Syed Sanaullah Makthi Thangal, one of the earliest progressive Islamic scholars of Kerala, lies buried in the ancient Juma Masjid at Calvathy

In the middle of the khabaristan or burial ground adjoining the historic Juma Masjid at Calvathy, among the many grave markers, weeds and grass is one ancient grave. The tombstone is worn out and cracked, a row of laterite bricks mark out the grave, and a small neem plant has grown right in the middle. This is perhaps the only surviving memory of Syed Sanaullah Makthi Thangal (1847-1912), the famous Islamist reformer and author.

Historical documents reveal that Makthi Thangal was born at Veliyankodu, Malappuram district. But most of his creative pursuits and death happened in Kochi. He studied Arabic from his father Syed Ahmed Thangal and then enrolled at the Chavakkad Higher Elementary School. He went on to become an expert in Islamic studies and an expert in Malayalam, Arabic, Hindustani, Persian and Tamil languages.

He began his career as an excise inspector in the British government. This was a period when the Muslims in Kerala had not opened up to public education, were bound by superstitions, were gullible to accept anyone as their spiritual leader. Added to this was the government supported conversion threats. Thangal quit his job and plunged into public life. His mission was to help his community rise from the social and cultural depths into which it had fallen.

Thangal began writing, speaking and propagating his views that were bold, poetic, reformist and directed to benefit the Muslim community. Thangal wrote in the newspapers that were in circulation at that time, those that were ready to publish his articles and also published books on matters relevant to the community in British India. His speeches and all what he wrote turned out to be a clarion call to many who towed his line of thought. Thangal is considered to be the first Muslim to write, publish books and launch a daily newsletter.

Dr. C.K. Kareem, in his Kerala Muslim History, Statistics and Directory, Volume 1 (History of Kerala and of her Muslims), records that Thangal had to suffer a lot for his work. He quotes from Thangal’s concise autobiography, Makthi Manaklesham that gives a graphic account of his travails. The fierce attacks came from the conservatives within his community and from the British. But Thangal was not one to be cowed down by all this.

For nearly 30 years Thangal is said to have travelled the length and breadth of the State spreading awareness about the need for education, women’s empowerment, calling for a fight against superstition, conversion and non-Islamic beliefs.

E. Moidu Moulavi, in his preface to the collected edition of Makthi Thangal’s works (Makthi Thangalude Sampoorna Krithikal) published by Kerala Islamic Mission, Tirur, states that Thangal must have written 40 books. Though he did not have the means, found no publishers, did all that on his own. Moidu Moulavi considers Thangal’s works as a value addition to the ancient Malayalam literary style and an invaluable historical document. What makes these works more important is when one considers the time during which they were written. The language may not have the finesse but certainly did not lack the power.

“Some of Thangal’s works like Kadora Kudaram, which was a resistance against the British supported religious conversions, Muslimugalum Vidyabyasavum that exhorted Muslims to embrace Malayalam and English education and Naari Narabhichari on the need for women’s education are all revolutionary, progressive works of a genius. As Dr. C. K. Karim observes and from what I have read they were brave views that shook the conformist mindset of the community. Thangal had to suffer a lot for his writings with many slapping court cases against him,” says M.A. Aboobacker, cultural activist.

What made Thangal unique was that he was the first reformist who studied the religious aspects of various religions before formulating his views. As historian M. Gangadaran notes Makthi Thangal as a reformist who used his vast knowledge to find a way out for the Muslim community from the darkness. He understood the significance of language and insisted that it should not be a barrier for Islam.

Failing health forced Thangal to settle down permanently in Kochi. He died on September 18, 1912. Among his many disciples and followers was C.V. Abdurahman Hydrose, editor of Malabar Islam. “Hydrose Sahib stayed at Darussalam Road. His father was also known to Makthi Thangal. It is said that Thangal presented his pen to Hydrose Sahib telling him that he has nothing else to give him and prayed that this pen would be helpful to him.

As Moidu Moulavi writes, Hydrose Sahib, true to the legacy he inherited, went on to publish many of Thangal’s works including Makthi Vijayam,” says Aboobacker.

Once in a while people visit Thangal’s grave, people who have read about him, who have read his works. “It was my friend Gaffoor who first told me about Thangal’s grave. I had read a lot about him and also some of his writings. In January 2013, when Gaffoor came down from Muscat, we went for the Biennale. We then decided to find out where Thangal’s grave was. It took us a lot of wandering, asking many people to finally find it. I feel Thangal who has contributed so much for nourishing and reforming the Muslim community deserves more”, feels R.P. Sivan, a Malayalam teacher at SRV High School.

Apart from a literary award instituted by an organisation in Makthi Thangal’s name there is nothing else to perpetuate the memory of this visionary reformer.

Perhaps, adapting Emily Dickinson’s lines, after a hundred years nobody would know this place. Weeds will rage triumphant, strangers will stroll past this lone tombstone, no one to tell them of the man buried there; lost to memory.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus> Hidden Histories  / by K. Pradeep /  Kochi – October 31st, 2014

It is 10 am sharp when Kavita, 13, reaches the school in Khajrana. The teacher may have been impressed with her punctuality, but quickly draws attention to her unkempt hair.

Tidiness is among the many lessons this sprightly teenager from the slums of Khajrana and 84 of her schoolmates are being taught at Indori’s Paathshala.

The school takes its name from Aziz Indori, 80, who scripted an education revolution in the heart of Madhya Pradesh’s commercial capital.

After retiring from the city’s Islamia Karimia Degree College in 1995, Indori took up the task of educating poor Muslim children. The doors of his school are, however, open to children from other communities also.

The retired Urdu teacher is a bundle of energy despite his age. His experiment with 10 children has blossomed in the last two decades. The two-storey school now accommodates eight times its original number of students going right up to Class 8. The school is not affiliated to any board, but the curriculum has been well thought through and gives the children of the local daily wage earners a shot at a better life.

Kavita recites multiplication tables up to 4, while her junior Anamika (another Hindu student) writes the English alphabet with a flourish. Daily wage earner Ghulam Mohammed, father of Firoz, 11, who studies in the school says, “I could not study much, but did not want my child to loiter on the roads. Given my means, I could not afford to educate him… then one day I came across Indori sahib’s school.”

Indori, a doctorate in Urdu, derives immense satisfaction from his work. “I have always stood for the education of the poor. Rich have the means and resources. Who cares for the poor?”

Indori chacha, as he is known to his students, says, “I want to break this tradition in the Muslim community that the child of a cart-puller will be a cart-puller.”

MP’s slide in the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2011-12 — the largest survey of what children across the country are learning — makes Indori’s effort more praiseworthy. According to the report released in January, attendance in primary schools (Classes 1 to 5) of MP has dipped to 54.5% in ’11 from 67% in ’07.

Till date, Indori has not involved any politician or religious leader in his project. “It is with the help of 4-5 friends that I’m running this project.” His Muscat-based brother-in-law, Dr Abdul Rashid, donated the building that houses the school.

With age catching up, Indori has roped in two persons to care for the students. “One is paid Rs. 800 and the other R1,200 per month by my friends.”

The students, who make do with well-worn clothes, are provided stationery and winter clothing — all for a nominal fee of R20 per month. With no examination system, students are judged according to their daily progress. The system has worked. Nearly 20 of the school’s students have gone on to complete their matriculation, some of them from a state-run school in the locality.

An alumnus of the school, Parveen, who studied up to Class 10, says, “I am thankful to Indori chacha.” Parveen, who is getting married today, also got the opportunity to learn tailoring, and contribute to her family’s earnings, at another Indori initiative — the Jan Shikshan Sansthan. This is Indori’s effort to provide vocational training to girls in the slum. The programme already has more than 75 trainees.

Indori says, “I feel satisfied. I wanted to educate and make poor Muslim girls self-reliant. I didn’t want them to get just a degree, but also knowledge.”

source: http://www.hindustantimes.com / Hindustan Times / Home> / by Vijay Swaroop, Hindustan Times / Indore – May 03rd, 2012