3. Let us look at the condition of Muslims around 1860.

The British had swept away the last vestiges of Muslim rule by annexing Sindh in 1843, Avadh in 1856 and exiling the Mughal kings to Rangoon. The Deccan kingdom had a Muslim ruler in the Nizam but he was more of an ally. 

The condition of Muslims was best stated by a liberal, R M Sayani in his Presidential address at the 12th session of the Congress held in 1896. Excerpts, “Before the advent of the British in India, the Muslims were the rulers of the country. The rulers and their chiefs were Muslims so were the great landlords and officials. The court language was their own (Persian was the official language of India till 1842). Every place of trust and responsibility, or carrying influence and high emoluments, was theirs by birthright. The Hindus did occupy the same position but were tenants-at-will of the Muslims. The Muslims had complete access to the rulers and chief. The Hindus were in awe of them. By a stroke of misfortune, the Muslims had to abdicate their position and descend to the level of their Hindu fellow-countrymen. The Muslims resented the treatment.

Meanwhile the British introduced English education into the country. This required hard application and industry. The Hindus were used to this, as under Muslim rule, they had practically to master a foreign tongue, and so easily took to new education. But the Muslim had not yet become accustomed to this sort of thing. Moreover, they resented competing with the Hindus, whom they had till recently regarded as their inferiors. The Muslims were gradually ousted from their lands, offices; in fact everything was lost save their honor. To the Hindus it was the opposite. They were soon reduced to a state of utter poverty. Ignorance and apathy seized hold of them while the fall of their former greatness rankled in their hearts.” History and Culture of Indian People published by the Bhartiya Vidya Bhawan volume 10 pg 295

The hostile attitude of Muslims towards the English, their aversion to secular education kept them aloof from English education imparted in schools and colleges. On the other the establishment of the Hindu College in 1817 gave a great impetus to English education amongst the Hindus. For the next fifty years the Muslims made little progress.

This feeling of backwardness was brought to a head at the evidence before the Public Service Commission in 1886. Dadabhai Naoraoji touched the crux of the problem when he observed that the attitude of the Muslims was “based on selfish interests, that because the Muslims are backward, therefore, they would not allow the Hindus and all India to go forward”. History and Culture of Indian People published by the Bhartiya Vidya Bhawan volume 10 pg 330

The Muslim community had to cope with not only the loss of political power but had to deal with an ever adaptable progressive Hindu community. How did the Hindus feel when they lost political power to the Muslims is the subject matter of another article?
 
This is reflected in Pakistan’s attitude towards India. Their stance is, we are not progressing and shall pull you down as well. It is one of the reasons why Mumbai, the commercial capital of India, is a victim of frequent terror attacks.

This attitude worked well from 1947 to around 1999. Subsequently, the Indian economy has gone into a different orbit leaving Pakistan far behind. The Pakis can see it so has the world.

How did the Muslim community respond to the change in political equations? Read on.