Ratusan ribu Ulama dibunuh
Indian Revolt 1857
the role of the Ulama 160 years on
160
years ago, in this very month of May, a significant world event took place. The
Indian Revolt of 1857-58 was a major uprising in India against the rule of the
occupying British East India Company which functioned as a sovereign power
on behalf of the British Crown.
The
revolt is known by many names, including the Sepoy Mutiny, the Indian Mutiny,
the Great Rebellion, the Revolt of 1857 and the Indian Insurrection.
Resistance against British
occupation began much earlier with the likes of Tipu Sultan and his father
in Mysore between 1767-1799.
In
1803, the son of Shah Waliullah, Abdul Aziz Shah, declared the first fatwa
(edict) calling for armed Jihād against
the occupying forces which was then taken on by his friend and student, Sayyid
Ahmed Brelwi (1786-1831).
Nevertheless,
the uprising in 1857 is regarded as India’s First War of Independence because
of its having spread nationally and not restricted to just certain provinces as
previous revolts had been.
Background
While
the British East India Company had established a presence in India for “trading
purposes” as far back as 1612, its victory in the Battle of Plassey in 1757
marked the beginning of its firm foothold in India.
The
revolt of 1857 came about as a result of a number of factors relating to the
mistreatment and oppression inflicted upon both Muslims and Hindus in India by
the British.
The
Sepoys, who were local Muslim and Hindu soldiers, were recruited into the East
India Company’s army.
In line
with the colonialist policy, Christian missionaries were exported to states
occupied by the British to promote the “British Values” of its time, vis-à-vis
‘Christianity’, as was also the case in Africa as part of its global crusade to
“Christianise” the world.
A
famous saying, often attributed to the African social activist and Kenya’s
first Prime Minister (1963-1964) Jomo Kenyatta, comes to mind in highlighting
this issue:
Although
the missionaries were active in India right from the outset, by 1857 many Sepoy
soldiers were convinced that the East India Company was masterminding mass
conversions of Muslims and Hindus to Christianity.[3]
The
level of British oppression crossed the limit of tolerance when new ammunition
cartridges for rifles were issued.
The new
cartridges were made out of paper and pre-greased.[4] To access the powder from the
cartridges, the Sepoys were instructed to bite it open.
However,
there was a sinister purpose to this, it was widely reported that the grease
used was sourced from beef and pork fat, thereby intentionally setting out to insult and offend both Hindus and Muslims
respectively.
It
was clear to the imperialists that some sort of rebellion over the cartridges
was imminent. During April 1857, there was unrest and fires at Agra, Allahabad
and Ambala.
The
spark, however, that would light the flames of resistance came from Meerut when
some Sepoys refused the cartridges and were publicly humiliated and imprisoned
with heavy sentences.
On 10
May 1857, a group of Sepoys attacked and freed their brethren from prison. The
Sepoys and those civilians who joined their cause escaped and made their way to
the ancient capital and the then present seat of the Mughal Emperor, Bahadur
Shah Zafar, who was in Delhi.
The
growing resistance force petitioned Bahadur Shah Zafar to lead them against the
imperialists, which he eventually and reluctantly accepted.[5]
Despite
having significant loss of power from preceding centuries, the Mughal name
still carried great prestige in the hearts of the Muslims. The British
underestimated this and were oblivious to just how many were willing to rally
under the Mughal banner.
However,
what aided the cause significantly and tipped the balance were the noble Ulama
of India. For the first time since the edict issued by Abdul Aziz Shah another
edict for armed Jihād was issued.
This
carried the signature of thirty-four Ulama of the highest eminence.
Prominent
among them were great luminaries such as Maulana
Qasim Nanotawi, who later became one of the founders of the prestigious Dār
al-ʿUlūm Deoband, Maulana Rasheed Ahmad
Gangohi and Hafiz Zamin Shaheed
who fought the imperial army under the leadership of Haji lmdadullah at Shamli Field.[6]
The
people were moved when they saw that their Ulama
were at the forefront in showing resistance to the occupying forces. The mood of retaliation against the
supercilious British dominance had extended right across India. The Ulama had inspired the civilian population
to rise up.
For
the British colonialists, the revolt posed a considerable threat to their
power, and was contained only with the defeat suffered by the mujāhidīn in Gwalior on 20 June
1858.
Although
the resistance, which was being fought and spiritually led by the Ulama, made
many gains early on, in the end the barbarity
of the British in suppressing the uprising was unprecedented and their
superior weaponry and brutality in defending their hegemony proved too much for the brave Muslims.
Perhaps
most damning of all was the role played by those Muslims who sided with
the British imperialists in bringing the revolt to an end. Lord Canning
(then Governor General) commented on one particular Indian Prince, saying: “If
(he) joins the rebels, I will pack off tomorrow”. Later he was to comment:
The Princes
acted as the breakwaters to the storm which otherwise would have swept us in
one great wave.”
The Ulama became the main target of the
British oppression and persecution. The word ‘Maulvi’
became synonymous with ‘rebel’ in British eyes.
At least 100,000 were killed of which a
great proportion were the Ulama.[8]
Right
across India, in the Punjab, Ambala, Multan, Peshawar, Agra, Jhelum, Aurangabad
and many other places, “mutineers” were tied to the barrels of cannons and
blown away whilst others were hanged.
The
lengthy Mughal dynasty now came to an end. Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar was
exiled to Burma in 1858 while his three sons were executed. Bahadur Shah Zafar
died four years later in Rangoon, aged 87.
The
rebellion proved to be an important watershed in Indian and British Empire
history and led to the dissolution of the East India Company. The Government of
India Act 1858 meant that India was now to be administered directly by the
British government in the new
Points to Note
The
Ulama that were involved in the 1857 revolt knew very well the consequences of
their actions, however they were driven
by the Islamic teachings in enjoining what is good by standing up for justice,
and repelling what is evil by fighting oppression and tyranny. Their objective
was to replace the corrupt, imperialist administration by establishing a government
based on principles of equality and justice.
The
ḥadīth “the scholars are the inheritors of the Prophets” is often regarded as
being about knowledge only, but what is knowledge if it does not transform a
person’s outward action? Knowledge and action go hand in hand and are often
mentioned together in various verses in the Qur’ān.
An
interesting point that followed the revolts were the cases brought against many
Ulama. The sedition cases were generally known as ‘the Wahabi Cases’
or the ‘Ambala
Conspiracy Case’.
What is
of note is that while many Muslims today divide themselves based on their Aqīdah (Creed),
it makes no difference to our detractors. For the British imperialists it did
not matter what the Aqīdah of those Ulama in India actually was; for them, they
were all the same — an obstacle to their continued oppressive hegemony.
The
pejorative “Wahabi” used
against them entered into the British imagination and is recycled by some even
until today.
Unfortunately,
some “Ulama” today are involved in programmes and actions that make them stand
on the wrong side of justice and history. Many are involved in the misnamed
global Countering
Violent Extremism (CVE) programmes and, in doing so, provide
tacit approval for the crimes of oppressive regimes across the world
suppressing popular grassroots movements for self-determination.
Some
have gone to considerable lengths to demonise non-violent activists and groups
such as the Muslim Brotherhood, supporting the likes of Sisi’s “deformation of
Islām” project.[9]
There
have even been recent reports of concern from Egypt of Muslim scholars being
arrested for holding harmless, mainstream beliefs, such as that Christians are
disbelievers in Islām.[10] In
India some sectarian “Ulama” have even supported India’s extreme Hindu
nationalist government’s decision to ludicrously place Peace TV founder
Dr Zakir Naik on an Interpol list![11]
In the
UK we have some self-styled “Ulama” and “Imams” being used as proponents of our
equivalent of CVE, PREVENT, albeit shrinking in number as the toxicity of the
policy is better and better known.
Though
no one will argue that there is anything wrong in wanting to prevent actual
violence, CVE programmes such as PREVENT fit into an ideological construct
which sees too much ‘Muslim-ness’ as a threat to the public or to “Western”
liberal values and, therefore, equates religious conservatism with violent
extremism.
As
such, normative Islamic beliefs and concepts seen through the lens of national
security and thus criminalised in a pre-crime space, with the aim of creating a
state-approved, diluted and obedient version of Islām that coincidentally
shields oppressive regimes from criticism and condemnation.
Perhaps
some Ulama involved in these programmes believe that they are preserving their
Islamic organisations and institutions.
To
these scholars, I say that history is indeed a wonderful teacher if only people
took note. When we look at the example of Muslim Spain, we see that the Nasrids
in Granada also believed in saving themselves at the expense of helping their
brethren.
For
nearly 200 years, Granada was the last Muslim “stronghold” ruled by the Nasrids
as a vassal state of Christian kingdoms until 1492 when Granada was taken.
Muslims
paid a yearly tribute to the Christians in order to remain in Granada. The
first of the Nasrid rulers Muhammad I accepted King Fernando III of Castile as
his sovereign and in 1248 helped him, as his vassal, against his fellow Muslims
to conquer Seville as well as other Muslim cities.[12]
Despite
the odd conflict, successive Nasirid rulers by and large collaborated with the
Christians to suppress Muslim “rebels” as part of the “Countering Violent
Extremism” policy of that time. While their Christian overlords allowed them to
continue to survive and build in the end the result of joining hands with them
against their own brethren was total devastation.
When
the Nasrids were of no further use to the Christian kings they were removed and
the ensuing inquisition, torture, mass conversions and expulsions which
followed completely eliminated Muslims from the face of the Iberian Peninsula.
It
is a sad indictment that the great legacy of the noble Ulama of India’s freedom
struggle is today tainted by a minority of those who claim to be their “heirs”
who, rather than resisting, work hand in hand with those committing injustice.
What is the price they are being asked to pay? For the Ulama of 1857, they paid
the ultimate price with their life. However the Ulama here today are simply
being asked to reject these discriminatory and unjust policies without threat
to life or limb, for most of them.
The
noble Ulama who fought colonialists are not only seen as heroes by Muslims, but
even their foes recognised them as such. The British Army General, Sir Mowbray
Thompson, who fought against Muslims in the uprisings of 1857, wrote in his
memoir:
“If to fight
for one’s country, plan and mastermind wars against mighty occupying powers are
(acts of) patriotism, then undoubtedly the maulvis (i.e. the Ulama) were the
loyal patriots of their country and their succeeding generations will remember
them as heroes.”
As for the Ulama of the CVE programmes, unless they change tact, rather
than being seen as heroes, they will be remembered more like the Abū Raghāls of
their time.
..
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