| people
with insight can derive a wealth of lessons and guidance from
the history of nations, groups, and individuals. People who
take a lesson from the past, keep a critical eye on the present,
and have high hopes of the future, find the doors of progress
opening up to them. On the contrary, they cannot be saved
from the storms of life who break ties with the past, ignore
the achievements of generations gone; fail to be on guard
against the doings of their group's rebels, hypocrites, power
hungry cowards; who see the present with rose colored glasses,
and believe it a fruitless exercise to think of the future.
There are a lot of lessons to be learned from the sovereignty
of the Muslims over the sub-continent, mutual misunderstandings,
the slavery of the British, the Freedom Movement, and the
founding of Pakistan. The need is to recount the events again
and again so that the new generation remains conscious to
the causes of successes and failures.
The fall of the Muslim rulers who had ruled Indo-Pak for nearly
a thousand years on over 108 million square miles was not
due to the strength of the opponents but their own weaknesses
that had left them hollow and unsound. They could not bear
the winds of opposition and fell to the ground. They had been
given a long time to rectify themselves but they did not make
use of it. The common man aside, even the elite were devoid
of the real meaning of Deen, a few practices were given the
name of faith, there remained no relationship between Deen
and politics; every distinctive quality of the non-Muslims
from prostitution and alcohol to dance and music were rampant
in the palaces and privacies of the rulers. The courts were
filled with toadying sycophants running after position and
power, designing courtiers, hidden conspiracies and animosities.
These were the reasons that had hollowed the foundations of
the Mughal emperors.
The East India Trading Company, established in the name of
business, closely observed the weaknesses of the rulers and
the simplicity and ignorance of the common man and took advantage
by developing ties with the nawwabs and rajas and uprising
them against the central rulership. The rulership, already
afire, burst into flames that soon devoured the thousand-year
power, grandeur and magnificence.
Nawwab Siraj ud Dawlah was the first Muslim ruler to realize
this stratagem. He warned the British to keep to their trade
and close up all armories and forts. The British naval chief,
Walton, replied with clenched teeth, "Nawwab Siraj ud
Dawlah! I will start the fires of war that will not be quenched
even with water." So it was, and although the Nawwab
came out with his sword to fight the "Company Bahadur",
the conspiracies of hypocrites like Mir Jafar and Uma Chand
rusted his blade. It is most probable that without this infidelity
the British pride would have been in the dust of Plassey.
The second sultan was Hayder Ali whose eagle eyes saw through
the ploys of the British and he made a firm resolve to break
the chains of slavery the British were trying to bind them
in. but his life was short and he was unable to see his dream
come true. His true successor in this outlook was his son,
the honorable, courageous, Fatah Ali Khan Tipu Sultan. This
name will always be written in golden letters and this name
will always light candles of valor and gallantry. His feat
of standing up against the enemy was a historical event and
his martyrdom was no less a wonder.
Tipu Sultan furthered his movement of freedom with all political
insight, military power, and international assistance. He
extended ties with the Ottomans, sided with the French against
the British, sent his ambassadors to France, Turkey, Iran,
and other countries for building smooth relations. He was
the first Hindustani Muslim who took stock of the industrial
development of the West and turned his own business endeavors
that way. Success was at hand but the British using their
customary cunning and wiliness were able to bring round the
rulers of Southern India and some close associates of the
Sultan. At last this great leader was martyred at the Saranga
Patam by the treachery of his own men. General Harris had
said by his dead body, "From today, India is ours!”
General Bard had said, "The last link of India's freedom
has broken today. No power on earth can stop us from taking
India now."
Their continuous victories and the internal disturbances had
boosted the morale’s of the British and now they were
hoping to see India as a Christian state. Mr. Mangles said
in the London Parliament that God had shown them this day
that India is ruled by Britain so that the flag of Christ
would fly from one end of India to the other. So everyone
should use all his or her powers for the great mission of
turning India to Christianity and no one should be lax in
the matter.
These were the turbulent times when the son of Shah Waliullah,
Shah Abdul Aziz rahamahullah alaih gave the decree of India
being a "Daarul Harab". The decree had far reaching
effects on the Muslims and they became active at different
fronts against the British.
This verdict played an important role in the uprise of 1857.
People used to sit in market places and public gatherings
to listen to the ulema talk and then the Muslims took oath
by the Quraan and the Hindus by the Ganga Jal that they would
not rest until they had kicked the British out of their country.
The movement was so strong that in some places the mujahideen
were able to snatch back some areas and even cities. From
May to September of 1857, every campaign was led by the ulema
but among them the campaign of Shamili is specially notable
for it saw great leaders like Maulana Muhammad Qasim Nanotvi,
Maulana Rashid Admad Gangohi, Maulana Muhammad Munir, Hafiz
Muhammad Tahir, and Maulana Sheikh Muhammad take full part
in the fight.
The War of Independence failed due to a host of reasons. The
British then set out for revenge. The Hindustani nation was
subjected to inhuman cruelty. The soldiers were given open
leave to loot and plunder the city of Delhi for three days.
This permission was made use of in the most horrible way.
For three whole days people were frenzily murdered, heads
fell from bodies, the blood flowed incessantly, bullets were
shot at soldier and civilian indiscriminately; then came the
hangings. Lynches were set up at all major roads, which became
the pleasurable diversions for the British where they used
to gather to enjoy the gruesome scenes of murder by rope.
Some of the Muslim neighborhoods were wiped clean of any living
being. A Field Marshal wrote to his mother that the most effective
way for the life sentence was to explode the criminal with
a cannon, which was a most gruesome scene, but at that time
they could not take any chances. Their aim was to show those
rouge Muslims that the British, with the help of their God,
were there to stay.
Apart from the physical killing of the Muslims, tens of steps
were taken destroy the Muslims' education and economy. They
were sacked from key and important jobs; the official language
was changed from Persian to English; they were barred from
government jobs; their property was seized which were the
source of income for their madrasas and organizations.
Although the freedom fighters lost due to internal weaknesses,
infidels, lack of a central and overall authority, but the
effects of this fight for freedom reached every corner of
India. The intense desire to be rid of the foreigners blossomed
in every God fearing heart. In the future this Freedom Movement
took the shape of the Indian National Congress, Tehreeke Khilafat,
Tarke Mawalaat, Jamiat Ulema Hind, and the Muslim League.
Because the British had used their ace card in developing
feelings of hatred between the Muslims and the Hindus, many
Muslim leaders began to ask for a separate homeland for the
Muslims. The everyday experiences of life, of dreadful incidents
in offices and departments, the lack of political insight,
and mutual differences fueled the fire and at last in 1947
the land was divided and after crossing a sea of blood and
carnage, a country came into being in the name of Islam and
freedom.
The dwellers of Pakistan celebrate their day of freedom every
year on 14 August but it seems that another movement will
have to be started to make them realize the real reasons for
the attainment of Pakistan and to free them of British slavery.
Let us see who has the honor of heading that movement!! |
