The Crossroads of Qaum, Millat, and Watan

The sixth and final chapter will concentrate on the diverse and disparate ways in which Muslims expressed ideas of qaum (community), millat, and ummah (religious fraternity) and their effect on Indian Muslim political identity. Chapter 6 will finally explore this trope of rootedness and will specifically illustrate how relationships to the homeland were conceived of and expressed, particularly using the tropes of qaum, millat, and watan. Some of the poetry written for the mushā‘irahs explored in Chapter 2 will be analysed, not only highlighting the diverse responses that Muslims had to the rapidly changing political climate but also demonstrating the importance given to questions of patriotism, nationality, and religious identity.