Casting aspersions and levelling accusations against anyone furnishes no proof as such. Just as when they accuse us and we shrug it off, similarly when they dub each other as ‘khud kashta pauda’ [of the British] we regard it as simply meaningless because taken by itself it proves nothing. However, it is true that the actual events of history have a language of their own: and when history speaks, one has no option but to listen to it.
It is a historically established fact that the Nadwatul ‘Ulama’ the institution of the Diyubandi sect was founded by the British and its Maulawis remained on the British payroll—those who were so nourished are being eulogized today as anti-British, even first-ranking freedom fighters. The foundation stone of Nadwatul ‘Ulama’ was itself laid by a British man. In this regard, their own official organ, An-Nadwah, not any non-Nadwi source, recorded the following:
‘On 28 November, 1908, the foundation-stone of the Academy of Learning, Nadwatul ‘Ulama’, was laid by His Honourable Lieutenant Governor bahadur of the United Provinces, Sir John Scott Hughes, K.C.S.I.E.’1
Having read the above portion of this excerpt, one must pay special attention to the next portion. It seems that when they wrote the foregoing account they had some scruples of conscience and wondered what their Muslim readership would think when they would read this? What would be the future of this Nadwah institution, and what objectives would it pursue in the light of the fact that its foundation was laid by a British Governor?
So, in order to rationalize it, they stated something outrageous, and minced no words about it!
‘The ulama have stated that the podium of the Masjid-e-Nabawi [i.e., The Holy Prophet’s Mosque, at Medina] was also built by a Nasrani [sic. Christian].’2
So, according to their belief, since a Christian built the podium of Masjid-e-Nabawi, what difference did it make if another Christian laid the foundation of their Nadwah institution!
But they still had to concede that:
‘At any rate, this famed religious institution of learning owes its existence to a British gentleman.’3
1 An-Nadwah, Dec. 1908, p.4. [Publisher]
2 Op. Cit, An-nadwah, Dec 1908, P:4. [Publisher]
3 An-Nadwah, Dec. 1908, P:4. [Publisher]