In presenting a story of the politics of the area covered by this study, i.e., Eastern

Transcription

1 Chapter VIII Conclusion In presenting a story of the politics of the area covered by this study, i.e., Eastern Bengal and Assam, an effort has been made to examine the role of the Ulama in politics between 1905 and This study covering one of the most important periods of subcontinental history tries to present the regional politics in its larger anti-colonial background and examines the role of the Ulama in it. Though traditionally the Ulama as learned scholars of Islamic thought, religious practices and socio-political philosophy had come to occupy a pivotal role in the political processes and decision making since the medieval period, which has been examined by various scholars like K.A. Nizami or even Nusrat Paterna of the University of Dacca in her tract 'The Role of the Ulama in the Politics of the Sultanat of Delhi' which was presented at the Conference of Association OfHistorians Of Asia at Dhaka in But in the context of Eastern Bengal and Assam, their role has found expression in the process of Islamisation and identity creation as 'Muslims' in the years preceding the period of my study. It would be pertinent to note that in the area covered by this study, the Ulama at the local levels traced their decent and 'ilm' not only from the famous Ulama centres of Deoband but also from the local or regional centres of Islamic learning as in the Madrassas of Rajshahi, Chittagong, Dacca et. The study of the Ulama in this sense covers the role of these local as also the other Alims. Maulanas and Maulvis, who irrespective of their origin tried to shape the destiny 248

2 and direction of the Muslim community into the larger political canvas of anti-colonial politics. In the first chapter, which is the introduction, an attempt is made to trace the development of Muslim consciousness and political outlook in the back drop of the colonial rule. Moreover, an effort is made to contrast this consciousness with the general political development in colonial India as also study the reaction of the different groups in Muslim society in this changed environment. By the beginning of the nineteenth century emerged the likes of Raja Ram Mohan Roy, who tried to rediscover the spirit of rationality in Indian thought and scriptures. Though Ram Mohan's Brahmo Samaj Movement basically aimed at reformation of Hindu Society, his ~-Ul-Muwahidin and Precepts of Jesus were clear calls to the Muslims and Christians respectively to join the reform process. Sir Syed Ahmed Khan's Aligarh Movement contributed to the promotion of education among the Muslims and the emergence of a Muslim Middle class in the Indian society. This process led to the emergence of an educated elite, also called the Indian Middle class, who would be the vanguard of the anti colonial movement in India. A brief overview has been attempted of the Muslims who were enveloped in despondency in the post 1858 era, which were reflected in the low level of participation of Muslims all over India in general and Bengal in particular in the Congress sessions, a trend which was reversed in Bengal by the outbreak of the Swadeshi Movement. In the second chapter, the thesis examines the rural Muslim society and the position of the Ulama in the traditional societies of Eastern Bengal and Assam. The disparity between the Hindus and the Muslims in terms of public employment or in terms 249

3 of penetration of western education in English medium or in the sharing of economic resources, viz. in the distribution of land in Bengal and Assam as well, led to the Muslim society at large, clinging into traditionalism and orthodoxy. It was a continuance of the medieval social setup in the community at large, where the Ulama continued their traditional social role as linkmen between the masses and the world. This role persisted throughout the nineteenth century where the Ulama had an active role in the politics of the Muslim community in Bengal and Assam. The third chapter tries to examine the political developments that took place in Eastern Bengal and Assam with the decision of the colonial government to partition Bengal and create a new province of Eastern Bengal and Assam, which came into effect in The chapter examines the different dimensions ofmuslim politics in this context of the anti-colonial movement that broke out in this area, which was commonly known as the Swadeshi Movement. Efforts have also been made in the context to examine the position taken by the rival political groups in this movement, one in favour and other against and bring to light the role of the Ulama with reference to this movement. The partition of Bengal brought the Hindus and the Muslims on a common platform, to oppose it, the propaganda unleashed by the colonial government portraying the new province as an answer to the demands of the Muslim elite in Bengal, had its effects. This chapter also examines the efforts of the colonial administrators to initiate communal polarisation in Bengali society. With the initiation of mass based politics, the reaction of the vast multitude of common Muslims, who were ryots under Hindu Zamindars predominantly, has been examined and they are found to have begun moving away from 250

4 the movement because of the economic hardship they were experiencing due to the artificial demand of the swadeshi goods. It is in this atmosphere of social, economic and political tension that the Ulama have been found to have played a critical role in favour of rival positions in this movement. The role of the Ulama in the birth of the Muslim League and the popularisation of its ideals and agenda is also examined in this chapter. In the fourth chapter examines the background and the birth of the Muslim League and the role of the Ulama in it. This chapter also examines the relationship between the Ulama and their different organizations with the Muslim League from its inception to the partition of India in The disillusionment of the Muslim elite with the leadership of the Swadeshi Movement heightened the realisation of the distinct Islamic identity among the Muslim elite. 'Eastern Bengal and Assam' offered to them a new promise. The foundation of the Muslim League at Dacca was partly an expression of this desire among them to protect what they had achieved. Now the attention was devoted to expansion of their power base in the rural districts, through the instrumentality of the Anjumans. The Ulama, in these public bodies, began to appear, with the theological weapon in their hands in the favour of the upper class Muslims and their political organ the Muslim League. The mass contact enjoyed by the Ulama made them an indispensable ally of the League. The fifth chapter devotes itself to the role of the Ulama in the politics of a crucial period of Indian anti-colonial movement, which was dominated by Gandhi as the foremost ofthe political personalities in the movement i.e., between 1918 and The Khilafat Non-Cooperation Agitations in Bengal involved the Muslim peasantry for the 251

5 first time, the initiative for which lay with the Ulama, mainly belonging to the Farazi sect and the bulk of the agitators in the movement being religious preachers themselves. The Muslim leadership of the movement had strong connection with the religious leadership of the peasantry. Many of them were Maulanas themselves. Even after the movement, the riots that followed, evidences show that the collective acts of the peasantry had strong religious ideology. The participation of the Muslims in the Civil Disobedience was negligible both in Bengal and Assam not only because of religious or economic issues but because these economic issues were raised along with issues of Muslim society, confining the masses within the Muslim theological orbit. Thus none could dispense with the Ulama, who were mobilised by the League in the elections. But with the coming together of the Krishak Praja Party and the League by 1940, the League-Ulama combine got the much sought after mass base. Assam which was well entrenched in Congress politics was brought within League sphere by The sixth chapter examines the history of anti-colonial politics with special reference to the principal rival political groups i.e., the Congress and the League and situates the Ulama in the politics of these rivals since the adoption of the Pakistan Resolution in With the adoption of the Lahore Resolution in 1940, the League spared no effect to give a concrete shape to the 'National Identity of the Indian Muslims'. To realise their aims the League leaders toured with the Ulama in Bengal and Assam, to mobilise public opinion. The Ulama in Bengal formed the Nikhil-Bharat-Jamiat-i-Ulamai-Islam and held its conclave at the Muhammad Ali Park, Calcutta, which was attended 252

6 by the leading Ulama from across the country. These Ulama activity also intensified in Assam where Maulanas joined the Muslim League. The seventh chapter situates the Ulama in the fast changing political scenario of With the arrival of Mountbatten in India, the transfer of power was a matter of time. The country was to be divided into India and Pakistan, which would have two wings i.e., West Pakistan and East Pakistan. There were efforts to include the whole of Assam into East Pakistan. The riots that broke out as a result of the call of the 'Direct Action' Day by Muhammad Ali Jinnah alienated the Hindus and Muslims. The emergence of the Hindu-Mahasabha, which had begun to play a role in Bengal and Assam by 1928, under the leadership of Shyam Prasad Mukherjee, raised the demand for division of Bengal into Hindu majority West Bengal and Muslim majority East Bengal. A Referendum was organised in the Bengalee and the Muslim majority Sylhet district, where the vote was in favour of joining Eastern Bengal. Thus India was divided into India and Pakistan and so was redivided Bengal and Assam, a development in which the Ulama played a major role. Though the Ulama as learned Islamic scholars were traditionally not expected to play a political role, they made their intervention in politics in India as early as in the medieval period, during the Delhi Sultanate to be more precise. 1 Their importance in the social life in Muslim societies have, since then made them a part of the decision making process in the governmental and administrative processes during the Sultanate and the Mughal periods. In the colonial period, in the Revolt of , their role in organizing 1 K. A. Nizami, Some Aspects of Religion and Politics in India, during the Thirteenth Century, p.i52 253

7 and leading the anti-colonial movement cannot be underestimated. 2 In the era of elite politics that followed the British success in suppressing the Revolt, the Ulama had also come about to organize themselves into playing a specific role. In the context of Bengal and Assam they played a vigorous role in determining the nature of Muslim social life. The role of the Ulama were clearly pronounced in the task of Islamisation of the Muslim rural masses in Eastern Bengal and Assam. During the Swadeshi Movement, their role became more political as they tried to take their position in the politics of the Swadeshi movement. While the decision to partition Bengal brought out the likes of Maulana Maniruzzaman Islamabadi and Maulvi Deedar Bux on the side of the pro Swadeshi and Anti Partition movements, there was a vigorous campaign against Swadeshi and Propartition also being led by the Ulama. There were reports of the Maulanas and Maulvis initially supporting the Swadeshi movement but subsequently joining the Pro Government bandwagon? The role of these Maul vis in trying to wean away the Muslim masses from the Congress led Swadeshi movement can hardly be exaggerated. In fact in Muslim society, which was largely rural as in Bengal and Assam, the role of these Ulama cannot be underestimated. These Maulvis went about the interior areas and campaigned against the Congress movement as being pro Hindu and intended to subjugate the Muslim masses. The Ulama as represented through these Maulanas and Maul vis issued fatwas, addressed meetings and even incited rural Muslim crowds to indulge in vandalism and hooliganism against the Hindus. The class character of the Muslims vis-a-vis the Hindus with Hindus being essentially Zamindars and Muslim the peasants also facilitated the 2 P. Hardy, Muslims in British India, p.65 3 Home Pol Eastern Bengal and Assam Police Abstract No. 11 dt 16 March 1907 NAI 254

8 propaganda campaign of these Ulama. The use of Hindu symbolism by the Congress leaders in the Swadeshi Movements also helped to alienate the Muslim masses from the movement on instigation of the Ulama. The collapse of the Swadeshi Movement by could also be attributed to the negative campaign against it by the Ulama in the rural areas of Bengal and Assam. With their entry into politics for the Ulama there was no looking back. However, the annulment of partition brought them into changing their position in colonial politics from being pro-government to being anti-imperialist. The Balkan crisis set in the backdrop of the annulment of partition brought about a new group among the Muslims who would come to dominate the Muslim League, which was becoming the most vocal organ of the Indian Muslims. The disillusionment of the Muslims with the British as a result of the annulment of partition brought home the futility of the politics of collaboration and the mood of these rising Muslim elite was antiimperialist. This was coupled with the ideas of Pan Islamism brought to Indian shores as a reaction to Balkan crisis, the vanguard of which were the Ulama. The coming together of these two groups in Muslim socio-political scene and bqth being equally antiimperialist as meaning Anti British facilitated the Lucknow Pact with the Congress. However, a sizable section ofthe Maulanas and Maulvis were against the pact prominent among them being the Pir of Furfura in Hoogly and the combine of Ulama and Maulvis brought together by Suhrawardy in his society of Maul vis and Ulama in Calcutta, which was though ostensibly to adopt measures for revival of Islamic learning and diffusion of Islamic culture and ideals, was a front which clearly intended to send out Maulvis to counter anti government feelings among the Muslims of Bengal as a counter to such 255

9 Ulama and their organizations which had adopted an anti government stance. 4 Indeed, the Ulama had come a long way from a time when their role was more social as part of the ordinary society and deriving their special position primarily from their supposed knowledge and learning of Islamic Theology to being participants in the political movement as seen in the Swadeshi Movement and the period thereafter. The Khilafat agitations further intensified their role in politics of the period. In fact, it was the Ulama who dictated the agenda and course of the entire Khilafat movement. The likes of Maulana Abdul Bari or Maulana Kafyetullah who came to prominence during the Khilafat Agitations, decided the course of the agitations itself. In Bengal and Assam, the Ulama were led by Maulana Akram Khan and Maulana Moniruzzaman Islamabadi who guided the course of the Khilafat agitations in this area. Besides there were a host of other lesser known alims who galvanized the Muslim masses against the colonial government and in favour of the Khilafat agitations. These Ulama extensively campaigned in the rural areas to enjoin the faithful to perform jehad. The Ulama from Bengal and other presidencies had come onto campaign throughout the province of Bengal and even in Assam in this movement. There was large scale arrest of the Ulama in this area, during this movement. The collapse of the Khilafat agitations and the rise of the Tabligh and Tanzeem movements saw the Ulama come to the forefront of this movement to counter the Shuddhi and the Sangathan movements of the Hindus which contributed in no small a measure in the Hindu-Muslim conflict in Eastern Bengal and Assam. The activities of the Hindu Mission as the organization spearheading the 4 C. P. Sarkar, pp

10 Hindu Suddhi and Sangathan movements also saw the efforts of the Muslims led by the Ulama trying to counter the same with Muslim meetins addressed by the likes ofmaulana Syed Hussain Ahmad and Maulvi Naziruddin who continued to disseminate Pan Islamic ideas spreading the message of Islamic fraternity and solidarity. Communal polarization was complete due to the campaigns of these Ulama and the Hindu revivalists. Secular conflicts came to be identified in religious terms, a trend which started in the Anti Swadeshi movement and which became crystalised in this post Khilafat period. Mosques and Maulvis became the principal determinants ofmuslim mass opinion and attitudes and communal coexistence was an event of the past. The result of this antagonism also had its impact in the Civil Disobedience Movement, where there was a tussle between the Pro Congress and anti-congress Maulvis with the anti-congress maulvis succeeding in keeping the Muslims away from the movement by and large. With the elections of , the Government oflndia Act 1935, the Ulama came into politics in a big way. While, there was little doubt that since the Swadeshi and into Khilafat the Ulama had come to realize their potential as a leader of men who could have a major say in the sway of the political tide, by the elections of , they had come to be active participants in the electoral politics in the modern sense of the terms. Inspite of restricted nature of elections, the Ulama not only took a prominent role in contesting and campaigning for the election they began to take a keen interest in the party based politics that had come to be dominated by the Congress and the League in Eastern Bengal and Assam. With this election the role of the Ulama was gradually coming to become institutionalised through their participation in favour of or as candidates of contesting rival political parties. There 257

11 was now to be no looking back. The Ulama had come on their own forming their own party the Jamiat ul-ulama, which was an intensive participant in Indian political process. Besides large number of Ulama became active proponents of the League and actively campaigned for it in the 1937 elections in Bengal as example, the Pir of Furfura Maul ana Abu Bakr Sahib who issued fatwa in favour of the League candidate in the elections against the Proja candidates. By 1940, the Ulama had become one of the principal proponents of the League 'Pakistan Resolution' and actively participated in the Lahore Session and in the discussion to the Pakistan Resolution. In fact, after 1940, the League campaign to popularise its Pakistan Agenda and to carry and spread it to the masses was borne by the Ulama themselves. Religious conferences were held which sought to carry the League programme to the Muslim masses and instruct the local alems on their actions. The Congress on the other hand were not wanting in mobilizing the Ulama in its favour and against the League. While in this context the tussle between the League supported Ulama and finally their organization, the Nikhil Bharat Jamiat ul Ulama-i Islam and the Jamiat ul-ulama-i-hind has been oft discussed, documented and explored in the preceding three chapters, it is pertinent to note that the Congress supporting Ulama led by Hassain Ahmad Madani and the Jamiat ul-ulama-i-hind could not have much impact among the Muslims of Eastern Bengal and Assam save their few pockets of influence. The role of the Ulama becomes pronounced in the elections of 1946, when they became part of institutionalised party politics as candidates of either the League or the Congress supported Jamiat ul Ulama-i-Hind. While Maulana Hussain Ahmed Madani aggressively campaigned against the Muslim League in this election and toured Sylhet 258

12 and Cachar for this purpose the Muslim League campaign was led by Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan, the president of the Assam provincial Muslim League. Their participation however reached a peak in the communal mobilization of League volunteers as a result of the Direct Action call given by Muhammad Ali Jinnah and finally in the politics of the Referendum of Sylhet in Assam. The participation of the Ulama was also crucial in the context of immigration politics in Assam where the Ulama campaigned against eviction of and in favour of the immigrants. From being amorphous society leaders indulging in social mobilization in the nineteenth century and early twentieth century, the Swadeshi movement and the politics since then leading to the partition of the sub-continent into two states, the Ulama became part and parcel of Indian politics. Their role became extended from moulding society on the tenets of Islamisation to being key ideologues in the party based politics of colonial India both as part of Congress support group and the League organization. From being small time preachers who advised the Muslim rural folk on norms of social conduct, the Ulama had come on to play a key role in determining the flow of Indian politics. While their role in the Swadeshi movement was more individualistic with numerous alems maulanas and maulvis working for and against Swadeshi, by the Khilafat their role becomes more formalized with the Ulama occupying a pride of place in the League Annual Conference of30 1 h and Dec 1918 at Delhi. The intensification ofparty based politics and the introduction of electoral polity saw the role of these alems becoming more institutionalised with their pronounced positions in favour of or as part of two principal parties in Indian politics, the Congress and the League. In fact in an area as 259

13 Eastern Bengal and Assam, the Ulama like Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan of Bhamichar had much to be credited with the galvanization of the Muslim League Organization through the holding of League meetings in Assam, which had been much appreciated by none less than Muhammad Ali Jinnah. In fact, the Ulama clearly moulded the agenda of the League during the period and moved into far-flung prohibitive interiors to popularize the League agenda, which was one of the principal determinants of the League success vis-a-vis the Hindus. When the partition of India came on the fateful day of 14th August 1947, there was little doubt that the cause of communal politics had won, and this was possible in more ways than one for the role of the Ulama who had come to dominate politics between 1905 and In this sense the politics from partition of Bengal to partition of India in Eastern Bengal and Assam was also the story of the Ulama in the politics of the region. In conclusion, the main findings of this study are listed as follows: (1) While traditionally the Ulama were not to be associated with politics, they did play a role in sub-continental politics since the days of Delhi Sultanate. (2) In the context of anti colonial politics, the Ulama did play an active role during the Revolt of 1857,which greatly determined the colonial state viewing the Muslims as suspects long after the Revolt was suppressed../ (3) With the inception of elite politics and their reaction to the colonial state, the Ulama were also associated with their efforts. While the Congress sought the support of the Deobandi Alems to buttress their support in the Muslim community, the emerging Muslim elite led by Syed Ahmed Khan also tried to implement their anti Congress agenda with the support of the local Ulama

14 ( 4) In Eastern Bengal and Assam, there were distinctly two categories of Ulama, the first were those who were trained from the established seminaries and the second were those who were the village level clergy who were integrated into the class of preachers through their activities at the village level. It is because of the combined effort of these two categories that the Ulama were able to play an active role in the society and politics of Eastern Bengal and Assam. ( 5) While the Congress and the Hindus enjoyed the collaboration with the well known Ulama since the establishment ofthe Congress itself by soliciting the support of the Deobandi Alims, the clergy at the lower levels who operated \ \ at the villages in Bengal favoured the League and before it Sir Syed and his ll brand of anti-congress politics. They propagated a distinct dose of anti Congress philosophy in the politics of Eastern Bengal and Assam. (6) During the nineteenth century, these Ulama at the lower levels were instrumental in the dissemination of Islamisation among the rural Muslims of Bengal and Assam. (7) In the Swadeshi movement witnessed extensive mobilization of the Ulama in it. In this Movement more established Ulama worked in their individual capacity against Partition and in favour of Swadeshi while the Ulama at the grassroot in general were pro-partitionist and worked to popularise the League agenda and campaigned against Swadeshi and Boycott. (8) Pan Islamisation, which came to India with the outbreak of the Turko-Italian war consolidated the alliance between Western educated elites and the Ulama and they made common anti-colonial and anti-imperialist cause. These saw the Ulama come out of the domains of local or village politics in their effort to mould the larger political agenda of the age. This not only facilitated the Lucknow Pact but also saw their active role in the British War effort and the Khilafat movement that came after it. 261

15 (9) The entente between the League and the Ulama since the birth of the League gave a formalized role to these Islamic law doctors in the party based politics of the twentieth century. The Ulama actively participated in the Muslim League conference on the 3Oth and 3 1st December 1918 and determined the character of the Khilafat agitations. This association between the two sections of the Muslim society, i.e., one being western educated elite and the other the traditional leadership of the Muslim society was to continue till the partition of India and creation of Pakistan. ( 1 0) With the withdrawal of the Khilafat movement the cordiality between the Muslims and the Hindus were brought to an end because of the Suddhi movement led by the Arya Samaj and the Tabliq - and Tanzeem movement led by the Ulama who reinforced the ideas of Islamisation among the Muslim masses in the twentieth century. These movements helped to mobilize support for the Muslim League. The Ulama were also active during the Civil Disobedience Movement both in favour and against. The general apathy of the Muslim masses who desisted from joining this Congress led movement indicates the success of the pro-muslim League Ulama propaganda. Between , the Ulama facilitated the expansion of the Muslim League organization into the interiors of Eastern Bengal and Assam. In Assam where the League was formed only in 1928, the rapid expansion and consolidation of the League mass base can be safely ascribed to the efforts of the Ulama. ( 11) The Ulama threw themselves into the midst of electoral politics in the elections of , when they actively campaigned for the parties who participated in this electoral process, though the single minded focus of the Muslim League in targeting the Muslim mass support made them a favourite of the Ulama. In fact, the Ulama's successful campaign in Bengal and Assam singularly ensured Muslim League political survival in colonial India after its debacle in all other Muslim majority provinces. 262

16 (12) That after these elections the League-Ulama combine focused their attention to galvanise the Muslim masses in support of the Muslim League for which the Muslim samities were formed in Eastern Bengal and Assam which became a platform for bringing about a much closer working relationship between the League and the Ulama. (13) In Assam the growing heat of politics brewing over the immigration question and the settlement of the immigrants i.e., those Muslims came to Assam from Eastern Bengal saw the Ulama come out as aggressive campaigners in support of the immigrants. (14) The Pakistan Resolution passed in the Lahore Conference of the All India Muslim League saw an overwhelming section of the Ulama come out as active proponents of Pakistan and carried forward with their single minded devotion. ( 15) The Congress, which was against Pakistan Resolution enlisted the support of the Ulama who were against the Muslim League. This group of Ulama were organized under the Jamiat-ul-Ulama-i-Hind which aggressively campaigned the Muslim League and Pakistan. ( 16) The organization of the Muslim League politics in the run up to the elections of 1946, saw the Ulama organize themselves to ensure League success. - Similar mobilization and organization was also evident in the Sylhet Referendum ( 17) The Anti-Colonial politics of the twentieth century was increasingly viewed on religious lines where the two competing political parties, the Congress and the Muslim League were identified as representing Hindu and Muslim interests respectively. In other words communalisation of politics in India was completed in the context of the Anti-Colonial movement in which the Ulama of Eastern Bengal and Assam played a crucial role. Even the colonial state secured the assistance of the Ulama to spread its ideas among the 263

17 masses and there was a close working relationship between the two on various Issues. (18) It is evident that the Ulama were behind both the League and the Congress, which tried to counter the growing Muslim League influence among the Muslim masses with the support of the Jamiat-ul-Ulama-i-Hind. But there is no doubt that the League supporting Ulama were better organized and the League-Ulama combine had out manoeuvred the Congress and the Jamiatul-Ulama-i-Hind in all the movements till (19) It is because of the Ulama-League entente in Bengal and Assam that the Muslim League was able to revive itself inspite of its unimpressive performance in the elections of and play a crucial role in the politics of India. (20) The success of the League organization in Eastern Bengal and Assam was instrumental in making the League steadfast in its resolve of securing Pakistan and it was the Ulama who as the messenger of the Muslim League in the interior villages of Eastern Bengal and Assam helped to popularise the Pakistan demand. (21) By facilitating Muslim League revival and the dissemination of the Pakistan propaganda, the Ulama of Eastern Bengal and Assam contributed in no small a measure to ensure the creation of Pakistan and the success of the League. With partition completed, the Ulama began to join mainstream politics of India.. They began to evolve their own mechanism of retaining their political role in this area. They sought the membership of the Congress party which provided a new and viable platform and opportunities for them in these changed political scenario. 5 It can be 5 AICC Papers G , Telegram dt. 11th June 1948 from Secy. Sub divisional Jamiat ul-ulama Committee Hailakandi to AICC Secretary. 264

18 concluded that the Ulama played a crucial role in colonial politics. In the determination of electoral fortunes of the major political parties viz. the Congress and the Muslim League, the Ulama were their main instruments of mobilization among the Muslim ( community. The success of communal politics which manifested itself in the second partition of Bengal and Assam also saw a climax of the activist role of the Ulama in Colonial politics, more so in Eastern Bengal and Assam which is the focus of this study. 265