History Revision Guide 2017-18 (Section 1)

CULTURAL AND
HISTORICAL
BACKGROUND TO THE
PAKISTAN MOVEMENT

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Reasons for Decline of Mughal Empire:

INTERNAL REASONS & LONG-TERM REASONS:

 Aurangzeb’s successors became lazy, weak and corrupt and left the administration to their
ministers who often put their own interests first and some of them also later rebelled. This
problem became further serious due to vast size of the Mughal Empire which lead to many
administrative problems. Some of the rebellions were by the following groups.

 Local Leaders: As the empire grew, it became harder to keep a close eye on
every town and village. Some of the local landlords (zamindars) had accumulated
wealth and built private armies. After the death of Aurangzeb, they were
unwilling to accept the rule of the Mughal emperor and rebelled.

 Princes: Mughal Rule had relied on local princes loyally obeying the emperor.
They were allowed to rule on the behalf of the Mughal emperor and in return
they sent their share of tax revenue to the Capital. As Mughal rule weakened
they seized this chance to rebel and stopped obeying the Mughal orders and
stopped paying taxes.

 Provincial Governors (Nawabs): Mughal rule had depended on local officials

carrying out the instructions of Mughal emperors. These provincial governors
(nawabs) became powerful and their loyalties changed. During the 1720’s the
nawabs Oudh and Bengal simply broke away from the Mughal rule.

 There was no law of succession. Aurangzeb had four sons who had been posted as governors
of large provinces and possessed powerful armies. When Aurangzeb died he divided the
empire between his four sons but all four of them were keen to succeed their father. Instead
of accepting their fathers decision there was usually a struggle for succession which ended in
war. Succession often depended upon the ability of the candidates and the support they
could get. These succession wars weakened the Mughal Empire because huge sums of money
were wasted on these wars and this resulted in the bankruptcy of the Mughal treasury. Many
skilled soldiers were killed in these wars and the Mughal military expertise declined. During
these wars, no Mughal emperor was present on the throne. The administrative affairs were
handled by courtiers, and this made them powerful. In some cases administrative matters
were ignored due to absence of the emperor so as a result the empire further declined.

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 Fighting wars became expensive and the military was stretched and suffered much
inefficiency as they became over confident. This was because the Mughal army had been
victorious for many past years and they thought that victory will come by itself so they
stopped training their soldiers and upgrading their weaponry

 Pleasure Seeking was also another factor.The successors failed to run the Empire effectively
becoming very extravagant and self-indulgent so the empire suffered from financial
inefficiencies. They used to spend their time and money on music, art, literature, calligraphy,
dance and architecture. This had a negative impact on the Mughal treasury and the emperors
stopped focusing and paying attention on administrative matters.

 Rebellions by Marathas and growing power of courtiers and nobles further weakened the
empire as it challenged the Mughal Power and drained the Mughal treasury to put down
these rebellions. A rebellion by Marathas was a serious challenge to the Mughal authority.
The rebellion had started in the reign of Aurangzeb but he failed to crush the rebellion. The
Marathas were skilled in guerilla warfare and were led by ruthless leader Shivaji. The Mughals
were experienced in pitched battles and had no idea how to deal with guerilla tactics. The
Marathas soon over ran the Mughal Empire captured important towns and became the most
superior force of the sub continent. It was the defeat of the Marathas at the hand of Ahmed
Shah Durrani that ended their power streak.
EXTERNAL REASONS:
 The vastness of the Empire made it hard to defend and as such suffered several foreign
invasions such as by Nadir Shah of Persia and Ahmed Shah Abdali of Afghanistan.

 Who was Nadir Shah? Emperor Nadir Shah, the Shah of Iran (1736–47) and founder of
the Afsharid dynasty, invaded Northern India with a fifty-five thousand strong army, eventually
attacking Delhi in March 1738-39. His army had easily defeated the military inferior Mughals
(even though they numbered 80,000 men) at the battle at Karnal and had taken over control of
northern India. Battle took place in 1739 . After defeating Mughals convincingly on 12th of
March 1739 he entered Delhi. He was warmly welcomed by Muhammad Shah who was allowed
to retain throne by consent of Nadir shah. At that time conflict arose between Persian soldiers
and citizens of Delhi, this was the time when the news of death of Nadir shah also broke out.
This thing caused death of many Persian soldiers and when Nadir shah saw bodies of Persian
soldiers he ordered full massacre of Delhi, which was then known as notorious Qatal-e-am. He
killed 20,000 to 30,000 citizens (men, women, and children) of Delhi in about 6 hours.. During
the massacre, the Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah had to beg Nader to grant him and his
people mercy, before giving the keys of the city and royal treasury to him. In response, Nader
Shah agreed to withdraw, but Mohammad Shah paid the consequence in handing over the keys

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of his royal treasury, and losing even the Peacock Throne to the Persian emperor. The Peacock
Throne thereafter served as a symbol of Persian imperial might. Among a trove of other
fabulous jewels, Nader also gained the Koh-i-Noor diamond. The Persian troops left Delhi at the
beginning of May 1739. Nader's soldiers also took with them thousand
of elephants, horses and camels, loaded with the booty they had collected.. Similarly Delhi was
looted and plundered by Nadir shah and his army at that level that after Nadir shah’s invasion
and sack of Delhi left Mughal Empire so weak and meager that Mughals were not able to regain
their strength and fight against other enemies.

 Ahmed Shah Durrani: . He invaded India five times. In 1748, he planned an attack on the
India for the first time, this was ended in a drastic defeat. In 1749, he made a successfully
invasion and defeated the Governor of Punjab. However, he was induced to return on a promise
by the Punjab governor of an annual remittance of some amount and was not paid regularly;
this made Abdali to invade India again in 1752. Punjab and Sindh provinces were surrendered
this time to Abdali by Mughal Emperor. Abdali appointed his men as in-charge of the newly
acquired provinces. In 1756, Abdali crossed the Indian Territory and marched towards Delhi. He
plundered as much as he can and as far as Mathura and Agra. While returning he recognised
Alamgir II as the emperor at the Delhi throne. In 1758, the Peshwas (Ministers) of Marathas
expelled Abdali's men from Delhi and appointed their own people as in-charge, this made Abdali
to invade India one more time. With this invasion the glory of Marathas in India has come to
an end and the mighty Marathas were defeated for good in the Third Battle of Panipat.
This defeat was so huge that Marathas were never able to regain power. Anarchy was
created all around in the Mughal Empire and finally after many events it paved a way for the
British East India Company to take control over India.

 Arrival of the British: In 1600 Queen Elizabeth granted charter to a group of private
merchants to trade on the east coast of Africa. Because of the splendor and the wealth of
Mughals, the British started trading in India. The trade amounted into humungous profits due
to which the British were able to enhance their military and technological strength. They took
the advantage of the decline of the Mughal Empire and the lack of unity in India and turned
into rulers from traders. Eventually the British overran the Empire as they were superior in
such areas as military might and technology. There was a power vacuum created with the
Mughal’s decline so they were the first one to fill it.

Q) How far was Aurangzeb responsible for the decline of the Mughal Empire?

An important cause of the downfall of the Mughal Empire was the religious policy of
Aurangzeb. Aurangzeb lost the support of Hindus by committing Anti-Hindu acts. Aurangzeb
had intolerant attitude towards non-Muslims . He introduced a tax on non-Muslims called
“JIZYA” for their protection. He destroyed Hindu Temples and banned Hindu Practices and also

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he refused to give permission for the celebration of Hindu Festivals. During his reign, the
mughal treasury was in a deficit. This was because of the rebellions by the Marathas led by
Shivaji. Long wars had to be waged against the Marathas and funding these wars was
expensive. In order to pay for these expenses he had to impose high level of TAXES.
Construction of Lavish buildings and palaces also emptied the mughal treasury.

Q) How would be a 14mark model answer be like regarding decline of Mughals?

Ans) The Mughal Empire reached its greatest extent in the time of Aurangzeb Alamgir, but it
collapsed with dramatic suddenness within a few decades after his death. The Mughal Empire
owes its decline and ultimate downfall to a combination of factors; firstly Aurangzeb's religious
policy is regarded as a cause for the decline of the Mughal Empire as it led to disunity among
the people. Although the policy did lead to weakening of the empire but the major cause of
decline was the lack of worthy and competent successors after him. The character of Mughal
kings had deteriorated over a period of time. The successive rulers after Aurangzeb were weak
and lacked the character, motivation and commitment to rule the empire strongly. They had
become ease loving and cowardly. They totally disregarded their state duties and were unable
to detain the declining empire from its fall.

The absence of any definite law of accession was another important factor. The war of
successions not only led to bitterness, bloodshed, and loss of money and prestige of the empire
over a period of time, but to its eventual fall. The degeneration of the rulers had also led to the
moral degeneration of the nobility. Under the early Mughals, the nobles performed useful
functions and distinguished themselves both in war and peace. But the elite under the later
Mughals was more interested in worldly pursuit and self-enhancement. The nobles who had
once been talented men with integrity, honesty, and loyalty, turned selfish and deceitful.
Growth of hostile and rival clique in the court also undermined the strength of the government.
Widespread corruption in the administration started and taking bribes became common.

One of the most potent causes of the fall of the Mughal Empire was the deterioration and
demoralization of the army. The military had not only become inefficient but also lacked in
training, discipline and cohesion. The army was out-dated in regard to equipment. It consisted
of contingents maintained by various nobles, which was the main source of Army's weakness.
As the weakening of the nobles occurred, so did the army. This was because of the soldiers,
instead of identifying and uniting as Mughal Indians, identified themselves with different ethnic
groups like Persian, Afghans and Central Asians. The Mughals had no navy and only maintained
small ships that were no match for the well-equipped ships of the foreign traders. It was this
weakness that the French and the British used to their advantage, and were eventually able to
establish their control over India.

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EAST INDIA COMPANY AND ASSUMPTION OF POWER BY

THE BRITISH:

INTRODUCTION:
The East India Company was a London-based trading organization. Like the Dutch, the English
wanted a key role in the spice, cotton and gems trade. Following a year of fund raising and
political negotiation, the ‘Company of Merchants of London trading into the East Indies’ was
given ‘royal approval’ by a charter from Queen Elizabeth I on 31 December 1600. It acted as the
vehicle for British commercial and imperial expansion in Asia. For more than two centuries,
until its demise in the aftermath of the Indian Mutiny (1857-59), it dominated both trade and
Empire.

SUMMARY OF REASONS FOR THE INVOLVEMENT OF EAST INDIA

COMPANY (EIC) IN THE SUB-CONTINENT:
 In 1600 East India Company was granted charter by the Queen Elizabeth to trade on the
east coast of Africa. They were given monopoly in this area.

 They were keen to trade in spices, cotton, silk, cloth and gems. Indian goods such dyed
cloth and silk had great demand and value in Britain. These products were good in quality
and were produced in Abundance and were available on very cheap prices. Large and
present supply of raw material was also needed for the Industrial Revolution.

 They were unsuccessful in establishing trade with Indonesia as the Dutch had already
captured the spice trade and had strong monopoly. The Dutch defeated the British in
couple of battles and drove them out so they turned to the subcontinent.

 Traders reported evidence of immense wealth in the sub-Continent. Mughal emperors

such as Akbar and Jehangir had pile of precious gems. The grand architecture of Mughal’s
along with their extravagant lifestyle and the splendor of the Mughal’s attracted them
which led to the Company establishing a trading base there since they saw a profitable
future. India became famous as the Golden Sparrow.

 The English wanted to establish its influence in the sub-Continent and to drive out the
other European powers for example Dutch, French and Portuguese. This was because the
Portuguese had strong control over spice trade and enjoyed good relations with the
mughal emperor Jehangir. This trade was highly profitable and the British wanted a share
in those profits.

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Reading Aid:

Towards the end of the 17th century India became the focal point of the Company's trade. Cotton
cloth woven by Indian weavers was being imported into Britain in huge quantities to supply a
worldwide demand for cheap, washable, lightweight fabrics for dresses and furnishings. The
Company's main settlements, Bombay, Madras and Calcutta were established in the Indian
provinces where cotton textiles for export were most readily available.

HOW EIC DID BECAME A TRADING GIANT:

The first British ship landed at the Port of Surat(Gujrat) in 1608.In 1612 they were granted
permission by Prince Khurram (Governor of Gujrat) to start trading in Gujrat and in 1615
Emperor Jehangir gave them the permission to trade all over India. Cotton cloth woven by
Indian weavers was being imported into Britain in huge quantities to supply a worldwide
demand for cheap, washable, lightweight fabrics for dresses and furnishings. The Company's
main settlements, Bombay, Madras and Calcutta were established in the Indian provinces
where cotton textiles for export were most readily available. These settlements had evolved
from 'factories' or trading posts into major commercial towns under British jurisdiction, as
Indian merchants and artisans moved in to do business with the Company and with the British
inhabitants who lived there.

Today, not even the most powerful firm can compare in terms of prolonged existence and
wide-ranging economic, political and cultural influence. At one time, a tenth of the British
exchequer's revenue came from customs duties on the Company's imports. Its armed forces
were bigger than those of most nation states. Without it there would have been no British
Empire.

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HOW THE BRITISH DID EXPAND THEIR RULE IN INDIA:

The British adopted three strategies to take over the sub-continent.

1. Military Conquests
2. Doctrine of Lapse and Doctrine of Paramountcy
3. Ruling through friendly Princes.
1) Military Conquests:
The Company saw the rise of its fortunes, and its transformation from a trading venture to a
ruling enterprise, when one of its military officials, Robert Clive, defeated the forces of the
Nawab of Bengal, Siraj-ud-daulah , at the Battle of Plassey in 1757. After the victory of the
British in the Battle of Buxar in 1764, their rule further expanded. In the Battle of Buxar, the
joint army of Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II, Mir Qasim and Nawab of Oudh was
defeated by the British. As a result the Company acquired the right to collect revenues on
behalf of the Mughal Emperor, but the initial years of its administration were calamitous for the
people of Bengal. The Company's servants were largely a greedy and arrogant lot, and the
plunder of Bengal left the formerly rich province in a state of utter poverty. The famine of 1769-
70, which the Company's policies did nothing to improve, may have taken the lives of as many
as a third of the population. The Company, despite the increase in trade and the revenues coming
in from other sources, found itself burdened with massive military expenditures, and its
destruction seemed about to happen. State intervention put the ailing Company back on its feet,
and Lord North's India Bill, also known as the Regulating Act of 1773, provided for greater
parliamentary control over the affairs of the Company. The Regulating Act of 1773 was
an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain intended to overhaul the management of the East India
Company's rule in India. Under this act the rules and regulations for governing EIC was changed
and their power was limited. Then this act was replaced by Pitt’s India Act of 1784. Pitt’s India
Act of 1784 stated the following provisions.

o The power of EIC was limited to trading only.

o Now the India was to be governed by Governor General who was to be assisted
by a member of the British Parliament known as the Secretary of State.
o The armed forces were to be controlled by Commander in Chief.

The first Governor-General of India was Warren Hastings. Under his tenure, the expansion of
British rule in India was pursued strongly, and the British sought to master original systems of
knowledge. Hastings remained in India until 1784 and was succeeded by Cornwallis, who
initiated the Permanent Settlement, whereby an agreement in eternity was reached with
zamindars or landlords for the collection of revenue. For the next fifty years, the British were
engaged in attempts to eliminate Indian rivals, and it is under the administration of Wellesley
that British territorial expansion was achieved with ruthless efficiency. Major victories were
achieved against Tipu Sultan of Mysore and the Marathas, and finally the defeat and conquest
of the Sikhs in a series of Anglo- Sikh Wars led to British occupation over the entirety of India.

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LIST OF WARS AND THEIR RESULTS: (1757-1858)

Name of
Year British Indians Result
War

Victory
Nawab of Bengal Siraj-ud-
Battle of
1757 EIC daulah
Plassey  Bengal annexed
by the Company
Raj.

Mughal Empire, Mir Qasim Victory

Battle of
1764 EIC and Nawab of Oudh (Jalal-ud-din
Buxar
Haider)  Treaty of
Allahabad.

EIC
Maratha Empire
First Anglo- Stalemate
1769 Nawab of the Mysore (Tipu Sultan)
Mysore War
Carnatic  Treaty of Madras.
Hyderabad

First Anglo-
Defeat
1782 Maratha EIC Maratha Empire
War  Treaty of Salbai.

Second Mysore Defeat

Great Britain
1784 Anglo- France
Mysore War  Dutch Republic  Treaty of
EIC
Mangalore.

Victory
Third Anglo- EIC
1792 Mysore (Tipu Sultan)
Mysore War
 Treaty of
Seringapatam.

Fourth Great Britain Victory

1799 Anglo- Mysore (Tipu Sultan)
Mysore War  Defeat of Mysore.

Second Victory
1805 Great Britain Maratha Empire
Anglo-
Maratha  Treaty of Surji-

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War Anjangaon.

Victory
Third Anglo- Great Britain
1818 Maratha Maratha Empire
 Formal end of
War the Maratha
Empire.

Great Britain Defeat

First Anglo-
1842 Afghanistan
Afghan War
 British withdrawal
from Afghanistan.

Annexation British won. Sindh

1843 Great Britain Amirs of Sindh
of Sindh conquered.

First Anglo-
1846 Great Britain Sikh Empire Victory
Sikh War

Second Victory
1849 Anglo-Sikh Great Britain Sikh Empire
War  End of the Sikh
Empire.

Victory
Indian
EIC Mughal Empire
1857 Rebellion of  Rebellions
British Army Maratha Empire
1857 suppressed,
formation of
the British Raj.

Annexation of Sindh:
In 1842, At The Age Of 60, Napier Was Appointed Major General To The “Command Of The
Indian Army Within" The Bombay Presidency. Here .Lord Ellenbrough’s' Policy Led Napier To
Sindh Province for The Purpose Of Quelling Insurgency Of The 'Muslim Rulers/Amirs Of
Sindh Who Had Remained Hostile To The British Empire Following The First Anglo Afghan
War In 1939. Napier's Campaign Against These Chiefs/Amirs Resulted In Victories , In The
Battle Of 'Miani And The Battle Of Hyderabad And Then The Conquest Of The Sindh
Province.

2) Doctrine of Lapse/Doctrine of Paramountcy.

Lord Dalhousie's infamous Doctrine of Lapse introduced in 1852, whereby a local state became
part of British India and the lands and possession were taken by the British, if there was no
male heir at the death of the ruler or the ruler was declared incompetent. It was one of the

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principal means by which local states were annexed; but often the annexation, such as that of
Awadh [Oudh] in 1856, was justified on the grounds that the local prince was of evil character,
indifferent to the welfare of his subjects. The annexation of native states, harsh revenue
policies, and the plight of the Indian peasantry all contributed to the Rebellion of 1857-58,
referred to previously as the Sepoy Mutiny. In 1858 the East India Company was dissolved,
despite a valiant defense of its purported achievements by John Stuart Mill, and the
administration of India became the responsibility of the Crown.

3) Ruling through Friendly Princes (Subsidiary Alliances):

In some places, the British practiced indirect rule, placing a Resident at the court of the
native ruler who was allowed sovereignty in domestic matters. For example in Hyderabad
Deccan, Oudh and Kashmir, the rulers were allowed to stay on throne if they remained loyal
and gave control of external affairs to the British along with share of revenues. In return
British soldiers protected him and he was allowed to rule.

Reasons for taking control from EIC by British Government in the

early nineteenth century:

 The volume of trade became so significant that the British government felt it was too valuable
as an asset to leave in the hands of a private company even though the EIC was now holding
its possessions in trust for them.

 Britain was virtually controlling the whole India so it was important for them retain what they
had gained.

 Also the fear of Russian expansion in Central Asia worried the government and so Britain
decided to shape its foreign policy by further expansion towards Afghanistan to counter this
threat.

 As Britain was becoming more involved prestige began to be at stake and further expansion
became inevitable especially after the defeat by the Afghans at Kabul.

 As a result of the events of 1857, British attempt to rule through local allies and friendly
princes were abandoned. British were now determined to take political and military authority
into their own hands.

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WHY WERE THE BRITISH SUCCESFUL IN TAKING CONTROL OVER

THE SUB-CONTINENT?

 LACK OF UNITY: The Indian Community comprised of several cultures,

religions, languages and race. There was no unity factor amongst them. The
communal differences were huge and all the communities were only interested in
capturing their native areas for example the Sikhs captured Punjab and the
Marathas captured Deccan Peninsula. Instead of uniting and facing the British
together, they were busy fighting amongst each other. Some rulers considered
British as their allies and they sided with them in the battles against their fellow
local rulers. Many local rulers were to indulged in their lavish lifestyle that they
left their states to decline.

 BRITISH STRENGTH: The British had three major strengths. Firstly their
Military was way more superior to the locals. The British had well trained
disciplined and experienced army. They were equipped with modern weaponry
and were skilled in modern warfare tactics. Secondly the British were politically
superior. They were skilled diplomats and could easily play local rulers against
each other or buy off local rulers. Thirdly the British were technologically
superior. The Industrial Revolution in Britain had led to development of railways,
telegraph, electricity and steam engines. This gave a competitive edge to British
over the locals.

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HOW DID THE BRITISH CHANGE THE INDIAN PEOPLE?

Power together with a Christian sense of duty made it certain that the British would
impose changes that would affect everyone. Changes, even for the better, can cause
anxiety and opposition. When these changes were introduced by people from a country
thousands of miles away, it is hardly surprising that resentment began co grow against
westernization.

Female infanticide:

In 1795 the East India Company declared the killing of baby daughters to be murder. It
was easily said but hard to enforce. One hundred years later it was still important to
check that daughters were still alive several years after their birth.

Suttee:

The Hindu religion seemed to permit the ritual burning of widows on the funeral pyres of
their husbands. At first the British were reluctant to get involved bur the loud demands
of Christian missionaries and Ram Mohan Roy, an Indian campaigner for justice, forced
the East India Company to outlaw the practice in Bengal in 1829, and then in the rest of
the country. In fact, there was very little opposition to this change. Lord Bentinck was
the Governor General who took this bold step.

Thuggee:

In central and upper India groups of armed robbers-thugs-claimed they were serving a
goddess. They used a ritual way of murdering their victims and people were terrified of
them. The East India Company used force to once and for all destroy thuggee. In 1830,
under Colonel Sleeman's command about two thousand thugs were caught and dealt
with. This step was welcomed by all.

English:

In 1834 English was declared to be the official language. Until then Persian had been
the main language for rulers, diplomats, and officials. This had a westernizing effect as
it brought educated people into contact with English books.

Schools:

Following the language change, the government set up schools across the country to
teach western ideas using the English language. This was the brainchild of Thomas

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Babington Macaulay. He believed chat European ideas were far better than anything
that came from India. He aimed to educate a group or class of Indians who would cake
on western values and help the British to govern the millions of ocher Indians. Following
Macaulay's ideas the British imposed on educated Indians a European culture which
was probably not appropriate for them. An important result of all this, however, was chat
the use of English as a common language began to unite India.

Communications:

The British invented the railway. The first public railway using steam-powered
locomotives opened in England in 1825. It was the stare of the Railway Age as British
engineers constructed railways all over the world. They were to transform India. The
first public train journey in India took place on 16 April 1853, from Bombay co Thane.
For the British, they were yet another means of extending their power and ideas across
the subcontinent. They helped British industry co profit by transporting raw materials to
the ports, and manufactured goods to be sold all over the country. Railways also helped
the British to control the country. Troops were moved speedily to wherever they might
be needed. Civil servants and businessmen could journey anywhere quickly and
comfortably.

But there were advantages for the Indian people as well. In times of famine, food could
be moved more easily. Family visits over long distances as well as pilgrimages became
possible. Later on, of course, political organizers and campaigners could also move
about easily recruiting people to their causes, including opposition to British rule.
Alongside the railway lines ran telegraph lines by which messages could be sent,
helping the British central administration in Calcutta keep in touch with every part of
their far-flung domain.

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Causes for the War of Independence 1857:

Causes

Long-Term Short-Term Reasons

Resons

Military
Political for Economic Reasons for
ex: Social & Relegious Reasons for
for ex: Inferior ex: march
Replacement ex: High taxes into Sindh &
of Persian, Re- Treatment, and low salary
Banning of Suttee Afghanistan
location of the for sepoys & dispatch of
Mughal Family and Thugi, Intro of
Railways and hindu troops
& Doctrine of to fight
Lapse Telegraphs and Introduction
Christian abroad of Grease
Missionaries cartridges

The War of Independence was the first and last armed rebellion by the Indians against the British rule.
The war was given several names such as the Indian Mutiny/ The Indian Revolt of 1857 and the Sepoy
Mutiny of 1857.

There were many reasons responsible for the revolt. Some of the reasons were spread over a long
number of years. These reasons are classified as long term reasons.

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Long-Term Reasons:

POLITICAL REASONS:

 The princely states, which thus far had been loyal allies of the British, were
systematically stripped of their privileged domains, and their lands were annexed
under the pretext of “Doctrine of lapse”. This Law was introduced in 1852 & stated
that if a local ruler died and he did not have male legal heir then his lands and
possessions will be taken over by the british. The treaties between princely states and
the John Company were ignored especially if there was no natural “heir and
successor.” The long standing Hindu practice of adopting a son to succeed the throne,
if no natural male heir was available was outlawed with the stroke of a pen and old
treaties were torn apart. If the land belonging to princely states could not be acquired
by this means, other excuses were invented such as corruption of citizens and
incompetent administration by the princes etc. Another clever tactic that was also
followed when the pensioner’s titles and pensions awarded to princes and other land
owners as compensation for lands seized from them were also allowed to “lapse” and
not renewed. Dalhousie started his cunning annexations in the year 1852 and the
social reforms were shoved down the throats of Indians. Under this law states of
Satara, Nagpur, Jhansi & Oudh were annexed. This portrayed British as greedy
land grabbers.

 The Mughal family was re-located from the Red-fort in Dehli to nearby obscure
town of Qutub Sahib. This was considered as a sign of disrespect of the Royal family
and hurt the sentiments of the Indians.

 The replacement of Persian and Sanskrit by English as the official language in

1834 deeply upset both the Muslim and Hindus. This was because the Persian had
great cultural and religious significance for the Indians especially Muslims and same
was the case with Sanskrit.

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SOCIAL & RELEGIOUS REASONS:

 Local Sentiments and local practices were not kept in mind. Changes, even for the
better, can cause anxiety and opposition. Indians had to send their children to co-
educational schools which was hated since it appeared to impose the British system
on the Indians without due regard to their religious and cultural feelings. Earlier in the
century SUTEE (the practice of burning alive of the wife in the funeral procession of
her dead husband) and THUGEE (ritual murder by strangling and highway robbery in
the service of Mother Goddess Kali) had both been abolished by William Bentinck in
1829. The Muslim women were also forced to abandon PARDHA which had been an
Indian custom for centuries.

 Both Hindu and Muslim orthodoxy had always been viewed as barbaric, and social
reforms were passed as laws with little sensitivity towards ancient religious practices
of both Hindus and Muslims. It had also not gone unnoticed by the Hindus and
Muslims that a series of missionaries had appeared in India in the early part of
19th century. Conversions of Hindus were carried on without much objection, though
there was much discomfiture among the orthodox Hindus.

 The British considered their culture far more superior and Indians were
considered as an uncivilized race. The British treated them as an inferior race and
their attitude was insulting and degrading. Moreover, a large contingent of young
British men eagerly took positions in the company, solely for the purpose of teaching
“civilization” to the misdirected “heathen natives.” By mid century full blown
discrimination was practiced by giving preference in civil jobs and other monetary
rewards to those who converted to Christianity and adopted western culture.

 A number of social reforms had been imposed by the British without

consultation or care for local feeling which caused much unrest for example
railways and telegraphs. Dalhousie did not confine himself to social reforms. He had
visions of unifying the entire country through railroad. His goal was to connect the
major British residencies in Madras, Bombay and Calcutta by rail. Dalhousie
considered railways to be the greatest boon to India ever conferred by England. Two
other modes of communication were also considered equally important by Dalhousie
in modernizing India. Telegraph and postal services throughout India were both
started under his watch. First telegraph lines were laid in 1851. Dalhousie’s plan for
modernizing and unifying the country was indeed a selfish one. The railways had been
a huge success with the general population. Travel by train increased by leaps and
bounds. Soon a nationalistic movement would be born but the Dalhousie’s reforms
were not the sole cause for adding fuel to the fire that was burning among the Sepoys.
It was more because of the social reforms that had been enacted at rapid speed which
threatened the very core of the existence of orthodox Hindu and Muslim societies as

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they thought that these technologies will corrupt their religious beliefs and erase their
cultural norms and values.

ECONOMIC REASONS:

 British Introduced an Agricultural Policy in Which They Demanded the Documentary

Proofs of the Landholdings From The land Owners, if Failed To Produce Such
Evidence, Then Their Lands Would Be Confiscated By The British Government. In
India During The Mughal Period The Lands Were Transferred From Generation To
Generation Without Any Documentation. Thus Many Land Owners Lost Their Farming
Lands Under This Policy/Doctrine

 People hated paying land tax which was made compulsory by the British. The overall
high tax rate left Indians with no or very little money left for them. Many Indians
became poor and unemployed because the British filled the Indian market with cheap
British goods. The sepoys were also angry because of the low wages which they were
being paid.

MILITARY REASONS:

 The march into Afghanistan and Sindh created problems because Hindus
resented leaving their home land as they considered India as “Mother India” locally
known as “Maha Bharat” and Muslims were unhappy in fighting with fellow Muslims.
Also the Hindu soldiers were unhappy when British sent them abroad to fight their
wars. This was because the Hindus believed that crossing sea will make them loose
their caste and they will be classified as unscheduled caste.

SHORT-TERM REASON:

 The British introduced new Enfield rifles which required a specific cartridge. The
new cartridge introduced by the British was coated in both cow and pig fat. The
soldiers had to rip open the cartridge with their teeth before loading. This caused great
anger since pig fat was forbidden by the Muslims and the cow was a sacred animal in
the eyes of the Hindus. Some of the soldiers refused to use the new cartridge so they
were arrested and faced court martial(military court). They were punished through

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execution. This angered the sepoys. More of them refused to use the new cartridge
and they were also arrested and sentenced to death. But before the sentence could
be carried out, their fellow soldiers mutinied and killed their European officers. They
released their arrested colleagues and went on a rampage. This was the start of the
rebellion. The British soon lost control of Dehli, Kanpur, Jhansi, Lucknow, Amritsar
and Meerut. The sepoys were joined by local rulers such as Nana Sahib, Tatya Topee
and Lakshmibai (Rani of Jhansi)

Events/success of War of Independence:

INDIAN SUCCESSES: (BRITISH FAILURES)
Meerut was sacked and British officers and other Europeans were put to death. Then the
soldiers marched to Delhi and captured it. The mughal emperor bahadur shah ii became the
unifying symbol for uprising, winning support of the Muslims and Hindus. The war spread
quickly and the British lost control of Mathura, Kanpur, Jhansi, Allahabad as well as Delhi.
Lucknow was also taken by the rebel forces and the British rule cease to exist throughout the
region of upper province.

BRITISH SUCCESSES: (INDIAN FAILURES):

However, the British proved to be too powerful to be defeated by an uncoordinated uprising
across many 'areas. In September 1857, Delhi was regained. Bahadur shah surrendered
peacefully, but three of his sons. Mirza Mughal, Mirza Sultan And Mirza Abu Bakar Were
Brutally Murdered.

British forces regained the control over Lucknow in the same month. After the fall of Lucknow,
the main center of opposition was jhansi. Where the sepoys were led by Rani of Jhansi Assisted
by Tatya Topi, An Indian general of great ability. But in June 1858 British killed Rani Lakshmi Bai
in a battle. Although Tatya Topee managed to escape but later on he was arrested and
persecuted.

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Reasons for the failure of War of Independence:

 Lack of Unity:

 There was a lack of common cause amongst the Indian population. The aims of
the rebels were vague and confused. The rebels were unorganized and had no
coordination amongst them. They did not even have a general plan of action. The
Muslims mostly wanted to restore their old rulers and customs. Very few thought of a
united India and ruling itself. The majority of the Hindus were not happy to see the
Imperial power of the Mughals restored so they did not took part in the rebellion.
 There was also a lack of unity as different groups of people of various faiths and in
different regions did not set aside their differences and join together to resist the
British.
 Punjab & Sindh was uninterested in helping the rebellion. They believed that the
sepoys who were now rebelling were the same who had previously fought for the
British against them to annex their lands. Instead they actually sent men and
supplies to help the British. This also happened in Kashmir. The ruler of Kashmir
sent 2000 troops along with supplies for British help.
 No nationalist spirit; it was seen as Muslim rebellion to get the Mughals back to
throne, therefore Hindus and Sikhs were not keen to lend their support.

2) Lack of Leadership:
 No single leader came forward who could command respect and motivate people to join the
rebellion. There was no coordination between different areas of unrest and no overall plan of
action. Even though the sepoys made Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar the leader but he
was more of symbolic nature. He was more interested in art & literature and had no interest
in the rebellion.

3) Lack of Resources:
 The freedom fighters lacked, resources of all types, and the technical side of the rebel was
very weak as they were short of not only war equipment but food stuffs also. The rebels had
particularly no war material at their disposal. They fought with primitive weapons such as
swords and what they had managed to capture and when it exhausted, they could not
reinforce. The local merchants also became gradually unfriendly towards rebels in order to
finance the war, which created the shortage of food stuff. They often concealed their goods
and refused to give supplies to the rebel. With such depleting resources they had to face an
enemy, which was well equipped and well organized. The British had up to date weapons and
ammunition. As they had control over the sea, they were in the position to send men and

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material into India without difficulty, which resulted in their victory and the Indians fighting
with the primitive weapons were no match for the British with Enfield rifles.

4) British Strength:
 The British had more modern methods of fighting and the army was better disciplined and
equipped and as well as being supplied by some of the local rulers. They were technologically
advanced and Telegraph and railways helped them to sent reinforcements quickly. They were
also the one who had trained the sepoys so they were aware of their weakness, and without a
leader the sepoys were just a bunch of hooligans.

5) Betrayal by the Locals:

The British succeeded in finding certain traitors in the ranks of the freedom fighters. For example,
Maulvi Rajab Ali and Hakeem Ehsanullah blew off the Royal Ammunition Depot at Delhi. Thus the
revolutionaries suffered a great set back.

Consequences of War of Independence:

 After the War of Independence in 1857, the British government assumed sovereignty over
the lands of the British East India Company. The British control over the Sub-continent
grew in the next 50 years and ended in the British Raj. Queen Victoria's Indian realm
continued to expand, until Hunza, the remote kingdom bordering China, fell into British
hands in 1891, bringing the expansion to its peak.

 The British marked out the frontier separating British India from Afghanistan in 1893.
The resulting Durand Line cut straight through the tribal area of the Pathans. The British left
the tribal areas to govern themselves under the supervision of British political agents.
 The British thus became masters of India, where for nearly 800 years Muslims had ruled.
However, their attitude towards the Muslims was that of hatred. According to Hunter, a
prominent historian, "The Muslims of India are, and have been for many years, a source of
chronic danger to the British power in India".
 The British attributed the war of 1857 to the Muslims alone. As a result, property
belonging to Muslims was confiscated and they were denied employment opportunities
everywhere in the army, revenue department, and judiciary.

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 The British administrators deliberately followed a discriminatory policy against the

Muslims, even in filling minor jobs. Advertisements inviting applications for government
jobs specifically mentioned that Muslims would not be appointed. Hunter admits that the
exclusion of the Muslims was so complete that in the government offices of Calcutta they
could not accept a post higher than that of a porter, messenger, filler of inkpots and mender
of pens.
 By a series of revenue and financial measures, the British smashed the political and
social position of the Muslims. In the province of Bombay, the government appointed
"Inam Commission" to inquire into the land grants of the Muslim times. The Commission
took away 20,000 estates from the Muslims and thus ruined many families and institutions of
the community.
 The Company's commercial policy eliminated the Muslims from internal and foreign
trade. When the Europeans came to the Sub-continent, the Muslim merchants lost much of
their commerce with foreign countries. But they maintained their hold on internal trade and
their commercial activities extended to the Persian Gulf and the coastal territories of the
Arabian Sea. During the Company's rule, the Muslim traders were pushed out of this area as
well by the competition of the Company's traders who enjoyed many special concessions.
 The newly introduced English system of education had many drawbacks for the
Muslims, mainly because it made no provisions for religious education. The British also
withdrew funding from Muslim schools. Thus, within a few years of loss of political power,
the Muslims lost all avenues of employment, were expelled of their estates and deprived of
the benefits of education. A highly cultured community turned into a backward and poor
people. In their place British-educated Hindus began to occupy positions in governments
offices formerly held by the Muslims.

A Re-cap of the consequences:

 The British government now took on full responsibility for governing India. But relations
between Indians and British had worsened.
 Muslims were blamed for this so called mutiny as they were the most active
participants. This was because the British rule and expansion had a large impact on the
Muslims.
 Those who were found guilty of participation in the war, they were punished swiftly and
brutally by the British such as burning them alive and blowing them out of cannons or
sewing Muslims into pigskins.
 Muslims responded to these harsh punishments by simply refusing to cooperate with
the British.
 British withdrew funding from Muslims schools and Muslims were not given higher
positions in the Government or army.

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Muslim Reformers in the Eighteenth and

Nineteenth Century:
SHAH WALIULLAH:
Note: Each bullet point is based on the belief of Shah-Waliullah and corresponding with the work he
carried out against his belief.

 Muslims had deteriorated into being a helpless and disorganized group of people. Shah
Waliullah believed if they were to regain their power then strong leadership was required
and this was to arise from the community itself. He believed they were ignorant about
Islam and the teachings of the Holy Quran. Therefore an emphasis on Quranic
teachings would not only improve their knowledge but produce a feeling of unity. He
also believed that Muslims’ knowledge of Islam was difficult to gain as most of the
people did not understood Arabic and so he felt that by translating the Holy Quran
into Persian (which was the main language of the Muslims at that time) would
enable more people to read it. This action encouraged his son Shah Abdul Qadir to
translate the Quran into Urdu.

 SWU felt that the Muslims faced many problems because of their ignorance about
Islam and the Holy Quran and they were not implementing Islam in their daily life.
The reasons for economic, social and political decline for the muslims was due to
absence of Islam in their daily lives. For that purpose he wrote 51 books for ex: His
books such as Izlat-ul-Akhfa and Hujjatul-Baligha were designed to spread the
principles of Islam amongst the Muslims.

 SWU felt that a lack of unity was prevailing over the Muslims because of sectarian
differences (Sunni & Shia) so he tried to remove the differences by writing an
account of four caliphs which was acceptable to both Shia and Sunnis. He showed
them the way to remove sectarian differences.

 Shah Waliullah also outlined the path to Muslim prosperity by teaching them to refrain
from social evil and practice social and economic justice.

 He was the first Muslim reformer to realize and make people aware that the Mughal
Empire was in its decline and the revival would come from the global Muslim
community. For that purpose he wrote letters to various Muslims leaders and rulers and
inviting them to come and lead the Muslims of the sub-continent.

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 He also laid importance on Jihad by organizing opposition to Marathas and defeating

them. It was upon his invitation that Ahmed Shah Abdali defeated the Marathas in the
Third Battle of Panipat in 1761.

 Later on Madressah Rahimiya which was transformed into modern Islamic learning
center by Shah Waliullah serve as a training center to the later Muslim reformers
and acted as a platform to spread the teachings of Shah Waliullah. For example a
future reformer Syed Ahmed Shaheed Bareilvi was a student of Madressah Rahimiya.

SYED AHMED SHAHEED BAREILVI:

 Apart from Shah Waliullah, Syed Ahmed Shaheed also played an

important role in the revival of Islam.
 SSAB believed that Islam and Muslims were in decline as the Muslims
were not able to practice their religion openly as they were living
under non-muslim rule and were being oppressed and persecuted. He
declared India as Dar-ul-harb (those areas where muslim law is not in force).
He believed that Muslims could only practice Islam if they were living
under Muslim rule.
 SASB stated that in order to revive Islam in the sub-continenet, an
armed struggle (jihad) is necessary to free these areas from non-
muslim rule.
 Syed Ahmed Shaheed Barelvi started a great movement in the North
of India; this movement is known as "The Mujahideen Movement"
or "The Movement o Jihad”
 Syed Ahmed Shaheed Barelvi selected a particular way on the
command of his spiritual guide Shah Abdul Aziz and devoted himself in
the preparation of the holy war. He started a national movement for
this purpose in 1818 and organized this movement after his arrival
from Hajj as the Mujahideen Movement in 1831.Shah Ismail Shaheed
along with six thousand followers also joined Syed Ahmed in his Jihad
against evil forces.
 He toured Afghanistan and the areas occupied by the Sikhs raising the
banner of Jihad and rallying the Pashtun tribes to his banner.

 The First Battle Against The Sikhs Was Fought On December 21, 1826
Near Akora When Syed Ahmed And The Army Of Mujahedeen Made An
Attack On The Sikh Forces Stationed At Akora, Which Were Led By Budh

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Singh; A Cousin Of Ranjit Singh. Budh Singh Was Defeated And A Large
Number Of Sikhs Were Killed In Battle Of Akora.
 The Army Of Mujahidin Under Syed Ahmed Shaheed Fought The Second
Battle At Hazrothe In 1830.It Was Also Won By The Muslims, Who Then
Captured Peshawar And Hazrothe.
 These Victories Inspired A Number Of Pathan Tribes To Join Jihad
Movement And Finally The Number Of Mujahedeen Rose To 80,000.
 Syed Ahmed Shaheed Bareilvi Was Given The Status Of “Amir-Ul-
Momineen".

 His movement posed a serious threat to Ranjit Singh’s Sikh Kingdom

after it inflicted several defeats on Sikh troops as well as recapturing
Peshawar, Mardan and surrounding towns and villages.

 This movement arranged a power for the struggle of freedom in

Muslims which produced a spirit of survival and they started freedom
struggle.

The main objectives of the Mujahedeen Movement were following;

 To preach unity of Almighty Allah.

 To revive the teachings of Islam and prepare the Muslims to pass their lives simply
according to the teachings of Islam.
 To protect the Muslims against such acts and ideas which are contrary to Islamic values.
 To protect the Muslims from the worship of other things except Allah.
 To preach Jihad because it was not possible to get freedom from evil force without armed
struggle.

Syed Ahmed Shaheed Barelvi wanted to eliminate the domination of Sikhs in Punjab and
N.W.F.P to revive Islamic values and traditions. In the end due to the betrayal of Pashtun tribes
and conflicts among the Mujahideens the movement ended in a failure with the defeat of the
Mujahidin by the Sikhs in the historic battle of Balakot.

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THE REASONS OF THE FAILURE OF THE JIHAD MOVEMENT ARE AS FOLLOWS:

 SASB was a student of Sheikh Abdul Wahab when he lived in Saudi

Arabia. Sheikh Abdul Wahab was the founder of the Wahabi movement
which was a different sect. SASB had a slight different way of offering
prayers which caused conflict among the army as few of them termed
these differences as un-islamic.
 The army consisted of people belonging to different cultural and
linguistic backgrounds. They had different traditions and values which
again was a cause of conflict.
 The soldiers in SASB’s army were mainly farmers, scholars, artisans or
blacksmith. They had no proper military training and were of no match
against the trained army of Ranjit Singh.

Haji Shariat Ullah:

 Due to dominance of Hindu Landlords, hindu traditions and customs

were creeping into the lives of the muslims.
 Hence Haji Shariat Ullah sought to purify Islam that had become
corrupted by the Hindu influence in Bengal.
 He stated that muslims poor economic position and inferior treatment
by the Hindu landlords was due to absence of Islam from their daily
lives. Hence the Muslims were facing economic, social and political
decline.
 To solve these problems he encouraged the muslims to adopt and
practice the obligatory acts of worship (Faraiz) punctually.
 As a result Haji Shariatullah awakened the Muslims of Bengal by
initiating the Faraizi Movement.
 His Faraizi movement was initiated among the most depressed
section of the Muslim society; the farmers and the artisans.
 He called upon the people to discard un-Islamic practices and customs,
and to act upon the commandments of faith, the "Faraiz", or duties.
 He requested them to observe strictly the principles of faith and rules
of Shariah, and to refrain from Hindu practices.
 He was also the one to declare Sub-continent as Darul-Harb.
 This movement was mainly religious and social in character.

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 The growing popularity of the movement amongst the people of

Bengal alarmed the Hindu landlords who harassed Haji Shariatullah
who drove him out of Bengal and got him imprisoned. Later he died in
1830.
 His movement was carried on by his son Mohsin-uddin.

WHO WAS MOHSIN_UDDIN?

He was the son of Haji Shariat-ullah who gain popularity in Nawabganj district of
Dhaka and Faridpur District. He strived to work to improve the position of Muslims
in East Bengal and introduced important economic measures.

(i) He divided East Bengal into areas called circles, each under the control of
Khalifas. They were responsible for the social and spiritual welfare of the people in
their area.
(ii) He helped the peasants to oppose the excessive taxes imposed by the Hindu
and British landlords.
(iii) Mohsin-ud-Din's opposition to the payment of taxes led to unrest in East
Bengal, but he went even further and threatened to declare a jihad against the
British government.

Who was Titu Mir?

Syed Mir Nisar Ali commonly known as Titu Mir was a great Bengali freedom fighter and a peasant
leader who resisted the oppression of the local zamindars and European indigo planters on the
peasantry with ultimate object of liberating the country from British domination. He led the Muslim
religious reform movement Tariqah-i-Muhammadiya in Bengal. He was under the influence of Syed
Ahmed Shaheed Barielvi. He soon gained popularity and 5000 people became his followers and part of
his army. He also preached Jihad to counter the influence of Hindu landlords who were soon threatened
by his growing influence. He was also famous for building the bamboo fort but later on he was killed in a
battle with the British forces.

Compiled by: Danyal Malik

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Sir Syed Ahmed Khan:

Sir Syed Ahmed Khan was a judge by profession. He belonged to religious but educated muslim
family. Sir Syed was worried about the deteriorating positions of the muslims especially after
the War of Independence. Sir Syed outlined three areas where the Muslims were lacking
behind or were the causes of their poor social and economic position. Those three areas were:

 Hostile relations with the British

 Reluctance to adopt Western Education System
 Ignorance of the political structure of India.

Sir Syed worked for the improvement of all three areas.

IMPROVING RELATIONS WITH THE BRITISH:

Reasons for Hostile Relations:

 After the War of Independence of 1857, the relations between

Muslims & British worsened. Muslims were the one on whom the
main blame was put for the rebellion. As a result the British considered
them as untrustworthy and hostile community. The consequences that
Muslims were facing were such as withdrawn of funding from Muslim
schools, no jobs being given to them in army or govt. offices. (For
further details about the consequences go to page 18.)
 On the other hand Muslims were also against the British as
they were the one who had captured and annexed Muslim
lands. They treated British with suspicion. The Muslims considered
British as invaders (who will invade, loot wealth and then leave for
ex: Nadir Shah). The British was also considered as a threat to Islam.
 Sir Syed tried to remove these misunderstandings by
convincing both sides. Unlike other Muslim leaders of his time, Sir
Syed was of the view that Muslims should have friendship with the
British if they want to take their due rights. Plus the Hindus were
readily adapting to western education and lifestyle and as result were
enjoying good relations with the British.

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 To achieve this he did a lot to convince the British that Muslims

were not against them. On the other hand, he tried his best to
convince the Muslims that if they did not befriend the British, they
could not achieve their goals.

Efforts to Improve the Relations:

 Sir Syed wrote many books and journals to remove the

misunderstandings between Muslims and the British. The most
significant of his literary works were his pamphlets "Loyal
Muhammadans of India". In this book he gave examples of those
Muslims who have been loyal to the British and rendered them
services in the past.
 He also wrote a pamphlet titled as "Cause of Indian Revolt". In this
pamphlet he outlined the reasons for the rebellion and outlined that
the muslims are not the only one to be blamed for the rebellion. This
pamphlet was distributed amongst the members of British Parliament.
 He also wrote a commentary on the Bible Tabyin-ul-Kalam, in
which he attempted to prove that Islam is the closest religion to
Christianity and outlined the similarities between Islam and
Christianity.
 He also attempted to write a re-buttal to a wrong account of
biography of Holy prophet (s.a.w) written by a British so that that
he could correct he wrong image portrayed of the Holy Prophet
(s.a.w).
 He also removed the misunderstanding of the word “Nadarath”.
The British assumed that word Nadarath was used by the Muslims to
abuse them but SSAK clarified that Nadarath is a compliment and it
has been derived from the Arabic word “Nasir” which means
helper/friend.

DEVELOPMENT OF WESTERN EDUCATION SYSTEM:

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 In order to improve the position of the Muslims, Sir Syed tried to

develop the western education system.
 Sir Syed's greatest achievement was his Aligarh Movement, which
was primarily an educational venture.
 He established Gulshan School at Muradabad in 1859.
 He also established Victoria School at Ghazipur in 1863.
 Sir Syed also founded the SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY OF GHAZIPORE IN
1864. This society translated the scientific findings from English or
Arabic into Persian or Urdu. The society flourished and soon had its
own no. of printing press. Magazines, Journals and Gazettes were
published. One of the famous magazines was Tadhib-ul-Akhlaq. This
society later on travelled with him to Aligarh.
 When Sir Syed was posted at Aligarh in 1867, he started the
Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental (M.A.O) School in the city.
 Sir Syed got the opportunity to visit England in 1869-70. During his
stay, he studied the British educational system and appreciated it.
 On his return home he decided to make M. A. O. High School on the
pattern of British boarding schools. The School later became a college
in 1875. The status of University was given to the college after the
death of Sir Syed in 1920 and then it was known as the Aligarh
University. M. A. O. High School, College and University played a big
role in the awareness of the Muslims of South Asia.

What was the Aligarh Movement? [4]

Ans.) The Aligarh movement was the movement led by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan after the
1857 rebellion. It aims were to develop good will between the British and Muslims by
removing British doubts about Muslims loyalty and Muslim doubts about British
intentions, to improve the social and economic position of the Muslims by encouraging
them to receive Western Education and take up posts in civil service and army and also
to increase political awareness amongst Muslims that there was a threat to their position
from Hindu side. It’s most significant achievement was the establishment of
Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College at Aligarh, which later became Aligarh Muslim
University in 1920.

CREATING POLITCAL AWARENESS:

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 Sir Syed asked the Muslims of his time not to participate in politics
unless and until they got modern education.
 He was of the view that Muslims could not succeed in the field of
western politics without knowing the system.
 He was invited to attend the first session of the Indian National
Congress and to join the organization but he refused to accept the
offer.
 He also asked the Muslims to keep themselves away from the
Congress and predicted that the party would prove to be a pure
Hindu party in the times to come.
 In politics he believed that Muslims would never win any election
because of the Hindu majority population. He therefore advocated
separate seats and a separate electorate which was the
forerunner of the future demand for a separate homeland.
 By establishing the Muhammadan Educational Conference, he
provided Muslims with a platform on which he could discuss their
political problems.
 The onset of the Hindi-Urdu controversy of 1867 saw the
emergence of Sir Syed as a political leader of the Muslim community.
He became a leading Muslim voice opposing the adoption of Hindi as a
second official language.
 Sir Syed is known as the founder of Two-Nation Theory in the
modern era.
 Sir Syed Ahmed Khan did his best to make the Muslims realize their
differences with the Hindus with regard to religions, social and
language national and international identity and for this purpose he
diverted attention of the Indian Muslims towards a new idea of "Two
Nation" or "Two entities."After Hindi-Urdu controversy Sir Syed felt
that it was not possible for Hindus and Muslims to progress as a single
nation. He said:
" I am convinced now that Hindus and Muslims could never become
one nation as their religion and way of life was quite distinct from
each other."

Points to Consider while studying for CIE Examinations:

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Sir Syed’s:

 attempt to achieve a better understanding with the British

 Development of a western education system.
 Political beliefs

While studying Sir Syed Ahmed Khan. Students are advised to divide the topic into three
parts and study each part separately. Students are also required to compare all of the
three parts and able to distinguish the most important amongst the three.

URDU-HINDI CONTROVERSY:
With the fall of the Mughal Empire, Hindus, however, started looking at Urdu as the language of
the invaders. The British on the other hand, in their disregard for Muslims adopted the same
attitude. Thus both intentionally started their efforts in order to get rid of the language of the
Muslims. The first effort was made at the start of the nineteenth century when a new language
was formed with the name Hindi in which words of pure Arabic, Persian and Turkish were
removed and replaced by Sanskrit words. However, after the War of Independence 1857 when
the British Crown’s wrath fell upon the Muslims, the Hindus considered it to be a ripe moment
to get rid of Urdu and replace it with their own language – Hindi. The combined organized
effort started in the second half of the nineteenth century. In 1867 the Hindus of Banaras
presented a request to their government regarding the replacement of Urdu with Hindi and its
Persian script with that of Devnagri script. The circumstances became even more hard for the
Muslims and their language when Anthony MacDonnel became the governor of UP in 1900. He
was a pro-Hindu and thus anti-Muslim. So after becoming the governor he dismissed Urdu as
the official language of UP, which was in fact considered to be the home of Urdu language. He
issued orders and declared Hindi the official language of the province. The muslims responded
to this anti-muslim policy very strongly and kept protesting. The result of this Muslim response
Urdu too along with Hindi was declared the official language of the province in 1899.

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LANGUAGES OF PAKISTAN
Urdu:
Q) Why was Urdu chosen at the national language? [7m]

Urdu has long been considered the language of the Muslims of the
subcontinent and it has been in use even before the arrival of the Mughals
for more than 300 years. Urdu carries rich literary background mainly
because of poets such as Amir Khusrao, Ghalib and Allama Iqbal.

Urdu was the language which has been associated with the Pakistani
Movement throughout its struggle with the British. For example, the Urdu-
Hindi controversy was one of the reasons leading to Pakistan movement.
Urdu had so much important that one of the aims of the Muslim League was
to protect Urdu. Attack on Urdu was considered as an attack on Muslim
rights. In order to remind the Muslims of their cultural and political
significance, Urdu was chosen as the national language.

Another reason for Urdu being appointed as the official language was to use
it as a uniting force behind the nation and use it at all levels in the society as
Pakistan consisted of five different cultures with five different languages.
Hence, Urdu will also act to reduce the language barrier and help these
different cultures to interact with each other. In the light of the above
reasons, Urdu was chosen as the national language.

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How was Urdu promoted after 1947?

1. Urdu has been declared as the medium of instruction in many
educational institutions in Pakistan.
2. A dictionary of office terms in Urdu has been published and steps have
been taken to move away from English as the language of
administration.
3. Urdu is the medium for radio and television programs.
4. Urdu plays and films are very popular.
5. Urdu novels, poetry, magazines and newspapers are widely read. For
example, Daily Jang
6. Present day poets such as Faiz Ahmed Faiz and Parveen Shakir and
Manto have also worked for the promotion of Urdu.

SINDHI:
How was Sindhi promoted after 1947?

1. In 1948, the Sindhi literary board was setup and they had printed
many books and magazines in Sindhi.

2. Important Sindhi authors are Ghulam Allama, Fakir Nabi Bux and Pir
Ali Muhammad Rashdi. These authors have written several important
books on Sindhi Folk literature.

3. In 1954, Bazm-e-Talib-ul-Maulak was set up to promote Sindhi

literature.

4. Sarmast Academy has been establisted in the memory of Sachal

Sarmast.

5. A Sindhiology Department has been established at Sindh University

Jamshoro.

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PUNJABI:

How was Punjabi promoted after 1947?

1. Punjabi was the most spoken language in Pakistan.

2. Punjab has been the language of Sufi poets such as Bulleh Shah and
Baba Farid Ganjshakar.

3. Novels, short stories and dramas are published in Punjabi.

4. Many books on subjects such as law, medicine, history and philosophy

have been published in the language.

5. The Holy Quran has also been translated into Punjabi language.

6. Films and stage dramas are also produced in Punjabi.

7. Punjabi literature is now taught up to master level (post-graduation) at

the University of Punjab.

BALOCHI:

How was Balochi promoted after 1947?

1. Radio Pakistan in Karachi began broadcast in Balochi.

2. Modern Balochi literature has shown rapid progress. There are many
poets such as Atta Shah.

3. There are many other writers such as Gul Khan Nazir, are working to
promote Balochi language.

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4. The Balochi literary Association was set-up and they are now
responsible for publishing weekly and monthly magazines and
journals.

5. The Quetta television station broadcast in Balochi.

PUSHTO:

How was Pushto promoted since 1947?

1. Pushto language played a major role in opposing British and for

organizing the struggle for independence.

2. In order for the promotion of Pushto, Islamiyah College was

established in Peshawar and this college became the center of the
independence movement.

3. After independence, Peshawar University was established where the

mode of teaching was Pushto.

4. In 1954, an academy for promotion of Pushto literature was set up and

under this academy, first Pushto dictionary was established.

5. In various universities in KPK, classes in Puhsto literature at post-

graduate level have been introduced.

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