"Communalism had been the political ideology of the Muslim elite, which had developed a vested interest in it".

This observation of Moin Shakir (Muslims in free India -, page 5), a well known Muslim writer could equally apply to various radical Islamists in India, who launched Islamic revivalist movements during the period of freedom struggle. Setting up Indian Union Muslim League in 1906 as a political party was the "first major step in the direction of the separatist movement among Indian Muslims" (Asghar Ali Engineer - Indian Muslims - Page 61), and also a subtle move to widen the rift between Hindus and Muslims. Similarly, Tabligh Jama'at, though claims to be an apolitical Islamic movement indirectly helped the political interest of upper class Muslims. By separating the common Muslim mass from the cultural and social mainstream of Indian society, it caused immense damage to Indian society in widening the gap of mistrust between Hindus and Muslims. With its conviction that any country under non-Muslim rules was 'Dar-ul-Harb', it also joined other Islamic radicals in obstructing common Muslims to integrate in the social and cultural mainstream of India. Therefore, Tabligh Jama'at's contribution to Muslim League in reaping the bitter harvest of partition cannot be minimised.

The three prominent Muslim empires namely Mughal Empire in India, Safabid Monarchy in Persia and Ottoman Empire in Turkey, that entered into a phase of relative decline; prompted the radical Islamists to launch Islamic revivalist movements. Of them, collapse of Ottoman Empire in 1924 and failure of Khilafat movement worked as catalyst and turned the course of the history of Hindu - Muslim relations in India. Being apprehensive of the 'omnivorous capacity of Hinduism' as projected by biased foreign scholars, the contemporary Islamic thinkers of Indian sub-continent did not allow Islam under the fraternal embrace of divergent faiths by Hinduism. They rather strongly opposed the philosophy of Hinduism to absorb all shades of spiritual thought. Radical Islamists viewed the assertive role of Hindu leaders in freedom movement for establishing democratic polity - a subjugation of Muslims under Hindu rule.

The Khilafat movement, which was also a part of pan-Islamic movement, left a deep imprint on Muslim psyche. It caused incalculable harm to the efforts of leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and Nehru for secular and democratic integration of Muslims in the mainstream of Indian society. Ulama and Muslim elite played leading role in Islamisation of Muslim politics and carried the legacy of Shariatisation for the success of their movement. Their organised attempt to undermine the concept of secular and democratic body politic with ultimate objective for establishment of Islamic political order in this country got a boost, when Maulana Ilyas (1885-1944) founded Tabligh Jama'at (Congregation for religious propaganda) around 1927 (Encyclopaedia of Islam - Leiden). (Belonging to the scholarly lineage of Khandalwi family of United Province (Present Uttar Pradesh), Maulana Muhammad Ilyas also felt disappointed with the failure of Khilafat movement and the assertive role of Hindu leaders in freedom movement. With his educational background in Deoband, he was also under the influence of Wahhabi school of Islam. (Muhammad Abd-ul Wahhab founded a puritanical sect of Islam in Arabia during the eighteenth century. For him return to the prophet era was the only answer to contain the decline of Muslim rule in various parts of the world). He had joined Deoband in 1908 and later became an instructor at one of Deoband's sister institutions - Mazahir - ul-Ulum in Saharanpur. After the death of his elder brother, he settled down in Nizamuddin to look after the work of madrasa set up by his father Muhammad Ismail at Nizamuddin, New Delhi.

Rejecting any modernistic interpretation of Islam, Ilyas emerged as one of the major contributors of separatist politics among the Indian Muslims. His vision was also influenced with the perception of ephemeral existence of Muslim leaders in post-freedom political scenario. He therefore, started living in seclusion at the mosque-cum madrasa at Nizamuddin, where he subsequently founded Tabligh Jama'at. Initially, Ilyas tried to start his preaching from Saudi Arabia as he felt that the Muslims of that country required such preaching more than India. But ironically, he was not permitted to do his missionary venture in that land from where Islam had originated. The then Saudi Government seemed suspicious that Ilyas' preaching might become political and arouse feelings against puritanical Government. To find an answer to the cause of decline in Muslim rule, he felt, "Muslims in India were becoming increasingly ignorant of the essentials of Islam ….. likened his task to the tilling of land and irrigating it ( Islamic fundamentalism in India by M.S.Agwani, page 45).

Purifying the religious practices among the common Muslims and inculcating deep faith among them towards Islam were the avowed objectives of Ilyas' for promoting unity among his co-religionists. He therefore, launched Tabligh movement as a missionary venture. His effort was for 're-conversion of Muslims' for their total commitment to Islam and to inspire them to undertake actions in this life for sure reward by God. Instead of orientation of Muslims for a just society, the preaching was only for adherence to the Islamic pattern of life of Prophet era.

Ilyas started his venture with voluntary groups of Muslims from Nizamuddin mosque- popularly known as ' Bangalewali Masjid', which continues to be the head quarter of Tabligh Jama'at. With Tabligh centre and Madrasa Kasif-e-Aloom, this mosque is now one of the famous Islamic institutions in the world. While Tabligh centre is meant for stay of volunteers for three-four days, before they move on tours, Madrasa is the centre for in depth study of Quran and Hadith for years.

The movement of Tabligh Jama'at is based on six of the following basic principles:

i. Kalima (Attestation of faith i.e. La ilaha illa'llahu; Muhammadun Rasul-ullha -There is no deity but God; Muhammad is the Apostle of God) ).

ii. Namaz (Prayer. Eight times compulsory Namaz for teachers and five times for common Tablighis).

iii. Ilm (Knowledge of Islamic texts).

iv. Ikram-e-Muslim (Respect for Muslims).

v. Ikhlas-e-Niyat (Purity of intention and sincerity).

vi. Tafri-e-waqt (Sparing time for Tablighi tours and self-reformation and proselytization).

Besides, Maulana Ilyas in course of his travels also emphasised upon strict compliance of the following by every Muslim:

1. Adoption of Islamic appearance and dress.

2. Observance of Islamic ceremonies and rejection of non-Islamic ones.

3. Seclusion of women.

4. Performance of nikah or marriage cerimony strictly in the Islamic manner.

5. Adherence of Muslim dress by women.

6. Non-deviation from Islamic beliefs and non-acceptance of any other religion.

7. Protection and preservation of mutual rights.

8. Participation of responsible persons in every meeting and convention.

9. Pledge not to impart secular instruction to children before they complete religious learning.

10. Pledge to strive and endeavour for the preaching of religion.

11. Pledge to protect the dignity and respect of one another.

12. Observance of cleanliness.

Iliyas was so much obsessed to the Islamic way of life that when a much praised youth, who had completed his study of the Quran but clean-shaven - was presented before him during his travel, he was distressed to see the absence of Islam on his outward appearance (The Faith Movement of Maulana Ilyas by M. Anwarul Haq, page 108-109). The on going aggressive design of Islamic terrorists to impose Islamic dress code on Muslim women is the result of the various Islamic revival movements including Tabligh Jama'at.

Maulana Ilyas said, "Jama'at was to be a moving madrasa or khanqa, a school or hospice, educating the teachers above all"(Accounting for Fundamentalism - edited by Martin E. Marty & R.Scott Appleby, page 711). With self-financing tours, Tablighis are required to carry limited belongings on their back. Tablighis are expected to devote one hour a day, or one day a week, or one week every month or two or one month a year to travel with a group from one locality to another inviting Muslims to mosques and reminding them of their Islamic duties.

Ilyas considered the British as main opponent of Islam and resented against everything connected with British in India including the oriental languages examination conducted by India Universities. (The Faith Movement of Maulana Ilyas by M.Anwarul Haq.).

After the death of Ilyas in 1944, his son Muhammad Yusuf (1917-65) took over the command of the movement. He refused to transfer the central head quarter of the organisation from Nizamuddin , New Delhi to Pakistan after partition. He however, consolidated the activities of Jama'at throughout Indian sub-continent with secondary centres in West Pakistan and erstwhile East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). "He transformed the activities of Tabligh Jama'at into a worldwide movement, extending proselytism to non-Muslims and operating systematically in five continents (Encyclopaedia of Islam).

After the death of yusuf, his cousin Inam-al-Hasan succeeded him as chief of Tabligh Jama'at. He started regular annual Iztema (meeting) in India, Pakistan and Bangla Desh. It is said that the three-day annual Iztema in Pakistan is drawing "one of the largest assemblies of Muslims after hajj in Mecca ( U.S. Tablighis fear crackdown - Suleman Din in New York). After the death of Inam-al-Hasan, his two sons Izhar-al-Hasan and Zubayr-al-Hasan(died in 1996) along with one of the grand sons of Yusuf collectively led the movement. The line of succession in the leadership of Tabligh Jama'at proves that, this organisation is carrying forward the legacy of Kandhalwi dynasty in leading this movement. The leaders of the movement avoid all political or theological controversies and produce literatures for preaching 'meticulous imitation of the Prophet and his companions".

Congregation of the Tablighis in mosque with common boarding and lodging on individual expenses projected them as members of egalitarian organisation and therefore became popular among common Muslims. Keeping the members completely aloof from modernity, the followers of Tabligh Jama'at have by and large become introverts. The first target area of Ilyas was the simple peasant of Mewat (Presently in Gurgaon district of Haryana state) from the countryside of Delhi.

This Islamic revivalist movement hardly has any relevance to the solution of the socio-economic problem of Muslim mass, but its appeal to the simple rank and file of common Muslims for establishment of the 'Kingdom of God' has an inspiring effect. "In Tabligh lore, it was not military prowess but preaching that took Muslims from Sind to Spain within sixty years of Prophet's death (Accounting for Fundamentalism - Edited by Martin E.Marty & R.Scott Appleby, The University of Chicago Press, page 707). "Tabligh Jama'at is known to be a principal religious organisation for immigrant Muslims in Western countries.

A six-volume Tablighi Nisab (Reader), which mainly consists of anecdotes from the life of prophet written by Maulana Muhammad Zakariya, a close associates of Ilyas, commonly used as preaching materials by the leaders of Jama'at. Zakaria had combined the fundamentalist zeal of Shah Waliullah and tolerance of the Sufis to avoid any confrontation.

Though, Tabligh Jama'at is ostensibly known as apolitical and purely religious movement, its avowed objective to return to the Prophet era and work for Muslim brotherhood shows its firm root in politics. Besides, the cooperation and support it draws from Deoband, Nadawa and other Islamic institutions are pointer that Tabligh Jama'at also serves the political interest of Muslim elite, who with their hidden political ambition do not want the freedom of the common Muslims from their medieval psyche. By and large students and teachers of Deoband and Nadwa are found participating in the work of Tabligh Jama'at during their vacation. Tablighi marchers are also found availing the hospitality provided to them in respective mosques and madrasas set up by these Islamic institutions in various parts of the country. In course of their travels, "Tablighis also distribute publications of Deoband affiliated theologians (Encyclopaedia of Islam, Volume X, page 38)."

Reciprocating to the hospitality, the Tablighi marcher avail in the mosques and madrasas under the control of these Islamic institutions, they serve their religio-political interest by "keeping the common Muslim mass locked behind the doors of ignorance and effete medievalism". Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi, a contemporary of Ilyas, while addressing a Tablighi gathering in 1944 said, "if the Ulama did not strengthen their relation with the community by participating in Ilyas' mission, they would become an untouchable minority to whose culture and way of life the common people become total stranger; even their language and ideas would be unfamiliar to the general public necessitating a translator between the two (Islamic Fundamentalism in India by M.S.Agwani, page 52)."

Nine monographs written between 1928 and 1964 by Muhammad Zakariyya Kandhalawi(1898-1982), a cousin of Ilyas, who taught Hadith in a subsidiary of Deoband at Saharanpur are the basic literature of Tabligh Jama'at. This entire text is a collection under the title ' Tablighi Nisab'(Teaching of Islam).

Teachers of Jamia Milia especially Dr. Zakir Hussain (Former President of India) used to attend the prayers organised by Ilyas. In fact most of the top Muslim leaders like Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Iftikar Faridi, and Ali brothers, who were contemporary to Ilyas maintained close links with Tabligh Jama'at. The close link of Ilyas with prominent Muslim political personalities and Islamic institutions like Deoband and Nadwa, which are known for offering politico-religious guidance to Indian Muslims, therefore reveals the hidden political ambition of Tabligh Jama'at.

Deoband and Nadwa provide specious mosques and madrasas set up by these institutions for Tablighi gatherings. These institutions do not consider separation of politics from religion and therefore, their support to Tabligh Jama'at a so-called apolitical movement does not preclude the possibility of politics making a backdoor entry into the movement.

Broadly adhering to teachings of Deobandi school of Islam, which 'enjoins an austere practice of Islam, with female seclusion and prohibition of cinema attendance and music, Tabligh Jama'at is a centralised organisation.

Being very secretive of their ideology, internal matters and financial resources, they avoid any scientific debate and interaction with media. In absence of any formal spokesman of Tabligh Jama'at, its leaders hardly interact with media. Their reply to any embarrassing question is always evasive. An American Muslim asked a Tabligh group leader in Chicago in 1967, should he allow his wife to wear western dress only up to knee and go for swimming only in under garment? The reply was that it was not their aim to enter into any controversy. It is left to one's own conscience (The Faith Movement of Maulana Ilyas by M.Anwarul Haq, page 177).

Though, Tabligh Jama'at has not revealed its political motive if any, the worldwide influence it commands among the Muslims and the power it exercises among the low strata of its co-religionists are its laudable achievements. "The secrecy raises the question of the ultimate political motivation of the Tabligh Jama'at. It may be wondered whether one day it will reveal political ambitions which are for the time being disguised." The analysis of the whole exercise of Tabligh Jama'at is to attract the greatest possible number of Muslims to the idea of founding an ideal theocratic state based on the politico-religious principles under the spiritual authority of Islam. (Encyclopaedia of Islam, volume X}".

"Recent arrests of suspected Yemini members of Al Qaida in Lackawann, Buffalo" and their suspected link with Tabligh Jama'at's troupe as indicted by Federal Bureau of Investigation (US Tablighis fear crackdown - Suleman Din in New York) suggest that the organisation is utilised as a safe house for the movements of Islamic terrorists. Since, Tablighis are moving in-groups from one place to other, it is easier for the vested interests to join them for their clandestine movement. 'John Walker Lindh, infamously known as the American Taliban is said to have been inspired to go to Afghanistan after travelling to Pakistan with the Tabligh Jama'at'.

In the backdrop of the discussion, we find that Tabligh Jama'at is one of the major contributors to the present increasing trend in Indian Muslims to support Islamic fundamentalism. With its main thrust on recruitment of Pan-Islamic zealots, its endless effort is only contributing to keep the medieval wound alive at the cost of innocent and backward Muslims. Instead of encouraging the Muslim mass for their active interaction with modern world, extreme manifestation of Islam by Tabligh Jama'at has only pushed its medieval ideology into the Muslim psyche, which has ultimately resulted into communal confrontation and deterioration in Hindu-Muslim relation in India.

There are a number of Muslim writers and intellectuals, who understand the ground reality of modern world but in the absence of any combined and united movement by them, the Islamic revivalists continue to flourish.