Allama Mashriqi
Encyclopedia
Allama Mashriqi also known as Inayatullah Khan (Punjabi: (Shahmukhi), इनायतुल्ला ख़ान (Devanagari)) (born in Amritsar
, 25 August 1888; died in Lahore
, 27 August 1963) was a South Asian mathematician
, logician, political theorist, Islam
ic scholar and the founder of the Khaksar movement
.
Mashriqi was a noted mathematical intellectual who became a college Principal at the age of 25, and then became an Under Secretary, at the age of 29, in the Education Department of the Government of India. He wrote an exegesis
of the Qur'an
which was nominated for the 1925 Nobel Prize
. He was offered an Ambassadorship to Afghanistan
at age 32 and Knighthood at the age of 33 years, but he declined all honours.
He subsequently resigned government service and in 1930 founded the Khaksar Movement
, aiming to advance the condition of the masses irrespective of any faith
, sect
, or religion
. As its leader, he was imprisoned several times. Through his philosophical writings, he asserted that the Science of Religions was essentially the science of collective evolution of mankind.
on 25 August 1888. His father, Khan Ata Mohammad Khan, had inherited a large property from his father. His ancestors had held prominent positions during the Mughal Empire
. Khan Ata was also well-connected with the Muslim
luminaries of the time such as Sir Syed Ahmed Khan
, Jamal Ud Din Afgahani
, Shibli Nomani
, and Mirza Ghalib
.
Khan Ata owned a bi-weekly publication, Vakil ("Lawyer"), published from Amritsar. Vakil discussed political issues with a Muslim focus. Shibli Nomani
requested that Khan Ata let Abul Kalam Azad work at Vakil. Azad went on to work as an editor of Vakil. Mashriqi was thus raised in an intellectual Muslim environment. Khan Ata Mohammad Khan noticed the genius in his son and he guided him accordingly.
from his childhood. He completed his Master's degree in Mathematics from the University of the Punjab
at the age of 19 and broke all previous records. In October 1907 he went to Britain
and matriculated at Christ's College, Cambridge
, to read for the mathematics tripos
. He was awarded a college foundation scholarship in May 1908. In June 1909 he was awarded first class honours
in Mathematics Part I, being placed joint 27th out of 31 on the list of wranglers. For the next two years, he read for the oriental languages
tripos in parallel to the natural sciences tripos, gaining first class honours in the former and third class in the latter.
After three years' residence at Cambridge
he had qualified for his Bachelor of Arts
degree, which he took in 1910. In 1912 he completed a fourth tripos in mechanical sciences, and was placed in the second class. Following the year, Mashriqi was conferred with D.Phil.
in mathematics receiving a gold medal in his doctoral graduation ceremony. He left Cambridge and returned to India in December 1912. During his stay in Cambridge his religious and scientific conviction was inspired by the works and concepts of the professor Sir James Jeans.
, Peshawar
, by Chief Commissioner Sir George Roos-Keppel. He was made Principal of the same college in 1917. In Oct 1917 he was appointed Under Secretary to the Government of India in the Education Department in succession to Sir George Anderson (1876–1943). He became headmaster of the High School, Peshawar on 21 October 1919.
Aged 32, he was offered an ambassadorship to Afghanistan
, which he declined. The following year, he was offered a British knighthood, which he also turned down. Mashriqi was among the youngest Indians to have been offered such positions.
According to Subroto Roy's "Lessons from the 1962 War" (published in the Sunday Statesman on January 13, 2008), in 1926 Mashriqi became a friend of Adolf Hitler and later "claimed to have affected Hitler’s ideology." The same article claims that Mashriqi's Khaksars were "modelled on the Nazi SA."
In 1930 he was passed over for a promotion in the government service, following which he went on medical leave. In 1932 he resigned, taking his pension, and settled down in Ichhra
, Lahore
.
in the light of science. It was nominated by the Nobel Prize Committee
in 1925, subject to the condition it was translated into one of the European languages. Mashriqi, however, declined the suggestion of translation.
, he tried to fathom the fallacy. To him, messengers
from the same Creator
could not have brought different and conflicting messages to the same creation. He could not conceive of a contradictory and conflicting state of affairs in the Universe
, nor could he accept the conflict within various religions as real. Either Religion was a fraud and the prophet
s were impostors who misguided and disrupted mankind, or they were misprojected by their followers and misunderstood by the mankind.
He delved into the religious scriptures and arrived at the conclusion that all the prophets had brought the same message to man. He analysed the fundamentals of the Message and established that the teachings of all the prophets were closely linked with evolution
of mankind as a single and united species
in contrast to other ignorant and stagnant species of animals.
It was on this basis that he declared that the Science of Religions was essentially the science of collective evolution of mankind; all prophets came to unite mankind, not to disrupt it; the basic law of all faiths is the law of unification and consolidation
of the entire humanity. According to Markus Daeschel, the philosophical ruminations of Mashriqi offer an opportunity to re-evaluate the meaning of colonial modernity and notion of post-colonial nation-building
in modern times.
, and an anarchist; while at the same time he is described as a visionary
, a reformer, a leader
, and a scientist-philosopher who was born ahead of his time.
After Mashriqi resigned from government service, he laid the foundation of the Khaksar Tehreek
(also known as Khaksar Movement) in 1930. He played a role in directing the Muslims towards the independence of British India. Mashriqi was repeatedly imprisoned, along with his family, and a large number of Khaksars. Mashriqi was opposed to the partition of India
which he believed played into the hands of the British.
was the weekly newspaper of the Khaksar Tehrik. It was started in 1934 by the founder of the Khaksar Tehrik, Allama Mashriqi.
, has completed a massive undertaking to compile historic copies of the Khaksar Tehrik’s weekly newspaper, “Al-Islah,” into a digital format. Prior to this effort, “Al-Islah” had not seen the light of day since 1947 for political reasons. This publication is extremely important in understanding not only the history of the freedom movement of the Indian sub-continent, but also the true driving force behind the British transfer of power in 1947. By painstakingly compiling a digital version of the newspaper, Mr. Yousaf has taken an important step towards making the publication accessible to a wide audience.
“Al-Islah” was originally founded in 1934 by Allama Mashriqi (founder of the Khaksar Tehrik) and launched from Lahore. It quickly established a large following, including subscribers in British India, England, Bahrain, Egypt, Nigeria, South Africa, and Saudi Arabia. “Al-Islah” played a key role in spreading Allama Mashriqi and the Khaksar Tehrik’s ideology and helped Mashriqi raise a well-disciplined private army of 5 million. In addition, “Al-Islah” inspired other Muslim as well as non-Muslim organizations to follow the Khaksar Tehrik and form similar organizations. The newspaper is essential to a complete understanding of the freedom movement because it describes the critical role played by the Khaksar Movement in bringing independence to the nation; without access to this publication, there would remain a large gap in the knowledge of the freedom movement. Thus, the digital compilation of “Al-Islah” is indeed momentous, as it will enable professors, students, researchers, historians and others to further study Allama Mashriqi’s role in the struggle for the freedom of British India and emergence of Pakistan and India as two separate countries.
In addition to compiling “Al-Islah,” scholar and historian Mr. Yousaf has so far written nine books (five primarily focusing on Allama Mashriqi and the Khaksar Tehrik and four on import and export of consumer products such as rugs, apparel, and textiles). He has presented papers at U.S. scholarly conferences and written many articles and books. In 2007, he presented at the New York Conference on Asian Studies on the military-style activities of the uniformed Khaksars; this is believed to be the first time anyone had presented a paper and slide show on the Khaksar Tehrik to an academic audience in the USA. Mr. Yousaf has also contributed articles to the “Harvard Asia Quarterly” and the “World History Encyclopedia (USA).” His forthcoming book entitled “Mahatma Gandhi & My Grandfather, Allama Mashriqi” uncovers many hidden realities behind the freedom of British India.
(now Uttar Pradesh
) during his efforts in resolving the sectarian conflicts between Sunnis and Shias. In 1940, he was arrested during a clash between the police and the Khaksars
. The newspapers reported it as the "battle of spades and guns". He was only freed from solitary confinement
in 1942 after he fasted for 80 days.
On 20 July 1943, an assassination attempt was made on Muhammad Ali Jinnah
by Rafiq Sabir who was assumed to be a Khaksar worker. The attack was deplored by Mashriqi, who denied any involvement. Later, Justice Blagden of Bombay High Court
, in his ruling on 4 November 1943 dismissed any association of Khaksars.
In Pakistan
, Mashriqi was imprisoned at least five times: in 1950 prior to election; in 1958 for alleged complicity in the murder of republican leader Khan Abdul Jabbar Khan
; and, in 1962 for suspicion on attempt to overthrow President Ayub's government. However, none of the charges were proved, and he was acquitted in each case.
In 1957 Mashriqi allegedly led 300,000 of his followers to the borders of Kashmir
, intending, it is said, to launch a fight for its liberation. However, the Pakistan government
persuaded the group to withdraw and the organisation was later disbanded.
and died on August 27, 1963 in Lahore
(Pakistan
). A gigantic crowd of 100,000 people attended his funeral, reflecting his popularity. Condolences were received from, among others, Ayub Khan and Khwaja Nazimuddin. Ayub Khan wrote that Mashriqi was “a great scholar and organiser who had given up a brilliant academic future to serve the people, as he thought right.” He is buried in near main market of Ichhra
Lahore
.
Nazimuddin wrote that Mashriqi had been “a very interesting figure who took prominent part in the politics of the South Asia”.
The Constitution was formulated, under Mashriqi's guidance, by eminent personalities and intellectuals from various disciplines, such as politics, finance, and administration and law. The result was a monumental work that accommodated the rights of all — including Muslims, Hindus, Scheduled Castes, Sikhs, Jains, Parsees, Budhists, Jews and Christians. According to Mashriqi:
“We addressed almost every important element of India’s national life requesting it to send its declaration of interests so that in case the interests did not clash with those of other parties in the country they might be incorporated in the body of the Constitution ‘as far as possible, feasible and consistent with the interests of other parties.’ We addressed more or less 75 parties and over three hundred million people in the country accepted our invitation through their accredited leaders.”*
By December of 1945, 50,000 copies of the Constitution had been printed. Ultimately, however, the Constitution was not adopted for political reasons, and British India was subsequently partitioned in 1947. Nevertheless, The Constitution of Free India, 1946 A.C. serves as a lasting example of the Khaksars' efforts to bring the nation together — and how close they came to achieving the vision of a united, independent India.
several books on Mashriqi and his political struggle:
Amritsar
Amritsar is a city in the northern part of India and is the administrative headquarters of Amritsar district in the state of Punjab, India. The 2001 Indian census reported the population of the city to be over 1,500,000, with that of the entire district numbering 3,695,077...
, 25 August 1888; died in Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
, 27 August 1963) was a South Asian mathematician
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
, logician, political theorist, Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic scholar and the founder of the Khaksar movement
Khaksars
The Khaksar movement was a social movement based in Lahore, British India, established by Allama Mashriqi in 1931 to free India from the rule of the British Empire and establish a Hindu-Muslim government in India The word "Khaksar" is derived from the Persian language, Khak means dust, and Sar...
.
Mashriqi was a noted mathematical intellectual who became a college Principal at the age of 25, and then became an Under Secretary, at the age of 29, in the Education Department of the Government of India. He wrote an exegesis
Exegesis
Exegesis is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text, especially a religious text. Traditionally the term was used primarily for exegesis of the Bible; however, in contemporary usage it has broadened to mean a critical explanation of any text, and the term "Biblical exegesis" is used...
of the Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
which was nominated for the 1925 Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
. He was offered an Ambassadorship to Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
at age 32 and Knighthood at the age of 33 years, but he declined all honours.
He subsequently resigned government service and in 1930 founded the Khaksar Movement
Khaksars
The Khaksar movement was a social movement based in Lahore, British India, established by Allama Mashriqi in 1931 to free India from the rule of the British Empire and establish a Hindu-Muslim government in India The word "Khaksar" is derived from the Persian language, Khak means dust, and Sar...
, aiming to advance the condition of the masses irrespective of any faith
Faith
Faith is confidence or trust in a person or thing, or a belief that is not based on proof. In religion, faith is a belief in a transcendent reality, a religious teacher, a set of teachings or a Supreme Being. Generally speaking, it is offered as a means by which the truth of the proposition,...
, sect
Sect
A sect is a group with distinctive religious, political or philosophical beliefs. Although in past it was mostly used to refer to religious groups, it has since expanded and in modern culture can refer to any organization that breaks away from a larger one to follow a different set of rules and...
, or religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
. As its leader, he was imprisoned several times. Through his philosophical writings, he asserted that the Science of Religions was essentially the science of collective evolution of mankind.
Family background
Mashriqi was born into an eminent Muslim Rajput family in AmritsarAmritsar
Amritsar is a city in the northern part of India and is the administrative headquarters of Amritsar district in the state of Punjab, India. The 2001 Indian census reported the population of the city to be over 1,500,000, with that of the entire district numbering 3,695,077...
on 25 August 1888. His father, Khan Ata Mohammad Khan, had inherited a large property from his father. His ancestors had held prominent positions during the Mughal Empire
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
. Khan Ata was also well-connected with the Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
luminaries of the time such as Sir Syed Ahmed Khan
Syed Ahmed Khan
Javad-ud Daula, Arif Jang, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, KCSI , commonly known as Sir Syed, was an Indian educator and politician, and an Islamic reformer and modernist...
, Jamal Ud Din Afgahani
Jamal al-Din al-Afghani
Sayyid Muḥammad ibn Ṣafdar Husaynī , better known as Sayyid Jamāl-ad-Dīn al-Afghānī and Sayyid Jamal-ad-Din Asadabadi , , was a political activist and Islamic ideologist in the Muslim world during the late 19th century, particularly in the Middle East, South Asia and Europe...
, Shibli Nomani
Shibli Nomani
Allamah Shibli Nomani was a respected scholar of Islam from Indian subcontinent during British Raj. He was born at Bindwal in Azamgarh district of present-day Uttar Pradesh. He is known for the founding the Shibli National College in 1883 and the Darul Mussanifin in Azamgarh...
, and Mirza Ghalib
Mirza Ghalib
Dabir-ul-Mulk, Najm-ud-Daula Mirza Asadullah Baig Khan , pen-name Ghalib and Asad , was a classical Urdu and Persian poet from India during British colonial rule...
.
Khan Ata owned a bi-weekly publication, Vakil ("Lawyer"), published from Amritsar. Vakil discussed political issues with a Muslim focus. Shibli Nomani
Shibli Nomani
Allamah Shibli Nomani was a respected scholar of Islam from Indian subcontinent during British Raj. He was born at Bindwal in Azamgarh district of present-day Uttar Pradesh. He is known for the founding the Shibli National College in 1883 and the Darul Mussanifin in Azamgarh...
requested that Khan Ata let Abul Kalam Azad work at Vakil. Azad went on to work as an editor of Vakil. Mashriqi was thus raised in an intellectual Muslim environment. Khan Ata Mohammad Khan noticed the genius in his son and he guided him accordingly.
Education
Mashriqi had a passion for mathematicsMathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
from his childhood. He completed his Master's degree in Mathematics from the University of the Punjab
University of the Punjab
University of the Punjab , colloquially known as Punjab University, is located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. The University of the Punjab is the oldest and biggest University of Pakistan. The University of the Punjab was formally established with the convening of the first meeting of its...
at the age of 19 and broke all previous records. In October 1907 he went to Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and matriculated at Christ's College, Cambridge
Christ's College, Cambridge
Christ's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.With a reputation for high academic standards, Christ's College averaged top place in the Tompkins Table from 1980-2000 . In 2011, Christ's was placed sixth.-College history:...
, to read for the mathematics tripos
Cambridge Mathematical Tripos
The Mathematical Tripos is the taught mathematics course at the University of Cambridge. It is the oldest Tripos that is examined in Cambridge.-Origin:...
. He was awarded a college foundation scholarship in May 1908. In June 1909 he was awarded first class honours
British undergraduate degree classification
The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading scheme for undergraduate degrees in the United Kingdom...
in Mathematics Part I, being placed joint 27th out of 31 on the list of wranglers. For the next two years, he read for the oriental languages
Languages of Asia
There is a wide variety of languages spoken throughout Asia, comprising a number of families and some unrelated isolates. Many languages have a long tradition of writing.-Central and North Asian languages:*Turkic**Azeri**Kazak**Kyrgyz**Tatar**Turkish...
tripos in parallel to the natural sciences tripos, gaining first class honours in the former and third class in the latter.
After three years' residence at Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
he had qualified for his Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree, which he took in 1910. In 1912 he completed a fourth tripos in mechanical sciences, and was placed in the second class. Following the year, Mashriqi was conferred with D.Phil.
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
in mathematics receiving a gold medal in his doctoral graduation ceremony. He left Cambridge and returned to India in December 1912. During his stay in Cambridge his religious and scientific conviction was inspired by the works and concepts of the professor Sir James Jeans.
Career
On his return to India, Mashriqi was offered the premiership of Alwar, a princely state, by the Raja. He declined owing to his interest in education. At the age of 25 he was appointed Vice Principal of Islamia CollegeIslamia College (Peshawar)
Islamia College is a renowned educational institution located in the city of Peshawar in the Khyber-Pukhtoonkhwa province of Pakistan. It was founded in October 1913 by regional leader Nawab Sir Sahibzada Abdul Qayyum and then Chief Commissioner of the province Sir George Roos-Keppel in an effort...
, Peshawar
Peshawar
Peshawar is the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the administrative center and central economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan....
, by Chief Commissioner Sir George Roos-Keppel. He was made Principal of the same college in 1917. In Oct 1917 he was appointed Under Secretary to the Government of India in the Education Department in succession to Sir George Anderson (1876–1943). He became headmaster of the High School, Peshawar on 21 October 1919.
Aged 32, he was offered an ambassadorship to Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, which he declined. The following year, he was offered a British knighthood, which he also turned down. Mashriqi was among the youngest Indians to have been offered such positions.
According to Subroto Roy's "Lessons from the 1962 War" (published in the Sunday Statesman on January 13, 2008), in 1926 Mashriqi became a friend of Adolf Hitler and later "claimed to have affected Hitler’s ideology." The same article claims that Mashriqi's Khaksars were "modelled on the Nazi SA."
In 1930 he was passed over for a promotion in the government service, following which he went on medical leave. In 1932 he resigned, taking his pension, and settled down in Ichhra
Ichhra
Ichhra is a commercial and residential area in Lahore, Pakistan.-History:The neighbourhood was named after the death of an old woman who's nickname was Mai Ichhra of now Muslim Kamboja tribe who migrated from Mesopotamia/Mittani having worshipped in ancient times their mother goddess Ishara, sacred...
, Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
.
Nobel nomination
In 1924, at the age of 36, Mashriqi completed the first volume of his book, Tazkirah. It is a commentary on the Qur'anQur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
in the light of science. It was nominated by the Nobel Prize Committee
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
in 1925, subject to the condition it was translated into one of the European languages. Mashriqi, however, declined the suggestion of translation.
Fellowships
Mashriqi's fellowships included::- Fellow of the Royal Society of ArtsRoyal Society of ArtsThe Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufacturers and Commerce is a British multi-disciplinary institution, based in London. The name Royal Society of Arts is frequently used for brevity...
, 1923 - Fellow of the Geographical Society (F.G.S), ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
- Fellow of Society of Arts (F.S.A), ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
- Member of the Board at Delhi University
- President of the Mathematical Society, Islamia CollegeIslamia College (Peshawar)Islamia College is a renowned educational institution located in the city of Peshawar in the Khyber-Pukhtoonkhwa province of Pakistan. It was founded in October 1913 by regional leader Nawab Sir Sahibzada Abdul Qayyum and then Chief Commissioner of the province Sir George Roos-Keppel in an effort...
, PeshawarPeshawarPeshawar is the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the administrative center and central economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan.... - Member of the International Congress of Orientalists (Leiden), 1930
- President of the All World's Faiths Conference, 1937
Mashriqi's philosophy
Mashriqi was interested in the conflict within various religions. Instead of getting disgusted with the conflict and discarding ReligionReligion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
, he tried to fathom the fallacy. To him, messengers
Prophet
In religion, a prophet, from the Greek word προφήτης profitis meaning "foreteller", is an individual who is claimed to have been contacted by the supernatural or the divine, and serves as an intermediary with humanity, delivering this newfound knowledge from the supernatural entity to other people...
from the same Creator
Creator deity
A creator deity is a deity responsible for the creation of the world . In monotheism, the single God is often also the creator deity, while polytheistic traditions may or may not have creator deities...
could not have brought different and conflicting messages to the same creation. He could not conceive of a contradictory and conflicting state of affairs in the Universe
Universe
The Universe is commonly defined as the totality of everything that exists, including all matter and energy, the planets, stars, galaxies, and the contents of intergalactic space. Definitions and usage vary and similar terms include the cosmos, the world and nature...
, nor could he accept the conflict within various religions as real. Either Religion was a fraud and the prophet
Prophet
In religion, a prophet, from the Greek word προφήτης profitis meaning "foreteller", is an individual who is claimed to have been contacted by the supernatural or the divine, and serves as an intermediary with humanity, delivering this newfound knowledge from the supernatural entity to other people...
s were impostors who misguided and disrupted mankind, or they were misprojected by their followers and misunderstood by the mankind.
He delved into the religious scriptures and arrived at the conclusion that all the prophets had brought the same message to man. He analysed the fundamentals of the Message and established that the teachings of all the prophets were closely linked with evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
of mankind as a single and united species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
in contrast to other ignorant and stagnant species of animals.
It was on this basis that he declared that the Science of Religions was essentially the science of collective evolution of mankind; all prophets came to unite mankind, not to disrupt it; the basic law of all faiths is the law of unification and consolidation
Consolidation
Consolidation may refer to:* Consolidation , the mergers or acquisitions of many smaller companies into much larger ones* Consolidation , a geological process whereby a soil decreases in volume...
of the entire humanity. According to Markus Daeschel, the philosophical ruminations of Mashriqi offer an opportunity to re-evaluate the meaning of colonial modernity and notion of post-colonial nation-building
Nation-building
For nation-building in the sense of enhancing the capacity of state institutions, building state-society relations, and also external interventions see State-building....
in modern times.
Mashriqi's inspiration
How Mashriqi became aware of the Quranic concept of a Knower has been narrated by him in a footnote on page 185 of his famous book, the "Hedith-ul·Quran", He says (translated from Urdu): "In this connection a strange incident is worth mentioning here which occurred in 1909 when I was at University of CambridgeUniversity of CambridgeThe University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
. I entered Cambridge in 1907 and a year later topped in the entire University in a preliminary test in mathematics. I was only 19 then and, with this distinction, amongst the most aggressive students. It is customary at Cambridge that students seldom enter into conversation with Professors, who remain busy in their research and live in an entirely different world. One day I saw one of the most notable Professors of mine (Sir James Jeans) walking in the bazarBazarBazar may refer to:* Bazar, Afghanistan* Bazar, Azerbaijan* Bazar, Łódź Voivodeship * Bazar, Lublin Voivodeship * Bazar, Masovian Voivodeship * Bazar, Ukraine...
with a copy of the BibleBibleThe Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
under one arm and umbrella under the other though it was raining heavily. I instantly stepped forward and greeted him. When he smiled back, I got encouraged and said almost sarcastically, 'Sir, you are the most reputed scientist of the world. How is it that you believe in the Bible?·. 'Come to my place on Thursday", he said and wended his way. I reached his house on the appointed day--I was accompanied by a fellow student, an English boy, to test whether I was bluffing or the Professor had really invited me. We arrived there at 4 p.m.; exactly at that time the door opened, a lady asked my name and took me inside. The Professor received me very kindly, offered tea and said that he had called me to answer my questi'on. I was already scared and apologised that the question was impertinent. But he kept me there and for full one hour explained what this Book of Nature is, how deeply they were absorbed in it, what immensities they found in it. At the end he uttered precisely these words,? "I say it on my honour that the hair on my body stand on end out of Fear of God since the day I started the study of Nature". I was astonished, because in our India science-educated "half-baked" professors were mostly atheist. In short, when I read these words two years later in the Quran while preparing for TriposTriposThe University of Cambridge, England, divides the different kinds of honours bachelor's degree by Tripos , plural Triposes. The word has an obscure etymology, but may be traced to the three-legged stool candidates once used to sit on when taking oral examinations...
in Arabic and pondered over the words meaning. "Those truly fear God from amongst His servants who are the Knowers" and "The hair on their skins stand on end', I understood that the Ulema(Knowers) are not these Maulvies but they are the Scientists who have created such a stir in the world. From then on the sublimity of the Quran began to be manifest to me. This incident was the first window of light about the Quran which accidentally opened on me, otherwise I would have been deprived of the Quran after having studied science.
Political life
Mashriqi is often portrayed as a controversial figure, a religious activist, a revolutionaryRevolutionary
A revolutionary is a person who either actively participates in, or advocates revolution. Also, when used as an adjective, the term revolutionary refers to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor.-Definition:...
, and an anarchist; while at the same time he is described as a visionary
Visionary
Defined broadly, a visionary, is one who can envision the future. For some groups this can involve the supernatural or drugs.The visionary state is achieved via meditation, drugs, lucid dreams, daydreams, or art. One example is Hildegard of Bingen, a 12th century artist/visionary and Catholic saint...
, a reformer, a leader
Leader
A leader is one who influences or leads others.Leader may also refer to:- Newspapers :* Leading article, a piece of writing intended to promote an opinion, also called an editorial* The Leader , published 1909–1967...
, and a scientist-philosopher who was born ahead of his time.
After Mashriqi resigned from government service, he laid the foundation of the Khaksar Tehreek
Khaksars
The Khaksar movement was a social movement based in Lahore, British India, established by Allama Mashriqi in 1931 to free India from the rule of the British Empire and establish a Hindu-Muslim government in India The word "Khaksar" is derived from the Persian language, Khak means dust, and Sar...
(also known as Khaksar Movement) in 1930. He played a role in directing the Muslims towards the independence of British India. Mashriqi was repeatedly imprisoned, along with his family, and a large number of Khaksars. Mashriqi was opposed to the partition of India
Partition of India
The Partition of India was the partition of British India on the basis of religious demographics that led to the creation of the sovereign states of the Dominion of Pakistan and the Union of India on 14 and 15...
which he believed played into the hands of the British.
Founder of Al-Islah
Al-Islah (Khaksar Tehrik weekly)Al-Islah (Khaksar Tehrik weekly)
Al-Islah was the weekly newspaper of the Khaksar Tehrik movement. It was started in 1934 by the founder of the Khaksar Tehrik, Allama Mashriqi. It was printed and distributed from Lahore, India, and contained Mashriqi’s speeches as well as articles that reflected the philosophy and message of the...
was the weekly newspaper of the Khaksar Tehrik. It was started in 1934 by the founder of the Khaksar Tehrik, Allama Mashriqi.
"Al-Islah" (Khaksar Tehrik weekly)
Allama Mashriqi’s grandson, Nasim YousafNasim Yousaf
Nasim Yousaf is a scholar, historian and intellectual. He comes from a famous family of the Indian sub-continent and is a grandson of the pre-eminent Allama Mashriqi . He is also a nephew of globally recognized social scientist Dr. Akhtar Hameed Khan Nasim Yousaf is a scholar, historian and...
, has completed a massive undertaking to compile historic copies of the Khaksar Tehrik’s weekly newspaper, “Al-Islah,” into a digital format. Prior to this effort, “Al-Islah” had not seen the light of day since 1947 for political reasons. This publication is extremely important in understanding not only the history of the freedom movement of the Indian sub-continent, but also the true driving force behind the British transfer of power in 1947. By painstakingly compiling a digital version of the newspaper, Mr. Yousaf has taken an important step towards making the publication accessible to a wide audience.
“Al-Islah” was originally founded in 1934 by Allama Mashriqi (founder of the Khaksar Tehrik) and launched from Lahore. It quickly established a large following, including subscribers in British India, England, Bahrain, Egypt, Nigeria, South Africa, and Saudi Arabia. “Al-Islah” played a key role in spreading Allama Mashriqi and the Khaksar Tehrik’s ideology and helped Mashriqi raise a well-disciplined private army of 5 million. In addition, “Al-Islah” inspired other Muslim as well as non-Muslim organizations to follow the Khaksar Tehrik and form similar organizations. The newspaper is essential to a complete understanding of the freedom movement because it describes the critical role played by the Khaksar Movement in bringing independence to the nation; without access to this publication, there would remain a large gap in the knowledge of the freedom movement. Thus, the digital compilation of “Al-Islah” is indeed momentous, as it will enable professors, students, researchers, historians and others to further study Allama Mashriqi’s role in the struggle for the freedom of British India and emergence of Pakistan and India as two separate countries.
In addition to compiling “Al-Islah,” scholar and historian Mr. Yousaf has so far written nine books (five primarily focusing on Allama Mashriqi and the Khaksar Tehrik and four on import and export of consumer products such as rugs, apparel, and textiles). He has presented papers at U.S. scholarly conferences and written many articles and books. In 2007, he presented at the New York Conference on Asian Studies on the military-style activities of the uniformed Khaksars; this is believed to be the first time anyone had presented a paper and slide show on the Khaksar Tehrik to an academic audience in the USA. Mr. Yousaf has also contributed articles to the “Harvard Asia Quarterly” and the “World History Encyclopedia (USA).” His forthcoming book entitled “Mahatma Gandhi & My Grandfather, Allama Mashriqi” uncovers many hidden realities behind the freedom of British India.
Imprisonments and allegations
Mashriqi was first imprisoned in 1939, by the Congress Government of the United Provinces of Agra and OudhUnited Provinces of Agra and Oudh
The United Provinces of Agra and Oudh was a province of India under the British Raj, which existed from 1902 to 1947; the official name was shortened by the Government of India Act 1935 to United Provinces, by which the province had been commonly known, and by which name it was also a province of...
(now Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
) during his efforts in resolving the sectarian conflicts between Sunnis and Shias. In 1940, he was arrested during a clash between the police and the Khaksars
Khaksars
The Khaksar movement was a social movement based in Lahore, British India, established by Allama Mashriqi in 1931 to free India from the rule of the British Empire and establish a Hindu-Muslim government in India The word "Khaksar" is derived from the Persian language, Khak means dust, and Sar...
. The newspapers reported it as the "battle of spades and guns". He was only freed from solitary confinement
Solitary confinement
Solitary confinement is a special form of imprisonment in which a prisoner is isolated from any human contact, though often with the exception of members of prison staff. It is sometimes employed as a form of punishment beyond incarceration for a prisoner, and has been cited as an additional...
in 1942 after he fasted for 80 days.
On 20 July 1943, an assassination attempt was made on Muhammad Ali Jinnah
Muhammad Ali Jinnah
Muhammad Ali Jinnah was a Muslim lawyer, politician, statesman and the founder of Pakistan. He is popularly and officially known in Pakistan as Quaid-e-Azam and Baba-e-Qaum ....
by Rafiq Sabir who was assumed to be a Khaksar worker. The attack was deplored by Mashriqi, who denied any involvement. Later, Justice Blagden of Bombay High Court
Bombay High Court
Bombay High Court at Mumbai, Maharashtra, is the High Court of India with jurisdiction over the states of Maharashtra & Goa, and, the Union Territories of Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli...
, in his ruling on 4 November 1943 dismissed any association of Khaksars.
In Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, Mashriqi was imprisoned at least five times: in 1950 prior to election; in 1958 for alleged complicity in the murder of republican leader Khan Abdul Jabbar Khan
Khan Abdul Jabbar Khan
Khan Abdul Jabbar Khan popularly known as Dr. Khan Sahib was a pioneer in the Indian Independence Movement and a Pakistan politician.-Early life:...
; and, in 1962 for suspicion on attempt to overthrow President Ayub's government. However, none of the charges were proved, and he was acquitted in each case.
In 1957 Mashriqi allegedly led 300,000 of his followers to the borders of Kashmir
Kashmir
Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
, intending, it is said, to launch a fight for its liberation. However, the Pakistan government
Government of Pakistan
The Government of Pakistan is a federal parliamentary system, with an indirectly-elected President as the Head of State and Commander in Chief of the Pakistani Armed Forces, and an indirectly-elected Prime Minister as the Head of Government. The President’s appointment and term are...
persuaded the group to withdraw and the organisation was later disbanded.
Death
Mashriqi became ill with cancerCancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
and died on August 27, 1963 in Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
(Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
). A gigantic crowd of 100,000 people attended his funeral, reflecting his popularity. Condolences were received from, among others, Ayub Khan and Khwaja Nazimuddin. Ayub Khan wrote that Mashriqi was “a great scholar and organiser who had given up a brilliant academic future to serve the people, as he thought right.” He is buried in near main market of Ichhra
Ichhra
Ichhra is a commercial and residential area in Lahore, Pakistan.-History:The neighbourhood was named after the death of an old woman who's nickname was Mai Ichhra of now Muslim Kamboja tribe who migrated from Mesopotamia/Mittani having worshipped in ancient times their mother goddess Ishara, sacred...
Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
.
Nazimuddin wrote that Mashriqi had been “a very interesting figure who took prominent part in the politics of the South Asia”.
Mashriqi's works
Mashriqi's prominent works include:- Armughan-i-Hakeem, a poetical work
- Dahulbab, a poetical work
- Isha’arat, the "Bible" of the Khaksar movement
- Khitab-e-Misr (The Egypt Address), based on his 1925 speech in CairoCairoCairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
as a delegate to the Motmar-e-Khilafat - Maulvi Ka Ghalat Mazhab
- Tazkirah Volume I, 1924, discussions on conflicts between religions, between religion and science, and the need to resolve these conflicts
- Tazkirah Volume II. Posthumously published in 1964
- Tazkirah Volume III.
Edited works
- God, man, and universe: as conceived by a mathematician (works of Inayatullah Khan el-Mashriqi), Akhuwat Publications, Rawalpindi, 1980 (edited by Syed Shabbir Hussain).
The Constitution of Free India, 1946 A.C.
In 1945, Allama Inayatullah Khan Al-Mashriqi, founder of the Khaksar Tehreek, published "The Constitution of Free India, 1946 A.C." Also known as the Mashriqi Constitution or Khaksar Constitution, the document was created in order to prevent the partition of India.The Constitution was formulated, under Mashriqi's guidance, by eminent personalities and intellectuals from various disciplines, such as politics, finance, and administration and law. The result was a monumental work that accommodated the rights of all — including Muslims, Hindus, Scheduled Castes, Sikhs, Jains, Parsees, Budhists, Jews and Christians. According to Mashriqi:
“We addressed almost every important element of India’s national life requesting it to send its declaration of interests so that in case the interests did not clash with those of other parties in the country they might be incorporated in the body of the Constitution ‘as far as possible, feasible and consistent with the interests of other parties.’ We addressed more or less 75 parties and over three hundred million people in the country accepted our invitation through their accredited leaders.”*
By December of 1945, 50,000 copies of the Constitution had been printed. Ultimately, however, the Constitution was not adopted for political reasons, and British India was subsequently partitioned in 1947. Nevertheless, The Constitution of Free India, 1946 A.C. serves as a lasting example of the Khaksars' efforts to bring the nation together — and how close they came to achieving the vision of a united, independent India.
- Source: Mashriqi's address at the University Institute Hall, Calcutta on October 21, 1945, entitled "Where Leaders Fail: A Dispassionate Dissection of Indian Politics from a Non-Party Point of View"
Articles
- "Einstein and other scientists' meetings with Allama Mashriqi"
- "Allama Mashriqi’s Warnings — The Time Has Come To Wake-up"
- "Allama Mashriqi’s Historic Car: A Symbol of a National Heritage in Ruin"
- "Allama Mashriqi & Mahatma Gandhi"
- "India’s Partition in the Face of Opposition: An Unveiled Perspective"(research paper presents Mashriqi's point of view)
- "Allama Mashriqi the Great - A Hero of All Times"
- "Allama Mashriqi Maliciously Implicated in Murder Case"
- "The Historic Lahore Murder - March 19, 1940"
- "Man At War With His Own Species"
- "Behind the 1940-41 Ban on the Khaksar Tehrik"
- Paper at New York Conference on Asian Studies (October 26–27, 2007)"Freedom of British India through the Lens of the Khaskar Movement"
- "Allama Mashraqi and the Unity of Mankind"
- "The Khaksar Martyrs of March 19, 1940"
- "Allama Mashriqi Desired to Erase Sectarianism"
- "Pakistan Resolution and the Massacre of the Khaksars"
- "The Khaksar Tehrik"
- "In Memory of Allama Mashriqi" (On his 41st Death Anniversary)
Books
Nasim Yousaf, has written and self-publishedSelf-publishing
Self-publishing is the publication of any book or other media by the author of the work, without the involvement of an established third-party publisher. The author is responsible and in control of entire process including design , formats, price, distribution, marketing & PR...
several books on Mashriqi and his political struggle:
- Nasim Yousaf (2003), Allama Mashriqi & Dr. Akhtar Hameed Khan: Two Legends of Pakistan, Xlibris Corporation (October 2003) ISBN 1-4010-9097-4
- Nasim Yousaf (2004), Pakistan's Freedom and Allama Mashriqi: Statements, Letters, Chronology of Khaksar Tehrik (Movement), Period: Mashriqi's Birth to 1947, AMZ Publications, (April 2004) ISBN 0-9760333-0-5
- Nasim Yousaf (2005), Pakistan's Birth & Allama Mashraqi: Chronology & Statements, Period: 1947-1963, AMZ Publications, (August 2005) ISBN 0-9760333-4-8
- Nasim Yousaf (2007), Hidden Facts Behind British India’s Freedom: A Scholarly Look into Allama Mashraqi and Quaid-e-Azam’s Political Conflict. ISBN 978-0-9760333-8-7:
- Nasim YousafNasim YousafNasim Yousaf is a scholar, historian and intellectual. He comes from a famous family of the Indian sub-continent and is a grandson of the pre-eminent Allama Mashriqi . He is also a nephew of globally recognized social scientist Dr. Akhtar Hameed Khan Nasim Yousaf is a scholar, historian and...
(2010), Government of British India on Allama Mashraqi and Khaksar Tehreek (Movement): A Select Chronology; A descriptive timeline of the correspondence of the Secretary of State, Viceroy of India, Provincial Governors, and high officials, intelligence reports, and other events (Focal Period: 1930s and 40s) ISBN 978-0-9826110-0-5:
External links
- http://www.allamamashraqi.com
- http://www.allamamashriqi.info
- http://allama-mashriqi.8m.com
- Retired Deputy Chief of General Staff (Pakistan Army) and ex-Ambassador talks about Mashriqi- interview on youtube
- Nation Mourns Death of Legendary Freedom Fighter, Allama Mashriqi
- Slide show on Allama Mashriqi at New York conference
- Interview on Allama Mashriqi and the Khaksar Tehrik by a Veteran Khaksar Part I
- Interview on Allama Mashriqi and the Khaksar Tehrik by a Veteran Khaksar Part II
- http://www.facebook.com/pages/Allama-Mashriqi/51811380968
- http://www.facebook.com/pages/Allama-Mashriqi-the-Great-A-Hero-of-All-Times/177539648924618
- http://www.facebook.com/pages/Khaksar-Movement-in-British-India/163150720406479