The topic we are going to discuss today is the Allama Iqbal’s Address of December 1930.All India ML held its annual session at Allahabad on 29 and 30th December 1930.A I presided that session and gave his presidential address and we are going to discuss that address. His address is also described as the Allahabad Address because the session of the ML was held at Allahabad. Our today’s presentation will be divided into three parts.
Allama Iqbal ranks among the intellectuals who had deep impact on history. He inspired Muslims in the Sub Continent and else where Iran, Turkey and Afghanistan where Muslims were inspired by his poetry and writings. He was moving spirit of Muslim’s search for identity and he gave a political option to deal with the situation and how that solution fitted well with his notion and concept of Ummah.He was in a way offering a dream a vision of future that was materialized after his death. Now we will discuss the 1st section of our lecture and that is,
Background:
Hindu-Muslim question was crucial to the history of British India; Hindu Muslim question meant is that what would be the relationship between the two communities in the political and constitutional domains, what would be the rights provided to the Muslims and what are going to be the safeguards and guarantees for those rights. That was the Hindu Muslim question that acquired salience in the 20th century and this became a kind of a central question which the Muslims were dealing with. The Congress perspective was that this issue of Hindu Muslim relationship is the product of divide and rule policy. The British had consciously created splits and divisions therefore it was an artificial issue which should not be emphasized. For Muslims it was the core issue, I was the central issue, it related to their culture, civilization, heritage and the type of arrangement that were to be done in the future political and constitutional arrangements of India.
Therefore Muslims were talking in terms of two nations not in terms of communities; they were talking about nations with distinct identities, nations with their own interests and their rights. So this was the basic difference that had developed between the Muslims and the other communities at that time when Iqbal gave this address. During that time three major issues were of concern for the Muslim community.
The 1st was the decline and degeneration of the Muslims, there was a time when Muslims were at the height of their power, they were ruling large section of the World, they were making great contributions o knowledge to science and technology but this phase ended and started a period of degeneration. Most of the Muslim states became the colonies of the European states. Then the industrial; revolution, development of science and technology became a preserve of the European nations. So, the question for Muslims was why the decline and degeneration has set in amongst the Muslims. The people who were important in the history of the World at one time were no longer important. The pivot of the international system has shifted to Europe, so this was one important issue that concerned the Muslims.
The 2nd issue was how to work for revival and regeneration of Muslims in general and how Muslims could overcome the decline and again assume their rightful place in the international system.