Maulana Mohammad Ali
Encyclopedia
Maulana Mohammad Ali Jouhar was an Indian
Muslim
leader
, activist, scholar, journalist
and poet
, and was among the leading figures of the Khilafat Movement
.
He was the Sixth Muslim to become the President of Indian National Congress and it lasted only for few months.
" tribe of Pathans in Rohilkhand, the north west region of Uttarpardesh of India, however, their origin is traced back to the highland of Khyber pukhtoonkhawa, present day Pakistan. His ancestors settled in Rohilkhand, during the 19th century, later they settled in Rampur. However the progeny of Yousuf Zai tribe still found in Afghanistan, the Khyber Pukhtoonkhawa, Pakistan who still maintain Pushto language. He was the brother of Maulana Shaukat Ali
and Maulana Zulfiqar Ali. Despite the early death of his father, the family strived and Ali attended the Darul Uloom Deoband
, Aligarh Muslim University
and Lincoln College
, Oxford University in 1898, studying modern history.
Upon his return to India
, he served as education director for the Rampur state, and later joined the Baroda civil service. He became a brilliant writer and orator, and wrote for major English and Indian newspapers, in both English
and Urdu
. He himself launched the Urdu weekly Hamdard and English Comrade in 1911. He moved to Delhi
in 1913.
Mohammad Ali worked hard to expand the AMU, then known as the Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College, and was one of the co-founders of the Jamia Millia Islamia
in 1920, which was later moved to Delhi.
in 1906, and served as its president in 1918. He remained active in the League till 1928.
Ali represented the Muslim delegation that travelled to England
in 1919 in order to convince the British government to influence the Turkish nationalist Mustafa Kemal
not to depose the Sultan
of Turkey
, who was the Caliph
of Islam
. British rejection of their demands resulted in the formation of the Khilafat committee which directed Muslims all over India to protest and boycott the government.
Now accorded the respectful title of Maulana
, Ali formed in 1921, a broad coalition with Muslim nationalists like Maulana Shaukat Ali
, Maulana Azad, Hakim Ajmal Khan
, Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari
and Indian nationalist leader Mahatma Gandhi
, who enlisted the support of the Indian National Congress
and many thousands of Hindus, who joined the Muslims in a demonstration of unity. Ali also wholeheartedly supported Gandhi's call for a national civil resistance movement, and inspired many hundreds of protests and strikes all over India. He was arrested by British authorities and imprisoned for two years for what was termed as a seditious speech at the meeting of the Khilafat Conference.
He was elected as President of Indian National Congress
in 1923.
incident.
He re-started his weekly Hamdard, and left the Congress Party. He opposed the Nehru Report
, which was a document proposing constitutional reforms and a dominion status of an independent nation within the British Empire
, written by a committee of Hindu
and Muslim
members of the Congress Party headed by President Motilal Nehru
. It was a major protest against the Simon Commission
which had arrived in India to propose reforms but containing no Indian nor making any effort to listen to Indian voices.
Mohammad Ali opposed the Nehru Report's rejection of separate electorates for Muslims, and supported the Fourteen Points of Muhammad Ali Jinnah
and the League. He became a critic of Gandhi, breaking with fellow Muslim leaders like Maulana Azad, Hakim Ajmal Khan
and Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari
, who continued to support Gandhi and the Indian National Congress. Mohammad Ali said: "Even the most degraded Muhammadan was better than Mahatma Gandhi."
Ali attended the Round Table Conference (The chairman being Sir Agha Khan
of the Muslim delegation) to show that only the Muslim League spoke for India's Muslims. He died soon after the conference in London
, on January 4, 1931 and was buried in Jerusalem according to his own wish. The inscription written on his grave near the Dome of the Rock says: “Here lies al-Sayyid Muhammad Ali al-Hindi.”
, who claim he inspired the Pakistan movement. But in India, he is remembered for his leadership during Khilafat Movement and the Non-Cooperation Movement (1919–1922) and his leadership in Muslim education.
The famous Muhammad Ali Road in south Bombay, India
's largest city, is named after him. The Gulistan-e-Jauhar
neighborhood of Karachi
, Sindh
, Pakistan
's largest city. Mohammad Ali Co-operative Housing Society (M.A.C.H.S.) in Karachi are named in honor of Maulana Mohammad Ali Johar. Johar Town
, Lahore
, Punjab
is also named after him.
News website TwoCircles.net is inspired by a quote of Maulana Mohammad Ali Jouhar. TwoCircles.net
Ali died at a time when the Pakistan movement had not been formed, and it is a matter of continuing debate if he would have ever supported the idea.
Maualana Muhammad Ali mosque
in Singapore
is named after him.
Jauhar was not only an upright leader, activist, scholar but also a man of letters. His following Urdu
stanza about martyrdom of Hussain ibn Ali has been a slogan for many decades now:
He along with Gandhi traveled to Britain for attending round table conference sometimes in the 1930s. There he delivered his famous speech which included his wish not to get buried in 'slave India'.
During the same tour he fell ill and died in London. Respecting his wish, his followers brought his dead body to Palestine, which was then a British Mandated territory (not in Turkish control), and buried him at Baitul Mukhaddas. Many Indian Muslims with interest in history were wondering if his tomb is still intact. One Hyderabadi scholar Omar Khakidi who was working with MIT, Boston, found Maulana's grave, which was still in good shape.
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
leader
Leader
A leader is one who influences or leads others.Leader may also refer to:- Newspapers :* Leading article, a piece of writing intended to promote an opinion, also called an editorial* The Leader , published 1909–1967...
, activist, scholar, journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
, and was among the leading figures of the Khilafat Movement
Khilafat Movement
The Khilafat movement was a pan-Islamic, political campaign launched by Muslims in British India to influence the British government and to protect the Ottoman Empire during the aftermath of World War I...
.
He was the Sixth Muslim to become the President of Indian National Congress and it lasted only for few months.
Early life
Muhammad Ali, (10 December 1878 – 4 January 1931) well-known as Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar (مَولانا مُحمّد علی جَوہر), was born in 1878 in Rampur in India. He belonged to the family of famous Yousaf Zai, a "RohillaRohilla
The Rohilla are a community of Hindi-speaking Pashtun also known as Pathan, historically found in the state of Uttar Pradesh, in North India. Most are now also found in Pakistan where they are now part of the Mohajir community. At one time, they form one of the largest Pashtun diaspora community...
" tribe of Pathans in Rohilkhand, the north west region of Uttarpardesh of India, however, their origin is traced back to the highland of Khyber pukhtoonkhawa, present day Pakistan. His ancestors settled in Rohilkhand, during the 19th century, later they settled in Rampur. However the progeny of Yousuf Zai tribe still found in Afghanistan, the Khyber Pukhtoonkhawa, Pakistan who still maintain Pushto language. He was the brother of Maulana Shaukat Ali
Maulana Shaukat Ali
Maulana Shaukat Ali was an Indian Muslim nationalist and leader of the Khilafat movement. He was the brother of Maulana Mohammad Ali.-Early life:...
and Maulana Zulfiqar Ali. Despite the early death of his father, the family strived and Ali attended the Darul Uloom Deoband
Darul Uloom Deoband
The Darul Uloom Deoband is an Islamic school in India where the Deobandi Islamic movement was started. It is located at Deoband, a town in Saharanpur district of Uttar Pradesh, India. It was founded in 1866 by several prominent Islamic scholars , headed by Maulana Muhammad Qasim Nanotvi...
, Aligarh Muslim University
Aligarh Muslim University
Aligarh Muslim University ,is a residential academic university, established in 1875 by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan as Mohammedan Angelo-Oriental College and later granted the status of Central University by an Act of the Indian Parliament in 1920...
and Lincoln College
Lincoln College, Oxford
Lincoln College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is situated on Turl Street in central Oxford, backing onto Brasenose College and adjacent to Exeter College...
, Oxford University in 1898, studying modern history.
Upon his return to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, he served as education director for the Rampur state, and later joined the Baroda civil service. He became a brilliant writer and orator, and wrote for major English and Indian newspapers, in both English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
. He himself launched the Urdu weekly Hamdard and English Comrade in 1911. He moved to Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
in 1913.
Mohammad Ali worked hard to expand the AMU, then known as the Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College, and was one of the co-founders of the Jamia Millia Islamia
Jamia Millia Islamia
Jamia Millia Islamia is an Indian Central University located in Delhi. It was established at Aligarh in United Provinces, India in 1920. It became a Central University by an act of the Indian Parliament in 1988...
in 1920, which was later moved to Delhi.
Khilafat and Political Activities
Mohammed Ali had attended the founding meeting of the All India Muslim League in DhakaDhaka
Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh and the principal city of Dhaka Division. Dhaka is a megacity and one of the major cities of South Asia. Located on the banks of the Buriganga River, Dhaka, along with its metropolitan area, had a population of over 15 million in 2010, making it the largest city...
in 1906, and served as its president in 1918. He remained active in the League till 1928.
Ali represented the Muslim delegation that travelled to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in 1919 in order to convince the British government to influence the Turkish nationalist Mustafa Kemal
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was an Ottoman and Turkish army officer, revolutionary statesman, writer, and the first President of Turkey. He is credited with being the founder of the Republic of Turkey....
not to depose the Sultan
Sultan
Sultan is a title with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic language abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", and "dictatorship", derived from the masdar سلطة , meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be used as the title of certain rulers who...
of Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, who was the Caliph
Caliph
The Caliph is the head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the ruler of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic community ruled by the Shari'ah. It is a transcribed version of the Arabic word which means "successor" or "representative"...
of Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
. British rejection of their demands resulted in the formation of the Khilafat committee which directed Muslims all over India to protest and boycott the government.
Now accorded the respectful title of Maulana
Maulana
Mawlānā is an Arabic word literally meaning "our lord" or "our master" ....
, Ali formed in 1921, a broad coalition with Muslim nationalists like Maulana Shaukat Ali
Maulana Shaukat Ali
Maulana Shaukat Ali was an Indian Muslim nationalist and leader of the Khilafat movement. He was the brother of Maulana Mohammad Ali.-Early life:...
, Maulana Azad, Hakim Ajmal Khan
Hakim Ajmal Khan
Ajmal Khan was an Indian physician specialising in the field of South Asian traditional Unani medicine as well as a Muslim nationalist politician and freedom fighter. Through his founding of the Tibbia College in Delhi, he is credited with the revival of Unani medicine in early 20th century...
, Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari
Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari
Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari was an Indian nationalist and political leader, and former president of the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League during the Indian Independence Movement...
and Indian nationalist leader Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , pronounced . 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement...
, who enlisted the support of the Indian National Congress
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
and many thousands of Hindus, who joined the Muslims in a demonstration of unity. Ali also wholeheartedly supported Gandhi's call for a national civil resistance movement, and inspired many hundreds of protests and strikes all over India. He was arrested by British authorities and imprisoned for two years for what was termed as a seditious speech at the meeting of the Khilafat Conference.
He was elected as President of Indian National Congress
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
in 1923.
Alienation from Congress
Maulana Mohammad Ali was however, disillusioned by the failure of the Khilafat movement and Gandhi's suspension of civil disobedience in 1922, owing to the Chauri ChauraChauri Chaura
Chauri Chaura is a town near Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. The town is known most for an event in February 1922 during the British Raj when a police chowki was set on fire by a mob of angry citizens, killing 23 policemen inside.-Background:In the early 1920s, Indians, led by Mahatma Gandhi,...
incident.
He re-started his weekly Hamdard, and left the Congress Party. He opposed the Nehru Report
Nehru Report
The "Nehru Report" was a memorandum outlining a proposed new Dominion constitution for India. It was prepared by a committee of the All Parties Conference chaired by Motilal Nehru with his son Jawaharlal acting as secretary...
, which was a document proposing constitutional reforms and a dominion status of an independent nation within the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
, written by a committee of Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
and Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
members of the Congress Party headed by President Motilal Nehru
Motilal Nehru
Motilal Nehru was an early Indian independence activist and leader of the Indian National Congress, who remained Congress President twice, and...
. It was a major protest against the Simon Commission
Simon Commission
The Indian Statutory Commission was a group of seven British Members of Parliament that had been dispatched to India in 1927 to study constitutional reform in Britain's most important colonial dependency. It was commonly referred to as the Simon Commission after its chairman, Sir John Simon...
which had arrived in India to propose reforms but containing no Indian nor making any effort to listen to Indian voices.
Mohammad Ali opposed the Nehru Report's rejection of separate electorates for Muslims, and supported the Fourteen Points of Muhammad Ali Jinnah
Muhammad Ali Jinnah
Muhammad Ali Jinnah was a Muslim lawyer, politician, statesman and the founder of Pakistan. He is popularly and officially known in Pakistan as Quaid-e-Azam and Baba-e-Qaum ....
and the League. He became a critic of Gandhi, breaking with fellow Muslim leaders like Maulana Azad, Hakim Ajmal Khan
Hakim Ajmal Khan
Ajmal Khan was an Indian physician specialising in the field of South Asian traditional Unani medicine as well as a Muslim nationalist politician and freedom fighter. Through his founding of the Tibbia College in Delhi, he is credited with the revival of Unani medicine in early 20th century...
and Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari
Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari
Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari was an Indian nationalist and political leader, and former president of the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League during the Indian Independence Movement...
, who continued to support Gandhi and the Indian National Congress. Mohammad Ali said: "Even the most degraded Muhammadan was better than Mahatma Gandhi."
Ali attended the Round Table Conference (The chairman being Sir Agha Khan
Aga Khan III
Sir Sultan Muhammed Shah, Aga Khan III, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, GCVO, PC was the 48th Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims. He was one of the founders and the first president of the All-India Muslim League, and served as President of the League of Nations from 1937-38. He was nominated to represent India to...
of the Muslim delegation) to show that only the Muslim League spoke for India's Muslims. He died soon after the conference in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, on January 4, 1931 and was buried in Jerusalem according to his own wish. The inscription written on his grave near the Dome of the Rock says: “Here lies al-Sayyid Muhammad Ali al-Hindi.”
Legacy
Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar (مولانا محمد علی جوہر) is remembered as a fiery leader of many of India's Muslims. He is celebrated as a hero by the Muslims of PakistanPakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, who claim he inspired the Pakistan movement. But in India, he is remembered for his leadership during Khilafat Movement and the Non-Cooperation Movement (1919–1922) and his leadership in Muslim education.
The famous Muhammad Ali Road in south Bombay, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
's largest city, is named after him. The Gulistan-e-Jauhar
Gulistan-e-Jauhar
Gulistan-e-Jauhar or Gulistan-e-Johar is one of the major neighbourhoods of Gulshan-e-Iqbal Town in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. This neighborhood is named after Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar....
neighborhood of Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
, Sindh
Sindh
Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
's largest city. Mohammad Ali Co-operative Housing Society (M.A.C.H.S.) in Karachi are named in honor of Maulana Mohammad Ali Johar. Johar Town
Johar Town
Johar Town in Pakistan is a residential area located in the south of Lahore, neighbouring the motorway M-2. It is the largest residential society of Lahore developed by Lahore Development Authority- LDA. The population in this newly established suburban area is sprawling and the property rates...
, Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
, Punjab
Punjab (Pakistan)
Punjab is the most populous province of Pakistan, with approximately 45% of the country's total population. Forming most of the Punjab region, the province is bordered by Kashmir to the north-east, the Indian states of Punjab and Rajasthan to the east, the Pakistani province of Sindh to the...
is also named after him.
News website TwoCircles.net is inspired by a quote of Maulana Mohammad Ali Jouhar. TwoCircles.net
Ali died at a time when the Pakistan movement had not been formed, and it is a matter of continuing debate if he would have ever supported the idea.
Maualana Muhammad Ali mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
is named after him.
Jauhar was not only an upright leader, activist, scholar but also a man of letters. His following Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
stanza about martyrdom of Hussain ibn Ali has been a slogan for many decades now:
He along with Gandhi traveled to Britain for attending round table conference sometimes in the 1930s. There he delivered his famous speech which included his wish not to get buried in 'slave India'.
During the same tour he fell ill and died in London. Respecting his wish, his followers brought his dead body to Palestine, which was then a British Mandated territory (not in Turkish control), and buried him at Baitul Mukhaddas. Many Indian Muslims with interest in history were wondering if his tomb is still intact. One Hyderabadi scholar Omar Khakidi who was working with MIT, Boston, found Maulana's grave, which was still in good shape.
Quotes
"I had long been convinced that here in this Country of hundreds of millions of human beings, intensely attached to religion, and yet infinitely split up into communities, sects and denominations, Providence had created for us the mission of solving a unique problem and working out a new synthesis, which was nothing low than a Federation of Faiths... For more than twenty years I have dreamed the dream of a federation, grander, nobler and infinitely more spiritual than the United States of America, and today when many a political Cassandra prophesies a return to the bad old days of Hindu-Muslim dissensions 1 still dream that old dream of "United Faiths of India." — Maulana Mohammad Ali - From the Presidential Address, I.N.C. Session, 1923, Cocanada(now Kakinada).See also
- Indian NationalismIndian nationalismIndian nationalism refers to the many underlying forces that molded the Indian independence movement, and strongly continue to influence the politics of India, as well as being the heart of many contrasting ideologies that have caused ethnic and religious conflict in Indian society...
, Indian Muslim nationalismIndian Muslim NationalismMuslim nationalism in South Asia refers to the political and cultural expression of nationalism, founded upon the religious tenets and identity of Islam, of the Muslims of South Asia....
, Khilafat - Indian Independence MovementIndian independence movementThe term Indian independence movement encompasses a wide area of political organisations, philosophies, and movements which had the common aim of ending first British East India Company rule, and then British imperial authority, in parts of South Asia...
- Indian National CongressIndian National CongressThe Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
, All India Muslim League