This book is the outcome of my D. Litt Thesis which seeks to highlight the philosophical contributions of Muslim Revivalist Thinkers in the awakening of Muslims in 20th century India. It reflects the in-depth study of the socio-political philosophy of Muslim Thinkers, their efforts to regenerate and restore pride in Muslims for their culture, religion, and philosophy and finally motivating them to participate in the freedom movement with zeal. The book presents a critical analysis of the philosophy of Thinkers and captures the divergence in the views of Muslim Revivalist Thinkers. I hope the book will be of great help to readers and researchers to understand the socio, religious and political scenario of Twentieth century India and the situations that paved the way for India’s partition in 1947.

"The Political Transition From Rule By The Mulsim Mughal Dynasty To British Colonial Rule Led To A Basic Religious Reorientation Among Indian Muslims. At This Time Of Transformation In The Early Nineteenth Century, A Key Muslim Movement Called The Tariqah-I-Muhammadiyah Or Muhammadi Movement, Also Referred To As The Mujahidin Or Indian Wahabi Movement, Gathered Force In Northwest India. Although The Muhammadi Reformers Gained Recognition By Waging A Jihad (Holy War), A Much Familiar And Feared Word Today, The Jihad Was Only One Manifestation Of A Fundamental Change In Religious Thought And Organization. Using Muhammadi Sources As Well As The Contemporary Accounts Of The Movement By Muslim And British Observers, This Incisive Study Makes An Important Comment On The Historical Interaction Of Social And Religious Forces In The Nineteenth Century In The Indian Subcontinent. While Basing Itself On A Sufi World-View, Organization And Concepts Inspired By The Intellectual System Of The Eighteenth-Century Theologian, Shah Wali Allah, The Tariqah-I Muhammadiyah Put Forth A Reformist Program Attacking The Prevalent Practices At The Tombs Of Saints And Mystics, And Belief In Any Mediation Between Man And God. Widespread Muhammadi Preaching And Religious Literature In The Popular Urdu Language Presented The Divine Law To All Classes Of Indian Muslims For The First Time. The Muhammadi Were Also Among The First Mulsims Anywhere To Use The Printing Press To Spread Their Fundamentalist Message. In Proclaiming Religious Purification And Revival As Well As Holy War To The Indian Masses During A Time Of Rapid Historical Change, The Muhammadi Reformers Helped To Shape A New Individual And Communal Identity And Also Initiated A Process Of Islamic Reform In India. Pearson’S Major Contribution In This Important Volume Is To Show How The Intellectual History Associated With Shah Wali Allah Was Transformed In The Nineteenth Century To An Activist, Organized ‘Mass Movement’ That Drew Upon Techniques And Technologies, Notably Printing And Popular Preaching, Introduced To India By British Officials And Christian Missionaries."

Indian Muslims in the nineteenth century lived in an era of great political, social and economic change brought about by colonial rule. North Indian scholars of the Islamic sciences attributed the Muslim loss of political power to moral weaknesses within their own community. This study examines the ways in which one important school of theologians attempted to shape the renewal of their community, and is based on a close examination of the works of its leading scholar.

Focusing On Deoband, The Most Important Islamic Seminary Of The Period, This Book Studies The Vitality Of Islam In Late Ninetheenth Century North India.

This is the first of a three-volume study of the background of India's Partition, decidedly one of the seminal developments in the history of the subcontinent. Rejecting the widely held view that Partition was the result mainly of British manipulation and the mistakes or intransigence of certain Indian leaders, the author asserts that it was the result primarily of a powerful movement of Muslim nationalism. This volume is devoted to a discussion of this foundations of that nationalism. Dealing at the outset with the legacy of the past, the author disputes the theory of a perpetual, centuries-old conflict between two antagonistic civilisations in the political arena. At the same time he shows how both the Muslim and the Hindu elites had already become conscious of their separate identities before the era of their modern political awakening began in the second half of the nineteenth century. He then moves on to discuss the nature of the economic divide between the two communities and the intellectual as well as emotional environment of the Muslim elite. At the end the focus turns to Hindu nationalism and British policy both of which, in varying degrees, worked as props for Muslim nationalism. In every chapter an effort has been made to synthesize the results of latest researchers as also to prevent fresh interpretations.