Hindu–Muslim unity


Hindu–Muslim unity is a religiopolitical concept in the Indian subcontinent which stresses members of the two largest faith groups there, Hindus and Muslims working together for the common good. The concept was championed by various rulers of India, such as Mughal Emperor Akbar, leaders in the Indian independence movement, such as Mahatma Gandhi and Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, as well as by political parties and movements, such as the Indian National Congress, Khudai Khidmatgar and All India Azad Muslim Conference. Those who opposed the partition of colonial India often adhered to the doctrine of composite nationalism.

History

In Mughal India, the emperor Akbar advocated for Hindu–Muslim unity, appointing both Hindus and Muslims as officials in his court. Akbar participated and promoted festivals of both Hinduism and Islam, he also created feasts such as Phool Walon Ki Sair to be celebrated by citizens of all faiths.
Chhatrapati Shivaji also promoted Hindu-Muslim unity. Maratha Hindavi Swarajya had many Muslims in high posts. Shivaji's personal security, his most trusted courtiers were Muslims. A Muslim general had led the Maratha troops in the third battle of Panipat and sacrificed for the cause.
Sayyid Jamal al-Din al-Afghani Asadabadi advocated for Hindu-Muslim unity, holding that it would effectively combat British imperialism, leading to an independent India.
In the First War of Indian Independence in 1857, the Hindus and Muslims of India mobilized to fight the British. Reflecting on this in 2007, Manmohan Singh stated that these events "stood as a great testimony to the traditions of Hindu–Muslim unity that held out as an example for subsequent generations".
The Lucknow Pact of 1916 was seen as an "important step forward in achieving Hindu–Muslim unity" during the era of the Indian independence movement. Muhammad Ali Jinnah advocated Hindu–Muslim unity in early years of his political career. Gopal Krishna Gokhale stated that Jinnah "has true stuff in him, and that freedom from all sectarian prejudice which will make him the best ambassador of Hindu–Muslim Unity".
Muslim scholars of the Deoband school of thought, such as Qari Muhammad Tayyib and Kifayatullah Dihlawi, championed Hindu–Muslim unity, composite nationalism, and called for a united India. Maulana Sayyid Hussain Ahmad Madani, the leader of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, stated:
Malik Khizar Hayat Tiwana, the Premier of Punjab in colonial India, advocated for amity between the religious communities of undivided India, proclaiming March 1st as Communal Harmony Day and aiding in the establishment of a Communal Harmony Committee in Lahore, in which Raja Narendra Nath served as president and Maulvi Mahomed Ilyas as secretary.

Threats to Hindu–Muslim unity

In the First War of Indian Independence in 1857, Hindus and Muslims in India joined together as Indians to fight the British. The British became concerned about this rise in Indian nationalism and therefore tried to stir up communalistic feelings among Hindus and Muslims so that they might not again unite to try and overthrow crown rule. For example, Theodore Beck, the principal of Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College, had told Syed Ahmad Khan that Muslims should have no sympathy with the objectives of the Indian National Congress and "that Anglo-Muslims unity was possible, but Hindu–Muslims unity was impossible".
The author of Composite Nationalism and Islam, Maulana Husain Ahmad Madani, a Deobandi Muslim scholar and proponent of a united India, argued that the British were attempting to "scare Muslims into imagining that in a free India Muslims would lose their separate identity, and be absorbed into the Hindu fold", a threat that "aim at depoliticizing the Muslims, weaning them away from struggle
for independence." In the eyes of Madani, support for a two-nation theory resulted in the entrenchment of British imperialism.
In the same vein, Kashmiri Indian politician and Supreme Court judge Markandey Katju wrote in The Nation:
The Sangh Parivar which advocates the Hindutva philosophy formulated by right-wing Hindu fundamentalist leader Vinayak Damodar Savarkar is also opposed to Hindu-Muslim unity. Since Hindutva links religious identity with national identity, they don't consider Muslims & Christians to be loyal to India inspite of their Indian ancestry. Savarkar advocated that the Indian subcontinent is by & for those who consider it 'holy' i.e Hindus, Buddhists, Jains & Sikhs and since Muslims, Christians & Jews consider Mecca & Jerusalem as their holy land, they can't live in India unless they agree to live as second-class citizens with their religious rights curtailed, in retaliation of the atrocities committed upon Hindus during Muslim rule in India & British Raj or convert back to Hinduism.
At present thorny & sensitive issues like Babri Masjid demolition, ghettoisation & stereotyping of Muslims as terrorists & illegal infiltrators, increase in mob-lynching due to cow vigilante violence in India spearheaded by the rise of right wing Bharatiya Janata Party in Indian politics along with propagation of Hindutva ideology, labelling of political parties in India opposing BJP as 'anti-Hindu' & viewing of secularism as crypto Muslim-appeasement has affected Hindu Muslim unity in India to some extent.
, who became the Governor-General & later Prime Minister of Pakistan in 1948
Atrocities against minorities & radicalisation of the masses have also affected Hindu-Muslim unity in Pakistan & Bangladesh.