The Muslims
of India
By Kaleem Kawaja
Washington, DC
The Muslim identity of India
is a thoroughly Indian identity, very different
from the identity of other Muslim countries. This
unique Indo-Islamic identity has evolved over
centuries of intermingling of traditions, culture,
religion and social contacts. The influence that
practices of other religions had on the Islamic
tradition, and vice versa, also led to the evolution
of unique socio-religious traditions of the Muslims
in India.
Indian Muslims draw their traditions from Arabs,
Iranians, Turks, Afghans, Tajiks, Uzbeks, Abysinians,
and most of all from the traditions of the various
regions of India. Indeed, the Muslims of India
are as diverse as India itself.
By the 14th century when Turk kings ruled in the
north, India had become a major center of Islamic
learning. What Leonardo de Vinci is to European
renaissance, Amir Khusrou is to Indian renaissance.
In that period the major trend amongst the Muslims
in India was to learn the philosophy, culture
and tradition of India and to introduce the philosophy
and culture of the Muslim world into India. Thus
Khusrou was a pioneer in creating a new Indo-Islamic
culture and tradition, and also a new language
called Hindvi, the ancestor of today’s Urdu
and Hindi.
Another major development in the Indo-Islamic
ethos was in the area of architecture and technology.
Ain-e-Akbari, the 16th century masterpiece, gives
ample evidence of Muslims having produced a variety
of mechanical devices, e.g. wagon mills, multi-barreled
guns, screw cannons, and a variety of ingenuous
machinery. Countless magnificent monuments and
buildings all across India speak richly of the
Muslims’ contribution to India’s distinct
architecture. Muslims took major initiatives in
the production of quality products like cosmetics,
textiles, zari-work, metallurgy, glass and ceramics.
Tipu Sultan is known to have developed rockets
for use by his army against the growing British
might in India.
The development of irrigation, hydraulics and
construction of canals flourished as never before
during the long Mogul reign. The harnessing of
the principles of hydraulics and the use of devices
such as deep wells, Persian wheel and artificial
lakes, resulted in the development of the unique
Mogul gardens. Large-scale development of orchards
and agricultural production was another enterprise
of the Muslims.
Socially and culturally the greatest Muslim impact
in the medieval era on India was through the Sufi
movement that led to the growth of the Bhakti
movement. The downfall of the Mogul empire after
the first war of independence in 1857, saw Muslims
of India go through a very traumatic period in
which Muslims were subjected to great oppression
by the new British rulers.
In the early decades of the 20th century growth
of revolutionary and nationalistic literature
was seen in the Muslim community. Slogans like
“Inquilab Zindabad” and songs like
“Saaray jahan say acchha Hindostan hamaara”,
and Allama Iqbal’s enthusiastic advocacy
of Indian nationalism are outstanding features
of India’s long freedom struggle.
independence and partition of India in 1947, with
guidance from Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and other
Muslim leaders of the freedom movement of India,
Indian Muslims again started dedicating themselves
to the building of the new nation, and became
active in various fields. After decades of struggling
with this difficult situation when their loyalty
to India was often questioned, Muslims now appear
well adjusted in the changed milieu of India.
Another important contribution of Muslims to the
growth of the Indian culture is music and movies.
Some of India’s top musicians of the 20th
century are Muslims who contributed much to the
growth of genuine Hindustani vocal music, e.g.
khayal, taraana, dhrupad, thumri, qawwali, ghazal,
and musical instruments like sitar, sarod and
shehnai.
As the film industry developed, Muslims took a
leading role as actors,actresses, directors, producers,
music directors etc, putting Bollywood on the
world stage of cinema. Even today many of the
top Bollywood stars are Muslim.
In the last few decades Indian Muslims are again
trying to re-invigorate the Aligarh movement of
the late 1800s and dedicate themselves to acquiring
education. Although quite a lot remains to be
done in this area, as the 21st century dawned,
one could see the Muslim community in various
parts of India, north, south, east, west, make
a sincere effort to start educational institutions.
The recent emergence of P.J. Abul Kalam, India’s
top missile scientist; Azam Premji, a pioneer
in the rapidly growing Information Technology
industry; and M.F. Hussain, internationally renowned
painter, is a testimony to the fact that Muslims
in India are bouncing back to find their niche
in the rapidly developing nation.
(The writer is President of the Association of
Indian Muslims of America, Washington DC)
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