In 1861 the government launched a campaign against the Qurān. 300 000 copies of the Noble Qurān were set alight by the government. Thereafter, they made a resolution to eradicate the ulemā’. An English historian, Mr. Thompson writes in his memoirs: “From 1864 to 1867, the British government firmly resolved to eradicate all the ulemā’ of India. These three years are one of the most heart-wrenching periods of Indian history. The British hanged 14 000 ulemā’ to death. From Chandi Chowk of Delhi up to Khaibar, not a single tree was spared the neck of the ulemā’.The ulemā’ were wrapped in pig-skin and hurled alive into blazing furnaces. Their bodies were branded with hot copper rods. They used to be made to stand on the backs of elephants and tied to high trees. The elephants would then be driven away and they would be left hanging by their necks. A makeshift gallow was set up in the courtyard of the Shāhī Mosque of Lahore and each day up to eighty ulemā’ were hanged. The ulemā’ were at times wrapped up in sacks and dumped into the Rawi river of Lahore after which a hail of bullets would be pumped into each sack.” Thompson writes further: “As I got into my camp at Delhi, I perceived a stench of putrefied flesh. As I stepped out and went behind my camp, I saw a blazing fire of live coals. I saw a group of forty naked ulemā’ being led into the fire. As I was witnessing this scene, another group of forty ulemā’ were brought onto the field. Right before my eyes, their clothes were taken off their bodies. The English commander addressed them thus: ‘O Molvies! Just as these ulemā’ are being roasted over this fire, you will also be roasted. To save yourselves, just one of you must proclaim that you were not part of the 1857 uprising of freedom. I will release all of you the moment I hear just one of you affirming this.” Thompson writes: “By the Lord who has created me! Not one of the ulemā’ said any such thing. All of them were roasted over the fire and another group was also brought and roasted over the blazing fire. Not a single ālim surrendered to the demands of the British.” By 1867 not a single Islamic institute remained. One would be quite astonished to realize that in 1601 when the British arrived in India for trade, there were a thousand Islamic institutes in Delhi alone. (Ulama of Deoband, p 7-8, 2011)
Posted on: Wed, 17 Sep 2014 21:36:49 +0000
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