On the basis of a mutually antagonistic political approach...

On the basis of a mutually antagonistic political approach, both the educational movements chose different political platforms during the freedom struggle.

While Aligarh aligned itself with the Muslim League under the leadership of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the Deobandi supported the Congress during the freedom movement.[^68] The gulf between Deoband and Aligarh had widened because Sir Syed had contributed articles to the Aligarh Institute Gazette denying the pretensions of Sultan Abdul Hamid[^69] to the khilafat and preaching loyalty to the British rulers of India, even if they were compelled to pursue an unfriendly policy towards Turkey, while Deoband was consistent since the very beginning in its policy of friendship and alliance with the Sultan of Turkey.

The Deobandi still considered India as Dar-ul-arb , but Aligarh saw no sense in it. The gulf between the two Muslim institutions continued to exist and widen and divided the Muslims of India into two hostile blocks.[^70] The situation changed after the First World War when the Muslims of the Subcontinent launched the Khilafat Movement seeking to protect the Ottoman caliphate from attack by the victorious allies and to prevent the holy cities of Mecca and Madina from falling under European control.

It is worth noticing that, in the period of Muslim unrest, the Muslim middle class was in the forefront. Now for the first time Aligarh, the citadel of the Muslim middle class, was coming closer to Deoband, the center of proletarian dissatisfaction, in so far as the anti-British attitude was concerned.

However, this was a brief rapprochement between the followers of both hostile camps.[^71] Jamiat-ul-ulama-i-Hind The brief rapprochement between Aligarh and Deoband during the Khilafat Movement could not be effected at the upper level and the uema , mostly Deobandi, set up their own organization, Jamiat-ul-Ulama-i-Hind in 1919 to protect the rights of Muslims and preferred to join hands with Gandhi for the realization of their objective, instead of Jinnah’s Muslim League , whom they thought to be secular and irreligious, using Islam for secular interests.[^72] The leaders of Jamiat-ul-Ulama-i-Hind claimed that it was a genuine Muslim organization to safeguard the “ Shariat ” as well as to give the Muslim community religious and political guidance according to Islamic principles and commandments.