Priyadarshi Dutta07 Nov 2013
(This is a first part of two part articles. The concluding part will appear tomorrow)
I first learnt about the Patna serial blasts while waiting for Rajdhani Express (12305 UP) at Howrah Railway Station. The information had been ferreted out from the Internet on my mobile phone. But was no effective addition to it over the rest of the day during which I travelled coolly in the AC 3 tier. The only thing I learnt to my relief that Modi’s rally had been successful. The train perhaps skipped its stop at Patna Junction, scene of the first blast earlier in the day. It perhaps halted at Rajendra Nagar, another station of Patna. But I was not very sure because I had already retired on the middle berth.
But that does not mean I was indifferent to the gory event of the day. In that surreal state, my mind was focussed on a dim aspect of Patna’s history. It is a forgotten page from the history of Patna, the city remembered for its JP-ite legacy. Patna has a secular image owing its socialist legacy. But its Islamic antecedents are never in doubt. Prior to the establishment of Dar-ul-Uloom, Deoband (1866) and Dar-ul-Uloom, Nadwatul Ulama, Lucknow (1894) Patna was the largest centre of Islamic scholarship in India. In the last quarter to 18th century, Raja Ram Mohan Roy pursued Arabic, Persian and Islamic studies in Patna.
Few remember that in early 19th century Patna was the focal point of a movement aimed at reestablishing Islamic rule in India. The city was the main recruitment and fund raising centre for the Wahabis led by Syed Ahmed Barelvi (1776-1831) who joined Jihad against Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Thousands of Muslims from places as far as Sylhet (Assam), Malda (West Bengal) Bihar and Uttar Pradesh trekked thousands of kilometers to reach North Western Frontier Province. They radicalised the local Pathans tribes and led a fierce campaign against the Sikhs. But Syed Ahmed Barelvi was killed in the battle of Balakot (1831). The mantle then fell upon his two competent followers viz Wilayat Ali and Enayat Ali, brothers from Patna.
The brothers continued the war against Sikhs. Subsequently, the Wahabis were locked in a protracted campaign against the British in North Western Frontier Province. The British crushed them in a long war before putting Wahabi ringleaders on trial. Wilayat and Enayat Ali were also adept Wahabi missionaries who toured large parts of India. They had also met Bahadur Shah II, the last Mughal Emperor, in Delhi who appreciated the Wahabi cause. The Uprising of 1857 was to a great extent influenced by the idea of Muslim political revivalism though not many Wahabis directly participated in it. But the contribution of these Ali brothers from Patna outshines that of 20th century Ali brothers (Mohammed Ali and Shaukat Ali) who led Khilafat Movement. All Islamic radical movements in South Asia draw inspiration from the Wahabi Movement. The Wahabi Movement popularised the usage of Urdu (instead of Arabic and Persian) which led to greater penetration of Islam amongst masses in northern India.
There are 102 references to Patna in the landmark work the Wahabi Movement in India (Firma KLM; 1966) written by Qeyammudin Ahmed. He himself taught history in Patna University. The Nammohia mosque and Fakruddaula’s mosque in Patna were focal points of Wahabi Movement. The other important figure of Wahabi Movement like Elahi Bux and Shah Mohammed Husain also belonged to Patna.
The central assumption of the Wahabi Movement was that India had ceased to be a Dar-ul-Islam with the disintegration of the Mughal empire. The British, Sikhs, Marathas and Rajputs benefitted at the cost of the Mughals. This constituted not merely a political but also moral problem for Muslims. Wahabis preached Muslims should emigrate out of India or restore the Islamic authority through Jihad. Shah Waliullah (1703-1762), the first ideologue of Wahabi Movement, had invited Ahmed Shah Abdali to re-conquer India for Islam. The Wahabis believed that erosion in Islam’s political authority was actually a reflection of decline in religious zeal of Muslims. If Muslims returned to puritan version of Islam, they would be victorious again.
The same mindset inspires the cadre of SIMI (Students Islamic Movement of India) and its dreaded derivative IM (Indian Mujahideen). At conferences held in 1999 at Ujjain, Aurangabad, Kanpur and Malapuram, the SIMI leaders called for Jihad to establish an Islamic state in India. Their infamous poster at Kanpur that year read, “Are we Waiting for Ghazni?” The Patna bombers apparently had similar vision for India. Modi was their prime target because they see him as embodiment of Hindu nationalism. They fear he will break the back of Islamist movements aimed at reestablishing Islamic rule in India, the land of Sanatan Dharma.
That was where I let my thought rest that Sunday night. New revelations in the matter were waiting for me in New Delhi. The will be discussed in the next and last part.
(Photo credit: AP)
Source: http://www.niticentral.com/2013/11/07/fearing-modi-jihadis-try-to-unleash-terror-tirade-155022.html
(This is a first part of two part articles. The concluding part will appear tomorrow)
I first learnt about the Patna serial blasts while waiting for Rajdhani Express (12305 UP) at Howrah Railway Station. The information had been ferreted out from the Internet on my mobile phone. But was no effective addition to it over the rest of the day during which I travelled coolly in the AC 3 tier. The only thing I learnt to my relief that Modi’s rally had been successful. The train perhaps skipped its stop at Patna Junction, scene of the first blast earlier in the day. It perhaps halted at Rajendra Nagar, another station of Patna. But I was not very sure because I had already retired on the middle berth.
But that does not mean I was indifferent to the gory event of the day. In that surreal state, my mind was focussed on a dim aspect of Patna’s history. It is a forgotten page from the history of Patna, the city remembered for its JP-ite legacy. Patna has a secular image owing its socialist legacy. But its Islamic antecedents are never in doubt. Prior to the establishment of Dar-ul-Uloom, Deoband (1866) and Dar-ul-Uloom, Nadwatul Ulama, Lucknow (1894) Patna was the largest centre of Islamic scholarship in India. In the last quarter to 18th century, Raja Ram Mohan Roy pursued Arabic, Persian and Islamic studies in Patna.
Few remember that in early 19th century Patna was the focal point of a movement aimed at reestablishing Islamic rule in India. The city was the main recruitment and fund raising centre for the Wahabis led by Syed Ahmed Barelvi (1776-1831) who joined Jihad against Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Thousands of Muslims from places as far as Sylhet (Assam), Malda (West Bengal) Bihar and Uttar Pradesh trekked thousands of kilometers to reach North Western Frontier Province. They radicalised the local Pathans tribes and led a fierce campaign against the Sikhs. But Syed Ahmed Barelvi was killed in the battle of Balakot (1831). The mantle then fell upon his two competent followers viz Wilayat Ali and Enayat Ali, brothers from Patna.
The brothers continued the war against Sikhs. Subsequently, the Wahabis were locked in a protracted campaign against the British in North Western Frontier Province. The British crushed them in a long war before putting Wahabi ringleaders on trial. Wilayat and Enayat Ali were also adept Wahabi missionaries who toured large parts of India. They had also met Bahadur Shah II, the last Mughal Emperor, in Delhi who appreciated the Wahabi cause. The Uprising of 1857 was to a great extent influenced by the idea of Muslim political revivalism though not many Wahabis directly participated in it. But the contribution of these Ali brothers from Patna outshines that of 20th century Ali brothers (Mohammed Ali and Shaukat Ali) who led Khilafat Movement. All Islamic radical movements in South Asia draw inspiration from the Wahabi Movement. The Wahabi Movement popularised the usage of Urdu (instead of Arabic and Persian) which led to greater penetration of Islam amongst masses in northern India.
There are 102 references to Patna in the landmark work the Wahabi Movement in India (Firma KLM; 1966) written by Qeyammudin Ahmed. He himself taught history in Patna University. The Nammohia mosque and Fakruddaula’s mosque in Patna were focal points of Wahabi Movement. The other important figure of Wahabi Movement like Elahi Bux and Shah Mohammed Husain also belonged to Patna.
The central assumption of the Wahabi Movement was that India had ceased to be a Dar-ul-Islam with the disintegration of the Mughal empire. The British, Sikhs, Marathas and Rajputs benefitted at the cost of the Mughals. This constituted not merely a political but also moral problem for Muslims. Wahabis preached Muslims should emigrate out of India or restore the Islamic authority through Jihad. Shah Waliullah (1703-1762), the first ideologue of Wahabi Movement, had invited Ahmed Shah Abdali to re-conquer India for Islam. The Wahabis believed that erosion in Islam’s political authority was actually a reflection of decline in religious zeal of Muslims. If Muslims returned to puritan version of Islam, they would be victorious again.
The same mindset inspires the cadre of SIMI (Students Islamic Movement of India) and its dreaded derivative IM (Indian Mujahideen). At conferences held in 1999 at Ujjain, Aurangabad, Kanpur and Malapuram, the SIMI leaders called for Jihad to establish an Islamic state in India. Their infamous poster at Kanpur that year read, “Are we Waiting for Ghazni?” The Patna bombers apparently had similar vision for India. Modi was their prime target because they see him as embodiment of Hindu nationalism. They fear he will break the back of Islamist movements aimed at reestablishing Islamic rule in India, the land of Sanatan Dharma.
That was where I let my thought rest that Sunday night. New revelations in the matter were waiting for me in New Delhi. The will be discussed in the next and last part.
(Photo credit: AP)
Source: http://www.niticentral.com/2013/11/07/fearing-modi-jihadis-try-to-unleash-terror-tirade-155022.html
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