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Inayatullah Khan Mashriqi

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Allama
Inayatullah Khan Mashriqi
Born(1888-08-25)25 August 1888[1]
Amritsar,Punjab,British India
Died27 August 1963(1963-08-27)(aged 75)[1]
Lahore,Punjab, Pakistan
Other namesAllama Mashriqi
CitizenshipBritish India(1888-1947)
Pakistan(1947-1963)
Alma materUniversity of the Punjab
Christ's College, Cambridge[2]
OrganizationKhaksar movement[1]
MovementIndian independence movement
Opposition to the partition of India[3]

Inayatullah Khan Mashriqi(Urdu:عنایت اللہ خاں مشرقی;August 1888 – 27 August 1963), also known by the honorary titleAllamaMashriqi(علامہ مشرقی), was aBritish Indian,and later,Pakistanimathematician, logician, political theorist, Islamic scholar and the founder of theKhaksar movement.[1]

Around 1930, he founded theKhaksar Movement.[4]aiming both to revive Islam among Muslims as well as to advance the condition of the masses irrespective of anyfaith,sect,orreligion.[5]

Early years

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Background

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Inayatullah Khan Mashriqi was born on 25 August 1888 to aPunjabi MuslimSulheriaRajput family fromAmritsar.[6][7]Mashriqi's father Khan Ata Muhammad Khan was an educated man of wealth who owned a bi-weekly publication,Vakil,in Amritsar.[7]His forefathers had held high government positions during theMughalandSikh Empires.Because of his father's position he came into contact with a range of well-known luminaries includingJamāl al-Dīn al-Afghānī,Sir Syed Ahmad Khan,andShibli Nomanias a young man.[7]

Education

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Mashriqi was educated initially at home before attending schools in Amritsar.[8]From an early age, he showed a passion for mathematics.[5]After completing his Bachelor of Arts degree with First Class honours atForman Christian Collegein Lahore, he completed his master's degree in mathematics from theUniversity of the Punjab,taking a First Class for the first time in the history of the university.[9]

In 1907 he moved to England, where he matriculated atChrist's College, Cambridge,to read for themathematics tripos.He was awarded a college foundation scholarship in May 1908.[10]In June 1909 he was awardedfirst class honoursin Mathematics Part I, being placed joint 27th out of 31 on the list ofwranglers.[11]For the next two years, he read for theoriental languagestripos in parallel to the natural sciences tripos, gaining first class honours in the former, and third class in the latter.[12][13]

After three years' residence at Cambridge he had qualified for a Bachelor of Arts degree, which he took in 1910. In 1912 he completed a fourth tripos in mechanical sciences, and was placed in the second class. At the time he was believed to be the first man of any nationality to achieve honours in four different Triposes, and was lauded in national newspapers across the UK.[14]The next year, Mashriqi was conferred with a DPhil in mathematics receiving a gold medal at his doctoral graduation ceremony.[15]

He left Cambridge and returned to India in December 1912.[16]During his stay in Cambridge his religious and scientific conviction was inspired by the works and concepts of ProfessorSir James Jeans.[17][1]

Early career

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On his return to India, Mashriqi was offered the premiership ofAlwar,aprincely state,by the Maharaja. He declined owing to his interest in education.[citation needed]At the age of 25, and only a few months after arriving in India, he was appointed vice principal ofIslamia College,Peshawar,by Chief CommissionerSir George Roos-Keppeland was made principal of the same college two years later. In October 1917 he was appointed under secretary to the Government of India in the Education Department in succession toSir George Anderson.[18]He became headmaster of the High School, Peshawar on 21 October 1919.[citation needed]

In 1920, the British government offered Mashriqi the ambassadorship of Afghanistan, and a year later he was offered a knighthood. However, he refused both awards.[19]

In 1930, he was passed over for a promotion in the government service, following which he went on medical leave. In 1932 he resigned, taking his pension, and settled down inIchhra,Lahore.[20]

Nobel nomination

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In 1924, at the age of 36, Mashriqi completed the first volume of his book,Tazkirah.It is a commentary on theQur'anin the light of science. It was nominated for theNobel Prizein 1925,[21]subject to the condition it was translated into one of theEuropean languages.However, Mashriqi declined the suggestion of translation.[2]

Political life

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Mashriqi's philosophy

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Atheistic evolutionistwho accepted some ofDarwin's ideas while criticizing others,[22]he declared that the science of religions was essentially the science of collective evolution of mankind; all prophets came to unite mankind, not to disrupt it; the basic law of all faiths is the law of unification and consolidation of the entire humanity.[17]According to Markus Daeschel, the philosophical ruminations of Mashriqi offer an opportunity to re-evaluate the meaning of colonial modernity and notion of post-colonialnation-buildingin modern times.[23]

Mashriqi is often portrayed as a controversial figure, a religious activist, a revolutionary, and an anarchist; while at the same time he is described as a visionary, a reformer, a leader, and a scientist-philosopher who was born ahead of his time.[5]

After Mashriqi resigned from government service, he laid the foundation of theKhaksar Tehrik(also known as Khaksar Movement) around 1930.[24][full citation needed]

Al-Islah (Khaksar Tehrikweekly)

Mashriqi and his Khaskar Tehrikopposed the partition of India.[25][26]He stated that the "last remedy under the present circumstances is that one and all rise against this conspiracy as one man. Let there be a common Hindu-Muslim Revolution.... it is time that we should sacrifice…in order to uphold Truth, Honour and Justice."[25]Mashriqi opposed the partition of India because he felt that if Muslims and Hindus had largely lived peacefully together in India for centuries, they could also do so in a free and united India.[3]Mashriqi saw the two-nation theory as a plot of the British to maintain control of the region more easily, if India was divided into two countries that were pitted against one another.[3]He reasoned that a division of India along religious lines would breed fundamentalism and extremism on both sides of the border.[3]Mashriqi thought that "Muslim majority areas were already under Muslim rule, so if any Muslims wanted to move to these areas, they were free to do so without having to divide the country."[3]To him, separatist leaders "were power hungry and misleading Muslims in order to bolster their own power by serving the British agenda."[3]

Imprisonments and allegations

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On 20 July 1943, an assassination attempt was made onMuhammad Ali JinnahbyRafiq Sabirwho was assumed to be a Khaksar worker.[27]The attack was deplored by Mashriqi, who denied any involvement. Later, Justice Blagden of theBombay High Courtin his ruling on 4 November 1943 dismissed any association between the attack and the Khaksars.[28]

In Pakistan, Mashriqi was imprisoned at least four times: in 1958 for alleged complicity in the murder of republican leaderKhan Abdul Jabbar Khan(popularly known as Dr. Khan Sahib); and, in 1962 for suspicion of attempting to overthrowPresident Ayub'sgovernment. However, none of the charges were proven, and he was acquitted in each case.[17][page needed]

In 1957, Mashriqi allegedly led 300,000 of his followers to the borders ofKashmir,intending, it is said, to launch a fight for its liberation. However, thePakistan governmentpersuaded the group to withdraw and the organisation was later disbanded.[29]

Death

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Mashriqi died at theMayo Hospitalin Lahore on 27 August 1963 following a short battle with cancer.[30]His funeral prayers were held at theBadshahi Mosqueand he was buried inIchhra.[30]He was survived by his wife and seven children.[citation needed]

Mashriqi's works

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Mashriqi's prominent works include:

  • Armughan-i-Hakeem,a poetical work
  • Dahulbab,a poetical work
  • Isha’arat,the Manifesto of the Khaksar movement
  • Khitab-e-Misr(The Egypt Address), based on his 1925 speech in Cairo as a delegate to theMotmar-e-Khilafat
  • Maulvi Ka Ghalat Mazhab
  • TazkirahVolume I, 1924, discussions on conflicts between religions, between religion and science, and the need to resolve these conflicts[2]
  • TazkirahVolume II. Posthumously published in 1964[2]
  • TazkirahVolume III.

Fellowships

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Mashriqi's fellowships included:[17][page needed]

Edited works

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  • God, Man, and Universe: As Conceived by a Mathematician(works of Inayatullah Khan el-Mashriqi), Akhuwat Publications, Rawalpindi, 1980 (edited by Syed Shabbir Hussain).

See also

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References

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  1. ^abcdeNasim Yousaf (24 August 2016)."The 'Belcha': Allama Mashriqi's powerful symbol for the Khaksar Tehrik".TwoCircles.net website.Retrieved22 January2018.
  2. ^abcdefProfile of Allama Mashriqi on storyofpakistan websiteUpdated 1 January 2007, Retrieved 22 January 2018
  3. ^abcdefYousaf, Nasim (31 August 2018)."Why Allama Mashriqi opposed the partition of India?".Global Village Space.Retrieved24 January2019.
  4. ^Archived atGhostarchiveand theWayback Machine:"RSS Ki Haqeeqat | Reality of RSS | Dr. Israr Ahmed".YouTube.
  5. ^abcS. Shabbir Hussain, Al-Mashriqi: The Disowned Genius, Lahore,Jang Publishers,1991
  6. ^Hardy (7 December 1972).The Muslims of British India.Cambridge University Press. p. 216.ISBN978-0-521-08488-8.
  7. ^abcNasim Yousaf,Pakistan's Freedom & Allama Mashriqi; Statements, Letters, Chronology of Khaksar Tehrik (Movement), Period: Mashriqi's Birth to 1947,page 3.
  8. ^Nasim Yousaf,Pakistan's Freedom & Allama Mashriqi; Statements, Letters, Chronology of Khaksar Tehrik (Movement), Period: Mashriqi's Birth to 1947,page 43.
  9. ^Nasim Yousaf,Pakistan's Freedom & Allama Mashriqi; Statements, Letters, Chronology of Khaksar Tehrik (Movement), Period: Mashriqi's Birth to 1947,page 45.
  10. ^The Times,23 June 1908, page 12.
  11. ^The Times,16 June 1909, page 9.
  12. ^The Times,17 June 1911, page 6.
  13. ^M. Aslam Malik,Allama Inayatullah Mashraqi,page 3.
  14. ^Nasim Yousaf,Pakistan's Freedom & Allama Mashriqi; Statements, Letters, Chronology of Khaksar Tehrik (Movement), Period: Mashriqi's Birth to 1947,page 46.
  15. ^The Times,13 June 1912, page 7
  16. ^M. Aslam Malik,Allama Inayatullah Mashraqi,page 4.
  17. ^abcdS. Shabbir Hussain (ed.), God, Man, and Universe, Akhuwat Publications, Rawalpindi, 1980
  18. ^Hira Lal Seth,The Khaksar Movement Under Search Light And the Life Story of Its Leader Allama Mashriqi(Hero Publications, 1946), p 16
  19. ^Nasim Yousaf,Pakistan's Freedom & Allama Mashriqi; Statements, Letters, Chronology of Khaksar Tehrik (Movement), Period: Mashriqi's Birth to 1947,page 30.
  20. ^Shan Muhammed, Khaksar Movement in India, Pub. Meenakshi Prakashan, Meerut, 1973
  21. ^Sheikh, Majid (17 August 2014)."Harking Back: Cost of ignoring a man like Mashriqi".DAWN.COM.Retrieved22 July2020.
  22. ^Dr Sarfraz Hussain Ansari, "The Modern Decalogue: Mashriqi’s Concept of a Dynamic Community",ISSRA Papers 2013,pp. 10-11
  23. ^Markus Daeschel,Scientism and its discontents: The Indo-Muslim "Fascism" of Inayatullah Khan Al-Mashriqi,Modern Intellectual History,3: pp. 443–472,Cambridge University Press.2006, Retrieved 22 January 2018
  24. ^Khaksar Tehrik Ki Jiddo Juhad Volume 1. Author Khaksar Sher Zaman
  25. ^abYousaf, Nasim (26 June 2012)."Justification of Partition in Books & Educational Syllabi Breeds Hatred and Terrorism".The Milli Gazette.
  26. ^Malik, Muhammad Aslam (2000).Allama Inayatullah Mashraqi: A Political Biography.Oxford University Press. p. 131.ISBN9780195791587.The resolution was a bad omen to all those parties, including the Khaksars, which were, in one way or the other, opposing the partition of the subcontinent.
  27. ^Jinnah of Pakistan,Calendar of events, 1943Archived27 September 2007 at theWayback Machine
  28. ^Akbar A. Peerbhoy, Jinnah Faces An Assassin, Bombay: Thacker & Co., 1943
  29. ^Obituary,The Times,29 August 1963
  30. ^abThe Pakistan Times, Lahore Reports, "Allama Mashriqi laid to rest", August 29 (PT 1963, Aug. 30)
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