Contribution of Muslims to India

Muslims Contribution to India 

By Shadab Hussain

MMG (Muslim Media Group)

http://www.indianmuslims.org/jsp/articles/articles.jsp

 

Of late, Muslim community is alleged as a liability to India rather than an asset. The propagandists use myths and lies to advance their theory as a pre-cursor to demoralize Muslims and eventually annihilate them. The accusers should however look back at their own community’s contribution relative to Muslims and a very different picture would emerge. The article invites a comparative analysis of all-round contribution by different communities in India.

 

India is witnessing troubled times because of rise of militant Hindutva and other fundamentalist forces. The problem with such forces is that they propagate nationalism not through patriotism but rather arising passions and identifying the vent of frustration often on ethnic minorities. Mankind witnessed such movements in form of movements like Hitler & Mussolini where the definition of Nationalism became synonym with hate against Jews. In Spain, similar feelings led to annihilation of Muslims who ruled for over 700 years in Spain. Similar case study is being replicated by militant and extremist forces in India against Minorities and particularly against Muslims. This hate propaganda already has resulted in great hate campaign and violence against ethnic minorities like post-Godhra, Dang Church attacks, Babri Mosque demolition, 1984 riots against Sikhs, Meerut massacre, Burning of Graham Stains & family etc.

 

Towards making of such extreme hate and violence, a campaign of misinformation often starts which leads to discrediting the hate target of anything good. By distorting history and using false claims, a feeling emerges in general public that hate targets have done no benefit to nation and thus deserves to be expelled out. On the same lines, questions are asked like “What have Muslims done for nation?”, “Muslims have only destructed the nation and not constructed it” etc. Since general public is stripped of the correct knowledge and facts, people often start believing it. This article aims to provide an all round view of Muslims’ contribution to India and world as well so that general public is provided with correct information to enable a conscious decision in mind.

 

India is a land of great diversity to such an extent that neighboring states are distinctly different from each other and have their own identity. International observers often equate Indian states as European Union. Marathis in Maharashtra are way different than Malayalis in Kerala. Gujaratis are far from being similar to Assamese. Punjabis are no match to Tamils in Tamilnadu. People in Himachal Pradesh are distinct from people in Orissa. Even if the people in different states have been categorized as Hindus, they have different God(s), Books, Culture, Cuisine, Language, Arts, and Attire etc. If not for political reasons, they could not be classified as same religion. However, for Muslims across India, all of them have same God, same book, and majority of them have same language Urdu as mother tongue, while most of them have same cuisine, attire etc. In this regard, Muslims are the truly integrated community across India thus representing true India.

 

Let us now compare contribution of each community to India. Muslims can prove their contribution even if compared with religious bodies like Hindus, Jains, Sikhs etc however for reasons of differences mentioned above, the true comparison should happen between Marathis, Gujaratis, Assamese, and Tamils etc separately to Muslims. While some communities have contributed significantly in one area while being almost absent in another, Muslims have truly contributed squarely in most fields. Let’s look into some of the fields and the contribution by Muslims.

 

In language & Literature, Muslims have contributed to the language evolvement and refinement as well as preserving and adopting foreign languages. Muslims preserved the foreign languages like Persian, Turkic, Pashto and Arabic for a long time till today. Persian was official & elite language of administration in many ruling dynasties of India. Later a phenomenal language Urdu evolved in India by adopting refined grammar of Khadi Boli and vocabulary, heavily borrowed from Arabic and Persian as well as indigenous words . Urdu was also adopted for studies in religion and became lingua franca for all the communities in later centuries. Massive literature work was carried out in Urdu after poets like Mir Taqi Mir and Mirza Ghalib adopted Urdu in later works. The great poets and literature personality of India in Urdu are Mirza Ghalib, Mir Taqi Mir, Dagh Dehlawi, Allama Iqbal, Zauq, Sauda, Bahadur Shah Zafar, Faiz Ahmad Faiz, Majaz, Sardar Jafri, Jan Nisar Akhtar, etc. Saadat Hasan Manto was great story teller in Urdu. It’s the only language which was heartily accepted by Indians of all races and castes. Great Hindu poets & authors of Urdu are Firaq Gorakhpuri, Munshi Prem Chand, Krishan Chandra, Cahkbast, Dayashankar Nasim, Bedi, Khushwant Singh etc. In India, many Ghazal singers are non-Muslims like Jagjit Singh, Pankaj Udhas, Roop Kumar Rathod, Anup Jalota etc. It is common to come across many non-Muslims who have been inspired and even obsessed with Urdu and its beauty. Which language of any community has attracted magnitude of lovers from mass of people whose mother tongue is different? Many of the old non-Muslims generation in India still work in Urdu as it was the mainstream language of the nation. Many international media like BBC recognize the colloquial language of India as Hindustani, a blend of Urdu and Hindi, rather than plain Hindi. It’s true that colloquial language of India is rich mix of Urdu, Hindi and English. In words of Gulzar, the language of Bollywood movies is 80% Urdu than Hindi. If not for political reasons, language of north India still would have been identified as Urdu than Hindi. After freedom a failed attempt is being made to eradicate lively language like Urdu while struggling to resurrect dead languages.

 

In cookeries & cuisine, Muslims stand again at top with wide variety of cuisine many of which are unique to Indian Muslims. Some of the most popular eatables in India are Rice (Biriyani, Pilaf, Zarda), Kebab (Shamee Kebab, Boti Kebab, Seekh Kebab), Breads (Tandoori, Naan, Maande), Deserts (Sewaiyan, Sheer-Khurma), Drinks (variety of non-alcoholic Sharbat) etc. It was the Muslims who introduced Tandoor (Clay oven) to India. Various local cuisines like Kashmiri, Hyderabadi, Mughlai, Malabari etc are contributions of Muslims. Most of my non-Muslim friends admit that Muslims’ cuisine is best. Locally as well as overseas, most of the Indian restaurants serve Non-Vegetarian items as top sellers but who taught India, a land of vegetarian diets, the non-vegetarian cuisine?

 

In Attire & Clothing, Muslims introduced some of the finest & dignified clothing in a land where before Islam, men and even in some places women, used to wander bare chest. Muslims introduced the dignified clothing like Kurta Pyjama, Pathani, jacket, Shervani, Topi (Skull Cap) for Men and Shalwar Kameez, Dupatta, Sharara, Hijab, Purdah etc for Women. Kurta Pyjama, Shervani for Men and Shalwar Kameez for Women are distinct features of Indian Muslims. Shervani has been the dress code for most presidents of India until recently. Pundit Jawahar Lal Nehru and many others was ardent admirer of Shervani. Shalwar Kameez, is contemporarily, only dignified and most commonly popular dress code for Women especially Girls in India. In some Universities like Anna University, Shalwar Kameez is the only approved formal dress code for women. One can see the clothing used by Men and Women in India before Islam arrived in many old paintings and murals on temples and other structures of ancient India. It would be hypocrisy to chant Anti-Muslims slogans while wearing and living a culture gifted by Muslims.

 

In religious studies, Darul-Uloom, Deoband), Nadwatul Ulama (Lucknow) and Mazahirul-Uloom, (Saharanpur) are the three top notch Madarsah in South Asia. People across Asia enroll in the above mentioned Madaris for the religious studies. Darul-uloom, Deoband is often regarded as Al-Azhar of Hind and a very important place of learning among Hanafi adherents. Wide spread reformist movement like Tabligh, initiated by Moulana Iliyas originated in India, is currently one of the biggest movement world over and is currently operational in almost all countries of world. Tabligh Jamat holds its annual ‘Biswa-Ijtema’ in Bangladesh with 3 million participants second only to Hajj in number. The most popular and internationally reputed scholars from India are Sheikh Ahmed sirhindi, Shah Waliullah Dehlawi, Shah Abdul Azeez Dehlawi, Moulana Ashraf Ali Thanwi, Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi (Ali miyan), Moulana Iliyas, Moulana Zakariyya Kandhelwi, Manzoor Nomani, Imam Abdul Hayy Lacknawi, Mufti Shafi Usmani, Mufti Shabbir Ahmed Usmani, Moulana Mehmudul Hasan (sheikhul Hind), Hussain Ahmed Madani (Sheikhul Islam), Moulana Mehmud-ul-Hasan Gangohi (Mufti-e-hind), Moulana Rashid Ahmed Gangohi, Moulana Qasim Nanotawi, Allama Anwar Shah al-Kashmiri, Ibrahim Desai etc. Zakir Hussain Nayak and Ahmed Deedat are the best experts on comparative religion. Internationally renowned books written by religious scholars from India are ‘Fazail-e-‘Aamaal’, ‘Ma’riful-Quran’, Ma’riful-Hadith’, ‘Tafsir Usmani’, ‘Ila-al-Sunan’, ‘Fatawa-al-Hindiya’, ‘Fatawa ‘Alamgiri’, ‘Bahishti Zewar’, ‘Fatawa Mahmudiya’, ‘Fatawa Ridhwiya’, ‘Talimul Islam’ etc. One of the most popular & authentic translation of Quran as well as Biography of Prophet in English has been written by Abdul Majid Daryabadi. The great exponents of religious harmony have been Tipu Sultan, Akbar, Kabeer, Raheem, Amir Khusru etc apart from various Sufis who delivered the message of harmony. The most famous Sufis in India were Moinuddin Chishti, Nizamuddin Awliya, Farid Shakkarganj etc. The India thus holds a special place among Muslims world over.

 

In Modern Education, Muslims were the pioneer with prominent leader like Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, Ali brothers, Hakeem Abdul Hameed, Badruddin Tyabji etc. Over the last 700 years of Muslims rule, the only education infrastructure was of Madarsah. Other communities did not have any organized and structured schooling system. Not just Muslims but other communities too relied on Madaris for literacy in languages as well as Medicine. Madarsas are not just religious study centers but are centers for languages, logic, medicine, history etc. When British started opening English based Universities in India, Muslims once again were the pioneer in adopting modern education. AMU was established in 1880s long before BHU or any other community based initiative even took off. Badruddin Tyabji and his brother Camruddin established a chain of institutes under the banner of ‘Anjuman-i-Islam’ in Maharashtra & Bombay region in 1870s[i]. Osmania University and Jamia Milia Islamia were founded within three years of BHU establishment. In 1931-1932 while Muslims’ population in eight provinces was 25.1 percent, 27.6 percent of school children were Muslims. In United province, while Muslims’ population was 14.8%, the 18.6% of school children were Muslims[ii]. It all proves Muslims being leader among all the communities in modern education apart from maintaining existing school system in form of Madarsas. Madarsas, opposed to contrary beliefs are schools where not only religious education but also Medicine, Logic, Skills, Administration, History and Languages were taught thus they are nothing but formal school system with various formal degrees like Aalim, Mufti, Faazil, Hafidh, Muhaddith etc. In India, while no other community had such infrastructure thus they relied on the same Madarsas for the education of their children till the advent of modern educational schools.

 

In Sports, Muslims have contributed in all the dimensions. Muslims have held captaincy in Cricket, Hockey and Tennis etc. While Mansur Khan Pataudi was youngest captain, Ghouse Mohammed was the first Indian to enter quarter finals in Wimbledon, Sania Mirza is the top ranker among Women from India in Tennis, Yasmin Merchant has been bringing top honors in Snooker, etc. Some of the earliest presidents of Indian cricket board were Muslims. Shakeel Ahmed, M Shahid and Zafar Iqbal have captained Indian Hockey teams while Mansur Khan Pataudi, Ghulam Ahmad, Nawab of Pataudi Sr, Syed Kirmani and Azharuddin have been famed Cricket captains. Mohammedan sporting has been a top ranking football in India since a long time. In 2006, out of the top 20 national cricket players in team who plays in Test Matches and ODIs, 5 are Muslims namely Muhammad Kaif, Irfan Khan Pathan, Munaf Patel, Zaheer Khan, & Waseem Jaffer.

 

In Architecture, Taj Mahal, which is synonymous with India in world, alone is sufficient to prove supremacy of Muslims contribution to Architecture. However, there are significant monuments like Lal Qila (Red Fort, Delhi), Agra Fort, Qutub Minar, Char Minar, Fatehpur Sikri, Buland Darwaza, Jama Masjid (Delhi) etc. Several tombs and Mausoleum like Humayun’s tomb, Sher Shah’s Mausoleum, Gol Gumbad, etc. Sher Shah Suri constructed Grand Trunk Road while Muslims developed other famous Gardens like Shalimar & Nishat gardens in Kashmir and Lal Bagh in Bangalore. Salar jung Museum (third largest in India), Khuda Baksh Library etc are just some other useful contribution by Muslims. A variety of monuments and buildings by Muslims indicate writing on the wall that Muslims were the serious and real developer of India.

 

In Academics and Technology, Tipu Sultan was pioneer of Rocket technology and APJ Abdul Kalam is father of missile program in India. Gurfran Baig (Meterology), Israr Ahmed (Theoritical Nuclear Physics), Muhammed Raziuddin (Physics and Nobel Prize nominee), Javed Agrewala (Microbial Technology), M Ahmed (Founder of ‘Cardinal Geometry’), S Z Qasim (Fisheries) are some other exponents in their respective fields. Muslims were the first and true historian of modern India. Irfan Habib, Mushirul Hasan and M Athar Ali are famous contemporary historians, while Fareed Zakariya, Alyque Padamsee, Saeed Naqvi and MJ Akbar, Rafique Zakariya, Asghar Ali Engineer, and Khalid Ansari have contributed to journalism and media in great manner. Who can forget the sweet voice of legendary broadcaster Amin Sayani. Before freedom, most dailies and publications were in Urdu and by Muslims. CM Habibullah (Gastroenterologist), Khalid Hameed, Mohammed Rela (Liver Specialist) and S N A Rizvi (Nephrology) are eminent physicians of international repute. Pharmacy industry is almost dominated by Muslims with Habil Khorakhiwala (Wockhardt), Yusuf Hamied (Cipla), Meraj Manal (Himalaya Healthcare), Hakeem Abdul Hameed (Hamdard Laboratories) etc. Shahnaz Hussain is synonymous with herbal beauty care products all over India. The whole system of Unani medicine was introduced and preserved by Muslims through out the last 800 years. Dr Salim Ali remains the best known Ornithologist after Emperor Jahangir who was reputed for his interest in ornithology. Syed Hasan (Peace), Muhammad Raziuddin (Physics), and Kamla Surayya (Literature) have been nominated for Nobel Prize in past. Some of the leading brands in their own categories like Rooh Afza (Drinks), Red Tape (Leather Shoes), Postman (Refined Ground nut oil), Geep (Dry cell batteries earlier owned by Shervani family) are Muslim owned. India’s richest person is Azim Premji while before independence India’s richest person was Hyderabad Nizam, both of whom were also world’s richest person for a brief period of time.

 

In Politics and Administration, Zakir Hussain, Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, and APJ Abdul Kalam have been the president of India while AM Ahmedi, M Hidayatullah, Mirza Hameedullah Baig are the former Chief justice of Supreme Court. IH Latif (Former Air chief Marshal), Salman Haider (Chief Foreign Secretary), Abdul Hameed (Paramveer Chakra winner), Moulana Abdul Kalam Azad, Najma Heptullah, PM Saeed (Prominent parliamentarians) have been achievers in their own fields. Long before the voice of feminism rose anywhere in world and Women from other communities could become rulers, Muslim women like Razia Sultana were ruling over India in as early as 1200s while later Begum Hazrat Mahal, Qudusiya Begum, Sikander Jahan Begum etc were ruling the smaller nawabi principalities in 1800s and later. Shabana Azmi, JS Bandukwala, Safder Hashmi, Nafisa Ali etc and now Amir Khan are the prominent social activists. Indian sub-continent was long divided into principalities and isolated kingdoms and it’s the Muslim rulers like Akbar who integrated whole subcontinent into one Empire and laid the foundation of Greater India. However, British, the arch-rival of Muslims, arrived and divided the India eventually leading to partitions.

 

For comparison sake, let’s look into Arts, Cinema, Music and Painting as well. In Painting, MF Husain, Tyeb Mehta, and Yusuf Arakkal are the leading painters from India. In crafts, Muslims have always provided the skills to industries like Muradabadi handicrafts, Benaras Silk industries, Ferozabad’s glass industry etc. In Cinema, the Hindi movies industry should rather be appropriately called Urdu movies industry because of Urdu and Muslims contribution to it. Remember great Movie Directors like K Asif, Mehboob, Kamal amrohi, Muzaffar Ali, Mansur Khan, Farhan Akhtar, Abbas Mastan etc. Actors like Yusuf Khan (Dileep Kumar), Amjad Khan, Firoze Khan, Amir Khan, Shahrukh Khan, Salman Khan, Saif Ali Khan have always dominated the movie industry. Actresses like Madhubala, Nurghis, Shabana Azmi, Waheeda Rahman, Saira Banu etc have been popular. Music directors like Naushad Ali, AR Rahman, Omar Khayyam, Nadeem Saifi, Ismail Durbar etc have been best sellers. Lyricists like Shakeel Badayuni, Javed Akhtar, Majrooh Sultanipuri, Kaifi Azmi, Sahir Ludhiyanwi etc have dominated over years through their immortal poetry. Best of script writers have been pair of Salim-Javed in yesteryears. Best of comedians like IS Johar, Johnny Walker, Jagdeep, Mahmood, Johnny Lever etc were all Muslims. Singers like Suraiya, NoorJehan, Begum Akhter, Shamshad Begum, Parveen Sultana, Mohammed Rafi, Talat Mahmood, Talat Aziz etc sung in their melodious voice. In classical Music, Tansen the greatest exponent of Music was a convert to Islam. Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Ustadh Amir Khan, Fahimuddin Dagar (Vocal), Zakir Hussain, Allarakha, Ahmed Jan Thirakwa, Keramatullah Khan (Tabla), Ustadh Bismillah Khan (Shehnai), Ustadh Zia Mohiuddin Dagar, Asad Ali Khan (Veena), Imdad Khan, Enayet Khan, Vilayat Khan, Rais Khan, Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan, Imrat Khan, Shahid Parvez (Sitar), Allauddin Khan, Hafiz Ali Khan, Ali Akbar Khan, Amjad Ali Khan, Aashish Khan (Sarod), Bundu Khan (Sarangi) etc are the highest exponents of classical vocals and music. Major vocal forms of Hindustani Classical Music like Tarana, Khayal, Thumri, Ghazal Gayaki and Qawwali are all founded by Muslims. Most of major Gharanas like Gwalior Gharana were established by Muslims. Habib Tanveer, Zaohra Sehgal, Ebrahim Alkazi are the best known theatre personalities in India.

 

Muslims were the pioneer of freedom fight against colonial British. British were initially resisted by armies of Nawab Sirajuddaula of Bengal at the battle of Plassey in 1757. Haider Ali and Tipu Sultan were resisting British in Southern India between year 1760 and 1800. Shah Abdul Aziz Dehlawi issued a fatwa of India becoming Dar-al-Harb (Land of war) and thus declaring freedom fight as Jihad which mobilized Muslim masses including religious scholars like Syed Ahmed Shaheed who eventually declared independence in erstwhile North West Frontier region. Finally different armies and individuals participated in rebellion of 1857 under leadership of Bahadur Shah Zafar along with Azimullah Khan, Rae Ahmad Nawaz Khan Kharal etc. Prominent freedom fighters were Moulana Abdul Kalam Azad, Moulana Mehmudul Hasan, Syed Hussain Ahmed Madani, Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, Hakim Ajmal Khan, Liaquat Ali Khan, Moulana Muhammad Ali, Moulana Shaukat Ali, Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari, Abbas Tyabji, Mohammed Ali Jinnah, Allama Iqbal, Allama Inaitullah Al-Mashriqi, Imdadullah al-Makki, Sheikh Abdullah, Sir Sikander Hayat Khan, Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, Ashfaqullahm Moulana Hasrat Mohani etc. Various Muslim owned parties & organizations like All India Muslim League, Khudai Khidmatgar, Khaksaar Tehreek, Unionist Muslim League, Darul-Uloom Deoband, Jamiatul Ulama etc. The various movements started by Muslims towards freedom fight were 'Reshmi Rumal ki Tehrik' (‘Movement of Silken Kerchief’ by Moulana Mehmudul Hasan), Khilafat Movement (‘Non-cooperation movement’ by Ali brothers). Moulna Qasim Nanotawi, Badruddin Tyabji etc urged Muslims to join & strengthen Indian National Congress after which Congress became mainstream party in freedom struggle. [iii]

 

Some may object to this paper while some may point out the infamous actions of Muslims being overlooked however it must be noted that each and every community in India has its own set of infamous actions. The Babri mosque demolition, 1984 Sikh riots, Indira Gandhi assassination, Dang Church attacks, Kashmir Killings, Suicide bombing of Rajiv Gandhi, Bodo separatist movement, Naxalite movement, Financial scams, LTTE activities in India, Language riots, Communal riots, Assassination of Mahatma Gandhi all just cry out the bad actions on part of most of the communities.

 

Reading above mentioned glory of Indian Muslims, it becomes clear that Muslims have contributed highly towards freedom, culture, society, heritage, administration, development of nation. With contribution of such a magnitude and variety they have a right to ask those who challenge Muslims about their contribution, of what their own caste/community has contributed to India. Organizations which kept away from important events like Independence struggle against British and have the only achievements under their belt are assassinating MK Gandhi, bloodshed during the days of partition and in recent years, should prove first their patriotic credentials and contribution to Nation before pointing fingers to Muslims.

 

Author Profile

Shadab Hussain is an IT professional with interests in contemporary Muslim issues and History. He is a regular columnist with MMG.  He can be reached at Shadab@indianmuslims.org.

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[i] ‘Badruddin Tyabji’, Congress Sandesh, http://www.congresssandesh.com/AICC/history/presidents/badruddin_tyabji.htm

[ii] ‘Every Eighth Indian’, Indian Express, http://indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=31472

[iii] ‘They too fought for freedom’, By Asghar Ali Engineer, http://www.just-international.org/article.cfm?newsid=20001162