One hundred and fifty years have passed since Lord Dalhousie annexed Oudh (Awadh) in 1856. It aroused mass resentment against the British. Muslim elite realised that Delhi would be the next target as the Mughal empire was already in the throes of death. With its easy annexation by the East India Company, India would be lost as Darul-Islam. (For details see the Fatwa by Molvi Karamat Ali Jaunpuri, published by the Mohammedan Literary Society, Calcutta).

Historic deformation has prevented Indians from making a truthful evaluation of their own past, thus condemning themselves to the axiom, "Those who forget the past are forced to repeat it." It is for this reason that the Mughal legacy on the subcontinent has been subjected to two key interpretations, ranging from defamatory black propaganda to pure oblivion, relegated to a mythical past disconnected from the Indian actuality, an anachronism irrelevant to modern post-...

One and a half centuries back, the Indian masses launched their first major struggle for independence (in 1857). The significance of this event is three-fold.

a) The struggle was characterised by people’s participation. The earlier efforts resisting the colonial rule had all been initiated by Indian rulers (rajas and nawabs) and had failed due to lack of coordination between them.

b) The struggle, in spite of its failure,...

Islamic education in India began with the arrival of Arab traders. The Turks, Pathans and the Mughals entered India towards the end of the fourth century A.H. and in the beginning of the fifth century A.H. However, much before their arrival the Arab traders had spread over a long stretch of land extending from Sindh and Malabar to Gujarat and the coastal region of the Indian Ocean. Maulana Syed Sulaiman Nadwi writes:

"These Arab traders brought alo...

"The Maulvi was a very remarkable man…. In person, he was tall, lean and muscular with large deep set eyes, beetle brows, a high aquiline nose, and lantern jaws." Thus describes British historian G.B. Malleson one of the greatest heroes of the first War of Independence Maulvi Ahmedullah Shah of Faizabad. The British considered him a worthy enemy and a great warrior so much so that many a British officer has praised him in flowing words. Thomas Seaton described...

It is now 150 years since the first revolt took place in 1857 to throw out the yoke of British rule in India. The history of Indian national movement would be incomplete without the presentation of the actual role of Indian Muslims in it.

Many historians tried in vain to prove that Indian Muslim leaders preached the gospel of separation right from the Revolt of 1857 to the day of independence in 1947, and the Muslim antagonism to the Freedom Movement d...

We always talk about the role of men in the war of independence, but have we ever thought about the great role played and responsibility shouldered by women? Were Muslim women, who used to stay within the four walls and behind the veils and observe strict purdah, so powerful and energetic to help liberate the country?

When Shah Abdul Aziz Dehlvi proclaimed jihad against the British and in response to this call ulema and other people from all over the co...

The British signed peace treaty with the King of Nepal on April 27, 1815, the day of capture of Kumaon’s capital Almora. On May 3, 1815 by the order of the Governor General of India, E. Gydes was appointed Commissioner and the Agent of the Governor General for Kumaon. By another order of the Governor General Kumaon was annexed to the British. On July 8, 1815 G. W. Trail was appointed Assistant to Gydes who later rose to the rank of the Commissioner of Kumaon. The terms o...

Here the intensity might be a bit low, but the activities and news of sepoys as well as success of mutineers from other parts of India reckoned shook the very base of East India Company. The Company officials were so much terrified that they called White and Gorkha soldiers in strategically important places where British officials worked or lived.

Sir Edward Gates, a British officer of Assam in 1926 and author of the first and exclusive book on the und...

The year 2006 is significant on many counts to the freedom movement of India. The first Independence war fought against the British in 1857 has completed 150 years. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands, along with the country is celebrating the centenary year of the notorious prison, called Cellular Jail. The infamous Cellular Jail, widely known as Kalapani, has completed 100 years of its existence, as per the records available with the Indian government, although there are claims ...

The Constitution of India, under Article 15, unequivocally proscribes the State from discriminating between citizens on the grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth. Article 16 provides for equality of opportunity to all citizens in matters of public employment. But the Outlook issue of November 13, 2006 exposes a perpetuated (unconstitutional) tradition and unwritten code of law in our intelligence agencies as the satiric titles reads "Muslims and S...