Maulana Kable Sadiq, who was awarded posthumously third highest civilian award- Padma Bhushan—was conservative yet liberal Muslim. He was recognized world-wide for his liberal image. He and his followers fought a life-long battle to eliminate orthodox tradition from Muslim society. He not only opposed the conservatism, but also made efforts to advance education, particularly among girls.
Typically he did not announce Eid on seeing the moon, but announced the dates of Eid and Bakrid at the beginning of two festivals. There were lot of opposition to these steps. Unlike most of conservative Muslims, Maulana Kable had also been active for the education of girls.
Born in Lucknow in a Shia family, Maulana Kable was a Islamic scholar, reformer, educationist, philanthropist and preacher. He has lectured overseas mostly in Islamic months. He was denied entry to the United States and deported to United Kingdom in 2005.
At Aligarh Muslim University, he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree. He later went to pursue his Master’s degree from the Lucknow University. He was admitted to the ICU of Era Medical College, Lucknow and died three days later and later buried at Imambara Gufran Ma’ab.
He founded the Tauheedul Muslimeen Trust on April 18, 1984 with an aim to give educational assistance to needy and poor students. The educational, charitable and constructive projects and constructive projects that were running under his supervision got special attention.
Maulana Kable used to learn Hindi secretly. He would regularly visit a Panditji in Lalbagh locality of Lucknow despite opposition from Muslim educationist. Members of his community vociferously opposed to his reform drive but the Maulana did not desist from his resolve to end conservatism in the Muslim society. Even though he spent his entire life in Lucknow, he was travelled the world over and known for his liberal policies.
Maulana Kalbe was Vice-President of All India Muslim Law Board and Shia Dharma Guru in U.P. He was always eminent and active in the country and abroad for education and especially for girls and poor children. He was also patron of Unity College and Era Medical College.
Maulana was recognized worldwide for his liberal image. He and his followers fought a long battle to eliminate orthodox tradition society. He not only opposed the conservatives, but also made efforts to advance education in them.
India needs forward looking Muslims like Maulana Kable if the condition of orthodox and backward Muslims have to be improved. (IPA Service)