Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar (Politician)

About

Maulana Mohammad Ali Jouhar was an Indian Muslim leader, activist, scholar, journalist and poet, and was among the leading figures of the Khilafat Movement. He was the Sixth Muslim to become the President of Indian National Congress and it lasted only for few months. Muhammad Ali, (10 December 1878 to 4 January 1931) well-known as Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar was born in 1878 in Rampur in India.^[2]  About 

Family Background

He belonged to the family of famous Yousaf Zai, a "Rohilla" tribe of Pathans in Rohilkhand, the north west region of Uttarpardesh of India, however, their origin is traced back to the highland of Khyber pukhtoonkhawa, present day Pakistan. His ancestors settled in Rohilkhand, during the 19th century, later they settled in Rampur. He was the brother of Maulana Shaukat Ali and Maulana Zulfiqar Ali.^[3]  Family Background 

Education

Despite the early death of his father, the family strived and Ali attended the Darul Uloom Deoband,Aligarh Muslim University and Lincoln College, Oxford University in 1898, studying modern history. Upon his return to India, he served as education director for the Rampur state, and later joined the Baroda civil service.

Journalist

He became a brilliant writer and orator, and wrote for major English and Indian newspapers, in both English and Urdu. He himself launched the Urdu weekly Hamdard and English Comrade in 1911.^[4]  Journalist 

All India Muslim League President

He moved to Delhi in 1913. Mohammad Ali worked hard to expand the AMU, then known as the Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College, and was one of the co-founders of the Jamia Millia Islamia in 1920, which was later moved to Delhi. Mohammed Ali had attended the founding meeting of the All India Muslim League in Dhaka in 1906, and served as its president in 1918. He remained active in the League till 1928.

Convince the British Government

Ali represented the Muslim delegation that travelled to England in 1919 in order to convince the British government to influence the Turkish nationalist Mustafa Kemal not to depose the Sultan of Turkey, who was the Caliph of Islam. British rejection of their demands resulted in the formation of the Khilafat committee which directed Muslims all over India to protest and boycott the government. Now accorded the respectful title of Maulana, Ali formed in 1921, a broad coalition with Muslim nationalists like Maulana Shaukat Ali,Maulana Azad, Hakim Ajmal Khan, Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari and Indian nationalist leader Mahatma Gandhi, who enlisted the support of the Indian National Congress and many thousands of Hindus, who joined the Muslims in a demonstration of unity. Ali also wholeheartedly supported Gandhi's call for a national civil resistance movement, and inspired many hundreds of protests and strikes all over India.^[5] Convince the British Government 

Arrested

He was arrested by British authorities and imprisoned for two years for what was termed as a seditious speech at the meeting of the Khilafat Conference.^[6]  Arrested 

President of Indian National Congress in 1923

He was elected as President of Indian National Congress in 1923. Maulana Mohammad Ali was however, disillusioned by the failure of the Khilafat movement and Gandhi's suspension of civil disobedience in 1922, owing to the Chauri Chaura incident. He re-started his weekly Hamdard, and left the Congress Party. He opposed the Nehru Report, which was a document proposing constitutional reforms and a dominion status of an independent nation within the British Empire, written by a committee of Hindu and Muslim members of the Congress Party headed by President Motilal Nehru.

Supported the Fourteen Points of Muhammad Ali Jinnah

It was a major protest against the Simon Commission which had arrived in India to propose reforms but containing no Indian nor making any effort to listen to Indian voices. Mohammad Ali opposed the Nehru Report's rejection of separate electorates for Muslims, and supported the Fourteen Points of Muhammad Ali Jinnah and the League. He became a critic of Gandhi, breaking with fellow Muslim leaders like Maulana Azad,Hakim Ajmal Khan and Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari, who continued to support Gandhi and the Indian National Congress. Mohammad Ali said: "Even the most degraded Muhammadan was better than Mahatma Gandhi." Ali attended the Round Table Conference (The chairman being Sir Agha Khanof the Muslim delegation) to show that only the Muslim League spoke for India's Muslims.^[7]  Fourteen Points 

Died

He died soon after the conference in London, on January 4, 1931 and was buried in Jerusalem according to his own wish. The inscription written on his grave near the Dome of the Rock says: "Here lies al-Sayyid Muhammad Ali al-Hindi." Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar is remembered as a fiery leader of many of India's Muslims.

Hero of the Muslims of Pakistan

He is celebrated as a hero by the Muslims of Pakistan, who claim he inspired the Pakistan movement But in India, he is remembered for his leadership during Khilafat Movement and the Non-Cooperation Movement (1919-1922) and his leadership in Muslim education. The famous Muhammad Ali Road in south Bombay, India's largest city, is named after him.^[8] Hero of Pakistan 

Named in Honor of Maulana Mohammad Ali Johar

The Gulistan-e-Jauhar neighborhood of Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan's largest city. Mohammad Ali Co-operative Housing Society (M.A.C.H.S.) in Karachi are named in honor of Maulana Mohammad Ali Johar. Johar Town, Lahore, Punjab is also named after him. Maualana Muhammad Ali mosque in Singapore is named after him.

Familirty of Jouhar

Jauhar was not only an upright leader, activist, scholar but also a man of letters. His following Urdu stanza about martyrdom of Hussain ibn Ali a.s has been a slogan for many decades now: He along with Gandhi traveled to Britain for attending round table conference sometimes in the 1930s. There he delivered his famous speech which included his wish not to get buried in 'slave India'. During the same tour he fell ill and died in London. Respecting his wish, his followers brought his dead body to Palestine, which was then a British Mandated territory (not in Turkish control), and buried him at Baitul Mukhaddas. Many Indian Muslims with interest in history were wondering if his tomb is still intact. One Hyderabadi scholar Omar Khakidi who was working with MIT, Boston, found Maulana's grave, which was still in good shape.^[9] Enter Reference Here

Most Important About Moulana Jouhar

He was the most dynamic and versatile leader of the sub-continent and the Muslim World. He at the same time had seven-fold characteristics of the highest order in the following areas, such as: Educationist Poet Journalist Politician Islamic Scholar Philanthropist Freedom Fighter Besides above qualities, he was an excellent speaker and orator both in English and Urdu. H.G. Wells said about him  "He had the Heart of Napoleon, the Pen of Macaulay, and the Tongue of Berk" The most important facet of his life was his role as a valiant and dauntless fighter for freedom of India and Muslim World and bravely spoke to British Empire on the occasion of 3rd Round Table Conference held in 1930 at London and said the following golden words:  "I will not go to a slave country, Give independence to my country, if you cannot give freedom, then you will have to give me a place for my grave here."

Award

Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Academy award.

legacy

1. Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Hall, Hall of Boys' Residence, Jamia Millia Islamia (A Central University), New Delhi, India
2. Maulana Muhammad Ali (MMA) Hostel, Mohsinul-ul-Mulk Hall, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India
3. Maulana Mumammad Ali Jauhar Marg, New Delhi
4. Sada e Jauhar Magazine, Department of Islamic Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi
5. Muhammad Ali Road in south Mumbai, India
6. The Gulistan-e-Jauhar (Urdu: گلستانِ جوہر‎) neighbourhood of Karachi, Pakistan
7. Muhammad Ali Park, in central Kolkata, India
8. Mohammad Ali Co-operative Housing Society (M.A.C.H.S.) in Karachi, Pakistan
9. Johar Town in Lahore, Pakistan
10. Jauharabad, a city in Punjab, Pakistan
11. The Jauharabad area in Karachi, Pakistan
12. Maualana Muhammad Ali mosque in Singapore
13. Gandhi Muhammad Ali Memorial Intermediate College, a Senior Secondary School in Bilthera Road town of Ballia district, Uttar Pradesh, India.
14. Mohammad Ali Jauhar University, Rampur, Uttar Pradesh, India
15. TwoCircles.net, a news website, is inspired by a quote of Mohammad Ali Jouhar. TwoCircles.net
16. Moulana Mohammad Ali Jouhar Academy of International Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi
17. Being Inspired by His Excellent English Journalism, A Separate English library Has Been established in World Renowned Islamic Seminary Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama, Lucknow, India.
18. Jouhar Hostel, Sindh Agriculture University Tando Jam, Sindh, Pakistan.
19. Muhammad Ali Jauhar Higher Secondary School, Elettil, Calicut district, Kerala, India, 673572. This is a Senior Secondary school with classes from VIII to XII. This school has contributed tremendously in promoting the education in the backward region of the North Kerala.
20. Pakistan Postal Services issued a commemorative stamp for Mohammad Ali Jouhar in its 'Pioneers of Freedom' series.^[10] Legacy

Comrade Weekly English-Language Newspaper

The Comrade was a weekly English-language newspaper that was published and edited by Maulana Mohammad Ali between 1911 and 1914.Mohammad Ali was a forceful orator and writer, contributing articles to various newspapers including The Times, The Observer and The Manchester Guardian before he launched The Comrade. Produced on expensive paper, The Comrade quickly gained circulation and influence becoming famous even internationally, securing subscribers in several foreign countries. The paper, launched from Calcutta, shifted to Delhi, the newly announced capital of the Raj, in 1912 where the first issue of the Delhi edition appeared on October 12. In 1913, in order to reach out to the Muslim masses he started an Urdu daily, the Hamdard.^[11]  Comrade Weekly 

Aims of The comrade Newspaper

Ali aimed to create national and global networks of support for Muslim causes through The Comrade. It carried several articles that highlighted the plight of Muslims globally during important international events of the time such as the Balkan Wars, the occupation of Egypt by the British and Turkey’s role in the First World War. The articles and editorials were particularly scathing of a perceived British hostility to the Muslim world in general and to Turkey in particular. In his Discovery of India, Jawaharlal Nehru observed thus about Ali and his journalistic stance in The Comrade: "The annulment of the Partition of Bengal in 1911 had given him a shock and his faith in the bona fides of the British Government had been shaken. The Balkan Wars moved him and he wrote passionately in favour of Turkey and the Islamic tradition it represented. Progressively he grew more anti-British and the entry of Turkey in World War I completed the process".

Mohammad Ali As a Journalist

A career in journalism was the only option, the only avenue through which Mohamed Ali could prove to be of any appreciable use to it (Muslim community), while still earning a livelihood. His journalistic ventures, beginning with the Comrade on 14 January 1911, were successful “the frank recognition of yawning differences that divide” Hindus and Muslims. Written and edited by one man and produced on expensive paper, The Comrade quickly gained circulation and influence. After twenty months the paper moved to Delhi, the Raj’s new capital. His own articles, laced with long and tedious quotations, tended to be verbose and repetitive. Yet he created for himself a broad-based readership because he wrote, just as he spoke, with passion and fervour. 'No paper has so much influence with the students as the Comrade, and no individual has the authority over them which is exercised by Mohamed Ali,' reported the UP government in 1914. When he wanted to stop publishing the Hamdard at the beginning of his internment, Wilayat Ali, the well-known columnist, begged him not to do so: 'I do not approve of your decision and I do not think many will.... You cannot imagine what the loss of Hamdard will mean to us--the Musalmans.' Wilayat Ali recognised, as did others, that the Comrade and Hamdard contributed to a general awakening of educated Muslims who read and financially supported these newspapers.^[12]  Mohammad Ali As a Journalist