Ideologyand Muslim Militancy in India:Selected Case Studies Ofthe
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IDEOLOGY AND MUSLIM MILITANCY IN INDIA: SELECTED CASE STUDIES OF THE 1857 INDIAN REBELLION SABBAQ AHMED A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE VICTORIA UNIVERSITY OF WELLINGTON IN FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN HISTORY VICTORIA UNIVERSITY OF WELLINGTON 2015 Acknowledgements I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my thesis supervisor, Professor Sekhar Bandyopadhyay for his continuous advice and encouragement throughout the course of my Ph.D. research. This thesis would not have been possible without his patience, selfless time, expert guidance, and interest. The support and guidance of my co- supervisor, Professor David Capie has been of tremendous help, for which I am very grateful. I am truly thankful to the departmental, technical, and library staff, especially Teresa Durham, Penny Gapes, Philippa Race, Justin Cargill, and the entire Inter-Library Loan and Information Technology Service teams for the tremendous supporting environment they provided throughout my work at Victoria University of Wellington. Among my colleagues at the School of History, it is my pleasure to thank Grace, Jo, Susann, Ben, Louise, Ambalika, Sara, Esha, and Nazima, for the numerous chats and discussions that helped clarify some of my research agenda, and for their friendship and encouragement which kept me going throughout. Grace went out of her way to help sort out the hitches with my thesis formatting and EndNote software, and I cannot thank her enough for that. My family members, especially my brother, sisters, nephews, nieces, and parents-in-law have been generous with their moral support through this process, for which my mere expression of thanks does not suffice. Above all, I would like to thank my wife Svetlana for her love, encouragement, and unending patience, without which this goal could not have been successfully accomplished; my daughters Masha and Diana for cheering me on; and my sister Sabiha for her countless calls and emails of well wishes and prayers. iii Abstract This thesis examines the ways in which ideologies of royalism, militarism, and Jihad influenced the behaviour of contending Muslim factions in the 1857 Indian rebellion. The historiography has focused almost exclusively on the ideological motivation of Muslims who fought against the East India Company, with little mention of the large number of Punjabi Muslims and North West Frontier Pathans who chose to collaborate with the British against their co-religionists. The dominant themes of anti-colonialism, nationalism, proto-nationalism and Jihad that emerge in the literature overlook the role of moderating factors that link ideology to behaviour. Another tendency has been to apply the essentially modern concepts of nationalism and its variants to a pre-modern Indian Muslim setting. This thesis addresses these gaps by providing a framework for analysing the ideological functions of royalism, militarism and Jihad for both pro and anti-British Muslims. Drawing on insights from political and cognitive approaches of decision-making, this study demonstrates how the dynamics of information processing moderated the relationship between these ideologies and the combat behaviour of the belligerents. It finds that the process produced different outcomes of behaviour for the key individuals and groups in the 1857 rebellion. The methodology employed is comparative case studies of four regions with the most active Muslim resistance and collaboration groups. This thesis hopes to contribute to the growing literature on new approaches to the study of the 1857 Indian rebellion. v Glossary Ahl al-kitab Possessors of the divine books (literally); adherents of the Abrahamic faiths, that is, Christians and Jews Akhbar Newspaper Akhund A spiritual leader in parts of Central Asia Amir Prince or King Azan Muslim call to prayer Badal Revenge; reciprocity Badshah King Baghavat Revolt Baluchi Of Baluchistan, a province of present-day Pakistan Bania Member of the Hindu trading or merchant community Chamar Member of an Indian low caste Chishti A Sufi Order within Islam Daffadar Native sergeant of Indian cavalry regiment Dar-ul-Harb Adobe or zone of war Deobandi A movement within Sunni Islam that originated in India, which seeks to revive the practices and theological interpretations of early Sunni Islam; adherent of such a movement Derajat Common term for the Dera Ghazi Khan and Dera Ismail Khan divisions of the Punjab in present-day Pakistan Deen Faith Dharam Righteous conduct and thought, or loosely, religion Dreeshak A Baluchi tribe Fakeer A Muslim ascetic Farman Royal edict Fatwa Religious edict usually issued by a recognised Muslim jurist Ghazi Muslim warrior; Jihad veteran Haram Prohibited under Islamic law Hanafi The largest of the four Sunni schools of Islamic jurisprudence Hanbali One of the four Sunni schools of Islamic jurisprudence Hindustan Variously refers to as the entire land of present-day India, or the Upper Ganges plateau; or the land mass east of the Punjab Hindustani Of Hindustan vii Imam Mosque prayer leader; a Muslim leader considered by Shias to be a divine figure who is a successor of Prophet Muhammad Imambara Shia place of worship Imam ul-Muslimin Commander of the faithful/Muslim community Jagir Land grant to reward services or acknowledgement of authority Jagirdar Holder of a Jagir Jihad Muslim spiritual struggle; armed action against non-believers to defend or advance the cause of Islam, however interpreted Jihadi A person who wages Jihad Kaffir One who does not believe in God/Allah Khalsa Baptised Sikhs Khanqa Sufi hospice Khillat A richly adorned robe bestowed as an award, usually by Royalty Khosa A Baluchi tribe Kirar A term associated with Hindu salesmen or money lenders Kotwal An Indian police chief of a town Khutba Friday prayer sermon which acknowledges the legitimate Muslim ruler Kufr State of disbelief Kuffar Plural of Kaffir Lashkar War band Leghari A Baluchi tribe Madrassa Muslim seminary; school Maharaja A Hindu King or Ruling prince Malik Tribal or village leader in South Asia Maliki One of the four Sunni schools of Islamic jurisprudence Mannat Fulfilment of vows Maulana/Maulvi A Muslim held in respect for his learning Mazari A Baluchi tribe Mujaddidiyya A Sufi order based on the teachings of Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi, a leading Indian Muslim saint, who was also known as Mujaddid Alaf Sani Mujahid/Mujahideen Muslim holy warrior(s) Mujtahid A recognised Muslim scholar, usually a Shia, who is capable of interpreting religious rulings from the Quran and the traditions of Prophet viii Mullah Muslim priest or learned person Munshi An interpreter or secretary in India Murid Disciple of a Muslim saint or holy person Mussalman Muslim Nang Shame; honour Naqshbandi A Sunni Sufi order, which traces its spiritual lineage to Abu Bakar, the Caliph, and Prophet Muhammad's companion Nawab A Muslim ruling prince or nobleman Nazar A present or offering Nazarene Christian Nau Roz Persian New Year Pakhtunwali Pathan code of conduct; belief system; way of life Pashto The language of the Pathans Pathan Indian term for Pushtun or Pakhtun, the Pashto speaking tribes inhabiting northern Pakistan and parts of Afghanistan Pir A Muslim saint or holy person Piri-Muridi Pir-Murid relationship Qadri A Sufi order of Islam Qazi Judge Qazi-ul-quzzat Chief Justice Quraish An Arab tribe Quraishi An Arab name which indicates descent from the Quraish tribe in Arabia at the time of Prophet Muhammad; the Prophet himself was descended from the Quraish Raj Royal rule/government Rajah Hindu King, prince or regent Ramazan The Islamic month of fasting Ranghar Muslim Rajput Rissaldar Senior native officer in an Indian cavalry regiment Rissaldar-Major Senior most native officer in an Indian cavalry regiment Sahih Bukhari A major compilation of the traditions of Prophet Muhammad by the Central Asian Muslim scholar, Imam Bukhari Sajjada nasheen Literally 'the Sitter-on-the-Prayer-Carpet'; successor of a saint Saligram The sacred form of Vishnu, a Hindu god Sardar Leader; head; chief ix Sirkar Administrative district; also government Sepoy An Indian soldier in service with the British in India; distortion of Sipahi (soldier) in Persian and Urdu Sh'afi One of the four Sunni schools of Islamic jurisprudence Shaikh A Sufi, patriarch or holy man Shia The second major sect of Islam along with Sunni; also a Muslim who belongs to the Shia sect Silsila Order; progression Subedar Governor of a Mughal province; native officer of an Indian infantry regiment Suharwardi A Sufi order Sunni The largest of the two main sects of Islam; also an adherent of Sunni Islam Swadharma Hindu term associated with righteous living, thought, and action Swaraj Self-rule Syed A descendant of Prophet Muhammad Taluqdar Head of a taluqa or land area controlled by lineage, usually in Avadh, India Tammandar Chief of a Baluchi tribe Tulsi A plant held sacred by Hindus Ulama Scholars of Islamic jurisprudence and of the Quran; learned men; mosque prayer leaders Vakil Lawyer Vizier The chief minister of a state Wahhab Muhammad Ibn Abd al-Wahhab, a Saudi scholar (1703-1792) who founded a movement in Islam, the influence of which also spread to the Indian sub-continent Wahhabi A follower of Wahhab; also movement associated with Wahhab Wali Title for the ruler of Swat, a former state in the North-West Frontier of present-day Pakistan Waliullah An influential Indian Muslim scholar and leader (1703-1762) Waliullahi Of Waliullah; movement associated with Shah Waliullah Waqf Properties held in religious trust Zamindar Holder of zamin or land who acquires a right to a part of the agricultural produce; also a free hold owner of agricultural land x Table of Contents Acknowledgements iii Abstract v Glossary vii Table of Contents xi Introduction 1 Chapter 1: Delhi 27 Chapter 2: Avadh 65 Chapter 3: Punjab 95 Chapter 4: The North-West Frontier 120 Conclusion 146 Bibliography 159 xi Introduction The Indian rebellion of 1857 still invokes the imagination and passions of many in Britain, India, and Pakistan.