Muslim, Sikh and Parsi Reform Movements
Muslim reformers split between those who wanted modern education (Aligarh) and those who wanted a return to pure Islam (Deoband, Wahabi), while Sikhs and Parsis set up their own reform bodies.
Muslim reform
| Movement | Details |
|---|---|
| Wahabi (Walliullah) movement | Inspired by Shah Waliullah (1703 to 1762) and led by Syed Ahmad Barelvi (killed at Balakot, 1831). Wished to return to pure Islam and fought Sikh rule. Continued in Patna and the north-west; campaigns against the British in the 1860s. |
| Titu Mir (Mir Nisar Ali) | Led peasants against zamindars in Bengal (Barasat, 1831); not really a religious fight only. |
| Faraizi movement | Founded by Haji Shariatullah (1818) in East Bengal. His son Dudu Miyan (Muhammad Mohsin) led the peasants against zamindars and indigo planters. |
| Aligarh movement | Sir Syed Ahmad Khan (1817 to 1898). Asbab-e-Baghawat-e-Hind (1859, on the causes of the Revolt). Scientific Society (Ghazipur, 1864). Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental (MAO) College, Aligarh (1875), which became Aligarh Muslim University (1920). His journal Tahzib-ul-Akhlaq (1870). He asked Muslims to stay away from the Congress and be loyal to the British, and founded the Patriotic Association (1888). |
| Deoband movement | Darul Uloom, Deoband (1866) by Muhammad Qasim Nanotvi and Rashid Ahmad Gangohi. Wished to teach pure Islam and oppose Western influence. Its ulema later supported the Congress and the Khilafat Movement (Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, 1919). |
| Ahmadiyya | Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1889), Qadian. |
| Others | Muhammadan Literary Society (1863), Abdul Latif; Anjuman-i-Himayat-i-Islam (Lahore, 1884); Nadwat-ul-Ulama (Lucknow, 1894). |
Sikh reform
- Singh Sabha Movement (Amritsar, 1873), then Lahore (1879): modern education and the revival of Sikh identity. Khalsa College, Amritsar (1892).
- Akali Movement (1920s): freed the Gurdwaras from corrupt mahants. SGPC formed in 1920. Nankana Sahib (1921), Guru-ka-Bagh (1922), Jaito (1923 to 1925). The Sikh Gurdwaras Act (1925) was passed.
- Nirankari (Baba Dayal Das) and Namdhari or Kuka (Baba Ram Singh) movements were earlier reformist/revivalist.
Parsi reform
- Rahnumai Mazdayasnan Sabha (1851) by Naoroji Furdonji, Dadabhai Naoroji, K.R. Cama and S.S. Bengalee. Its paper was Rast Goftar. They worked for women's education and reform of Parsi marriage and customs.
Keep practising
Notes are only half the work. Test yourself with questions and discuss doubts with other aspirants.
Prepared for exam revision from standard sources such as NCERT, Bipan Chandra, Spectrum and official records. Historians differ on some dates, figures and interpretations, so check your exam syllabus and a standard textbook. Found a mistake? Tell us.