‘THE MIGHTY MUGHAL EMPIRE’

WHAT HAPPENED TO INDIA IN EARLY 16TH CENTURY?

India was invaded by the Mughals in early 16th century. They established a huge Muslim empire. Their
rule lasted for more than 3oo years.

WHO WERE THE MUGHALS?

India was initially invaded by a ruling family from Central Asia. Zahir-ud-din Muhammad or Babur was the
first mughal emperor from Turkestan. He had been ruling in Turkestan from the age of 12 after his father
died. This shows that he had the ruling powers since childhood. He was a descendent of a very famous
family, whose part was Genghis khan (Descendent from his mother) and Taimur (Descendent from his
father). The dynasty he founded, in South Asia, was called ‘the house of taimur’ but the name ‘Mughal’
gained much recognition.

BATTLE OF PANIPAT, CONQUEST OF NORTHERN INDIA:

Babur was much keen to expand his territory he controlled, and he cooperated with some discontented
groups to help them in driving Ibrahim lodhi out of the throne. In 1526, he marched from his base in Kabul
through Punjab and met Ibrahim at Panipat. Ibrahim Lodhis army outnumbered that of Babur’s. Despite of
all this, through the use of firearms and artillery, Babur won. 20,000 of Ibrahim Lodhis men were killed
and his head was brought to Babur’s court.

Soon Babur fought more battles and proved to be an unchallenged ruler of India. He believed in the
expansion policy and along with that the organizing of new lands, unlike other rulers who gathered wealth
and then went back to their lands.

MEASURES TAKEN BY BABUR:

1. Babur was a Muslim and the territories he conquered were hindu. He believed in Jihad and then
after winning over the new lands, he treated his subjects with respect and did not treat them
badly.
2. He divided his empire into feudal estates and had men appointed to look after the new lands and
collect taxes as well.

BABUR’S END (1530)

Babur only ruled for 4 years and when he died, he was 48 years old. When Humayun, son of Babur, was
terribly ill, Babur prayed that his life be taken away instead of Humayun’s.

HUMAYUN:

 The Mughal Empire depended on strong leadership but Humayun was not a strong leader.
 Humayun’s younger brother, kamran, continuously proved to be a bitter enemy of Humayun.
 Afghan chiefs challenged him, Sher Shah Suri defeated him in the battle and formed his Suri
empire.

He spent 15 years getting the territories back and in 1545, Sher Shah Suri was killed. In 1549, he had
kamran blinded and sent to Mecca. In 1555, he had managed to regain all his territories.

MEASURES TAKEN BY HUMAYUN:

 He was a persistent leader who, although took time, but regained his territories.
  He was a skilled administrator.
 He supported research and religion.
 He laid down rules for agriculture, including irrigation.
 He showed too much mercy on the battlefield.
 He led a luxurious and an extravagant life.

HUMAYUN’S END:

He, with his arms full of book, tripped on his own robes on the steps of the library and fell to his death.

AKBAR:

He was only 13 years old when he took the throne. He was illiterate, but much intelligent. He had great
military strength. In 1556, he defeated Hemu, a Hindu leader who had seized Delhi. In 1557, he defeated
the rebel Muslim army led by Afghans and Uzbeks. In 1567, he began a series of campaigns against
rebellious Hindu chiefs. By 1580, he had added Gujarat and Bengal to his empire. In 1589, He captured
Kashmir. Sindh was captured in 1591. In 1595, he added Kandahar and Deccan to the Mughal Empire.

He heard that adham khan, his brother, had killed one of his ministers, he had him thrown from palace
walls.

AKBAR’S RELIGIOUS REFORMS:

He was a religious man but his religious measures were much controversial. Though he was an orthodox
Muslim but he was much influenced by Sufi beliefs.

He had a religious room or a prayer room where discussions and debates were held every Friday. He
called scholars of different faith but the Muslim clergy complained that they put comments that
contradicted with their religion.

He thought that only he could finally interpret and put on a decision, when the Muslim clergy would fail.
This was in his ‘Infallibility decree’ issued in 1579.

In 1581, there was a serious rebellion amongst the clergy because of the issue of ‘infallibility decree’ that
literally means a law that never fails. Then he formed, Din-e-Ellahi, a new religion that had both Islam and
Hinduism. His empire had a large number of Hindus so he wanted to keep peace by introducing this
religion. He gave much liberty to Hindus.

In the last years, Akbar began to get back to the real religion as din-e-ellahi was fading away. Akbar was
the head of the new faith. He had banned killing of cows and selling slaves and also suttee( widow
burning). The tax on non-Muslims, jizya, was abolished and also the tax on hindu pilgrimages.

AKBAR’S ADMINISTRATIVE REFORMS:

This was a great set of administration and it proved to be long lasting even after his death.

Akbar introduced a new system of army officials, called mansabdars, who were responsible for civil and
military administration. They were appointed by Akbar and they were directly responsible to him. They
were not local landowners. To stop getting one mansabhdar to be too rich, Akbar often transferred them
to other jobs.

After the Mansabhdar died, all his wealth and property would go to Akbar.

There were many taxes on lands. Farmers paid 30% of their profits, but taxes were reduced depending
on the yield from the harvest.
Due to this strong economy, Mughal emperor, Akbar, was able to invest all this in buildings and towns
and craftsmen etc.

AKBAR’S END:

He died at the age of 65. By his 50 years of rule, the Empire was much strong. Akbar died in 1605.

JEHANGIR:

He was the oldest son of Akbar. In 1600, he had tried to overthrow his father but failed and was forgiven.
Akbar chose him to be the successor.

In 1606, Jehangir’s son, Khusrau, rebelled. He was captured and brought to court in chains. He was then
put in jail. In 1607, another rebellion broke out in which Khusrau was involved. He was blinded then and
later he died.

In 1622, another of his son, Khurram rebelled. Jehangir sent Mahabar khan to deal with Khurram.
Khurram was defeated but Mahabar khan too rebelled against the emperor. Khurram was then persuaded
to return to his native lands and then he promised to remain loyal to his father.

MEASURES TAKEN BY JEHANGIR:

He banned the manufacture of drugs and wine and he maintained the buildings. He is famour for his
golden chain of justice. Anyone who wanted justice could come to Jehangir for help and discussion on
personal matters.

He had gotten back the control of Bengal and Deccan. In 1615, Jehangir signed a commercial treaty with
British. He died in 1627. He was the husband of Nur jehan.

SHAH JEHAN:

Khurram succeeded his father. Nur jehan wanted her son-in-law Shehriyar to be the emperor but Khurram
easily defeated him and name himself as ‘Shah Jehan’. In 1631, he faced a challenge by Khan Jahan
Lodhi, governor of the Deccan region who had tried to persuade the local chiefs to support him against
the emperor. Fortunately to Shah Jehan, the chiefs remained loyal and killed Khan Jahan.

At the time of Shah Jehan, there was a serious famine in Gujarat and Deccan provinces. It is said that
people survived through cannibalism. Emperor spent his large sums of money for his people to provide
free food and this saved many lives.

Like other Mughal Emperors, Shah Jehan was a builder of great monuments. Mughals appreciated
beauty and fine architecture. For Example, Shah Jehan built Taj mehal in Agra for his famous wife,
mumtaz mahal.

The Persians had been living in this region and they were starting to establish themselves. Shah Jehan’s
son Aurengzeb, in 1649, led a force of over 150,000 men into Central Asia, but 3 years later they had to
come back. In 1652, Aurengzeb led another expedition, but it was again unsuccessful. In 1653, Shah
Jehan’s eldest son, Dara Shikoh, was sent and he had promised that he would defeat the Persians in a
week, but he too failed.

Persians were not defeated but Mughal economy had faced a serious setback. Shah Jehan spent large
sums of money on these expedition but all of no use, as they neither drove Persians away nor proved
their might in the region.

When Muslim girls were forcibly converted to Christianity by Portuguese in Bengal, he sent a force in
1631. Portuguese were easily defeated.
In 1644, another of his son led an expedition to take control of the Uzbek city of Balkh but soon he was
replaced by Aurengzeb as he did not have any urge for fighting. Aurengzeb realized that the task was too
great so he called his forces back.

In 1657, Shah Jehan fell seriously ill. He had four sons who were all capable of ruling. Shah Shuja and
Murad has started imprinting their names on the coins declaring themselves as the new emperor. Dara
Shikoh, the eldest son, was supposed to be the emperor. In 1658, Murad and Aurengzeb joined forces
and defeated Dara Shikoh’s army. Soon Shah Jehan recovered but he was made a prisoner by
Aurengzeb who by then had totally defeated Dara Shikoh and then he became the emperor. Shah Jehan
was kept in Agra until his death in 1666, where he was buried in Taj Mahal.

Murad was imprisoned and later executed. Shah Shuja had tried to raise an army but was soon killed.
Dara Shikoh created many troubles for the new emperor and then he was executed in 1659.

AURENGZEB:

Much of the time was spent on expeditions.

There was a war against the Rajputs from 1679-81 and rebellions by the Sikhs and the Satnamis in
Mewar and Jats in Gokal.

He had to face Pathan tribes in North West Frontier.

The most costly was the campaign against Maratha tribe in the Deccan. The Maratha leader, Shiva, was
originally defeated in 1665 and was brought as a prisoner in Agra. However, he escaped and was soon
brought back to Deccan. He had been fighting with Mughals for 25 years and almost had emptied their
treasury.

By the time he died, the empire was as so large extending from Kashmir to Karnatak and Gazni to
Chittagong.

AURENGZEB REFORMS:

He was intolerant and disliked other religions. He re-introduced the tax on non-Muslims, the jizya.

He destroyed many of the Hindu temples. He had put a ban on suttee. He also forced people to live
according to the laws laid by Quran.

His reforms included, banning of consumption of alcohol, stopping of singing and dancing at court and
determination of the maximum length of the beard. He had built Pearl Mosque at Delhi, which was built
for his private prayers. He was much of an unpopular ruler. He was 89 when he died. The start of the
decline of the Empire was seen, during Aurengzeb’s time.

AFTER AURENGZEB’S DEATH IN 1707:

Aurengzeb had divided his empire between his 3 sons to prevent infighting among them. Finally Prince
Mauazzum established himself as the Emperor. Then he survived for only a few years and then his 4
sons started fighting among each other. Jahandar Shah who won was later murdered. After Aurengzeb’s
death in 1707, there were 12 different people who claimed themselves as emperor.

In 1719, Muhammad Shah became the emperor. He ruled for 30 years. He faced much opposition.

INVASIONS:

In 1738, the Persian leader, Nadir Shah, invaded the Mughal Empire. He defeated Muhammad Shah
forces at Karnal in 1739. Thereafter, he captured Delhi and other territories.
Nadir Shah had not come to rule but he had taken all the booty that was left, from golds and jewels to the
Peacock throne.

In 1747, an Afghan general called Ahmed Shah Durani attacked Kabul, Peshawar and Lahore. By 1749,
he had gained control of Punjab and by 1756; he added Kashmir and Multan to his possessions.

THE END OF THE EMPIRE:

By 1748, the Decline was too clear. Marathas had taken control of much of the Southern India. Ahmed
Shah Durrani had helped ‘Muhammad Shah’s son Ahmed shah’ to get the throne. Ahmed shah was
imprisoned by his own court and thereafter he lived in captivity. His successor, Alamgir II, was
assassinated on the orders of his chief minister and then Shah Alam II remained in Bihar and he chose
not to return to Delhi and then in 1764, he suffered defeat at the hands of the British at the Battle of
Buxar. Later British took control of Bihar, Bengal and Orissa. In 1803, they had also captured Delhi and
they placed the emperor under ‘British Protection’. Other two emperors ruled in the name only. This
included, Shah Alam II’s son, Akbar II who only ruled parts of Delhi. His son, Bahadur Shah II was
expelled due to his part in the 1857 war of independence and later he died in exile in Rangoon.

Reasons for the decline of the Mughal Empire:

I. Administration:

The Mughal Empire being a very huge empire was difficult to control. Communication within the empire
was very difficult and sending messages took so much time. Aurengzeb had the system of Mansabhdars.

II. Military costs:

Within the Empire, there was an array of different peoples and different religions. Many rebellions broke
out in the era of Mughals, and the cost of putting them down was too much for example, Nadir Shah from
Persia etc.

III. Succession Disputes:

There was always a succession dispute when Emperors died. When Shah jehan died, there was a chaos
in between the family, among his four sons. Though Aurengzeb had already decided to divide his empire
between his 3 sons, it did not prove to be much efficient and the infighting among the successors led to
the total decline.

IV. Declining Military expertise:

Mughals thought that their empire would continue like this. They did not invest in their military and soon
after too many rebellions; the fighting force had become ineffective. It no longer was able to confront the
coming revolts. For example, Shivaji’s rebellion in the Deccan.

V. Pleasure Seeking:

Mughals after they had accumulated much of wealth became luxurious and pleasure loving. They lived
extravagant lifestyle. They did not spend life according to the Islamic laws and teachings. Nobles wore the
finest clothes, jewelry and ate the finest food. Many expensive buildings and monuments were a symbol
of extravagance. Matters were often left to the ministers who did not put their attention and instead
became corrupt like the emperors.

VI. Weak control:

As the wealth and the influence of the courtiers grew, the emperors found it difficult to deal with them
along with the rebellions and revolts. For example, Alamgir II was assassinated by powerful courtiers.
There was a weak control from the centre and the mansabdari system was not properly supervised and
soon it became ineffective. The revenue from the tax collection declined as people started uprisings
against the emperor and did not give the tax.

VII. Arrival of the British:

Mughal Empire was in a rapid decline by the end of the 18 th century but the arrival of the British put into a
final decline. During Jehangir, EIC had tried entering but was not allowed. Later, this privately owned
company had a different purpose other than trading. Behind it was the world’s strongest and most
powerful country, Britain (England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland), who had directly taken control of this
company later on.

‘ENTER THE BRITISH’

BRITISH ARRIVAL BACKGROUND:

Europeans had their eyes fixed on India’s wealth. In 1510, Portuguese had established a base in Goa. In
1600, the English Queen Elizabeth I, granted permission to a group of merchants to set up the East India
Company. British government assured that the EIC was operating in an acceptable manner.

EIC was given the monopoly in trade between Britain and areas east of Africa. This meant that no other
company could trade in that area. The merchants, on the other hand, were interested in spice trade in the
East Indies (Modern- Indonesia) but the Dutch had already won control of the spice trade and they were
much powerful to not let British enter the area for trading purposes.

As an alternative, EIC turned to India. They had first landed in Surat in 1608 but Jehangir had not
allowed. Then in 1612, Governor of Gujarat, Khurram had allowed them to trade with India.

EIC INFLUENCE:

At first EIC had only few bases on Indian coast, but in 1664, they established their headquarters in
Bombay. In 1690, a trading post was established in Calcutta. EIC purchased spices, silks and cotton from
the Indians and this was so profitable that soon they formed their own private army to protect the trading
posts.

Soon the company established its three bases ‘Calcutta, Madras and Bengal’ and soon they became
known as ‘presidencies’ which later became the major provinces of British India.

British not only benefited themselves but also the Mughals by importing Indian goods and exporting none.
Later, they decided to get into a competition with the Emperor. In 1686, they even confronted a war with
Aurengzeb but later were forgiven after they had apologized fir their ill crimes. The company was forced
to pay a heavy fine.

EIC was much more successful in wars against the other European nations who wanted to opportunity to
get the share in the Indian trade. During the 17 th Century, both the Portuguese and Dutch were defeated
but the real problem came from the French. They had also set up their trading company in 1664. They
came into a conflict with EIC. Due to the great military skills of British General Robert Clive, EIC was able
to take control of much parts of India and had also defeated French.

BATTLE OF PLASSEY: (1757)

In 1756, the French encouraged the Nawab of Bengal, Siraj-ud-daulah, to attack the EIC base at
Calcutta. He captured the city but could not control it. In 1757, Clive arrived with a force of EIC soldiers
and defeated Siraj-ud-Daulah’s troops in this battle of Plassey. The Nawab’s body was found in a river
after the battle.
Clive’s victory had been made easy by the treachery of Siraj-ud-daulah’s general, Mir jafar. EIC had given
him rewards like making him the Nawab of Bengal while Robert Clive was made the Governor of Bengal.
Bengal, one of the richest provinces, fell under the British. Their influence was now growing. Mir Jafar
gave gifts and money to EIC officials making them very rich.

Robert Clive was not found guilty of the charge of plundering India but due to the disgrace brought up by
his addiction to opium, he committed suicide.

BATTLE OF BUXAR: (1764)

In 1764, Mir Jafar’s son, Mir Qasim joined forces with Nawab of Oudh and the Mughal emperor, Shah
Alam II to drive the EIC out of Bengal. They were unsuccessful and after the battle of Buxar in 1764,
British Influence grew. Bengal, Orissa, Bihar and Oudh had gotten under the British influence.

In 1751, Battle was fought at Arcot and in 1761, in Pondicherry.

BENGAL EXPLOITED?

EIC’s main purpose was to gain as much profit as they could but soon they deviated from their purpose
and started to receive gifts from the Nawabs and local people and their greed grew. They made huge
profits while the local people suffered and the famine took place.

BRITISH GOVERNMENT ANGRINESS AND THEIR INTERVENTION:

Due to this misgovernment, British government got furious and was forced to take action against this. In
1773, British government passed ‘An act of Parliament’ which required EIC to provide good government
to stop this disorder. In 1784, British government passed ‘The India Act’ and took direct control of Indian
possessions. It appointed a ‘Governor General’ to control these three presidencies. There would also be
provincial governors and a commander-in-chief of the armed forces. EIC continued to trade but it had lost
most of its administrative powers. Professional civil service was also introduced but local people were not
given jobs and a legal system was set up.

MEASURES TAKEN BY BRITISH:

In 1782, the first Governor General of India, Warren Hastings, signed a treaty ending the First Maratha
war with the British.

Tipu was the Sultan of Mysore and he was the bitterest enemy of the British. British thought that he was
receving the help from France and France had undergone a revolution recently so they feared they might
influence the people in their colonies too. Tipu was a fanatic person; he was determined to resist the
British advance. He had a large army. He had 50 cannons, 100,000 cannon balls and 10 muskets with
rockets and handguns. His army was so strong. He had defeated British in several battles. British soon
realized of his power so they started projecting him as a monster and as a cruel person who disliked other
religions to extremes. In 1799, Governor General Wellesley, invaded Mysore and killed Tipu. His lands
were then taken. Nawabs of Oudh were defeated later on.

In 1803, British entered Delhi and forced Mughal emperor ‘Shah Alam’ to accept that he was ruling under
‘British Protection’.

In 1818, The Marathas were defeated by British forces.

ANNEXATION OF SINDH: 1843

Soon British started getting concerned about the Russian expansion. British made sure that Afghanistan
did not fall under Russians. British agreed with Sikh ruler of Punjab, ‘Ranjit Singh’ that Afghanistan
should remain independent. Ranjit Singh did not support them and so british had to do it by themselves. A
rebellion took place in 1841, and all British troops were killed there. British took it as a ‘loss of their pride’
so they turned to Sindh. It was ruled by Amirs who had signed a treaty of friendship with the British in
1809. British were afraid of the Sikh expansion in the Sindh area so they decided to annex Sindh. Sir
Charles Napier provoked the Amirs so much so that they attacked the British residency and soon, the
Amirs were defeated and Sindh was annexed.

ANNEXATION OF PUNJAB AND NW FRONTIER: 1849

Ranjit Singh had signed a treaty of ‘perpetual friendship’ with the British in 1809 but after his death in
1839, there was a succession problem in Punjab. The army attacked British possessions near River
Sutlej and provoked the British to control Punjab. In 1846, after the First Anglo-Sikh war, Sikhs paid a
huge debt and Maharaja Gulab singh was sold Kashmir for 7.5 Million rupees under the Treaty of
Amritsar as he was an ally to the British. Then in 1849, both Punjab and NW Frontier fell under British
control.

THE EXTENSION OF BRITISH RULE:

British forced the Amirs to sign treaties with EIC. These treaties only allowed rulers to stay on their throne
but they did not have any external power. All the external affairs were diplomatically handled by the
British.

DOCTRINE OF LAPSE: 1852

In 1852, Governor General Dalhousie extended British control even further by applying the Doctrine of
Lapse. It stated that when a ruler died without a Natural heir, the British would annex his lands. This is
how Satara, Nagpur and Jhansi fell under British. This was an unpopular policy and it caused much
resentment among British colonies. It was used just as an excuse to take the land. Oudh was also taken
by using this Doctrine of lapse in 1856.

WHY WERE THE BRITISH ABLE TO CONQUER INDIA?

1. Weakness of India:
The decline of Mughal Empire was already evident when British started to expand their influence
in India. Indians were not united. People in India often fought among themselves and this led to
resentment in India. Rulers had not perceived about British being their future invaders. Many
rulers were wealthy feudal lords and they neglected their duties as a ruler and did not put
attention in reforming their states.
2. Strength of the British:
Due to the Industrial revolution, Britain was much more advanced than India was. It had superior
weapons, means of communication and had much confidence because of the technology benefits
they had. British considered India far inferior than them. Through India, they could gain the fame
overall and would get powerful and would make huge profits. They thought that no one, than
them, could possibly be powerful.

BRITISH RULE:

Due to the warfare in India, there was a disturbance in the law and order. There was a frequent famine.
Warfare had destroyed many of the great monuments of the past and was also a problem to the trade and
agriculture. Some areas of India, like Bengal, had much wealth but it was all taken by British and was not
shared with the actual owners that were the Indians.

Many governor Generals came to improve the situation. In 1833, British govt. tried to give Indians a part
in running their country.

Charter act of 1833 said that Indians could be a part of the ‘civil service administering India. The Indian
Civil service employed about 1000 administrators. These exams were taken in England so in reality, India
was being governed by able British officials. Salaries paid to the officials were too much and much of
Indian wealth was being drained off. British tried their best not to interfere in religious and cultural matters
of the Indians but they had banned suttee in 1829.

People who wanted to succeed in India had to be ‘Anglicized’. In 1834, English replaced Persian as the
official language of administration. In 1835, English was also chosen in education.

As British tried to introduce more reforms, opposition grew. Many Indians thought British as ‘conquering
westerners’ who forcibly were imposing their culture. Indians did not like Christian missionaries and often
disregarded new technological improvements in India. This all opposition soon led to the war of
independence of 1857.

‘RELIGIOUS REFORMERS’
SHAH WALI ULLAH (1703-1762):

Early Life:

 He was born on 21 February 1703.

 He was born during the reign of Aurengzeb Alamgir
 His real name was Qutub-ud-din but later he became known as ‘Shah Wali Ullah’ due to his piety.
 His father was ‘Shah Abdul Rahim’ who founded the ‘Mudarassa Rahimiya’ in Delhi.
 His father died in 1718, his son began teaching at the Madarassa.
 In 1724, Shah Wali Ullah went to Arabia to perform Hajj and to further his studies.
 He studied under ‘Sheikh Abu Tahir bin Ibrahim’ and he returned to Delhi in 1732.

Beliefs:

 Shah Wali Ullah was observing everything that Mughal Empire was going through. During his
time, the decline had started. He observed that the Muslims were disunited and could not protect
their religion. He also observed that with the weak leadership that Mughals possessed, no single
reform could come.
 He believed that the root of the problems that Muslims were facing was because of their
incomplete knowledge of Quran and about Islam.
 He also felt denominationalism in the Muslim community. Muslims were divided in Sunni and
Shias. He wanted a united Muslim community and he told Muslims that one should spend their
lives according to the basic Islamic principles put aside the differences.
 He believed that un-Islamic laws, in politics and economics, were not acceptable in daily lives.

Efforts:

 He formed a position as a role model among the Muslims. He was a great Islamic scholar and
had great knowledge of Quran, Hadith, Fiqah and Tasawuf.
 He translated Quran into Persian as that time people could not understand Quran as it was in
Arabic and few people knew Arabic. Now more people could understand Quran. Many ulema
criticized him but he became popular. His two sons, Shah Abdul Qadeer and Shah Rafi translated
Holy Quran into Urdu.
 Shah Wali Ullah wrote 51 books in Persian and Arabic. Most famous was ‘Hujjatullah-ul-Baligha’
and ‘Izalat-Akhfa’.
 He wrote an account on first four Caliphs of Islam which did not contradict with any of Sunni or
Shia beliefs as he disliked disintegration between the Muslims.
 In economics, he emphasized the need for social justice for peasants and craftsmen.
 From the South, the Marathas were creating problems for the Mughal Empire. He realized that
Muslims had to be united for this opposition and for the Sikhs who were coming from the North.
Shah Wali Ullah wrote to all Muslim nobles calling on them to join together to save the Mughal
 Empire. Ahmed Shah Abdali of Persia then came because of Shah Wali Ullah’s efforts. He joined
forces with local Muslim leaders and defeated the Marathas at the Battle of Panipat in 1761.

Importance:

 He was one of the first Muslim thinkers to state that the decline of Mughal Empire was due to the
negligence of the principles of Islam. He believed that there had to be a spiritual and moral
regeneration in order to stop Mughal empire from this decline.
 Mudarsa-e-Rahimya continued to play its important role in teaching Islamic principles.
 His writing in Persian made many Muslims aware of the Islamic teachings. He told Muslims to
spend their lives according to Islam and not indulge in social evils as they bring displeasure of
God.
 He knew that the sectarian division was the major problem. Muslims had to concentrate of Islamic
fundamentals rather than pointing out the differences. He tried to unite the Muslim community. He
emphasized on doing Jihad by uniting Muslims against Marathas.
 His writings were then translated in many languages and the Mudarasa e Rahimya continued to
flourish long after.

SYED AHMAD SHAHEED BARAILVI (1786-1831):

Early life:

 He was born near Lucknow in the small town of Rai Bareli in 1786.
 His became fatherless soon and in 1806, he moved to Delhi and entered Madarassa Rahimiya.
 For two years, he studied under the sons of Shah Wali Ullah learning the Quran and Hadith.
 Syed Ahmad was a man of action and in 1810; he joined forces of Amir Khan, a Pathan military
leader. This was the time when Syed Ahmad learnt to use European military hardware.
 He was even chosen as a leader of one of the group of soldiers.
 He was also chosen to lead the prayers for the soldiers in prayers.
 In 1817, Syed Ahmed returned to Delhi.

Beliefs:

 He was the man of action who was perfectly fit to be chosen as a reformer who could give
Muslims the liberty under Muslim fellows to stand against the British. He believed that only a
successful military campaign could bring freedom of Muslims.
 Syed Ahmad’s motto of life was to live the life with chastity and purity and negligence of worldly
wealth had to be there. He believed in cleaning the Muslims from evils that surrounded them. He
often had had assembled people around him in the army whose mission was to reform Muslims
socio-religious mode of life.
 British wanted to give little power to the Mughal emperors and much power was given to the
Sikhs. Syed ahmad founded the Jihad movement, an armed struggle, against non-Muslim tyranny
and oppression. He thought it could unite Muslims and could given their freedom.

Efforts:

 In 1821, Syed Ahmad went for Hajj. Before going, he travelled across India and held meetings in
order to spread his beliefs about Jihad, when he came back; he was ready to take action.
 Punjab was under the control of Sikh rule. Ranjit Singh had expanded his territory till North West
Frontier. Muslims suffered under Sikh rule as they could not follow to the principles led by Islam
openly. Ranjit Singh had banned the call to prayer. To Syed Ahmad, it was intolerable. He chose
Punjab as the place from where Jihad had to be started. Syed ahmad toured Punjab and North
West Frontier and gathered a ‘mujahdeen force’. He travelled through Rajasthan, Sindh, and
Baluchistan and into the Afghanistan. Afghan troops did not willingly participate in the jihad
movement.
  In 1826, He established his Headquarters near Peshawar. He sent a message to Ranjit Singh
that he should give Muslims their liberty or face the Mujahideen. Ranjit Singh refused the first
alternative and Syed Ahmad was forced to attack at Okara on 21 December 1826, and shorty
after, at Hazrothe, Sikhs suffered the defeat.
 Soon people started joining him and the army reached over 80,000. Syed Ahmad army did not
fully cooperate with each other due to opinion differences.
 Ranjit Singh made the matter worse by calling his army un-Islamic. In 1827, the Muslim leaders
agreed unanimously that Syed Ahmed should take the place as an Imam. Due to this, Few
Muslim Groups in the army united.
 Syed Ahmad was preparing to attack the Fort of Attock when he confronted an army of 35,000
Sikhs near Okara. Yar Muhammad khan, a Pathan chief and a part of his army, had been bribed
by Sikhs and he was ready to stand up against Syed Ahmed.
 One of his servants had tried to poision him but somehow he survived. Yar Muhammad Khan
then deserted the battlefield with his men and left Syed Ahmed’s army in utter confusion. This led
to the defeat of Syed Ahmed. Syed Ahmed then moved his forces to the safety of Panjtar near
Kashmir.
 Yar Muhammad Khan was later killed but his brother, Sultan Muhammad waged a war against
Syed Ahmed. Syed ahmed wanted peace among Muslims so he moved his forces to Balakot to
liberate Kashmir and Hazara. Balakot was thought to be a safe place as it was surrounded by
mountains on three sides. Soon, local leaders told Sikhs the secret way to Balakot and they
launched a surprise attack on Syed Ahmad’s army. This was the battle of Balakot (1831). 600
Mujhadeen were killed, including Syed Ahmed and his commander, Shah Ismael.

Importance:

The defeat of Mujahidin in the Battle of Balakot, was a serious setback for the Jihad movement. The
Movement continued on in the hills of North West Frontier until 1863. British then sent a large army to
deal with the Mujahdeen. His work is very important,

 It was the first example in Indian history of a movement formed to free Muslims from the tyranny
of Non-Muslims.
 This movement wanted spiritual and religious freedom and it did not have any other objective
than this.
 The Jihad movement was a uniting force for Muslims. Many of Syed Ahmed’s soldiers were a
perfect role model for others because of their will for freedom of Muslims.
 This was the fore-runner of the Pakitan movement in India. Syed Ahmed also wanted a state that
was based on the principles of Islam.

HAJI SHARIAT ULLAH (1781-1840):

Early life:

 He was born in 1781 in Faridpur district in East Bengal.

 His father was a farmer and his family was not well-off.
 In 1799, he travelled to Arabia on pilgrimage and stayed there for the next 19 years.
 He was influenced by Sheikh Muhammad Abdul Wahab.
 On his return to East Bengal, he started his own reform movement designed to purify Islam of the
Hindu influences.
 He died in 1840 but his work was carried by his son, Mohsin-ud-Din.

Beliefs:

 Haji Shariat Ullah thought the India to be a Dar-ul-Harb, means an area under non-Muslims
influence. Haji Shariat Ullah said that in such areas, Friday and Eid prayers should not be offered.
  He also believed that Muslim community had moved away from true Islamic practice. He wanted
the Muslim community to observe the Islamic duties called Faraiz. This is why his movement was
called the Faraizi movement.
 The Faraizi movement supported the idea of Jihad against non-Muslims who were discouraging
the true principles of Islam.

Efforts:

 He found that Muslims of East Bengal had been oppressed both by Hindus and British. Muslims
had been given few opputnites in Education and Emplyement. He also saw that most of the
Muslim families had suffered greatly under the British and now the prestige that once Muslims
had was gone. Haji Shariat Ullah wanted to restore that through his Farazi movement. He
wanted to remove the Hindu practices that interfered in their religion Islam.
 Emphasis was made on praying for past sins and promising to be a true Muslim by living a
righteous life and following the religious obligations of Islam.
 In East Bengal, Hindu and British landlords had been oppressing the Muslim peasants. The
landlords did not want the success of Muslims so they drove Haji Shariat Ullah out of the region
to Nawabganj in Dhaka district where he died in 1840.
 His work was carried out by Mohsin-ud-din, his son. And after his death in 1860. The Farazi
movement declined.

Importance:

 It gave encouragement to the Muslims when they were demoralized by the oppression they
suffered in the hands of hindus and British.
 It brought up a spiritual revival in the Islamic religion in East Bengal. Hindu influences were
removed by Islamic practices.
 It also had an important political and economic impact. Because of the Farazi movement, the
Muslim peasants got to know their rights and a political unity began to grow amongst them.
 Some of the seeds of Pakistan movement were sown by the Faraizi movement.

MOHSIN-UD-DIN:

 He divided East Bengal into areas called circles, each under the control of a Khalifa. They were
responsible for the social and spiritual welfare of the people living in the area they controlled.
 He helped the peasants to oppose the excessive taxes imposed by the Hindu and British
landlords. This created chaos in the East Bengal.
 He declared a jihad against the British government.
 Soon, he was arrested and put in prison by the British.
 After his death in 1860, the Faraizi movement declined.

‘WAR OF INDEPENDENCE’
The British called this war as ‘The Indian mutiny’ because they considered it as a revolt against their
authority which had to be crushed in order to maintain control.

The Indians called this war ‘War of Independence’ because they wanted to throw off the hampers of
foreign domination.

CAUSES OF WAR:

This war was not a sudden revolt or a spontaneous uprising but this volcano of annoyance had been on
fire for about a century in Indian Subcontinent.

POLITICAL
Doctrine of Lapse: Due to the expansion of British control, the local leaders found their position in
danger. The ‘Doctrine of Lapse’ used by Lord Dalhousie was particularly criticized. Lord Dalhousie
applied Doctrine of Lapse for the expansion of the British Empire. As a result the states of the rulers who
did not have any heir were annexed when they died.

Territorial Expansion: The seizure of many areas particularly Oudh and Jhansi was a direct cause of
this revolt. Indian thought British as ‘Conquering westerners’ because Lord Dalhousie was determined on
expanding the British Empire by hook or by crook. He annexed states on the basis of Doctrine of Lapse
and misgovernment. Rulers of the affected states became bitter enemies of the British. This policy was
introduced because of the financial difficulties the Company was facing by 1848.

Confiscation of the estates by British Government: It was a convention of the past rulers that the
nobles were granted large estates. The British Government reversed this policy and confiscated
thousands of such estates.

Mistreatment of the Mughal Emperor: British had mistreated the Mughal Emperor. The prestige and
power of the Mughals was completely looted. The shifting of Royal family from Red Fort of Delhi to Qutub
Sahib was a sign of ill-treatment by British.

RELIGIOUS:

Extension of British religion, Christianity: Many Indians thought their religions, Islam, Hinduism and
Sikhism to be in danger under the British. Many Christian missionaries had come to convert the local
population and to set up schools.

Introduction of New Inventions: British introduced in Indo-Pakistan many inventions like railway, post
and telegraphs and they had made English as medium of education. These inventions made the Indians
suspicious of the intentions of the British.

Jihad Movement: Syed Ahmed Shaheed launched Jihad Movement which although failed to achieve
immediate aims yet it succeeded in igniting a flame of freedom in the souls of Indians.

SOCIAL:

The Superiority of Culture: British thought their culture to be superior to that of the Indians. They
considered Indians as an inferior nation. A hundred year rule over the Sub-Continent had given the
English a tone of superiority. They considered themselves a super creation and this resulted in the change
in their attitude towards other people cultures.

Abolition of Sattee: Sattee was a Hindu ritual of burning widow with the dead husband. It was abolished
in 1829.

Prohibition of Child Marriages: Though this was not an important cause but Many Indian extremists
were frustrated of British interfering in their social lives.

ECONOMIC:

High taxation: British imposed high taxation on the peasants and the small landowners and they were
exploiting the Indian wealth. These poor people could not pay the taxes and the corrupt tax collectors
often had the money for their personal benefits.

Introduction of English: English had replaced Persian as the official language of the administration and
as the language in which education would be given.

Injustice in civil services: Indians were not getting opportunities in civil services.
New Agrarian Policy: In the agrarian the Zamindars were asked to provide documentary proof of their
holdings. They were deprived of their lands when they failed to provide documentary proof of their
ancestral estates.
Destruction of Local Industry: As a result of the Industrial revolution of England cheaper and superior
goods flowed into the markets of the Sub-Continent. The local industry could not compete with the
imported stuff. As a result the local industry suffered badly. This resulted in frustration among the lower
classes.
Court Fee Stamps: The English Government declared court fee compulsory to be paid in the form of
court stamps. Thus the people were denied the right of free justice.

MILITARY:

Difference in posts: The sepoys (Infantry) and the sawars (cavalry) were all Indians and they could not
get any posts higher than what they were posted to. Alternatively, the British were given top posts like the
officer class.

Use of greased cartridges: The use of ‘greased cartridges’ also caused much resentment. The use of
fat cows and pigs angered many Muslim and Hindu soldiers.

Plan of sending soldiers abroad: The plan of converting the Hindu, Sikh and Muslim soldiers into
Christianity and to prepare and send them to fight abroad was also disturbing for many Indians. Hindu
Soldiers especially did not want to leave their Motherland, India.

Split up of armies of annexed states: The British split up the armies of the annexed states. This action
left thousands of the local soldiers unemployed.

Difference in salaries: The salary of the Sepoys (Infantry) was very much low and it did not coincide with
the work they did for the British.

EVENTS OF WAR:

In January 1857, the British announced about the introduction of a new rifle with the paper cartridge
covered in grease (of cows and pigs fat) to keep the powder dry. The sepoys were so angered that they
refused to use the new cartridges.

In March, a sepoy named Mangal Pandey protested his British officers and was executed.

Two months later, in May, sepoys in Merut refused to use the new cartridges.

They were court-martialled and were put in prison but their fellow soldiers broke into the prison and freed
them. British officers were put to death in Merut. Soldiers then went to Delhi and captured it. The Mughal
emperor, Bahadur Shah II became the unifying symbol for the revolt and he won the support of the
Hindus and the Muslims.

British lost the control of Mathura, Kanpur, Jhansi, Allahabad and also Lucknow.

In September 1857, Delhi was regained. Bahadur Shah II peacefully surrendered but his sons, Mirza
Mughal, Mirza Sultan and Mirza Abu Bakr were brutally murdered. Lucknow was also regained later.

In Jhansi, the sepoys were led by Lakshmibai, the Rani of Jhansi. She was assisted by Tatya Topee, a
capable Indian general.

In June 1858, Lakshmibai was killed and later Tatya topee, after being found escaped. In August 1858,
the war officially ended.

REASONS OF FAILURE:
Lack of unity: Freedom fighters were not united or coordinated. Punjab helped British conquer Punjab
and Sindh and they did not support the noble cause rose by the Indians. Some of the Indian princes were
only interested in restoring their own feudal powers so they supported British as if they did not, their
power might be in danger. The ruler of Kashmir sent 2000 troops to help British win. The rulers had not
assembled their resources for a common enemy. They just fought for their own benefits and different
rulers were defeated at different places like Bakht Khan was defeated at Delhi and Rani of Jhansi,
Lakshmibai was defeated at Jhansi.

Lack of objective: Indians did not have a general plan. People in different places were fighting for totally
different reasons.

Lack of acceptance of the Mughals: Though the Mughal emperor. Bahadur Shah Zafar II was a worth a
figurehead, most of the Indian princes did not like the imperial power bring restored so they did not accept
him as a leader. Only the Muslims were united under Bahadur Shah II and under the binding force of
Islam but the Hindus and Sikhs did not really cooperate. They did not want Mughal might to come again.

Lack of national patriotism: Majority of the Indians did not show patriotism for this noble cause.

Strength of British: British were too strong and Britain was one of the most powerful nations in the
world. Its troops were experienced in warfare and were highly trained in modern ways of fighting. They
also had a good reputation for discipline on the battlefield. British were skilled diplomats and they knew
how to cool down the uprising against them. Though the Indians had not gained much, the British still had
more than three quarters under their control.

Lack of resources: The revolutionaries lacked every kind of resource. They lacked modern war
equipments and some of them were still using traditional war methods. They did not particularly invest in
this war. It was their aggression instead of a well-planned war. Furthermore, the treasury of the Mughals
was already robbed by the British.

Lack of leaders: The revolutionaries were summoned up under different rulers and they lacked
discipline. They were not well led and well guided by their leaders. Alternatively, the British had skilled
leaders like Sir Colin Campbell and Sir James outram.

Lack of superior technology: British had recently gone through the Machinery revolution and being one
of the super powers of the world, they had the latest technology weaponry and had skilled soldiers.

Lack of loyal fighters: A deadly setback for the subverters was the disloyal among them. There were
many traitors.

EFFECTS OF THE WAR:

The failure of the war confirmed the British as masters of India. The war instead of weakening British
strengthened them. The British issued a ‘proclamation’ at Allahabad in 1858 bringing the war to an end.

The Proclamation of 1858 was,

British would,
1. Not interfere in the religious beliefs of the people.
2. Pay due regard to ancient property rights and customs.
3. Abide by all treaty obligations.
4. Agree to no further territorial acquirement
5. Guarantee the right to appointments in public service.

British instead turn for revenges. In 1857, Indians had captured the city of Cawnpore. This was the base
for the British army and for EIC. 200 British women and Children were murdered by the Indians. In turn,
British attitude worsened and they started the killings as well.
BRITISH RULE:

After the War of Independence, the EIC was abolished. Now British government was to take all the
responsibilities for all matters in India. A member of the British Cabinet, the secretary of State of India
was given responsibility for the government of the country and they were working with fifteen-man council.
Governor General took help from the Executive Council.

Now the direct responsibility was under the Governor General or the Viceroy. Members of Indian Civil
service (ICS) helped them in administration. Despite the Proclamation of 1858, only one member had
become an officer in the ICS by 1870. Only the loyal Princes remained in the thrones. After the war,
Bahadur Shah, was put on trial and sentenced to life imprisonment. He was sent to live out in Burma.

In 1877, British Queen, Victoria, was appointed the Empress of India in a ceremony in Delhi.

Due to Viceroy Lord Lytton’s strategy of ending the imports of British cotton goods, the local industry
suffered much.

Soon it was quite visible that Nationalist ideas began to grow in India. Societies were formed and parties
were formed for example, Indian National Congress was founded in 1885.

Many articles started appearing in the regional languages and were being spread throughout India.
Vernacular act was passed in 1878 which passed strict rules on these newspapers. Arms act was passed
in the same year which did not allow many Indians to own weapons.

THE MUSLIMS:

British considered that the Muslim community was largely to blame for the war and they started distrusting
the Muslims. They now trusted Sikhs, Pathans and Gurkhas.

Muslims objected the British education and the use of English as they considered them to be un-Islamic.
British did not fund the Muslim schools and Muslim education fell into decline.

Hindu, on the other hand, adopted the British traditions and many of them quickly learned to speak
English.

Muslims were not given any posts and they stayed illiterate.

‘SIR SYED AHMED KHAN (1817-1898)’

Early Life:

He was born in 1817 in Delhi. He came from a well-off family. His father ensured that he received high-
quality education.

By the age of 18, Sir Syed was skilled in Arabic, Persian, Mathematics and Medicine. At the age of 21, his
father died. After working so hard in the legal system, he became a judge in Delhi in 1846. He wrote the
book ‘Athar-al-Sanadeed’ on archaeology.

When the war of independence broke out in 1857, Sir Syed was working as a judge in Bijnaur and he had
saved the lives of many women and children during the fighting. In return for his loyalty, The British
offered him an estate with a large income but he refused the offer.

He was appointed as the Chief Justice in Muradabad and later was transferred to Ghazipore. In 1864, he
was transferred to Aligarh where he established a college.

In 1876, he retired from his work in the law and concentrated on the college and improving the quality of
education for Muslims. Aligarh became the centre of a ‘Muslim renaissance’.
He died on 27th March 1898.

Beliefs:

Sir Syed Ahmed Khan was very disappointed about the decline of the Muslims in subcontinent. Firstly, the
decline in the social and economic aspects of the Mughal Empire was very disappointing. Then the
involvement of Muslims in the War of Independence was a real blow to the relations of British and
Muslims.

Sir Syed observed that Muslims were this much backward because of the behavior of Hindus and British
towards Muslims. British and Hindus considered Muslims to be ‘second-class’ citizens. Other than that,
Sir Syed Ahmed Khan believed that Muslims could not succeed if they did not maintain friendly relations
with the British and if they did not accept British as the rulers. Sir Syed wanted Muslims to take
advantages from the British educational and technological reforms. On the other hand, Hindus were
taking advantage of the British reforms by their successful cooperation.

Sir Syed wanted to see Muslims united and flourishing so he founded the Aligarh movement. The main
aims of the Aligarh movement were to,

 Improve relations between British and Muslim communities by removing doubts between
each other.
 Improve social and economic position of Muslims by encouraging them to receive Western
education and take up posts in the civil service and army,
 Increase the political awareness of the Muslim community so that they could know about the
Hindu policy of cooperating with the British.

Work:

IMPROVING RELATIONS BETWEEN BRITISH AND MUSLIMS:

The British had put the blame of the war of independence entirely on the Muslims. As a result they
carried out policies of repression against the Muslims after 1857. The Hindus and other religious groups
were considered loyal while Muslims were being distrusted by the British. Muslims thought British as
‘foreign invaders’ and sometimes they thought them as a danger to their religion, Islam. In 1860, Sir syed
wrote ‘The Loyal Mohammadens of India’. In his work, he defended the Muslims from the British
accusation that they were disloyal. Sir Syed emphasized on the loyalty the Muslims had shown in the
previous years. He also wanted to end the British-Muslim hostility.

Sir Syed Ahmed Khan also wrote ‘the essay on the causes of the Indian revolt’. In his he made it clear
that not only Muslims were to be blamed for this war, others were equally blameworthy as well. He put
forward the reasons of the revolt of war of independence which were,

 The lack of representation for Indians in the govt. of the country.

 The forcible conversion of Muslims to Christianity.
 The poor management of the Indian army.

This pamphlet was distributed freely among the British officials and was also sent to the Members of the
Parliament in England. The response of this pamphlet was favorable.

Muslims called British ‘Nadarath’ which British resented. Sir Syed explained that the word ‘Nadarath’
came from the word ‘Nasir’, an Arabic word, meaning helper. Therefore it meant that Muslims thought
British as collaborators and so this word was not an insult.

British knew very little about Islam and Muslims knew a very little about Christianity so he wrote a book
‘Tabyin-ul-Kalam’ in which he sorted out the similarities between the two religions.
Sir Syed also established ‘British Indian association’ to try to increase cooperation between the two
communities.

ENCOURAGING THE GROWTH OF WESTERN EDUCATION:

After the war of independence, Muslims were discriminated from other communities by the British.
Muslims had boycotted every reform of British; be it educational, or related to technological advancement.
Hindus were keen to learn English language and to acquire the British education. This helped them to
come forward and to gain employment. By 1871, there were 711 Hindus in government employment and
Muslims were 92.

The Hindu movement gained strength as more and more Hindus received education in the new schools
and universities. Hindus gained pride and their attitude towards Muslims totally changed.

Sir Syed took steps to change Muslim attitudes towards receiving British education. In doing this, he
came into a conflict with the Ulema. Ulema were narrow-minded people and they thought that the British
culture was discouraging the Islamic culture. Sir Syed believed that Holy Quran emphasized the need to
study and that by having knowledge one can know God in a better and a wise way.

To gain support for his views, Sir Syed set up an Urdu journal called ‘Tahzib-ul-Akhlaq’. Some influential
Muslims agreed that there was a dire need for education.

In 1859, He had opened a school in Muradabad. In 1863, Sir Syed founded the scientific society at Ghazi
pore. Scientific books were translated from English, Persian and Arabic into Urdu. In 1864, he opened
another school in Ghazi pore. In 1864, he was transferred to Aligarh and in 1866, he issued a journal
called ‘Aligarh institute Gazette’.

In 1869, he travelled to England to study the university system there. He was very impressed by Oxford
and Cambridge universities and by British education system.

On 24th May 1875, the Mohamaden Anglo-Oriental School was set up in Aligarh. The college offered both
Western and Indian along with Islamic education. Before Muslim league, it was a symbol of Muslim unity.
Liaqat Ali khan and Ayub khan studied from this college. In 1886, he set up the Mohammaden
Educational Conference. This committee held meetings and acted as an indication of Muslim unity before
Muslim league. In 1920, the college became the University of Aligarh.

INCREASING POLITICAL AWARENESS:

By writing the ‘Essay on the causes of the Indian revolt’ and the ‘Loyal Mohammadens of India’, Sir Syed
wanted to improve the status of the Muslim community. He believed in a non-violence strategy or anti-
war strategy and in cooperation with the British.

Sir Syed also wanted to improve the relations with the Hindus as he considered them as allies and having
same objective as them, to drive the British away and to have rights. Soon, he changed his mind as he
realized that Hindus had no plans of cooperating with the Muslims and that they were separate groups in
subcontinent.

In 1885, Indian National Congress was formed. Though Congress had declared that it would represent
the views of all the communities within India regardless of their religion but it was merely a Hindu
dominant party. Congress demanded for democracy but it would only represent Hindus as they were in
majority. Sir Syed knew that as for democracy, Muslims would remain unrepresented.

Sir Syed also opposed the Congress idea of passing a competitive examination in order to get the
government services. He said that since the educational opportunities were not equal so Muslims could
not get appointed and would remain unemployed.

In 1825, Urdu was made the official language of Subcontinent but in 1867, Hindus demanded that Hindi
should be made the next official language. Urdu had too much significance over Hindi so Sir Syed also
started working on his ‘two nation theory’. Sir Syed did not attend Congress meetings and instead he
formed an alternative body called the United Patriotic Alliance. In 1893, he formed the Mohammden
Defence Alliance. Hindus started disrespecting Muslims and their religion. Their enmity was increasing
rapidly. This was the Hindu-Urdu controversy.

Importance:

He worked on improving the relations of Muslims with the British, particularly after the War of
independence when British thought Muslims were disloyal. He changed the way British thought about
Muslims and now British had different thoughts about Muslims just because of the tireless efforts by Sir
Syed. He wrote many books and pamphlets to convince British that Muslims considered them as friends
not as people and especially his explanation of the word ‘Nadarath’ influenced many British to change
their opinions about Muslims.

Through the Aligarh movement, Sir Syed played a major role in bringing a Muslim revival. Muslims came
to value Education as a means of self-improvement and their own success depended on Education. Now
they knew that only the Education was the key to their development and their survival in the subcontinent
through jobs and employments.

Hindus were determined to take advantage of Muslims weak relations with the British so Sir Syed
developed his ‘Two Nation Theory’ to emphasize that Hindus could never work with the Muslims no
matter what. Because of this theory, he became known as the ‘Father of the Pakistan movement’.

‘LANGUAGES’
Language is extremely important in the development of any state or national culture. A National language
is a symbol of unity and it is a cultural identity. It promotes the culture.

In the history of Pakistan, many nations came along with their culture and languages and some were
adopted while some were neglected. They have a great part in literature work and arts.

The greatest impact was of Persian. During the Mughal period, it was the official language in the court of
Delhi. Most of the books were written in Persians and many poets and scholars had adopted this
language. Quran was translated into Persian. It was used in the communication sector as well.

URDU:

When the state of Pakistan was set up, its constitution stated that Urdu was the national language.

ORIGINATION:

 It was the language of the Muslims in the subcontinent. It was formed by combining many other
languages. It was used in Mughal period and it dates back to Sultans of Delhi.
 It was originated in North-West India when Persian, Turkish and Punjabi together with other
dialects of Delhi and surrounding areas.
 At the end of 13th century, Muslim armies were using this language for communication.

POETS:

 Poets adopted this language because of its flow and its rhythmic style. Amir Khusrau (1253-1325)
was a great poet who used Urdu to convey his thoughts and emotions.
 Emperor Muhammad Shah and Bahadur Shah promoted this language. Bahadur Shah Zafar was
a great poet. Many other poets were Mir, Sauda, Dard and Ghalib.
 Allama Muhammad Iqbal and Alama Shibli were great poets.

WORK:
  Aligarh Muslim University became a centre for the study of Urdu and it produced great writers like
Hasrat, Mohani, Majaz and Jazbi.
 Urdu is linked with the Islamic culture as by the translation of Holy Quran in Urdu by Shah Abdul
Qadir.
 In 20th century, Urdu played a very important role in the struggle for independence. Muslim league
was mainly formed in 1906 to protect the Urdu language with the protection of Muslim rights.
 Though the British had made English the official language of India for administration, their
institution, Fort William College, promoted this language.
 Urdu was the main language in the Muslim areas in subcontinent but after 1867, Hindus started
taking steps to turn down Urdu and bring up Hindi as the leading language. This was the Hindi-
Urdu controversy. Sir Syed Ahmed Khan had set up a society to protect Urdu.

IMPORTANCE:

 Quaid-e-Azam even took steps to promote this language.

 Steps are being taken to Adopt Urdu as the language of administration but the progress is little.
 Urdu is the medium for radio and television programmes.
 There are Urdu magazines and novels.

SINDHI:

This is an older language than Urdu. It is spoken in Sindh. Documents show that it is in the same form as
it was in 12th century.

ORIGINATION:

Before the arrival of Muslims, it was written in ‘Marwari’ and ‘Arz Nagari’ ways of writing. When the Arabs
settled in Sindh their culture and literature had a major impact on Sindhi. Gradually words from Arabic
were adopted so it began being written in ‘Arabic script’. Soon the Turkish tribes of Central Asia came
and they brought their language Persian with them which also greatly influenced Sindhi.

POETS:

Makhdum Nuh of Hala, Sachal Sarmast, Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai and Qazi Qazan of Thatta were the
famous poets of Sindhi literature.

LITERATURE WORK:

 The first journal of Sindhi was ‘Taalim Al khashaf o Tauheed’. In 1948, Sindhi Literary Board was
set up and this has printed many books and magazines in Sindhi.
 In 1954, Bazm-e-Talib-ul-Muala was set up to promote Sindhi Literature.
 A Sarmast academy was established in memory of Sachal Sarmast.
 A Sindhiology department was established at Sindh University Jamshoro.

BALUCHI:

This is the main language spoken in Baluchistan, one of the largest provinces of Pakistan. Persian and
Brohi are also spoken in this province. There are two kinds of Baluchi, one is Sulemanki and the other
Makrani.

ORIGINATION:

Some tribes from North-West Iran brought this language. They were Nomadic people so that’s why this
Language has not developed much.

LITERATURE WORK:
Jam Darang is considered as a great Baluchi poet. Atta Shad and Azad Jamal Din are also working on
the promotion of this language.

W.leech, a British traveler, in 1830 had made awareness of the existence of this language from this
journal ‘the journal of Asiatic society’.

WORK:

Before partition, Baluchi language was declining. Even the Baluchi gazetter was published in English.
After partition steps were taken like,

 Radio Pakistan Karachi began broadcasts in Baluchi.

 Baluchi literary Association was set up.
 Quetta Television Station began the broadcasts in Baluchi and it still does.

PUNJABI:

REGION:

Punjab is the most populous province in Pakistan. Punjabi is spoken in Punjab, though it is also spoken in
Azad Kashmir and KPK.

DIFFERENT TERMS USED FOR PUNJABI:

It had been given different names throughout history like ‘Masoodi’, ‘Al-Hindi’, ‘Hindko’. In 1080, Hafiz
Barkhurdar was the first person to have used this term ‘Punjabi’ to describe this language.

ORIGINATION:

Originally this language was written in ‘Gurmukhi script’ but during Mughal era, Arabic script was used.

INFUSION:

This language is influenced by many other languages like, Persian, Arabic, Hindi, Turkish and English. In
Western Punjab, it is also influenced by Pashtu and Sindhi.

LITERATURE:

Heer-Ranjha, Sassi-Punnu, Sohni-Mahiwal are Punjabi literature work that are widely known.

Sufi poets such as Baba Farid Ganjshakar and Sultan Bahu are widely known. Bulle Shah, the mystic
poet, did a great contribution to Punjabi literature through his melodious Kafis which are still sung today.

WORK:

Many books in Law, Medicine, History and Philosophy are published in Punjabi. Gradually, Ghazals,
Nazm and blank-verses became common. Holy Quran was translated into Punjabi by Muhammad Ali
Faiq. Ustad Daman and Ahmed Rahi were some famous promoters of Punjabi. Punjabi language is
taught upto MA level at University of Punjab.

PASHTU:

Pashtu is spoken by people of KPK and of Northern Baluchistan.

INFUSION:

Pashtu is influenced by Arabic, Persian and Greek.

HISTORY:
FIRST PERIOD: 2nd to 13th Century. The first Pashtu poet of this period was Amir Khan Pehivan, though
the most famous was Bayazid Ansari who wrote Khair-ul-Bian, the first book on Sufism in Pashtu
literature.

SECOND PERIOD: From Mughal invasions in early 13th century and lasted for 100 years. The Quality of
Pashtu was at its peak. Pashtu reflected the growth of Nationalism and it played an important role in
Pashtu Freedom. The greatest scholar was ‘Hazrat Mian Umar’ of this period. Others included, Saadat Ali
Khan and Amir Muhammad Ansari.

THIRD PERIOD: Establishment of British rule and it is the golden period of Pashtu literature. High quality
writing was produced in this period. Famous writers include Akhund Dardeeza and Khushal Khan khattak.

Famous sufi poet was Rehman Baba.

Sahibzada Abdul Qayun worked hard for Pashtu literature and for the political awareness in Pathans of
NWFP (Now KPK). He set up the Islamia College in Peshawar. Within 3 years, Peshawar University was
established and an academy for the formation of Pashtu literature was set up in 1954. This academy
under the auspices of Maulana Abdul Qadir prepared the Pashtu Dictionary. Pashtu is also taught till
university level in KPK.