JAMIAT ULAMA-I-HIND

1. Context 

2. Key Points

• Madani was speaking Sunday at the three-day general assembly of the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind (JUH) at Ramlila Ground, with Hindu, Jain, Christian and Sikh leaders in attendance.
  Very few people know that when there was nothing in the world, Manu would worship Om.
• Om has no colour, no shape. Like the air, it is everywhere. It made the skies and the earth. 
• Madani said this is what we call Allah. You call the same thing Ishwar.

3. About Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind

• The Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind is a 104-year-old organisation of Indian Muslim scholars.
• In the lead-up to India's Independence, the JUH had staunchly opposed the Muslim League's politics and the partition of India.
• Today the JUH has 10 million members and 1,700 branch offices across India.
• Through a network of sub-organisations, it works in the fields of education, charity, and safeguarding the rights of Indian Muslims and aims to foster amity between different religious communities.

4. History of the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind

• While the JUH was formally founded in 1919, it was the outcome of a movement going back to the 18th century, when the social reformer Shah Waliullah Dehlawi (February 21, 1703-August 20, 1762), was disappointed with "the degeneration of the ruling classes, coupled with the depredations of European imperialism".
• It decided to remodel all aspects of Muslim life including its religious, social, political and cultural dimensions through the espousal of ijtihad (independent reasoning) and the rejection of taqlid (unquestioning acceptance).

5. The Silk Letter Movement

• Till the First World War, Muslims inspired by Waliullah participated in armed resistance to the British, of which two notable events were the Revolt of 1857 and the Silk Letter Movement of 1916.
• The Silk Letter Movement involved Indian Muslim scholars working to enlist the help of other Muslim nations, such as Turkey and Afghanistan, against the British.
• Communication during this movement was made through letters written on silk scarves, which gave it its name.
• The Conspiracy was discovered by the British, who imprisoned top clerics, including Shaykh al-Hind Maulana Mahmud Hasan and Maulana Husain Ahmad Madani, in deplorable conditions in Malta. Arshad Madani is the son of Maulana Husain Ahmad Madani.
• The failure of the Silk Movement made the Muslim clerics look for other, more effective ways to fight the British and they turned to non-violent, political methods, joining forces with the Congress party.

6. JUH's foundation, role in the freedom struggle

• On November 23, 1919, the Khilafat Committee held a conference in Delhi, attended by Muslim scholars from across the country.
• From among these scholars, a group of 25, including the likes of Ahmad Saeed Dehlavi, Kifayatullah Dihlawi, Muhammad Ibrahim Mir Sialkoti and Sanaullah Amritsari, came together to form the Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind. Its first session was held on December 28, 1919.
• The Jamiat's efforts received a boost with the release of Shaykh al-Hind and others from prison.
• As the Independence movement gathered steam, so did the demand for a separate homeland for Muslims.
• However, the JUH always resisted this demand, steadfastly asserting that India should not be divided.
• Their stand has been documented in history and is proof that not for a moment did all, or most, Muslims in India want to partition.
• Muhammad Ali Jinnah was arguing about nationhood based on religion, Maulana Madani said "Nation is made by homelands".
• It was not necessary for people sharing a country to have the same religion.
• After Independence and Partition, the JUH worked to rehabilitate Muslim refugees.

7. Role in post-independence India

• After Independence, the JUH in a session chaired by Maulana Azad decided they would never form a political party based on religion.
• Individual members of the JUH have served as MPs and MLAs, emphasising their association and commitment to India's democracy.
• The JUH has worked for riot relief, to educate Muslim youth including girls and provides legal aid to Muslim youth embroiled in legal cases. In riots, the JUH has played the role of a fire brigade.
• They also work to make sure that youth educated in Madrasas get degrees from the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) too.

• Khan was present at the event where Madani made the comments that caused controversy.
• The controversy was entirely misguided. All Madani was trying to do was emphasise our essential oneness and unity.
• In 2008, the JUH split, with the formation of the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind (Arshad Madani faction).
• In 2022, the factions began their merger process, which is yet to officially conclude.
• The other faction is headed by Maulana Mahmood Asad Madani.

For Prelims & Mains