Question

Trajectory of Muslim thought in 19 and 20 century India

Answer 1

The 19th and 20th century of India witnessed great social,economical and political changes under the British rule.This period saw the awakening of conservative Muslims in India.

The Islamic world saw a shift in their thoughts and values. This sudden shift was the brainchild of the Muslim reformers of that era. A number of reformers came forward to abolish the orthodox preaching of the religion and took pride in teaching the real essence of Islam on the basis of Holy Quran. There were movements against the Purdah system and polygamy.Under the leadership of Syed Ahmed Khan in Uttar Pradesh and Shariatullah in Bengal ,the Muslim community noticed a drastic change. There were movements like Fairaizi which was for the upliftment of the peasants and Ahmadiya which aimed at spreading western education amongst the Indian Muslims.

In short the change in the outlook of the conservative Muslims was brought about due to the leaders ,who inspired them with the ideas of self reliance,self respect and national pride. This led to the unity of Hindu Muslim across the country.

Answer 2

The trajectory of Muslim thought in 19 and 20 century India was witnessed in the development of different reforms.

Various revivalist movements took place which required the needs of action based support.

There was no viable Muslim power present during these centuries.

There have also been revivalist trends having some exceptions where attempts or revivalist can be traced from before in the 18th century as well.