Sir Muhammad Iqbal
Addressed to the 25th Session of the All-India Muslim League Allahabad on 29
December 1930. In his address he pointed out the following problems that were
being faced by the Muslims of subcontinent.
Affects of European political
thinking on Muslim youth
Religiously, Muslims were facing the
problems like Christianity had already faced. Muslim youth was inspired by the
ideas of European thinkers without knowing the outcomes and critical
appreciation. Youth was trying to copy the Europe blindly.
Religion and Nationalism
Islam does not bifurcate, the unity
of man into an irreconcilable duality of spirit and matter. In Islam God and
the universe, spirit and matter, Church and State, are organic to each other. Europe
uncritically accepted the duality of spirit and matter, probably from
Manichaean thought. Her best thinkers are realizing this initial mistake today,
but her statesmen are indirectly forcing the world to accept it as an
unquestionable dogma. It is, then, this mistaken separation of spiritual and
temporal which has largely influenced European religious and political thought
and has resulted practically in the total exclusion of Christianity from the
life of European States. The result is a set of mutually ill-adjusted States
dominated by interests not human but national. And these mutually ill-adjusted
States, after trampling over the moral and religious convictions of
Christianity, are today feeling the need of a federated Europe, i.e. the need
of a unity which the Christian church organization originally gave them, but
which, instead of reconstructing it in the light of Christ's vision of human
brotherhood, they considered fit to destroy under the inspiration of Luther.
Racism
Professor Wensinck of Leiden
(Holland) wrote to Iqbal : "It seems to me that Islam is entering upon a
crisis through which Christianity has been passing for more than a century. The
great difficulty is how to save the foundations of religion when many
antiquated notions have to be given up. It seems to me scarcely possible to
state what the outcome will be for Christianity, still less what it will be for
Islam”.
At that moment the national idea
was radicalizing the outlook of Muslims. And the growth of racial consciousness may
mean the growth of standards different and even opposed to the standards of
Islam.
India as “One Nation”
Hindus were trying to make India
“one nation” that was not true and favorable to Muslims. They were in power and
close to the British Empire. They were dreaming to get ruling power. That was
unacceptable for Muslims of subcontinent because this would force them to serve
them. Also, this was going to bound them to perform their religion under the
shadow of Hinduism as we can see lot of examples in the present India. Muslims
are not allowed to perform “Eid e Qurban” by sacrificing their “Gao maata” and
many more.
Central Federal State: Hindus
Dominancy and British Strategy
In Simon report,
there was a suggestion for a Central Federal State. In this context Hindus were
dominant and they were not letting the Muslims to get the equal rights. Hindus
were dominant in the Federal and close to Britain that’s why their pundits
showed their interest in this commission.
They desire that authority should be for
Central Legislature, where their dominancy will give them edge to rule.
On the other hands, British
thinkers were interested in Simon Commission because they saw that power will
remain in “Center” and this will give them complete grip over subcontinent and
whole power will be in their hands.
British and Indian Think Tanks
In India Hindus were in majority, they were
dreaming to rule the India. Hindu think tanks were first against the idea of
Simon Commission. When they realized their benefit they convert their self in
the favor of that commission.
On the other hands British think tanks were
thinking to rule the India without direct involvement. They were thinking to
hold the rule with less effort and this was possible with the help of any
Indian nation. Hindus were their favorite for this purpose and they going to
give authorities to them and this was a nightmare for the Muslims.
Lake of Personalities and Leadership
Let me tell you frankly that, at the present moment, the
Muslims of India are suffering from two evils. The first is the want of
personalities. Sir Malcolm Hailey and Lord Irwin were perfectly correct in
their diagnosis when they told the Aligarh University that the community had
failed to produce leaders. By leaders I mean men who, by Divine gift or
experience, possess a keen perception of the spirit and destiny of Islam, along
with an equally keen perception of the trend of modern history. Such men are
really the driving forces of a people, but they are God’s gift and cannot be
made to order.
Loss of herd instinct
The second evil from which the
Muslims of India are suffering is that the community is fast losing what is
called the herd instinct. This [loss] makes it possible for individuals and
groups to start independent careers without contributing to the general thought
and activity of the community.
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