Maulana Abul Kalam Azad was a scholar, intellectual, and nationalist who fought against British imperialists by drawing inspiration from the Koran. Twenty years before the freedom movement took hold in India, the man whom Mohammad Ali Jinnah dismissed as the 'Showboy of Indian National Congress' was already involved in the struggle for independence. This book examines the life of Azad, his solutions to the crisis of Muslims of India, and his role in the independence struggle as a leader of the Indian National Congress.

An accessible, transregional exploration of how Islam and Asia have shaped each other's histories, societies and cultures from the seventh century to today.

Written In 1938, Composite Nationalism And Islam Laid Out In Systematic Form The Positions That The Author Had Taken In Speeches And Letters From The Early 1920S On The Question Of Nationalism As Well As Other Related Issues Of National Importance. The Book Aimed At Opposing The Divisive Policy Of Mohammad Ali Jinnah And The Muslim League. It Mainly Deals With Two Aspects, I.E. The Meaning Of The Term Qaum And How It Is Distinct From The Term Millat, And Secondly, The Crucial Distinction Between These Two Words And Their True Meanings In The Holy Koran And The Hadith Tradition. By Proposing Composite Nationalism, This Important Book Strongly Argues That Despite Cultural, Linguistic And Religious Differences, The People Of India Are But One Nation. According To The Author, Any Effort Of Divide Indians On The Basis Of Religion, Caste, Culture, Ethnicity And Language Is A Ploy Of The Ruling Power.

Abul Kalam Azad (1888-1958)--President of the Indian National Congress from 1939 to 1946, outspoken opponent of Jinnah and Partition, symbol of the Muslim will to coexist in a secular India, and scholar and intellectual--was one of modern India's most important leaders. This first substantial biography of Azad in English charts his many contributions to the intellectual, political, and religious heritage of modern India, revealing important continuities in his life and thought.