Significance: The Indian Rebellion of 1857 marked the first major resistance against British rule in India. Although it failed, it had a profound impact on Indian society, particularly on Muslims, who were blamed by the British for leading the uprising. This led to increased repression of Muslims and the dismantling of their political power.
2. Sir Syed Ahmed Khan’s Loyalty to the British (Post-1857)
Date: 1858 onwards
Significance: After the 1857 revolt, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan worked to repair relations between the British and Muslims. He urged Muslims to remain loyal to the British to regain their lost trust. He believed that cooperation with the British was essential for the progress of Muslims.
Works: Wrote the pamphlet “The Causes of the Indian Revolt” (Asbab-e-Baghawat-e-Hind) in 1859, explaining the reasons for the 1857 uprising and advocating for reconciliation between Muslims and the British.
3. Formation of the Aligarh Movement (Late 19th Century)
Founder: Sir Syed Ahmed Khan
Significance: The Aligarh Movement aimed to promote modern education, especially among Muslims, as Sir Syed believed education was the key to improving their socio-political conditions. The movement sought to prepare Muslims to compete with Hindus in education and administration, focusing on Western-style education and sciences.
Major Contributions:
Establishment of Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College (1875): Sir Syed founded the MAO College in Aligarh, which later became Aligarh Muslim University. The institution played a crucial role in educating the Muslim elite and instilling political awareness.
Scientific Society (1864): Founded in Ghazipur, it aimed to translate modern scientific works into Urdu to spread scientific knowledge among Muslims.
Tehzib-ul-Akhlaq (1870): Sir Syed launched this journal to promote social and educational reforms among Muslims and to modernize their thinking.
4. Indian National Congress Formation (1885)
Date: December 28, 1885
Significance: The formation of the Indian National Congress (INC) represented the beginning of organized political activity in India. While Congress sought to work for Indian rights, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan advised Muslims not to join the Congress, fearing that Muslims’ interests would be sidelined by the Hindu majority in the organization.
5. Sir Syed Ahmed Khan’s Two-Nation Theory (Late 19th Century)
Significance: Sir Syed was one of the first leaders to express the view that Hindus and Muslims were two distinct nations with different religions, languages, cultures, and traditions. He opposed the idea of a joint Hindu-Muslim nation and advocated for separate political identities, which later evolved into the Two-Nation Theory—the ideological foundation for Pakistan.
6. Partition of Bengal (1905)
Date: October 16, 1905
Significance: The British partitioned Bengal into East Bengal (with a Muslim majority) and West Bengal (with a Hindu majority). This decision was seen as a victory for Muslims as it gave them greater political representation in East Bengal. However, Hindu opposition led to the annulment of the partition in 1911.
7. Simla Deputation (1906)
Date: October 1, 1906
Significance: A delegation of prominent Muslim leaders, led by Aga Khan III, met with the British Viceroy, Lord Minto, at Simla. They demanded separate electorates for Muslims to ensure fair representation in the legislative bodies. The deputation highlighted the Muslims’ growing concern about being politically marginalized by the Hindu majority.
8. Formation of All-India Muslim League (1906)
Date: December 30, 1906
Place: Dacca (now Dhaka, Bangladesh)
Significance: Following the Simla Deputation, the All-India Muslim League was formed to protect the political rights of Muslims in India. The League became the political voice of Muslims and would later play a pivotal role in the creation of Pakistan.
9. Morley-Minto Reforms (1909)
Date: 1909
Significance: Also known as the Indian Councils Act of 1909, this reform introduced separate electorates for Muslims, allowing them to elect their own representatives to the legislative councils. This was a significant step in recognizing Muslims as a separate political entity in India.
10. Annulment of the Partition of Bengal (1911)
Date: December 12, 1911
Significance: Under pressure from Hindu protests, the British government annulled the partition of Bengal. Muslims saw this as a betrayal by the British, further deepening the divide between Hindus and Muslims.
11. Delhi Durbar and Shift of Capital (1911)
Date: December 12, 1911
Significance: During the Delhi Durbar, the British announced the shift of the capital from Calcutta to Delhi. This move was seen as part of a larger strategy to consolidate British power, but it did not impact the growing dissatisfaction among Muslims.
12. Lucknow Pact (1916)
Date: December 1916
Significance: The Lucknow Pact was an agreement between the Indian National Congress and the All-India Muslim League. It marked a rare moment of Hindu-Muslim unity against British rule, as both parties agreed on a common political agenda. The Congress, for the first time, accepted separate electorates for Muslims. However, this unity was short-lived and eventually led to increasing demands for Muslim political autonomy.
Contributions of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan (Summary)
Rebuilding Muslim-British Relations: After 1857, Sir Syed worked tirelessly to mend relations between Muslims and the British, arguing that Muslims needed to modernize and collaborate with the British to secure their future.
Modern Education: Through the Aligarh Movement and institutions like MAO College (later Aligarh Muslim University), he focused on providing Western-style education to Muslims, especially in sciences and law, to empower them politically and economically.
Political Vision: Sir Syed advocated for separate political identities for Muslims and Hindus, laying the foundation for the Two-Nation Theory.
Social and Religious Reforms: He emphasized rationalism and advocated for interpreting Islam in light of modern science and reasoning. His journal Tehzib-ul-Akhlaq promoted modern thought and societal reforms.
Pakistan Movement 1857-1916
1857 – War of Independence
The uprising of 1857-58 became the great divide in nineteenth century South Asian history. Understated by British historians as Indian Mutiny or Sepoy Rebellion and referred to with some exaggeration by later Indian nationalists as First War of Independence, the uprising nevertheless heralded formal end of the Mughal Empire and marked the end of company rule in India as well. In general, the uprising was a reaction to British expansionism and outcome to the policies of modernization and annexation of Governor General Lord Dalhousie (1848-56), especially in Oudh (Avadh, now part of Indian state of Utter Pradesh) in 1956. The immediate spark for mutiny by sepoys (Indian soldiers employed by East India Company) was the introduction of new Enfield rifle, which had cartridge allegedly greased with cow or pig fat, tips of which had to be bitten off before loading their weapons. Both Muslim and Hindu soldiers were outraged at this offence to their religious scruples and refused to comply. British officers responded by dismissing regiment after regiment from the Bengal Army for refusing to load their weapons.
The British Parliament passed the Government of India Act of 1858, which transferred authority to British Crown, represented in India by Governor General, who thereafter also had the title of Viceroy.
1858 – Aligarh Movement
Another response was led by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan (1817-98) which was called Aligarh Movement after the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College (now Aligarh University), which was founded in 1875 at Aligarh in north-central India. Sir Syed considered access to British education as the best means of social mobility for the sons of Muslim gentry under colonial rule.
1866 – Deoband Movement
Deoband Movement was started by Haji Muhammad Abid and Maulana Muhammad Yaqub in 1866. This further gave strength to Aligarh Movement. Deoband Madrassah started functioning in 1866 under the supervision of Muhammad Yaqub.
1867 – Urdu Hindi Controversy
During Muslim rule, Urdu emerged as the most common language of north-western provinces of India. It was declared as official language and all official records were written in this language. In 1867, some prominent Hindus started a movement in Banaras in which they demanded replacement of Urdu with Hindi, and the Persian script with Deva Nagri script, as court language in the north-western provinces. The reason for opposing Urdu was that, the language was written in Persian script, which was similar to the Arabic script and Arabic was the language of the Quran; the Holy Book of Muslims. The movement grew quickly and within a few months spread throughout Hindu population of north-western provinces of India. The headquarters of this movement were in Allahabad. This situation provoked Muslims to come out in order to protect the importance of Urdu language. The opposition by Hindus towards Urdu language made it clear to the Muslims of the region that Hindus were not ready to tolerate the culture and traditions of Muslims.
1884 – Anjamum Himayat-i-Islam
Towards the end of 19th century, the impact of Sir Syed’s Aligarh Movement was felt all over the Subcontinent and Punjab was no exception. In March 1884, Maulana Qazi Hamid-ud-Din invited his pupil; Maulvi Ghulam Ullah Qasuri and a number of other public spirited persons to a small gathering and set up Anjuman Himayat-i-Islam. On September 22, 1884, the establishment of Anjuman was formally announced and Qazi Hamid-ud-Din was elected as its first president. Anjuman’s aim was to arrange religious and general education for girls and boys and to counter act the propaganda against Islam.
1885 – Indian National Congress was formed
Meanwhile, beginnings of the Indian nationalist movement were to be discerned in the increasing tendency to form all India associations representing various interests. English speaking Indians, predominantly middle class but from different parts of the country, were discovering efficacy of associations and public meetings in propagating their views to a winder audience and in winning the attention of British Government. In 1885 Indian National Congress was founded to formulate proposals and demands to present to British. Congress worked and helped Indian-British Rule, but it refused to do so after World War I, the idea of the territorial integrity of India and opposition to any sectarian division of India, however, always remained sacrosanct to Congress.
1891- Fall of Hunza
Hunza, remote kingdom bordering China fell into hands of British, bringing an end to the expansion of British Raj.
1893 – Durand Line Demarcated
1894 – Nadva-tul-Ulema
This institution came into existence in 1894 as a result of the efforts of some religious minded government officials; Ulema and Sufis, who wished to bring Ulema together and remove sectarian differences. The main work of this organization was the establishment of a Dar-ul-Uloom at Lucknow. For some time Shibli Nomani, Syed’s co-worker for many years, was associated with the institution. Under his influence it gained importance, but in 1914 he was forced to resign.
1898 – Sir Syed Ahmed Khan; the founder of Aligarh movement passed away. He was one of the greatest personalities of the subcontinent.
1905 – Partition of Bengal
The partition scheme was announced on September 1, 1905. The new province called Eastern Bengal and Assam, consisted of Assam and Eastern and Northern Bengal. On the area of 106,650 sq miles with a population of 31 million out of which 18 million were Muslims and 12 million were Hindus.
1906 – Demand at Simla
It was in October 1906 that a delegation of about 70 Muslims led by Agha Khan was received in the Ball Room of Viceroy’s House at Simla by Lord Minto. They asked for separate representation of Muslims in all levels of Government.
1906 – AII India Muslim League was formed
At the dawn of twentieth century, a number of factors convinced Muslims of the need, to have an effective political organization. All India Muslim League was founded by Nawab Salimullah Khan at Dhaka, mainly with the objective of safeguarding the political rights and interests of Muslims.
1916 – Lucknow Pact
The Congress – Muslim League rapprochement was achieved at Lucknow sessions of the two parties in 1916 and a joint scheme of reforms was adopted. In Lucknow Pact, as the scheme was commonly referred to, Congress accepted the principle of separate electorates and Muslims, in return for ‘weightage’ to Muslims of minority provinces, agreed to surrender their thin majorities in Punjab and Bengal. The post Lucknow Pact period witnessed Hindu-Muslim harmony and the two parties came to hold their annual sessions in the same city and passed resolutions of identical contents.
