Jinnah and The Muslim League
- Created by: samjfranklin
- Created on: 10-03-15 11:23
Why did Hindus and Muslims clash?
Hindu beliefs:
- Many recognise one God, Brahman
- Made up of thousands of deities
- 3 important aspects
o often included in paintings and images
- Several holy books
- Caste system intra-separates Hindus
- Tolerant of other religions as they lead to the same path
Muslim beliefs:
- Believe in one God, Allah
- One holy book
- Faith centred on five pillars of Islam
- Framework to religion
- Belief that Allah wants no other gods
o Images of living things banned to prevent them from becoming idols
Conflicts:
Hindu
Muslim
Several deities
One God
Several holy books
One holy book
Images of living things
No images of living things
Caste system
All Muslims in a community (ummah)
N.B. ‘Hindu’ and ‘Muslim’ are general terms not accommodating factions within religions eg Shi’Ah and Sunni Muslims
Coexistence Possible?
- Late 19th Century seemed possible
- 20th Century seems to become more and more impossible
- Raj’s fault for being neutral?
- Less frictions in Princely States as princes took sides and ‘policed’ religious behaviour
Flashpoints:
- Hindus like gongs, bells and cymbals for loud music while worshipping whereas Muslims prefer silent prayer
- Sometimes Hindus stopped their music for Muslim prayer, other times they did not
o This lead to violence and abuse
- Festivals also caused friction
o Muslim festival, Bakr’Id involved slaughter of cows (sacred to Hindus)
o Hindu festival, Holi, is noisy and troublesome for Muslims
Tension from Hindu Organisations:
- Hindu organisation, Arya Samj was proactive in northern India (Muslim majority) and sought converts to Hinduism
o Open conflict when campaigning for protection of cows
o Attempted replacing Urdu with Hindi as language of administration
- Cow Protection Society
Tensions from Muslim Organisations (to counter Hindu dominance?):
- To counter a perceived Hindu dominance
- Aligarh College where Muslims were educated and taught English to give them a better relationship with the Raj
- Lahore, 1885, educational establishment for orphans so that they retained Islam and were good Muslims
- 1894, organisation to preserve Urdu
- 1906, All-Indian Muslim League
- Early 1920s, Tanzeem and Tabligh Movements to strengthen Muslim community by removing practices that encouraged Muslims and Hindus being peaceful together
- Less…
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