India’s Eclectic Traditions with reference to Dara Shukoh, , and Abul Kalam Azad.

Amit Dey1

Abstract

India had a long tradition of assimilation of different culture or manifestation of the rational ideas and philosophy. The colonial and post-colonial concept of so called backwardness of the medieval period has been challenged in present researches. Because the rationalists Mutazilities were persecuted in West Asia, popular devotion and rationalism found acceptance in eleventh and twelfth century India. Kabir and Dara Shukoh were also influenced by these traditions. Amir Khusrau’s experimentation with Persian and Brajabhasha is well known. The Sufis and the Bhakti saints also encouraged the vernacularization process of religious knowledge in order to reach out to the common people instead of promoting the Persianisation. Prince Dara Shukoh was the symbol of cultural pluralism. However, it is useful to remember that many saints and thinkers in India, before and after this liberal and eclectic prince, made sincere efforts to promote mutual understanding between different communities such as Tagore and Azad, which in its turn created an environment of mutual appreciation. Abul Kalam Azad (1888–1958) tried to build Indian society on the basis of her cultural pluralism and he put forward the ideas that are universally applicable. Tagore also expressed his views on ‘multiculturalism’ and deep concern regarding Hindu-Muslim relations. The present paper seeks to analyse the ideas and works of Dara Shukoh, Tagore and Azad in this broader context and tried to resolve the most complex issues facing world leaders.

Key Words: Cultural Pluralism, Rationalism, Ilm or knowledge, Eclectic Traditions, Indianness, Communal harmony, Universalism.

Introduction: In the contemporary world, multiculturalism and secularism are facing a serious threat from resurgent religious fundamentalism. Systematic efforts to homogenize human behavior and thinking are superficial acts which is capable of destroying the importance of cultural pluralism. There should be respect for different views and cultures. Mughal Prince Dara Shukoh was the symbol of cultural pluralism. However, it is useful to remember that many saints and thinkers in India, before and after this liberal and eclectic prince, made sincere efforts to promote mutual understanding between different communities such as Tagore and Azad, which in its turn created an environment of mutual appreciation. Peaceful and meaningful coexistence based on creative interaction is not possible without such an environment. Thinkers are increasingly realizing the importance of meaningful dialogue between different communities which is the sine qua non for human

1. Dr.Amit Dey, Ashutosh Professor of Medieval and Modern Indian History, Department of History, Calcutta University 36 progress. The present paper aims at understanding the ideas and works of Dara Shukoh, Tagore and Azad in this broader context. Academics in India are mainly interested in Azad since he became a public figure. But the present paper aims at exploring the period of his blossoming in its proper historical setting because we strongly believe that his future ideas and actions could be properly understood through this exercise which concentrates on his pre-public image. No in depth study of Azad is possible without this approach. Often a multi-disciplinary approach is useful in this respect. We shall try to study Dara, Tagore and Azad in the light of South Asia’s eclectic traditions. These three celebrated heterogeneity and at the same time implied that fraternizing propensities are not necessarily invisible in heterogeneous environments. No discourse on India’s modernization process would be meaningful if these three thinkers are excluded.

Rigid Periodization of History should be avoided: Those who talk about the Indian Renaissance generally speak about the Nineteenth century Renaissance which according to them was the outcome of India’s exposure to Western civilization and culture. No one can deny that India’s interaction with the west was extremely significant. But the reluctance to trace the history of enlightenment in India before the advent of colonial rule is very unfortunate.2 For a proper understanding of the history of enlightenment in India it is useful to study the events during the Sultanate and Mughal period or even earlier. It is not surprising that Abul Kalam Azad was a keen observer of the developments in Mughal India, particularly during the sixteenth century. This is a defining century in the socio-religious history of the subcontinent because of Akbar’s experiments, advent of the Naqhsbandi Sufis and the Europeans in India, and last but not the least, the increase in the number of Hajis (those who have performed the Haj pilgrimage) confirming the linkages between the Mughal Empire and the Hijaz (Arab World). Modernizing trends could be visible in the so-called medieval period whereas backwardness is noticeable in the so called colonial/post-colonial period. Intermingling and admixture of different traditions characterized Indian civilization even before Kabir and Dara Shukoh, For example, Kabir was influenced by both the astika (theistic) and nastika (atheistic) traditions. Whereas his philosophy and faith were soaked in the astika spirit, the vitality and freedom of his individual reasoning was a clear manifestation of the nastika tradition3 While the rationalist Mutazilities were persecuted in West Asia, popular devotion and rationalism found acceptance in eleventh and twelfth century India. So it is not surprising that India emerged as a favourite destination for Sufis from Central and West Asia.

2. Amalendu De, “Madhyayuger Prekshapate Bharatiya Renaissance,” in Bratindranath Mukherjee edited India and Indology: Professor Sukumari Bhattacharji Felicitation Volume, National Book Trust, , 2009.

3. Krishna Sharma, Bhakti and the Bhakti Movement; A New Perspective, 2nd, edition, Munshiram Manoharlal Pub. Pvt. Ltd, New Delhi, 2002, p. 178.

37

Linguistic Intermingling and Vernacularization: The appropriating nature of Sufism made a world religion. Instead of promoting the process of Persianization, the leading sufi saints in India often encouraged vernacularization of religious knowledge in order to reach out to the common people. This did not mean that they discarded Persian, but alongside that classical language, local languages such as Hindawi or Punjabi also got importance. Amir Khusrau’s experimentation with Persian and Brajabhasha is well known. Like the Sufis the Bhakti saints also encouraged this vernacularization process.4 This linguistic intermingling which we can call “Majma-ul-Zabanat” actually preceded Dara’s “Majma-ul-Bahrain” or intermingling of two oceans, Hinduism and Islam. In this way a liberal and healthy environment was created in many parts of India even before the advent of Dara. Acceptance of local languages has shown that the Sufis were prepared to respect indigenous culture. Recognition of diversity is essential for meaningful and peaceful coexistence. It is useful to note in this context that Azad’s mother tongue in the literal sense of the term was Arabic. He also mastered another classical language, Persian. He was not very fluent in English but was proficient in local languages such as Urdu and Hindi.

Spirit of Mutual Understanding: Scholars such as Satish Chandra, Amalendu De and others have pointed out that the spirit of mutual understanding and mutual appreciation was strengthened by the interaction between the bhakti and sufi movements in the Indian subcontinent and this process started earlier than the age of Dara. This spirit of interaction was also reflected in Indian literature, arts and music. Great scholar Al Biruni, a forerunner of Dara, translated Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra into Arabic. Yogis used to visit sufi hospice (khanqah) and Jamat Khanah’s run by the Sufis.5 So there was scope for interaction. It is a well known fact that some of the Sufis including the illustrious. Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya adopted some breathing exercises. This was apparently the influence of the Yogis. In this context it would be appropriate to discuss the sufi doctrine of Wahdat-ul- wajud or pantheism. The Sufis use a term ‘Hama Ust’ meaning everything is ‘He’, which implies that God is reflected in everything. Using this doctrine some Sufis went to the extent of claiming that God is also reflected in a heathen or a Hindu and under such circumstances a Hindu cannot be denounced as a kafir or infidel’6. Mulla Daud, the author of Chandayan, and was linked to the famous fourteenth century sufi Nasiruddin Chiragh-i- Delhi, Praised Muhammad as the beloved of everyone’. At the same time he referred to the Vedas and Puranas as revealed books, like the Quran. Mirza.7 Mirza

4. Amalendu De, Presidential Address, 220th Annual General Meeting of , 2003 – 04, Kolkata. Title: “Theological Discourses in Indian History”. Also see Satish Chandra, Historiography, Religion and State in Medieval India, Har Anand Publication, New Delhi, 2nd rpt. 2001, chapters 8 and 9.

5. Ibid. 6. Thomas Patrick Hughes, Dictionary of Islam, Munshiram Manoharlal Pub, Pvt.Ltd. New Delhi, New Edition, 1999, see Wahdat – ul – Wajud. Also, Satish Chandra, Historiography.

7 . Satish Chandra, Historiography, p. 139.

38

Mazhar Jan–i– Janan, a naqshbandi (a sufi order) sufi poet came to the same conclusion as Dara, viz. that the Vedas were revealed books, and hence Hindus could not be identified with the Kafirs of Arabia. He even argued that there was little difference between idol worship and tasawwar-i-shaikh (common among those – who venerate a sufi saint) or concentration on the mental image of the preceptor8. Interestingly, in spite of sharing their views with Dara, these people were not persecuted. At the same time one has to remember that they were not Dara’s contemporaries. What would have been their fate if they had flourished during the same period is a different question. The translation of various Sanskrit works into Persian was undertaken by Sultan Zaynul Abidin of Kashmir, Sultan Sikandar Lodi and several other Muslim rulers not only “to satisfy their own intellectual curiosity” but also “to increase Muslim understanding of Hinduism”. This process acquired a new direction under Akbar. The Ramayana and Mahabharata were translated into Persian in the Maktab Khana set up by Akbar. The preface to the Mahabharata was written by Abul Fazl who “urged his Muslim readers to study his account of Hindu learning with open minds”. The theological debates transformed Akbar’s spiritual life. He came in contact with other religions and was convinced that “all religions contained some truth and that this was not the prerogative of Islam. “He also “believed that constant self– examination was a spiritual exercise of prime importance and that no action should be taken without sound reason”. In this way Akbar “sought to heal the religious differences among his subjects”9 Like his great forefather Akbar, Shah Jahan’s favourite elder son Prince Dara probably realized the fact that religious exclusivity of the ulama would not be helpful to run a vast multicultural empire like India, and deliberately tried to strengthen some institutions such as Sufism, which celebrated the composite nature of Indian culture. If we accept this hypothesis, it would imply that there was a political agenda behind the eclecticism of Akbar and Dara. Whatever may be the prime reason there is no denying the fact that their ideas and activities nourished the inclusive and composite nature of Indian society and polity. Indeed, present day statesmen have much to learn from them.

Dara Shukoh, a Renaissance Personality: Dara was a sound scholar, poet and calligrapher with an artistic bent of mind. But unlike his great forefather Akbar, he was not adept in the art of statecraft. It is said that Emperor Shah Jahan advised his eldest son Dara to acquire the knowledge available in the Greek, Roman and Persian worlds alongside the knowledge prevalent in India. After completing this process, Dara should, according to his father, launch his career like a second Alexander (Sikander Sani). However, it was not Dara’s desire to be another conqueror; he rather wanted to be a thinker”10. It appears from his famous work Majma –ul– Bahrain that he

8. Ibid, Cited in p. 151. 9. De, “Theological Discourses…..” p.10

10. Amalendu De, “Nabachetanar Dui Agrapathik; Dara Shukoh Rammohun Roy’, in Dilip Kr. Biswas, Pratul Chandra Gupta and others edited Rammohun Swaran, (in Bengali) p. 294. 39 believed in Ijtihad, or right of the learned to interpret scriptures according to changing circumstances. In other words, he put emphasis on Aql or reason, like his predecessor Akbar and cultural successor Raja Rammohun Roy, Actually, the clash is not between different civilizations, the clash is within Islam, it is between Ilm (here the term Ilm or knowledge has been used in a narrow sense, meaning scriptural knowledge) and Aql (Reason). The door of Ijtihad being partly closed, Aql appears to have taken a back seat within Islam. But, till the tenth century, when the Mutazila (rationalist school) was still around, the term Ilm was used in the broad sense as it allowed Aql (Reason) to be its integral part. Through different phases, spanning over several centuries, Islam experienced the reassertion of orthodoxy, which reduced the term Ilm, virtually to the status of literal fundamentalism or scripturalism. Eminent historian, Muzaffar Alam has implied in his scholarly work, that with the advent of western political dominance since the late eighteenth century, the nervousness of the ulama increased, and they renounced and denounced the spirit of experimentation which actually made Islam a world religion. In this way, the door of ijtihad was partly closed during the colonial milieu, culminating in the decline of Aql (Reason) in Islamic societies11. Majority of the Muslim theologians still believe that if experimentation is allowed to continue, Islam could be overwhelmed by the “other”. This situation is posing a serious threat to India’s eclectic traditions. Dara was only twenty five when he produced his very first work in Persian entitled Safinat – ul– Awliya (The Notebook of The Saints). He mentions in the introduction to this work that he used to venerate the Sufis and the religious divines, and had studied their lives closely but was disappointed to find that the details of their lives were scattered in the pages of so many different manuscripts, so he decided to produce this work in order to provide, within a very small canvas, the details regarding the dates of birth and death, the place of burial and other important particulars of the saints of Islam.12 Without being sectarian, Dara in this book wrote about various sufi orders. However, the most significant part of this work is the author’s focus on women as he deals with the wives and daughters of the Prophet and some female mystics. Some scholars on gender issues often imply that the gender discourse is the direct outcome of India’s exposure to the West. I suggest with all humility, that they can provide a new dimension to their gender related research if they can spare some time and energy to understand the Indianness of this discourse as prevalent in pre- colonial India. Consulting Indian sufi literature available in Persian it can be proved that this legacy pre– existed Dara. For example the great Chishti saint Nizamuddin Awliya (d-1325) said; “If a lioness emerges from the forest, no one raises any question about its sex ………..” Actually a lioness is equally dangerous from the point of view of a human being. The implication is that a learned woman can acquire same spiritual status like her male counterpart. A shariat –

11. Muzaffar Alam, The Languages of Political Islam in India, Permanent Black, New Delhi, 2004.

12. Majma – ul – Bahrain, by Dara Shukoh, edited in the original Persian with English Translation, Notes and Variants by M. Mahfuz – ul – Haq. The Asiatic Society. Kolkata, First published 1929, rpt. In 1982. p.5.

40 centred or scripture oriented pious scholar, Abdul Haq Dehlawi, a contemporary of Jahangir, devoted an entire chapter in his famous work Akhbar –ul– Akhyar to female mystics. (See my book, Sufism in India, Calcutta, 1996). Inclusion of such an issue in the work of a theologian indicated that unlike many of their modern counterparts, they reflected a liberal attitude to the gentler sex. Bikrama Jit Hasrat in his scholarly work Dara Shikoh: Life and Works (1979, rpt.1982) has shown that Dara was not only respectful to female mystics, he was also in favour of his talented sister Jahanara acquiring spiritual knowledge. (Also, A Dey, Sufism).

In Majma – ul – Bahrain, there is clear evidence to prove that Dara acquired knowledge about Tauhid (monotheism) and Irfan (Divine knowledge). The latter is a Quranic word. The selection of such a word by Dara is significant but not surprising Dara did not renounce Islam officially. However, his rivals tried to denounce him as an infidel, which served their narrow political interest. I share my views with American scholar Professor Brian “Hatcher, noted for his research on the Brahmas, pundits and Vidyasagar, that many Hindus in colonial such as Raja Rammohun Roy and Raja Radhakanta Dev, were well versed in Persian. In order to study India’s composite culture, it is equally important to carry out research on Muslims in colonial and pre – colonial India who were well versed in Sanskrit. One ideal example in this line is indeed Dara Shikoh. His Sanskrit learning enabled him to explore and appreciate Upanishadic monotheism, which according to him was not different from Quranic monotheism. From 1065 A.H.onwards, he was more deeply interested in the study of Hinduism. In 1066 A. H, He got the Jug Bashist translated into Persian. Shortly, after, he himself translated the Upanishads into Persian prose. Most probably, he had Bhagvat Gita translated by one of his courtiers. (Majma, p.28). In his Hasanat – ul – Arifin, which he completed in 1064 A. H., Dara included the name of Baba Lal– the only Hindu whose aphorisms he has quoted. In the Majma – ul – Bahrain also (p-24), Dara has put down the name of this saint, whom he calls Baba Lal Bairagi, by the side of those Muslim saints and divines who have been the best representatives of Islamic mysticism. The inclusion of the name of a Hindu is such an exclusive list of Muslim divines shows unmistakably the high esteem in which this devotee was held by Dara, (Majma, p.24) Dara invited the saint and had conversations. It appears that Dara’s private secretary, Chandar Bhan, was present on the occasion of these interviews and perhaps, acting as an interpreter. (Majma, p.24) it is useful to note that Dara’s eclectic mind was so broad that he did not confine his efforts to explore the commonalities between Hinduism and Islam only. He was also thinking about including other – religions in his project such as Christianity. Apparently this inclination of Dara was manifested in the year 1640-41, when he carefully studied the Bible, (De, Dara Shukoh 0 Rammohun Roy).

It will be appropriate to wind up the discussion with a few examples from the Majma. This book begins with an interesting verse; “Faith and Infidelity, both are galloping on the way towards Him….. “Apparently Abul Fazl had this verse inscribed on a building which Akbar had built for the common use of the Hindus and the Muslims. (Majma, p.37). It was a clear

41 manifestation of the fact that Dara derived inspiration from the eclectic spirit which was sustained and enhanced by the policy undertaken by his great grandfather. In the pages of Majma (p.38), Dara portrayed himself as a faqir endowed with esoteric knowledge (llm-I-Batin) with which he aspired to know the tenets of religion of the Indian monotheists. Dara was elated to find that the difference between Indian monotheism and Islamic monotheism was only verbal.

Legacy of Eclecticism During the 19th and 20th Centuries: Dara Shukoh’s Persian version of Upanishads entitled Sirr-i-Akbar was translated into Latin in 1800. At a later period Arthur Schopenhauer (1778 – 1860), the famous German philosopher, was influenced by this work. Dara Shukoh should rightly be called a propounder of the concept of modernism based on universalism, which was more visible in the ideas and activities of Rammohun Roy since the beginning of the 19th century. Roy, in his various works such as Manazaratul Adian (in Arabic, no longer available), Tuhfat –ul– Muwahhidin (in Persian), Vedanta Sara (1815) and other works on Upanishad, expressed his ideas on theological issues. He had analyzed theological issues from the liberal – human – rational viewpoint. Like Dara, Roy’s religious ideas were also helpful to the growth of a new consciousness in a multi – religious country like India.13 By, bringing the people of different faiths closer to each other, the charismatic leader Keshab Chandra Sen (1838-1884) wanted to build up a new human society. With this aim in view, he instructed some of his closest disciples to study Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity and Islam. Bhai Girish Chandra Sen studied Islam and for that learnt Arabic, Persian and Urdu. Besides the Quran, he translated several books on Islam from Arabic, Persian and Urdu into Bengali. (De, Theological Discourses…..”, and Amit Dey, The Image of the Prophet in Bengali Muslim Piety; 1850 – 1947. Kolkata, 2005, chapter 3,) Picking up the eclectic thread from Dara Shukoh, nationalist leader and theologian Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (1888–1958) interpreted Islam from a different perspective.14 His own outlook was marked by a universal Islamic humanism very much in tune with the liberal sufi traditions. He tried to build Indian society on the basis of her cultural pluralism. (De, “Theological Discourses….) In an era, when the forces of religions extremism is moving from strength to strength, it has become increasingly important to reassess the role of the personalities like Dara Shukoh, Rammohun and Azad in the context of ‘multiculturalism’, if we may use the term. Back in December 1995, on a chilly and wet evening at SOAS, noted academic Ghulam Murshid remarked that Tagore did not write much about Muslim society. Late professor Dhruva Gupta responded to this remark by saying that Tagore’s engagement with Muslim society should not be judged in terms of quantity alone. Qualitative assessment would be more meaningful in this matter. Indeed! The magnitude of insight manifested in

13. De, “Theological Discourses….” pp. 11,12.

14 . Hameed, Syeda Saiyidain, Maulana Azad, Islam and the Indian National Movement, New Delhi: OUP. 2014. 42

Tagore’s engagement with Muslim society would surprise even the experts on Islam. Actually this firm belief has incentivized me to traverse this less trodden terrain of historical research. In his essays, speeches, stories, novels and letters, Tagore expressed his views, hope and deep concern regarding Hindu-Muslim relations. Print media during the time of Tagore and visual media alongside print media of the post-Tagore era played a remarkable role in stereotyping Islam and Muslim society. Both the Oriental and the Occidental media are responsible for this unfortunate development. Perhaps this stereotyping is most visible in connection with the gender discourse. Farsighted Tagore could anticipate this trend and apparently tried to emancipate Islam and Muslim society from such stereotyped image. While dealing with Muslim women Tagore picked up one article written by an English female journalist domiciled in Turkey. She provided a horrific picture of persecution of Muslim women in patriarchal Muslim societies particularly in the Middle East and portrayed that as the national character of the Muslims. Justice Ameer Ali, while responding to this biased portrayal of Muslim society, pointed out that Islam became distorted in a later era. Arab women during Prophetic and Caliphate era enjoyed greater freedom. Similarly, when Hindu society is criticized by the West, Hindu learned men claim that Hindu women enjoyed greater freedom in the classical age. Tagore was shocked by such attitude of the Asiatic people, who share a peculiar tendency to glorify their past without unleashing the energy and intention to radically transform their present society unlike their dynamic western counterparts inspired by scientific discoveries. Tagore further argues that in the West there is anthropocentrism, a man’s dynamism, innovative spirit and achievements are celebrated, but in the Oriental world when a man shows greatness, he is hardly celebrated as a great man but is deified. Again we have to appreciate the anticipatory spirit of Tagore. We know how the cricket superstars in post Tagore South Asia are deified. There is little or no effort among the common people to scientifically analyse the factors contributing to the massive success of a cricketer. Tagore points out that at times religiosity is injected into Western mind through Eastern Christianity. However, reason ultimately triumphs in the West, alongside the irresistible urge to achieve. The culminating point of this urge is to challenge the infallibility of the scriptures or top religious leaders. Tagore was right, because even the upright intellectuals would think several times before sharing such skepticism in public space when it comes to the Oriental world. On another occasion Tagore recollects how the great poet Tennyson, prior to his death, briefly mentioned India, in one of his compositions. The theme was the great Mughal Akbar’s Dream. In the context of one night’s dream, Akbar divulged his view on the essence of religion and life before his friend and scholar Abul Fazl. In Tennyson’s poetic imagination, Akbar saw in that dream how his successors contributed to the decline of religious and ethnic unity in his empire. Ultimately a group of people came from the direction where the sun sets and were able to rebuild that temple of Akbaride India where truth, peace, love and justice reign supreme. Tagore prays for the poet’s dream to materialize but observes that in spite of the great labour and expertise involved in the construction of

43 that temple, the greatest god, the god of love could not be established in that temple. Here in lies the difference implied Tagore, between the temple of Akbar, where his heart was also involved, and the solid but heartless and soulless structure erected under the British. The influence of the great sufi (mystical) tradition apparently inspired Tagore to contemplate such juxtaposition. With keen interest, eclectic Akbar used to listen to the theologians representing Hinduism, Islam, Christianity or Zoroastrianism. Akbar with his liberal, human and rational outlook showed respect to the Hindu women in the Mughal zenana, to the Hindu nobility at the court and the Hindu generals at the battlefield. He went beyond politics and envisaged an inclusive empire in tune with the composite culture of India. But the exogenous people from the land of the setting sun embarked on a policy of non- interference so far as India’s religio-cultural life is concerned. Was this detachment a reflection of love? Or was it conditioned by political motive, Tagore wondered. Akbar has been rightly picked up by Tagore as an epitome of national integration and communal amity. Akbar was not literate, but in the broad sense of the term he was learned. In the medieval period, Persian became the language of diplomacy, trade and culture in the regions between Hindustan and Persia. Poets such as Rumi and Hafiz were some of the best exponents of Persian Renaissance. Their poetry and philosophy created ripples in the cultural world of India. Many of these poets never visited India, but their liberal, human and rational outlook influenced many intellectuals in India. Akbar’s familiarity with the verses of Hafiz perhaps prompted him to lift jizya from the Hindu subjects.(S.Nurul Hasan, Religion, State and Society in Medieval India, edited with an introduction by Satish Chandra) Akbar also cherished the verses of Rumi (famous for composing Masnawi). He specially wanted that portion of Rumi to be read out before him where Rumi wrote that If God wished, He could have created a single religious community in the world. However, that was not His desire. That is why there are several religions and religious communities in the world and each of them received a religious leader. The Prophet implied that there should not be any interference in the religious life of the people of Sind and Hind.(Cited in Hasan). Indeed! If we juxtapose Akbaride India with contemporary Europe, we would see that when Queen Elizabeth was persecuting the Roman Catholics and the French Emperor forced the Huguenots to leave France for their religious belief, Sulh-i- Kul (Peace with All) prevailed in Akbar’s India. The Huguenots were skilled workers and contributed to the Industrialization of Britain. Switzerland could excel in watch making largely due to their influx. Anyway, Akbar’s liberal, human and rational outlook sustained cosmopolitanism in India. This modernizing trend could be visible in India long before her exposure to colonialism or Western civilization and culture. This Indianness of the Renaissance prior to the nineteenth century Indian awakening (as an outcome of India’s interaction with the West) has been emphasized by a few historians in the twentieth century and after. Tagore implied that the British were not sincere in their efforts to promote Hindu- Muslim amity. There is no room for love in their political dictionary. Rather they thrive by creating discord. Only law and sophisticated administrative network cannot strengthen the notion of brotherhood among different communities. True love and reading of the soul is

44 important, which Akbaride India was capable of doing. When love or humility triumphs over racial arrogance, we notice growth and sustenance of universal brotherhood, which is the need of the hour. Aristotle and Plato are not the monopoly of the Greeks. Learned Muslims, appreciate their contribution to mankind. Similarly Nawsherwane Adil is not the monopoly of the Persians. He was venerated by medieval Indian Muslims. Hindus have the right to be entertained by literature produced by English authors; we have the right to access medical treatment offered by the Europeans. Similarly we can take advantage of the Railway system or telegraph system. We never ask whether they are the creation of our forefathers or not. Discovery of a particular nation can be the treasure of the entire mankind. Contrary to this spirit, I found during my stay in the UK that my Malaysian Muslim friend decided not to visit the supermarket called TESCO on the ground that it’s owner is Jewish. (1997). Tagore observed during the that one Hindu activist asked his fellow Muslim compatriot to maintain safe distance while the former was drinking a glass of water. Such social exclusion creates a wound which is difficult to heal. (Remind us of living together separately in apartheid South Africa- Prof Hari Vasudevan). Tagore interpreted the anti kine killing attitude as dogmatic and hypocritical because the Hindus slaughter animals in the name of religious sacrifice (buffalo killed during Durga Puja) but when the Muslims kill cows, Hindus make it an issue. Tagore argues that some youths exposed to new learning would debate that India is an agricultural country so…. Dismissing this view Tagore pointed out that buffalos also pull the plough and produce milk, then they should also be spared by Hindus.(During riot in Bihar over kine slaughter). We have created a rift in our society, that is why the Divide and Rule policy is successful. We do not have the right to accuse the foreigners for pursuing such a policy. First we should learn to keep our own house in order. Hindus observe non-violent non-co-operation with the non-Hindus. European Buddhist or European Muslims are not contradictory terms. But religious identity is the main among Muslims and Hindus in India. So there cannot be a term like ‘Muslim Buddhist’ or ‘Muslim Christian’. Hindus are ritual based while Muslims are religion based. During the Khilafat phase Muslims often could welcome the Hindus even in the premises of mosques. Hindus failed to reciprocate. In his youthful days when Tagore was exposed to his zamindari, he found, much to his dismay, that his Swadeshiwala nayeb folded the carpet whenever any respectable Muslim entered. This Jajim culture symbolically represented social exclusion and exposed the potential weakness of Swadeshi movement or political activities in India. This was the stumbling block before the nation building process. There was a time when the Greeks, Persians, Sakas and others entered India to strengthen its composite culture. But these happened in the pre-Hindu period. Hindu age was an age of reaction, when Brahmanical orthodoxy was allowed to be strongly entrenched. In the post Buddhism period, in a dexterous manner Rajputs were incorporated to bolster social exclusion. (Satish Chandra calls it ‘symbiotic relationship’ between the Rajputs and the Brahmins, which would be broken with the advent of the Turks). Where is the solution? Transformation of the mind like that of Europe whose quest for truth and knowledge on the basis of detached objectivity

45 enabled them to leave behind the medieval past and to proceed towards modernity marked by the triumph of reason, enlightenment and humanity. Hindus and Muslims should emulate them to come out of their comfort zones conditioned by religio-ritualistic ambience because the search for truth and the unknown requires traversing the rough terrain of life. Tagore continues that there are three major linguistic/ethnic groups in Switzerland but they constitute one nation. How is that possible? In India the custodians of Hindu orthodoxy are opposed to inter-caste marriage (not to speak about inter-community marriage).Whereas in Switzerland there is no restriction regarding blood relationship involving different groups. In the Frontier province, the Pathans sometimes used to abduct Hindu ladies. Tagore’s friend discovered that once this act was being repeated, the Hindu neighbourhood did not protest on the ground that “wo to beniyaki lerki”. Implication is that when Hindus do not have harmony among themselves how can they maintain it when it comes to the relationship with another religious community so different from theirs? Historians have debated over the factors contributing to the vivisection of India. Some social scientists have argued that the Divide and Rule Policy of the colonial masters contributed to Partition. Some others would blame the ‘Two Nation Theory’ put forward by the paramount leader of the Muslim League. But Divide and Rule Policy is an external factor. In recent historiography, the blame is largely placed on internal agencies at work both within Hindu and Muslim societies. Unlike these historians, Tagore did not live to experience Partition, but significantly he could anticipate and understand the internal factors contributing to the growth and sustenance of cleavage between the two communities. He compared this cleavage with a hole at the bottom of a ship. We did not repair this hole, Tagore argued, instead we perennially blamed the storm for the ship wreck. But this storm is an external factor which represented the colonial government (or their Divide and Rule Policy). It is quite normal for the storm to take advantage of the hole at the bottom of the vessel. Here Tagore appeared as an insightful historian who would put more emphasis on internal factors behind major historical changes such as Europe’s transition from feudalism to capitalism or the vivisection of India. Tagore further extrapolated that untouchability is merely an external manifestation of our exclusivist mindset which cannot be transformed by either Swadeshi or Khilafat Non-Cooperation Movement. He compared the antiquarian minded Hindus and Muslims with the infamous Bushmen who kill other people with poisoned arrows as soon as they are visible. So they are incapable of creative and meaningful interaction with others which is the sine qua non for the efflorescence humanity and spirituality. Forward looking Europeans transcend boundaries, whereas Hindus and Muslims in India create boundaries to celebrate segregation. This was regarded by him as the gravest challenge before the nation building process. While managing his zamindari in riverine Eastern Bengal, receptive Tagore observed that during storm over bulging and ferocious Padma, rival birds forget their enmity and take shelter in the same spot together. But as soon as the storm stopped, the resumption of rivalry among those birds used to intrigue the poet. Khilafat, according to the great poet was like that temporary storm and not the solution.(122)

46

In support of his hypothesis the poet referred to the friction involving the Nambudiri Brahmins and Mopillahs in Malabar at a time when the Khilafat Movement reached its apex. The Nambudiri Brahmins cherished hatred towards the Muslims whereas the Mopillah Muslims ignored the Nambudiri Brahmins. Tagore had very little faith in that type of political movements which appeared to him as superficial in the sense that they mostly had short term or immediate goals. Instead he put emphasis on knowing the neighbourhood emulating Mughal Prince Dara Shukoh or Rammohun Roy. Very few Hindus tried to know Islam like Raja Rammohun Roy. Similarly, very few Muslims tried to understand Hinduism like Dara Shukoh. Sound knowledge of the neighbourhood is essential to overcome hatred. Without delving deep into the Mopillah problem or the Akali Sikh problem we talk about national integration. This is the social myopia of political parties in India. Poverty and hatred go hand in hand in modern India. Tagore visited Muslim countries such as Iran and parts of the Arab world which were never thoroughly colonized like India. Muslims are broad-minded there because they enjoy freedom and they are also solvent. They spontaneously told the poet that they not merely admire him they also love him. However, the poet admitted that there are numerous educated and broad-minded Muslims in India too a section of whom had befriended the poet. Tagore was very much worried to see the irreligious nature of religion all over the world. Much to his dismay he discovered that religion was being used as a source of domination over a section of the population. The perturbed poet went to the extent of concluding that atheism is sometimes better than theism. To expose the lack of solidarity among Hindus and prevalent exploitation in multi- layered Hindu society, the poet cited the example of East Bengal where Namsudras supported Muslims on various occasions. Nation building process suffered a jolt in India where people introduce themselves either as Hindus or as Muslims and hardly as Indians. Whereas, Englishmen introduce themselves as Englishmen with pride, and religious identity becomes insignificant among them. It brings us to the language controversy. Language has a vitality, it cannot be forcefully or superficially changed or manipulated. All civilized languages incorporate some foreign words in a creative spontaneous manner. Even a sectarian Bengali Hindu uses many tatsama and tadbhaba Mussalmani words. If you say mejajta kharap hoye ache it sounds natural. But if you say moner gatikta bikal hoye ache you will be frowned upon. Authors of Scotland, Ireland and Wales did not try to burden the English language by indiscriminate incorporation of regional terms and words which they use in their family circle. They used unalloyed English as a medium of writing. Tagore betrayed his sense of humour when he pointed out that the Indian word jungle found a place in the English lexicon in a natural way, but that does not mean that we can also replace the word forest by aranya. In the North West, Sind and Punjab, bitterness prevailed among Hindus and Muslims. But there is no movement to forcefully incorporate tatsama words in the Urdu language. Bengal is unique as a bad example. The world poet argued that words used in Muslim everyday life can be

47 incorporated in Bengali if powerful Muslim writers describe that everyday life in literature. There was a paucity of such genre during his lifetime. This sort of incorporation cannot be carried out by politically motivated people. Tagore was very much shocked when one sectarian person accused him as the propagator of idolatry through his composition Pujarini. Another person accused him as a legitimizer of sin when he composed Gandharir Abedan. This was in the context of feeble Dhritarashtra’s inability to control the course of events. Tagore responded by saying that portrayal of Jewish character by Shakespeare did not instigate Benjamin Disraeli or Lord Reading (Viceroy of India) to ban the Merchant of Venice from the curriculum. Bengal lacks maturity in that sense. Tagore claims that lack of significant interaction between Hindus and Muslims in the cultural world is manifested by the fact that only poet Bharatchandra was influenced by the urban literary style of Persian. I do not accept this because Urdu itself is the outcome of linguistic intermingling or majma ul zabanat. Ameer Khusrau very consciously said Beya barather ao re bhai- benoshi mother boith re mai. We are like frogs in a well confined to Kathakatha, Ramayana, Panchali and kabigan unaware of the changes and dynamism shaping the outside world. Emancipation of the intellect was not possible because both Hindus and Muslims derive inspiration from the past. We have incarcerated our mind in the village chandimandap or panjika which are skeptical towards the world of experiment and discovery. Education, poverty eradication and reconstruction of the village involving Hindus and Muslims are the solutions. Parsis could not be agitated against the Hindus because they are rational and educated. Bengal should emulate them. When Hindus and Muslims would be involved in palli sangathan it would be their creative engagement. They will fight shoulder to shoulder to protect them from destruction. Western civilitas showcase itself in cities. But India’s soul is in the village. Communal violence occurs mainly in the cities. People in the villages have a horizontal relationship. Therefore rural Bengal enjoys some immunity against communal frenzy. It could not vitiate the environment of Santiniketan claimed Tagore.15 Academics in India are mainly interested in Azad since he became a public figure. But the present paper aims at exploring the period of his blossoming in its proper historical setting because we strongly believe that his future ideas and actions could be properly understood through this exercise which concentrates on his pre-public image. No in depth study of Azad is possible without this approach. Often a multi-disciplinary approach is useful in this respect and not surprisingly one of the best works on Azad actually emerged from the pen of a theologian and not historian. The remarkable scholar who wrote that timeless thesis on Azad is Ian Henderson Douglas, who did not live to see its publication.

15. To write the portion on Tagore, I have either consulted or intellectually responded to the following works: Swadesh Samakal Granthamala (Vol-3)Hindu-Musalman Samparka(A collection of Tagores writings in Bengali) compiled by Nityapriya Ghosh, published from Kolkata in 2003. S Nurul Hasan, Religion State and Society in Medieval India. Introduced and edited by Satish Chandra. Satish Chandra, Historiography, Religion and State in Medieval India. Book number 2 and 3 are full of insights but not directly related to Tagore’s philosophy. I have offered my own interpretations whenever I found that suitable.

48

That job of editing was left to two leading scholars on Islam such as Gail Minault and Christian W. Troll. Since Azad’s ideas or actions did not subscribe to the two nation theory, the direct or indirect beneficiaries of such separatist ideology in South Asia seldom talk about him. Jinnah, the father of the only state in human history which was formed on the basis of religious identity, was not known to be an ideal Muslim in his private life, and who did not spend a single day in colonial prison, was extrovert, persuasive and assertive. Whereas Azad’s political career is characterized by several phases of incarcerations in the colonial era. Volumes of literature on Jinnah are available though unlike Azad, Nehru or Gandhi, he did not take the pain to write down anything for the posterity. Volumes dedicated to the lives of Gandhi and Nehru are also swelling. But Azad, who did not inherit the crowd pulling potentiality of his sufi father was not always comfortable with the masses. Introvert and scholarly Azad’s comfort zone was apparently the quietude of a kutb khana or library. Not a persuasive speaker unlike Jinnah, Nehru or Gandhi, Azad still demands the attention of serious historical research. Colonial period in South Asia witnessed the reduction of historical research into three rigid periods, such as ancient, medieval and modern. In his keynote address, delivered in Calcutta university on 06 March, 2012, eminent historian Harbans Mukhia anticipated the importance of historical research which will concentrate on historical processes rather than mechanical periods, and when historians will feel it reasonable and comfortable to select a broader canvass, often necessary to provide a more comprehensive analysis of historical events, evolution of ideas or moulding of personalities. Being inspired by such tendencies in the realm of intellectual discourse we would like to explore whether developments in Sixteenth century India can help us to study a twentieth century personality such as Azad. Sixteenth century can be regarded as a defining century so far as South Asian Islam is concerned. During this century India experienced the advent of the Europeans and the Naqshbandi Sufis. As compared to other sufi silsilahs or orders, the Naqshbandis were known to be orthodox and more inclined towards scriptural Islam. They expected the Muslim rulers in India to govern in strict conformity with the sharia or canon law of Islam. Interestingly other major sufi silsilahs such as the Chistis, Qadiris or Suhrawardis traced their genealogy from Ali (son in law of the Prophet) and Fatima (beloved daughter of the Prophet and wife of Ali) who represent mystical Islam, whereas the Naqshbandis trace their origin from Abu Bakr, the first caliph who represented scriptural Islam. The cases of Hajj pilgrimage also increased during the sixteenth century when Akbar the great Mughal could establish Pax Mughalica or Mughal Peace. The ritual dynamism associated with Hajj and access to the Hijaz or Arab world significantly enhanced interests in the Quran and the hadith, which are regarded as the universal symbols of Islam. In this way a conducive environment was created for the development of a Quran and hadith centred piety in medieval India. Actually even before the advent of the Mughals, Delhi started to emerge as a leading centre of Islamic learning. This was possible largely due to the Mongol inroads in

49

West Asia which contributed to the influx of Sufis, ulama, artists, poets and mercenaries from that region to the Indian subcontinent. Delhi had multiple identities even during the Sultanate period such as political identity being the citadel of power, spiritual identity because of the prevalence of Sufis such as Kaki or Nizamuddin Awliya, cultural centre because of Amir Khusrau, the land of scholars because of the court historians such as Zia Barani and a section of the ulama devoted to the study of scriptures. A few centuries later, during the age of the great Mughals, the ancestors of Abul Kalam Azad would be nourished in that Delhi tradition. Azad, just like any other ashraf or well born Muslim who claimed foreign origin, was very proud of his ancestry. But unlike a section of the separatist ashraf of twentieth century India, he emerged as an eclectic and inclusive ashraf, who could not accept the vivisection of India on the ground of religion. When we say that Azad was proud of his ancestry we are aware that he had an ambivalent relationship with his father implying that regarding various issues he had strong disagreement with his father. Still he was respectful towards his father and appreciated the reading habit in his family which was not common in the family of pirs where a boy child was assured of enhanced social status from the time of his birth. In spite of difference in opinion Azad never failed to appreciate his father’s fascination for books which accompanied him in several boxes when he used to travel from one place to another. Azad’s mother was an Arab who always spoke in Arabic with his father. Azad regarded Arabic as his mother tongue and observed with delight how his mother and female relatives from her side could fluently interact with women of the neighbourhood during their stay in the middle-east and addressed some of the problems they faced. Azad’s father expected the female members of his family to acquire knowledge, and would not object to the entry of a Shia teacher in the family if that person was capable of imparting knowledge to young Azad. This craze for acquiring knowledge was unique among the pirzadas (sons of pirs) of South Asia. So Azad felt blessed by that environment in the family in spite of the entire personal crisis he had to encounter during adolescence. Azad admitted his intoxication with Sir Sayyid Ahmad’s works. His avid reading of translated western books confirms the fact that he was open minded and inquisitive, a quality not very common among a section of the orthodox ulama. At one point, Azad went beyond the rationalism of Sir Sayyid and became inclined towards ‘unbelief’. Considering the religious environment of his family, this was unique, and here he resembled any western counterpart charged with the spirit of enquiry during the ‘Age of Reason’. The receptive and dynamic mind of young Azad was not only curious about Arab Nationalism, which became a significant phenomenon during his preparatory stage but he also became a keen observer of the Swadeshi Movement which engulfed Bengal in the aftermath of the ‘infamous’(not infamous among the separatist Muslims) Bengal Partition. Azad’s family was the confluence of three learned families of Hijaz (Arab World) and Hindustan. Though Azad regarded Arabic as his mother tongue which also enabled him to access literature dealing with Arab Nationalism, interestingly he was more proud of his paternal (Indian) ancestry than his maternal (Arab) ancestry. In this sense his concept of ‘location’ (Hindustani location, I have borrowed the term from Neshat Quaiser’s article,

50

Neshat is an eminent sociologist) was also unique among the ashraf (High born Indian Muslims who claim foreign origin) Muslims. A large section of the ashraf Muslims associate their concept of ‘location’ with extra territoriality(beyond India) which can be traced in West Asia or the Arab world. I draw your attention to this Indianness of Azad which was anticipated earlier by poet Amir Khusrau, Akbar the Great or the tragic hero Dara Shukoh. So, it can be deduced that heterogeneity characterizes ashraf Muslims with ‘locations’. The self-styled champions of literal fundamentalism, particularly the separatists or the protagonists of ‘Two Nation’ theory tend to deny this heterogeneity to the ashraf. They played a remarkable role in minimizing the images of eclectic personalities such as Akbar, Dara or Azad. Their relative success is confirmed by the fact that Azad is one amongst the least researched or discussed nationalist leaders in South Asian history. Even in the 1970s, Dara Shukoh’s birthday used to be symbolically celebrated in Kolkata both by progressive Hindus and Muslims. Veteran Bengali journalist Abdur Rauf (associated with Bengali journal Chaturanga ) was one of those enthusiasts. Long time ago, Tagore, while speaking or writing on Hindu Muslim relations, realized the importance of Dara in Indian history. Do or should the young generation in the twenty first century subcontinent bother about Dara or Azad in the age of information revolution? The steadfastness of Azad would be properly understood if we study his admiration for some of his upright and brave ancestors. They did whatever they believed should be done, irrespective of the consequences. Shaikh Jamaluddin, one of theologian Azad’s ancestors who was also credited with making India famous for hadith instruction, opposed Emperor Akbar’s claim to be an imam. He also courageously supported the Naqshbandi theologian Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi when he lost favour at Jahangir’s court. (Arthur Buehler’s monumental work on Sirhindi is recently published. According to Dr Buehler, Sirhindi is regarded as a hero by a section of the Pakistani population whereas he is denounced in India for his alleged exclusivism). One of Azad’s ancestor’s came from Hirat with Ahmad Shah Abdali but lost his life while fighting the Sikhs. Azad cherished the heroics of such independent minded ancestors. Ironically, his son Munawwaruddin eventually became the Mughal Director of Education as if anticipating the Education Minister(Azad himself) of postcolonial India. Indians with Wahhabi leanings were persecuted in Hijaz. The rejection of taqlid (to accept without question the authority of early Muslim jurists in matters of Muslim law; to follow authority without reflection) by the Waliullahis antagonized Azad’s father Khairuddin towards them. Unlike his father Azad was in favour of ijtihad (independent thinking, according to eminent sociologist Asoke Basu). Charismatic preacher Khairuddin could attract a crowd of 30000 on Calcutta Maidan. While emotion was central to his intellectual and practical interests, his son Azad’s emotions were those of the poet or the artist. They were controlled. This aristocratic calmness was shared by a large number of ashraf. Khairuddin was unprejudiced so far as different religions were concerned but he could not hide his anti Wahhabi feelings. Azad had an ambivalent and complex relationship with his father Khairuddin. On the one hand Azad did not share his father’s attitude towards taqlid and pir-muridi. Azad felt embarrassed at a

51 tender age when he found that his father’s (who was a pir) elderly disciples (murids) were venerating him as the pir zada (son of a pir). In fact the lord-vassal relationship as manifested in the pir-muridi and the irrational approach that characterized taqlid epitomize a feudal society, which Azad apparently discarded probably because of his exposure to western literature or knowledge through translations. This is the least discussed aspect of Azad’s eclectic character. On the other hand he appreciated his father’s reading habit as he mentions with pride how his father would travel from place to place with boxes filled with books. His father spent one or two years in Constantinople and Cairo simply for books. Apparently at the subconscious level, Azad also inherited his father’s tolerant attitude towards different religions. A devout Muslim, Azad was a dignified man who would not emulate those Khilafat leaders who showed exaggerated respect to Gandhi. Often it is observed that eclectic personalities are multilingual such as Ameer Khusrau, Dara Shukoh, Raja Rammohun Roy, Bhai Girish Chandra Sen, Gandhi or Rabindranath Tagore. Azad was no exception. He was bilingual at home. Arabic was his mother tongue in the literal sense. He spoke Urdu with his father and his disciples. He also knew Persian and English and could follow Bengali. While delivering lectures or writing articles on the promotion of Hindu-Muslim amity, Tagore had pointed out that the politicians shout about communal harmony but such gestures lack substance. Knowing the neighbourhood is very important for promoting Hindu-Muslim understanding based on mutual appreciation. In this context, Tagore spoke highly about the medieval mystical saints of Islam. Azad was probably that ideal man Tagore was speaking about, who would understand religion in the true sense of the term. Therefore, he would try hard to discover the essence of religion, and would realize that a truly devoted man cannot cherish hatred against the neighbours. This also reminds us of Gandhi, who unlike other politicians, spent three valuable years only to learn Urdu so that he could access Islamic scriptures necessary to know the Muslim neighbourhood in his heroic struggle against the cynical ‘Two Nation’ theory eventually contributing to the vivisection of India.16

16 . To write the portion on Azad I have intellectually responded to some scholarly works such as, Abul Kalam Azad: An Intellectual and Religious Biography, By Ian Henderson Douglas. Edited by Gail Minault and Christian W.Troll. I have also consulted Tagore’s articles and published speeches on Hindu-Muslim Relations (In Bengali Swadesh Samakal Granthamala-3, Hindu Musalman Samparka, Rabindra Rachanar Sangraha by Nityapriya Ghosh, pub. Mrittika.). Have read Amalendu De’s Bharater Muslim Rajnitir Gati Prakriti. Pub. Raktakarabi, Kolkata). Last but not the least my interactions with Prof. S Irfan Habib, Maulana Azad Chair, NUEPA, New Delhi, has been extremely fruitful.

52