Jamiat-i-Ulema Responded To Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Before Congress
By
Saquib Salim, New Age Islam
28 March
2023
Ulema Like Maulana Husain Ahmad Madani, Maulana
Muhammad Daud Ghaznavi, Maulana Nur Ud-Din Bihari, Maulana Habib Ur Rahman
Ludhianvi, And Others Were Jailed Before The Quit India Resolution Of Congress.
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"The
goal of Jamiat-e-Ulema has ever been complete independence, and it regards this
as its religious, political, and moral right. And anything which stands in the
way of this right is unbearable to it." This is an excerpt from the
statement delivered by the Working Committee of Jamiat-i-Ulema-i-Hind in
September 1939.
Capt Lakshmi Sehgal with Subhash Chandra
Bose during their INA days
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The
statement was published by Raj Printers in Meerut after a meeting held under
the leadership of Maulana Ahmad Saeed. The meeting was convened to discuss the
steps that the Jamiat should take after the Second World War had broken down in
Europe.
Netaji
Subhas Chandra Bose was already campaigning for a movement against the British
during the war. Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, etc. differed
with him and forced Bose to resign as the President of Congress but Ulema,
especially those who subscribed to the Deoband School, were in complete
agreement with him.
It is no
coincidence that Maulana Nur ud-Din Bihari, a very prominent leader of Jamiat,
was one of the founding members of Forward Bloc, a party Bose formed after
resigning from Congress. Bihari was elected as its Delhi chief and was jailed
in 1940, two years before the Quit India Movement of Congress. Maulana Ubaidullah
Sindhi’s campaign and meetings with Bose are well documented. Maulana was a
prominent Deobandi Maulana. During his radio broadcasts from Germany and Japan,
Bose asked Indians to gather behind certain leaders among them Mufti
Kifayatullah and Jamiat got special mentions.
Students at Deoband seminary
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Nobody
should be surprised to know that Jamiat-i-Ulema was one of the first large
organisations in India to openly come out against the British war efforts. In
September 1939, the British Government notified that all literature and
propaganda material of the meeting of Jamiat should be proscribed. The British
asked Indians to support their war against Germany. While the Congress was
still discussing the issue, Jamiat came out with a statement asking people to
oppose the British. This was exactly in line with what Netaji Subhas, Maulana
Ubaidullah, and Rash Behari Bose were preaching.
The banned
statement which discussed the appeal of the British Government to cooperate in
their war efforts read:
“Keeping in
view the sublime Islamic, national and moral principles at this critical
juncture, the Working Committee of the Jamiat-e-Ulema-i-Hind has considered and
examined this aspect of the question, namely, that if Britain has pushed her
nation into the fire of the war between Germany and Poland, is it our Islamic,
national or moral duty that we should advise the Indians to jump into this fire
and shed their blood in support of Britain?"
It further
stated, "so far as action and reaction is concerned, we regret that there
is no light of conviction and satisfaction in this for the Indians."
Ulema
questioned how it affected India if Germany was a democracy or a dictatorship.
In their view, colonial oppressors of Indians were the biggest enemy and
freedom was the only goal. It was pointed out that Indians were being killed
for more than a century and every promise of granting freedom during the first
World War was broken.
Ulema said
about the First World War, "By suffering all sorts of ruin and devastation
during the last great war and by offering the highest sacrifices in man and
money, India consolidated British Imperialism and prolonged the duration of her
servitude. How can they be reassured now that support to Britain at this
juncture would confer freedom on them, or the victory and consolidation of
British Imperialism would (not?) become the cause of Britain's further
autocracy and consolidation under the guise of democracy."
Ulema
appealed that in this situation, "all Indians should unitedly come to a decision
on behalf of India, in keeping with their self-respect and dignity, and jointly
adopt the same path; for, this is the true basis of their deliverance and
freedom."
Often
historians overlook the fact that considerable leadership and cadre of Forward
Bloc came from Jamiat-e-Ulema, they supported Netaji Subhas, Ulema of Jamiat
and Ahrar started a movement when Subhas wanted and didn’t wait till August
1942. Ulema like Maulana Husain Ahmad Madani, Maulana Muhammad Daud Ghaznavi,
Maulana Nur ud-Din Bihari, Maulana Habib ur Rahman Ludhianvi, and others were
jailed before the Quit India Resolution of Congress. Interestingly, the Quit
India Resolution was passed under the Presidentship of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad,
who himself was a tall leader of Jamiat-e-Ulema.
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-politics/jamiat-ulema-netaji-bose-congress/d/129423
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