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CHAPTER-Ll.
TftE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
The Em ergrJUUWtf a N e11 Pr<rvinge
The expansion of British rule and the emergence of new
provinces from the "graveyard of old national! ties" 1 form a
fascinating chapter in the history of modern India. The
creation of a new province known as the United Provinces of
Agra and Oudh2 ( 1902) at the "sight of the Mughal Empire and
the scene of the Great Hindu Epics"3 by the British can be
traced back to their conquests and consolidation of different
regions of northern India which together constituted the
"Madhyadesh" or "Aryavartha"t,. during. the ancient days. · Several
sacred places of Hindu religion' and significant centres of
Mughal culture6 remain within U.P. region. This region was,
however, acquired by the British over a period of 82 Y.ears
{1775-1857) through a series of cessations, conquests and
1. Anil Seal, qn.~., p.339.
2. Hereafter abbreviated as U.P.
3. La Touche, Officiating Lieutenant Governor of u. P. to Miller, 6 February 190~1 Letter No.lt-4a, Curzon Papers Lhereafter abbreviated as (.;. P.,_/ (microfilm copy, ~IAI) Reel No. 11.
4. Sir Herbert Risely, The Peop1e of In4!s, reprint ed. (Delhi& Orient Publishers, 1969), p.1.
5• e. g., 1-iathura, Badrinatb, Hartddwar, Rishikesh, Banaras etc.
6. e.g. Lucknoa, Agra. (Besides U. P. has import:::-.nt hill Dtatlons like Nainital, Mussorie, Dehradun and Commercial centres like Kanpur, Allahabad etc. For a brief discussion of the important towns of U.P. see R o I U ·n A O;t~h 1911 Allahabadz Government Press, 1912 , Vol.XV, Part I, pp.24-27. Lhenceforth U • .P. CflllRJ.?.S 1911./
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annexations. Motivated mainly by commercial considerations, 1
at times, the British did adopt the means of "Oriental cunning
and ·violence, "2 to acquire and amalgamate the different regions
of northern India to constitute~ - U.P. which came to be known
as the "Veritable garden of India"3 because of its heterogenous
ge~gr~phical and demographic setting.
The process of the formation of u.P. began in 1775 when
according to the Treaty· of Faizabad4 Na,.,ab Vazir of Oudh ceded
the Banaras division (except so1:1thern part of Mirzapur)
including Ghazipur, Banara~, .Ja~npur and parts of Mirzapur to
the Bengal Presidency. In 1797 and 1798 the company acquired
the fortress of Fategarh.5 A~ a result of the Treaty concluded . .
on November 10, 1801, the districts of Gorakhpur, Deoria, Basti, ' Azamgarh, Allahabad, Fatehpur,- Kanpur, Etawah, Mainpuri, Etah0
Farukhabad, Bareilly, Moradabad Badaun, Pillibhit and
1. s. Ambirajan, Q.lJLctJt.ical P~ca.l Economx am\ Briti.sh Pqllg,y J.,p Indi,a (Delhi& Vikas 197 0 P• 29 • . See also Lawrence Wililam Morrison, "Territorial Acquisition Policy of the British East India Compmy 1784-1821, "(Ph.D dissertation, St.Louis University~ 1973; New Delhi& NM~ microfilm copy, No.1024), PP• 24-4t1•
2. Francis G.Hutchins Ife IlbRsion g! Petmanense: Brit1ah Imperialism in Indla New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1967), P• 4.
3. William Crooke, the ~of~~~ Province~! Indta - Th~ HistaxYe Ethglggz ana Aamrnrat;iiion, reprint ed. Delhi: Cosmo Publication, 197,), p.2.
4. For details of the Treaty see, c.u. Aitchison, A CqlJection of Treaties 0 Enga.gementf and Sauadfl Relating tg Indi.a ang !ftighbouring CoHntri~Calcuttaz Central Publications, 1930), Vol.II 9 pp.105- •
5. Doug las Dewar, ed., A Handbggk g£ Pre·M~~~ R:g,~~d~ {Allahabad, n.d.) Appendix I, p.4S5. Lhenceforth ~i§;MUtinv Reqqrds_J
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Shahjehanpore were also ceded by the Nawab. 1 The Second Anglo
Maratha \'Jar in 1803, gave Company the "Conquered Territories"
viz., - the distriets of Saharanp11r, Muzaff'arnagar, l•Ieer11t, .
Bulandshahr, Al1garh9 major portions of Asra and MathuraJ the
territories of Delhi, G11rgaon, Rohtak, Sisa and Kamal were
also acquired by the Company according to the Treaty or'sarji 2 Arjungaon nnd Deogaon. The successful Gorkha ·war of.1816 added
the northern hill districts of Garhwal, Kumaon, Dehradun and
M11ssorie,. Almora., Simla., Nainitai (according to the treaty 'or
Sagau11). 3 With the conclusion of Third Anglo~M~ratha. ~ar.in 181?, the territories of Sa11gor and Narmada came und~r the
British rule. 4 In 1826, the British conquered the remaining
part of Bharatp11r.?
Since all these territories were made a part of Bengal
Presidency, it ·became too unwieldly and posed many adoinistrative
problems. 6 Communication became defective and law and order
1. C. U. Ai tehison mli·, Vol. Ill pp.130-.34. Dharma Bhanu, lJJJ ~ and ll.dmiiLstratiqn of North-J:lfgt._e.rn PrQ¥inces 1803-5a A~ra.: Shiva.lal Agarwal Co.; 195? ,pp.?6-??.
2.
3. l.J2id·
4. D. Awasthi, The Da.l:m f- tolgdern Administ:J:ation 1n India ( Delhiz s. Chand, 1972), pg.2 -25.
?. Dharma Bhanu, gp.cit., p.90
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deterior~ted. 1 Hence, the Charter Act of 1833, suggested the
bifurcation of the Presidency of Bengal into t\vO ( 1) Presidency 2 of Lower Provinces of Bengal, (2) Presidency of Agra, which
intact, came into existence on 11th November 183lt- with Allahabad
as the capital and Metcalf as the Governo~ 3 But, with the
departure .of l4:etcalf, the Presidency became a subordinate
province under Bengal Presidency4 and by 1836, it emerged as
the North Western Provinces with Agra as the head quarters.'
The expansion of the North Western Provinces continued
further uith the acquisition of .Talaun in 1840, Lalitpur in
1844, Jaitpur in 1849 and Jhansi in 1853 - all under the
Doctrine of Lapse. 6 Though, Oudh, after its annexation in 18?6
(on the pretext of 'misgovernment') 7 continued to be maintained
1.
2. See Act 3, Section 38L Despatch from the Court of Directors to the Government of ~ndia dated 27 December 1833, No.18 (Political) in F e. S ,.,. u. P.: ~ (Allahabad: Publication Bureau, 1957), VoLI, p.1 1. Lhenceforth U.P. Source Material L
3. B. B. Misra, AA• cit., P• 252, P• 259.
4o ~t pp.262-63.
5. 1-1. Zabeer and Jagdeo Gupta, The Organizftion gf the Government gt U.tte,r Pradesh (Delhi& s. Chand, 1970 , p.lf..
6. For details see, U.P. Sgurce MatrJiA!, Vol.I, pp.142-48 and Eze-Mut~ny Becords, p.4 A; and B.B. l·lisra, op,cit., pp.253-54.
?. For a detailed discussion on this point see the follo~ingl G. Anderson and 14:. Subedar, The Exaa.nagon of Bri.ti.sh India j818-1858 (London: G. Bell, 1918), PP• 6-99· Safi Ahmad, JU?.tish Agg-ression in Ayadb ( 1-ieerut: Meenakshi, 1969). s. N. Prasad, R.aramountcy !Jndex- Dalhousd.ft..( Delhi: Ranji t, 1964).
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under a separate Chief Commissionership; in 1877, it was
merged l-ri th North \'!estern Provine es due to the similar! ties
in terms of population, language, culture; and administrative
as well as financial considerations. 1 Hith the creation of
North Western Frontier Province in 1901, the name of·North
Western Provinces of Agra and Oudh, became anachronist and
hence, the name of the Province was changed to United Provinces
of Agra and Oudh under the proclamation of 22nd March 1902. 2
Thus, on various occasions, not only the name of·tbe Province
but its terri to rial limits have also been altered and adjusted
in view of the administrative .requirements3 and as a matter of
fact, u. P. , 4- could never emerge as a compact cum compos! t ~ cultural unit and hence, it is not surprising that u.p •. \'litnessed
different types of associations and activities in social and
poll tical fields.
From the geographical point of vie~ also the region' was
not uniform. It was divided into 8 natural divisions (1) The
Himalaya West, (2) Sub Himalaya West, (3) Indo Gangetic Plain I , •
West, ( 4) Indo Gangetic Plain Central, ( 5) Central India Plateau
{ 6) East Satpuras, ( 7) Sub Himalaya, East, ( 8) Indo Gangetic
1. B. B. Misra, op. cit., P• 305
2. GQxernment Ga.zett0 North \1est.ern Px:o:v;inges and Op.t;lh, 22 March 1902, Part IV.
3. On this point, see Shiv Sadan Bhattacharya "Evolution of Boundaries of Uttar Pradesh from 1775w1955h (Ph.D dissertation, Aligarh Muslim University, 1967).
4.. For the purpose of convenience, this term will be interchangeably used to designate the North Western Provinces and Oudh also.
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Plain East. 1 Of these, Indo Gangetic Plain ~as densely
popula.ted, because of good rainfall, fertile soil and tolerable
climatic concitions2 and it had 26.8 percentage of the
population of U.P. compared to the 3.3 percentage of the
Himalayan West. 3 In short, U. P. had very high density of ·
population ip India and on an average 434.6 persons per .square
miles were residing in 1881. 4
When the first uniform census of British India was
carried out in 1881,5 the North \·!estern Provinces of Agra and
Oudh, comprising 12.2 percentage ( 1069 111 square miles) of the
total area of British Incia (868,314 square miles) hac 22.2
percentage ( 44, 107, 869) of the ·total population ( 198,545, 380). 6
1. R n ,9udh,_ 19 21 Allahabad: Govern11ent Part I. Lhenceforth u. P. Census,
2. U. P. Census 1911' PP• 21-22.
3. u. p. c~nm~e l9 ~l' pp.8, 24.
4. ~ort of the Cenags of ~orth Weste~ Provinces and Ogdb 1881 Allahabad: Government Press, ~82; New Delhi: NM~ lficrofilm Copy), Vol.I, P•27• Lhenceforth N.w.P. CensQ§ 1881_/
nd
5. Even before 1881, several attempts to ascertain the population ,.,ere made in 1826, 1848, 185'3, 1856, 1865, 1869 and 1872. Since there was no uniform system of enumeration, there'- ,may be many errors and inconsistencies in the calculations and bene e those figures have little value and have not been made use of in the present study. Hunter considered the enumerations in certain places as mere -estimates. See, ~J. w. Hunter, I.be Iucian Empire: Its People• ll~sto..rY and Products (London: Rubner Co., 1S86), P• 5o.
6.
Imperial Gagett~er of !ndial United froYinces of Agia ang Oud)J ( Ct:-tlcuttaa Govern:nent Printin~, 1908), Vol. I, PP• 34-35'· Lhereafter r.u.~. Gaz§tteerJ
Region Bengal
Religion
1-iuslims 21 1?04~ 724 ( .:s 1. 2)
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Tabl§-2
Distr:tbution o!_J-lindu Muplirn .. Po:pyJ.p.tion in Bri,t;l::;b Indifl, 1881
Bombay
3,021,131 ( 18. 4)
Madras N.W.Provinces Punjab
1,933,561 ( 6. 2)
and Oudh
5,922,886 10,5251150 ( 13. 4) ~51. Lf.)
Central Assam Provinces
275,7?3 1,31?,022 ( 2. 5) ( 2?. 0)
Hindus 45,452_,806 12,308"582 28,497,678 38,053,_394 7,130,528 7,317,830 3,062,148 \65·'+) . \74.ts) \91.'+) \86 • .:s) \40.?) (?5.4) (62.?)
( Percentgges 8.re given in br~.ckets)
Source:
All India (including native states)
50,121,585 . ( 19. 7)
187' 9 371450 \ 74.o)
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In British India (including the native states) the percentage
of the 1-iuslim population in 1881 was 19.74 (50,121,585) of
which 11.77 (5.922,886) lived in North Western Provinces 1 and
the Muslim percentage to the total population of N.W. Provinces 2 was 13.44. In other words, the percentage of Muslim
population in N.w. Provinces and Oudh remained much lower than
their all India representation. In other p~ovinces of British
India, especially. in Punjab and Bengal Muslim population was
much higher. ( see Table-2). But in all places, the growth of
Muslim population was faster than the Hindus. 3 It was due to
their comparatively higher· rate of fertility, 4 vitality and
lo\'rer r~.te of mortality, 5_ practice of polygamy and wido\'J .. -
1. ~! P• 30. Census 1881, Vol.I, pp.24-26, 39, 58.
2. Ill,:JJh., P• 59
3. It hns been calculated ·that during 28 yea.rs since 1853 ljuslims have inc reA.s ed at an a.nnual · r~ te of 3. 52 per thousand comp'lred to 2.48 of Hindus. During the decade ( 1872-1881) Muslims increased by +9·98 per cent compared to the 4 per cent increase among the Hindus. l~. \1. P. CensM 1881, Vol. I, PP• 3-49 60. !ndia Cengus: Ngrth WestBrn PtQ~inces 1872 (Allahabad: Government Press, H~? 3; New Delhi: N~·lL, 1·1icrofiche copy), Vol.I, P·~· Lhenceforth N.1~.P. Census 1822/
4. One reason for their big h ra.te of fertility was due to their resistance to modern education and westernisation. Kingsley Davis, ,I?opuJ.ation of India and fek;i.a,tan ( llew Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1951), pp.81, 193. Hilliam Crooke, gn. cit., P• 262
?· It was due to their preference for non-vegetarian food and non-addiction to alcohol, ganja and charas. Herbert Risely on.cit. p.248 •
. Jk.x-. Cen:;?us, 1911o- Vol.3cv, Part I, p.109. !l!.d.P. Census 1881, Vol.I, p.64.
- 38 -
remarriage and absence of infant marriages; 1 conversions 2 and
preference for urban life. 3
What were the reasons for the preponderance of the
Muslims in urban areas? 4 It has been observed that 'Muslim
civiliz~tion has everywhere been essentially urban in character •••
Standard of life and culture have been urban.'5 This seems to be
true in the case of u.P. also. Though, the proportion of the
Muslim urban population varied from province to province in
British India; 6 in u. P., it was much larger because of the
1 • .DL:i..!h..; \'/illiam Crooke, g,n.cj,¢·, P• 261. Herbert Risley, op.cit., pp.2 6-8.
2. A detailed examination of the various factors that led to the conversion of certain Hindus into Muslims, though interesting, seems to be outside the purview of the present work. Various Scholars have studied this problem ~t various points of time. For details see the follO\vingt T. Stokes and w. c. Benet t, "Note on Conversion" in N. \~. P. C ensua 1881~ pp.62-63. . Peter Hardy, ~P•£!1•, PP•9-10. u. £>• Census 1911, P• 141. \-lilliam Crooke, 0_~:)• cit·, PP• 261-272. Times, ~ August 1872 in Palcu.tta RevieH Selections, CXV, P• .39.
3. Being the urban residents the 14uslims got better medical facilities during epidemics. Besides, the majority of the Muslims being non-8.tiricultural class, they suffered less due to famine. r.J.~·I.P. Census 1883, Vol.I, p.64.
4. Urban areas here refer to towns which include municipalities and other continuous collection of' houses pei'mancn tly inhabited by not less than 5,ooo persons. Ind•a Census 1201, Vol.I, p.21. See also, "Defining Urban in the Indian Context" in Ashish Bose, India's Urbe.nization 1$01-1921~ reprint ed., (New Delhi: Tata 1'1cGraw Hill, 1978 , pp.33-47.
5· .M. I~uj eeb, Indian Muslims. ( Londont George Allen, 1970), P• 10.
6. It was found that in general, in Bengal, Baluchistan, Assam, Punjab, Huslims took less readily to tm·Tn life than others because most o£ them were agriculturists whereas in U.P., Central Provinces, Hyderabad, etc. it was not so. For details see, India Census 19.31, P•l.t-9• Qensus Ingia 1911, Vol.I, Part I, PP• 37, 40.
- 39 -
numerous old capitals of Hughuls and comparatively longer
duration of their rule which undoubtedly stimulated an increase
in the number of Muslims in such places. 1
Besides the historic reason, there is another sociological
factor that made the Muslims urban oriented. To quote l~artin,
"everywhere the country is homogeneous and native, the town
heterogeneous and cosmopolitan; hence all minorities find their
way into and flourish in towns. " 2 This sort of urbanization,
observed among the .i4uslims, not warranted by the prevailing level
of industrialization and economic development has been
characterised a.~· "over urbanization. " 3 In 18B~ while the
percentage of urban population at all India level and U.P.
remained 9.3 a.nd 10.9 respectively, the percentage of urban
1·1uslims of IJ.?. was 25.02. 4 The l-1uslims formec one third of the
population of tLe tovms in u.p.5 and they were more numerous in
Hestern divisions and especially in Rohilkha.nd and l·leerut. 6
The distribution of I•Iuslims in dii ferent urban centres, however,
varied considerably.
1. Peter EarCly, OJ,. cit:.., P• 5
2. Census India 1221, Vol.I, Pt. I, p.?o.
3. Ashish Bose, 11Industrialisation, Urbanization a.nd Social Change in India," in atudies in_India' s Ux:ba.nizeti,gn ed •. Ashish Bose ( DelhiJ Institute of l!conomic Grm1th, 19~6), p.1. ( l'.d.meog raphed).
4. C.t:. : Hindu Urba.n population \<las only ? • 25 1;. N:Vi. P. Census 1881, Vol. I, P• 39.
5 • ;tbicl. , P• 60 •
6. Ibid., P• 63.
- 40 ..
An examination of the percentage of the population in
different regions provide little explanation as to why and how
the Muslims of U.P., who constituted 13.43 percentage of the
total provincial population and of Aligarh who were hardly 12.5
percentage ot the population of the district succeeded in
playing a significant role in the social and political history
of modern India. Definitely there must be other factors like
the better socio-economic status of the community, literacy,
British policy and the dedicated leadership etc.,
Sgqifitl in U.P. Region
In 1823, when the British power had' reached its "optimum
spread" 1 in India and had almost displaced the Mughul powe~ that
was already on the verge of dec~ne, 2 the major portion of. U.P.
had come under the British. They were 'amazed' at the richness
of Indian culture3 which in fact bas been referred to as
1. C.H. Philips, 1_he East InR~~ Co~~X 1784-182J reprint ed. ( l·1anchester: Manchester University Press, 19 61~, P• 219.
2. Of the several factors that led to the decline of the Mughal power, four have been thoroughly studied, viz., ( 1) increasi~ burden of taxation and consequent zamindari peasant rebellion, ( 2) tensions and tussles with Ln the Hug hal court ( 3) break-up of the Mansabdari system ( 4) role of the 'Great Banking Firms. 1
For details see the follomng: Irfan Habib1 Thg Agraf1an S~atem of Mughal Ind1a, (Bombay: Asia Publisning, 1963 • Satish Chandra, ~ti§s_and Po1itics at the Mughal Court, reprint ed. (Delhi: Peoples Publishing, 197 2). Atthar .All, Hyghal Nqblli;tx Under Aurangaefteb (Bombay: Asia, 1966). Karen Leonard, "The Great Firm Theory of the Decline of the Mughal Empire,_" Cgwparatiye Studi-es in Society- and. HistorY, 21 (April 197'1}: 1?1-67.
3. See for instance the works· of William Jones, William Robertson and other early Indologists. Lord Teignmonth9 ed., Th§ Works of Sir W!lliam Jonen, reprint ed. (Delhi: Agam Prakashan, 1977), Vol. IV 9 PP• 71-211. s. N. Mukherj eel g1r 1~m gn~g• A StU<!;)! in EiKbj;een!Jl CenturY - Brit_s_ Afi] ___ IL __ !_dia (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 196 ), PP• 3-21.
- 41 -
1 "pre-British Culture 11 by Bernard s. Cohn and "Sharif (Noble) . 2
Culture" by David Lelyveld. Since 1 t had developed during the
long reign of Mughals and was a unique but exquisite combination
of Persian, Indian and Islamic Culture and its patrons were the
Urdu speaking elite3 of northern India we may refer to it as
Urdu-culture, or Mughul culture or Indo-Persian Culture.
According to the observation of Raja Ram Mohan Roy, there was
hardly any noticeable dif'ferenc.e between the life styles of' the
upper class Hindus and upper class Muslims4 and there was a
'close rapport'5 between them. To a great extent the Mughul
manners and etiq~ettee had become the standard everywhere. 6 It 7 ~ 8 l'Jas characterised by its "Urdu parnassus, n · ghazals, mu.shaira,
1. B.s. Cohn, "The Initial British Impact on India: A Case Study of the Banaras Region," in Immanuel Hallerstein, ed., ~ Change: The Colonial Sitgatign (New York: John Wiley, 19661, •. p.317.
2. David Lelyveld, .Allgarh' a F~rst Ge;gergtion, P• 35.
3. This includes both the Muslim and Hindu landed aristocracy and Government servants, especially the Kayasthas and Kashmir! Brahmins. For details see, Francis Robinson, ~P·9bt•, PP• 31-32.
4. Salahuddeen Ahmed, Sac:la.t J:deas and Sqcl,a1 Change in Bengal ( Lei den: E. J • Bri 11, 196 ) , pe 17 •
5'· Narayan! Gupta, Deth: Betrreen T~~ Em~ 1803-19.;31: Soq!§U, Gw.x-nmen£ and Utpan Growth Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1981 , po226.
6. s. M. Ikram, Muslim Ci~flization in India (New York: Columbia University Press, 196 9 p.279.
7 • John Pemble Thr Raj, the India,n MuY,P,Y and t~e KiMdgm of Qudh 1ao1-1~59 Sussex: Harnester Press, 1977, p.17.
8. For details see, Farhatullah Baig, The LaBt Muaha!r~ of Delh6 trans. Akhtar Qamber {Delhi: Orient Longmans, 19 O).
- 42 -
Hindustani music, fine arts, dance, costumes and nawabi pastimes
like k1 te flying, pigeon flying, bird fights, gambling etc. 1
With the gradual disintegration of the Mughul power, the
socio-economic condition of the nawabs, rajas and the aristocrats
who ~ere the patrons of arts and the artists declined. The
affliction of the aristocracy did adversely affect the affluence
of the artist~. The fall of the 1-iughals became a -"cultural loss"2
and the Indo-Persian culture began to lose its splendour in· the
first half of the nineteenth century. So when the British came
into contact with the prevalent culture they portrayed it as
"degenerated"3 and found it to be little "inferioru4 t<:> their own.
While some scholars have supported this, especially with regard to
1. For an account of the pastim.es of the l~1ughul's and their culture see the followings Krishna l.furarilal Misrat. "l~uslim Society in Nort~ India During the First Half of 19th lientury, Mainly Based on Drdu Sources," (Ph.D. dissertation, Agra University, 1970) 9 pp.135-218. John Peamble op.cit., pp.16-26. Abdul lialim Sharar, .Luc__kn_ru·r: The Last Ehase gf an Oriep.tal Culture, trans. and ed. E. s. Harcourt. and Faltir Hussain ( Lonc1on: Paul Clerk,. 1975(~ pp.76-91, 116-29, 132-50, 189-93. nichael Edwardes, the Orc~d Ho.gseJ Splendour§ and Miseries of tRe Kipgggm of Oudh ( 1827-1837) { London: Cassell, '1960), PP• 15-22. Thomas R. :i·Ietcalf, Land, ~nsUord,s and BritiBh Baj: North India in thf Nineteenth Centu~Delhi: Oxford University Press, 19790 PP• 3 7, 361, 370.
2. Percivial Spear, T\ti?ight of the Mughals (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 19 1), p.83.
3. The l'tritings of Charles Gran_t_ and Lord .f.>I!nto portray the pathetic state of Indian Society e.g., see Charles Grant, "Observation on the State of Society Among the Asiatic Subjects of Great Britain!." in the .R.suuu:tJrom tpe §~get Corr@dttee 0~ ~~e Ho~qe ~ cormons gn tRe rffairs ot the East India ComruUlYi 1 August f 32 London: 1 32 , Vol. I, Appendix I pp.81- 7. Lord 1-iintol s Hinute of 6th l~arch 1811, in Ibid~.., Vol. II, PP•- 484-6.
4. Thomas R. l.fetcalf, T~~ Aftermath Qf Rgvolt (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 19 ), P•7•
- 43 -
u.P. region, 1 others have argued that the state of Indian
Society ~as not at all degenerated at the end of 18th century, 2
and in the t~dli·ght years of the Mughul Empire bet~een 1803-?7
the city's (Delhi's) social and economic pattern changed
little.3 The fact that at that time Delhi was witnessing a
sort of Urdu revival4 and the Mughul Court continued to
patronise traditional arts such as ghazals, miniature painting
and calligraphy? proves that the actual state of society ~as not at·all degenera~ed, though perhaps, it may have been on
its decline.
Ho~ did British policy affect Indian society during the
first half of the 19th century? During the "era of orienta
lism"6 ( 1?72-1830) when the British were busy with bJ!dlding up
their empire, most of the Governor Generals of British India
1. e.g., Lo~ observed that U.P. vas a "great area, with little or no cultural or indeed any other kind of creativity to its credit •••• The flesh had dried up. The kernel had gone, only the husk remained." D.A. Low, ed., Sound~in ModftAn South Asian History (London: Weidenfieldf1968f, P•9•
2. e.g., See, George D. Bearce, "Intellectual and Cultural Characteristics of India in a Changing Era 1740-1800," lguEnal gf Aaian_Btudies, 25 eNovember 196$): 3-19·
3. e. g., See, Narayani Gupta, "Mill tary Security end Urban Development: A Case Study of Delhi 185?-1912," Mgdftrn Aa!an Studies, ? ( 1971}: 61-77•
4. w.c. Smith, Mpd~rn I3lam in Indi~: A s9sial Analysi§, reprinted., {New York: AMS Press, 19?~>, p.1~.
5'. P. Spear, "Ghalib' s Delhi" in R. Russelll ed., g)aaJJ..b ,Nte Poet and HLc; Age (Cambridge: George llen Co., 1972), P•5o.
6. David Kopf, B i 0 (Berkely: Un~i~v~e~r~s~i~t~y~o~f~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
- lf-4 -
with the exception of Cornwallis {1786-93)~ pursued the
conservative policy characterised by non-intervention in the
affairs of the native states2 and encouragement to the study
of oriental languages and culture. 3 Such a policy which was
essential to seek the cooperation of the Indian elite to
stabilise their political power in newly conquered areas and
carry on their trade uninteruptealy could not have disturbed
the status quo of the society to any great extent.
The society in U.P. region, notwithstanding the centuries
of Muslim rule did successfully retain the basic Hindu character. 4
The Hindu society l'Tas based on· the hierarchical orcering of
1. Conservatively inclined Cornwallis puroued an essentially imperial anglicisation policy.instead of conserv~tive policy. He took the basic decision that the administration was to be through British officers and tried to create a 'lahdholoing class' on the lines of English landed aristocracy overlooking the claims of ori&inal proprietors of the land and these changes adversely affected the peasants. See, George D. Bearce, British Attitudes ~o}'Iarcs ¢t;eta 1784-1835 (London: Oxford University Press, 19 1), PP• ... 5. s. Gopal, The P~u:ma.nent Settfement....J,n Bgnge.J,. and Its Results. { London: Allen & Un\·dn, 1949 , PP• 26-27.
2. c.n. Philips, op.cit., p.240.
3. This policy found its expression specially in the es·tablishment of Calcutta i~adr~'~.ssah ( 1781) and Hindu Pnthshaln at Benaras ( 1782). The impact of this policy on education is dealt in Chapter III.
4. "Centuries of Budhism and then Islam did not destroy the cohesiveness of Hindu Society in this area LU·P~. It seemed to have been maintained by the manner in which it was structured •••• " D. A. LOt·T, DP• g:J,t.' p L-· 6-7. The observation of Nirad c. Choudhury support the above view of Lo\'T• He writes that ''Islamic trends and traditions did not touch even the arc of their LHindy/ consciousnesS••••• Throughout nineteenth century the culture of the Hindus of India was taken back to its ancient Sanskritic foundations." Nirad C. Chowdhury, Tbe AutaPiogrt>~,nhy: gf an Unk,nown Indiar~. (London: MacMillan, 1951), PP• 230-31.
- 45 -
innumerable castes and sub-castes which in fact had b~cnched
off from the original varna system in course of time cue to
the multiplicity of occupations and geographical factors. 1
Oudh had more number of Brahmins than anywhere in India occupying
all spheres of life during 19th century. 2 However, the Hindu
society of U.P. as in other parts of Indian subcontinent remained
divided 3 and t-ras not free from the socio-reJigio~s evils like
casteism, idolatry, sati, infanticide, child marriage and other
superstitions and orthodox beliefs and practices. Bishop Heber
has observed that cases of sati were more abundant in u.P. region than Calcutta4 and social atrocities like burning of
lepers·were also not uncommon.5 Female infanticide was prevalent
in 1-leerut, especially e.mong Raj puts, Ahirs, Guj ars and Jats. 6
1. Abbe J. Dubois Hindu Hanners, Customs and Ceremoniesereprint ed., (Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1981), pp.14-15o
2.
3. K.~. Panikkar has observed that the idea of a Hindu People held together by a common religion, a general community of ethical and moral ideas and a broadly unified civilization was certainly absent at this time (curing 19th century). K. ll. Penikkar, The Detumining Peri~s gf ~ndian Ilistgrx (Bombay: Bharatiya Vidya .dhat<Jan, 196 ) 9 P• 6.
4. In 1830, there \<Jere • .:.ore than 40 cases of sati in u • .:.>. region. N. A. Laird ed., o He N I d a S n. {rom Heberla &ournal Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1971) 9 pp.126-127. Lhenceforth H~s Journal_/ See also, Salahuddeen, an.cit., pp.138-128.
5. He~9 Journ0l, p.128.
6. The reasons ·Here the inhnense expenditure in connection \d th marriage, difficulty in obtaining suitable husbands, fear of being hijacked by l·iuslim rulecs etc. In 1840, among 35 clans residing in 93 villages of ~llahabad only 3 girls survived. For details see, Rev. J'ohn Cane Brom1, ;&ndi.an Infa.nt.ic_ide (London: H. H. Allen & Co., 1857).
- 46 -
Child marriage continued unabated. 1 Offences, crimes and
thefts continued in different parts of u.~, mainly due to the
anarchy and chaos created as a result of the displacement of
the local rulers. 2 The society was also not free from communal
riots between Hindus and Muslims. 3
Some of the ~uslims did practice casteism and observed
supe'rsti tious practices and even idol t-rorship. 4 I4us lim women . lived within the four walls and observed strict Parda.5 In . general, the \:romen were. the vic.tims of "unjustifiable social
tyranny. "6 Fatalism t:ras also prevalent in the· soc·i ety7 and it
1. It t-ras so P.revalent that during 1881-91, onl.y 10 per cent of the population aged above 15 were unmarried. I.U.P. Gazetteer, Vol.I 9 p.41.
2. \-1. H. Carey, ~ Ggod Olg Da,zs of Honour~~J,e t{o~ C~, reprint ed., Calcutta.: Quins Book; 1964 , pp.11, 205.
3. Hel'Lers Journal, P• 129.
4. To quote Ibbetson, "They observe the feasts of both religions and fasts of neithe~ A brother officer tells me that he once entered the rest house of a r.:.tohomedan village in North India and found the head man refreshing an old idol vrfth a ne,., coat of paint, 1:1hile a Brahman read holy texts alongside. They seemed somewn~t ashamed of being caught in the act, but on being pressed, explained that their r-Iulla had lately visited them, had been extrelllely angry on seeing the idol, and had made them bury it in the sand. But now that the Mulla had gone they were afraid of the possible consequences nnd were endeavouring to console the God for his rougD treatment." Billiam Crooke, ~~~gt Indian: Being Notes gn Va.rlous Subj ect3 Qgnnected with J;ndip. London: John 1•1urray, 1906), P• 337.
5. On this point see Begum Shaista s. Ikramulla, Frgm Parda to Paxliamopt ( London: Crescent Press, 1963), PP• 3-39.
6. Shiva Dua, "Social Co~ions in Northern India in the Second Half of the 19th Century with Spec~al Reference to the Postion of Women." (Ph.D dissertation, University of Delhi, 1953), P• 292. For further details see, Ibid~, PP• 269-294 and H. Pa.pnek, "Purdah: Separate \·1orlds and Symbolic Shelter " Cgmnfl.rt=~,ti:xfL.Stud.ies_in Society aruLHi.stg,ry 15 ( 197 3) 1 289-325.
7. '~. J. Green Berges, The British_I.ma~M' In~ 1880-1900 ( London: Oxford University Press, 19 9 , p. 7.
- lf-7 -
l!aS "radically faulty. u 1 Hence it is no l!onder that the Indians
were portrayed as "An oriental crowd drabed in the garb of two
thousand years ago. "2 Ot all the evils of Indian society, the
greatest evil w~s, however, the institution of caste.~
The ca.ste system which divided the inhabitants of India
in to "Two thousand species, n4 depending on endog alllY, rae e, tribe,
tradition, locality, occupation etc.,5 influenced and infiltrated
all the major religions. 6 According to Dubbois, the Hindus were
much ... ore attached to their caste than the gentry of Europeans
aere to their rank and the pride of caste formed an elementary
·ingredient of 'Hindu nature. 7 The colour element became deep
rooted in north Indian Aryan culture. 8
1. Victor Jacquemout, ketters from India, reprint ed., (Karachi: Oxford University Press, 1979), Vol.I, P• :xix.
2. A. J. Green Berges, op. cit., P• ~-
3. A caste may be defined as an endogamous group or a collection of such groups bearing a common name and having the same trc-.di tion~.l occupation. For details see, :r. s. Grm·Tse, "Caste: Its Origin and Development" in India CenBus 1826, PP• Lxxvii-Lxxxv. w. Crooke9 T T ~ d t N t ~ reprinted., Delhi: Cosmo, 197 Vol.II, PP• i-xvi. , s. v. KetlS:ar, Hist9IT of Cagt_e in ind!a ( Ja+pur: Ral-Tat, 1979), PP• 12-14.
4. Sir Bampfylde Fuller, "Studies of Indian Life a.nd Sentiments" cited in Sir John Stratehey, Indir: Its Administration and P;rogrega. ( London: Macl•fi llan, 1911 9 P• 20 9 r. n. ·
?• v. P. s. Raghuvanshi, "The Institution and t·Jorking of Caste in the Latter Part of the Eighteenth Century from European Sources" in Horst Kruger, ed., K. i·i. Aahfa.f liWrial Vgl!l.IJl§ ( Delbia Peoples• Publishing House, 1969 , P• 1 9·
6. Joseph E. Schwartzberg, "The Distribution of Selected Castes in l~orth Indian PlainJ' The GeograplRcal Reyimr, 55 (October, 19 65) , P• 49 1•
7. V • .P. s. Raghuvansi, op. cit., P• 147 •
8. Romila Thapar Penguin, 197 4j 9 · P• 3 •
reprint ed., (Middlesex:
- 48 -
Christiantty1 and Islam also did not escape the impact
of casteism. When Islam penetrated into India2 and prospered,
notwithstanding its egalitarian philosophy, 3 it could not escape
from the clutches of caste system. It was because many Muslims
even after conversion from Hinduism continued to retain their
caste characteristics~ and few according to Dumont de~berately adopted the Hindu norms and values •as a price to be paid ·for
peaceful co-existence.' 5 But compared to Hindus- the
characteristics of castes remain less marlted among the f.1us-11ms
due to non-recognition of caste by Muslim traditional religious
ideology, absence of pure-impure analogy and non-existence of
ritually pure castes atc. 6 In short the various studies conducted
in different parts of India at various points of time bear
1. Social distinction based on the fourfold division of Manu were said to be observed also by the Indian Christians in l~angalore and Goa, see )lru;l!J!. CaM!!§~ 1911, p.36.
2. For different theories o:f Islamic penetration into India (viz., conquest, immigration conversion etc.), See, 1·1. T. Titus, l.s.lam in lnd;a and fald.,sten (Calcutta: Y. M. c. A. Publication, 1959>, pp.15-53.
3. Islam preaches that "great and small, noble and plebian shall be equal a.L1ong you," for details see, R. Levy, §ggial,_StJ::ucture gf.: IslamJ reprint ed., ( London: Cambridge University Press, 1962), Chapter II.
4. For the converts the change of religion meant "Suboti tution of Allah for Paramat . .aa <:>.nd celebrating both the :festivals," see, Zarina Ahmad, "Muslim Caste in u. P. " ~ .. oMroiC a.nd Political t1~ekJ,z, February 17, 19 62 PP• 325, 333. J.f~ Hutton, Caste in Indi~ (Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1969).1 p.2. M. T. Titus, .CW• cit,, P• 175. Yogendra Singh, Modernization o!,Indtgn Tradition, reprint ed., ( FariCiabad: Thomason Press, 1977 J, P• 74-.
5. Louis Dumont, Homo HieJ:p,r£hi1ln: The Caste Sy;stem_@d Itg Implications (Delhi: Vikas, 1970), P• 206.
6. Imtiaz Ahmad, ed., ~C~-~~e~~.n~~o~~~~~~~~~~--~~ Muslims in India, 2d rev. enl. ed.,
- 49 -
testimony to the prevalence and predominance or "caste" system
among the Muslims. 1
The structure of the Indian Muslim society as rightly
observed by Mujeeb, has had little resemblance to the democratic
classless community integrated ~d inspired by belief in one 2 God. Muslim society of the 19th century India, l-rhich was·
comprised of the heterogenous population and which represented
a mixture of groups drawn from the indigenous races of India
and foreign blood, from successive bodies of invaders_, ~mmigrants
and intrnders from the outside regions, 3 was by no means cohesive
or monolithic. It was divided into different sections. The
differences regarding the successor of Prophet Mohammed, divided
the Muslims broadly into Sunnis and Shias. 4 In 1881, their ratio
was 30t1 in N.w. Provinces and Oudh. In Lucknow 'alone·the
percentage of Shias was 23. It was because, most of the rulers
1. Right from the middle of the 19th century efforts ·have been made by some of the administrators, historians, ethnographers like Elliot, Ibbetson, Nesfield, Risley, Crooke to study the social organization mainly in connection with census operation. Later several historians like Titus, Smith, Qureishy, Mujeeb9 Aziz Ahmed, etc., studied the Muslim society. However, recently, mainly due to the interest and initiatbve taken by Imtiaz Ahmad, ~ number of significant sociological studies of Muslim society have become available. Other studies connected with u.P., worth mentioning are by G aus Ansari 1 Zarina Ahm~.d, s. C. :l•tls ra and s. P. Jain. Ibid., PP• 205-6.
2. Muj eeb, Ialamic Influence on Indian Society (Meerut: Meenakshi, 197 2) 9 P• 7 2. Idem, Socif!l Reform Among Indian 11us.J.im.s., Evelyn Hersey memorial lectures delivered "it the Delhi School of Social Hork, University of Delhi (Delhi I D. s. s. H., 19 68) ., P• 2.
3. Jatar Sharif, l&lam.!n_lndi~ trans. G.A. Herklots, rev. \villi am Crooke, reprint ed. {New Delhi a Oriental Books, 1972) t P• 6.
~. For details of Shia-Sunni differences, see Risley, gn,.cit., pp.121-22. John Norman Hollister, hJle Shia of India (London: Luzac, 1953), PP• 1-69 28-~1.
- $0 -
of Ouclh uoro Sbino. Uhilo in 18B1 there 1:1ero 4~, ?6?, 206 Su:tnio
f'l..nd 809,;61 O}"'.J.o.s in Dritinh Incan, IJ. H. Provinces had ?,7;2,056
and 170,547 of thoo reo~cctivoly. 1
Based on otllnic oriJin and foreian doaeont, tho i41slius
have been d1v1derll into throo soeial d1v1s1ono viz., 'l.shr:'\1'2 (upper
cloos), AJlnf (lower class) OJ:ld ~rznl (lot-Toot of all)~ l1bilo
~ohrnf include tho foreign descendants from brab, Persian, ~fahnn
or i~onaol and nloo the converts frofj biaher ccstoo of Hinc;us,
Ajlnf include the converts fro~ tho lo~or CAsto hindus, oapecinlly
thooc .belonaina to functional croups such no \:Jee.vora ( Julo.hn),
cotton tondero ( Dhunia), tnilor ( D".rz1) 9 Darilor ( l1rj nw) otc. 4
Tho Arzal ( 1.:1ainly oeen in Dengnl) consists of tho very lovoot
castes such as L~lbc3i, Hololhhor etc.5 Tho Ashrnf section bfls 6 been furthc~ eli vidod into tour aroupa viz., ( 1) Sye_9-s -
1. lJlo.i.fl C.f\n£U.l.W.S3...1, PP• 24-26, ?lt-.
2. Ashrnf is plural of Shnrif n.nd refers to the c1 escenflanto ot the pro.t~hot or 1;ersons or hiah nobill ty. Soo Levy, ~£~·, pp.67-6G.
3. ru. o ley, J.~ ... rJ...t.r., Znrina 'lhl:lnd, .9.P.&.fJ 1 t. , P• 32?.
4.~ & c. o. J.i.f'l.llcy 0 J.J,1.•!Yln P.oc:lJ\,.1. Ue.x!tt.,..·tl£3 ( }:rou Delhit Vikns, 1976), P• 31.
1. Gllc.uo ~nsorl, iiunJJJL.C...este tn.Jttt.ru: .. )2.r.f'~ ( Lucknotrl I::thonoaraphic nncl ~j'ollt Culture Socl oty, 19 0), P• 5'0.
6. Syed · _o'\no :i~ster or Lord, derived from 'Dud' me~ns • incree.oo'. 'Lhoy f:re the desconr.lfl.nts or l.;rop11ct end ce.rly Cal1phn:J• rour of thcao trices havo tokGn their n~rucs from the oriainnl hooco r.roiJ_uhere t~=f cnme. D~hc'1f?.c1~. Sy ~d.. { 2G,:3bGot'f) t Dokbari_ Syed ( Dokh 1 StthZ'l"JM.i Syed l I~llornnon); Tirmizi Syed ( ~ersio) • w. Croolte, A«l.LC;i.t-t,., Vol. II, PP• 301-9.
- ?1 -
( 2) Sheikhs 1 ( 3) Mughals 2 and ( 4) Pathans, 3 All these groups
are further sub-divided into many sub-groups. In the same way,
:rion-ashraf section also can. be classified into four groups
( 1) Bukala (traders), { 2) Jyotiyas (agriculturists, field
workers), ( 3) the Panniyas ( artisans), ( lt-) people of low
profession. 4
The sy·ed·s · and Sheikhs, like the Brahmins, enjoyed the
status of th~ "Lords 11 of the Muslim society and were entitled
to gifts and charities.? Though the traditional occupation of
the Syeds was priesthood, 6 some of them by virtue of their
Mughul lineage amassed lands and emerged as landed aristocrats
in due course. Others entered the administrative and army
services. The Moghuls and Pathans more or .less enjoyed the
status of the Kshtriyas of Hindu society. 7 Though the different
1. Sheikh means chie~. They are Arab descendants. In Punjab Rajput weavers call themselves SheikhJ, many lower agriculture population assume this title. They are sub-divided into tribes names after Caliphs and religious leaders. e.g.; Faruqui, Kidvrai, ~ureshi, Faridi etc. Ibid., pp.314·318.
2. For details, see Thi.d•, Vol. IV, PP• 3-6.
3. Pathan is a Hindi corruption of Pakhtana meaning those who speak Pakthu language. They belong to four tribes Yusufzai, Lodi, Ghori, Kakar etc. Ihld4, PP• 155-171.
lt-. V. P. s. Raghuvanshi, ru>• cit:_, P• 174.
?. Heer Hassan Ali, O.bs.eryation on the MussaJ.mans of India reprint ed., (DelhiJ Idarh-i-adabiyat, 1973), Vol.I, pp.6-7.
6. :r.s.o. Halley, gp.cit., pp.30-31. Risley, I,gc. cit.
7, Ibid.
- 52 -
groups among the l·luslims did undergo the upward cultural
mobility, known as Islamization, 1 the Syeds and Sheikhs, along
with the Ulemas 2 who were engaged in religious teaching,
constituted the elite3 among the Muslims. In 18?0, there were
221,927 Syeds; 1,306,769 Sheikhs; 707,306 Pathans and 68,420 ~ Mughuls in u.p. region. Their socio-economic status, however,
varied considerably depending on their eoucation, professional
choice and the attitude towards British and response towards
the various policies pursued by the colonial rulers.
1. The speed of upward mobility was so SltTift that a popular proverb rras coined. "The first year I was a. butcher, the next year a Sheikh, this year if prices rise I shall be a Sayyid." William Crooke, on.cit., Vol.IV, p.315. Yogcndra. Singh, on.ci;t., p.73. c.r.: c.v. Desteurs prefers to use the term a.shrafization ' instead of Islamization ( rrhich she uses for the process of purification of the Muslims from un-Islamic practice). C. V •. Desteurs, ,fardez A Study yf Musl1.m Women in llorthern Indi.a (Assens Vangerecum, 1968 , PP• 5-6. .
2. The Ulema, a class of interpreters of the Koran end prophetic tradition differed from the two other leading segments of 1-luslim Elite - Government servants and land owners, in class background, in religious and cultural orientation and in numbers. Those Ulemas who were not simply sons of Ulemas, tended to come from a petitbourgeois ba.ckg round. :F'or details see, Canaus N. W. P. 1M,1, Vol. I, P• 59. Paul Bras.s, Language, ~eligion and Politics ~f North JnQ.i.a_ . · · · Ne\v Delhi: Vikas, 197 , P• 163. P. narrty, ou.c1t., p.160 R. Levy, op.cit., p.69
3. On this point see, J.H. Broot»fieldr 11The Regional Elitesl A Theory of Modern Indian History, ' Indian SociaJ, and Economic HistorY Reyi ew, 3 (September, 1966), P• 290.
4. N.W.l:J. Census 1872, pp.40, 69.
- 53 -
.British PoJ.i.csY.c Structural Chang,es ann the Res:gonse of InteJ,lectgals
The introduction of new administrative, social, economic
and educational policies initiated the process of "Indianization"1
and it brought about vast structural changes in the society.
But the socio-economic conditions of the people belonging to
various regions, religions and strata of society varied
considerably due to their differential reaction towards the
policies of the British and the socio-political developments of
Bri ti sb India.
The various policies pursued by the British towards
India trere shaped by different factors and forces viz., 'the
social ~nd political developments in England, her relationships ' ' .
tri th European rivals, events in India, the p$ychologica.l make
up of the statesmen and their comprehension of Indian conditions
and attitude towards India - which, as a matter of fact changed
from "gener11tion to generation. 112 As pointed out by Hutchins,
India during the lqte eighteenth and ea.rly 19th centuries l"las
seen by various thinkers ~d st~tesmen as a tabula rasa3 and
they did not ass.ess correctly the problems and institutions of
1. R. Fryken~erg, "Transition in India: Social and Political Response to Uestern Influence 1780-1860," Indo-Br:i,tish Review 8 (April 1980), p.8o.
2. Donald Cody, "Dritish Attitude Towar0s India: A Selection of Documents, 11 (Ph.D dissertation, Columbia University, 1970; Nevr Delhi: 1H1L, lUcrofilm copy, No. 96), p.196.
_ 3. Francis G. Hutchins, on.cit~, P• ix.
J
- 5~ -\..'
India and set about "civilising"1 the "inferior natives. n2
The reforming process dominated by the doctrines of
conservatism3 in the beginning of the 19th century gradually
1. Thomas R. Metcalf, ~cit., P•7
2. "In order to justify the conquests and their t,-ranny over the Asians, a fiction was spread that natives were physically, intellectually, morelly and aesthetically inferior to Europeans. It was suggested that the mission of the colonists was not the attainment of their mundane profits, but to civilize the natives. 11 It "\·ras this cherished conviction of the "inherent superiority of the European that won them the land." V. c. 1. Chol-rdhury, The Imperial Policy: p~j.ti§h in India 18Z6-8Q (Calcutta: Punthi Pusthak, 1968) ~-p. 3. · K. 11. Panickkar, ll~ia and Western Dominance ( London: Allen & Unwin, 1955), P• 1 o. The inferiority aspect of the Indians has been studied by Mannoni who suggests that in the relation of colonial and colonised one witnesses the meeting of two entirely different types of personality and their reactions to each other and sees the delineation of a relationship of dependence and inferiority in which the colonizer expects gratitudes for his services and the colonized strives for his superiC?)!rs acceptance. For details see 01 Mannoni, ErfsperQ and Caliban: th§ Pgy:QhOlogY Q! Colonization New York: l?raegar, 1964>, pp. 39-48-:-
3. Burke and Hastings, the Champions of conservative ideology believed that India should be allowed to develop according to her own experience and tradition and it should be insulated from the incursion of \·leste rn institutions, practices and prejudices and e.t the sallle time given an exposure to European concept of liberty. These paternalists who had sought to preserve Indian institutions believed in 'protection• instead of innov~tion. Besides, ever since the financial shock of Wellesley's conquests of 1799-1805, the Home Government had by and large preferred a policy of non-intervention. British Parliament had shown little inter8st in affairs of India during 1784-1813. See, Eric Stokes, Thf Engli~h Utilitarians and I~di.a (Oxford: Clarendon, 1959 , P• 1 -19. George D. Bearce, pp.cit,-, pp.10-14. Thom:1 s R. Hetcalf, op. cit., PP• 6-7.
- 55 -
gave l1BY to the doctrines of Evangelicalism and Liberalism. 1
To start with, the colonial rulers were rather slow in
introducing their policies. It was because of their desire to
consolidate the power founded primarily through "conquests and
not consent."2 Yet, the condition of the people in certain
parts of India bad already begun to deteriorate due to the
disintegration of the Mughul Empire and the political turmoils
and the transition of power from the Mughuls to the British,
~cording to Buchanan peasants at Gorakhpur were extremely poor
and 70 per cent of them could hardly afford to take food ttJice
a day only during harvest. 3 Their tragedy was mainly due to
tvranny of the despotic rulers who in the absence of proper
land revenue assessment tried to extort the maximum revenue
from the peasants. In fact due to the prevalent anarchy, the
"right of the strongest to take what he could" prevailed during
the early years of the nineteenth century. 4 Despite the early
1. Evangelicalism and Liberalism were radically different in origin; "The former a movement of religious revival, ·the latter a doctrine of defiant secularism; the former drew inspiration from Christian piety and the latter from secular hedonism." For details, see Anslie T. Embree, CharlM G rnnt and Brit~f Ru:!.fl in redi..a (New York: Columbia University Press, 19~ , PP• 52-5 • Eric Stokes, QP•Cit•, PP• 17-20. Thomas R. l~etcalf, Q.P• ell., PP• 3-18. Francis G. Hutchins, gp.cit., pp. 3-20.
2, Sir James Fitzjames Stephen, "On the Principles of British Government in India," letter to Tirnes., 1st March 1883, in India S§legt Dgcuments, p.57.
3. D. Bhattacharya, "A Document of a Socio-economic Survey of Gorakhpur, 1813-14," Indian ~torig~ Records Cgmmiss:t,on ~4th Sessbon ~(February 1976 , p.23 •
- 56 -
land revenue settlements in different parts of U.P., during
1801-22 the condition of the agricultural classes did not mis
improve, for the early settlements l-Tere marked by .ilnanagement,
over assessment and forced sale of lands. 1 The land tenure
continued to be a "Serious source of agrarian discontent. n2
While the landlords used to charge high rents from the farmers,
the revenue collectors used to O.?.i.Jress the former like "Insects
prey upon soft wood. " 3 To weet the ruountinc de.aands of the
state, the landlords had to mortage an~ sometiwes.sell their
land. In Aligo::trh district alone, bet\<Teen 1838 to 1857, 70 per
cent of the land h'3.d been tr~nsferre0 by .;..eans of mortg·\;; e and
auction. 4
In different re.;ions rifferent coiU ... mni ties lost
considerable area of lanr. Bet-vreen 1801-22, the Syeds of
.iluzzafarnagar lost 50-65 J:)er cent of their '3.cquisitions to
2. On this point see, Thomas R. 1-:etcalf "Laissez l?aire :md Tenants in l·lid Nineteenth Century in India, J, Indian Social and EC,.Qnomig HistQry Heview 1 (July-Septe~ber, 1963): 74-81.
3. Sleel<lan in Oudh: An A~=i~~e .. 1ent ~6 : .. H. Sleoman' §: 11 Journez Through the K;i.ngCQm of_O_gh in 1 d9 -5o, ed., P. D. Beev ;~s (Caillbridge: Cambricge University Press, 1971), p.248. See also PP• 252, 260.
4. J. N. Sid•Uqui, Aligarh: SnifQets from the Past ( Aligrtrh' Department of History, 1975 , PP• 16-17. cZf: Brodkin, 1.1ho .D.3.de a study of tl:e land alienation in the v~rious districts of U.P. observed th~t land tr~nsfers h~ve been "greatly exae>;gerated." Sometimes by fraud and chicanery a vast number of the estates of families of rqnk a.nC! influence have been alienated. For details, see ::::.. I. Brodkin, " ... .)ro_perty l·iutations :md .tlle .i!1Utiny in Rollilkhand," J;gurnal of • si".n Studies 28 (August 1969): 667-683.
- 57 -
the non-i<iuslim tradesmen and ooneylenders and became occupancy
tenants instead of proprietors. 1 In Banaras region during
1795-1850, Muslibs sold 14 per cent of the land and purchased
11 per cent; whereas Rajputs sold 5.4 per cent and pu~hased
16 per cent. 2 This shows that the Muslims of Banaras lost
more land compared to the Rajputs. It has been found that the
land tras purchased mostly by the "new men" \·rho belonged to urban
areas and who derived their income from government service,
business (especially money lending) and legal practice. 3 Some
of them, in fact, v1ere "men \<Ti thout character and influence
over the tenantry. n4 In short, there vras an 11 extensive and
melancholy revolution n5 in the landed property and it paved the
way for structural changes in Indian society.
The emergence of the urban capitalists (l-rho hardly stayed
at the village) as the new owners of the land affected the
fortunes of the village craftsmen and servants who eked their
livin5 by catering to the needs of the traditional landlords
who generally stayed at the village itself. The unemployed
skilled and unskilled labourers of the villages had neither the
money to purchase the land nor the training to till the soil.
1. \'Jalter Neale, a v· c;I. t., P• 58
2. Bernard s. Cohn, "Structural Change in Indian Rural Society 1596-1885" in Frykenberg, ed. Land Contr,QJ. and Social §t&urture in Indian Historx (Wisconsin: University of Wiscousin, 1969 ' pp.72-73.
3. Ibid., PP• 7 6, 78, 79, 84.
4. E.I. nrodkin, go.cit., p.667
5. Holt Mackenzie cited in S.C. Gupta, Agrarian Relations ang Early British Ru.le ;i.n India (Bombay& Asia Publishing H:'luse, 1963 ' p.117·
- 58 -
Some of the craftsmen, specially the l•la~hars - the glass bangle
makers of u. P. - considered 1 t beneath their dignity to \·Tork as
agricultural labourers and so they earned their living by selling
honey, milk etc., along Hith their tradition~l occupations. 1
Of the unemployed, the z,1uslims had little business acumen and
capital to invest. 2 l1oreover, they took 11 ttle interest in new
areas of economic activities and remained "economically
conservative. n 3 In short, the village community not only became
"headless and disorganized n 4 but also impoverished.
The pauperisation of the artisans became pathetic when
the British passed the Act of 1833 which perndtted the European
planters and traders to settle down and set up business in India.5
It was reported that at Aligarh and Kumaon, where Indigo and tea 6 l-Tere cultivated, "coercion Has the order of the dayn and the
Indian cultivators were exploited by the British to the maximum
and their economic condition remained far from satisf~ctory.
1, On this point Augus haddison, Ql~:~ e~tu~;u~e and EcOnomic G rmtth in India a.nC! 1-'ak;i..~ tan S~nP e the Muihui§l London: . George Allen, 1971), PP• 53-55·
2. .iJ, H. Buchanan, The Deyelopment of Capitalistic Enterprise in Indir,i reprint ed., { London: Frank Cass, 19 66), PP• 1<+7-8; see a so Francis Robinson, op.c~t., p.1$.
3. K. l•1cPherson, !he I>luslim ~Iicroposm: Calcutta 1918-35 ( \.Jeisbaden: Fraz, 1974), p.10.
4. B.s. Cohn, gn.cit., p.55
5. There were severe criticisms ~ainst the Act of 1833. See Bengal Huke.ru, 6 January 1835 and H • .Derozie, "On the Colonisation of India" in B n E 1'11 e h Ce : Selected Dopuments.2. ed., Gautam Cbattopadhya Calcutta: Research Ina.ia, 19/8), PP• 259-64.
6. Dharma Banu, nEconoulic Conditions of the People in the North \.Jestem Provinces 1830-1860," Proceedings gf Indian Histo:a: Cgng.rgss 19tb Session 1956 \. Agra, 1957), p. 396. See also PP• 3 0-82,
- 59 -
l-1oreover, the condition of the 't'reavers uas also worse.· due to
the "discriminatory custom duties" 1 1Y"hich provided protection
to the British industries and at the same time denied protection
to the Indian industries. Those artisans who were not ~ied up
t-rith "bigmen" suffered most nnil'& only due to decline of the
indigenous industries2 but also because of the rise in the
prices of grain. 3 Horeover because of the drain of wealth, the
capital formation in India '\oras impe!led4 and hence, no new
industries could come up where the artisans could have oeen
employed. No doubt, the economic policy of the British shaped
mainly by the "selfish interest of Bri tains ruling cla.ss';5 to
a g r<f?at extent "uprooted the native industry"6 and the majority
of the artisans 't'rere forced to live like the slaves and that too
on crippled resources. 7
1. Bipan Chandra, Rise fnd Gro't'rth of l!:conomic l'!atigna.lism in ~' reprint ea., New Delhi: Peoples' ~ublishing House, 19 69) 1977), P• 61. .
2 •. For details see, P. c. Joshi, "The Decline of Indigenous Handicr.,_ts in u. P." Infian Social and Economic Historv Rexiew; 1 (July-September 19 63 : 21+-36.
4. Dadabhai ~aorojit_g0vertx and Un-D~~tisr Rule in India, reprint ed., (Delhi: PubJ.ication Division, 1962 , P• 38.
'). Karl i-larx' s letter 23 July 1853, in Karl .i·larx, Cru.onialimn ( n. P•, n. d.), P.P• 7, 78.
6. K. 1-larx' s letter on nThe Future Results of the British Rule in India," London, 22 July 185 3 in !.l:p.d,, P• 77
7 • Speeches and Hrittngs of Dadabhai Naoroji ( 14adras: G. A. Natesan Co., 1886, p.153.
- 60 -
The military policy of the British also adversely
affected the affluence of the Indians. When the British took
up the reigns of administration they reduced the Military force
which was "more or less the monopoly of the Muslims. " 1 By 187 2,
the European officers had almost replaced the sons and younger 2 brothers of zamindars and talukdars of U.P. region. The
restlessness of the disbanded soldies caught the attention of
Bishop Heber w~o noticed .th~t:
The Mussalman chiefs are very angry at being without employment under the government and are continually breaking out into acts of insubordination and violence. The country is burdened Hith a crmrd of lazy, profligate s~lf~ca~led su~ves, who though many of them are not worth a rupee conceive it derogatory to their gentility .and Pathan blood to apply themselves to any honest industry •• ••• LThei/obtain for the most part a precarious livelihood by sponging on the industrious trades1uen and farmers, on whom they levy a sort of .'blackmail' or as hangers on to the few noble and wealthy families, yet remaining in the province... These men... have no visible means. of maintenance at all and no visible occu~ation except that of lounging up and do~m \vi th their swords and shields like the ?.ncient high landers.3 .
In addition to these various economic problems and grivences
of the Muslims, the symbolic and religious disputes between the
Ulemas and the Christian missionaries added fuel to the fire.~ Thus the advent of the Britist and their various policies brought
misery to many.
1. ~:. R. Malik, British Policy and the Muslims in Bengal 1Z5Z-H~2Z (Dacca: Oxford University Press, 1961), p.31.
2. Elizabeth White Camb, Agr~~i~n cogn~~~n~ ~8 N~5~nern India: ThQ Uniteg Prov1n~es_Und~ B itis RS -i O(Berkely: University of California Press; New Delhi: Thomason Press, 1971}, p.138.
3. R. Heber, .QJJ..L£i.L., Vol.II, PP• 120; 139.
4-. On this point see, .h. A. Pol-Tell, "Huslim Reaction to Missionary .ic ti vi ty in Agra" in c. H. .Philips and i•l. D. Hainvrri,5ht, eda., Q..Q.ci.t!.., PP• 14-1-157· C.A. Bayly in bbtd., p.98 l!J arayani Gupta, Delhi Betwerm Two Empires,. pp. 7-8.
- 61 -
The miseries of the Muslims of British India in general
multiplied gradually after 183? especially due to the policy
of anglicisation, 1 the abolition of Persian as the court language
in 1837 and the anti-Muslim attitude of the Governor General of
India, Lord Ellenboro ugh ( 1842-44). 2 Hal-rever, the representation
of the Muslims of N. w. Provinces in different professi.ons remained
comparatively anaffected and higher thqn their percent!lge in
population during the }lre-i•lutiny perior. It rTas because of the . . . continuation of Urdu as the lingua franca3
and t?e practice of
giving appointments on the basis of "connections" v1i th those in
office, rather than competence. 4 In 18?0 1-iuslims comprising of
12 per cent of the population of North-western Provinces h~ld
72 per cent of the judicial posts open to Indians.? Huslims were
predominant in all categories of jobs upto the level of
e.ubordinate judicial and executive services of N.H. Provinces,
where in 18?7 their share was 63.9 per cent (202) while that of
1. This as.,t1ect has been dealt in detai 1 in the next chapter on education.
2. Ellenborough observed: "I cannot close my eyes to the belief that this re.ce LI,Iuslim§./ is fundamentally hostile to us and therefore, our true policy is to conciliate the Hindus," cited in l~J. G. Barriers, ed.' Roots of Couuaunal Pglltica
Re of h c e Ri n i:cy; Cprowit:tee, 1931), 2d Delhi: Arnold Heineman, 197 6), PP• 169-70. ·
3. Urdu continued as the vernacular language in u. P.· upto 1901 when it was replaced by Hindi.
4. Bernard s. Cohn, gg. cit., P• 314. (But since 1855, Govern.Jrent started maintaining a "record of convections" to check this practice, llr3ncis Robinson, on. ci,,li., P• 42) •
5. B.B. 1tisra, ~T~~~~~~~~~~~~--~~~~~~~~~~~ Times 2d ed., PP• 190-91.
- 62 ...
Hindus was only 24. 1 per cent ( 76). 1 It was foun:'l that in
1853, while Banda, GorP.khpur, Mora.dabad, J.zamgarh, Gurgaon and
Ghazipur had l·luslim deputy collectors; Farrukh~.bad, Jalaon,
Heerut, Aligarh, Hain ... _uri, Etal'Iah, Gorakhpur, Shahj ehanpur had
Muslim Tahsildars in 1856. 2 It seems that notwithstanding the
instruction given by the Government of India in 1844 to all the
departments to prefer those with a knot-rledg e in English in
official appointments, 3 the position of the l·luslims was not
crastica1ly affected mainly because the Government could not
implement the official order vigorously. It was due to ·the
civersions of Afghan wars, Gw~lior Rebellion, the Bundela
uprising, the Sunthall disturbances and outbreak of rebellion4
in 185?.
The rebellion, which Gh~lib, the famous poet and an
eyewitness described as a "vast human tragedyn5 \ras viewed by
the British mainly as a "great Nahometan (Sic) Conspiracy"~ and
1· Frruncis Robinson, on.cit., p.46
2. Peter Hardy, gn.cit., p.38
3. Monteath, "Note on the State of bducntion.in Ineia 1865-66" in Educat;tonal Records III, P• 264.
4. According to the different theories, different terminologies can be used to indicate 1857 uprising .. §inca.,_ Sir Syed portrayed the event as "Rebellion, 11 this term ,.,i 11 be used throughout the present Hark. See Sir Sayjid Ahmad Khan's Historx of the Bijnor Rebellion trans. ed., Hafeez Halik ::~nd 14orris Dembo (Michigan: Asian Studies Centre, n.d.)
5. I4irza Asadullah Khan uhahb, Da.stanbuy: A Dj !'!!ry of tbe Indian Reyolt of 185Z trans., ed., R. RusselJ:,&. K., Alarn( London: George ill en, 19 69) , P• 68.
6 •. 1. c. Lyall, Lt. G..:>vernor of u. P. to his father, 30 August 1857 cited in h. c. T. Chew, "Sir ~lfred Comyn Lyall: A Study of the Anglo-Indian Official .i·iind, " ( Ph.D dissertation, Cambridge University 1969; New Delhi: Nl·lL, lficrofilm copy JJ o. 341) , P• 16.
- 63 -
a ".fi.luslim plot against the infidel pol-rer. n1 As observed by
Nehru, British considered the Huslims as possessing "memories
of recent rule and therefore, more dangerous. n 2 Hence the
British attitude took an anti-Nuslim turn3 and they put a
"complete ban" on the recruitment of Muslims in army and police. 4
No doubt Muslims suffered a lot in 1857.5 Yet to some extent it
1. : .• C. Lyall to his mother, 9 October 1857 in Ibid., p. 18.
2. Jawabarlal Nehru, An l.u_tgbiQ&.r~llDY•,; rev. reprlnt ·ed.,; ( Ne\'1 Delhi: Allied Publishers, 1962)., p.460. · c. f: According to Ru!>layun Kabir ttTo a large section of. the Huslims, the very existence of il.uropean pmter in India was a constant reminder of their own defeat" and this might have been at the root of British antagonism towards l'!luslims. Humayun Kabir, "Islam in India," in The Cgltutal Hetita.ge o! In~i~, ed., Haridas Bhatacharya ( Calcuttas Ramkrishna _ll.shram,
, Vol.IV, p.590o
3. The memdires and writings of admin~strators, missionaries, journalists, poets etc. bear testimony to tne acrimonious attitude of the British.towards Muslims. See the followings Syed Ahmad Khan, "Loyal Uubammadans of India," in I;.d:J;g Selftqt Documents, PP• 173-5. Salabuddin Malik, "Mutiny Revolution or 1-luslim Rebellion? British Public Reactions Tol'rards the Indian Crisis of 1857 t" (Ph.D dissertation, HcG:tll Univcrsi ty, 1966; New Delhis NML, l·iicrofilm copy, No.195) PP• 216-232. Timothy John O'Keefe, "British Attitudes Towards India and the Dependent Empire 185'7-1874, n (Ph.D dissertation, Noterdam University, 19 68; New Delhi: N!<lL, iwi.icrofilm copy, No. 15'9), P• 24-. Peter Hardy, op.cit., pp.70-79· Thomas R. Metcalf, ~w.cit., PP• 88-90; 298-301. Rafiq Z'9karia, T e s I• n In P 2d ed., (Bombays Somaliya Publication, 197
4. K. 1-l. Ashraf, "A Political History of Indian Muslims 1857-1947," in ~slims ip India ed., Zafar Imam (Delhi& Orient Longman, 197 , P• 51.
$. About the sufferings of the Husliws, Gbalib wrote that "The pain was so great that to hear it, the stars will shed tears of blood." See Mirza Asadullah Knan Ghalib, Destanbuy: A Diaa g:f the Indian Re;volt gf 182Z, trans. and ed., K. A. Faruqui (Bombay: Asia Publishing, 1970), p.34, see also pp. 15', 17, 31-34, 37 60-61. See also Narayani Gupta, op.cit., PP• 21-25.
- 64 -
was the Muslim attitude of keeping away from the British and
their belief that the motive of the British was to convert
them into Christianity that shaped the outlook of the British. 1
After the rebellion, though the feelings of the British 2 towards Indians in general changed from "contempt into hatred,"
in the beginning of 1858, as rightly observed by Gopal, neiiher
the conservatives nor the liberals had any clear idea about
India. 3 Hence the British adopted a "cautious a.tti t~de"lt- towards
Indians and.the main concern of their policy remained as
"conciliation, n5 "neutrality, u6 "clemency"? and to "balance and
rule."8 ~
The Royal Proclamation of 1858 clarified the British
policy towards India. On the one hand it proclaimed the
eligi bill ty of Indians for public employment and the desire of
the government to stimulate the peaceful industry of India and
to promote t-rorks of public utility and on the other hand it made
concessions to the most conservative elements of Indian society,
1. Salahuddin Malik, pn.cit,, PP• 216-1?.
2. Peter Harnetty, "British Policy and the Development of National Hovement in India 1885-1905," ( Ph.D dissertation, Harward University, 1958; New Delhi: Nl(!L, Hicrofi 1m copy, No. 21) , P• 35 •
3. s. Gopal, ap.cit., P•299·
Lt-. Timothy John O'Keefe, qp.cit., p.168.
5· Francis G. Hutchins, gp~it., p.168.
6. Thomas R. Metcalf, Dp,cit., p.19.
7. s. Gopal, gn. cit., P• 21.
8. P. Hardy, on.cit., p.89.
- 65 -
· the princes and the landlords. 1 But there ~as a contradiction
in the policy pursued towards Huslims. Hhile the policy of
conciliation was being adopted towards the loyal Muslims as
,.,ell as Hindus, British pursued a "ferocious,. policy in general
towards the Islamic educational and cultural institutions. 2
But according to Peter Hardy in the process of punishment by
consfiscation in N.H. Provinces in 1858 and in 1859 official
policy vas "community blind n 3 and. there t-ras no ndisc riminatory"
punishment against the I·1uslims. 4 It \Hts observed that in the
case of landlholdings, there lias only a nshift" within the
l4.uslim community itself 9 with those having a "t-1ughul past
losing to those l-11 th a British future. "' In short as Gopal
rightly concludes, the British seems to have adopted a policy
of "puhishing. resistenc.e and revrarding obedience. u 6
Side by side British pursued the policy of employing not
only those Indians 1.-1ho had from birth or status a "natural
influence"? in the country, but also the talukdars as the "best
1. tndian Consti tut}.onal Documents 1600-.1918~ ed. , P. I-iukherj ee Calcutta: 1918) 9 Vol. I, PP• 432, 434.
2. After the rebellion, the Great 1<10sque at Delhi was confiscated, the larger part of the li'atehpuri lJlosque vas auctioned off. ~ The Daryaganj Mosque became a bakery and the great Mughul palane a barrack •••• Oriental departments were abolished. Persians schools were taken over by the education department, the Court of Sadr Diw~ni Adalat was set aside. For details, See Francis Robinson, o~.cit,, PP• 100-101.
3. P. HRrdy, qp.cit., p.71.
4. For details see, j.bic. 9 PP• ?4-?8.
5. Ibid·, p.?8.
6. This was specially towards the Princess. See s. Gopal, aDLCi~·, p.8.
? • Ibid., P• 13. See also, Francis Robinson, gp.cit., p.101.
- 66 -
guarantee" for political stability 1 "~nd thus tried to "buttress" 2 British rule with the support of the elite of Indian Society
with a view to strengthen the loyalty of the Indian Princes and
at the same time deepen their interest in the maintainance of
British pol'rer.
How did the post 1857 British attitudes and policies '
towards Huslims affect their professional prospects? According
to the Parliamentary returns, in 1867, while in British India,
Muslims who constituted 19 per cent of the total population,
secured 7.1 per cent of the total jobs3 and earned 0.19 mlllion
rupees; lt in North Western Provine es, the 1-iusllms comprising of
13.4 per cent of the provincial population secured 38.88 per cent
of the posts having a salary of Rs. 150 and above per month. 5
(see Table 3) .. Their representation in different categories
of jobs gradually declined as the grade of the salary increased6
1. Thomas Mete alf, O.P• c;!.L, , P• 160.
2. s. Gopal, op.cip., p.299.
3. Of the 13,431 people employed there were 948 l•lusllms and 5,090 Hindus. Tbe St~.tement Exh;!.biting the l.foral and Material Progress and Condition of: India 1911-16_{ London: Her Majesty's Office, 1913) , p. 66. Wut compared to the total appointments held only by Hindus and Muslims, Muslim share was 20.39 per cent). ·
4. c.f: The Hindus earned 0.89 million rupees. Ind1an Gaz~tte R! 1902±, Supplement, PP• 9 39-45.
5. But Muslim share was only 32.5 per cent when we calculate the perc en tag e on the basis of the number of appointments 1.vi th a pay of ~.75 p.m. and above. Home Department, Establishment 'A' Progs., .rune 1904, l~o.103, p.134 (NAI).
6. e. g. t ~v'hile there 1.-1ere 12 Hindus, 634 Europeans and 4 :Surasions draw~ng a salary of ns. 1, 000 and above in 1867 in India, there was not a single i-iuslim in this category~ There ,.,ere only 81 l-1uslims, compared to 176 Hindus and 1, 8lf.8 Europeans employed in the scale of Rs. 400-1000 per month. See t.foral and .,;•1ateria1 Progress, 1911-J2, p. 66. Indian Gazette 190~, Supplement, PP• 9 2-4~.
- 67 -T!!:Ql§-J
Number of Hindus, 1•luslims and Parsees :gmployed in Different Departments of Goxernmeht dr~=n·r;!ng, g SaJ,ar,z of more than '1· 150 p.m. durin~ J86Z-Zl
s. l{o. ·Year Religion lB2Z 18g2 .. :1sz1 Presidencies I Hindus Nuslims Ivluslims hindus r-1us lims 11usl1m Hindus Muslims Mu%11m v1 % Deputments li>
1. N. \-1. Provinces 33 21 38.88 26 16 38.1 30 16 34.78 2. Oudh 11 6 35.29 8 7 46.67 6 5 45-4-5 3~ Punjab 27 24 . 47.06 53 37 41. 11 51 31 37-88 4, Bengal 137 16 10.46 193 17 8. 1 88 11 11. 11 5. Bombay 50 8 13.79 120 7 6.98 51 5· 8.93 6. Madras 67 4 5· 63 80 5 5.88 70 1 1.41 7. Central Province 18 12 40.00 3 4 57.14 4 2 33.33
TOTAL 343 91 20.97 483 93 16. 15 300 71 19.14
1. Political 2 2 50.0 2 2 5o.o ... 2. Agencies ( Parcees) { P.arcees) 2. Foreign ... - -3, lUlitary 15 Nil 15 3 16. 11 15 1 4. Home Department - 1 5. Financial 1 5 6. Revenue 1 1 3 3 7. Public \•Jork 4 6 - 7 8 .. Legislature - -9. Director General 5 1 - 11 1
P. Q, ( Parcees)
TOTAL 28 4 16.66 40 8 16.66 26 1 3.70
GRAND TOTAL 371 95 20.39 523 101 16.16 326 72 18.09
Grand Total (including 418 native states) 101 19.46 555 115 17. 16 348 80 18.69
Source: Based. on the statistics provided by George Hamilton, Under Secretary of State for India. See Parliamentary Pap~rs~ Vol.LIV, 1875 in s.R. Mehrotra Papers Lhenceforth abbreviated as S. R. M. PJ, File No. 2 ( NML).
- 68 -
and the years rolled on. By 18? 1, both numerically and
percentage-wise the position of the Muslims at all India level
( 18.09 per cent) and in N.w. Provinces (34.?8 per cent)
declined (see Table-3). Yet the Muslims of this region retained
relatively better representation in Government service compared
to their counterparts in other provinces of Madras, Bombay,
Punj'ab_ and Bengal as Table 3 shows. 1. In short, there was
considerable variatlon with regard to the employment of the
Muslims in various provinces and professions. W.hy was 1 t so?
What were the factors that affected their employment?
While in· Bengal the poverty of the Muslims and their
meagre number among the middle classes were some of the factors ' 2
responsible for their limited intake in public serviceJ in
Bombay Muslims as a class did not emulate others in the matter
of proving their fitness for public service. 3 In Madras the
1. For details of their break up in various professions see Go6~tn~ent eo~ords NQ.CCY, PP• 15?, 171, 181, 199, 200, 20 ' 2 9, 2 • ReDQrt or the Ind1an Ea~cation CQmm1ssiQn 3882 (Calcutta: Government PrintingJ. 1 3; New Delhi: NML, Microfilm Copy). Lhenceforth Hunter ~Qmmission Report I, PP• 319, 369 •. w.w~ Hunter, Tfte ~ndi~ ~~~s~~ma~ ~~ thgz Bound 1n c arise i ene e to RebeLAgainst tfui ijjleinf London: T runner a: Co.' 18? 1; reprint ed., Delhi: Orient Publishers, 1969), PP• 166, 169 • .
2. For further details see, "A Humble Memorial of the National Muhammadan Association, Calcutta to Viceroy 6 February 1882 in Ameer Ali: H1s Lifg and Works, ed., K. K. A.ziz (Lahore: United Publisher, 196 ), Part II, PP• 23•40J s. Ameer Hossein, A Pamphlet on ~Qhammad~ EducatiQn in Bengal (Calcutta: Bose Press, 18 0), P• 2 •
3. Private Secretary to Government of Bombay to Badruddin Tyabji 25 October 1884. Tyabji Papers (NAI) Vol.B, Letter No. 33? Lhenceforth abbreviated as T.P_/. And see also, Chief Secretary to Government of Bombay to Secretary to Government of India, Letter No. 1758, 6th October 1882.1.in GQxernment Recor4s No. ccy, p.261.
- 69 -
industrious ~d intelligent Muslims preferred commercial
pursuits to government service. 1 Moreover, in Bengal, Bombay
and. It!adras the vern'lcular language was different from Urdu
(which was mainly spoken by the majority of the Muslims) and
·so the local Musli.11s did not evince keen interest in acqui.ring
the vernacular language (a knowledge of which was essential
for public service) and so they lagged behind others in
government service. But in North Western Provinces, Bihar and
Punjab the l-1uslims succeeded in securing a considerable share
in Government service due to the continuation of Urdu and 2 their progress in English education. However, the overall
professional prospects of the l•iuslims of In&.ia seems to have
been affected by the introduction of various types of educ~tional
qualifications for different categories of job since 1859· 3
By 1870 the socio-economic status of the different classes
of the Muslims had begun to deteriorate. There was considerable
unemployment and poverty among the lower classes and artisans. 4
1. D.P. I. to Chief Secretary to Government of i~adras, 13 June 1882 in ibid., PP• 245-8
2. This point has been dealt in Chapter III.
3. e.g., In the Despatch of 1859, Secret!?ry of State Communicated that "No person, can witho<lt a special report from the appointing office, be admitted in to the service of government on a salary exceedil".g '1s. 6 per mensum who is destitute of elementary ec.uc..,tion." Besides in 1866, the higher grade
pleadership examinations began to be conducted only in ... nglish. f-1ontea th, PJ)• cit., P• 109. \}gve;cnmcnt Records No. CCV, P• 239.
4. The Urdu poet, Nazi r Ahmad, in a poem nMuffulisi" (poverty) portrayed the unemployment and poverty of the artisans engaged in 36 types of professions. See K. ;,1. Hisra, op. cj. t., PP• 261-2.
- 70 -
The attitude of the upper classes especially the 1-luslim landed
arist?cracy was far from progres:::ive a.nd intact Sir Syed
portrayed them as having "bral"rns blackened \'lith the soot of
hateur and arrogance. 111 They \'rere busy in proving their loyalty
to Raj, th~n providing help to the suffering masses 2 notvri th
standing their compar~tively better economic status. 3 The Ulemas
according to Sir Syed were also full of "false pride in their
sanctity and high piety." "If one l>rere to set=~.rch. satf!n in this
\ororld," stated Sir Syed in an exaggerated manner, "He Lsata;JJ./
could be traced under the tJantle and the holy turbans of the
Ulema. u4 In short, it would not be l-TrOrlJ to cone lud a that at
least a section of the 1>1uslims l'rere suffering from ":-3cbalisma"'
1. Speech of Syed Ahmad Khan nt Scientific Society, ~ligarh 7 April 1876 in A. Lase;, SW•Cit., p.4.
2, M.cPherson, op. cit., P• 14.
3, l"iamy Janet has calculated that in 23 out of 45 districts in U. p, , :1us lims held more 1~.nd than their proportion in population. In Oudh, of the 55 talubda.rs 34 were Auslims in 186<}, See
4.
har;y Janet Rizvi, "i•:luslim Poll tics anc'l Government Policy: Studies in the Development of Social Organi~ation of the 14uslim and its Social Background in North India and Bengal 1885-1917" _(Ph.D dissertation, Cambridge University, 1969J -~ew Delhi:~,.ificrofilm copy, No. 339), P• 42. For further details see :&.ric Stolces, The Peas 0.nt fl.nd th~ H~f: Studies j.n Mtarian Society ""nd Peasant R§pellion in Colonial India (Delhi: Vika.s, 1978), PP• 214-8.-Rgporf gf the La,nd R~x~nue Se;ttl.eMmnt. of :11¥~ District 1 Zlt ~:i.e ro film copy, J:JhL) Reel :Lio. 17, lJ.t-'' 28.:..21. N.~.P. Census 1870, p.68 Francis Robinson, on.cit., p.18
a (Easays of Sir Syed on ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~=a~Lahorez 1323 AH), pp.451-2.
5· ''Bebalisma is an attitude composed of several traits and whose end manifestation includes ignorance, indolence and in~ifference and persistent suubborness instead of persistent effort." The term is derived from the Hala:r l'ror0 bebal vihich means· indolent, stupid and stuboorn. .il'or further discussion see s. h. 1..1Ptas, InttzllectuE~.ls in Developing Socie;tieg (London: Fr~nk Cass, 1977), PP• 26-31.
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and "Oblomovism" 1 and the overall socio-economic state of the
Muslim Community in India was not as good as it used to be
during the hey days of the Mughul rule.
The declining socio-economic condition of the Muslims
did draw the attention of the intellectuals, officials and the
press. Though as early as 1853, Nawab Abdul. Lateef (1828-1893)
of Calcutta2 did make an attempt to drav the attention of the . '
government towards the backwardness of the Muslims and provide
Western education to the Muslims, 3 his endeavours did not bear
fruit, possibly due to the outbreak of rebellion in 1857 and
the subsequent ant1-i-1uslim attitude of the British. But by
1870, the British attitude towards Muslims changed due to
various factors. The anti-British activities of the Wahabees
during 1860s, the assassination of the then Officiating Chief
Justice of the Calcutta High Court on 20 September 1871 by a
Muslim, the outbreak of communal disturbances in different . 4-
parts of North India during 1870s, 'fear of another mutiny' and
1. "Oblomovism is an attitude which is lethargic unthinking, impervious to logic and at times indifferent unscientific unreflective, passive, vii thout any conae,!lousiy aimed goal. t. !R!g., PP• 31-32.
2. Nawab Abdul Lateef received his early education at the Calcutta Madrassah and also studied English. He served as Private Secretary to the Amir of Sind an Anglo-Arabic professor at Calcutta Madrassah and in 1~49 joined the subordinate Executive Service and retired as Presidency Magistrate in 1887. He served as a member of Bengal Legislative Council in 1870 and 1872.
3. On this point see, "A Short Account of My Public Life" and "A Short Account of My Humble Efforts to Promote Education Specially Among the Mohammedans" in Lat.siflt' Do_c.yuwnts, pp.· 158-242.·
4. Francis Robinson, pp.cit., p.102.
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finally the murder of Lord Mayo on 8 February 1872 again by
a 1-iuslim- all made the British realize that the Husl1ms could
be "dangerous enemies and priceless allies" 1 especially at a
time when there was considerable unrest in the country due to
the kuka movement and high taxation. 2 Moreover, the publication
of ~-~. ~1. Hunter's book ~nti tled Indian l•i.ussy.lmans: Are They Bound
by Conscience to ReyoJ,:t? 3, the editorials in the Urdu pr,ess, 4
the poet>1s by the Urdu poets, 5 further highlighted the plight of
1. Times, 29 August 1873, Calcutta Reyiey Selections No.CXV, p.39·
2. For a comprehensive idea of the socio-political developments of the perio.d 1864-1872A see s. Gopal, ap.cit., PP• ':11·103.
3. In a recent article it has been argued that the publication of this book was not officially sponsored and its findings 1-rere not a.t all novel and much before its publication ·in 1871, most of the observations made in the book had already been published in the form of articles in 1.ng1ish;,yan and b,rought to the notice of the government. See 1•1. Aohar Ali, nnunter' s Indian Nussulman' s: A Reexamination of its .Bacl{ground," The Joumal of the RQYS&l Asiatic Soctety 1 ( 19 80 ) : 30 -5 1 •
4. There l'lere 22 Urcu papers in 1863 in u. l). and at various times many of them pleaded vehemently for the amelioration of the condition of the 1~luslims. e.g., See Najmul Akhbar, 8 February 1871 in Selecttons from ]:~rnacular Ne\·lSP1.JJers of N.H. Prg:xi~ Lhenceforth abbreviated as oVN1'lHP _j ( Hicrofilm copy, Reel No.1), p.55. Repgrt of the-Administration or
8tbe N.w. Pro~inces 1864
(Allahabad: Government .Press, 1 6:)), P• 15 3; i'l •• <J • .P. aegorgg, Vol.VII, PP• 511-2.
5. e. g., _\.H. Hall, in his poem "Husaddas" ( Tre Ebb and Flow of Islam} appealed to Huslims to discard their ignorance indolence and forge ahead. ' He wrote, n\·Jhen shadows of acversi ty hang over the presentl why harp on the pomp ~nd glory of past? Yar, these are th ngs to forget. " Hali ci teii in Sv.ed Abdul Lateef, The Influence of Englisb ~iterature mn_Urru. ( Lonoon: l'orster Groom, 1924 t p.130.
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the l:luslims and their unequal backwardness in different
provinces. In short, "a nel·T consciousness and new attitudes
to equality and inequali ty" 1 were evident among the Indians
during the 19th century.
The colo~ial rulers had also realized the necessity of
removing the "Chronic seBse of wroilJ which had g rO\·rn up in the
hearts of the ... -.~.ussulmans 112 under their rule by 1871. Hence
they adopted a pro-auslim policy. 3 It \vas necessary not only
to keep the i~uslims contented btlt also politically expedient
to continue their rule peacefully.
The response of the 14uslim intellectuals toua.rds British
policy varied mainly because of their perception of the ·problems
of the community and their attitude towards the British. There
\"!ere t1-1o types of diametric ally opposite responses. One from
the conservatives, rc~resented by the Deoband ulemas and the 4 other from the modernist group of Aligarh led by Sir Syec.
1. On this point see, Andre Bateillet. "Homo Hierarchius, Homo :Squa.li s. " hoc'l ern A .. ~u;n Studies, 15 { 1979): 543-4.
2. ~·. • ':!. Hunter, AA• cit. , P• 147.
3. This aS.!.lect has been examined in the next chapter.
4. These responses need to be viewed from an All India perspective( Already due to the impact of \!est, challenJ es of Christianity and the indigeneous forces, the intellectuals of different regions nnd religions had initiated various types of social reform acti viti es. e. g.~ Raj a Ram 1•Iohan Roy ( 177 2-1833), Nav-1ab Abdul Lateef { 1828-1893J, Keshub Chandra Sen ( 1838-1S84) in Bengal; 1-1ahadev Govind Ranade ( 1842-1901), Kashincth Telanti]. { 1850-1893) in Haharashtra; Veeresalingam ( 1848-1913) in South Indi:;1; Davananda Saraswathi {1824-1883) and Syed Imdac'l Ali Khan (1818-18l36) in North Inflia .. @mphasis on educfl.tion was common to all. See K. ,~.\i. .Panikkar, 11residential Address, i·lodern Indie.n History Section, Indian History Congress, Thirty Sixth Session ( Aligarh: 1975), PP• 3-9 • v. Ramakrishna, "Social Reform Eovements in Andra { 1848-1919)" (Ph.D dissertation, .Tawaha.rlal Nehru University, New Delhi, 1977), PP• 147-153.
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1-ioham.mad Qasim Nanatawi ( 1832-1880) - a traditional religious
scholar who founded Darul-Uloom Madrassah at Deoband in 1867 1
in U.P., to "Reorientate the liluslim COJ1liiiUnity to its original
cultur'3.1 ~nd religious ident1ty" 2 by getting rid of the
"theological corruptions and ritual degradations"~ kept away
from the British and tried to ~meliorate the conditions of the
.i•luslims through Islamic education and independent professions.
The Deoband provided ortho~ox leadership. It did not denounce
western education, though diss~ssociated itself from it on the
plea that Islamic traditionalist sciences were running the risk
of "extinction" in India. 4 It did n::>t seek British financial
patronage. It ~ras mainly to keep its au tonozn:r, It took an
anti-British5' stand on politimt. issues and in due course fought
1. l''or details of Deoband see, :liaul H~ssan Faruqui, The Deoband School and t~e Demand for PakistaJl (Bombay: Asia Publishing H')use• 1963 ; Say ,rid i<'!a.hboob Rizvi, comp., Histoo: of the .Jarul Ult:&m, Deobrmg, tr~ns. ,,iutaz Huss~.in F. C.:,uraishi ( Deoba.r..d: Idarae-Ilitemam Darululum, 1980), Vol.VI.
2. Aziz .Ahmed 9 ~ (London:
3. d. C. Smith, Q g. 9 j,t. , P• 295'.
4. Aziz ~hmad and G.~. Van Grunebaun,ec., Muslim Self Statement in Ingia and Pakistan 1857-1968 ( i·leisbaden: OHORarrassowitz, 1970), P• 6.
:;. Aziz Ahmad and Von, Lgc. cit. c. f: This IJoint has been challenged by Barbara Hetcalf vJbO observed that one third of the regular contributors to the Deoband were govern .. 1ent servants. It' or details see, . G. L~h Grc.hqm, "The Khilafat 11oven.ent: A Study of Indian Muslim Leadership 1919-24," (Ph.D dissertation, University of .l?ennsylvania, 1972; ~JevT Delhi: .. ~ .... L, Xerox copy), p. 5'6. See foot note· No. 11.
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for the freedom of India alo~ with the nationalists. 1 On
the contrary, Sir Syed, who was also a good scholar of Isla~c
theolog)· not only tried to provide rational interpretations
to the Ouran but also popularise English educ~tion and culture
by seeking British patronage. not only did he believe in the
permananc e of Bri ti sb rule but nlso upheld the vi e\'1 that the
progress and the prosperity of the ~~uslL,,s de~ended mainly on
the acquisition of English education and the good'tvi 11 of the
colonial rulers. Hence he channelise0 all his energy to the
cause of educ.,tion.
or his several achieve~ents in the field of e~ucation,
it was the est~clish.u:.ent of the J.·i· .l.J. ColleJe at Aligarh in
1875, \·Thich later 3re\·T into Aligarh i•lusliu University ( 1920)
t11at gave iir 3yecl a n~me and fa.we. Here there not sufficient
colle& es in u. P. or in British India to .l.ileet the .:1od ern
educational acquirements of the ~~uslims in 1!375'? Hhat \-Tas
the pattern of high~r erucation in British Incia during the
nineteenth century? ~Ins it not conducive to the progress of
tl~e l•.i.uslims in higher e0;1CP.tion? The examination of these
issues in the next cha~ter seeks to ascertain the extent to
rrhich the various edUC".::tiona.l factors justifien the foundation
of the 1-1. A. o. College.
1. On this point see, J.biQ.. ,. PP•. $ ~ -79. · · . . L'!e L1uj eeb, Isl<=~urlc InflU.Q!.LCe on ln . .1..64 vociej;y~ P• 8').
