Question

How did the relative backwardness of the Muslims in education, trade and industry foster communal feelings in India?

Answer 1

The relative backwardness of Muslims in education, trade, and industry was a major factor in fostering communal feelings in India. The British policy of discrimination after the 1857 revolt, coupled with a slower adoption of Western education by Muslims compared to Hindus, left the community severely underrepresented in government jobs and modern industries. This economic and educational disparity created widespread frustration, which was later channelled into communal anxiety rather than unified nationalism.

The disparity fostered communalism in the following ways:

• Fear of Hindu Domination: As Hindus advanced rapidly in English education and secured the majority of administrative posts and professional jobs, Muslim elites feared that a democratic, self-governing India would lead to permanent Hindu dominance.
• Competition for Government Jobs: Since the modern middle class relied heavily on government employment for livelihood, competition for limited state jobs turned into a communal struggle between educated Hindu and Muslim youths.
• Exploitation by British Divide-and-Rule: The British government exploited this economic insecurity by offering separate electorates and job reservations, convincing Muslims that their progress lay in aligning with the British Empire rather than the national movement.
• Lag in Industrial Growth: The Muslim community stayed largely dependent on agrarian landholdings and traditional crafts, missing out on the rise of modern industries and trade, which further isolated them economically from the fast-growing Hindu merchant classes.