subjects of Her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen, we

have, we believe, an equal claim to all appointments in the administration

of the country. Truly speaking, the Orissa Muhammadans have been

leveled down and down, with no hopes of rising again. Born of noble

65
parentage, poor by profession, and destitute of patrons, we find ourselves

in the position of fish out of water”.53

It can be seen from the memorandum the reflection of a community,

which was persecuted by an imperial administration. Earlier they were

masters of the land for a very long period. Moreover, the Muslim

intelligentsia across the country became aware of the deplorable condition

of the community. Keeping this in mind, many memoranda were submitted

to different parts of the country. The Muslims from Delhi addressed their

grievance to the Governor General in the following form.

“We the Muslim inhabitants of Delhi have since sustained the

extreme losses of life, property and honor. At present, we have absolutely

nothing to feed our children and ourselves. There is no ceiling under which

we could seek shelter against inclement weather, and no clothing to cover

our bodies. Thousands of us not bearing the severities of climate perished

last year and if nothing is done to protect us many more will die this

season”.54

When the British became politically and economically powerful,

they began to interfere in the educational set up too. For instance, they

extended all kinds of assistance to missionaries for the propagation of

religion through educational institution. They sanctioned abundant funds to

66
facilitate English education and modern science through missionary

agencies. Meanwhile the British confiscated or withdrew all types of

endowments and Waqaf properties through which some sort of charity was

chanelised from such institutions for the running of Islamic institutions.

Thus enrolment of Muslim students for both Islamic and General education

had begun to decrease.

As a result of this biased and discriminating policy of the British,

the Muslims were forced to live in shabby conditions. Hence the

community was deliberately excluded from the Civil Service. At this

circumstance, the pioneer ulama of the time such as Shah 'Abd ul-'Aziz,

Syed Isma'il Shahid, Muhammad Ishaq, Syed Ahmad Barelvi, Haji Imdad-

ullah Muhajir Makki, Maulana Qasimi Nanautavi, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan

in Northern India and in Bengal Haji Shari'at-ullah, Titumir, Karamat 'Ali

led the movement to teach and preach Islamic traditions and values

amongst the Muslims. They devoted themselves to bring about a drastic

change in the sphere of education.

Advocacy of Muslim Intelligentsia

There was no unanimity of opinion among the Ulamas and the

Muslim intelligentsia about the approach of the community towards

Western education. While some scholars would attribute that western

67
education would raise challenges to the Iman and ikhlas so that they may

lose their religious pursuit gradually. On the contrary, from the last

decades of the 18th century, a group of religious scholars had Mirza Abu

Talib Landani55 (1752-1806), Abdu Rahim Dahri56, Lutf-ullah (1802-1854)

responded to Western culture, particularly, as they were very fond of the

English system of education, customs, and manners. Perhaps the first

Muslim who wrote an autobiography in English was Lutf-ullah, who was

born at Dara Nagar in Malwa on 4th November 1802. He was impressed

by the Western civility, refinement and culture and admired their

efficiency, capacity for hard work, sense of cleanliness and their

punctuality.57 Accordingly, a lot of scholars took the initiative to

disseminate this ideology.

Shah Waliullah, the great Educational Reformer

Shah Waliullah (1702-1763), Mujaddid in Islam of 18th century,

was considered to be the one who succeeded in building a bridge between

medieval and modern Muslim India. Since he was well aware of the

religio-political and socio-economic disintegration of Muslims in India, he

launched his two-fold reform movement. For the revival of Islam, Shah

Waliullah desired to present Islam in its true form which does not admit

extreme rigidity and reserve as depicted by the then theologians and the

68
misguided mystics (sufis), and to break away from the old order, replacing

it by the new, to meet the requirement of the time.58 His religious

movement was carried out through the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries

and his educational reforms led to the emergence of many great centres of

Muslim learning like Darul Uloom of Deoband in Uttar Pradesh province

of India.

Shah Waliullah had seen the decline of Mughal rule in India and

observed similar degeneration in other countries of Asia and Africa. The

last pious and powerful ruler of India the Munhall king, Auranghazeb had

already passed away in 1707 and the East India Company got the power to

rule a part of Eastern India defeating ‘Sirajud Dawla’ at Plasse in 1757.

Ultimately ‘Shah Waliullah’ came to the conclusion that ‘monarchist and

imperialist tendencies were mainly responsible of the worsening State of

affairs and he de-formulated basic principles for regeneration and

reconstruction of life and human values’. In his book ‘Hujjatullahil

Baligha’ he laid down "labour is the real source of wealth" and "only those

people deserve to possess wealth who put in labour whether physical or

mental, for the sake of the country and society". All people, he believed,

are equal and the position of the ruler of a State is no more than that of a

common citizen in the matter of justice and freedom. Right to freedom,

69
security and property etc. are equal for all irrespective of religion, race or

colour.59

It should be noted that he propagated these ideas long before the

‘French, American and Soviet’ revolutions took place. This fact still lies

buried under the dust of misinformation raised by Colonial historians. Due

to the hypocrisy of modern history this Himalayan personality had been

deprived of the deserved place in our modern syllabi or in history books.

Sir Syed Ahmad Khan and the Muslim endorsement of Western

Education

Sir Syed Ahmad Khan (1871-1898) is the eldest of five prominent

Muslim modernists whose influence on Islamic thought and polity was to

shape and define Muslim responses to modernism in the latter half of the

nineteenth century. Like the four-Syed Amir Ali (1849-1928), Jamal al-

Din al-Afghani (1838-1897), Namik Kemal (1840-1888) and Sheikh

Muhammad Abduh (1850-1905). Syed Ahmad Khan was deeply

concerned with the state of Muslims in a world dominated by European

colonizing powers.

Syed was popularly known as a Muslim educator and reformer; a

man with versatile personality, jurist, author and founder of the Anglo-

Mohammedan Oriental College at Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, and the

70
principal motivating force behind the revival of Indian Islam in the late

19th century.

It was a period of transition in the history of Muslim education in

India which began from the last decades of 18th century. Some Muslim

scholars had begun to show the green signal to disseminate Western

learning within the community. Person like Mirza Abu Talib Landani and

Syed Ahmad Khan were the forerunner of socio educational reformers of

that period. Their influence on Islamic thought and polity was to shape and

define Muslim responses to modernism in the latter half of the nineteenth

century. In the history of India’s transition from medievalism to

modernism, Syed stands out prominently as a dynamic force pitted against

conservatism, superstition, inertia and ignorance. In the subcontinent,

Ahmad Khan and his followers were the first champions of this reform

agenda.

He was born in the twilight of the Indian Timuri era to a

distinguished family.60 Two years before the birth of Ahmad Khan, his

maternal grandfather, Khwajah Farid, had been appointed the Prime

Minister of Emperor Akbar Shah with the high sounding titles of Dabir al-

Mulk, Amin al-Daulah, Maslah Jang. His aristocratic inheritance inspired

him to involve in a wide range of activities—from socio- religious to

71
education. He left a deep mark on the new Islam and science discourse

through his writings and by influencing at least two generations of

Muslims who studied at the educational institutions he founded.61

Amidst his strong demand for western education, he faced serious

criticism from Muslim scholars and Ulamas of that time. They declared

that ‘English was the language of hell and western education is a passport

to hell.’ He was of the view that the Muslims in India should embrace such

of the Western values as were healthy and morally sound.

In the meanwhile, some religious ulamas such as Abd ur-Rahim

Dahri emphasized and wrote a booklet62 on the necessity to acquire

English learning by the Muslims. He, like Raja Ram Mohan Roy,

advocated Western leanings and addressed a Pamphlet to Lord Hasting

regarding the introduction of modem learning through the medium of

English language. He was of the opinion that modern knowledge cannot be

disseminated through translation.63

Syed’s interest in education had begun soon after 1857. During the

Mutiny, Syed Ahmad Khan was at Bijnor; there he saved the life of about

twenty families of Europeans and Eurasians. He assured the Collector and

Magistrate of Bijnor, Mr. Shakespeare by saying, "As long as I am alive,

72
you have no cause to worry” 64, through which, he established an irrefutable

relationship with the British.

His ideas and views gradually developed in the form of an

educational movement with the support of the British. In 1859, Syed

established a Madarasa at Moradabad65 and wrote a small pamphlet, both

in Urdu and English, about the significance of general education. It was

during the decade of 1860s, that Ahmad Khan developed his ideas of a

“modern Islam” and a Muslim polity living under British rule.

In 1863, he published an appeal to all people of India regarding

improvement of the educational system of the country. Syed perceived

Muslims as backward and he felt the need of education. This period also

saw an increasing degree of public involvement in the educational and

social arenas. In 1864, January 9, Sir Syed convened the first meeting of

the Scientific Society to support his movements at Ghazipur and set out the

objectives of the society as follows.66

1. To translate into such languages as may be in common use,

those works on arts and sciences which, being in English or

other European languages, are not intelligible to the natives;

73
 2. To search for and publish rare and valuable oriental works

(no religious work will come under the notice of the

Society);

3. To publish, when the Society thinks it desirable, any

periodical that may be calculated to improve the native mind;

4. To have delivered in their meetings lectures on scientific or

other useful subjects, illustrated when possible by scientific

instruments.

According to him, the vernacular schools run by the Government

were utterly inadequate to serve the needs of the time. So he wanted to

establish a “vernacular university” for the North Western Provinces but he

was discouraged by the champions of Hindi who wanted such a university

to teach in Hindi, rather than Urdu.

Ahmad Khan realized that the political realities of India dictated

that Muslims should establish their own organizations. In May 10, 1866,

he established The Aligarh British Indian Association. The inaugural

session was held at the Aligarh office of the Scientific Society in the

presence of a sizeable number of local landowners and a few European

officers. The Association failed to achieve any degree of impact on the

74
decisions of the government and, one after the other, its plans were

aborted.

While the British government announced assistance for persons

traveling to Europe for educational and scientific purposes in 1868, most

of the Muslims of northern India considered social contacts with

Englishmen undesirable for their moral and religious integrity. Ahmad

Khan had been elected an honorary Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society of

London in 1864 and he decided to go to England himself to see the ways

of the British in their homeland.

After a long seventeen month stay at England, Ahmad Khan

returned to his home land on 2nd October, 1870 full of ideas and aspirations

to lead his community to be on par with modern developments. During his

stay in England, he visited the universities of Oxford and Cambridge and

certain private schools, including Eton and Harrow; these would serve as

models for his own Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College.

After his return to India, Syed started to implement his educational

strategies in a scientific manner. In refutation to the work of Willim Muir’s

Biography of Muhammad, Syed wrote A Series of Essays on the Life of

Mohammad67 with burning heart against the outburst of Muir. He started a

periodical vz. Tahdhîb al-Akhlâq “to educate and civilize” Indian Muslims.

75
He remained in the judicial service until his early retirement in July 1876.

After that, he settled in Aligarh where he established the Muhammadan

Anglo-Oriental College in 1877. He instituted “the Muhammadan

Educational Conference” in 1886, which held annual meetings in various

Indian cities. In 1920, the College became Aligarh Muslim University, an

institution that had a decisive impact on the course of Islamic polity in

India as well as on the educational history of India.

As an aid to his mission, Ahmad Khan decided to write a tafsîr

because in all previous tafsîr literature, he “could only find grammatical

and lexicographical niceties, statements concerning the place and time of

revelation and descriptions of previous tafâsîr.” After long painstaking

efforts, it was published in 1892. He was severely criticized by the ulama

for the lack of qualifications to interpret the Qur’ân and adîth and the

shallowness of his knowledge of Western science and its philosophical

underpinnings was apparent from his own writings. According to him

nature is the “Work of God” and the Qur’an is the “Word of God” and

there could be no contradiction between the two.

However, after a long and eventful epoch of Muslim renaissance in

India, the light had gone off in 1898. He was mourned by thousands those

who had been taken out of their discontent and negligence in the Indian

76
subcontinent. Addressing a condolence meeting on his death, Professor

T.H. Arnold remarked:

“Sir Syed called upon his people to rouse themselves

out of the lethargy, the sloth, the ignorance, the degradation

into which they had fallen, and behold! A new generation has

arisen in response to his call.”68

In spite of his life-long interest in educational matters, Ahmad Khan

did not produce any new theory of education; he was merely interested in

promoting modern education among the Muslims and enable them to shape

to lives in tune with the trend of the world order.

Problems of Muslims’ Education in India

The current educational condition of Indian Muslims has alarmingly

deteriorated despite the fact that they make up nearly 15 percent of the

national population and have a glorious history of several centuries of

enlightened rule that put India firmly on the world map, and are the second

largest Muslim community in the world today.

Although, the community is improving day by day for the last two

decades and are learning to stand on their own feet they have been

deliberately placed in hard social, educational and political conditions ever

since the historic defeat of Indians in 1857 Rebellion against the British

77
until this day. For instance, the number and percentage of Muslims in all

government sectors of India has steadily declined from 31 percent in early

1947 to only 2.3 percent in 2001. The ruling class puts the blame on the

community, while the facts are different in view of the gradual isolating

trend imposed on the community. On the other hand, their attitude was

compassionate towards Hindus and many were even inducted in the

administrative services. In addition they even replaced Muslims by Hindus

in Government services. There were some concessions for Muslims to

enter in Government jobs, but after 1857 these concessions were

withdrawn. It resulted in the formulation of Simla Delegation and

formation of the Muslim League. The Delegation stated ‘there was a time

when three Muslim Judges graced the Indian High Courts Mr. Mahmood

in Allahabad, Mr. Amir Ali in Culcutta and Mr. Badruddin Tyabji in

Bombay. Today (in 1906), with a larger number of graduates, pleaders,

barristers and educated civilians, not a single Muslims has been found

capable of occupying a judges seat in any of the High Courts in India.69

A graphic picture of Muslim deprivation also emerged from the

studies done in recent years by the National Council of Applied Economic

Research (NCAER). The findings have been summed up in two sentences:

78
 "Muslims in India have a poor human development

status. Widespread illiteracy, low income, irregular

employment - implying thereby a high incidence of poverty

is all pervasive among the Muslims."70

The First major problem faced by the community in terms of

education was the anti - Muslim attitude taken by the British before

independence. The political consequences of the Rebellion of 1857 further

accelerated the hostility which led to a continuous struggle between the

British and the Muslims. The rebellion had portrayed the Muslims as the

main accused in the eyes of the British. The freedom loving Indian

Muslims jumped into the struggle without considering their political future

and possible alienation.

Consequently, in the post era of the Rebellion, Muslims were

persecuted. Many were imprisoned, hanged, tortured and their properties

taken away without any consideration of their status in life; whether a rebel

or crimlal, young or old. As a result, many Muslim families perished and

those who survived were not less unfortunate. After the Rebellion of 1857,

Lord Canning, described the situation in the following words:

"The indiscriminate hanging, not only of persons of

all shades of guilt, but of those whose guilt was at the least

79
 very doubtful, and general burning and plunder of villages,

whereby the innocent as well as guilty, without regard of age

or sex were indiscriminately punished.”71

Indeed, the community could not be free from the clutches of the

consequences of the Rebellion of this political tragedy till date. Their

dignity being second-rated, their liberty being suppressed and their mind

set being scattered. The British began to curtail the educational and

employment opportunities of the community. Unprecedented under

representation of the Muslims was observed in the covenanted services. In

addition to this, the indifferent attitude of the Ulamas towards modern

education made the pathetic picture of the community complete.

The Second significant problem of the Muslim community is its low

income and filthy and poor living conditions. It could be seen in

metropolitan cities that many Muslims bearing names similar to former

Sultans are sleeping in the streets struggling for space with the street-dogs.

The number of homeless and hopeless Muslims in the country is

alarmingly increasing everu day.72 Although the economic and social

situation of Muslims is not the same throughout India, one cannot deny the

fact that poverty and lack of genuine financial resources are hampering the

80
socio- economic and educational development of the community at every

step.

Official data is, at least, enough to figure out that in post

independent India, the Muslim community remained downtrodden

economically in comparison to all other majority or minority

communities.73While comparing with the second largest minority in the

country, the Muslims lag far behind with respect to all material benefits,

particularly in education and employment. The Sachhar Committee has

brought out the backwardness faced by the Muslims through various other

indicators. In almost every three Muslim-dominated villages, one does not

have a school. Nearly 40 per cent of the Muslim-dominated villages do not

have any health facility. The maternal mortality rates, incidence of

underweight children and anaemic mothers are comparatively higher

among Muslims. Their nutritional status in terms of per capita calorie

intake is also lower than the rest of the population. The Sachhar

Committee has observed that Muslims are not only the victims of poverty,

but have come to accept inequality and discrimination as their inevitable

fate.

The Third problem is the absence of committed and genuine

Muslim leadership in pre and post independent India. Excepting for a few,

81
the majority of Muslim leaders had neither consistency nor practical vision

to consolidate and guide the community towards a better future. The

present Muslim leaders are either puppets of the leading parties or they

have no comprehension of the problems the Muslim community is actually

facing in India.

At the time of partition, a sturdy demand was raised to dissolve the

All India Muslim League in the Indian subcontinent and for all Muslims in

the country to join the National Congress. The towering leader, Ismail

Sahib strongly negated the demand and formed a new organization called

IUML to work in the subcontinent in accordance with the provision of the

Indian Constitution.74 K.A. Jaleel75 observes that the socio-educational

awakening of Muslims in Kerala is due to the political presence of the

IUML in Kerala.

The IUML in Kerala has played a significant role in the formation

of the Government of Kerala, whether they have been led by the Left

parties or the Right. The IUML’s presence as a formidable political party

has truly given a feeling of social and political belonging to the Muslims in

total.

According to K A. Jaleel,76 even the level of progress now seen in

the community wouldn't have been possible without the League. "A

82
number of schools and colleges came up because at one time, the education

minister was from the League,"77 he says. Because almost all governments

in Kerala were formed with the support of the League, the community

benefited in terms of education.

Today, some states in the country, learning the lesson from Kerala,

has taken the initiative to unite and consolidate the Muslim under a

suitable political organization. It is a good sign for the Assamese Muslims,

at least, who account for 30 percent of the state’s total population. Here a

committed social worker and religious scholar- ‘Maulana Badruddin Ajmal

Al-Qasmi’ is slowly becoming one of the key factors in Assam politics. He

formed a new political party – ‘United Democratic Front’ (UDF) with

support from 20 Muslim and non-Muslim organizations in September

2009. Now, they have one M.P. and 18 MLA’s. In an interview with this

researcher Ajmal said that he had given top most priority for education to

the Assamese. Whereas the Keralites are competing with computers, the

Assamese Muslims are struggling with literacy. So Ajmal has promised in

public to enable all Assamese, particularly the Muslims, to stand on par

with the Keralites.78

The Fourth problem of Indian Muslims indirectly impacts their

education. This apparently implies the insecurity which is generated

83
within Muslim minds. Riots and communal violence have become the

norm and a sad reality in Modern India. The majority of the victims of

riots in India are Muslims. According to Mr. Ram Puniyani, ‘the data from

1961 to 1992 shows that during these four decades, 80 percent of the

victims of communal violence have been Muslims’.79 Recently terrorism

has been thought to be allegedly synonymous with the Muslim activities

across the country.

The bloody massacre of Muslims in Gujarat in late February 2002

that led to the death of over 2000 Muslims is a ghastly reminder of

organized violence with the tacit support of the ruling authorities.80

Mumbai based writer the late ‘Mr. Rafiq Zakaria has written with anguish

about communal riots in India. According to him, it reached genocidal

proportions in Gujarat in 2002.81 It is the continuation of the communal

politics habituated by an extreme sect of Indians.

Prospects of Muslim Education

While all the matters discussed above come under the severe

problems faced by the Muslim community in pre and post independent

India, a gradual improvement in the education of musilims is a happening

phenomenon. The emergence of some premier Muslim educational

institutions across the country such as Darul Ulyoom Duyuband,U.P,

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Nadvathul Ulama Lucknow, A.M.U, Alighar, Jamia Millia Isamia, New

Delhi in North, Calcutta Madarasa, in Calcutta, Madarasa Islamiya

Shamsul Huda, Patna, Jamia Rahmaniya, Mongheer in the East, Jamia

Nizamiya, Hyderabad, Darussalalm Omerabad, Madrasa Baquiyathu

Salihath, Vellor, Madaras Aliya Arabic college, Kasargod, Rauzathul

Uloom Arabic College, Farook, Santhapuram Islamiya College

Malappuram in the South have tremendously improved the prospects of the

community in the sphere of both streams of education.

Darul Ulum Deoband is ranked as the greatest institution of its kind

in Asia and perhaps second only to the famous Al-Azhar University of

Egypt. This great seat of Islamic learning has had an unrivalled place

amongst Muslim religious institutions during this period. Maulana Qasim

Nanautavi, Haji Muhammad Abid Hussain along with their enlightened

friends, after the Rebellion of 1857, decided to found a madrasah at

Deoband to preserve the learning of Islam. Thus, the foundation stone of

the Dar ul-'Ulfrm had been laid on 30th May, Thursday, 1866 (15

Mubarram 1238) at Deoband, in Saharanpur District of Uttar Pradesh. At

the time of the establishment of the madrasah, almost all the old

madrasahs were either destroyed or seized or closed due to the curtailment

of financial assistance to such institutions.

85
 Initially, there were 16 students on the rolls. Gradually within a

century, it had blossomed into a full-fledged university with a total

strength of about 1500 students from different parts of the world and

accodomating more than 50 teachers.82 A salient feature of the faculty of

Darul-Uloom is its international Character. It has been attracting students

from all over the world- Afghanistan, Central Asia, Turkey, Kazan,

Danghisthan, Azerbaijan, China, Burma, Malaysia, Indonesia, Ceylon,

Nepal, Iraq, Kuwait, Hijaz, yemen, South and East Africa and other

countries. However the number of foreign students has dwindled after the

partition of the country.83

The syllabi of the Dar ul-'Uloorm consisted of Qur'an, hadith,

tafsir, fiqh and usul-e-fiqh. Along with these subjects, grammar, Arabic

and Persian literature, logic, astronomy, kalaam, were also included in the

syllabus. The entire syllabi consisted of 106 texts and the students were

classed by the text books they studied rather than the year of their study.84

Darul Uloom aimed at promoting the following objectives:

1. To teach the Holy Qur'an, the Quranic exegesis, the Hadith,

the Islamic beliefs and their traditionally accepted

interpretation and all the necessary and useful allied subjects;

to provide complete Islamic information to the Muslims; and

86
 to render service to Islam through spiritual instruction,

guidance and preaching.

2. To give training in Islamic actions and morals and to infuse

the Islamic spirit in the lives of the students.

3. To preach and disseminate Islam and to preserve and defend

the religion; to propagate Islam through writing and speech;

and to cultivate in the Muslims through education and

preaching the morals, actions and sentiments as those of "the

best of decades" and the pious ancestors.

4. To keep off and avoid the influences of the government and

to maintain the freedom of thought and knowledge.

5. To establish Arabic schools at different places for the

dissemination of the religious sciences and to affiliate them

to Dar ul-'Uloom.85

However, the objectives were not completely fulfilled as envisaged;

the institution has produced hundreds of scholars, reformers, writers, and

leaders who were well known for their contribution in the Islamic fields,

not only in India, but also in foreign countries. Similarly, students from all

corners of India and other countries Australia, Holland, Canada, Nepal,

87
Bangladesh and some other places used to come to there to quench their

thirst of Islamic learning.

Nadwatul Ulama Association held annual session in different cities.

But it was soon felt that unless some practical steps were taken to translate

these ideals into action, it will not be understood and appreciated by the

Muslim masses. The first step, accordingly, was taken in 1898 (A. H.

1316) with the establishment of a Darul Uloom which soon earned for

itself a place in India and abroad as a modern seat of Muslim theological

learning.86 This institution was named Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama and

was established at Lucknow which is the capital of Uttar Pradesh, the

biggest state of India, and an important centre of Muslim culture for many

centuries.

In the beginning, the academic supervision of the Darul 'Uloom was

entrusted to Maulana Shibli Nomani under whose guidance and

inspiration, the institution acquired an intellectual and literary atmosphere

from its earliest days. It had developed the taste for scholarship and

research and quickly reached the pinnacle of its fame. After the Maulana,

one of his celebrated pupils and successors, Maulana Syed Sulaiman

Nadwi, took his place87. He discharged his responsibilities in the most

admirable manner and the way Darul Uloom has profited from his unique

88
literary abilities, the width of his experience and his prestige and influence

are simply unforgettable. When Maulana Syed Sulaiman Nadwi retired,

this office was placed under the charge of Maulana Syed Abul Hasan Ali

Nadwi.

Apart from the above discussed reformers in the country, Maulana

Abdu Salam Nadvi, Haji Moinudin Nadvi, Moulavi Abu Zafar Nadvi,

Moulana Abullaise Islahi Nadvi Moulana Syed Riyasat Ali Nadvi and so

on were the most prominent personalities to propogate the reputation of the

Naduva towards the world limelight.

The establishment of Mohammedan Anglo Oriental (MAO) College

in 1875 marked one of the most important historical events in the

educational and social history of modern India. Its establishment is

considered as the first significant response of the Indian Muslims to the

challenges of post -1857 era. It was an important vehicle in a process of

social change among Muslims.

Moreover, it had another momentous prospect realized by the

Community in the sphere of modern education. It had achieved its aims to

a great extent, having undoubtedly proved that almost all the educated

Muslim personalities across the country were Aligarh products. Had the

89
institution been established years back, the educational status of the

Muslims would have been vastly different.

Under the colonial British rule, two dominant trends joined hands

and contributed towards the birth of Jamia. One was the anti-colonial

Islamic activism and the other was the pro-independence aspiration of the

politically radical section of western educated Indian Muslim

intelligentsia. In the political climate of 1920, the two trends gravitated

together with Mahatma Gandhi as a catalyst. The anti-colonial activism

signified by the Khilafat and the pro-independence aspirations symbolised

by the non-cooperation movement of the Indian National Congress helped

to harness creative energies and the subsequent making of Jamia Millia

Islamia. Rabindranath Tagore called it “one of the most progressive

educational institutions of India”.

Responding to Gandhiji’s call to boycott all educational institutions

supported or run by the colonial regime, a group of nationalist teachers and

students quit Aligarh Muslim University, protesting against its pro-British

inclinations. The prominent members of this movement were Maulana

Mehmud Hasan, Maulana Mohamed Ali, Hakim Ajmal Khan, Dr. Mukhtar

Ahmad Ansari, and Abdul Majid Khwaja

90
 The riots, following partition, which shook northern India affected

Jamia; but not its campus. Gandhi observed that its campus remained “an

oasis of peace in the Sahara”88 of communal violence. Maktaba Jamia

alone lost books worth seven lakhs in arson. It was also considered that the

foundation of Jamia is one of the most outstanding prospects of the

community in terms of education.

Whereas the Deoband and Nadwa served the community in

imparting religious education systematically, Aligarh Muslim University

and Jamia Millia University have been contributing to modern education

throughout the century in such a way these institutions have become the

irrefutable prospects of Muslim education in India.

In 1884, in the Sothern part of India, the Madarasa Baqiyath al

Salihathu was established at Vellore by Moulana Shah Abdul Wahab of

Athur with the help of his close associates.89 The alumni of this Madarasa

spread out in South India and were engaged in popularising Arabic

language and Islamic studies. In the very next year and onwards a large

number of educational institutions started in many part of Southern India

too.

In addition to the birth of these outstanding educational institutions

all over the country, under the strength of this movement, a large number

91
of Arabic colleges as well as a number of modern educational institutions

were also founded in Kerala. Ponnani, ‘the Makka of Malabar’, was known

from very early times as the centre of Islamic learning. The genesis of

these educational institutions in India during this particular period is being

considered as the major prospects of the community, particularly, when the

unprecedented socio-educational problems are faced by the community.

The development of these institutions in the twentieth century have

switched over to the unconventional religious education as well as the

modern general education in the state under different Muslim

managements and their consequences are dealt with in detail in the

succeeding chapter.

End Notes

1
Thahir Mahmood, Educational Developments in Muslim World, New Delhi,
1994, pp. 99-102.
2
Sir Percy Sykes, A History of Afghanistan, Mac Million & Co, Afghanistan,
1981, p. 36.
3
U.N.Report 1998.
4
Pia Karlsson & Amir Mansory, Islamic and Modern Education in Afghanistan
- Conflictual or Complementary? Article published by Institute of
International Educat Stockholm University, 2000. p.18.
5
Thahir Mahmood, Op.cit., p.98.

92
6
Mikiya Koyagi., Modern Education in Iran during the Qajar and Pahlavi
Periods, Texas, 2008. p. 68.
7
Thahir Mahmood, Op.cit., p.100.
8
Ibid., p.108.
9
John L. Esposito, Oxford Encyclopaedia of the Modern Islamic World, Vol.II,
London, 1995, pp. 209-221.
10
Basham A.L., Wonder that was India. Rupa &Co, New Delhi, 1995, p.165.
11
Ibid.
12
Ibid., p. 166.
13
Mankada Abdul Azeez., Ibn Batutaude Sanjara Kathakal, Calicut, 1989, p.
149.
14
Rizvi, R.S., Wonder that was India, II Part, New Delhi, 1993, p. 126.
15
Ibid.
16
Edwards S. M. and Garrets, H.L.O., Mughal Rule in India, New Delhi, 1974,
p. 187.
17
Al-Suyuti, Al-Jame’ Al Sagheer fi Ahadeeth Al Basheer Al- Nadeer, Dar Al
Kutub Al- Ilmiya, 1989, Hadith No. (5264).
18
Ibid.
19
Farouk S. Majdalawi., Islamic Administration under Omar Ibn Al-Khattab,
Jordan, 2002, p. 142.
20
Grant Duff, History of Marattas, New Delhi, 1993, p. 213.
21
Majumdar R.C, Raychaudhari H.C, Kalinkar Dutta., An Advanced History of
India, Lucknow, 1991, p. 504.
22
Ibid., p. 527.
23
Vaman Das Basu, Ruin of India Trade and Industry, Culcutta, 1948, p.48.
24
Ibid., p. 56.
25
Basu V.D., History of Education in India under the rule of the East India
Company, Culcutta, 1935, p. 139.
26
Ibid., p. 118.

93
27
Dayal B., The Development of Modern Indian Education, Bombay, 1955, p.
28.
28
Refaqat Ali Khan, Muslims in Medieval Times, A Historical Sketch, New
Delhi, 1996, p. 10.
29
Lord Macaulay’s address to the British Parliament on 2nd Feb. 1835.
30
Spear, P., Oxford History of India, Oxford, 1980, pp. 106-107.
31
Report of the Indian Education Commission (The Hunter Commission)
Culcutta, Printed 1883, para, 20.
32
Syed Mahmood. A History of English Education in India, Aligarh, 1805, p.
18.
33
Dodwell, H. H., The Cambridge Shorter History of India, Vol. II, India
Edition, Cambridge University Press, 1935, p.717.
34
Jaffar, S. M., Taleem Hindustan Kay Muslim Ahd-e-Hukumat mein, New
Delhi, 1984, p. 46.
35
Ibid., 48.
36
Al Thaha, (Quran Shareef) 20: 144.
37
Hadith reported by Bukhari and Muslims.
38
Sharma, S. R., The Crescent in India, Bombay, 1966, p . 731. ‎
39
Aziz Ahmad, Islamic Modernism in India and Pakistan, Oxford University
Press, London, 1967, p. 3.
40
Syed Ghulam Muhiyuddin, “Modern Education and the Educational
Problems of the Indian Muslims”, Muslim Education Quarterly, Vol.II, No.
4, Islamic Academy Cambridge, U.K., 1989, p. 62.
41
Aziz Ahmad, Islamic Modernism in India and Pakistan, Oxford University
Press, London, 1967, p. 4.
42
Mujeeb Ashraf, Muslim Attitude towards British Rule and Western Culture,
Delhi, 1982, p. 85.
43
Abid Husain, S., The Destiny of Indian Muslims, Asia Publishing House, New
Delhi, 1965, pp .17-20.
44
Dutt, R.C., The Economic History of India in the Victorian Age, London,
1908, pp. 99, 105,112.

94
45
Ram Gopal, The Indian Muslim, Bombai, 1959, p. 15. ‎‎
46
Hardy, P., The Muslims of British India, Cambridge, 1972, pp. 40-50.
47
Hafeez Malik, Muslim Nationalism in India and Pakistan, Washington D.C.
1963, p. 145.
48
Jaffar, S. M., Op.cit, p. 161.
49
Syed Mahmood, Op. cit., p. 164.
50
Quoted by Mujeeb Ashraf, Op. cit., p. 21.
51
W.W. Hunter, The Indian Musalmans, Delhi, 1969, p. 60.
52
Ibid., p. 161.
53
Ibid., pp. 167-168.
54
Punjab. C.S. Records, General Department of Proceedings of 1st January,
1959, F. No. 11-12.
55
Mirza Abu Talib Landani was Laison Officer between Oudh Government and
the British.
56
'Abd ur-Rahim Dahri was an English teacher at the Fort William College and
had a prolific knowledge in Arabic, Persian, Turkish, English, Latin and
Pushtu.
57
Mujeeb Ashraf, Op. cit. pp. 209-210.
58
G.N. Jalbani, Teachings of Shah Waliullah, Delhi, 1988, p. 3.
59
Shah Waliullah, Hujjatullahil Baligha, Deoband , 1936, p.117.
60
K.A. Nizami, Syed Ahmad Khan, New Delhi, 1980, p.19.
61
Notably the Aligarh College, established in 1881, which became a university
in 1920 and which remained the mainstay of Muslim education in the Indian
subcontinent until 1947.
62
The booklet was entitled Arzdtis ‘An appeal for the Study and Dissemination
of the English language and Western Culture’.
63
'Abd ur-Rabnlan Parwez ralabi, 'Abd ur-Rahim Dahri ki Khud Navisht
Sawanih Umar’i,. New Delhi, 1975, pp. 186-193.
64
Altaf Husain Hali, Hayat-e Javed, English. tran. K.H. Qadree and U. Mathew,

95
 Delhi, 1979, p. 47.
65
K.A. Nizami, Op.cit, p. 70.
66
Proceedings of the First Meeting of the Scientific Society, Ghazipur, January
9, 1864, published in Fikr-o- Nazar, April (1963), Aligarh, pp. 8-11.
67
A Series of Essays on the Life of Mohammad., Published by Trubner &
Co, London, 1870.
68
The M.A.O. College Magazine, April 1898, p.126.
69
Jaswant Singh., Jinnah India -Partition Independence, New Delhi, 2009. p.
527.
70
Rafiq Zakaria., Understanding the Indian Muslim, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan,
Mumbai, 2004, p.129.
71
Edward Thompson., The Other side of the Medal, London, 1925, p. 74. Also
quoted in Syed Rizvi Wasti, The Political Triangle in India (1858-1924),
Lahore, 1976, p.20.
72
Sachar Committee Report 2007.
73
A Sample Survey Report led by Abu Saleh Shariff, NCAER, New Delhi, 1999,
p. 3.
74
Vadagara, M.C., The Hundred Years of Muslim Politics, Calicut, 2006, p. 26.
75
Jaleel, K. A., prominent Muslim leftist and Former Vice Chancellor of Calicut
University.
76
Jaleel, K. A., an Interview with Deepa’s blog, 2008.
77
Ibid.
78
Interview was held with Moulana Badrudeen Ajmal on 2010, March 5th at
New Delhi.
79
Ram Puniyani, Apportioning the Blame of Communal Riots,
http://www.countercurrents.org
80
The Hindu Daily dated 20 th October 2002.
81
Rafiq Zakaria; Op. cit. p. 33.
82
Ziayaud-Din A. Desai., Centres of Islamic Learning in India, New Delhi,
1978, P.16.

96
83
Ibid., p.19.
84
'Aziz Ahmad. Op. cit., p. 105.
85
Syed Mahmud Rizwi, Op. cit., p. 108.
86
Bulletin of Naduvatul Ulama, 2005, p. 3.
87
Ibid.
88
Nizami, K. A.,“Deoband”, The Encyclopaedia of Islam, (new edition), Vol.II,
Leiden, 1960, p. 203.
89
More, J. B. P., The Political Evolution of Muslims in Tamil Nadu and Madras
1930-1947,Hyderabad, 1997, p.54.

97