♤ Liberal Phase:

o Post 1857 revolt, the British preferred Hindus over Muslims in matters of employment, education etc. Muslim intellectuals too realized that Muslims lagged behind their Hindu counterparts in terms of education, government jobs etc. Eventually, Syed Ahmed Khan, a Muslim intellectual founded Aligarh College to fight the bias against modern education among Muslims. He also started numerous scientific societies in the 1860s, in which both Hindus and Muslims participated.

o Communalism in India got its initial start in the 1880s when Syed Ahmed Khan opposed the national movement initiated by the Indian National Congress. He decided to support British causes and opposed the functioning of the Indian National Congress and deemed it a pro- Hindu party, which was against Muslim interests.

o Eventually, prominent Muslims like Aga Khan, Nawab Moshin-ul-Mulk etc. founded the All India Muslim League, to consolidate Muslim interests. One of its major objectives was to keep the emerging intelligentsia among Muslims from joining the Congress.

o Simultaneously, Hindu communalism was also being born. It manifested in Hindu leaders disseminating notions of tyrannical Muslim rule, espousing the language issue and giving it a communal twist. They declared Urdu to be the language of the Muslims and Hindi of Hindus. Further, anti-cow slaughter propagation was undertaken in the 1890s and it was primarily directed against Muslims.

o Eventually organizations like the Punjab Hindu Sabha (1909), All India Hindu Mahasabha (1st session in 1915), etc. were founded.

o Revivalist movements like Arya Samaj, Shuddhi Movement (among Hindus), Wahabi Movement , Tanzeem and Tabligh movements(among Muslims) etc. gave further impetus to communalist tendencies.

o This phase saw eventual communalization of leaders like Syed Ahmed Khan, Lala Lajpat Rai, M.A. Jinnah, Madan Mohan Malvia etc.

o The British gave a momentum to the communalist divide through their administrative decisions and policies such as division of Bengal, Morley- Minto reforms (1909), Communal Award (1932) etc.