The Muslims Of India

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31659, 20 April 1968, Page 4

The Muslims Of India

The Indian Muslims. By M. Mujeeb. Allen and Unwin. 590 pp. This is an attempt to pori tray the life of the Indian Muslims in all aspects from the Arab conquest of Sindh in the eighth century to the present day. It is an enormous task. The author’s story spans (twelve centuries and deals with religious thought, statesmanship and administration, Sufism, poetry and literature, art, architecture and social life Mercifully, the author’s aim is to assist understanding rather than to overwhelm the reader with a recital of all the available facts. He has therefore selected only typical and significant ideas and personalities for discussion. Too often, Mr Mujeeb asserts, the whole Indian Muslim community is identified quite wrongly with some element of its belief and practice, with some political or military figure or achievement, with particular social i forms and patterns of behaviour, with some historical tend- ; ency or present-day fact

This historical and cultural heritage of the Muslims is so rich and varied that there need be no obstacle to a Muslim becoming a loyal and productive citizen of the Indian Republic. The Muslims as a community have their beliefs and traditions, they represent certain moral and social values and have their own way of life, but there is no sign that Indian Muslims desire to organise their community as a political party. Nearly twenty years after partition, Indian Muslims are still on occasion accused of not regarding India as their motherland. In the past many Muslims, uncertain of their future, migrated to Pakistan in search of employment. More and more, however, the realisation has grown amongst them that their fortunes are inseparable from those of India and an increasingly large number are making their way successfully in the Republic. Mr Mujeeb’s study is not only an impressive piece of scholarship, but also a contribution to the religious and cultural integration of India.