Masihuzzama Ansari
NEW DELHI–Speaking about important points of his new book – ‘Maulana Azad: A Life’ – noted historian Professor S. Irfan Habib said here last week that Maulana Azad was not a leader of Muslims alone but of the entire nation and that he strongly opposed the Partition of India.
He expressed this view while speaking at a discussion on his book organized by the Delhi-based Centre for Studies of Plural Societies (CSPS) at New Friend Colony’s Art and Culture Centre.
Apart from historian S. Irfan Habib, former Professor of the Department of History, Delhi University Amar Farooqui and Assistant Professor Dr. Amir Ali of Jawaharlal Nehru University’s Centre for Political Studies also expressed their views.
Prof Habib’s comments are quite important because the present political dispensation in the country led by BJP is erasing the contribution of Muslims in the making of India and holding Muslims responsible for all the ills plaguing the nation.
Elaborating on his views, Prof. Habib said that Maulana Azad was not only a political personality or an Islamic scholar but had many aspects which needed to be talked about.
He said that Maulana Azad was an author, speaker, music lover, litterateur, freedom fighter and a strong voice against the Partition of India which had great effect on lakhs of Muslims who subsequently opposed the Muslim League and supported Maulana Azad’s view.
He explained that through his magazines – Al Hilal and Al Balagh – Maulana Azad impressed people with his nationalist ideology.
He said, “Maulana Azad had penned his discussions with Pandit Nehru in his ‘Ghubar-e-Khatir in a literary way. His letters written in Ghubar-e-Khatir is considered to be top class in literary style.”
He exhorted that Maulana Azad was a strong opponent of the partition of the country and ‘His write-ups and speeches are proof of that.”
Prof. Habib said that Maulana Azad used to put his views in a very simple but firm way.
He said that Maulana Azad became the education minister and laid a solid foundation for education. “He was also very active in making arrangements for the education of those who were displaced and migrated from Pakistan which was a big challenge at that time,” said the professor.
Professor Habib said, “I decided to write a book on Maulana Azad because his views on Islam were altogether different from others and impressive. He used Islam as a tool to oppose colonialism. He opposed colonialism not in India only but also in the entire Muslim world. This was very important at that time as the Muslim world was impacted by colonialism in many places. The Muslim world was subjugated by the British and the French in different places. It was quite revolutionary to explain Islam in opposing colonialism.”
In his talk, Professor Habib said that a person of Allama Iqbal’s caliber was supporting the formation of a state based on religion while at the same time, Maulana Azad was rooted in his democratic foundation and opposed the partition of the country.
He said that Maulana Azad opposed the partition of the country with a strong argument and inference from the example of the Prophet (PBUH). “Maulana had said that when Jews and Muslims could live together in Arab countries, why can’t Muslims and Hindus live together?”
Professor Habib criticized Allama Iqbal for his views on Islamic nationalism. He said, “Allama Iqbal talked about Islamic nationalism and advocated for it which is quite surprising. Despite being a noted scholar, Iqbal,a great poet and having deeply studied Islam, he supported Islamic nationalism and pepped up the movement for that. On the other hand, Maulana Azad opined that to confine Islam in a boundary was against Islam itself.”
He said that there were many Islamic countries in Allama Iqbal’s time but they had their separate identities.
Professor Habib said that despite many similarities between Maulana Azad and Allama Iqbal, they had differences over the idea of Islamic nationalism and both had their own logic. Both were scholars of Islam, had modern education and thought as well as great author and thinker but they had a deep disagreement on establishing a country in the name of Islam.
He said that due to his ideological differences, Maulana Azad never had any contact with Allama Iqbal. So much so, that when Allama Iqbal died in 1938, Maulana Azad completed the formality by writing an obituary in one and a half line.
Professor Habib said, “This is a very important point that despite being contemporary and having similarities in many things, the two great scholars had a big disagreement over Islamic nationalism.”
He said that Maulana Azad was not a traditional Maulana, rather, he was a person with a deep interest in art and literature. “He laid the foundation of many institutions in this field after independence. He laid the foundation of Sangit Natak Academy and Lalit Kala Academy. The foundations were laid in the Nehru era but the architect was Maulana Azad. Maulana Azad loved music. He learned to play Sitar without caring for his father’s opposition to it.
According to Prof. Habib, Maulana Azad wrote a letter to Sardar Patel who was Information and Broadcasting minister at that time. Maulana wrote, “I am sorry to interfere in your ministry but kindly don’t mind it. I have a personal interest in music, so, when I watch the broadcast of music, its low level hurts me. If you allow, I may cooperate with you in making the level better so that the quality of music to be broadcast gets better.”
Elaborating on Maulana and his family, Professor Habib said, “Maulana Azad’s father Maulana Khairuddin migrated to Saudi Arabia with his family and settled there. Maulana Azad was born in Makkah. That was the time of the Ottoman Empire in Arab world. Ottoman rulers were influenced by Sufism. Wahabi Islam was just emerging at that time. Maulana Azad’s father Maulana Khairuddin was inclined towards Ottoman Islam.”
Professor Irfan said that born in a Darveshaite and Sufi Islamic rule, Maulana Azad was hugely influenced by it. “Sufi Islam was more accommodative compared to Wahabi Islam. The impact of Sufi Islam is quite visible in Maulana’s life.”
“Maulana Azad’s father Maulana Khairuddin returned to India for his treatment and settled at Kolkata. He did not send Maulana Azad to study in Madrasa fearing that Madrasa would teach him ‘Wahabi Islam’. So, Maulana Azad was not taught in a Madrasa. He got his education at home independently,” said the historian.
He said that its impact can always be seen in Maulana’s life, be it his writings, speeches, ideology or his nature.
He reiterated that Maulana Azad was always against creating a nation in the name of religion. “That is why he opposed the Muslim League and distanced himself from those who talked about establishing a state in the name of Qaum (community).
Professor Habib explained, “With his nationalist and democratic views, Maulana Azad created a big number of his supporters who were, like him, opposed to the partition and supportive of democratic values. Among them, Allah Bakhsh Sumro stands the tallest. After Maulana Azad got elected the President of the Congress party for the second time, Muslim League passed a resolution on March 23, 1940, demanding a separate country for the Muslims. Just after that, between April 27-30, 1940, Allah Bakhsh Sumro organised a big conference of Muslims who were opposed to the partition. Around one lakh persons attended the conference. At that time, to arrange a gathering of one lakh was very difficult. Muslim League got nervous after such a big conference of Muslims. On May 14, 1943, some unidentified people killed Allah Bakhsh Sumro. Muslim League was suspected to be involved in the murder but that was not proved.
He claimed that Darul Uloom Deoband opposed the partition of the country after getting influenced by Maulana Azad’s views.
Referring to Ghubar-e-Khatir, Professor Habib said that Maulana Azad wrote many letters while being in jail on varied subjects. “He has written extensively on tea. He wrote that only Jawahar Lal Nehru is his company in the jail with whom he took tea, otherwise, there was none to share tea with there.”
“Maulana Azad was fond of listening to music and discussed it in detail in Ghubar-e-Khatir. Because his interest in art and literature, Maulana Azad established Sahitya Academy, Lalit Kala Academy and Sangit Kala Academy,” reiterated the professor.
He said, “Maulana Azad’s deep interest in education and research can be understood by the fact that when educational and research institutions were established, he chose to grace the inauguration ceremony.”
He added that Maulana Azad played a vital role in the foundation of the country beyond politics.
“Maulana Azad published the Communist Manifesto in Al Hilal in 1927 and wrote that he was not a supporter of Karl Marx’s ideology but one should read the scholar whose ideology ruled many countries,” revealed the professor.
Professor Irfan Habib concluded, “Maulana Azad was a multi-dimensional talent. He had an inclusive ideology. He was not a leader of the Muslims alone but a leader of the country who believed in democratic values as well as he practiced Islam in a broader sense.”
The discussion was moderated by Dr. Omair Anas, who teaches international relations at Ankara Yildirim Biyazit University, Turkiye.
