Ideals and Identities as Instruments of Exile.

The behavior, actions, and even beliefs of the ideal Muslim, Hindu or British citizen were rigidly defined and demarcated by the different groups in India, amidst the confusion and chaos of their desperate struggle to maintain and secure their own distinct identities, in the absence of physical borders or separate spaces to perform this task for them.

What constituted the ideal Muslim, varied greatly in the perspectives of these different identity groups in India. In the eyes of the Muslims, the ideal member of their community was one who devoted his/her life to Islam and the observance of its ascribed rituals and practices. There were guidelines regarding the extent of their interactions with non-muslims, the food and drinks they were allowed to consume, their dressing, their prayers, and even their faith; all these personal elements of an individual’s life were dragged into the public sphere for analysis and judgment. Often, the verdicts of these judgments condemned them as ‘debased,’ ‘treacherous’ or ‘negligent’ muslims and left them isolated and in exile. On the other hand, the ideal Muslim in the eyes of the British, was the ideal subject; non threatening and completely subservient. An example of this can be found in the final chapter when Hajjut-al-Islam urges Ibn-ul-Vaqt to meet the Tax collector in an Indian Dress. “He expressly told me that he did not like to see any indian in the English dress” because they perceived it as a means for “claiming equality” to them as the “rulers” and therefore as both an insult and a threat.

The British used exclusionary devices that were equally severe and rigid. The behavior of a “gentleman” was established, from the minutest details pertaining to which fork or spoon goes in which hand, to lifestyle and demeanor as a whole. The slightest deviation from these norms resulted in ridicule, disdain and exile. An instance in Ibn ul Vaqt portraying this is found in the scene where he meets the tax collector. Although Ibn ul Vaqt has fulfilled all of his official duties, he is condemned merely for not following the simple norm of dismounting his horse.

These stringent and static standards and ideals played an essential role in creating and exacerbating the situation and feeling of exile. Ibn ul Vaqt is caught between trying to reform the ideal of his own community and trying to fit the ideal of the one he aspired to belong to. The book ended on a note of continuity, with the final argument between reason and religion remaining unfinished and unresolved. It is symbolic of how neither of the ideals evolved, changed or blurred and thus Ibn ul Vaqt remained a figure in exile.