Effect of Divergent Ideologies of Mahatma Gandhi and Muhammad Iqbal on Political Events in British India (1917-38)
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M.L. Sehgal, International Journal of Research in Engineering, IT and Social Sciences, ISSN 2250-0588, Impact Factor: 6.565, Volume 09 Issue 01, January 2019, Page 315-326 Effect of Divergent Ideologies of Mahatma Gandhi and Muhammad Iqbal on Political Events in British India (1917-38) M. L. Sehgal (Fmrly: D. A. V. College, Jalandhar, Punjab (India)) Abstract: By 1917, Gandhi had become a front rung leader of I.N.C. Thereafter, the ‘Freedom Movement’ continued to swirl around him till 1947. During these years, there happened quite a number of political events which brought Gandhi and Iqbal on the opposite sides of the table. Our stress would , primarily, be discussing as to how Gandhi and Iqbal reacted on these political events which changed the psych of ‘British Indians’, in general, and the Muslims of the Indian Subcontinent in particular.Nevertheless, a brief references would, also, be made to all these political events for the sake of continuity. Again, it would be in the fitness of the things to bear in mind that Iqbal entered national politics quite late and, sadly, left this world quite early(21 April 1938), i.e. over 9 years before the creation of Pakistan. In between, especially in the last two years, Iqbal had been keeping indifferent health. So, he might not have reacted on some political happenings where we would be fully entitled to give reactions of A.I.M.L. and I.N.C. KeyWords: South Africa, Eghbale Lahori, Minto-Morley Reform Act, Lucknow Pact, Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms, Ottoman Empire, Khilafat and Non-Cooperation Movements, Simon Commission, Nehru Report, Communal Award, Round Table Conferences,. Government of India Act I. INTRODUCTION Mohandas Karmchand Gandhi was born on 2 October 1869 in Porbandar (Gujarat, India) to an illiterate but deeply religious mother having a sharp common sense who made a lasting impact on Gandhi’s character. At school, he was a shy boy who was average at studies. He showed no signs of leadership; an antithesis of his becoming one of the tallest leaders of all times who shook the Great Britain; never being pushed down by the mighty Empire. Gandhi returned to India, after having qualified for Bar-at-law (1891) from the University College, London (England) but was, soon, sent to South Africa (1893) by a Muslim merchant of Kathiawar named Dada Abdullah, having a flourishing shipping business in South Africa, to practice law for his firm. During his stay, he was deeply shocked by the racial discrimination and injustice, often, experienced by Indians in South Africa. So it was in South Africa where Gandhi, first, experimented with civil disobedience and non-violent protests and ‘Satyagraha’ (insistence upon truth). He was imprisoned for short periods of time, yet he supported the British under certain conditions and was decorated by the British for his efforts during the Boer War and Zulu rebellion. [1] 1.1. Gandhi: Indian Ideologue Enters National Scene After spending 21 years in South Africa, Gandhi,finally , made India his permanent abode(1915) to become the leader of the Indian nationalist movement campaigning for home- rule(‘Swaraj’ )and organized a series of non-violent protests which included national strikes. The British sought to ban him, but the non- violent nature of his protests and strikes made it difficult to counter. Gandhi would advise his followers to practice inner discipline to prove they deserve independence though the leaders like Aurobindo Ghose and Subhas Chander Bose differed. The former argued that Indian independence was not about whether India would offer better or worse government, but that it was our right to have self-government while the latter advocated direct- action to overthrow the British. But Gandhi stood his ground firmly. 1.2. Muhammad Iqbal: The Other Ideologue Born in Multan (Punjab, Pakistan) on 9November 1877, Iqbal got a religious atmosphere at home as both his parents were practicing Muslims. They employed an eminent scholar Maulana Mir Hassan to teach him the basics of Islam. This left a lasting impression on young Iqbal which, later, proved decisive in shaping his entire personality. He studied Arabic and Persian in his early years. In 1905, when Iqbal was a lecturer at the Government College, Lahore, he was invited by a student Lala Har Dayal to preside over a function. Instead of delivering a speech, 27 year old Iqbal sang ‘Saare Jahan Se Achcha’ [2].The song, which has remained popular in India for over a century, expressed his yearning and attachment to the land of Hindustan; its ‘cultural heritage’- having an elegiac quality. This showed his mindset, i.e. the love for his motherland -Hindustan. He saw everything through a secular broad prism and continued with his poetry expressing his exalted ideas of ardent Indian nationalism. http://indusedu.org Page 315 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License M.L. Sehgal, International Journal of Research in Engineering, IT and Social Sciences, ISSN 2250-0588, Impact Factor: 6.565, Volume 09 Issue 01, January 2019, Page 315-326 On the advice of Sir Thomas Arnold, his teacher of philosophy at the Government College of Lahore, he went to Cambridge for higher studies and returned after three years of stay in Europe (First September1905- 27 July1908). He was awarded the Ph.D. degree from the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Italy (1908). 1.3. Iqbal: Basically a Laureate Iqbal belonged to the vast world of literature. He was a nationalist till he went to Europe in 1905, but became a staunch believer of the philosophy of Quran and a follower of Islam whose revitalization became his life-long mission. He wrote both Persian and Urdu poetry; rather, wrote more in Persian than in Urdu. Among his 12,000 verses of poetry, about 7,000 verses are in Persian. [3] He commanded love and respect in Iran where he was referred to as "Eghbale Lahori (Iqbal of Lahore) while the British Crown-King George Knighted him in 1922. His literary works discussed Persian ideology and Islamic Sufism to awaken soul to superior idea of life, God, meaning of prayer, human spirit, Muslim culture and its political, social and religious problems. In 1928, he delivered a series of lectures in various universities of British India which were later published under the title “The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam”; a work that provides significant context and guidelines for his ideas expressed in his poetry. [4] The central theme of his poetry was “Khudi” (self).He published his first collection of poetry, the “Asrar-e-Khudi” (Secrets of the Self) in 1915-16 in Persian. It is considered to be Iqbal's finest poetic work where he explained his philosophy of ‘Khudi’ or ‘Self’ which included several attributes like self-assertion, self-realization, spirit of independence, sense of honor, noble idealism and action in a human; not materialistic but spiritual adornment and elevation and is synonymous with the word "Rooh" mentioned in Quran. Sir Muhammad Iqbal, the poet- laureate, who, single handedly, ingrained the Islamic feeling in the brains and hearts of the Muslims of the ‘British India’, primarily, with his forceful poems, writings and speeches laden with Islamic thoughts. A large part of Muhammad Iqbal’s poetry is dedicated to the youth. He wished to see the Muslim youth vibrant in its ideals, determined in its actions and high-aiming in its approach to life. He said: “I have love for those youngsters who pull the stars down”. [5] The picture of a ‘Shaheen’ (Eagle), in his writings would mean a message to youth to foster an “Eagle- like” quality. Thus, it was Iqbal who influenced Islamic thought and educated Muslims the most. II. METHODOLOGY The research material was collected both from the official and non-official agencies. An historical and analytical approach was taken into consideration while using primary and secondary sources. The primary sources are available at National Archives of India, Delhi, Punjab State Archives, Chandigarh, Punjab State Archives, Patiala, Dwarka Das Library, Chandigarh and The Museum Library, Delhi. Among the important official documents, mention was made of some, such as, Proceedings of the Government of India (Home Dept.), (Political Dept.), Proceedings of Indian Historical Record Commission, Proceedings of Indian History Congress, Punjab History Conference Proceedings, Fortnightly reports, Reports on the Census of India, Punjab Government Gazetteers, The Modern Review and Asiatic Review. The secondary sources such as the relevant Journals, newspapers, magazines, articles, books, updated literature available at Iqbal Acaemy Lahore (Pakistan) and Mahatma Gandhi Antarrashtriya Hindi Vishwavidyalaya (MGAHV), Wardha, Maharashtra (India) as well as unpublished theses were assessed to present an objective work. III. DISCUSSION Mahatma Gandhi and Sir Muhammad Iqbal were born in two different religions and practiced different religious faiths which shaped the future political ideologies of the two celebrated ideologues of their times. Right from the times at South Africa, the public life of Gandhi had peculiar differences and his exclusive techniques of resistance had amazing effects. After returning to India (1915),he thorougly studied the Indian political situation for long two years before taking a plunge into the troubled waters of the ‘British Indian’ politics. Thereafter, there was no looking back as he became more dynamic and active; each time with new methods and techniques to ‘fight’ the colonial oppressors. The I.N.C. had become a strong political force during the second decade of 20th century; especially with Mohan Das Karm Chand Gandhi (hereafter Mahatma Gandhi or Gandhi) becoming its front rung leader. Many Muslim leaders had, also, joined Congress. In order to counter this influx of the Muslims into the Congress, the leaders like Nawab Salimullah Khan, Hakim Ajmal Khan, Maulana Muhammad Ali Johr, Zafar Ali Khan, Syed Nabiullah, Syed Zahur Ahmad and several others assembled in Dhaka (now Bangla Desh) to announce the formation of a party with Islamic leaning; the A.I.M.L on 30 December 1906 with Nawab Khwaja Salimullah Nawab becoming its founder president.