POSTSCRIPT

I understand that this statement has caused some misunderstanding in some quarters. It is thought that I have made a subtle suggestion to the Government to suppress the Qadiani movement by force. Nothing of the kind. I have made it clear that the policy of non-interference in religion is the only policy which can be adopted by the rulers of India. No other policy is possible. I confess, however, that my mind this policy is harmful to the interests of religious communities; but there is no escape from it and those who suffer will have to safeguard L interests by suitable means. The best course for the rulers of India is in my. opinion, to declare the Qadianis a. separate community. This will be perfectly consistent with the Policy of the Qadianis themselves, and the Indian Muslim will tolerate them just as he tolerates other religions.

REPLY TO QUESTIONS RAISED BY

PANDIT JAWAHAR LAL NEHRU

On the appearance of Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru’s three articles in the Modern Review of Calcutta I received a number of letters from Muslims of different shades of religious and political opinion. Some writers of these letters want me further to elucidate and justify the attitude of the Indian Muslims towards the Ahmadis. Others ask me what exactly I regard as the issue involved in Ahmadism. In this statement I propose first to meet those demands which I regard as perfectly legitimate, and then to answer the questions. raised by Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru. I fear, however, that parts of this statement may not  interest the Pandit, and to save his time I suggest that he may skip over such parts.

It is hardly necessary for me to say that I welcome the Pandit’s interest in what I regard as one of the greatest problems of the East and perhaps of the whole world. He is, I believe, the first nationalist Indian leader who has expressed a desire to under stand the present spiritual unrest in the world of Islam. In view of the many aspects and pos reactions of this unrest it is highly desirable that thoughtful Indian political leaders should open their minds to the real meaning of what is, at the present movement, agitating the heart of Islam.

I do not wish, however, to conceal from the Pandit or from any other reader of this statement that the Pandit’s articles have for the 4 moment given my mind rather a painful conflict of feelings. Knowing him to be a man of wide cultural sympathies I cannot but incline to the view that his desire to understand the questions he has raised is perfectly genuine; yet the way in which he has expressed himself betrays a psychology which I find difficult to attribute to him. I am inclined to think that my statement on Qadianism—for more than a mere exposition of a religious doctrine on modern lines—has embarrassed both the Pandit and the Qadianis, perhaps because both inwardly resent, for different reasons, the prospects of Muslim political and religious solidarity, particularly in India. It is obvious that the Indian nationalist whose political:

I has practically killed his sense for fact, is in- tolerant of the birth or a desire for self-determination in the heart of north-west Indian Islam. He thinks, wrongly in my opinion, that the only way to Indian nationalism lies in a total suppression of the cultural, entities of the country through the interaction of,. which alone India can evolve a rich and enduring culture. A nationalism achieved by such methods can mean nothing but mutual bitterness and even:

oppression. It is equally obvious that tile Qadianis too, feel nervous by the political awakening of the. Indian Muslims, because they feel that the rise in. political prestige of the Indian Muslims is sure to defeat their designs to carve out from the ummat of the Arabian Prophet a new ummat for the Indian prophet. It is no small surprise to me that my effort to impress on the Indian Muslims the extreme necessity of internal cohesion in the present critical moment of their history in India, and my warning them against the forces of disintegration, masquerad.. jug as reformist movements, should have given the Pandit an occasion to sympathize with such forces.

However, I do not wish to pursue the unpleasant task of analyzing the Pandit’s motives. For the benefit of those who want further elucidation of the general Muslim attitude towards the Qadianis, I would quote a passage from Durant’s Story of Philosophy which, I hope, will give the reader a clear idea of the issue involved in Qadianism. Durant has in a few sentences summed up the Jewish point. of view in the excommunication of the great philosopher, Spinoza. The reader must not think that in quoting this passage I mean to insinuate some sort of comparison between Spinoza and the founder of Ahmad ism. The distance between them, both in point of intellect and character, is simply tremendous. The “God-intoxicated” Spinoza never claimed that he was the centre of a new organization and that all the Jews who did not believe in him were outside the pale of Judaism. Durant’s passage, therefore, applies with much greater force to the attitude of Muslims towards Qadianism than to the attitude of the Jews towards the excommunication of Spinoza. The passage is as follows:

“Furthermore, religious unanimity seemed to the elders their sole means of preserving the little Jewish group in Amsterdam from disintegration, and almost the last means of preserving the unity, and so ensuring the survival of the scattered Jews of the world. If they had had their own State, their own civil law, their own establishments of secular force and power, to compel. internal cohesion and external respect, they might have been more tolerant; but their religion was to them their patriotism as well as their faith; the synagogue was their centre of social and political life as well as of ritual and worship ;. and the Bible whose veracity Spinoza had impugned was the ‘por- table fatherland’ of their people-; under the circumstances they thought heresy was treason, and toleration.’ suicide.”

Situated as the Jews were’—a minority community in Amsterdam were perfectly justified in regarding Spinoza as a disintegrating factor threatening the dissolution of their community. Similarly the Indian Muslims are right in regarding the Qadiani movement, which declares the entire world of Islam as kafir and socially boycotts them, to be far more dangerous to the collective life of Islam. in India than the metaphysics of Spinoza to the collective life of the Jews. The Indian Muslim, I believe, instinctive- ly realizes the peculiar nature of the circumstances. in which he is placed in India and is naturally mucir more sensitive to the forces of disintegration than the Muslims of any other country. This instinctiv4 perception of the average Muslim is in my o absolutely correct and has, I have no doubt, a much deeper foundation in the conscience of Indan Islam., Those who talk of toleration in a matter like this are extremely careless in using the word “toleration”  which I fear they do not understand at all. The spirit of toleration may arise from very different attitudes of the mind of man. As Gibbon would say:

“There is the toleration of the philosopher to whom all religions are equally true; of the historian to whom all are equally useful. There is the toleration of the man who tolerates other modes of thought and behaviors because he has himself grown absolutely indifferent to all modes of thought and behaviors. There is the toleration of the weak man who, on account of sheer weakness, must pocket all kinds of insults heaped on things or persons that he holds dear.” It is obvious that these types of tolerance have no ethical value. On the other hand they un mistakably reveal the spiritual impoverishment of the man who practices them. True toleration is be gotten of intellectual breadth and spiritual expansion. It is the toleration of the spiritually powerful man who, while jealous of the frontiers of his own faith, n tolerate and even appreciate all forms of faith other than his own. Of this type of toleration the true Muslim alone is capable. His own faith is synthetic, and for this reason he can easily find grounds of sympathy and appreciation in other faiths. Our great Indian poet, Amir Khusro, beautifully brings out the essence of this type of toleration in the story of an idol-worshipper. After giving an account of his intense attachment to his idols the poet addresses his Muslim readers as follows; Only a true lover of God can appreciate the value of devotion even though it is directed to gods in which he himself does not believe. The folly of our preachers of toleration consists in describing the attitude of the man who is jealous of the boundaries of his own faith as one of intolerance. They wrongly consider this attitude as a sign of moral inferiority. They do not understand that the value of his attitude is essentially biological, where the members of a group feel, either instinctively or on the basis of rational argument, that the corporate life of the social organism to which they belong is in danger, their defensive attitude must be appraised in reference mainly to a biological criterion. Every thought or deed in this connection must be judged by the life value that it may possess. The question in this case is not whether the attitude of an individual or community towards the man who is declared to be a heretic is morally good or bad The question is whether it is life-giving or life destroying. Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru seems to think that a society founded on religious principles necessitates the institution of Inquisition. This is indeed true of the history of Christianity; but the history of Islam, contrary to the Pandit’s logic, shows that during the last thirteen hundred years of the life of Islam, the institution of Inquisition has been absolutely un known in Muslim countries. The Quran expressly prohibits such an institution. “Do not seek out the shortcomings of others and carry not tales against your brethren.” Indeed the Pandit will find from the history of Islam that the Jews and Christians, fleeing from religious persecution in their own lands, always found shelter in the lands of Islam. The two oppositions on which the conceptual structure of Islam is based are so simple that it makes heresy in the sense of turning the heretic outside the fold of l am almost impossible. It is true that when a person declared to be holding heretical doctrines berates the existing social order, an independent Muslim State will certainly take action; but in such a case the action of the State will be determined more 100% political considerations than by purely religious ones. I can very well realize that a man like the Pandit, who is born and brought up in a society .which has no internal cohesion, finds it difficult to conceive that a religious society can live and prosper without State-appointed commissions of enquiry into lie beliefs of the people. This is quite clear from the passage which he quotes from Cardinal Newman and wonders how far I would accept. the application of the Cardinal’s dictum to Islam. Let me tell him that  is a tremendous difference between the inner ,structure of Islam and Catholicism wherein the cornplexity the ultra-rational character and the number of dogmas has, as the history of Christianity shows, always fostered possibilities of fresh heretical interpretation. The simple faith of Muhammad is based on two propositions—that God is One, and that Muhammad is the last of the line of those holy flew who have appeared from time to time in all countries and in all ages to guide mankind to the right ways of living. If, as some Christian writers think, a dogma must be defined as an ultra-rational proposition which for the purpose of securing religiousus solidarity must be assented to without any under-standing of its metaphysical import, then these two simple propositions of Islam cannot be described even as dogmas; for both of them are supported by the experience of mankind and are fairly amenable to rational argument. The question of a heresy, which needs the verdict, whether the author of it is within or without the fold, can arise, in the case of a religious society founded on such simple propositions, only when the heretic rejects both or either of these propositions. Such .heresy must be and has been rare in the history. of Islam which, while jealous of its frontiers, permits freedom of interpretation within these frontiers. And since the phenomenon of the kind of heresy which affects the boundaries of Islam has been rare in the history of Islam, the feeling of the average Muslim is naturally intense when a revolt of this kind arises. This is why the feeling of Muslim Iran was so intense against the Bahais. This is why the feeling of the Indian Muslims is so intense against the Qadianis.

It is true that mutual accusations of heresy for differences in minor points of law and theology among Muslim religious sects have been rather common. In this indiscriminate use of the word kufr both for minor theological points of difference as well as for the extreme cases of heresy which involve the excommunication of the heretic, some present-day educated Muslims who possess practically no knowledge of the history of Muslim Theological disputes, see a sign of social and politica.1 disintegration of the Muslim community. This, how ever, is an entirely wrong notion. The history of .Mus1jm theology shows that natural accusation of $heresy on minor points of difference has, far from working as a disruptive force, actually given an impetus to synthetic -theological thought. “When we read the history of development of Mohammadan law,” says Prof. Hurgrounje, “we find that, on the Jone hand, the doctors of every age, on the slightest Istimulus, condemn one another to the point of tmutuaiaccusations of heresy ; and, on the other hand, the very same people with greater and greater unity of’ purpose try to— reconcile the similar quarrels of their predecessors.” The student of Muslim theology knows that among Muslim legists this kind of heresy is technically known as “heresy below heresy”, i.e.,

the kind of heresy which does not invasive the ex communication of the culprit. It may be admitted, however, that in the hands of mullas whose intellectual laziness takes all oppositions of theological thought as absolute and inconsequently blind to the Unity in difference, this minor heresy may become a source of great mischief This mischief can be remedied only by giving to the students of our Theological schools a clearer vision of the synthetic spirit of Islam, and by reinitiating; them into the function of logically contradiction as a principle of movement in theological dialectic The question of what may be tailed major heresy arises only when the teaching of

a thinker or a reformer affects the frontiers of the faith of Islam Unfortunately this question does raised connection with the teachings of Qadianism yet must L pointed out here that the Hamada movement is divided into two camps, known as these Qadianis and the Lahore’s. The former openly declare the founder to be a full prophet; the latter, either by conviction or policy, have found it advisable to preach an apparently toned-down Qadianism. How ever, the question whether the founder of Ahmadism was a prophet, the denial of whose mission entails what I call the “major heresy” is a matter of dispute between the two sections. It is unnecessary for my purposes to judge the merits of this domestic controversy of the Ahmadis. I believe, for reasons to be explained presently, that the idea of a full prophet whose denial entails the denier’s excommunication1 from Islam is essential to Ahmadism; and that the present head of the Qadianis is far more consistent with the spirit of the movement than the Imam of the Lahore’s. The cultural value of the idea of Finality in Islam I have fully explained elsewhere. Its meaning is simple: No spiritual surrender to any human after Muhammad who emancipated his,, followers by giving them a law which is realizable as arising from the very core of human conscience Theologically the doctrine is that the socio-political organization called “Islam” is perfect and e i.e. No revelation, the denial of which entails heresy, possible after Muhammad. He who claims such a revelation is a traitor to Islam. Since the Qadianis believe the founder of the Ahmadiyya movement to be the bearer of such a revelation, they declare t. the entire world of Islam is infidel. The founder’s own argument, quite worthy of a mediaeval theologian, is that the spirituality of the Holy Prophet of Islam must be regarded as imperfect if it is not creative of another prophet. He claims his own prophet hood to be an evidence of the prophet-rearing power of the spirituality of the Holy Prophet of Islam. But if you further ask him whether the spirituality of Muhammad is capable of rearing more prophets than one, his answer is “No”. This virtually amount to saying: “Muhammad is not the last Prophet; I am the last.” Far from understanding the cultural value of the Islamic idea of Finality in the history of mankind generally and of Asia especially, he thinks that Finality in the sense that no follower of Muhammad can ever reach the status of Prophet hood is a mark of imperfection in Muhammad’s Prophet hood. As I read the psychology of his mind he, in the interests of his own claim to pro prophet hood, avails himself of what he describes as the creative spirituality of the Holy Prophet of Islam and at the same time deprives the Holy Prophet of his Finality by limiting the creative capacity of his spirituality to the rearing of only one prophet, i.e., the founder of the Ahmadiyya movement. In this way does the new prophet quietly steal away the Finality of one, whom he claims to be his spiritual progenitor.

He claims to be buruz of the Holy Prophet of Islam, insinuating thereby that being a buruz of his, ‘finality’ is virtually the Finality of Muhammad and that this view of the matter, therefore, does not  violate the Finality of the ‘Holy Prophet; In identifying the two finalities, his own and that of the Holy prophet, he conveniently loses sight of the temporal meaning of the idea of finality. It is, however, obvious that the word buruz in the sense even of complete likeness, cannot help him at all; for the buruz must always remain the other side of its original. Only in the sense of reincarnation a buruz becomes identical with the original. Thus if we take the argument remains ineffective: if, on the other hand, we take it to mean reincarnation of the original in the Aryan sense of the word, the argument becomes plausible; but its author turns out to be only a margin in disguise.

It is further claimed on the authority of the great Muslim mystic, Muhyuddin Ibn al-Arabi of Spain, that it is possible for a Muslim saint to attain, in his spiritual evolution, to the kind of experience characteristic of the Prophetic consciousness. I personally believe this view of Sheikh Muhyuddin Ibn al-Arabi to be psychologically unsound ; but assuming it to be correct, the Qadiani argument is based on a complete misunderstanding of his exact position. The Shaikh regards it as a purely private achievement which does not, and in the nature of things cannot, entitle such a saint to declare that all those who do not believe in him are outside the pale of Islam. Indeed, from the Shaikh’s point of view, there may be more than one saint, living in the same age or country, who may attain to Prophetic consciousness. The point to be seized is that while it is psychologically possible for a saint to attain to Prophetic experience his experience will have no socio political significance making him the centre of a new organization and entitling him to declare this organization to be the criterion of the faith or disbelief of  vinous that the word buruz in the sense even of complete likeness, cannot help him at all; for the buruz must always remain the other side of its original. Only in the sense of reincarnation a buruz becomes identical with the original. Thus if we take the argument remains ineffective: if, on the other hand, we take it to mean reincarnation of the original in the Aryan sense of the word, the argument becomes plausible; but its author turns out to be only a Magian in disguise.

It is further claimed on the authority of the great Muslim mystic, Muhyuddin Ibn al-Arabi of Spain, that it is possible for a Muslim saint to attain, in his spiritual evolution, to the kind of experience characteristic of the Prophetic consciousness. I personally believe this view of Shaikh Muhyuddin Ibn al-Arabi to be psychologically unsound ; but assuming it to be correct, the Qadiani argument is based on a complete misunderstanding of his exact position. The Shaikh regards it as a purely private achievement which does not, and in the nature of things cannot, entitle such a saint to declare that all those who do not believe in him are outside the pale of Islam. Indeed, from the Shaikh’s point of view, there may be more than one saint, living in the same age or country, who may attain to Prophetic consciousness. The point to be seized is that while it is psychologically possible for a saint to attain to Prophetic experience his experience will have no socio political significance making him the centre of a new organization and entitling him to declare this organization to be the criterion of the faith or disbelief of  psychological research. In my opinion the book provides a key to the character and personality of the founder ; and I do hope that one day some young student of modern psychology will take it up for serious study. If he takes the Quran for his criterion, as he must for reasons which cannot be explained here, and extends his study to a comparative examination of the experience of the founder of the Ahmadiyya movement and contemporary non-Muslim mystics, such as Ram Krishna of Bengal, he is sure to meet more than one surprise as to the essential character of the experience on the basis of which prophethood is claimed for the originator of Ahmadism.

Another equally effective and more fruitful . method, from the standpoint of the plain man, is to understand the real content of Ahmadism in the. light of the history of Muslim theological thought in. India, at least from the year 1799. The year 1799 is extremely important in the history of the world of Islam. In this year fell Tippu and his fall meant, the extinguishment of Muslim hopes for political prestige in India. In the same year was fought the battle of Navarino which saw the destruction of the Turkish fleet Prophetic were the words of the author of the chronogram of Tippu’s fall which visitors of Serangapatam find engraved on the wall of Tippu’s mausoleum:

“Gone is the glory of mad as well as of Roum.” Thus in the year 1799 the political decay of Islam in Asia reached its climax. But just as out of the humiliation of Germany on the day of Jena arose the modern German nation, it may be said with equal truth that out of the political humiliation of Islam in the year 1799 arose modern Islam and her problems. This point I shall explain in the sequel. For the present I want to draw the reader’s attention to some of the questions which have arisen in Muslim India since the fall of Tippu and the development of European Imperialism in Asia.

Does the idea of Caliphate in Islam embody a religious institution? How are the Indian Muslims and for the matter of that all Muslims outside the Turkish Empire related to the Turkish Caliphate? Is India Dar-ul-Islam? What is the real meaning of the doctrine of Jihad in Islam? What is the meaning of the expression “from amongst you” in the Quranic verse: “Obey God, obey the Prophet and the masters of the affair (i.e., rulers) from amongst you?” What is the character of the tradition of the Prophet foretelling the advent of Imam Mehdi? These questions and some others which arose subsequently were, for obvious reasons, questions for Indian Muslims only. European imperialism, however, which was then rapidly penetrating the world of Islam was also intimately interested in them. The controversies which these questions created form a most interesting chapter in the history of Islam in India. The story is a long one and is still waiting for a powerful pen. Muslim politicians whose eyes were mainly fixed on the realities of the situation succeeded in winning over a section of the ulama to adopt a line of theological argument which, as they thought, suit ed the situation; but it was not easy to conquer by mere logic the beliefs which had ruled for centuries the conscience of the masses of Islam in India. j such. a situation logic can either proceed on the ground of political expediency or on the lines of a fresh orientation of texts and traditions. In either case the argument will fail to appeal to the masses. To the intensely religious masses of Islam only one thing can make a conclusive appeal, and that is divine authority. For an effective eradication of orthodox beliefs it was found necessary to find a revelation basis for a politically suitable orientation of theological doctrines involved in the questions mentioned above. This revelation basis is provided by Ahmadism. And the Ahmadis themselves claim this to be the greatest service rendered by them to the. British Imperialism. The prophetic claim to a revelational basis for theoIøgical views of a political’ significance amounts to declaring that those who do not accept the claimant’s views are infidels of the1 first water and destined for the flames of hell. As I understand the significance of the movement, the- Ahmadi belief that Christ died the death of an ordinary mortal, and that his second advent means only the advent of a person who is spiritually “like unto him,” gives the movement some sort of a rational appearance; but they are not really essential to the spirit of the movement In my opinion they are only preliminary steps towards the idea of full prophethood which alone can serve the purposes of the movement eventually brought into being by new political forces. In primitive countries it is not logical authority that appeals. Given a sufficient amount )f ignorance, credulity which strangely enough some-times co-exists with good intelligence, and a person sufficiently audacious to declare himself a recipient of divine revelation whose denial would entail eternal damnation, it is easy, in a subject Muslim country, to invent a political theology and to build a community whose creed is political servility. And in the Punjab even an ill-woven net of vague theological expressions can easily capture the innocent peasant who- has been for centuries exposed to all kinds of exploitation. Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru advises the orthodox of all religions to unite and thus to delay the coming of what he conceives to be Indian nationali5m. This ironical advice assumes that Ahmad isitijar he does not know that as far as Islam in India is concerned, Ahmadism involves both religious and political issues of the highest importance. As I have explained above, the function of in the history of Muslim religious thought is to furnish a revelational basis for India’s present political subjugation. Leaving aside the purely religious issues, on the ground of political issues alone, I think, it does not lie in the mouth- of a man like Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru to accuse Indian Muslims of reactionary conservatism. I have no doubt that if he had grasped the real nature of Ahmadism he would have very much appreciated- the- attitude of Indian Muslims towards a religious movement which claims divine authority for the woes of India -

Thus the reader will see that the pallor- of Ahmadism which we find on the cheeks of Indian lsIam to day is not an a phenomenon in the history of Muslim religious thought in India. The ideas which eventually shaped themselves in the form of this movement became prominent in theological discussions long before the founder of Ahmadism was born. Nor do I mean to insinuate that the founder of Ahmadism and his companions deliberately planned their programme. I dare say the founder of the Ahmadiyya movement did hear a voice; but whether this voice came from the God of Life and Power or arose out of the spiritual impoverishment of the people must depend upon the nature of the movement which it has created and the kind of thought and emotion which it has given to those who have listened to it. The reader must not think that I am using metaphorical language. The life-history’ of nations shows that when the tide of life in a people begins to ebb, decadenôe itself becomes a source of inspiration, inspiring their poets, philosophy saints, statesmen, and turning them into a class of apostles whose sole ministry is to glorify by the force of a seductive art of logic, all that is ignoble and ugly in the life of their people. These apostles un consciously clothe despair in the glittering garment of hope, undermine the traditional values of conduct and thus destroy the spiritual virility of those who happen to be their victims. One can only imagine the rotten state of a people’s will who are, on the basis of divine authority, made to accept their political environment as final. Thus all the actors who participated in the drama of Ahmadism were, I think, only innocent instruments in the hands of decadence. A similar drama had already been acted in Iran; but it did not lead, and could not have led, to the relious and political issues which Ahmadism has created for Islam in India. Russia offered tolerance to abysm and allowed the Babis to open their first missionary centre in Isbqabad. England showed bmadis the same tolerance in allowing them to pen their first missionary centre in woking. Where Russia and England showed this tolerance on the ground of imperial expedieiIcy or pure broad iindedneS5 is difficult for us to decide. This much is absolutely clear that this tolerance has created Life problems for Islam in Asia. In view of the structure of Islam, as i understand it, I have not the least doubt in my mind that Islam will emergeurer out of’ the difficulties thus created for her. Times are changing. Things in India have already taken a new turn. The new spirit of democracy which is coming to India is sure to disillusion the hmadiS and to convince them of the absolute futility of their beologiCaI invention.

- Nor will Islam tolerate any revival of rnediaeval mysticism which has already robbed its followers of heir healthy instincts and given them only obscure h in return. It has, during the course of the ast centuries, absorbed the best minds of Islam leaving the affairs of the state to mere mediocrities. Modern I cann0t afford to repeat the experiment. Nor can it tolerate a repetition of the Punjab experiInent of keeping Muslims occupied for half a century in theological problems which had absolutely on life. Islam has already passed into the road daylight of iresb thought and experience ; and no saint or prophet can bring it back to the fogs of rnediaeval mysticism. Let me. now turn to Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru’s. questions I fear the Pandit’s articles reveal practically no acquaintance with Islam. or its religious:::. history during the nineteenth. century. Nor does he seem to have read what I have already written on. the subject of his questions- It is not possible for me reproduce here all: that I have written before.. Nor.. Is it possible to write a religious history of Islam? in the nineteenth century without. which: a thorough understanding of the present situation in. the world. of Islam is impossible. Hundreds of books and. articles have been. written on. Turkey and. modern Islam.. I have read most of this literature and. probably the Pandit has also read it. I –assure him however, that no one of. these writers under stands the. nature of. the effect or. of. the cause. that-- has brought about. that effect.. It is, therefore,. necessary to indicate briefly the main currents of. Muslim thought in Asia during the nineteenth century.

I have said above that in. the year 1799 the political decay of Islam reached its climax There can, however, be no great testimony to the inner vitalit3 of Islam than the fact that it practically took no, time to realize its position in, the world. During. the nineteenth century were born Sir.. Syed Ahmad Khan in India, Syed Jamal-ud-Din Afghani in Afghanistan and Mufti Alam Jan in Russia.. Thes4e men were probably inspired .by Muhammad Ibn Abdul Wahab who was born in Nejd in 1700, th fbund of ti so-called Wahabi movement which may fitly be described as the first throb of life in modern Islam. The influence of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan remained on the whole confined to India. It is probable, however, that he was the first modern Muslim to catch a glimpse of the positive character of the age which was coming, The remedy for the ills of Islam proposed by him, as by Mufti A Jan in Russia, was modern education. But the real greatness of the man consists in the fact that he was the first Indian Muslim who felt the need of a fresh orientation of Islam and worked for it. We may differ from his religious views, but there can be no denying the fact that his sensitive soul was the first to react to the modern age.

-The extreme conservatism of Indian Muslims which had lost its hold on the-realities of life failed to see the real meaning of the religious attitude of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan. In the North-West of India, country more primitive and more saint-ridden than the rest of India, the Syed’s movement was soon followed by the reaction of Ahmadism—a strange mixture of Semitic and Aryan mysticism with whom spiritual revival consists not in the purification of the individual’s inner life according to the principles of the old Islamic Sufism, but in satisfying the expectant attitude of the masses by providing a ‘promised Messiah.’ The function of this ‘promised Messiah’ is not to exercise the individual from an enervating present but to make him slavishly surrender his ego to its dictates. This reaction carries ‘ithin itself a very subtle contradiction. It retains te discipline of Islam but destroys the will whichthat discipline was intended to fortify Maulana Syed Jamal-ud-Din Afghani was a man of a different stamp. Strange are the ways of Providence One of the most advanced Muslims of our time, both in religious thought and action, was born in Afghanistan! A : perfect master of nearly all the Muslim languages of the world and endowed with the most winning elo- • quence, his restless soul migrated from one Muslim country to another, influencing some of the most prominent men in Iran, Egypt and Turkey. Some of the greatest theologians of our time, such as Mufti Muhammad Abdubu, and some of the men of the younger generation who laterbecamepoliticalleaderS, q such as Zaghiul Pasha of Egypt, were his disciples, He wrote little spoke much and thereby transformed into miniature Jamal-ud-Dins all those who came into contact with him. He never claimed to be a prophet or a renewer, yet no other man in our timet bas.stirred the soul of Islam more deeply than he! His spirit is still working in the world of Islam an nobody knows where it will end.

It may, however, he asked what exactly was the objective of these great Muslims. The answer is that they found the world of Islam ruled by three main forces and they concentrated their whole energy on creating a revolt against these forces:

1. Mullaism.—The ulama have always been a sourceof great strength to Islam. But during the course of centuries, especially since the destruc of Baghdad, they became extremely conservative nd would not allow any freedom of Ijtihad, i.e., ‘ forming of independent judgment in matters of The Wahabj movement which was a source of ins piration to the nineteenth century Muslim reformers was really a revolt against this rigidity of the ulama. Thus the first objective of the nineteenth century Muslim reformers was a fresh orientation of the faith and a freedom to reinterpret the law in the light of advancing experience.

2. Mysticism.—The masses of Islam were sway ed by the kind of mysticism which blinked actuali ties, enervated the people and kept them steeped in all kinds of superstition. From its high state as a force of spiritual education mysticism had fallen down to a mere means of exploiting the ignorance and the credulity of the people. It gradually and invisibly unnerved the will of Islam and softened it to the extent of seeking relief from rigorous discip line of the law of Islam. The nineteenth century reformers rose in revolt against this mysticism and called Muslims to the broad daylight of the modern world. Not that they were materialists. Their mis sion was to open the eye of the Muslims to the spirit to Islam which aimed at the conquest of matter and not flight from it.

3. Muslim Kings.—The gaze of Muslim kings was solely fixed on their own dynastic interests and so long as these were protected, they did not hesitate to sell their countries to the highest bidder. To pre pare the masses of Muslims for a revolt against such a state of things in the world of Islam was the special mission of Syed Jamal-ud-Din Afghani.

It is not possible here to give a detailed account of the transformation which these reformers brought about in the world of Muslim thought and feeling One thing, however, is clear. They prepared to a great extent the ground another set of men.

Zaghiul Pasah, Mustafa Kamal and Raza Shah. The reformers interpreted, argued. and explained , butthe

set of men who came after them, although inferior in academic learning, were men who, relying on their healthy instincts, had the courage to rush into sun-lit space and do, even by force, what the new . conditions of life demanded. Such men are liable to make mistakes; but the history of nation’s sbows that even their mistakes have sometimes borne good fruit. In them it is not logic but life that:struggles rest less to solve its own problems. It may be pointed out here. that Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, Syed Jamal-ud-Din Afghani and hundreds of the latter’s disciples in Muslim countries were not Westernized Muslims.

They were men who had sat on their knees before the mul1a of the old school and had breathed the very intellectualand spiritual atmosphere which they later sought to reconstruct. Pressure of modern ideasi may be admitted ; hut the history thus briefly indicat-t ed above clearly shows that the upheaval which has come to Turkey and which is likely, sooner or later, to come to other Muslim countries, is almost.wholIY determined by the forces within. It is only the superficial observer of the modern world of Islam who thinks that the present crisis in the world of Islam is wholly due to the working of alien forces.

Has then the world of Islam outside India, especially Turkey, abandoned Islam? Jawahar Lal Nehru thinks that Turkey has ceased to be a Muslim country. He does not seem to- realise that the question whether a person or a community has ceased to be a men, of Islam is, from the Muslim point of view, a purely legal question and must be decided in view-of the structural principles of Islam. As long as a. person. is loyal to the two basic princi ples of Islam, i.e., the Unity of God and. Finality of the Holy. Prophet, not even the strictest mulla can turn him outside the pale of Islam even though his jnterpretations of the law or of the text of the Quran are-believed to be erroneous. But perhaps Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru has in his mind the supposed or real innovations which the Ataturk has introduced. Let. us. for a:moment examine these. Is it the develop ment of a general materialist outlook in Turkey which seems. inimical to Islam? Islam has had too much of renunciation; it is time for the Muslims to look to realities. Materialism is a bad weapon against religion ;‘but it is quite aneffective one against mulla-craft and Sufi-craft, which deliberately mystify the people with a view to exploit their ignorance and credulity. “The spirit of Islam is not afraid of its contact with matter. Indeed the Quran says: “For get not thy share in the world.” It is difficult for a non-Muslim to understand that, considering the history of the Muslim world during the last few centuries, the progress of a materialist outlook is only a form of seif-realisation. Is it then the a.boli tion of the old dress or the introduction of the Latin script? Islam as a religion has no country; as a society it has no specific language, no specific dress. Even the recitation of the Quran in Turkish is not without some precedent in Muslim history. Per sonally I regard it as a serious error of judgment; for the modern student of the Arabic language and literature knows full well that the only non language which has a future is Arabic. But the reports are that the Turks have already abandoned the vernacular recitation of the Quran. Is it then the abolition of polygamy or the licentiate ulama? According to the law of Islam the Amir of a Muslim Stdte. has the power to revoke the “permissions” of the law if he is convinced that they tend to cause social corruption. As to the licentiate ulama I would certainly introduce it in Muslim India if I had the power to do so. To the inventions of the myth-rnak ing mu/Ia is largely due the stupidity of the average Muslim. In excluding him from the reliEiouS life of the people the Ataturk has done what would have delighted the heart of an Ibn Taimiyya or a Shah Wali UlIah. There is a tradition of the Holy Prophet reported in the Mishkat to the effect that only the Amir of the Muslim State and the persons appointed by him are entitled to preach to the people. I do not know whether the Ataturk ever knew of this tradition ; yet it is striking how the light of his Islamic Conscience has illumined the zone of his action in this important matter. The adoption of the Swiss code with its rule of inheritance is certainly a serious error which has arisen out of the youthful zeal for reform excusable in a people furiously desiring to go ahead. The joy of emancipation from the fetters of a long-standing priest-craft sometimes drives a people to untried courses of action. But Turkey as well as the rest of the world of Islam has yet to realise the hitherto unrevealed economic aspects of the Islamic law of inhertitance which Von Kremer describes as the “supremely original branch of Muslim law.” Is it the abolition of the Caliphate or the separation of Church and State? In its essence Islam is not Imperialism. In the abolition of the Caliphate which since the days of Omayyads had practically become a kind of Empire it.. is only the spirit of Islam that has worked out through the Ataturk. In order to under stand the Turkish Jjthiad in the matter of the Cali phate we cannot but seek the guidance of Ibn Khal dun—the great philosophical historian of Islam, and the father of modern history. I can do no better than quote here a passage from my Reconstruction:

“Ibn Khaldun in his famous “Prolegomena” mentions three distinct views of the idea of universal Caliphate in Islam:

(i)                  That universal Imamate is a divine institution and is consequently indispensable.

(ii)                That it is merely a matter of expediency.

(iii)               That there is no need of such an institution. The last view was taken by the Khwarij, the early republicans of Islan. It seems that modern Turkey has shifted from the first to the second view, i.e., to the view of the Mu’tazila who regarded universal Imamate as a matter of expediency only. The Turks argue that in our political thinking we must be guided by our past political experience which points unmistakably to the fact that the idea of universal Imamate has failed in practice. It was a workable idea when the Empire of Islam was intact. Since the break-up of this Empire independent units have arisen. The idea has ccased to be operativeand cannot wOrk as a living factor in the organization of modernIslam.”

Nor is the idea of separation of Church and State alien to Islam. The doctrine of the major occultation of the Imam in a sense effected this sepa ration long ago in Shia Iran. The Islamic idea of the State must not be confounded with the Européan idea of the separation of Church and State. The former is only a division of functions as is ôlear from the gradual creationin the Muslim State àf the office ofShaikh-ul-Islam and Ministers; the latter is based on the metaphysical dualism àf spirit and matter. Christianity began as an order dfmonks having noth ing to do with the affairs of the world; Islam was, from the very beginning, a civil society with laws civil in their nature though believed to be revela tional in origin. The metaphysical dualism. on which the European idea ‘is based has borne bitter fruit among Western nation. Many years ago a book was written in America called if Christ Caine to Ghicago. In reviewing this book an American author says:

“The lesson to be learned from Mr. Stead’s book is that the great evils from which humanity is suffering to-day are evils that can be handled only by religious sentiments; that the handling of those evils has been in the great part surrendered to the State; that the State has itself been delivered over to corrupt political machines; that such machines are not only unwilling, but unable, to deal with those evils; and that nothing but a religio-us awakening of the citizens to their public duties can save countless millions from misery and  the State itself from degree detain.”

In. the history of Muslim political experience this separation has meant only a separation of func tions,.not of. ideas. It cannot be.maintained that in uslim countries the separation of Church and-State means the freedom of Muslim legislative activity from the conscience of the people which has for centuries been trained and developed by the spiritu ality of. Islamo Experience alone will show how they Ridea.will work in modern Turkey. We can only hope that it will not be productive of the evils which it has produced in Europe and America.

I have briefly discussed the above innovations more for the sake. of the Muslim reader than for Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru. The innovation specifi I cally mentioned by the Pandit is the adoption by the furks and Iranians of racial and nationalist, ideals. 1 seems to think that the adoption of such ideals means the abandonment of Is lam by Turkey and Iran. The student of history knows very well that Islam was born at a time when the old principles of human unification, such as blood relationship and throne .Are, were failing. It, therefore, finds -the prin.. iple of human unification not in the blood . and but in the mind of man. Indeed its social message to mankind is.: “Deracialise yourself or perish by internecine war.” It is no exaggeration to say that Islam looksaskance at nature’s race-building plans and creates by means of its peculiar institutions, an outlook which would counteract the race forces of nature. In the direction of human domestication it has done in one thousand years far more important work than Christianity and Buddh ism ever did in two thousand years or more. It is no less than a miracle that an Indian Muslim finds himself at home in Morocco in spite of the disparity of race and language. Yet it cannot be said that Islam is totally opposed to race. Its history shows that in social reform it relies mainly on its scheme for gradual deracialisation and proceeds on the lines of least resistance. “Verily”, says the Quran, “We have made you into tribes and sub-tribes so that you may be identified; but the best among you in the eye of God is he who is the purest in life.” Considering the mightiness of the problem of race and the amount of time which the deracialisation of mankind must necessarily take, the attitude of Islam towards the problem of race, i.e., stooping to conquer without itself becoming a race-making factor, is the only rational and workable attitude. There is a remark able passage in Sir Arthur Keith’s little book, The Problem of Race, which is worth quoting here:

“And now man is awakening to the fact that nature’s primaryend—race with the necessities of the modern economic world and is asking himself: What must I do? Bring race- building as practised hitherto by nature to an end and have eternal peace? Or permit nature to pursue her old course and have, as a necessary consequence— War? Man has to choose the one course or the other. There is no intermediate course possible.”

It is, therefore, clear that if the Ataturk is pried by Pan-Turanianism he is going not so much against the spirit of Islam as against the spirit of the time. And if he is a believer in the absoluteness of races, he is sure to be defeated by the spirit of modern time which is wholly in keeping with the spirit of Islam. Personally, however, I do not think that the Ataturk is inspired by Pan-Turanianism, as I believe that his Pan-Turanianism is only a political retort to Pan-Slavonism, or Pan-Germanism, or Pan-Anglo Saxonism.

If the meaning of the above paragraph is well understood it is not difficult to see the attitude of Islam towards nationalist ideals. Nationalism in the sense of love of one’s country and even readiness to die for its honour is a part of the Muslim’s faith: It comes into conflict with Islam only when it begins to play the role of a political concept and claims to be a principle of human solidarity demanding that Islam should recede to the background of a there private opinion and cease to be a living factor in the national life. In Turkey, Iran, Egypt and other Muslim countries it will never become a problem. In these countries Muslims constitute an overwhelm ing majority and their minorities, i.e., Jews, Chris tians and Zoroastrians, according to the law of Islam, are either “People of the Book” or “like, the People of the Book” with whom the law of Islam allows free social relations including matrimonial alliances. It becomes a problem for Muslims only in countries where they happen to be in a minority, and nationalism, demands their complete self-efface ment. In majority countries Islam accommodates aationalism; for there Islam and nationalism are practically identical; in minority countries it is justi fied in seeking self-determination as a cultural unit. In either case, it is thoroughly consistent with itself. The above paragraphs briefly sum up the exact situation in the world of Islam to-day. If this is properJy understood it will become clear that the fundamentals of Islamic solidarity are not in. any way shaken by any external or internal forces. The solidarity of Islam, as I have explained before, con sists in a uniform belief in the two structural prin ciples of Islam supplemented by the five well-known “practices of the faith.” These are the first essentials of Jslamic solidarity which has, in this sense, existed ever since the days of the Holy Prophet until it was recently disturbed by the Bahais in Iran and the Qadianis in India. It is a guarantee for a.practically uniform spiritual atmosphere in the world of Islam. It facilitates the political combination of Muslim States, which combination may either assume the form of a world State (ideal) or of a League of Muslim States, or of a number of independent States whose pacts and alliances are determined by purely economic and political considerations. That is how the conceptual structure of this simple faith is related to the process of time. The profundity of this rela tion can be understood only in the light of certain verses of the Quran which it is not possible to explain here withoutdriftingawayfrom the pointimmediately before us. Politically, then the solidarity of Islam is. shaken only when Muslim States war on one an other: religiously it is shaken only when Muslims rebel against any of the basic beliefs and practices of the Faith. It is in the interest of this eternal soli darity that Tslam cannot tolerate any rebellious group within its fold. Outside the fold such a group is entitled to as much toleration as the followers of any F other faith. It appears to me that at the present moment Islam is passing through a period of transi tion. It is shifting from one form of political soli darity to some other form which the forces of history have yet to determine. Events are so rapidly moving in the modern world that it is almost impossible to make a prediction. As to what will be the attitude towards on of a politician united if such a thing ever comes is a question which history alone can answer. All that I can say is that, lying midway between Asia and Europe and being a syn thesis of Eastern and Western outlooks on life, Islam has to act as a kind of intermediary between the East and the West. But what if the follies of Europe create an ir?econcilable Islam? As things are develop ing in Europe from day to day they demand a radical transformatbohl of Europe’s attitude towards Islam. We can only hope that political vision will not allow itself to be obscured by the dictates of imperial ambition or economic exploitation. In so far as India is concerned I can say with perfect confidence that the Muslims of India will not submit to any kind of political idealism which would seek to ajini bilate their cultural entity. Sure of this they may be trusted to know how to reconcile the claims of religion and patriotism.

One word about His Highness the Agha Khan.

What has led Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru to attack the Agha Khan it is difficult for me to discover. Perhaps he thinks that the Qadianis and the Ismailis fall under the same category. He is obviously not aware that however the theological interpretation of the Ismailis may err, they believe in the basic prin ciples of Islam. It is true that they believe in a per petual Imamate; but the Tznam according to them is not a recipient of divine revelation. He is only an expounder of the law. It is only the other day (vide the “Star” of Allahabad, March 12, 1934) that His Highness the Agha Khan addressed his followers as follows:

“Bear witness that Allah is One. mad is the Prophet of Allah. Quran is of Allah. Kaaba is the Qibla of all. Muslims and should live with Muslims. Muslims with Assalam-o-Alaikum.

Muham the Book You are Greet “Give your children Islamic names. Pray with Muslim congregations in mosques. Keep fast regularly. Solemnize your marriages accord ing to Islamic rules of nikah. Treat all Muslims as your brothers.”

It is for the Pandit now to decide whether the Agha Khan represents the solidarity of Islam or not, A LETTER TO THE STATESMAN

I am very thankful to you for your critical leader on my statement which was published in your issue of the 14th May. The question which you have raised in your leader is a very important one, and I am really very glad that you have raised it. I did ot raise it in my statement because I felt that, con idering the separatist policy of the Qadianis, which 1hey have consistently pursued in religious and social matters ever since the birth of the idea of building a new community on the foundation of a rival prophet hood and the intensity of the Muslim feeling against this move, it was rather the duty of the Government to take administrative cognizance of such a fundamental difference between the Qadianis and the Mus lims without waiting for a formal representation on behalf of the Muslim community of India. I was encouraged in this feeling by the Government’s atti I tude in the matter of the Sikh community which till 1919 was not administratively regarded as a separate political unit, but which was later treated as such without any formal representation on the part of the Sikhs, in spite of the Lahore High Court’s finding that the Sikhs were Hindus.

The ‘Statesman” published Dr. Iqbal’s statement on “Qtdiauis rand Orthodox Muslims” along with a criticism of it in the first leader. The following letter was in reply addressed to the’ Statesman” and was pub li on June 10, 1935. However, now that you have raised this question I should like to offer a few observations on a matter which I regard as of the highest importance both from the British and the Muslim points of view. Yo want me to make it perfectly clear whether, when or where I can tolerate official cognizance of any One community’s religious di1T Let me point out:

First, that Islam is essentially a religious com munity with perfectly defined boundaries—belief in the Finality of Muhammad’s Prophethood. The last mentioned belief is really the factor which accu rately draws the line of demarcation between Mus Urns and non-Muslims, and enables one to decide whether a certain individual or group is a part of the community or not. For example, the Brahmos be lieve in God, they also regard Muhammad (on whom be peace) as one of the prophets of God, yet they cannot be regarded as part and parcel of Islam because they, like the Qadianis, believe in the theory of perpetual revelation through prophets and do not believe in the Finality ofProphethood in Muhammad. No Islamic sect, as far as I know, has ever ventured to cross this line of demarcation. The Bahais in Iran have openly rejected the principle of Finality, but have at the same time frankly admitted that they are a new community and not Muslims in the techni cal sense of the word. According to our belief, Islam as a religion was revealed by God, but the existence of Islam as a society or nation depends entirely on the personality of the Holy Prophet. In my opinion, only two courses are open to the Qadianis, either frankly to follow the Bahais or to eschew their inter-etations, of the idea of Finality in Islam and to cept the idea with all its implications. Their 4iplomatic interpretations are dictated merely by a Jesire to remain within the fold of Islam for obvious liticat advantages.

Secondly, we must not forget the Qadianis’ own olicy and their attitude towards the world of Islam. The founder of the movement described the parent mmunity as “rotten milk” and his own followers

“fresh milk”, warning the latter against mixing pith the former. Further, their denial of fundamentals, their giving themselves a new name (Ahmadis) a community, their non-participation in the con regational prayers of Islam, their social boycott of fs4uslims in the matter of matrimony, etc., and above their declaration that the entire world of Islam is afir—all these things constitute an unmistakable declaration of separation by the Qadianis themselves. indeed the facts mentioned above clearly show that they are far more distant from Islam than Sikhs from induism, for the Sikhs at least intermarry with the indus, even though they do not worship in the tflindu temples.Thirdly, it does not require any special intelli hence to see why the Qadianis, while pursuing a policy of separation in religious and social matters, bre anxious to rertlain politically within the fold of Islam. Apart from the political advantages in the phere of Government service which accrue to them y remaining within the fold of Islam, it is obvious that in view of their present population, which, ccording to the last census, is fifty-six thousand only, they are not entitled even to a single seat in any legislature of the coun.try and cannot, therefore, be regarded as a political minority in the sense in which you seem to be using the expression. The fact that the Qadianis have not so far asked for separation as a distinct political unit shows that in their present position they do not find themselves entitled to any representation in legislative bodies The new constitution is not without provisions for the protection of such minorities. To my mind, it is clear that in the matter of approaching the Govern ment for separation the Qadianis will never take the initiative. The Muslim community is perfectly justi fied in demanding their immediate separation fron the parent community. If the Government does nol immediately agree to this demand, the Indian Mus lims will be driven to the suspicion that the British Government is keeping the new religion in store, as it were, and delaying the separation because in view of .the small number üf its adherents, it is, for the present, incapable of functioning as a fourth community in the province which may effectively damage the already marginal majority of Punjab Muslims in the local legislature. The Government did not wait for a formal representation for separation by the Sikhs in 1919: why should they wait for a formal representation by the Qadianis?

“THE LIGHT”

(1) Criticising the foregoing statement, “The Light” (a Qadiani weekly) remarked: “Like some other great thinkers, lie (Dr. Iqbal) does not believe in the communion of man with God through the in strumentality of what is known as verbal revelation.” Interviewed by a Press representative about this accusation, Dr. Iqbal said:“The Light” bases its accusation on an Urduverse of mine.This is plain Urdu, and only means that there is a higher Stage in the Spiritual life of man than verbal communion. But the verse has nothing to do with the doctrine of verbal revelation as a theological doctrine for which I must refer ‘The Light’ to my collection in which I wrote.“The organic relation of feeling and idea throws light on the old theological controversy about verbal revelation which once gave so much trouble to Muslim religious thinkers, Inarticulate feeling seeks to fulfil its destiny in idea, which in its turn tends to develop out of itself in its own Visible garment. is no mere metaphor to say that idea and word both simultaneously emerge out of the womb of feel ing, though logical understandings cannot but take them in a temporal order and then create its own  difficulty by regarding them as mutually isolated.There is a sense in which the word is also revealed.”

(2) Questioned about the tradition quoted by “The Light” that ,nujaddids appear at the head of every century, Dr. Iqbal replied:

The editor of “The Light” quotes a tradition which gives a mathematically exact picture of the historical process. While I do believe in man’s spiritual capacity and the possibility of the birth of spiritual men, I am not sure that the historical pro cess is so mathematical as “The Light” thinks. We can easily confess that it is beyond our intellectual capa city to understand the nature of the historical pro cess. All that I can negatively say is that it does not appear to me to be as fixed and mathematically exact as “The Light” thinks. I am rather inclined to Ibn Khaldun’s view which regards the historical pro cess as a free creative movement and not a process which has already been worked out with definite landmarks. This view has been put forward in modern times by Bergson with much greater wealth of illustration and scientific accuracy than by Ibn Khaldun. The tradition quoted by “The Light” was probably popularised by Jalal-ud-Din Suyuti in his own interest and much importance cannot be attached to it. It is not mentioned in Bukhari and Muslim, the two books which are believed to be most reliable. It may embody a Vision of the nature of the histori cal process by some spiritual men, but this personal vision of the individuals can form no basis for logi cal argument. This is the rule which expert traditionists have always observed.

(3) Questioned whether he had seen a letter replied:

Yes: I am sorry I have no copy of the lecture in question either in the original English or in the Urdu translation which was made by Maulana Zafar Ali Khan. As far as I remember, the lecture was deli vered in 1911, or perhaps earlier, I have no hesitation in admitting that about a quarter of a century ago I had hopes of good results following from this move ment. Earlier still, even that eminent Muslim, the late Maulvi Chiragh Au, the author of several Eng lish books on Islam, co-operated with the founder of the movement and, I understand, made valuable ontributions to the book called Barahin-i-Ahmadiyya. But the real content and spirit of a religious movement does not reveal itself in a day. It takes decades to unfold itself. The internal quarrels bet ween the two sections of the movement is evidence of the fact that even those who were in personal con tact with the founder were not quite aware of how the movement would evolve itself. Personally, I became suspicious of the movement when the claim of a new prophethood, superior even to the Prophet- hood of the Founder of Islam, was definitely put forward, and the Muslim world was declared kafir. Later my suspicions developed into a positive revolt iwhen I heard with my own ears an adherent of the movement mentioning the Holy Prophet of Islam in a most disparaging language. Not by their roots but by their fruits will you know them?

(4) Questioned about the possibility of divine inspiration and the advent of inspired reformers after the Holy Prophet, Dr. Iqbal replied: I had better answer this question by referring you to my Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam in which I wrote .“The idea of finality. . . should not be taken to suggest that the ultimate fate of life is complete displacement of emotion by reason. Such a thing is neither possible nor desirable. The intellectual value of the idea that it lends to create an independent critical attitude towards mystic experience by gene rating the belief that personal authority, claiming a supernatural origin, has come to an end in the history of man. This kind of belief is a psychological force which inhibits the growth of such authority. The function of the idea is to open up freEh vistas of knowledge in the domain of man’s inner experience. Just as the first half of the formula of Islam has created and fostered the spirit of critical observation of man’s outer experience by divesting the forces of Nature of that divine character with which earlier cultures had clothed them. Mystic experience, then, however unusual and abnormal, must now be regard ed by the Muslim as a perfectly natural experience, open to critical scrutiny like other aspects of human experience. This is clear from the Propht’s owfl attitude towards Ibn Sayyad’s psychic experience. :, The function of Sufism in Islam has been to system atize mystic experience, though it must be admitted that Ibn Khaldun was the only Muslim who approa ched it in a thoroughly scientific spirit.” The opening sentence clearly shows that saints in the psychological sense of the word or men of saintly character will always appear. Whether Mirza Sahib belonged to this category or not is a separate question. Indeed as long as the spiritual capacity of mankind endures, they will rise among all nations and countries in order to show better ideals of life to man. To hold otherwise would be to fly in the face of human experience. The only difference is that the modern man has the right to a critical exami nation of their mystic experiences. The Finality of the Prophethood means, among other things, that all personal authority in religious life, denial of which involves damnation, has come to an end.

(5) Questioned about a letter published in the “Statesman” from Mr. Dinshaw, a Parsi gentleman, Dr. Iqbal said:

I have got nothing to say about it, except that I fully agree with his main thesis that to the Iranian element belongs a very rich role in the external as well as the internal history of Islam. This Iranian influ ence is so extensive that Spengler has been misled by Magian overlaying of Islam and has practically taken Islam for a Magian religion. In my Reconstruction I have made an attempt to divest Islam of its Magian encrustationS and I hope to be able to do further work in this direction in my Introduction to the Study of the Quran! Magian thought and religious experience very much permeate Muslim theology, philosophy and Sufism. Indeed there is evidence to show that certain schools of Sufism now known as Islamic have only repeated the Magian type of religious experience. I regard Magian culture as one form among other forms of human culture, and did not use the term as a sort of stigma. It had its ruling concepts, its philosophical discussions, its truths and its errors. But when a culture begins to show signs of decay, its philosophical discussions, its concepts and its forms of religious experience become fixed and immobile. It was at that time in the history of Magian culture that Islam appeared and according to my reading of cultural history entered a strong protest against that culture. There is definite evidence in the Quran itself to show that Islam aimed at opening up new channels not only of thought but the religious experience as well. Our Magian inheritance, however, has stifled the life of Islam and never allowed the development of its real spirit and aspirations.

STATEMENT#1

on his resignation of the office of President of the All-India Kashmir Committee, issued

on the 12th June, 1933.

My presidentship of the All-India Kashmir Com mittee was a temporary arrangement. It will be recalled that the Committee was formed in order to meet a situation which had suddenly ariseninKashmir. It was considered that the need for such a Committee would disappear before long and no constitution of the Committee was, therefore, framed; its President having been given practically dictatorial authority.

The belief that the Kashmir Committee would not be needed as a permanent institution was, how ever, falsified by subsequent developments in the Kashmir situation. Most members, therefore, thought that the Committee should have a regular constitu tion and elect new office-bearers. This idea was reinforced by a certain amount of dissatisfaction which was felt against the composition and working of the Committee on grounds which it would be un pleasant to mention. A meeting of the Committee was therefore called in which the former President submitted his resignation whièh was accepted.

In a subsequent meeting of the Committee held during the last week-end, a draft constitution was placed before the members. It aimed at giving the Unfortunately there are members in the Com mittee who recognise no loyalty except to the head of their particular religious sect. This was made clear by a public statement recently made by one of the Ahmadi pleaders who had been conducting the Mir pur cases. He plainly admitted that he recognised no Kashmir Committee and that whatever he or his colleagues did was done in obedienee to the command of their religious leader. I confess that I interpreted this statement as a general indication of the Ahmadi attitude of mind and felt doubts about the future working of the Kashmir Committee.

I do not mean to stigmatise anybody. A man is free to develop an attitude which intellectually and spiritually suits his mind best. Indeed I have every sympathy for a man who needs a spiritual prop and finds one in the shrine of a bygone saint or in a living pir.

Committee a thoroughly representative character but was opposed by certain members. Further discussion revealed a spirit which gave me to understand that the idea of these gentlemen was to split the Committee into two bodies which would only retain a semblance of outward unity. This is what I plainly told the members before I submitted my resignation.

As far as I am aware there are no differences of opinion among members of the Kashmir Committee regarding the Committee’s general policy. To the formation of a party on the grounds of differences in policy nobody can object But, according to my view of the situation, the differences in the Kashmir Committee are based on considerations which, I believe, are utterly irrelevant. I do not believe that a smooth working is possible and feel that in the best interests of all concerned the present Kashmir Corn mittee should cease to exist.

At the same time I believe the Kashmir Muslims need the help and guidance of a Kashmir Committee in British India. If British Indian Muslims are anxious to help and guide their Kashmir brethren they are free to reconstitute a Kashmir Committee in a mass meeting. In view of the present situation this is the only course that I can suggest.

I have made an absolutely frank statement of the feelings which led me to resign my office. I hope this plain speaking will h nobody as there is no spirit of ill-will or mental reservation behind it.

STATEMENT#2

on his rejection of the offer of Presideniship of the “Tehrik-i-Kashmir,” issued on the

2nd October, 1933.

I thought it unfair to the All-India Kashmir Committee, of which I am the President, to reply to the letter containing the offer without giving my Committee an opportunity of expressing its opinion on it. I informed Dr. Mirza Yaqub Beg to that effect. It has been wrongly inferred from my letter by certain writers in the Press, who are probably Qadianis, that I have no objection on principle to accepting the office which was offered to me. I there fore hasten to make it clear that I have serious objec tions on principle not only to accepting the offer but even to entertaining it. My reasons for this attitude are the same as led me to suggest the reconstitution of the All-India Kashmir Committee some time ago.

The offer which has been made to me is obviously a camouflage intended to hoodwink the public into a belief that the old All-India Kashmir Committee still exists as a distinct body from the reconstituted Committee and that the gentlemen who wereexciud ed from the reconstituted Committee are prepared to work under the leadership of the very man who was mainly responsible for the reconstitution.

This device, however, cannot convince me or the Muslim public that the reasons which led me to the reconstitution of the Kashmir Committee have dis appeared. No definite declaration has yet emanated from the Qadiani headquarters that in the event of the Qadianis joining a Muslim political organisation, their allegiance will not be divided. On the other band events have revealed that what the Qadiani Press describes as “Tehrik-i-Kashmir” and in which, according to the Qadiani newspaper ‘Al-Fazi’, Muslims were only courteously allowed to participate, has entirely different aims and objects from those of the All-India Kashmir Committee. Certain open letters addressed by the head of the Qadiani community to his “Kashmir brethren”—a phrase which appears to have been used in order to avoid the use of the term Muslim for i Kashmiris—disciosed at least some of the inner motive of this Qadiani “Tehrik-i-Kashmir.”

In these circumstances I fail to understand how any Muslim can associate himself with a ‘Tehrik’ which has revealed itself to be the instrument of a specific propaganda even though it seeks to cover itself with a thin veneer of non-sectarianism.

LETTER TO PANDIT JAWAHAR LAL NEHRU

DATED 21st JUNE, 1936

My dear Pandit Jawahar Lal,

Thank you so much for your letter which I received yesterday. At the time I wrote in reply to your articles I believed that you had no idea of the political attitude of the Ahmadis. Indeed the main reason why I wrote a reply was to show, especially to you, how Muslim loyalty had originated and how eventually it had found a revelational basis in Ahmadism. After the publication of my paper I discovered, to my great surprise, that even the educated Muslim had no idea of the historical causes which had shaped the teachings of Ahmadism. Moreover your Muslim advisers in the Punjab and elsewhere felt perturbed over your articles as they thought you were in sympathy with the Ahmadiyya movement. This was mainly due to the fact that the Ahmadis were jubilant over your articles. The Ahmadi Press was mainly responsible for this misunderstanding about you. However I am glad to know that my impression was erroneous. I myself have little interest in theology but had to dabble in it a bit in order to meet the Ahmadis on their owii I assure you that my paper was written with the best of inten tions for Islam and India. I have no doubt in my mind that the Ahmadis are traitors both to Islam and to India. I was extremely sorry to miss the opportunity of eting you in Lahore. I was very ill in those days and could not leave my room. For the last two I have been living a life practically of retire ‘ent on account of continued illness. Do let me know when you come to the Punjab next. Did you receive my letter regarding your proposed union for Civil Liberty? As you do not acknowledge it in your letter I fear it never reached you.

Yours sincerely,

Sd. Mohammid Iqbal.

PART 3—SPEECHES IN THE PUNJAB LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

Sir, I would pass a few general remarks on the Bud that was presented to the Council on the 28th of February. No one who has read the speech made by the Hopourable the Finance Member and the memorandum prepared by the Finance Secretary can remain unimpressed by the remarkable lucidity of these documents. I must say as a layman that I have learned a great deal from them. In fact the Finance Secretary has very cáiididly suggested the criticism to which the general financial position of the province is open. He has told us that we spent 23 lakhs more than our income last year; and we are going Lo spend 60 lakhs more than our income this pear: that is to say, in two years we shall have spent 83 lakhs more thrn our income. The question, therefore, arises whether we are justified in spending large sums of money on development. The general financial position, however, in view of the various considerations set forth in the review by the Finance Secretary, is satisfactory; though he has told us that it is not permissible to reducse the taxes in the absence of permanent funds. Now, so far as reduction of taxes is concerned, I will offer a few remarks present

ly. But in view of the fact that the general financial position of this province is satisfactory some pro

BUDGET SPEECH

in the Punjab Legislative Council, 1927-28) (5th March, 1927)

vision ought to have been made in the Budget at least for rural sanitation as well as for medical relief for women. In fact, medical relief for womea is badly needed in this province and no provision seems to have been made for this in the Budget. I would, therefore, draw your attention, Sir, and the attention of the honourable members of the Council to this very important consideration. As to the reduction of taxes, I suppose the Finance Secretary, when he prepared his admirable review of the financial posi tion of the province, was not aware of the remission Im ade by the Government of India. We now know that 86 lakhs have been remitted (Mr. H. D. Craik: I ay be remitted) of which 60 lakhs are recurring and 26 lakhs non-recurring. If this large amout is re n itted, as I hope it will be remitted, my submission is that money should be spent towards the reduction of taxes, that is to say, towards the removal of the nomaly which exists in our system of taxation. The anomaly I mean is this: that we do not apply the principle of progression in the case of land revenue whereas we apply that principle in the case of in one-tax’s. The reason why this principle is not applied to land revenue is sometimes found in the barbarous theory that all land belongs to the Crown. Neither in ancient India nor even in the days of the Mughals the sovereign ever claimed universal ownership. This is the historical aspect of the matter. The Taxation inquiry Committee also has accepted this position, the half the members of that Committee were of the opinion that land revenue could not be described as a tax, the other half being of the opinion that it is in the nature of a tax. But the fact remains that in this country the sovereign never claimed any such rights. We are told that the Mughals claimed such rights; but the people of the Punjab owned and possessed the land of this country long before the race of Babar entered into history—the unmistakable lesson of which is that Crowns come and go; the people alone are immortal.

I submit, therefore, that in this twentieth century such a theory, even if it existed in any country at any time, cannot hold good. In case this money is re mitted we should apply it towards the reductiQn of taxes. We should apply the principle of progression to land revenue. At present all land is subject to land revenue. Whether a man holds two kanals of land, he is liable to pay the land revenue. In the case of income-tax the principle of ability or the principle of progression is applied—that is to say, there is a graduated scale and some people do not pay income-tax at all. My submission, therefore, is that the Council should consider the question of the red uction of taxes in the light of this principle.

SPEECH

on the cut motion on Government’s demand for grant under ‘Education’ delivered on the

10th March, 1927.

Sir, the question of education is extremely im portant and I am glad to see that the honourable members who have preceded me have spoken with great enthusiasm on the subject. They have empha sized the fact that education is a common interest, that it affects all classes of people of this land— jHindus, Muslims, Sikhs, capitalists and labourers— but they have not looked at the problem from the Jstand-point of a foreign government. A disinterested jfereign overnment in this country wants to keep tthe people ignorant. A foreign government is a kind of Roman Catholic Church trying to suppress lIthe agencies that tend to enlighten the laity. The honorable gentlemen who preceded me has conclu sively proved from facts and figures given in the ‘Report on the Progress of Education in the Punjab for the year 1925-26’ that we are wasting tremendous amounts of money on education with no results. Can anybody deny in this House or outside this House that mass education is absolutely essential in the in terest of the people? Primary education, secondary education, professional or vocational education are all 1. Pandit Nanak Chand and Chaudliri AIzal Haq.

2. Pandit Nanak Chand.

various aspects of the same problem of mass educa tion. Well, the ancient sages of this country used to say that the world is maya or illusion. I do not know whether the world outside this House is maya but I am absolutely certain that whatever happens in side this House is nothing but maya, though I must say that I am also a part and parcel of this illusion. Let me take the various stages of education, that is to say, primary education, secondary education and higher education. Now, whatever interpretations may be put upon this Report, one fact is perfectly elear from it, and it is this—that the principle of compul sion must be immediately applied. If you turn to page 2 of the Report—I mean the ‘Proceedings of the Ministry of Education’, you will find the following:

“Thus, as the Director has observed, compul sion should not be regarded as an ideal of distant future, but rather as a present and practical means of ensuring that the sums.of money devoted to ver nacular education are spent to the most fruitful pur pose. It is hoped, therefore, that lecal authorities and all concerned will take immediate and effective steps toward a more- rapid extension of the compul sory principle.”

At the same time the education expert, Mr. Mayhew, whom I have the privilege to know per sonally, has told us that, in so far as the voluntary system is concerned, the present outlook is gloomy. This is an argumnt in favour of the fact that the principle of compulsion must be applied. We are told that it is applied in the case of 42 municipalities and some 400, perhaps more than 400, rural areas. iWhat happens there? We do not know anything Irom this Report. We do not know whether any persons were ever fined for not sending their children to schools. Nor do we know the number of teachers who are teaching in these schools. Unless we are ‘iven sufficient information, we cannot say what these rural areas and municipalities are doing? As Ffar as my personal information goes, I can tell the nemb’ers of this House, that nothing is being done and that there is an absolute waste of money. Only you have- opened some schools and ostensibly com pulsory, but not at all different to voluntary primary schools. I submit, Sir, that these schools are doing nothing at all, and in fact the way in which they are working does not amount to the adoption of the iprinciple of compulsion. The Report virtually estab lishes that the principle of compulsion must be ad opted. In fact in the amount of money that we are wasting on primary education the Report before us finds an argument in favour of the adoption of this principle. It says that a very larg number of boys join the first class but the money spent upon them is rwasted as most of them fail to reach the higher classes. If. you are spending a very large amount of money on them, then it is your duty to see that they reach the higher classes. Make them reach the higher classes by compulsion. Thereafter my sub mission is that in so far as primary education is con cerned, it is absolutely necessary in the interest of this province to adopt the principle of compulsion at once. SPEECH

on the adjournment motion regarding com munal riots delivered on the 18th July, 1927.

Sir, the disease with which we are dealing is a chronic one. There are a good many physicians who have tried to diagnose it. Some have achieve a certain amount of success; others have failed signally in their undertaking. Different physicians have prescribed different remedies for the disease, but in the words of the poet these remedies have failed to achieve the desired end, viz., they have failed to discover a panacea for the evil which has fallen to the lot of this unhappy province.

Some people have ascribed this evil to the strug gle for securing more posts under the Government while others have assigned reasons whi&i are diamet rically opposed to this contention. From the speech made by Pandit Nanak Chand one gathers the impres sion that his heart is full of love for humanity; but all this pious talk is nothing more than a cloak for the idea uppermost in the Pandit’s mind. We are not prepared to let go what we have already got hold of. Lip service to God with an eye stealing glances at the property of others! Some of the members are of opinion that the gutter press of the province is responsible for the existing state of affairs, white others are of opinion that the struggle for votes and posts is responsible for it. There is no dearth of suggestions, but nobody seems willing to act upon them. Just after the occur rence of the Lahore riots a joint committee repre senting all shades of opinion and thought was constituted at Lahore, and a meeting of the same was held at the house of R. B. Moti Sagar. But I regret very much to say that this meeting was the first and last meeting of this joint committee. In this meeting I sugges3ed that in order to eradicate the spirit of mutual hatred it behoved the committee to appoint a number of small sub-committees whose business it should be to go about the different parts of the city and impress upon the people the futility of mutual warfare. But my suggestion met the usual fate of all such proposals. We indulged in much pious talk and everything ended in a fiasco.

In this Council impassioned speeches for inter- communal unity are made. We are asked to consti tute joint committees and conciliation boards. But I wish to bring home this lesson to everybody in this Council that procrastination will not mend matters. If you want to do anything, do it without further loss of time. I wonder if the members have realised the fact that we are actually living in a state of civil war. If stringent measures are not taken to put this down, the atmosphere of the whole province will be poisoned.

I support Chaudhri Zafrullah Khan from the bottom of may heart that a round table conference should be held at the earliest possible moment in which Government should also be asked to participate. This conference should carefully consider the present situation and suggest ways to suppress the exisiting communal tension. If this communal hatred permeates the rest of the country and the people living in villages also come to loggerheads, God alone knows where eventually i will land us.

SPEECH

on the resolution regarding filling of posts by

open competitive examination delivered on

the 19th July, 1927.

Sir, after the Honourable the Finance Member’s speech, which to my mind constitutes a most crush ing reply to the resolution as framed, it is hardly possible for anyone in this House to make a sub stantial addition to the discussion. However, I cannot but admire the innocent idealism of Sardar Ujjal Singh, which idealism, like all idealisms, see every thing except realities I can assure my honourable friend that the principle of competition, pure and simple, is absolutely inapplicable in this country, especially in this province. I suppose many honour- able members of this House know that such a non-communal institution as the Punjab University has had to adopt the sytsem of fictitious roll numbers in the various University examinations The examiner,according to this system, does not know as to the caste or creed or aolour of the candidate whose paper he is examining or the college from which he comes. Sir Geoffrey who was later on Governor of the Punjab.

2. The resolution was moved by Sardar Ujjal Singh and read; This Council recommends to the Government that in future all posts under Government in all depaxtms should be fitled open competition as far a posable; and where this cannot be done and selection has to be made the most highly qualified candidate should be selected without regard to caste creed or colour This system was adopted because it was feared that Hindu examiners might fail Muslim candidates and Muslim examinersmight fail Hindu candidates. (Voices: Shame). Yes, it is a shameful thing; but it does exist. With all that both Hindu andMuslim candidates leave certain marks in the examination papers to indicate to the examiner the candidate’s caste or creed. Only the other day I was reading the LL.B. Examination papers I found the number “786” which is the numerical value of an Arabic formula and on others I found “Om” marks meant to invoke the blessing of God as well as to reveal to the examiner the community of the candidate.. Such is the state of things in a non-communal institution. Take another instance. During the recent riots in Lahore, both Hindu and Muslim citizens went in deputations to the Deputy Commissioner on several occasions—each community complaining of the investigating officers belonging to the opposite community. I happened to be a member of one such deputation. (Voices: Shame). It is not a matter to be ashame of. We have to see things as they are; and it is pity that they have come to such a pass. YOU know, Sir, what the Deputy Commissioner told us. I think he was perfectly right in saying what he did. He said: “Before the Reforms scheme came into opera lion, there were 120 British officers in the Police department, but that they were only 68 now. We have not got a sufficient number of British officers.’ Both communities want European officers.”

My friend, Pandit Nanak Chand, is unfortunately not here at the present moment. He told us that Government had removed the colour distinction, so that the posts which formerly went to British gentlemen now go to Hindus and Muslims; but I assure my friend that Government had made a very great mistake and I would welcome if there were ‘none British officers. (Voices: No, no.) I fully rea1ise my responsibility when I say this and I also realise the meaning of this voice of “no, no”. 1 am not enamoured of that false and shallow nationalism which speaks like this. (Dr Shaikh Muha.Alam: Evrybody is not the same.) Well, it may be so, yet the talk of a united nationalism is futile and will perhaps remain so for a long time to come. The word has existed on the lips of the people of this ountry Lor the last fifty years and like a hen i has cackled a great deal without laying a single egg. Flowever, I will tell you that the state of this country is such that it is not possible for u to introduce the principle of competition pure and simple. The best method for the country is the one indicated by Sir Geoffrey deMontmorency in his speech, that is to say, the principle of competition tempered by selec tion and nomination.

One other thing I should like to point out. I was very glad to hear the honourable member for Simla.’ I mean his advocacy of the Untouchables in an almost apostolic tone. I welcome it though I do not know what Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya’s verdict would be in this matter. (L. Mohan Lal: It is the same as mine.) Only a short time ago he excommunicated one of his nearest relatives because he had given his daughter to a Brahmia of an inferior caste. (L. Mohan Lal: He did not.) It was in the papers and Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya was called upon to publish a reply to open letters which were addressed to him and he published no contradiction. However, I welcome the change, if it is not in theory alone and I hope that through the efforts of my friend, the honourable member for Simla, untouchability will be removed in this province. In Southern India we hear that when a Brahmin is constrained to talk to an Untouchable he must talk to some wall or tree near by and the Untouchable too has to address, in reply, the same wall or the tree since the Brahmin is too sacred to be addressed by a Sudra. I shall we!- come the day when such bans are entirely removed and the Hindus of this province adopt better prin ciples of equality.

Sir, I need not say anything more with regard tc the principle of competition. My friend’ has point out certain defects in tJ present system which he has enumerated. He refers to the success of the principle of competition in other countries. I must say that” the state of things in this country is totally differ to the state of things in other countries. For thL reason the principles the application of which is good in other countries would not apply to this country.’ In this country one community is always aiming the destruction of the other community. Therefore the power in whose hands lies the destiny of this country must adopt a line of action which is calcu lated equally to elevate all communities that form the population of this country. It has been argued that the present system tends to retard the progress of what my friend’ called nationality. Well, I do not know whether it is desirable to become a nation. It is a proposition which can be controverted but assuming that it is so, I would suggest that it is first desirable to develop mutual trust in the communities of this country. The present state of things is such that the communities do not trust each other; they have no faith in each other. When we meet each other we talk of nationalism, we talk of philanthropy and of love of mankind. Only a few days ago a friend of mine told me that he had overheard two Hindu gentlemen talking. One of them asked the other as to what should be our policy now. The other gentleman said: Let nationalism be on your lips, but fix your gaze always on your own com munity.

SPEECH

on th resolution regarding Unani and Ayurvedic’

Syst ems of Medicine delivered on the

22nd February, 1928.

Sir, the impression is gaining ground amongst the people of this country that the Government has commercial interests in view and is, for this reason, encouraging Western system of medicine on the one side and discouraging indigenous system of medicine on the other. I do not know how far this impression has basis in truth but the fact remains that the Unani and Ayurvedic systems of medicine do not find favour with the Government.

In my opinion, in spite of all that the supporters of the Western system of medicine say, the latter has yet to learn much from the Unani system of medi cine. Many of the books written on the Unani system and specially those written by Najib-ud-Din Samarqandi, have not been published. There are in the libraries of Europe many works which, if pub lished, are sure to serve as eye-openers to those who boast of superiority of the Western system of medi cine. Nor can we lose sight of the fact that ours is a poor country. Its people cannot afford an expen sive system of medicine. It is, therefore, essential to introduce and encourage a cheaper system. From this point of view I think our Unani and Vedic systems very much suit the people Of course the ay in which our medicines are prepared is defective rid requires improvement An institution is needed to teach pharmacy Our own system of pharmacy, I believe, is more conducive to the health of the people than any other methods If you excuse me, Sir, a little digression, I may mention that while I was in england an English friend of mine told me that our way of cooking food was unnatural so much so that the original flavour of the food was entirely lost in the act of cooking it He praised the Western way of cooking food Thereupon I told him that what we did with our food, the Westerners did with their medicines Coming back to the point I think that if the Government were to take up the question of un roving the indigenous systems of medicines serious  these systems are sure to prove much more useful to the people of this country I will, therefore, equest the Government to give a little more atten tion to this matter .

SPEECH

on the resolution regarding application of the principles of assessment of income-tax to the assessment of land revenue delivered on the 23td February, 1928.Sir, I am glad to see that the Honourable Member for pRevenue did not make any attempt to justify the present system of assessment on the basis of State ownership of land. He left it very wisely for the honourable member for Simla. Jam afraid this offers a fitting occasion for the application of that humo rous Punjabj proverb chor nalon pand kahli, that is to say, the property stolen is readier to run away than the thief. (A voice: Who is the thief?) You may understand it as you like. Since the honour- able member for Simla has raised this point, I think it necessary to dispose of it with a few remarks. Let me tell the honourable representative for Simla that the first European author to refute this theory was the Frenchman Perron in the year 1777. Later in 1830 Briggs made a very extensive inquiry as to the law and practice in India and relating to the theory of State ownership of land. He gives in his book an accurate description of the laws of Manu, the Muslim law and the practices prevailing in the various parts of India—Bengal, Malwa, the Punjab, etc., and ar jves at the conclusion that in no period in the history o India the State ever claimed the proprietorship o4land. In the time of Lord Curzon, however, this t4ory was put forward, but the Taxation Commit tee’s report which was published sometime ago has come to a very clear finding that this theory has no basis at all. That is, I believe, the reason why t1 Honourable Revenue Member has not tried to defend the present system on the ground of that t (Revenue Member: Not necessarily.) If you agree, Sir, the Honourable Member may argue on the basis of that theory if he likes. But in the first speech on the subject he did not try to defend the present system of assessment on the basis of that t (Revenue Member: I did not want to.)And we take it that the Government does not rely upon that. However, we have to see, in the first p1 how far the. present system of assessment is just. Workable it is and sanctioned by a very old tradition; but we have first to see whether it has justice on its side or not. My submission is that it is not at all just. The injustice of it is perfectly clear. If a man happens to be landowner, big or small does not matter, he has to pay land revenue. But if a man earns from sources other than land, less than two thousand rupees a year you don’t tax him at all. That is where injustice comes in. Noboby can deny tl the system is unjust. It is no argument to say that since there are insuperable difficulties in the way of removal of this injustice, therefore it must be .We must admit that there is injustice and we ought to seek proper remedies in order to remove the injustice in so far as it is possible. I have no hesitation in admitting that there are serious diffi. culties in the way of the application of the principle of income-tax to land revenue. As a matter of fact one reason why I withdrew a more or less similar resolution which I sent in last time was this, that I felt that there were serious difficulties and the matter had to be further investigated, although the difficulties that were then in my mind have not at all been refer red to by the Honourable Revenue Member, and I need not mention them until I have heard what other members have got to say. (A voice: Is that a secret?) It is an open secret to which the Official Secrets Act does not apply.

The arguments that the learned Member for Re venue put forward are, in the main, two. In the first place, he argues that we are constantly in need of money: the province needs money for its develop ment, and that the Government does not practise alchemy. I think the Government need not practise alchemy so long as they have in their pocket all the tillers of the soil whose hard work turnsdustinto gold. Butthiskind of evil practice which brings the required amount of money. But assuming that this argument has force, I submit, that the deficiency caused in the land revenue by the adoption of a different system of land revenue may be met in other ways. For instance, we can reduce the expenditure on administration. We can lower the limit of taxable income under the Income-tax Act. We can spend less on the sO’ called development which is a very dignified expres sion for something which has not brought us anything o far. We can further meet it from the remissions made by the Government of India.

Again the Honourable the Bevenue Member tas tried to meet the argument that the whole burden of land revenue falls on the shoulders of the consumer or by showing that the consumer indirectly shares in that burden. The argument is plausible; but per tonally I feel very doubtful of its validity. One must ot forget the condition of things prevailing in this province. We gave up batai long ago. (Revenue member: Not yet.) Practically, the Land Revenue Bill does not recognise batal. (Revenue Member:There is no amended Act yet). In general practice batai is given up. I do not know what would be the attitude of my zamindar friends. On economic grounds, probably the batai system, to my mind, is better. However, the prices of the produce of the land are determined by the demand of the

Fonsumer and the prices, as the Honourable the  Member’ has pointed out, determine the lamount of land revenue But the moment the land revenue is determined, then it becomes a fixed amount for a number of years. If after the fixing of the amount prices go up, then there is a chance for the seller to profit by the rise of prices; but if the prices fall down, then I am afraid, the consumer has really ilno share in the burden of land revenue. (Revenue Member: If prices rise?) Well it is a matter of chance. They may rise or they may fall. (Revenue Member: Then the con sumber pays.)

I have a serious doubt about this. The whole situation depends upon chance. If prices rise, it go to his profit; if the prices fail down the argument which the Honourable the Revenue Member put for.. ward has no application. The consumer helps in th determination of land revenue, but after the land revenue is fixed, then the whole thing is left to chance. We should not forget that the production is also uncertain especially in areas where the land is barani. Again the Honourable the Revenue Member argued that this system should either be continued or be given up at once. There is no third alternative possible. In this connection I beg to say that this is not the spirit of the resolution moved by the honour- able member from Rohtak.’ The spirit of the resolution is that if you recognise that the present system is unjust then do something to make a begin- fling towards the remedying of that injustice. Definite suggestions ‘were made by the honourable members who preceded me in connection with this matter. I think it is easy to do so without definitely introduc ing the principle of income-tax in our land revenue system. It can be done by amending section 48 of the Land Revenue Act. I have already submitted an amendment to this effect, though I am afraid the prospect for that amendment is not very bright. I, therefore, suggest that holdings, not exceeding five bighas and situated in the non-irrigated areas where the produce is practically fixed, should not be liable to the payment of land revenue. This can be done without deciding the question whether the principle of income-tax should be applied to’ assessment land or not. If you lay down that a holding not exceeding five bighas is revenue-free, I do not think there will be very great deficiency in the land revenue. At any rate, if there is a large deficiency, I think it can probably be met by reducing expenditure in : other directions.

Lastly, as regards the argument of the Honour able. the Revenue. Member, or rather the fear that he expressed that this resolution may mean the death of ‘the baby, the Land Revenue Bill, and the apprehen sionS that it will amount to infanticide. Well, in these days of birth-control, I think infanticide does not matter especially when we know that the child is going to be a very wicked one. I do not think it is demanding too much if the holdings to the extent of five bighas should be declared revenMe-fee. I hope that Government will give serious consideration to this point. Personally I agree even if you make it less than five bighas. (Revenue Member: Five acres.) An economic holding in this province is above ten or eleven bighas. At any rate, five bighas is half the economic holding. I do not think that remission of land revenue in the case of persons holding five bighas would cause very great deficiency (Ch Afzal Haq Only two crores.) My calculation was that it was much less than two crores. (Revenue Member: Not quite that if you let out only the two acre men.) Two and a half crores. (Revenue Member: Gunah i-be lazzat.)

If you commit this fruitless sin, it would show that there is at least some sense of justice in you. .Reference was also made by one of the honourable.

 REFLECTIONS OF IQBAL

Situation depends upon chance. If prices rise, it goeg to his profit; if the prices fall down the argume which the Honourable the Revenue Member put for ward has no application. The consumer helps in the determination of land revenue, but after the land revenue is fixed, then the whole thing is left to chance. We should not forget that the production is also uncertain especially in areas where the land is barani. Again the Honourable the Revenue Member argued that this system should either be continued or be given up at once. There is no third alternative possible. In this connection I beg to say that this is not the spirit of the resolution moved by the honour- able member from Rohtak. The spirit of the resolution is that if you recognise that the present system is unjust then do some thing to make a begin- fling towards the remedying of that injustice. Definite suggestions were made by the honourable members who preceded me in connection with this matter. I think it is easy to do so without definitely introduc ing the principle of income-tax in our land revenue system. It can be done by amending section 48 of the Land Revenue Act. I have already submitted an amendment to this effect, though I am afraid the prospect for that amendment is not very bright. I, therefore, suggest that holdings, not exceeding five bighas and situated in the non-irrigated areas where the produce is practically fixed, should not be liable to the payment of land revenue. This can be done without deciding the question whether the principle of income-tax should be applied to assessment land or not. If you lay down that a holding not exceeding five bighas is revenue-free, I do not think there will be very great deficiency in the land revenue. At any rate, if there is a large deficiency, I think it can probably be met by reducing expenditure in other directions.Lastly, as regards the argument of the Honour able. the Revenue. Member, or rather the fear that he expressed that this resolution may mean the death of I baby, the Land Revenue Bill, and the apprehen sions that it will amount to infanticide. Well, in these days of birth-control, I think infanticide does not matter especially when we know that the child is going to be a very wicked one. I do not think it is demanding too much if the holdings to the extent of five bighas should be declared reven I hope that Government will give serious consideration to this point. Personally I agree even if you make it less than five bighas. (Revenue Member: Five acres.) An economic holding in this province is above ten or eleven bighas. At any rate, five bighas is half the economic holding. I do not think that remission of land revenue in the case of persons holding five bighas would cause very great deficiency. (Ch. Afzal Haq: Only two crores.) My calculation was that it was much less than two crores. (Revenue Member: Not quite that if you let out only the two acre men.) Two and a half crores. (Revenue Member: Gunah i-be lazzat.)If you commit this fruitless sin, it would show that there is at least some sense of justice in you. Reference was also made by one of the honourable members to sending a kind of commission of inquiry to Russia. I am afraid several commissions have already been sent to Russia, though not from this country. My honourable friend is probably not aware of the causes that led to the Russian revolt. It is not necessary to detail those causes; a good deal of literature has sprung up since the Russian revolt concerning the things that happened and the system that has been adopted there. Books written by such men as Bertrand Russel and others who have devoted their time to economic questions have appeared. But I think my honourable friend Pandit Nanak Chand has already given an effective reply to the pro posal made by Ch. Afzal Haq that at the present moment, the Punjab zamindar is not ready to give up the right of private ownership. In this country, there are petty landholders, there are proprietors with two bighas, two kanals. They are practically like tenants, yet are not willing to give up the right of private ownership. My submission, therefore, is that Government should give some consideration to the demand embodied in this resolution; they should give some relief to the small proprietor, the produce of whose land is obviously insufficient to maintain his family.

BUDGET SPEECH

In the Punjab Legislative Council, 1929-30 (4th March, 1929)

Sir, I am afraid the Budget which has been pre sented to this Council presents a financial position which, in the words of the Honourable the Finance Member even a confirmed optimist cannot regard as entirely satisfactory. And the statement with which this Budget is presented is so concise and so abso lutely frank that its very frankness makes extremely difficult for the reader to criticise it. However, there are certain points which must be noticed. One re markable feature of this Budget is, and this is the first Budget that has this feature, that the contribu tion to the Government of India finds no place in it. But its most unfortunate feature is that after five years’ continuous prosperity we are, for the first time, confronting a deficit Budget. The small increase in Excise and Stamps is no source of satisfaction, be cause it means an increase in drunkenness and litiga tion which reflects credit neither on the people nor on the Government. On the expenditure side of the Budget for 1928-29 the only excess is under Irrigation and Jails. The increase tinder Irrigation is due to floods in August, and the increase under Jails is due to an increase in the number of prisoners and also to higher prices of food. Well, floods are a natural phenomenon and cannot be prevented, but unless we are complete fatalists, crime is a preventable affair. If appropriate methods to prevent crime are adopted, it can be prevented to a very large extent. The pre sent state of affairs is such that the man who steals cattle worth Rs. lOis sent to jail for two years, and I think this is very largely responsible for the increase in the number of prisoners in the jails.

In the Budget Estimate of 1929-30 the first thing which I would like to note is Education. Graph No. 4 in the Memorandum tells us that the amount allotted to Education is 1.81. In the statement of the Honourable the Finance Member on page 6 we find It is 1.67. I was not able to understand these figures, because if 12 lakhs on new expenditure are added to 1.67 the sum is 1.79 and not 1.81. (Mr. J. G. Beazley:

May I explain, Sir, that that figure includes expendi ture on works, repairs and stationery.) Very well, Sir. The state of things so far as Education is concerned is very very disappointing. I was going to say, awful. In 1922-23, 55 new schools in all came up for grants-in-aid, out of which 16 were Islamia schools. The total amount of grants made to schools was Rs. 1,21,906 out of which a sure of Rs. 29,214 went to Muslim schools. In 1926-27 the total amount of grant to high schools was Rs. 1,22,287 and the same amount, namely, Rs. 29,214 went to Muslim schools, i.e., 23 per cent of the total amount. In 1927-28 the total amount of grant was Rs. 10,13,154 and the share of Muslim schools was Rs. 2,04,330, that is to say, the population which is most backward in education and most indebted got only 2 lakhs out of 10. This is a state of affairs which cannot be regarded as satisfactory. Yet we are told that there are savings in the beneficent departments which Mr. Penny des cribes as instances of over-budgetting. I am not at all opposed to spending large sums on education nor is it the purpose of this criticism to raise any such opposition: but Ishouldsubmit that the money spent on education must be spent carefully and must be dis tributed especially in places where people are backward and too poor to pay for education. How ever, I need not dwell on this point because I believe it will be taken up when the motions for cuts come up before the Rouse.

I would now like to say a few words about capi tal expenditure. In 1928-29 the budgetted estimate for capital expenditure chatged to revenue was 1.81 lakhs. It was later oii raised to 1.89 and the revised estimate shows Rs. 2.12 Iakhs. For 1929-30, the capital expenditure is expected to be Rs. 1.54 lakhs. Since extraordinary receipts will not amount to much it is proposed to borrow Rs. 1.40 lakhs from the Provincial Loans Fund. This is a very regrettable state of affairs. The province is already in debt. On pages 22-23 of the Budget you will find the exact position of the province. It will be seen that the loans from the public amount to 3 crores while the loans from the Government of India prior to 31st March and the years subsequent thereto amount in the aggre gate to about 26 crores. Of course, this sum does not include the loans which have been sanctioned from 1st March, 1929. We are now compelled to borrow another sum of 1.40 lakhs in spite of whatthe Honourable the Finance Member says at page 4 of his statement which runs as follows:

“It has been found impossible to proceed with the full programme of buildings and roads and it is contemplated that 48 lakhs less will be expended under this head in 1929-30 then is shown in the revised estimate for 1928-29. It is also contemplated to reduce transfers to the Re venue Reserve Fund to 5 lakhs only instead of the 15 lakhs budgetted for 1928-29.”

I think it was Charles Lamb who said that man kind is really divided into two classes, creditors and debtors. In so far as this province is concerned, if we drop the religious labels,—Hindu and Muslim— and substitute the economic labels, lenders and bor rowers, Lamb’s remark is perfectly true. But my fear is that this province, as a whole, may now be made a permanent member of debtor class. Thus the present financial position is very disappointing and it is not an easy matter to discover new sources of revenue.

However, I venture to make a suggestion. In the first place, I should like the Government to move the Government of India to provincialise income-tax. That would improve our position to some extent. I may in the next place suggest the imposition of death duties as they have in England. (Revenue Member: Living duties would be more appropriate!) These would be living duties because it is the living who would have to pay them. Some limit such as those inheriting property to the value of Rs. 20,000 or Rs. 30,000 may be fixed. Next we should try reduc tion of high salaries and purchase of our machinery from the cheapest markets.

BUDGET SPEECH

In the Punjab Legislative Council, 1930-31

(7th March, 1930).

Sir, I should like to offer a few general observa tions on the financial position of the province as revealed in this Budget. In his very clear and lucid Memorandum Mr. Penny has given the present posi tion in a nutshell. On page 13 he says:

“Even after these special efforts at economy revenue receipts stand at 10.95 lakhs and expendi ture at 11.22 lakhs with no provision for atrans fer to the Revenue Reserve Fund, and there will thus be a deficit in the year of 27 lakhs. The only consolation is that provision has been made for expenditure of 28 lakhs on special flood re pairs, and if this is fromconsideratiofl as abnormal and non-recurring, the Budger just balances.”

Now, I am afraid the consolation given by Mr. Penny dose not prove of niuch consequence in view of what he himself view.

“A glance at the first graph prefixed to this Memorandum will show that the year 1930-3 1 will be the third in succession to show an excess of expenditure over receipts in the revenue ac count. It is true that fortune has been singularly unkind in the last two years and the deficits in both are capable of convincing explanation. But the hard fact remains that if the series since 1921 is taken as a whole, good years and bad years balance, and that the financial system must be adapted to fluctuations which nature herself pre scribes. If the decade has been marked by un precedented floods in the Jumna in 1924 and in the Indus and the Jhelum in 1929, by failure of the rabi harvest in 1921, by a strange disaster to the wheat crop in 1929, and by cotton disease in 1926, there have been compensating gains in the reassessments of land revenue that fortunately fell due in the last five years, in the good harvest from 1921 to 1926 and above all in the complete remission of provincial contributions to, the Central Government. The continued extension of canal irrigation has made the prosperity of the province and its revenues more and more secure, and added to the resources from which progress in future must be financed. Regarded in the light of the experience of the past nine years the Budget of the year 1930-31 has a special signifi cance.”

This is the part of the paragraph to which I will draw your special attention:

“The deficit in the revenue account may be attributed to the completion of flood repairs, but what is of far greater importance is the fact that even if the cost of flood repairs is excluded, the Budget has been balanced only with difficulty and by jettisoning a number of works that had already received the approval of the Legislature and, but for unforeseen delays or the need for economy, would already have been under construction.” Mr. Penny then discusses the causes of the pre sent financial position and is driven to what he calls a somewhat melancholy conclusion that the present state of things is not a passing phase but has come to stay. He says:“The inevitable but somewhat melancholy conclusion to be drawn from an examination of the Budget for 1930-31 is that it represents not a passing phase which can be attributed to seasonal misfortunes or flood calamities but a state of things that is likely to continue.”

Now, Sir, we know that the province is already in debt. The problem of unemployment is becom ing more and more acute every day. Trade is at a low ebb. You can easily imagine what the financial future of the province is likely to be. I am inclined to think that the present position is due not so much to stationary revenues as to the present system of ad ministration which necessitates high salaries in the matter of which the people of this province have no say. There are to my mind only three alternatives open to the people of this province_either have the present system with all its ugly daughters, such as deficit Budgets, communal bickeringS, starving mujlions, debt or unemployment or do away with the present system root and branch, or retain the form of the present system and secure the power to pay less for it. There is no other alternative. This system must come to an end if you want to live a comfortable life. We spend more than any other country in the world on the present system of administration. There is no other country which spends so much on the adminis tration. (Mr. H. Calvert: Question.) The Honour- able member may reply when his turn comes. My belief is that we pay much more than our revenues justify. So far as expenditure in regard to which we have some say is concerned, I support the proposition thata retrenchment committee ought to be appointed so that we may he able to see whether any further reductions are possible.

I flow proceed to offer a few remarks on Industry and Education. We spend practically nothing on industry. And as I have said before and as many other speakers have pointed out, industrial develop ment alone can save us from the curse of unemploy ment. There is a good future for weaving industry, and for shoe-making industry in this province and if we encourage these md ustries, .1 think we shall be able to save the province from unemployment, provided we protect these industries against Cawnpore and Ahmedabad.

Again we have spent a good deal of money on education and with what results? The report on the progress of education in this province shows that there has been a fall of 27,000 students and about 1000 schools. The cause of this fall as mentioned in the report is lack of propaganda work on the part of school inspectors. I do not agree that that is the real cause. The real cause of this phenomenon ought to be sought elsewhere. I have a copy before me of the facts and figures relating to the work of the Education Minister during the last three years. Un-fortunatelY I cannot go through all these figures with in the fixed time-limit; I would draw your attention nly to the special grants to unaided schools during 1928-29. You will see that the total number of schools to which grant have been made is 21. Out of this there are 13 Hindu institutianS, 6 Sikh institutions and 2 Muslim i The grant that goes to the Hindu institUtlOflS is Rs 16,973, to Sikh institu tions Rs. 9,908 and to Muslim institutions Rs. 2,200. The cause, therefore, of this remarkable phenomenon must be sought in the way in which money on educa tion is spent.

STATEMENT

On his Impressions of world Muslim Congress Jerusalem. I approached some of the holy places common to Islam, Christianity and Judaism with a rather sceptic mind as to the authenticity of the traditions centred round them. But in spite of this feeling I was very much affected by them, particularly, by the birth place of Christ.

I discovered, however, that the altar of the Church at Bethlehem was divided into three parts which were allotted to the Armenian, Greek and Catholic churches, respectively. These sects conti nuously fight among themselves, sometimes indulg ing in bloodshed and defiling one another’s altars and—contrary to the state of affairs in India—it is two Muslim policemen who have to keep the peace among them.

1 was a member of the various sub-committees formed to discuss distinct proposals, but unfor tunately was not able to take part in all of them. In one sub-committee I strongly opposed the idea of establishing at Jerusalem a university on the old and antiquated lines of the Jamia Azhar in Cairo and insisted on the proposed university being of a tho roughly modern type.

I do not know how the misunderstanding arose hich caused the rumour that I was opposed to the tablishmeflt of any kind of university at Jerusalem. .euter sent out a wire to that effect. Actually I am strong advocate of countries set jng up not one but severaL universities for the pur lose of transferring modern knowledge to Arabic liich is the only non language that has jept pace with the progress of thought in modern times .

STATEMENT

on the Communal Award, issued on the

24th August, 1932.

The decision of His Majesty’s Government has invoked divergent criticisms characteristic of this land of minorities. This in itself ought to be instructive to those fact-shy politicians who take an easy view of the complexity of the Indian constitutional problem and think that India possesses, or is capable of possessing, on the whole a single national point of view. And all this unhappy fire-work of phrases comes from people who openly confessed their in ability to solve their own problems in requesting a third party to give them a decision which, be it re membered, does not close the door for an agreed settlement.

Amidst this welter of indiscriminate criticism, however, a disinterested student of Indian politics will find great relief in reading the views of Sir Tej Bahadür Sapru—the astute politician who combines a clear vision of present actualities with a penetrating glance into the future and shows infinite patience in working out the minute details of a complex situation.

I may also recall the amusing observation made in this connection by a gentleman of Bombay who said that the British Government’s decision might as well have been written by myself. I assure him that if I bad was called upon to give a decision on the Indian communal problems I should not have done such glaring in justice to Muslims as the present decision does. I honestly believe that no community has a more genuine grievance against the decision than Muslims indeed I cannot explain to myself bow the British conscience has tolerated this injustice.

The outcry that the decision has given a majority representation to Punjab Muslims has absolutely no justification. A Muslim majority, whatever its charac ter, in this provifl ought not to form a ground of grievance for any community besides in the pre sent case this majoritY has been made dependent on Muslims wjnniflg a number of seats through joint electorates.

The views of the Indian Muslims on the British Government decision are embodied in the resolution adopted by the Executive Board of the All Muslim Conference at Delhi the other day. I need not repeat them. But it appears from a careful study of the decision that it attempts to vindicate two political principles i.e., no majority should be reduced to a minority and the interests of the minorities should be protected by giving them. suitable weigllt age. In the application of both these principles it is the Muslims who su The position of Muslims in engulf proves the detriment of the violatiofl of the first participating the Muslims and the figures relating  given to minorities in various provinces prove that the second principle has been applied more gene rously ta Hindus in the Frontier Province than to Muslims in any other province; In the Punjab the Sikh minority has been given weightage to an extent which reduces the probable Muslim majority to the narrowest possible margin.

The Muslims of Bengal who have been given 48.4 instead of 61 percent needed only another 2. per cent to ensure an odd majority for them. But His Majesty’s Government have thought fit to ob serve the terms of the Minorities’ Pact as far as it related to Europeans and to ignore it as far. as it re lated-to Bengal Muslims. Is it becauss blood is thicker than water or because this injustice to Mus lims serves the double object of helping the Europeans and pleasing the Hindus?

The important question for Muslims, however, is what is to be done? I believe that a perfectly con stitutional method is open to Muslims to adopt in this connection. Bengal is one of those provinces which have demanded two Houses of Legislature. The constitution of an Upper House for it is yet to be framed. and what the relations between the two Houses will be and whether the Government will be responsible to the Lower House only or to both Houses put together, are questions which are yet to be settled. If representation on a population basis is secured for Muslims in the Upper House and if Government is made responsible to both Houses put together, Muslims may still have a majority in that province. In view of the fact that. special interests have received full attention in the Lower House the above method will only do bare justice to Bengal Muslims.

I must add that the mere allotment of seats to various communities is in itself of no great consequence. What is vital is the amount of power which may be transferred to the provinces of India. If real power comes to the provinces there is no doubt that the minorities of India, Muslims and non-Muslims, will have an opportunity of improving their political position in the country and that in working out the coming constitution. Muslims in their majority provinces will, in view of their past history and traditions, prove themselves free from all pettiness of mind and narrowness of outlook. Their one duty,i to my mind, is a war against illiteracy and economic slavery.

STATE MENT

on the Conditions Prevailing in Europe issued

on the 26th February, 1933.

After visiting different European countries and seeing the general moral chaos of the modern world, I am convinced that the great opportunity for Islam as a faith has come. Millions upon millions of men and women in Europe are anxious to know what Islam and its cultural ideals are. The sooner the younger generation of Muslims realizes this fact the better. European Muslims have already realized it. They are holding a conference in Geneva in August next, the object of the proposed conference being purely social and cultural. I hope the Muslims of Asia and Africa will generously respond to the promoters of the conference.

I visited Cordova, Granada, Seville, Toledo and Madrid and besides seeing the historic mosque at Cordova, and the Aihambra in Granada, I visited the ruins of Mad inatuz Zehra, the famous palace built on a mountain by Abdur Rehman I for his wife Zebra, where excavations are still going on. It was there that the first demonstration of a flying machine was given in the twelfth century by a Muslim in ventor. I had the privilege of meeting, among others the Education Minister of the spanish Government, an exceedingly courteous gentleman with a breadth of vision hardly to be expected in a country like Spain, and Professor Asin, the well n autber of Divine Comedy and Islam. Under the. c irectiOflS of the Education Minister the department ¼f Arabic in the University of Granada is being greatlY expanded. The bead of this department is a disciple of Professor Asin.

The Spaniards living in the south of the country are proud of their Moorish origin and of the great monuments of Islam culture which are to be found there. A new consciousness is steadily growing in the country and will further expand with the deve lopment of education. The movement of reform started by Luther has not yet exhausted itself. It is still working quietly in different European countries and the hold of priestho0d especially in Spain, is gradually loosing.

STATEMENT

on the Robe/lion in Chinese Turkestan, published

on the 16th May, 1933.

Turkestan is a vast country divided into three parts, one of which is ruled by Russia, the other by Afghanistan and the third by China. In 1914 there was a great deal of discontent in Chinese Turkestan owing to the appointment of Chinese magistrates in that country and an attempt made by the Chinese Government to impose the Chinese language on the population which is almost wholly Muslim. But matters did not come to a head then. As far as I know the present revolution in that country began in 1930 under the leadership of a 17-year-old Muslim boy named Chong yng.Mr. Petro of the Citroen Haardt expedition who met this “infant” Muslim general in Turkestan re lated his experiences during a lecture to the Central Asian Society in England in 1932. During that year, Ma Chong Yng was besieging the city of Hami and the services of Mr. Petro were availed of for purposes of peace negotiations with the besieged Chinese forces. Mr. Petro who was received by the Chinese general and the Chinese Defence Consul in the city was expecting to be questioned regarding the strength and plans of the army of besiegers. Much to hi surprise, however, the first and only question put tc him by the Chinese general was: Is it true that Ma Chong Yng is only 20 years old?’ On being told that Ma was less than that age the Chinese general turned to the Defence Consul who was in favour of surren dering the city and said, ‘1 am 81 years old and my hair has been white for a long time. My great-grand son is older than this suckling. How do you think I can surrender this city to an infant?’

The old general acted up to his words and re solutely faced hunger and other privations until he received help from the Chinese Government. Dur ing a hard struggle Ma was badly wounded and fled to Kan-SU and hostilities came to an end only to be resumed shortly afterwards. Whether Ma is leading the rebellion at its present stage I cannot say; but his career which, according to Mr. Petro, may well form the subject of a modern Odyssey shows that the home of ChangeZ, Taimur and Babar has not ceased to produce military geniuses of the highest order.

I do not think that the cause of this rebellion is religious fanaticism, though in a movement like this all sorts of human sentiments are liable to be exploi ted by leaders. The causes, I believe, are mainly economic. The world is also thinking to-day in terms of race—an attitude of mind which I consider the greatest blot on modern civilization. I apprehend that the birth of a race in Asia will lead to most disastrous results. The main endeavour of Islam as a religion has been to solve this very pro blem and if modern Asia wishes to avoid the fate of Europe there is no other remedy but to assimilate tile ideals of Islam and to think not in terms of race but in terms of mankind.

My apprehension that the revolution in Chinese Turkestan may develop into a Pan-Turanian move ment is borne out by the trend of thought in Central Asia. Only the other day the well-edited monthly of Afghanistan, Kabul, published an article from the pen of Dr. Afshaar, of Iran calling upon Afghanistan, which was described by the writer as forming part of ‘the Greaterlran’, to join hands with Iran in order to meet the growing menace of Turanism. In any case the revolution, if it succeeds, is bound to produce repercussions in Afghan and Russian Turkes tan, particularly in the latter which is already seething with discontent owing to religious persecution’ and owing to serious food problem created in that coun try by the Russian Government’s policy of turning it into a huge cotton farm. In so far as Afghan Turkes tan is concerned, the people of Asia may rely, I hope, on the far-sighted idealism of King Nadir Shah.

The success of the revolution will also mean the birth of a prosperous and strong Muslim State in Chinese Turkestan where Muslims, who are about 99 per cent of the population, will be freed from the age-old Chinese oppression. Chinese Turkestan is an extremely fertile country, but owing to Chinese oppression and misrule only fi per cent of its land is at present under cultivation. The establishment of another Muslim State between India and Russia will push the menace of the atheistic materialism of Bolshevism farther away from the borders of our country, even if it does not drive this menace away  from Central Asia as a whole.

The Government of Lord Willington, who has the gift of rare political vision, has taken up a wise attitude towards happening in Chinese Turkistan. This attitude explains and justi the Government of India’s policy regarding the frontiers of Kashmir State.

STATEMENT

on the Disturbances in Kashmir State, issued

on the 7th June, 1933.

The latest communique issued by the Kashmjr Government states that things are quiet in Srinagar. The information that has reached me from reliable sources is, however, that the situation is not so easy as the official communique tries to make out. I fear thatjin the Kashmir Government itself there are forces which have worked in the direction of defeating Col, Colvin’s policy.

A communique recently issued by the Kashmir Government informed the world that the leaders of Muslim parties were arrested according to a unani mous decision of the Cabinet. This is another state ment which is not borne out by private information which comes from reliable sources. It seems to me that Col. Colvin’s judgment of the situation was per fectly correct—a fact which is proved by the results of the so-called unanimous action on the part of the Kashmir Government.

I hold no brief for any of the political parties in Kashmir. But the arrests of the leaders of the two parties and subsequent flogging of people and firing and lathi charges on women and children are likely to plunge Kashmir into the same conditions from which it was escued by Col. Colvin’s policy. I hope the Kashmir Government will try to dis cover the psychological background oC the present events and adopt an attitude which may bring peace and goodwill.

Recently several Muslims from Jammu and Kashmir have brought to me and other Muslims in Lahore various reports about Kashmir affairs. It was, however, easy to see that their object was to. poison the minds of British Indian Muslims against the Muslims in Kashmir. I cannot say why, these people have undertaken this curious mission. I, however, consider it my duty to warn, whosoever may be at the back of this move, that members of the Kashmir Committee are not fools and will not fall into the traps which are perhaps being laid for In conclusion, I appeal to Muslims of Kashmir to beware of the forces that are working against them and to unite their ranks. The time for two or three Muslim political parties in Kashmir has not yet come. The supreme need of the moment is a single party representing all Muslims in the State. If per fect unanimity of political opinion is not secured in Kashmir, all efforts of leaders to advance the interests of the people of that State will prove in effective.them.s

STATEMENT

on the Administrative Reforms in Kas/nnfr, igsued

on the 3rd August, 1933.

The people of India will welcome this coin munique. I hope all the recommendations made by the Glancy Commission will be carried out as soon as possible and that the Kashmjr Government will succeed in inspiring complete confidence in the minds of those for whom the reforms are intended. For this purpose an atmosphere of peace and good-will is indispensable between the rulers and the ruled to wards whom the Government should behave in such a manner as to make them feel that the Government is not a factor alien to their life and aspirations but an institution of their own through which their legitimate aspirations are to find expression.

I cannot help suggesting to Col. Colvin that in order to win the confidence of the people and restore happy relations between them and the Government he should order the withdrawal of criminal cases pending in Mirpur and Baramula. This will vastly enhance the prestige of the Kashmir administration and the European Prime Minister and take away the sting of propaganda now carried on ag him.

STATEMENT

on the proposed Afghan University, published

on the 19th October, 1933.

An educated Afghanistan will be the best friend of India. The building of a new University at Kabul and the development of the Peshawar Islamia Ccllege into another University on the western border of India will very much help in the uplift of the shrewd Afghan tribes who inhabit the country that lies between our frontier and the Afghan frontier.

His Majesty the King of Afghanistan invitedus toadvisehis Education Minister on matters connected with the proposed University at Kabul. We felt it our duty to respond to his call. It appears. .from the various publications emerging from Kabul that the younger generation of Afghans are thoroughly in earnest about modern knowledge, and its co-ordina tion with their religion and culture. The Afghans are a fine p and as Indians it is our duty to help them to advance as much as they can. There are very clear indications of the development of new cons ciousness in that people, and we hope we may be able to advise them on matters of education in the light of our Indian experience. Personally I believe that complete secularisation of education has not pro duced good results anywhere especially in Muslim lands. Nor is there any absolute system ofeducation. Each country has its own needs and its educational problems must be discussed and solvcd in the light of those need.

STATEMENT

on the conditions in Afghanistan, issued

on the 6th November, 1933.

The first thing .which we noticed was that there is complete safety of life and property in thecountry. This is in itself a remarkable achievement for a Government which overcame a widespread rebellion only four years ago. Another thing which impressed us was the very earnest manner in which all the Minis ters are discharging their duties. Even the orthodox party stands solidly behind these workers and con sequently there is—as was stated in our presence by a leading Afghan divine—no difference between the I and the young men in the Afghanistan. of

to-day.

It is the intention of the Afghan Government to reorganise the entire department of Public Instruction on modern lines and at the same time to improve all roads which connect Afghanistan with neighbouring countries. A beautiful and commodious palace in Kabul has,alreaby been reserved for the new Univer sity which is gradually developing. Higher educa tion is being imparted in medicine, this being the firsi faculty to be organised. The next faculty to be organised will be that of civil engineering. As regards the roads, a new one joining Kabul with Peshawar will be completed within the next two years Thi’road has been carefully planned. A road leading to Russian frontiers has already been completed and is of obvious importance as it brings Central Asia nearer to Central Europe.

We had the honour of long interview with His Majesty the King of Afghanistan whose sole desire is to see his country flourishing and living in peace and amity with its neighbours.

Thus Afghanistan represents to-day a united country where in every direction one sees signs of a new awakening and where the authorities are engaged in drawing up programmes of well-planned work. We have come back from that country with a con viction that if those who are in power are given an opportunity of continuing their work for ten years, the future prosperity of Afghanistan will hay been assured.

STATEMENT

explaining the attitude of Muslim Delegates

to th Round Table Conferences, issued on the 6th December, 1933.

I have never had the pleasure of meeting Pandit Jawahar Lal, though I have always admired his sincerity and outspokenness. 1-us latest statement in reply to his Mahasabhite critiCS has a ring of sincer ity which is rare in the pronouncements of present day politicians in India. it seems, however, that he is not in full possession of the facts regarding the be haviour of Muslim delegates to the Round Table Con ference held in London during the past three years.

He has been led to believe that Mr. Gandhi offered personally to accept all of the Muslim demands on condition that Muslim assured him of their full support in the political struggle for freedom and that reactioflarYism rather than communalism prevented Muslims from accepting. this condition. This is a perfectly wrong statement of what happen ed in London.

Pandit Jawahar Lal has described His Highness the Agha Khan as the greatest inspirer of ‘political reactioflarYiSm’ among Muslims. The truth, how ever, is that it was the Agha Khan himself who assured Mr. Gandhi in the presence of several Indian delegates, including myself, that if the Hindus or theCongress agreed to Muslim demands, the entire Muslim community would be ready to serve as his (Mr. Gandhi’s) camp-followers in the political

struggle.

Mr. Gandhi weighed the Agha Khan’s words and his offer to accept Muslim demands came later and was hedged round with conditions. The first con dition was that Mr. Gandhi would accept the Muslim demands in hi personal capacity and would try to secure, but not guarantee,, the acceptance of his posi tion by the Congress. I asked him to wire the Congress Executive and secure its consent to his offer. He said he knew that the Congress would not make him their plenipotentiary on the question.Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru can easily refer to Mrs. Sarojini Naidu, who sat near me at the time, as to her observations which she shared with me on Mr. Gandhi’s attitude. Mr. Gandhi was then asked to secure atleast the Hindu and Sikh delegates’ âonsent to his offer. He did make something like an attempt to do so but failed and privately expressed his dis appointment with their attitude.

Mr. Gandhi’s second and most unrighteous con dition was that Muslims should not support the special claims of Untouchables, particularly their claim to special representations. It was pointed out to him that it did not lie in the mouth of Muslims to oppose those very claims on the part of the Untouchables which they were advancing for them selves and that if Mr. Gandhi could arrive at a mutual understanding with the Untouchables the Muslims would certainly not stand in their way. Mr. Gandhi, however, insisted on this conditi0 I should like to know how far Pandit Jawabar Lal with his well- known socialist views would sympathise with such an inhuman condition.

This is the inner history of the negotiations between Mr. Gandhi and Muslim delegates. I would leave it to Pandit Jawahar Lal to judge whether the alleged political reactioflatyism among Muslim ddlegateS or the narrow political outlook, of others was responsible for the results of negotiations.

The offer which His Highness the Agha Khan made to Mr. Gandhi two years ago still holds good. If under Pandit Nehru’s leadership the Hindus or the Congress agree to the safeguards which Muslims believe to be necessary for their protection as an all- India minority, the Muslims are still ready to serve, in the Agha Khan’s words, as camp of the majority commute the country’s political struggle. If, however, he is unable to accept this offer let him at least not accuse Muslims of political reaction  but leave those who understand the motive and purposes of Hindu communalism to draw the con- elusion that he is in essential agreement with the MahaSabha in the latter’s campaign against the Coin munal Award.

Another accusation which Pandit Jawabar Lal brings against Muslims is that some of them are definitelY anti If by ‘nationalism’ be means a fusion of the communities in a biological sense,

should personallY plead guilty to the charge of anti- nationalism. The building up of a nation in this sense is in my opinion neither possible nor perhaps desirable in the peculiar circumstances of India. In this sense perhaps the greatest antinational leader in India of to-day is Mr. Gandhi who has made it a life- mission to prevent the fusion of Untouchables with other communities and to retain them in the fold of Hinduism without any real fusion even between them and the caste Hindus. As far as I can judge it, his message to the Untouchables amounts to this: ‘Do not leave Hinduism. Remain in it without being of it’.

A man who opposes nationalism in the sense of a fusion of the communities is, however, not néces sarily anti-national. It is obvious that there are in terests common to the various communities of India. In so far as these interests are concerned an under standing among the communities is possible: accord ing to my belief, it is bound to come. The present situation is only a necessary stage in the country’s political evolution. A united India will have to be built on the foundation of concrete facts, i.e. the distinct existence of more than one people in the country. The sooner Indian leaders of political thought get rid of the idea of a unitary Indian nation based on something like a biological fusion of the communities, the better for all concerned.

Pandit Jawahar Lal further seems to think that Muslims, while believing in democracy as a religious institution, are afraid of democracy in practice. He overlooks the fact that the communal electorates and other safeguards on which Muslims insist are only intended to prevent 80 million members of a compa ratively poor and backward community from being ousted from all real advantages of democracy. The Muslim wants safeguards not because be is afraid of communal oligarchy in the garb of democracy in India. He wants to ensure the substance of demo cracy even at the expense of its conventional form.

As for his reference to the speeches made by His Highness the Agha Kban, Dr. Shafaat Abmed and myself before a gathering of members of the House of Commons, I have only to say that the kind of statements attributed to us were never made. It is ünf air to cite the impressions of a Press correspondent instead of an autborised text of our speeches in such an argument. No Indian can believe for a moment that it is impossible to govern India except through a British agency.

In concluSiOfl I must put a straight question to Pandit Jawahar La!. How is India’s problem to be solved if the majority community will neither concede the minimum safeguards necessary for the protection of a minority of so million people nor accept the award of a third party; but continue to talk of a kind of nationalism which works out only to its own benefit? This position can admit of only two alterna tives. Either the Indian majority commUnitY will have to accept for itself the permanent position of an agent of British imperialism in the East or the country will have to be redistributed on a basis of religious, historical and cultural affinities so as to do away with the question of electorates and the communal problem in its present form.

STATEMENT

explaining the Congress attitude towards the

Communal Award, issued on the

19th June, 1934.

The Congress claims to represent equally all the communities of India and declares that, in view of the sharp difference of opinion in India regarding the Communal Award, it can neither accept nor reject it; yet its comments on the Award amount to a rejec tion by implication. Consistently with its claim it ought not to have expressed any opinion about the Award. The Congress Working Committee has deli berately chosen to ignore the important’ fact that the Award, though it has been incorporated in the White Paper, does not stand or fall with it but stands on an entirely different footing. While the other parts of the White Paper are proposals, the Award repre sents a decision given by the British Premier at the reque’st of the very men who are now opposing it.

The Congress Working Committee has tried by this resolution to hide its inner communalism, but in the very’ act of doing so has unveiled its designs to such an extent that no Muslim will fail to see through the game. At this critical juncture I would advise the Muslims of India to stand boldly by the Com munal Award even though it does not concede all their demands. This is the only course they can adopt as a practical people.

STATEMENT

on the Report ornrnendiflg partition of Palestine

1 assures the people that I feel the injustice done to the Arabs as keenly as anybody else who under stands the situation in the Near East. I have no doubt that the British people can still be awakened to the fulfilment of the pledges given to the Arabs in the name of England. The British Parliament, 1 am glad to say, have in the recent ParliamentarY debates left the question of partition open. This decision affords an excellent opportunity to the Muslims of the world emphaticallY to declare that the problem which the British statesmen are tackling is not one of Palestine only, but seriouSlY affects the entire Muslim world.

The problem, studied in its historical perspec tive, is purely a Muslim problem. In the light of the history of Israel, Palestine ceased to be a Jewish problem long before the entry of Caliph Umar into Jerusalem more than 1300 years ago. Their disper sion, as Professor Hockings has pointed out, was perfectly voluntary and their scriptures were for the most part written outside Palestine. Nor was it ever a Christian problem. Modern historical research has doubted even the existence of Peter the Hermit.

This Stateme was read at a public meeti1 held under a of the Punjab Muslim Leagne on 27th July, 1937. Ed.

Even if we assume that the Crusades were an attempt to make Palestine a Christian problem, this attempt was defeated by the victories of Salah-ud-Din. I, therefore, regard Palestine as a purely Muslim problem.

Never were the motives of British imperialism as regards the Muslim people of the Near East so completely unmasked as in the Report of the Royal Commission. The idea of a national home for the Jews in Palestine was only a device. In fact, British imperialism sought a home for itself in the form of a permanent mandate in the religious home of the Muslims. This is indeed a dangerous experiment, as a member of British Parliament has rightly des cribed it and can never lead to a solution of (he British problem in the Mediterranean. Far from be ing a solution of the British problem in the Mediter ranean it is really the beginning of the future difficul ties of British imperialism. The sale of the Holy Land, including the Mosque of Umar, inflicted on the Arabs with the threat of martial law and softened by an appeal to their generosity, reveals bankruptcy of statesmanship rather than its achievement. The offer of a piece of rich land to the Jews and the rocky desert plus cash to the Arabs is no political wisdom. It is a low transaction unworthy and damaging to the honour of a great people i whose name. definite promises of liberty and confederation were given to the Arabs.

It is impossible for me to discuss the details of the Palestine Report in this short statement. There are, hov in recent history, important lessons which Muslims of Asia ought to take to heart. Ex perience has made it abundantly clear that the politi cal integrity of the peoples of the Near East lies in the immediate reunion of the Turks and the Arabs. The policy of isolating the Turks from the rest of the Muslim world is still in action. We hear now and then that the Turks are repudiating Islam. A greater lie was never told. Only those who have no idea of the history 0 the concepts of Islamic jurisprudence fall an easy prey to this sort of mischievous propaganda.

The Arabs, whose religious consciousness gave birth to Islam (which united the various races of Asia with remarkable success), must never forget the consequences arising out of their deserting the Turks in their hour of trial.

Secondly the Arab people must further remember that they cannot afford to rely on the advice of those Arab kings who are not in a position to arrive at an independent judgment in the matter of Pales tine with an independent conscience. Whatever they decide they should decide on their own initiative after a full understanding of the problem before them.

Thirdly, the present moment is also a moment of trial for the Muslim statesmen of the free ion Arab Muslim countries of Asia. Since the abolition of the Caliphate this is the first serious international problem of both a religious and political nature, which historical forces are compelling them to face. The possibilities of the Palestine problem may even tually compel them seriously to consider their position as members of that Anglo miscalled the League of Nations and to explore practical means for the formation of an Eastern League of Nations.

NEW YEAR’S MESSAGE

Broadcast from the Lahore Station of the 4ll-1ndia

Radio on the 1st january, 1938

The modern age prides itself on its progress in knowledge and its matchless scientific developments. No doubt, the pride is justified. Today space and time are being annihilated and man is achieving amazing successes in unveiling the secrets of nature and harnessing its forces to his own service. But in spite of all these developments, the tyranny of imperialism struts abroad, covering its face under the masks of Democracy, Nationalism, Communism. Fascism and heaven knows what else besides. tinder these masks, in every corner of the earth, the spirit of freedom and the dignity of man are being tram pled underfoot in a way to which not even the darkest period of human history presents a parallel. The so-called statesmen to whom government and leadership of men was entrusted have proved demons of bloodshed, tyranny and oppression. The rulers whose duty it was to protect and cherish those ideals which go to form a higher humanity, to prevent man’s oppression of man and to elevate the moral and intellectual level of mankind, have in their hunger for dominion and imperial possessions, shed the blood of millions and reduced millions to servitude simply in order to pander to the greed and avarice of their own particular groups. After subjugating and establishing their dominion over weaker peoples, they have robbed them of their possessions, of their religions, their morals, of their cultural traditions and their literatures. Then they sowed divisions among them that they should shed one another’s blood and go to sleep under the opiate of serfdom, so that the leech of imperialism might go on sucking their blood without interruption.

As I look back on the year that has passed and as I look at the world in the midst of the New Year’s rejoining, it may be Abyssinia or Palestine, Spain or China, the same misery prevails in every corner of man’s earthly home, and hundreds of thousands of men are being butchered mercilessly. Engines of destruction created by science are wiping out the great landmarks of man’s cultural achievements. The governments which are not themselves engaged in this drama of fire and blood are sucking the blood of the weaker peoples economically. It is as if the day. of doom had come upon the earth, in which each looks after the safety of his own skin, and in which no voice of human sympathy or fellowship is audible.

The world’s thinkers are stricken dumb. Is this going to be the end of all the progress and evolution of civilization, they ask, that men should destroy one another in mutual hatred and make human habitation impossible on this earth? Remember, man can be maintained on this earth only by tonsuring man kind, and this world will remain a battle-ground of ferocious beasts of prey unless and until the educa tional forces of the whole world are directed to inculcating in man respect for mankind. Do you not see that the people of Spain, though they have the same common bond of one race, one nationality, one language and one religion, are cutting one another’s throats and destroying their culture and civilization by their own hands owing to a difference in their economic creed? This one event shows clearly that national unity too is not a very durable force. Only one unity is dependable, and that unity is the brother hood of man, which is above race, nationality, colour or language. So long as this so-called democracy, this accursed nationalism and this degraded imperial ism are not shattered, so long as men do not demons traded by their actions that they believe that the whole world is the family of God, so long as distinctions of race, colour and geographical nationalities are not wiped out completely, they will never be able to lead a happy and contented life and the beautiful ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity will never material use.

Let us therefore begin the New Year with the prayer that God Almighty may grant humanity to those who are in places of power and government and teach them to cherish mankind.