Description

THIS book deals with Muslim nationalism in Imperial India in its four aspects. The first stage in the growth of a nationalism is the evolution of a group into a nation. This is mainly an historical development and occurs on the time-level. Chapters 1, 2, and 3 describe how the Indian Muslims came to look upon themselves as a separate national group, how this affected `Indian’ nationalism and how it was consummated by the establishment of an independent Muslim state. In brief, they deal with the Muslim nationalist movement in its historical and political aspects. The second stage (which, in terms of time, may sometimes coincide with the first stage) arrives when the national group begins to enunciate the principles and ideals on which it claims a separate existence. The nation istan justifies its nationhood on the philosophical plane. This may take two shapes : religion and culture. These two arguments are the theme of Chapters 4 and 5, which deal, respectively, with the religious element and the cultural background of Muslim nationalism. The last aspect chosen for study is the psychological factor in nationalism. How the Indian Muslims took pride in being one nation, how they invented symbols to represent their nationalism and created myths to reflect their aspirations, how they persuaded themselves of their own solidarity: this is the subject of Chapter 6. Chapter 7 examines the two-nation theory on which the creation of Pakistan was professedly based.