Development of Traditionalist and Modernist Thought in the British India: A Study in Emerging 19th and 20th Century Scholarship

Abstract: During the 18th century, India was colonized by European and British powers, through trade and later by conquests. The disintegration and decline of Mughal rule resulted in the emergence of Europeans as a powerful force in the region. Later, French tried to establish their hold but categorically defeated. Britain excelled in strategy by using Indian rulers and by direct military intervention. In this study, the theme under discussion is the period from the 18th to the 20th century. The research work has covered the period of Islamic thought in British India in which traditional and modern approaches developed. As a matter of fact, Islamic thought was product of both challenge and response encountering challenges—internal and external, faced by the Muslims. Several scholars from the traditional and modern stratum provided their services to respond to this variety of challenges. This variation called for varied and approaches from the Muslim scholars. The research in hand has manifested that regardless of the methodology and response, Muslim endeavors and intellectual activism contributed immensely to the development of a specific pattern of religious thought in British India. Key Words: Islam, Traditionalist, Modernist, Revivalist, Movements.