Indian Muslim Minorities and the 1857 Rebellion

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Indian Muslim Minorities and the 1857 Rebellion Page 31

by Ilyse R Morgenstein Fuerst


  Nonviolent Efforts to Promote Islam in the Contemporary World,” Nova Religio:

  The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions 11, no. 2 (2007), 77 – 93.

  83. Jalal, Partisans for Allah, 116.

  NOTES TO PAGES 143–145

  193

  84. Colonel G. B. Malleson, C. S. I., The Indian Mutiny of 1857 (London: Seeley

  and Co., Limited, 1891), 17.

  85. As a reminder, the so-called chapati conspiracy refers to the passing of chapati

  breads to signal the beginning of the revolts in northern India. See chapter 1

  for a fuller discussion.

  86. Saiyid Zaheer Husain Jafri, “The Profile of a Saintly Rebel: Maulvi

  Ahmadullah Shah,” Social Scientist 26, no. 1/4 (1998), 40.

  87. Salim al-Din Quraishi, ed. and comp., Cry for Freedom: Proclamations of Muslim

  Revolutionaries of 1857 (Lahore: Sang-e-Meel, 1997), viii.

  88. Faruqui Anjum Taban, “The Coming of the Revolt in Awadh: The Evidence of

  Urdu Newspapers,” in Facets of the Great Revolt: 1857, Shireen Moosvi, ed.

  (New Delhi: Tulika Books, 2008), 12.

  89. Mushirul Haq, Shah Abdul Aziz: His Life and Times (Lahore: Institute of

  Islamic Culture, 1995), 59. Cf. Jalal, Partisans of Allah, 122.

  90. Jalal, Partisans of Allah, 122.

  91. Fazl-i-Haqq wrote an account of the Great Rebellion from the penal colony.

  In it, Fazl-i-Haqq both praised and critiqued other leaders, including

  Ahmadullah. While the text, as we might expect, is written in rather coded

  language, it does not state support for jihad, even by allusion. For a brief

  commentary and translation, see: S. Moinul Haqq, “The Story of the War of

  Independence by Allamah Fadl-i Haqq of Kharyabad,” Journal of the Pakistan

  Historical Society 5, no. 1 (1957), 23 – 57.

  92. R. A. Geaves, “India 1857: A Mutiny or a War of Independence? The Muslim

  Perspective,” Islamic Studies 35, no. 1 (1996), 42. On Deoband, see Barbara

  Metcalf’s definitive work, Islamic Revival in British India: Deoband, 1860 – 1900

  (Princeton, N. J: Princeton University Press, 1982).

  93. See: Salim al-Din Quraishi, Cry for Freedom: Proclamations of Muslim

  Revolutionaries of 1857 (Lahore: Sang-e-Meel Publications, 1997).

  94. Taban, “The Coming of the Revolt in Awadh: The Evidence of Urdu

  Newspapers,” 11 – 12.

  95. Ibid., 13.

  96. Ibid., 14.

  97. Urdu and thus Urdu literacy were never solely limited to north Indian

  Muslims. However, Urdu’s use in the nineteenth century was increasingly a

  marker of an Indian Muslim identity. See: Christopher King, One Language,

  Two Scripts: The Hindi Movement in Nineteenth Century North India (New Delhi:

  Oxford University Press, 1994). On Syed Ahmad Khan’s role in the Urdu

  movement: Abdul R. Khan, The All India Muslim Educational Conference: Its

  Contribution to the Cultural Development of Indian Muslims, 1886 – 1947

  (Karachi: Oxford University Press, 2001), especially chapter 6: “Promotion of

  Urdu Language and Literature (1900 – 1945).”

  98. Eric Stokes, The Peasant Armed: The Indian Revolt of 1857, ed. C. A. Bayly

  (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1986).

  99. E.g., Pernau, Ashraf to Middle Class, 223.

  194

  NOTES TO PAGES 145–149

  100. Jivan Lal quoted in Pernau, 223. Cf. Jı¯vana La¯la, and Darak̲h̲sha¯n Ta¯jvar,

  Sarguz̲asht-i Dihlı¯: Inqila¯b 1857 Kı¯ Kaha¯nı¯ Jı¯van La¯l Kı¯ Zaba¯nı¯ (Ra¯mpu¯r:

  Ra¯mpu¯r Raza¯ La¯ʼibrerı¯, 2007).

  101. Jalal, Partisans of Allah, 124.

  102. Ibid.

  103. As but one example, Sir Syed wrote about the discontent programs for orphans

  caused in the wake of the devastating 1837 droughts, and suggested that these

  orphans – reared “in principles of Christian faith” – were being secretly

  converted from their natural religions. Khan, Causes of the Indian Revolt, 17.

  104. E.g., Hunter, Indian Musalmans, 11.

  105. Farzana Shaikh, Community and Consensus in Islam: Muslim Representation in

  Colonial India, 1860 – 1947, Cambridge South Asian Studies 42 (New York:

  Cambridge University Press, 1989), 79.

  106. Jalal, Partisans of Allah, 1.

  107. Ibid. Cf. Nizami, Muslim Political Thought and Activity in India during the

  first half of the Nineteenth Century, 4. Khan mentions this as well: Review on

  Dr Hunter, 11, 14 – 16.

  108. Khan, Review, 14.

  109. Ibid., 19. Hunter, Indian Musalmans, 29.

  Conclusion

  Religion, Rebels, and Jihad: Legacies and

  Ongoing Impact

  1. E.g., In honor of India’s Independence Day, Hindustan Times ran a piece

  outlining the road to independence that began in August 1947 but traced

  origins to 1857. Saudamini Jain, “At the stroke of the midnight hour: The story

  of India’s independence,” August 11, 2015. http://www.hindustantimes.com/

  india/at-the-stroke-of-the-midnight-hour-the-story-of-india-s-independence/

  story-m6Lp74lEyp3WWJWeUTFnPM.html. Accessed March 29, 2016.

  2. As examples: Farrukh Dhondy, et al. Mangal Pandey the rising (Mumbai: Yash

  Raj Films, 2005); Shashi Kapoor, Shyam Benegal, Shabana Azmi, Jennifer

  Kendal, Nafisa Ali, and Ruskin Bond, Junoon (Secaucus, NJ: Eros International

  (distributor, 2000)); Ruskin Bond, A Flight of Pigeons (Bombay: IBH Pub. Co.,

  1980); 1857 Kranti, 104 episodes, dir. Sanjay Khan (Numero Uno

  International Limited, 2002); Javed Siddiqui, 1857: Ek Safarnama, 2008.

  See also: Badri Narayan, “Popular Culture and 1857: A Memory Against

  Forgetting,” Social Scientist 26, no. 1/4 (1998), 86 – 94.

  3. As examples: J. G. Farrell, The Siege of Krishnapur (New York: Carroll & Graf,

  1985 (orig. 1973; Booker Prize winner)); Mary Margaret Kaye, Shadow of the

  Moon (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1979); John Masters, Nightrunners of

  Bengal, a Novel (New York: Viking, 1951). See also: Albert D. Pionke, Plots of

  Opportunity: Representing Conspiracy in Victorian England (Columbus: Ohio State

  University Press, 2004).

  NOTES TO PAGES 149–152

  195

  4. The Indian Constitution retains a number of laws from the colonial/imperial

  period; recently, for example, Chapter XVI, Section 377 of the Indian Penal

  Code has gained attention. Dating to 1860, it criminalizes sexual acts “against

  the order of humanity,” largely interpreted as homosexual sex. In 2013, four

  years after repealing this Section, the Indian Supreme Court reinstated it.

  In February 2016, Reuters reported that: “Supreme Court on Tuesday said it

  will review a decision over whether to uphold a colonial-era law that

  criminalizes gay sex in a victory for homosexual rights campaigners at a time

  when the nation is navigating a path between tradition and modernity.”

  “Supreme Court will review law criminalizing homosexuality,” Reuters,

  republished in Times of India, February 2, 2016. http://timesofindia.indiatim

  es.com/india/Supreme-Court-will-review-law-criminalizing-homosexuality/

  articleshow/50823515.cms. Accessed March 9, 2016.

  5. As examples: Robert McLain, Gender and Violence in British India: The Road to

  Amritsar, 1914 – 1919 (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014); Elizabeth

  Kolsky, Colonial Justice in British Ind
ia, Cambridge Studies in Indian History

  and Society 17 (Cambridge; New York: Cambridge UP, 2010).

  6. Dipesh Chakrabarty, “Remembering 1857: An Introductory Note,” Economic

  and Political Weekly 42, no. 19 (May 12 – 18, 2007), 1692.

  7. Ibid., 1693.

  8. “Memorial to be set up in memory of 1857 mutiny martyrs,” The Hindu, May

  11, 2015. http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/memori

  al-to-be-set-up-in-memory-of-1857-mutiny-martyrs/article7191386.ece.

  Accessed March 29, 2016.

  9. Nile Green, Islam and the Army in Colonial India: Sepoy Religion in the Service of

  Empire (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2009), 67.

  10. E.g., Vinayak D. Savarkar and G. M. Joshi, The Indian War of Independence,

  1857 (Bombay: Phoenix Publications, 1947 [1909]).

  11. Gottschalk, Religion, Science, and Empire, 1.

  12. E.g., Christopher King, One Language, Two Scripts: The Hindi Movement in

  Nineteenth Century North India (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1994).

  13. E.g., Balshastri Hardas, Armed Struggle for Freedom: Ninety Years War of Indian

  Independence, 1857 to Subhash (Poona: KAL Prakashan, 1958).

  14. E.g., Syed Sharifuddin Pirzada ed., Foundations of Pakistan: All-India Muslim

  League Documents, 1906 – 1947. (Karachi: National Pub. House, 1969); Ayesha

  Jalal, The Sole Spokesman: Jinnah, the Muslim League, and the Demand for

  Pakistan, Cambridge South Asian Studies 31 (Cambridge; New York:

  Cambridge University Press, 1985).

  15. E.g., David Page, Prelude to Partition: The Indian Muslims and the Imperial System

  of Control, 1920 – 1932 (Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1982).

  16. E.g., Peter Van Der Veer, Religious Nationalism: Hindus and Muslims in India

  (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1994).

  17. Gyanendra Pandey, Hindus and Others: The Question of Identity in India Today

  (New Delhi: Viking, 1993); Ornit Shani, “Conceptions of Citizenship in India

  196

  NOTES TO PAGES 152–159

  and the ‘Muslim Question,’” Modern Asian Studies 44, no. 1 (2010), 145 – 73;

  James Traub, “Is Modi’s India Safe for Muslims?” Foreign Policy, June 26, 2015.

  http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/06/26/narendra-modi-india-safe-for-muslims

  -hindu-nationalism-bjp-rss/. Accessed August 15, 2015.

  18. Maidul Islam, “Rethinking the Muslim Question in Post-colonial India,”

  Social Scientist 40, no. 7/8 (2012), 64.

  19. E.g., “The states where cow slaughter is legal in India,” Indian Express, October

  8, 2015. http://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-no-beef-nation/.

  Accessed March 9, 2016.

  20. Khan, Review, 23.

  21. Ibid., 45.

  Epilogue

  1857 from Today’s Vermont

  1. Ed Demaria, “Ben Carson Does Not Believe a Muslim Should Be President,”

  via “Meet the Press,” NBC News. http://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/

  ben-carson-does-not-believe-muslim-should-be-president-n430431. Accessed

  April 5, 2016.

  2. Donald Trump interview with Anderson Cooper. Anderson Cooper 360,

  March 9, 2016. CNN. Full transcript: http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/

  1603/09/acd.01.html. Accessed April 5, 2016.

  3. President Bill Clinton, Democratic National Convention Speech for Hillary

  Clinton’s Democratic Party Nomination, July 26, 2016. Full transcript:

  http://www.politico.com/story/2016/07/full-text-bill-clinton-dnc-s

  peech-226269#ixzz4OlQ2fQaD. Accessed November 1, 2016.

  4. Ed Demaria, “Ben Carson Does Not Believe a Muslim Should Be President,”

  via “Meet the Press,” NBC News. http://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/

  ben-carson-does-not-believe-muslim-should-be-president-n430431. Accessed

  April 5, 2016.

  5. Dr. Ben Carson’s public Facebook page, post dated September 21, 2015.

  https://www.facebook.com/realbencarson/posts/532081783624959. Accessed

  April 5, 2016.

  6. Ibid.

  7. The first amendment to the Constitution begins: “Congress shall make no law

  respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise

  thereof.” Further, Article VI of the Constitution states: “No religious Test

  shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the

  United States.” See: http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_

  transcript.html. Accessed April 5, 2016.

  8. Dr. Ben Carson and Candy Carson, A More Perfect Union: What We the People

  Can Do to Reclaim Our Constitutional Liberties (New York: Sentinel, an imprint

  of Penguin Random House LLC, 2015).

  9. Juliagrace Brufke, “Ben Carson Doubles Down On Muslim In The White

  House Comments,” The Daily Caller, September 22, 2015. http://dailycaller.

  NOTES TO PAGES 159–160

  197

  com/2015/09/22/ben-carson-doubles-down-on-muslim-in-the-white-hous

  e-comments/. Accessed April 5, 2016.

  10. Donald Trump interview with Anderson Cooper. Anderson Cooper 360,

  March 9, 2016. CNN. Full transcript: http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/

  1603/09/acd.01.html. Accessed April 5, 2016.

  11. As examples, see: NBC News, “KKK leader disavows violent past, declares

  Trump ‘best’ for president,” May 9, 2016. http://www.nbc12.com/story/

  31846257/kkk-leader-disavows-violent-past-declares-trump-best-for-presi

  dent. Accessed November 1, 2016; J. M. Berger, “How White Nationalists

  Learned to Love Donald Trump,” Politico.com, October 25, 2016. http://www.

  politico.com/magazine/story/2016/10/donald-trump-2016-white-nationalists

  -alt-right-214388. Accessed November 1, 2016; and Mike Lofgren, “Trump,

  Putin, and the Alt-Right International,” The Atlantic online, October 31, 2016.

  http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2016/10/trump-putin-alt-

  right-comintern/506015/. Accessed November 1, 2016.

  12. E.g., Jeremy Diamond, “Muslim Trump supporter’s message amid ‘no Islam’

  shout,” CNN.com, July 20, 2016. http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/20/politi

  cs/american-muslim-for-trump-no-islam-response/. Accessed October 30,

  2016 and “Watch: Rudy Giuliani addresses ‘Islamic extremist terrorism’ in

  Republican National Convention speech,” LATimes.com (video recording).

  July 18, 2016. http://www.latimes.com/politics/87898481-132.html. Accessed

  November 1, 2016.

  13. President Bill Clinton, 2016 Democratic National Convention Speech, http://

  www.politico.com/story/2016/07/full-text-bill-clinton-dnc-speech-226269#

  ixzz4OlQ2fQaD. Accessed November 1, 2016.

  14. Edward E. Curtis IV, Muslims in America: A Short History (New York: Oxford

  University Press, 2009), 4.

  15. E.g., Pew Research Center, “Muslim Americans,” subsection “Islamic Affiliation

  and Converts of Islam,” August 30, 2011. http://www.people-press.org/2011/

  08/30/section-2-religious-beliefs-and-practices/#fn-20034306-2. Accessed

  January 3, 2017. NB: While I point out white converts to Islam, the Pew

  Report only indicates conversion statistics, with no reference to race: “Among

  American Muslims, 20% are converts to Islam, saying they have not always been

  Muslim.” For a comparative project on race and conversion, see: Juliette Galonnier,

  “The Racialization of Muslims in Franc
e and the United States: Some Insights

  from White Converts to Islam,” Social Compass 62, no. 4 (2015), 570–83.

  16. E.g., Chris Cillizza, “This Khizr Khan Ad for Hillary Clinton is Incredibly

  Powerful,” The Washington Post, October 21, 2016. https://www.washington-

  post.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/10/21/this-khizr-khan-ad-for-hillary-clinton-

  is-incredibly-powerful/. Accessed November 1, 2016.

  17. Ghazala Khan, “Trump criticized my silence. He knows nothing about

  true sacrifice,” The Washington Post, op-ed, July 31, 2016. https://www.wa-

  shingtonpost.com/opinions/ghazala-khan-donald-trump-criticized-my-

  silence-he-knows-nothing-about-true-sacrifice/2016/07/31/c46e52ec-571c-

  198

  NOTES TO PAGES 160–162

  11e6-831d-0324760ca856_story.html?utm_term¼.1c8eda7ab47a. Accessed October 30, 2016.

  18. “Captain Khan,” Hillary Clinton campaign, October 21, 2016.

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v¼WCqFCCgU1xk. Accessed November 1, 2016.

  19. E.g., “Bans on Sharia and International Law,” American Civil Liberties Union,

  https://www.aclu.org/bans-sharia-and-international-law. Accessed April 5,

  2016.

  20. “State Legislation Restricting Use of Foreign or Religious Law,” Pew Research

  Center, April 8, 2013. http://features.pewforum.org/sharia-law-map/. Accessed

  April 6, 2016.

  21. E.g., “Shariah in American Courts: The Expanding Incursion of Islamic Law in

  the U.S. Legal System,” January 5, 2015. http://www.centerforsecuritypolicy.

  org/2015/01/05/shariah-in-american-courts-the-expanding-incursion-of-

  islamic-law-in-the-u-s-legal-system/. Accessed April 5, 2016.

  22. William Faulkner, Requiem for a Nun, Act I, Scene 3 (New York: Random

  House, 1951).

  BIBLIOGRAPHY

  Original Sources

  Abstract of the Minutes of Evidence Taken in the Honourable House of Commons

  before a Committee of the Whole House to Consider the Affairs of the East India

  Company, by the editor of the East India Debates. London: Black, Perry, and

  Co., 1813.

  Abstract of the Proceedings of the Mahomedan Literary Society of Calcutta at a Meeting held

  at the Residence of Moulvie Abdool Luteef Khan Bahadoor on Wednesday, the 23rd of

  November, 1870. Calcutta: Erasmus Jones, Cambrian Press, 1871.

  Affairs of the East India Company, 16 August 1832. London: printed by the

  Honourable Court of Directors, J. L. Cox and Son, 1833.

 

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