Anthony Wallace and Muslim Reform Movements: A Comparative Understanding from Central and South Asia

Abstract

Historical-evolutionary approach of colonialism and the waves that it created in the ‘colonies’ show a similar trend in both regions. Colonialist discourse portray the inability or the inefficiency of the local culture and traditions to cope up with the ‘colonial power and their stakes’. Both these regions witnessed degeneration of communities both in terms of religious and secular yardsticks. To add on that, many superstitions had also crept in which was a serious issue that the reformers found very difficult in convincing people. Scholars from these regions had connections with the wider world and this helped them in drawing parallels in order to compare the plight of their society. Reformation activities were initiated by individuals who attracted severe friction from the society and faced alienation in different spheres of their life. People were initially reluctant to even listen to them but slowly things started to change and they started to make use of new techniques of education and participate in the ‘modern political activities’. This can be depicted as a manifestation of ‘cultural lag’ in these regions. By the starting of the twentieth century, international mercantile-politics took a new turn and the globe witnessed some hitherto unheard things. If the First World War was a common point to both these regions; on a segregated level, Russian Revolution and the Non- Cooperation Movements brought in ripples in Ferghana and Malabar respectively. People started to realise from their experience the necessity of political participation in bringing about ‘preferred change’. The numerical strength of schools had aided to the discourse of the reformers who had received the wrath of authorities. When we extrapolate the graph to the cotemporary times, we can easily understand the repercussion these movements had produced. This paper will discuss the course of these movements in the framework of revitalization given by Wallace.