Inside the Tablighi Jamaat

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Not much is known about what is arguably the world's, and certainly India's, largest Islamic organization - the Tablighi Jamaat. From poverty- stricken peasants of Bihar to dairy farmers of Mewat, its members attend retreats in local mosques, and at times, the Markaz in Delhi. They come of their own free will, at their own expense. The Tabligh tells its members to look within, that life is about internal cleansing with regular prayer that paves the path to spiritual upliftment.
Unlike other Islamic organizations that balance the here and the hereafter, the Tabligh is concerned only about 'matters beyond the sky and under the earth'. Its steadfast refusal to take a political stand has stood it in good stead. It is the "ideal Muslim organization' for some- focused solely on introspection in isolation.
Now, for the first time, author Ziya Us Salam provides an inside view of the organization that unwittingly became a 'hotspot' during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

During the Emergency, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi came down heavily on the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind and the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind - both Islamist organizations that paid for taking a stand against the authoritarian politics prevalent at the time.
Unlike the Jamiat which had actively participated in India's struggle for independence, and had many freedom fighters as part of its distinguished history, who played a crucial role in the Non-Cooperation, Civil Disobedience and Quit India movements, the Jamaat, founded by Maulana Abul Ala Maududi in 1941, focused on the restoration of the Caliphate in its initial years. By the mid-1950s though, it was part of the Indian economy and polity, opening its bank account, participating in elections and seeking to enter various representative bodies. Both the Jamaat and the Jamiat brought out a newspaper each, Daawat and Al-Jamiat, respectively. The four-page broadsheets in Urdu focused on politics, economy, religion, and so on. In addition, the Jamaat published Radiance, an English magazine that adhered to its principles in letter and spirit. The publications of both organizations spoke of a commitment to India's Constitution and voiced the interests of India's largest minority through peaceful means. Indira Gandhi was neither pleased nor convinced, though, seeing in them as in others, a danger to her autocratic ways. They were dealt with swiftly, harshly, vengefully.
Several of the Jamaat's functionaries were incarcerated. Journalists working for its newspapers and magazines were also imprisoned; some went underground, their offices were sealed, and their wives reduced to the status of half-widows. There were instances of senior officer-bearers of the Jamiat being picked up by the police in civilian clothes from their rooms in Deoband and sent away to jails in Lucknow, Kanpur and Bareilly. Often there was no confirmation of their incarceration for days.