Abul Muhasin Muhammad Sajjad: The Forgotten Champion of Hindu-Muslim Unity and India's Independence

By Syed Amjad Hussain, New Age Islam 26 November 2024 Abul Muhasin Muhammad Sajjad, A Prominent Scholar And Leader From Bihar, Championed Hindu-Muslim Unity And Fought For A United India During The Independence Movement. Despite His Efforts, His Legacy Remains Forgotten As Political Narratives Shifted After His Death. Main Points: 1. Abul Muhasin Muhammad Sajjad was a prominent scholar and leader from Bihar, advocating for Hindu-Muslim unity and a united India. 2. He contributed to the establishment of key Islamic institutions and played an active role in various independence movements. 3. Sajjad opposed the partition of India and sought composite nationalism. 4. He founded the Muslim Independent Party in 1935 to represent disillusioned Muslims. 5. Despite his efforts, Sajjad's legacy was overshadowed by later political shifts, and his contributions were largely forgotten after his death in 1940. ---- MSM HOSPITAL - Maulana Sajjad Memorial Hospital ----- Abul Muhasin Muhammad Sajjad, one of the towering figures from both the Indian independence movement as well as the political landscape of Bihar, lies buried in oblivion, though he has told much about Bihar and its foreground. Born in 1880 in the village of Panhessa, Nalanda district, Bihar, Sajjad was an outstanding Islamic scholar and a significant leader whose ideology touched upon various aspects of religious, social, and political life in pre-independence India. His efforts to bridge the gulf between Hindus and Muslims for the betterment of Bihar's intellectual as well as political fabric have yet to be understood in their proper perspective. This article delves into the life and legacy of Sajjad, a leader who championed unity, fought for a united India, and worked relentlessly for the rights of Muslims, but the political tides that followed only served to overshadow him. A Scholarly Leader of Tradition and Reform Muhammad Sajjad's intellectual journey began early. Orphaned at four years old when his father, Hussain Baksh, died, Sajjad was brought up under the shadow of his elder brother, Hazrat Syed Ahmad Sajjad, who was a celebrated Sufi saint and is buried in Panhessa. He spent his young years devoted to theological learning, first at Madrasa Islamiyya in Bihar and then at Madrasa Subhaniyya in Allahabad, studying under learned scholars such as Abdul Kaafi. For years he studied in Bihar Sharif, Deoband, and Allahabad. He became a teacher and taught theology and Islamic law. Though Sajjad was essentially an intellectual, his work went beyond the academic sidelines. In 1917 he started the Anjuman-Ulama-e-Bihar, an organization dedicated to making Islamic scholarship flourish in the region. His participation in religious groups was furthered as he became a constituent of the foundation of Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind and Imarat-e-Sharia, organizations dedicated to the development of Islamic learning as well as political activism. Sajjad was not only an adherent scholar but also a very active leader through whom he believed education and unity might bring about social and political change. A Champion of Unity in a Divided India As India approached the struggle for independence, the country was internally torn asunder, with aspects that were probable to tear the nation apart. Sajjad rose as an outspoken votary of Hindu-Muslim unity at a moment when communal tensions in India were growing. Sajjad's opposition to the partition of India was formed from his belief in composite nationalism, that is, one single and united nation that at some point integrated Hindus and Muslims. Most especially, his efforts were visible in the three movements, namely the Non-cooperation Movement, Khilafat Movement, and Civil Disobedience Movement. He was a severe detractor of the single-minded politics of Muhammad Ali Jinnah and the Muslim League that seemed to promote Pakistan at the cost of every other thing. In contrast, Sajjad sighed for the unity of India with Hindus and Muslims respecting and living with equality to one another. His most notable role was in the Fatawa Tark-e-Mawaalat of 1920. The religious edict, which directed the boycott of British goods and was signed by more than 500 Muslim scholars, was issued by Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind. Sajjad's leadership as a member of these movements emphasizes the belief that independence could only be forthcoming from unity—both religious and national. Emergence of the Muslim Independent Party Despite his unconcealed efforts at promoting unity, Sajjad's political career encountered great difficulties, mainly due to the erosion of faith in both Indian National Congress and Muslim League among Bihari Muslims. Thus, in 1935, when at least some sections of Bihari Muslims had lost faith in Congress as well as Muslim League, Sajjad formed the Muslim Independent Party, whose main objective was to present the Muslims who did not enjoy much in Congress nor found themselves comfortably placed with the separatist move of the Muslim League. There was at this point in Bihar's politics the birth of the Muslim Independent Party. At the provincial elections in 1937, the party emerged as the largest Muslim political party in the state, winning 20 out of the 40 Muslim reserved seats. It was a victory which would tell of the appeal of the party and the great disillusionment that people had with the major national parties. On 1 April 1937, Barrister Mohammad Yunus, the president of the party, became Chief Minister of Bihar. The Muslim Independent Party wanted to carve out a coalition government with Congress to prove to the Muslim League that Hindus and Muslims could live harmoniously with identical dignity and rights. However, the stalwarts of the Indian National Congress scrapped it and instead forged their own government. After much political drama, young leaders like Jayaprakash Narayan attacked Yunus for accepting the governor's offer to form a government, and protests went up against the Muslim Independent Party's administration. It was at this point that the Muslim Independent Party began to lose power due to Sajjad's inability to influence events. However, the tenure of Muslim Independent Party in office was short-lived. The Congress soon managed to form the government in Bihar with the Muslim Independent Party pushed on the side. The loss of political power led to the decline in the influence of the party as well, and Sajjad's role in Bihar's political scenario was overshadowed by other larger national events. Tragically, Sajjad left this world on November 23, 1940, at the age of 60, before he could see the fruits of his vision for a united India. He is buried in the premises of Baagh-e-Mujeebiya, Phulwari Sharif, Patna. The years after his death saw drastic changes in the political structure of Bihar, as well as in the whole of India. The divided India that Sajjad had abhorred became a bitter reality when it was partitioned in 1947, and the region never remained unchanged. The unity and composite nationalism he envisioned for Hindus and Muslims was buried under religious and political factions that emerged in the aftermath of Pakistan's creation. Sajjad's input, though fundamental to the times he contributed to, vanished in time as other leaders, this time against colonial rule in India, emerged into prominence following independence. The Legacy of a Forgotten Leader Abul Muhasin Muhammad Sajjad is today a forgotten figure in the historical sands of Bihar. His role in the intellectual and political reorganization of pre-independence India has been relegated to the background of the bigger narratives of partition, the ascendance of the Muslim League, the national protagonists Jawaharlal Nehru and Muhammad Ali Jinnah, and all that followed. For the people of Bihar, however, Sajjad's legacy is one of unity, intellectual vigor, and a deep commitment to the idea of a secular, pluralistic India. Bihar's political leadership, particularly the Muslims among them, have almost forgotten Sajjad. For, the new politics of caste has overshadowed the memory of a leader who had been working without any break for communal harmony. Also, the education and cultural institutions that the state established with Sajjad's help are forgotten or short-changed. This vision of united, multi-religious India, where both Hindus and Muslims conducted their lives with dignity, remains an ideal yet to be fully realized by his successors. Bihar has forgotten the leader who fought to keep the state and the nation united in the face of divisive forces in the hustle of modern political narratives. But when will Bihar recall the man who was able to see a harmonious future, not only for the Muslims of the region but for all the people of the state? The history of Abul Muhasin Muhammad Sajjad remains one of the great unacknowledged contributions to India's independence struggle and its quest for unity. ----- Syed Amjad Hussain is an Author and Independent Research scholar on Sufism and Islam. He is currently working on his book ‘Bihar Aur Sufivad', based on History of Sufism in Bihar. 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