'Islam in India' is the second-most practiced religion after
Hinduism. There are approximately 174 million
Muslims in India, i.e 16.4% of the population.
[1][2]. India has the second largest population of Muslims in the world (the largest being Indonesia).
History
Main articles: Muslim conquest in the Indian subcontinent
The emergence of Islam in the region is concurrent with the Turko-Muslim invasion of medieval India (which includes large parts of present day Pakistan and the Republic of India), where these rulers took over the administration of large parts of India. Since its introduction into India, Islam has made significant religious, artistic, philosophical, cultural, social and political contributions to Indian history.
In modern times the Muslims of
South Asia have had a turbulent history within the region. After the
Lahore Resolution of 1946,
Muslim League politicians achieved a Muslim-majority state known as
Pakistan after independence from British rule. In modern times, the Muslim populations of India and Pakistan are roughly even. The President of India,
APJ Abdul Kalam, along with numerous other politicians, are Muslims, as are numerous sports and film celebrities within India. Isolated incidences of violence nonetheless have occurred between the Muslim populations and the Hindu, Sikh and Christian populations.
Contrary to popular belief, Islam came to South Asia long before
Muslim invasions of India. Islamic influence first came to be felt in the early 7th century with the advent of Arab traders. Trade relations between Arabia and the
subcontinent are very ancient. Arab traders used to visit the
Malabar region, which was a link between them and ports of
South East Asia, to trade even before Islam had been established in Arabia. According to Historians Elliot and Dowson in their book
The History of India as told by its own Historians, the first ship bearing Muslim travelers was seen on the Indian coast as early as
630 AD. H.G. Rawlinson, in his book: ''Ancient and Medieval History of India''
[3] claims the first Arab Muslims settled on the Indian coast in the last part of the 7th century AD. This fact is corroborated, by J. Sturrock in his ''South Kanara and Madras Districts Manuals'',
[4] and also by Haridas Bhattacharya in ''Cultural Heritage of India Vol. IV''.
[5]It was with the advent of Islam that the Arabs became a prominent cultural force in the world. The Arab merchants and traders became the carriers of the new religion and they propagated it wherever they went.
[6]
The first Indian mosque was built in
629 A.D, at the behest of
Cheraman Perumal, during the life time of
Muhammad (c.
571 –
632) in
Kodungallur by
Malik Bin Deenar.
[7][8][9]
In Malabar the
Mappilas may have been the first community to convert to Islam because they were more closely connected with the Arabs than others. Intensive missionary activities were carried out along the coast and a number of natives also embraced Islam. These new converts were now added to the
Mappila community. Thus among the Mapilas, we find, both the descendants of the Arabs through local women and the converts from among the local people
[10]
In the 8th century, the province of
Sindh(Pakistan) was conquered by Syrian Arabs led by
Muhammad bin Qasim. Sindh became the easternmost province of the
Umayyad Caliphate.
In the first half of the 10th century,
Mahmud of Ghazni added the
Punjab to the
Ghaznavid Empire and conducted several raids deeper into modern day
India. A more successful invasion came at the end of the 12th century by
Muhammad of Ghor. This eventually led to the formation of the
Delhi Sultanate.
Conversion controversy
Considerable controversy exists both in scholarly and public opinion about the conversions to Islam typically represented by the following schools of thought:
[11]
#The bulk of Muslims are descendants of migrants from the
Iranian plateau or Arabs.
[12]
#Muslims sought conversion through ''
jihad'' or political violence
#Conversions occurred for non-religious reasons of pragmatism and patronage such as social mobility among the Muslim ruling elite or for relief from taxes
#Conversion was a result of the actions of
Sunni Sufi saints and involved a genuine change of heart
#Conversion came from
Buddhists and the en masse conversions of lower castes for social liberation and as a rejection of the oppressive
Hindu caste strictures.
#A combination, initially made under duress followed by a genuine change of heart
#As a socio-cultural process of diffusion and integration over an extended period of time into the sphere of the dominant
Muslim civilization and global polity at large.
Embedded within this lies the concept of Islam as a foreign imposition and Hinduism being a natural condition of the natives who resisted, resulting in the failure of the project to
Islamicize the Indian subcontinent and is highly embroiled within the politics of the
partition and
communalism in India.
An estimate of the number of people killed, based on the Muslim chronicles and demographic calculations, was done by
K.S. Lal in his book ''
Growth of Muslim Population in Medieval India'', who claimed that between 1000 CE and 1500 CE, the population of Hindus decreased by 80 million. His work has come under
criticism by historians such as Simon Digby (
School of Oriental and African Studies) and
Irfan Habib for its agenda and lack of accurate data in pre-
census times. Lal has responded to these criticisms in later works. Historians such as
Will Durant contend that Islam was spread through violence.
[13][14] Sir Jadunath Sarkar contends that several Muslim invaders were waging a systematic
jihad against Hindus in India to the effect that "Every device short of massacre in cold blood was resorted to in order to convert heathen subjects."
[15] Hindus who converted to Islam were not immune to persecution due to the
Muslim Caste System in India established by Ziauddin al-Barani in the ''Fatawa-i Jahandari''.
[16], where they were regarded as an "Ajlaf" caste and subjected to discrimination by the "Ashraf" castes
[17]
Disputers of the "Conversion by the Sword Theory" point to the presence of the large Muslim communities found in Southern India, Sri Lanka, Western Burma, Bangladesh, Southern Thailand, Indonesia and Philippines coupled with the distinctive lack of equivalent Muslim communities around the heartland of historical Muslim Empires in the Indian Sub-Continent as refutation to the "Conversion by the Sword Theory". The legacy of the Muslim conquest of South Asia is a hotly debated issue and argued even today. Different population estimates by economics historian
Angus Maddisonand by Jean-Noël Biraben also indicate that India's population did not decrease between 1000 and 1500, but increased by about 35 million during that time.
[18][19]
Not all Muslim invaders were simply raiders. Later rulers fought on to win kingdoms and stayed to create new ruling dynasties. The practices of these new rulers and their subsequent heirs (some of whom were borne of Hindu wives) varied considerably. While some were uniformly hated, others developed a popular following. According to the memoirs of
Ibn Batuta who travelled through
Delhi in the 14th century, one of the previous sultans had been especially brutal and was deeply hated by Delhi's population, Batuta's memoirs also indicate that Muslims from the Arab world,
Persia and
Turkey were often favored with important posts at the royal courts suggesting that locals may have played a somewhat subordinate role in the Delhi administration. The term "Turk" was commonly used to refer to their higher social status. S.A.A. Rizvi (''The Wonder That Was India - II''), however points to
Muhammad bin Tughlaq as not only encouraging locals but promoting artisan groups such as cooks, barbers and gardeners to high administrative posts. In his reign, it is likely that conversions to Islam took place as a means of seeking greater social mobility and improved social standing.
[20]
Sufism and spread of Islam
Sufis (Sunni Islamic mystics) played an important role in the spread of Islam in India. They were very successful in spreading Islam, as many aspects of Sufi belief systems and practices had their parallels in Indian philosophical literature, in particular nonviolence and
monism. The Sufis' unorthodox approach towards Islam made it easier for Hindus to practice. Hazrat
Khawaja Muin-ud-din Chisti,
Nizam-ud-din Auliya,
Shah Jalal,
Amir Khusro,
Sarkar Sabir Pak,
Waris Pak trained Sufi groups for the propagation of Islam in different parts of India. Once the Islamic Empire was established in India, Sufis invariably provided a touch of colour and beauty to what might have otherwise been rather cold and stark reigns. The Sufi movement also attracted followers from the
artisan and
untouchable communities; they played a crucial role in bridging the distance between Islam and the indigenous traditions. However there is also evidence of fanatical and violent conversions carried out by Sufi Muslims.
Ahmed Sirhindi, Naqshbandi Sufi passionately advocated Peaceful conversion of Hindus to Islam.
Role of Muslims in India's freedom movement
The contribution of Muslim revolutionaries, poets and writers is immense in India's struggle against the British. Maulana
Abul Kalam Azad,
Hakim Ajmal Khan and
Rafi Ahmed Kidwai are Muslims who devoted their life for this purpose.
Muhammad Ashfaq Ullah Khan of
Shahjehanpur who conspired and looted the British treasury at
Kakori (
Lucknow) to cripple the administration, when asked for his last will, before execution, desired: ''No desire is left except one that someone may put a little soil of my motherland in my winding sheet''.
Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan (popularly known as Frontier Gandhi), was a great nationalist who spent 45 of his 95 years of life in jail for the freedom of India;
Barakatullah of
Bhopal, one of the founders of the ''
Ghadar party'' which created a network of anti-British organizations and who died penniless in
Germany in l927;
Syed Rahmat Shah of the Ghadar party worked as an underground revolutionary in
France and was hanged for his part in the unsuccessful Ghadar (mutiny) uprising in 1915;
Ali Ahmad Siddiqui of
Faizabad (UP) planned the
Indian Mutiny in
Malaya and
Burma along with
Syed Mujtaba Hussain of
Jaunpur and was hanged in 1917;
Vakkom Abdul Khadar of
Kerala participated in the "
Quit India" struggle in 1942 and was hanged;
Umar Subhani, an industrialist and millionaire of Bombay provided Gandhi with congress expenses and ultimately gave his life for the cause of independence are other notable freedom fighters. Among Muslim women,
Hazrat Mahal,
Asghari Begum, Bi Amma contributed heavily in the struggle of freedom from the British.
The period starting from 1498 saw the rise of the naval and trading power of the European countries, as they increasingly projected their naval power and expanded their trading interests over the
Indian Subcontinent. Subsequently with the advent of the
Industrial Revolution in Britain and in Europe, the European powers gained a significant technological and commercial advantage over the decaying Mughal Empire. They gradually began increasing their influence on the
Indian Subcontinent.
Hyder Ali, and later his brave and valiant son
Sultan Tipu were early to understand the designs of the
British East India Company and resisted it with the force of arms in the south of India. However,
Tipu Sultan was finally defeated at
Seringapatam in 1799. In Bengal, even earlier,
Nawab Siraj ud Daula faced the greed and expansionist aims of the
British East India Company and fought the British. However, he lost at the battle of
Plassey in 1757.
As the Muslim power waned with the gradual demise of the once mighty
Mughal Empire, and the freedom of India was lost, the Muslims of India faced a new challenge - that of protecting their culture, beliefs, way of life, and their interests, yet interacting with the alien, advanced, more powerful, technologically advantaged power. Suddenly, this was a completely different world for the Muslims of India. In this period, the Ulama of
Firangi Mahal, based first at
Sehali, District
Barabanki, and since 1690s based in
Lucknow, educated, guided, provided spiritual and temporal guidance to the Muslims enabling them to adjust to, and interact with the changed world. The
Firangi Mahal led and steered the Muslims of India in this dark hour of their history.
Other famous Muslims who fought for freedom from the British Rule, and subsequently the
British Raj:
Maulana Azad,
Hakeem Ajmal Khan,
Hasrat Mohani,
Professor Barkatullah,
Dr. Zakir Husain ,
Saifuddin Kichlu, Allama
Shibli Nomani,
Vakkom Abdul Khadir, Dr.
Manzoor Abdul Wahab,
Bahadur Shah Zafar,
Hakeem Nusrat Husain,
Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan,
Samad Achakzai, Colonel Shahnawaz, Dr. M.A.Ansari,
Rafi Ahmad Kidwai, Fakhruddin Ali Ahmad, Ansar Harwani, Tak Sherwani, Nawab Viqarul Mulk, Nawab Mohsinul Mulk, Mustsafa Husain, VM Ubaidullah, SR Rahim,
Badruddin Tyabjee, and Moulvi Abdul Hamid.
Until the 1930s
Muhammad Ali Jinnah was a member of the Indian National Congress and was part of the struggle for the freedom struggle for India from the British, and was a strong proponent of Hindu -Muslim unity. Similarly, Dr. Sir
Allama Muhammad Iqbal, poet and philosopher, was a strong proponent of Hindu - Muslim unity and an undivdided India until the 1920s.
Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar and
Maulana Shaukat Ali struggled for the emancipation of the Muslims in the overall Indian context, and struggled for freedom alongside
Mahatama Gandhi and Maulana Abdul Bari of
Firangi Mahal. Until the 1930s, the Muslims of India broadly conducted their politics alongside their other countrymen, in the overall context of an undivided India.
In the late 1920s, recognising the variance in the perspectives of the leadership of the
Indian National Congress,
Mahatama Gandhi, and that of the
All India Muslim League, and realising that this significant difference of perspective continued to delay the freedom of India, Dr. Sir
Allama Muhammad Iqbal presented the concept of a separate Muslim homeland in India in the 1930s. Consequently, the
All India Muslim League raised the demand for a separate Muslim homeland. This demand was raised in
Lahore in 1940 (Known as the
Pakistan Resolution). Dr. Sir
Allama Muhammad Iqbal had passed away by then, and
Muhammad Ali Jinnah,
Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan,
Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, and many others led the
Pakistan Movement.
Initially, the demand for separate Muslim homeland(s) was within a framework of a large,independent, undivided India with autonomous regions governed by the Muslims. A number of other options to give the Muslim minority in India adequate protection and political representation in a free, undivided India, were also debated. However, when no common formula leading to early independence of India from the
British Raj could be agreed between the
Indian National Congress, the
All India Muslim League, and the British colonial government, the
All India Muslim League went ahead pressing unequivocally with its demand for a completely independent, sovereign country,
Pakistan.
Law and politics
Muslims in India are governed by "The Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937."
[The Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937 Vakilno1.com] It directs the application of Muslim Personal Law to Muslims in marriage, mahr (dower),
divorce, maintenance, gifts,
wakf, wills and inheritance.
[India, Republic of Emory School of Law] The courts generally apply the
Hanafi Sunni law, with exceptions made only for those areas where
Shia law differs substantially from Sunni practice.
Although the
Indian constitution provides equal rights to all citizens irrespective of their religion, Article 44 recommends a
Uniform civil code. The attempts by successive political leadership in the country to integrate Indian society under common civil code is strongly resisted and is viewed by Indian Muslims as an attempt to dilute the cultural identity of the minority groups of the country. Thus in India there exists the unique situation where proponents of a secular law are deemed
fascist while those who support the separate
Sharia law for Indian Muslims are considered secular. The
All India Muslim Personal Law Board was established for the protection and continued applicability of “Muslim Personal Law” i.e. Shariat Application Act in India.
Hindu-Muslim conflict
India maintains a
constitutional commitment to
secularism and does not distinguish amongst the people on the basis of religious beliefs.Hindu-Muslim relations in India have been marred by
communal violence, this communal conflict is inherited from the convulsive and turbulent course of history, starting with the
Islamic invasion of India. The aftermath of the
Partition of India in 1947 saw large scale
sectarian strife and bloodshed throughout the nation. Since then India has witnessed sporadic large-scale violence sparked by underlying tensions between sections of the Hindu and Muslim communities. These conflicts also stem from the ideologies of
Hindu Nationalism versus
Islamic Fundamentalism and
Islamism prevalent in certain sections of the population.
More Muslims have usually been killed than Hindus in inter-community violence in India, while Hindus have been persecuted in neighboring Muslim states and in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. In all the communal riots since 1947, factually contested official police records reveal that three-quarters of lives lost and properties destroyed were Muslim, a figure that climbed to 85% during the 2002 riots in Gujarat.
[21]. Nevertheless, it is to be remembered that most of the Muslims of India remained in their homeland while Hindus were expelled en masse from Pakistan.
Violence against Hindus by Muslims continued in East Pakistan, seeing the migration of over 2 million Hindus from 1950 to 1969. The birth of Bangladesh witnessed unparalleled violence against Hindus when nearly 3 million Bangladeshis were killed and another 10 million sought refuge in India, the majority of them were Hindu. Fresh violence took place in the Sindhi riots of 1980 when Muslims in Gujarat burnt Hindus alive.
[22] In addition,
Islamist attacks on Hindus in
Kashmir such as the
Wandhama massacre and
Kaluchak Massacre contributed to the rising communal tensions in the region. The
ethnic cleansing of the Hindu
Kashmiri Pandits from the region by
Islamist's has worsened the situation. The Indian military stationed in Kashmir has been accused by Pakistan, as well as human rights advocacy groups, of atrocities against the Muslim population in the region.
The sense of communal harmony between Hindus and Muslims in the post-partition period has been compromised in the last decade with the demolition of the disputed
Babri Mosque in
Ayodhya. The demolition took place in
1992 and was allegedly perpetrated by the
Hindu Nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party and organizations like
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh,
Bajrang Dal and
Vishwa Hindu Parishad. This was followed by
tit for tat violence by Muslim and Hindu fundamentalists throughout the country including
Mumbai with the
Bombay Riots and also the
1993 Mumbai Bombings, amongst those allegedly involved in these atrocities were the Muslim Mafia don
Dawood Ibrahim and the predominantly Muslim
D-Company criminal gang.
In
2001 a
high profile attack on the
Indian Parliament by Islamic militants from Pakistan created considerable strain on community relations.
With a rise in Hindu nationalism and Islamic fundamentalism, Hindu-Muslim rioting has now allegedly taken a more planned form and is being linked to
genocide.
[23]
Some of the most violent events in recent times took place during the infamous
Gujarat riots in India where it is estimated one thousand people were killed, most of whom allegedly muslim, some sources claim there were approximately 2000 Muslim deaths and 58 Hindu deaths,
[21] there were also allegations made of state involvement.
[25][26] The riots were in retaliation to the
Godhra Train Burning in which 50 Hindus belonging to group called the
Vishwa Hindu Parishad, returning from the disputed site of the
Babri Mosque, were burnt alive in a train fire at the Godhra railway station. The incident was allegedly a planned act carried out by extremely radicalized Ghanchi Muslims in the region against the Hindu Pilgrims according to Gujarat police.
[27] The commission appointed to investigate this finding declared that the fire was an accident. In 2006 the High Court decided the constitution of such a committee was illegal as another inquiry headed by Justice Nanavati Shah was still investigating the matter.
[3]. The Nanavati Shah commission is yet to conclude its inquiry and recently declared that it is not going to give an interim report in the meantime.
[28] The Gujarat riots that took place in retaliation for the incident swiftly took the state out of control, with the killing of Muslims by angry mobs of Hindus, and corresponding counter-attacks on Hindus by Muslims. Several Hindu Nationalist groups have been accused of direct involvement in the anti-Muslim riots.
Muslim-Hindu conflicts have also been fomented due to the mushrooming of
Islamic Fundamentalist organisations like SIMI (
Students Islamic Movement of India) whose goal is to establish Islamic rule in India. Other Pakistan based groups such as the
Lashkar-e-Toiba and
Jaish-e-Mohammed have been fomenting bias in the local Muslim populace against Hindus. These groups are believed by many to be responsible for the
11 July 2006 Mumbai train bombings, in which nearly 200 people were killed. Such groups also attacked the Indian Parliament in 2001, declared parts of Indian Kashmir to be Pakistani in 1999 and have orchestrated numerous other attacks including constant attacks in Indian Kashmir and
bombings in the Indian capital New Delhi. In the meantime, the toll of innocent Muslims and Hindus at the altar of communal strife continues to mount.
[4]
Muslims in modern India
A Muslim couple being wed in India, as a Hindu man takes his
ritual bath in the river.
in
India are 16.4% of total population. Like all minorities, Muslims have played roles in various fields of the country's advancement.
Prominent Indian Muslims include:
★
Khwaja Abdul Hamied, who in 1935 founded one of the first Indian-owned
industries in the
colonial era,
CIPLA (The Chemical, Industrial & Pharmaceutical Laboratories). In 1939, when
Mahatma Gandhi visited CIPLA he wrote that he was "delighted to visit this Indian enterprise". CIPLA today is a
pharmaceutical company with a global presence, it's products being sold in over 150 countries worldwide.
Yusuf Hamied, the founder's eldest son, is the current Chairman.
★ There have been three Muslim presidents of India, Dr.
Zakir Hussain, Dr
Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed and Dr.
A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.
★
Salim Ali (November 12, 1896 - July 27, 1987) is one of India's best known ornithologists and naturalists. Known as the "Birdman of India", Salim Ali was among the first Indians to conduct systematic bird surveys in India and his books have contributed enormously to understanding and protecting India's birds and also other wildlife.
★
Azim Premji is the founder of and the highest stake holder in
Wipro, one of the leading software service providing companies in India. In 2005, Yusuf Hameed of CIPLA and Azim Premji received one of India's highest civilian awards, the
Padma Bhushan for his contributions to the country.
★ ['Dr Sabu Aliyar'] (Demographer) is one of India's noted young Demographer and Health Researcher. Dr Aliyar is among the 3 Asians,selected for the Canada-HOPE scholarship for conduting Healthy Ageing research in Canada and India through Canadian Institute of Health Research, a prestigious Canadian Government Institute at Ottawa, Canada. Dr Sabu Aliyar,born in Vembayam, near the Capital City of Kerala State.
Muslims are also playing pivotal roles in the advertising industry, film industry (
Bollywood), modern art, academics, theatre and sports. Some large industries like
Wipro Ltd.,
Wockhardt,
Himalaya health care,
Hamdard Laboratories and
Mirza Tanners are owned by Muslims.
Muslims are disproportionally represented in Indian politics. For details on parliamentary representation see
Muslims in Parliament of India.
Discrimination
Despite being a sizeable minority, Muslims in India face substantial discrimination in the Hindu-majority country due to their religious affiliation
[29]. The partition of India based on religious lines was a controversial arrangement, and is still the cause of much tension between Hindus and Muslims.
Sachar commission report
According to a recently published report to government, called the Sachar Report, Muslims are heavily under-represented in different government and social areas.
[30][31][32] Among other facts, it found that in the province of West Bengal, where Muslims make up 27% of the population, their employment in the government sector was below 3%.
[33]
The Sachar report has received substantial backlash, including allegations of bias in the media coverage concerning the report. Indian media expert
[34] Dasu Krishnamoorti has criticized the media coverage of the report. He criticizes the claims made in the media, that the fault of the plight of the Muslim lays squarely on the Hindus and the Congress Party, as politically motivated in favor of the Muslim community and encourages "emotional segregation (between Muslims and Hindus) that hardly helps Muslims share the Indian miracle".
[35]The report stands criticized for misrepresenting data and figures, bias and "misrepresenting inequities".
[36] Leaders of the
Bharatiya Janata Party have also criticized the Sacher report as "distorted, politically motivated and dangerous", also pointing out that proposals of special reservation given to Muslims would harm the country, and criticized the
UPA Government's endorsement of the report as a snub to their previous efforts to help the Muslim community.
[37][38] BJP leader
Murli Manohar Joshi said that the tone and texture of the Sachar Committee "has a striking similarity to the
Muslim League of pre-independence era. Unfortunately, the government is irrationally following a policy of blind populism which threatens to divide the nation."
'Muslim employment in government sectors (according to the Sachar Report)'
[39]
| Area | Muslim % |
|---|
| Total | 4.9 |
| PSUs | 7.2 |
| IAS, IFS, and IPS | 3.2 |
| Railways | 4.5 |
| Judiciary | 7.8 |
| Health | 4.4 |
| Transport | 6.5 |
| Home affairs | 7.3 |
| Education | 6.5 |
Muslim institutes
There are several well established Muslim institutes in India. Here is a list of reputed institutes established by Muslims.
★ Modern Universities and institutes:
Aligarh Muslim University,
Jamia Millia Islamia,
Hamdard University,
Al- Barkaat Educational Institutions,
Al Ameen Educational Society,
Crescent Engineering College and
Al-Kabir educational society.
★ Traditional Islamic Universities:
Sunni Markaz Kerala (the largest charitable, non governmental, non-profit Islamic institution in India),
Raza Academy,
Al jamiatulAshrafia, Azamgarh,
Darul Uloom Deoband and
Darul-uloom Nadwatul Ulama.
Population statistics
Muslims praying by the historic
Charminar after filling the
Makkah Masjid, congregations of more than two hundred thousand pray on special occasions there.
Islam is
India's largest minority religion, with
Muslims officially constituting 16.4% of the country's population, or 174 million people as of the
2001 census. However, unofficial estimates claim a far higher figure supposedly discounted in censuses. For instance, in an interview with a well circulated newspaper of India ''
The Hindu'' Justice K.M. Yusuf, a retired Judge from Calcutta High Court and Chairman of ''West Bengal Minority Commission'', has said that the real percentage of Muslims in India is at least 20%.
[6]
pro Hindutva people say in their reports that the Muslim population has reached 30%.
[7]
[40]
The largest concentrations-about 47% of all Muslims in India, according to the 2001 census--live in the 3 states of
Uttar Pradesh (30.7 million) (18.5%),
West Bengal (20.2 million) (25%), and
Bihar (13.7 million) (16.5%). Muslims represent a majority of the local population only in
Jammu and Kashmir (67% in
2001) and
Lakshadweep (95%). High concentrations of Muslims are found in the eastern states of
Assam (31%) and
West Bengal (25%), and in the southern state of
Kerala (25%) and
Karnataka (12.2%). Muslims are generally more educated, urban, integrated and prosperous in the Western and Southern states of India than in the Northern and Eastern ones; this could be due to partition when the more affluent and educated population migrated over the border, to Pakistan in the North and Bangladesh (then East Pakistan) in the East. India has the second largest Muslim population (after
Indonesia) and also the third largest
Shia Muslim population (after
Iran and Pakistan) in the world.
The analysis on
religious data, among the six major religious communities, shows that the decadal growth of the Muslims was the highest (36.0%) in the
2001 census. This statistic suggested that while the growth rate for Hindus has fallen between
1991 and
2001 compared with
1981 and 1991, Muslims have actually grown faster in the last decade, this led Indian
media[41] and different parties raising an alarm at the growing number of Muslims and expressing concern about the demographic imbalance and overpopulation, which the Indian government is desperately trying to stop democratically.
[42]
A grave objection to this theory is the fact that the
1991 census did not include Jammu & Kashmir, the only Muslim majority state and strife-torn Assam, while the
2001 census does include
Jammu & Kashmir. Adjusted for this, the Muslim growth rate plunges from 36 per cent to 29.3 per cent.
Muslim population in Indian states according to 2001 Census.
[43]
|
| State | Population | Percentage |
|---|
| Lakshadweep | 57,903 | 95.4707 |
| Jammu & Kashmir | 6,793,240 | 66.9700 |
| Assam | 8,240,611 | 30.9152 |
| West Bengal | 20,240,543 | 25.2451 |
| Kerala | 7,863,842 | 24.6969 |
| Uttar Pradesh | 30,740,158 | 18.4961 |
| Bihar | 13,722,048 | 16.5329 |
| Jharkhand | 3,731,308 | 13.8474 |
| Karnataka | 6,463,127 | 12.2291 |
| Uttaranchal | 1,012,141 | 11.9225 |
| Delhi | 1,623,520 | 11.7217 |
| Maharashtra | 10,270,485 | 10.6014 |
| Andhra Pradesh | 6,986,856 | 9.1679 |
| Gujarat | 4,592,854 | 9.0641 |
| Manipur | 190,939 | 8.8121 |
| Rajasthan | 4,788,227 | 8.4737 |
| Andaman & Nicobar Islands | 29,265 | 8.2170 |
| Tripura | 254,442 | 7.9533 |
| Daman & Diu | 12,281 | 7.7628 |
| Goa | 92,210 | 6.8422 |
| Madhya Pradesh | 3,841,449 | 6.3655 |
| Pondicherry | 59,358 | 6.0921 |
| Haryana | 1,222,916 | 5.7836 |
| Tamil Nadu | 3,470,647 | 5.5614 |
| Meghalaya | 99,169 | 4.2767 |
| Chandigarh | 35,548 | 3.9470 |
| Dadra & Nagar Haveli | 6,524 | 2.9589 |
| Orissa | 761,985 | 2.0703 |
| Chhattisgarh | 409,615 | 1.9661 |
| Himachal Pradesh | 119,512 | 1.9663 |
| Arunachal Pradesh | 20,675 | 1.8830 |
| Nagaland | 35,005 | 1.7590 |
| Punjab | 382,045 | 1.5684 |
| Sikkim | 7,693 | 1.4224 |
| Mizoram | 10,099 | 1.1365 |
Percentage distribution of population (adjusted)
by religious communities : India – 1961 to 2001
Census (excluding Assam and J&K).
[44]
| Year |
Percentage |
| 1961 |
9.9% |
| 1971 |
10.4% |
| 1981 |
10.9% |
| 1991 |
11.7% |
| 2001 |
14.4% |
Percentage distribution (unadjusted) of population by religious communities India - 1961 to 2001 Census (without excluding Assam and J&K).
[44]
| Year |
Percentage |
| 1961 |
10.7% |
| 1971 |
11.2% |
| 1981 |
11.4% |
| 1991 |
12.1% |
| 2001 |
16.4% |
Islamic traditions in South Asia
The Qawwali is the art of Singing a Song in the Praise of Islamic Personalities.
A Huge Majority of Indian muslims Visit Dargahs of Sufi Saints for Dua.
.
A large number of Indian Muslims follow Sunni
Barelwi (Sufi) traditions attached to the memory of great
Sufi saints.
Sufism is a mystical path (
tarika) as distinct from the legalistic path of the
sharia. A Sufi attains a direct vision of oneness with God, often on the edges of orthodox behavior, and can thus become a Pir (living saint) who may take on disciples (
murids) and set up a spiritual lineage that can last for generations. Orders of Sufis became important in India during the thirteenth century following the ministry of
Moinuddin Chishti (
1142-
1236), who settled in
Ajmer,
Rajasthan, and attracted large numbers of converts to Islam because of his holiness. His
Chishtiyya order went on to become the most influential Sufi lineage in India, although other orders from
Central Asia and
Southwest Asia also reached to India and played a major role in the spread of Islam. In this way, they created a large literature in
regional languages that embedded Islamic culture deeply into older South Asian traditions.
The leadership of the Muslim community pursued various directions in the evolution of Indian Islam during the
twentieth century. The most conservative wing has typically rested on the education system provided by the hundreds of religious training institutes (
madrasa) throughout the country, which have tended to stress the study of the
Qur'anand Islamic texts in
Arabic and
Persian but little else. Several national movements have emerged from this sector of the Muslim community. The
Jamaati Islami (Islamic Party), founded in
1941, advocates the establishment of an overtly Islamic government. The
Tablighi Jamaat (Outreach Society) became active after the
1940s as a movement, primarily among the ulema (religious leaders), stressing personal renewal, prayer, a missionary spirit, and attention to orthodoxy. It has been highly critical of the kind of activities that occur in and around Sufi shrines and remains a minor if respected force in the training of the ulema. Conversely, other ulema have upheld the legitimacy of mass religion, including exaltation of pirs and the memory of the
ProphetSallallahu walaihuwa sallum]. A powerful secularising drive led by
Syed Ahmad Khan resulted in the foundation of
Aligarh Muslim University (
1875 as the
Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College)-with a broader, more modern curriculum, and other major Muslim universities.
Indo Islamic art and architecture
The Masjid-i-Jahan Numa
Taj Mahal mosque or ''masjid''
The Khas Mahal.
Jehangiri Mahal.
The Delhi Fort, also known as the Red Fort, is one of the popular tourist destinations in Delhi.
The Taj Mahal
Indian architecture took new shape with the advent of Islamic rule in India towards the end of the 12th century AD. New elements were introduced into the Indian architecture that include: use of shapes (instead of natural forms); inscriptional art using decorative lettering or calligraphy; inlay decoration and use of coloured marble, painted plaster and brightly coloured glazed tiles.
In contrast to the indigenous Indian architecture which was of the trabeate order i.e. all spaces were spanned by means of horizontal beams, the Islamic architecture was arcuate i.e. an arch or dome was adopted as a method of bridging a space. The concept of arch or dome was not invented by the Muslims but was, in fact, borrowed and further perfected by them from the architectural styles of the post-Roman period. Muslims used a cementing agent in the form of mortar for the first time in the construction of buildings in India. They further put to use certain scientific and mechanical formulae, which were derived by experience of other civilizations, in their constructions in India. Such use of scientific principles helped not only in obtaining greater strength and stability of the construction materials but also provided greater flexibility to the architects and builders. One fact that must be stressed here is that, the Islamic elements of architecture had already passed through different experimental phases in other countries like Egypt, Iran and Iraq before these were introduced in India. Unlike most Islamic monuments in these countries, which were largely constructed in brick, plaster and rubble, the Indo-Islamic monuments were typical mortar-masonry works formed of dressed stones. It must be emphasized that the development of the Indo-Islamic architecture was greatly facilitated by the knowledge and skill possessed by the Indian craftsmen, who had mastered the art of stonework for centuries and used their experience while constructing Islamic monuments in India.
Islamic architecture in India can be divided into two parts: religious and secular. Mosques and Tombs represent the religious architecture, while palaces and forts are examples of secular Islamic architecture. Forts were essentially functional, complete with a little township within and various fortifications to engage and repel the enemy.
Mosques: The mosque or masjid is a representation of Muslim art in its simplest form. The mosque is basically an open courtyard surrounded by a pillared verandah, crowned off with a dome. A ''mihrab'' indicates the direction of the ''qibla'' for prayer. Towards the right of the ''mihrab'' stands the ''mimbar'' or pulpit from where the ''Imam'' presides over the proceedings. An elevated platform, usually a minaret from where the Faithful are summoned to attend prayers is an invariable part of a mosque. Large mosques where the faithful assemble for the Friday prayers are called the Jama Masjids.
Tombs: Although not actually religious in nature, the tomb or maqbara introduced an entirely new architectural concept. While the masjid was mainly known for its simplicity, a tomb could range from being a simple affair (Aurangazeb’s grave) to an awesome structure enveloped in grandeur (
Taj Mahal). The tomb usually consists of a solitary compartment or tomb chamber known as the ''huzrah'' in whose centre is the cenotaph or ''zarih''. This entire structure is covered with an elaborate dome. In the underground chamber lies the mortuary or the ''maqbara'', in which the corpse is buried in a grave or ''qabr''. Smaller tombs may have a ''mihrab'', although larger mausoleums have a separate mosque located at a distance from the main tomb. Normally the whole tomb complex or ''rauza'' is surrounded by an enclosure. The tomb of a Muslim saint is called a dargah. Almost all Islamic monuments were subjected to free use of verses from the Holy Koran and a great amount of time was spent in carving out minute details on walls, ceilings, pillars and domes.
Islamic architecture in India can be classified into three sections: Delhi or the Imperial style (1191 to 1557AD); the Provincial style, encompassing the surrounding areas like Jaunpur and the Deccan; and the Mughal style (1526 to 1707AD).
[46]
Literature
★ Elliot and Dowson:
The History of India as told by its own Historians, New Delhi reprint, 1990.
★ Majumdar, R. C. (ed.), The History and Culture of the Indian People, Volume VI, The Delhi Sultanate, Bombay, 1960; Volume VII, The Mughal Empire, Bombay, 1973.
★ M K A Siddiqui (ed.), ''Marginal Muslim Communities In India'', Institute of Objective Studies, New Delhi (2004) (
review)
★
Some Aspects of Khānqah Life in Medieval India, , Khaliq Ahmad, Nizami, Studia Islamica,
See also
★
Beary|Muslims of
Dakshina Kannada
★
Demographics of India
★
Indian Muslim nationalism
★
Muslim population growth in India
★
NCERT controversy
★
Islam by country
★
Islam in Pakistan
★
Islam in Bangladesh
★
Mappila (Muslim community from Kerala)
★
Bombay(film) a film by Mani Rathnam on Hindu-Muslim relations
★
Muslims in Parliament of India
★
Raza Academy
★
List of Indian Muslims
★
Muslim conquest in the Indian subcontinent
★
Negationism in India - Concealing the Record of Islam
References
★
1. Census of India. Govt. site with detailed data from 2001 census.
2. >Census data on the Muslim population
3. ISBN 81-86050-79-5 Ancient and Medieval History of India]
4. Sturrock, J.,South Canara and Madras District Manual (2 vols., Madras, 1894-1895)
5. ISBN 81-85843-05-8 Cultural Heritage of India Vol. IV
6. http://www.jaihoon.com/watan/indarbmappilacommunity.htm -Genesis and Growth of the Mappila Community]
7. -Cheraman Juma Masjid A Secular Heritage
8. Bahrain tribune World’s second oldest mosque is in India
9. -A mosque from a Hindu king
10. - Genesis and Growth of the Mappila Community
11. der Veer, pg 27-29
12. Eaton, Richard M. The Rise of Islam and the Bengal Frontier, 1204-1760. Berkeley: University of California Press, c1993 1993.Online version last accessed on 1 May 2007
13. "The Story of Civilization: Our Oriental Heritage" (page 459), , Will, Durant, , ,
14. Was there an Islamic "Genocide" of Hindus? Koenraad Elst
15. How the Muslims forcibly converted the Hindus of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh to Islam, , Jadunath, Sarkar, , ,
16. Caste in Indian Muslim Society
17. Caste and Social Stratification Among Muslims in India, , Patrap, Aggarwal, Manohar, ,
18. The Contours of the World Economy 1-2030 AD, , Angus, Maddison, Oxford University Press, ,
19. Biraben, Jean-Noël (2003). "The rising numbers of humankind", ''Populations & Societies'' '394'.
20. Islam and the sub-continent - appraising its impact
21. India's Great Divide. Retrieved on April 4, 2007.
22. [1]
23. Organised riots & structured violence in India. ''The Hindu''. Retrieved on April 4, 2007.
24. India's Great Divide. Retrieved on April 4, 2007.
25. India's Great Divide. Retrieved on April 4, 2007.
26. Demand for CBI probe into Zaheera's u-turn.''The Hindu''. Retrieved on April 4, 2007.
27. [2]
28. No report on Godhra: Nanavati Commission. The Hindustan Times. Retieved on April 4, 2007.
29. Fearful Muslims adopt Hindu IDs, ''The Toronto Star, August 15, 2007''
30. Summarised Sachar Report on Status of Indian Muslims
31. Sachar report to be implemented in full
32. The Missing Muslim, ''the Sunday Express. Full coverage on Sachar Report''
33. Fearful Muslims adopt Hindu IDs, ''The Toronto Star, August 15, 2007''
34. [5]
35. Media Response to Sachar Report, Dasu Krishnamoorthy
36. Sachar Report, Myth and reality,'Rediff.com''
37. BJP criticized govt on Sachar report,''Rediff.com''
38. BJP leader criticized Sachar report,''The Hindu''
39. Frontline Magazine, ''pay. Hindu.com. This article is based on Sachar Report.''
40. [8], although the Hindutva organizations generally gain from portraying the Muslims as a demographic threat. [Anand, Dibyesh, The Violence of Security: Hindu Nationalism and the Politics of Representing 'the Muslim' as a Danger, The Round Table, Vol. 94, No. 379 (April 2005): 208]
41. The Muslim growth rate and the media
42. - The population bogey Frontline Coverstory Volume 21 - Issue 20, Sept. 25 - Oct. 08, 2004
43. Indian Census 2001 - Religion
44. Indian Census. Retrieved on April 4, 2007.
45. Indian Census. Retrieved on April 4, 2007.
46. (Courtesy: Culturopedia.com)
External links
;Articles
★
Indian Muslims are descendants of locals, says scientific study
★
Overview of Islamism in India - by
Husain Haqqani,
Hudson Institute
★
Indian Muslims Inc, Their Market & Global Business Impact, ''Special Report by DinarStandard.com''
★
The Missing Muslim, ''the Sunday Express. 'Full coverage on Sachar Report'''
★
Frontline Magazine, ''pay. Hindu.com''
★
India Muslims have lowest rank, ''BBC''
★
Why India's 150m Muslims are missing out on the country's rise, ''Economist''
★
Muslim India struggles to escape the past, ''Guardian Unlimited''
★
India's Great Divide, ''Time''
;General resources
★
[9], ''The Parables of Sophism''
★
[10], " Naya Caravan Naya Hindusthan"
★
muslims-india.info, ''A new comprehensive website on history, culture and other aspects of Muslim life in India''
★
Raza Academy
★
South Indian Muslims
★
IndianMuslims.in, ''Indian Muslim Blog''
★
Culturopedia.com, ''Resource on Islam and its impact on Indian Culture''
★
The Milli Gazette, ''Indian Muslims' leading newspaper''
★
IndianMuslims.info, ''resource website for Indian Muslims''
★
Indian Muslim Council-USA
★
Institute of Objective Studies,'' A think tank for Indian Muslims''
★
Global Media Publications,'' Publishes books on Indian Muslims''
★
Khabrein.info, ''Indian Muslim News webite''
★
Google News - Indian Muslims, ''latest news resource''
★
Indscribe's blog, ''An Indian Muslim's Blog''
;Audio and video
★
Google Video - India Muslims, ''video search links''
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