Muslim India began publication in January 1983 with the objective of collecting and analyzing authentic reliable data and reports on the political, economic, educational and social status of the Muslim Indians, place on record the aspirations of the community, the measures of self-help taken by it and the support and uplift programmes undertaken by the Central and State Governments.
Muslim India was initially owned by Mr. Syed Shahabuddin but later he transferred ownership to Muslim India Educational and Cultural Trust (MIECT) of which Mr. Shahabuddin was the Managing Trustee. The Trust appointed him as the Honorary Editor and also entrusted him with its management. To maintain its academic character he decided to limit advertisements to not more than five pages in one issue and the number of advertisements from a single advertiser over a year to six pages only, in order to reduce its dependence on any source. At that time, the annual subscription was only Rs.60 per month and the advertisement tariff was very low.
Since the editor was a Member of Parliament from 1979 to 1996 (with some breaks) Muslim India largely drew upon the Parliament Library and used the parliamentary papers as the source. Through his contacts with political parties and the think-tanks he also obtained the party documents and analytical reports.
The circulation never exceeded 5,000 but it made an impact both nationally and internationally. Mr. Shahabuddin edited and managed Muslim India for 20 years right up to December 2002. Indeed, Muslim India during this period not only became a repository of authentic information but also a mirror of contemporary developments. Indeed it was quoted as a reference material in many academic writings of that period. Indeed it can be safely asserted that no academic research on Muslims of South Asia during the last quarter of the 20th century can be done without reference to this journal.
In the second phase he passed on the baton to Dr. Zafrul Islam Khan, an eminent journalist and a committed social activist. He gave it a new shape and changed its format to some extent. By December, 2005 he had edited and published 11 issues covering the period between July 2003 and December 2004. Then it ceased publication for 18 month.
In the third phase which began in July 2006 Mr. Shahabuddin resumed the responsibility. Since then it has been published regularly every month. It must be gratefully placed on record that his decision to resume the publication and to revive Muslim India was made possible only because of the magnanimous offer of the eminent Aligarian Mr. Nadeem Tarin to bear 50% of the gross cost of production. Muslim India also expresses its gratitude to the support extended by the educationists Mr P.A. Inamdar in Pune and Dr. KA Mallick in Chicago.
VisionStatement & Mission:
Muslim India was conceived as a mission and admirers and critics alike admit that it fulfilled its objective, by becoming an authoritative source of accurate information about all aspects of the life of the Muslim Indian Community.
Muslim India Monthly has always been committed to Democracy and Rule of Law, Secularism and Social Justice and has never supported communalism, extremism or separatism. It has always maintained that the Muslim Indians are an essential and inseparable part of the Indian society that their destiny is inter-twined with that of their motherland and of Indians as a whole; that they have a duty to serve it and a legitimate right to benefit from its progress.
Propaganda against Muslim India:
Misgivings were expressed about its very name Muslim India and it faced much hostile propaganda, throughout its existence. At times its language has been critical and its tone may have been harsh and its mission and approach were appreciated by the intelligentsia. The essence of the name is that Muslim India represents a legitimate aspect of the Indian reality and supports its quest of identity, equality and dignity.
Muslim Indians are thus Indians who profess Islam and have lived in India for generations or were born in India. And they are ever prepared to share the joys and sorrows of common nationhood. Indeed there are many Indias rolled into one: Hindu India, Muslim India, Christian India, Sikh India by religion; Brahmin India, Rajput India, Shudra India, Achchut India by caste; Hindi India, Urdu India, Bengali India, Marathi India, Tamil India by language; Munda India, Oraon India, Naga India, Bhil India by tribe. India is not only multi-religious, but multi-ethnic, multi-linguistic, multi-cultural, multi-racial and this diversity should be recognized, embraced and reflected fairly and justly in all its institutions. Together they form an unmatched bouquet of flowers, a beautiful mosaic; separately they will lose the fragrance and the beauty of togetherness.
But in a country of continental dimensions like ours, there are bound to be many lapses from the ideal, many flaws in practice, many failures in action. In human affairs there is always a gap between precept and practice. And, yet India’s greatness lies in that it does not deny identities and endeavours not only to respect them but to promote them. This is the soul of India and this has been the essential message of Muslim India.
Extracts from Inaugural Editorial, January, 1983:
Thirty five years after independence, the Muslim community continues to languish in the quagmire of apathy and alienation. This is largely because there is little authentic information about its present state, that whatever little is available is not being communicated to the people at large and, consequently, there is no pressure on the power structure to take remedial measures, specially in the face of sustained propaganda by Hindu chauvinist forces, questioning its integrity, its loyalty, its motives and intentions, its faith and belief, thus poisoning the mind of the masses.
Indian Muslim in Transition to Muslim Indian
The composition, the structure and the texture of the Muslim community and therefore its psychology and viewpoint have been undergoing an inevitable change since 1947. In 1971 the Indian Muslim crossed the psychological watershed and became a Muslim Indian. Conscious, no doubt, of his double heritage, emanating from the country of his birth and from the religion of his profession, he is now committed to find for himself a place of dignity within the large family of India and is on his way to forge a creative synthesis and evolve an integrated personality. Politics of lamentation and damnation which dominated the Muslim mind for decades have given place to politics of articulation and assertion. This may sharpen the conflict between the secular and the chauvinist forces and lead to politics of struggle. Neither indifference, nor exaggeration shall remedy the situation. Neither flattery nor distrust, neither protestations of loyalty nor outburst of anger will improve its status. Only conscious effort will. But, conscious effort presupposes a true perspective and a viable framework.
Towards the Future: Extracts from the Editorial, Dec.2002
Despite bias and prejudice, the Muslim Indian community today is more numerous, more prosperous, more educated, more advanced, more confident, more articulate than it was in 1947 on the morrow of the Partition which has been nothing short of a tragedy which trifurcated a living and creative community. No doubt, on the whole, it constitutes an educationally and economically Backward Class. That is why it is engaged in the battle of Social Justice. No doubt, it is under-represented in the Legislature, the Executive, the Judiciary, the Administration, the Armed Forces, Commerce and Industry and the professions. Yet, it is no longer crying at the bottom of the pit; it is beginning to participate in fashioning the India of tomorrow and in resisting the divisive forces of chauvinism and fascism, which have raised their ugly heads.
The Community has survived genocidal pogroms, educational deprivation, religious humiliation, economic discrimination and the resulting physical fatigue, spiritual stress and economic strain. Survival, coupled with progress in challenging circumstances, is indeed a tribute to its inner resilience. It took everything in its stride, surmounted the obstacles and avoided the pitfalls. It never deviated from the chosen path of Democracy and Secularism, never sought any special privileges beyond its just and equitable share, never sought extra-territorial support, always stood by the motherland in moments of trial, never gave an excuse to the pathology hostile forces, any reason, to question its loyalty to the State. Remarkably it never lost its cool, even in the face of violence and provocation; it always embraced forgiveness and forbearance, never gave a thought to revenge or retaliation. That is how it defeated the game of the fascist forces to liquidate it or to assimilate it or to push it out! That is how it proved wrong the prophets of doom. That is how it took its losses and moved on.
The Muslim India had a double mission-to record the modest yearnings, the many losses and the little gains of a human group on the road to salvation, which History has, perhaps justifiably, punished for taking the wrong turn at a critical moment, to put it back on course and to steel its will to persevere steadfast on the new path, stretching before it, leading towards new India of our dreams.
Muslim India- A Unique Experiment: Extracts from Editorial of July, 2006:
Nearly a quarter of a century ago, I brought out the monthly journal Muslim India from January, 1983 to December 2002 to bring out 240 issues. It was and is still being acclaimed as a unique experiment, unparalleled in the history of journalism to produce an authenticated and accurate record of the period. Indeed the history of Muslim India for the last 2 decades of the last century cannot be written without reference to the files of Muslim India. But circumstances forced to close it. My esteemed friend Dr.Zafarul Islam Khan took up the challenge and brought out, each running into hundreds of pages, covering the period from July, 2003 to December 2004. In its third phase, Muslim India will gradually cover the gaps the period of 18 months from January, 2005 to June, 2006 so that there is no break in the continuity of the historical narrative.
Muslim India is a labour of love, a symbol of commitment, not a commercial venture. I seek your indulgence and request you to excuse any flaws or inadequacies and to favour me with you ideas to improve the contents and to pray for it to maintain its standards of fairness, impartiality, accuracy and authenticity. Thus alone, Muslim India shall make a positive contribution in joining the heart and mind of the Muslim Indians more firmly with their motherland, with all its people, in their historic march towards greatness.