Islam in the subcontinent: muslim in a plural society

This is a painstakingly researched and
passionately written account of the ideas
and movements that constitute the Indian
Muslim's experiences over the last two
centuries. Divided into five sections, the
book analyses the complex processes of
identity formation, the politicization of
Islam, and the demand for a separate
Muslim nation.
Part I with its three studies, subjects the
idea of a single, unified and
inalienable Muslim identity to a critical,
penetrating historical evaluation to show
how colonial and national discourses
formed the Muslim as a counter-identity for
Hindu India.
Part II analyses the Khilafat movement
and the role of its chief protagonists.
Pan-Islamism is posited not as a
retrogressive ideological instrument but as
an anti-colonial ideology responding to
popular pressures.
The five essays in Part III address the
relationship between the Congress and the
Muslims during the critical decade of
the 1930s, and trace the rise of the
Muslim League. The essays on Partition
uncover the regional and local roots of
Muslim nationalism to interrogate existing
historical and methodological
assumptions.
Part IV examines the legacy of
Partition and traces the genealogies of
communal divisions between Hindus and
Muslims in north India that eventually led to
the demolition of the Babri Masjid. The last
essay explores what remains to be done to
understand adequately the growing
antipathies between India and Pakistan,
Based upon the most reliable and up to
date research and interpretation, this book
is an indispensable reference for students
of Islam, modernism, and civilizational
encounters in general and Indian history
and nationalism in particular.