Perhaps Emperor Aurengzeb (1658-1707) was responsible for increasing Hindu Muslim tensions by trying to Islamize the Mughal government. Several Muslim historians have actually glorified Aurengzeb for making Muslims conscious of their separate religious and ideological identity. It is also true that Maratha and Sikh leaders raised their banner of revolt against Aurangzeb because in trying to organize his government on Islamic lines, the emperor was acting against their interest. Sir Jaduanath Sarkar’s observation on the role of Shivaji, the Maratha leader, is revealing:
“Shivaji has shown that the tree of Hinduism is not really dead. That it can rise from beneath the seemingly crushing load of centuries of political bondage, exclusion from the administration, and legal repression; it can put forth new leaves and branches it can again lift its head up to the skies”
After Aurangzeb’s death, Muslim power started disintegrating. Muslims were so alarmed by the growing power of the Hindus under Maratha leadership that even a Sufi scholar like Shah Walliullha (1703-81) was moved into writing a letter to the Afghan King Shah Walliullah. He wrote:
“In short, the Muslim community is in a pitiable condition. All control of the machinery of government is in the hands of Hindus, because they are the only people who are capable and industrious. Wealth and prosperity are concentrated in their hands; while the share of Muslims is nothing but poverty and misery… At this time you are the only King who is powerful, far-sighted, and capable of defeating the enemy forces. Certainly it is incumbent upon you to march to India, destroy the Maratha domination and rescue weak and old Muslims from the clutches of Non-Muslims. If, God forbid, domination by infidels continues, Muslims will forget Islam and within a short time become such a nation that there will be nothing left distinguish them from non-Muslims.”
This letter by Shah Walliullah to a foreign Muslim against the local Non-Muslims again reflects that Muslims living in any part of the world are the part of one Muslim Nation.
The Two Nations
Although the Hindus and Muslims had been living together for centuries in the Indian sub-continent, yet there had never been either any signs of merger of the Hindu and Muslims societies, or any serious attempt to develop a working relationship between the two major ethnic groups. The two have always remained as two distinct social systems, two separate and distinct cultures and last but not the least, two different civilizations.
In fact, Hindu fanaticism has always been against those who do not belong to them and against all outsiders, whom they consider maleech or unclean. So they are against having any connection with such people, what to speak of inter-marriage, a Hindu is often forbidden eat or drink or to even shake hand with a Muslim or for that matter with a person belonging to any other faith or religion. In short the Hindu customs and their hatred for Muslims was the main factor against developing a working relationship between the two major societies.
Lala Lajpat Rai, a very astute politician and staunch Hindu Mahasabhite, in his letter to Mr. C.R. Das, which was written 12 or 15 years prior to Pakistan Resolution, wrote:
“There is one point more which has been troubling me very much of late and one which I want you to think (about) carefully, and that is the question of Hindu Mohammedan unity. I have devoted most of my time during the last six months to the study of Muslim history and Muslim law, and I am inclined to think it is neither possible nor practicable. Assuming and admitting the sincerity of Mohammedan leaders in the non-cooperation movement, I think their religion provides an effective bar to anything of that kind… And nothing would relieve more than to be convinced that it is so. But if it is right, then it comes to this, that although we can unite against the British, we cannot do so to rule Hindustan on British lines. We cannot do so to rule Hindustan on democratic lines.”
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