The Growth of Muslim Separatism

Abstract

By the beginning of the nineteenth century political consciousness had filtered down to the middle stratum of Hindu society, but it was still confined to the upper class of the Muslim community. Thus the early conflicts between Hindu and Muslim interests were essentially the conflicts of classes; the Muslim aristocrat distrusted the Hindu as much as he did the Muslim Babu. When the Muslim middle class entered politics its nature and course had already been determined by the higher class. It was conservative, communal, and loyal to the foreign government. Liberal and nationalist Muslims, not satisfied with the framework of Muslim politics, had to join either Congress or the terrorists.