The Political Conditions in Ahmed Ali's Twilight in Delhi

Introduction: Ahmed Ali – An Epoch-Making Personality

Professor Ahmed Ali is regarded as an epoch-making figure in South Asian literature. Often called the father of modern Pakistani literature, he shaped 20th-century writing in both English and Urdu as a novelist, poet, critic, and translator.

Born and educated at Aligarh and Lucknow, Ali won the White Memorial Gold Medal and Jhalawar Gold Medal for academic excellence. He began as a poet and playwright with works like Land of Twilight and Break the Chains, but soon found his strength in short stories and novels. Though he wrote many Urdu short stories collected in Sholay, Hamari Gali, and Qaid Khana, his major English works are Twilight in Delhi (1940), Ocean of Night (1964), and Rats and Diplomats (1985).

Ali's writings focus on two central concerns: the decay of Muslim culture and the injustices of colonial rule. Proficient in French, Persian, Arabic, and Chinese, and a lover of Ghalib and Gandhara art, he was steeped in tradition yet progressive in outlook. Twilight in Delhi remains his most famous work because it captures a "pageant of history" — the twilight of a civilization under British rule.

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Description of Delhi in Twilight

In the novel, Delhi is not just a setting but a living symbol. Once the seat of art, culture, and empire, Delhi had been adorned by Guptas, Mauryas, Khiljis, Lodhis, and the Mughals. It witnessed both glory and destruction — kings who built monuments and invaders who looted them.

With the coming of the British, who arrived as traders and became rulers, a "silence and apathy, as of death" descended on the city. The dethronement of Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last Mughal king, marked the end of an era. Ali writes pessimistically: "Gone are the poets now and gone is its culture." Only the memory of past splendor remains, like "the coils of a rope when the rope itself has been burnt."

For Ali, Delhi stands for both life and death. It is the definitive symbol of Muslim nostalgia and loss. The city's physical decay mirrors the cultural and political decay of its people.

For more context, read: Twilight in Delhi: Muslim Society in Pre-Independence India.

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Political Orientation of Middle-Class Muslim Families

Twilight in Delhi depicts the first two decades of the 20th century. Ali's stated purpose was "to depict a phase of our national life and the decay of a whole culture, a particular mode of thought and living, now dead and gone."

The political atmosphere is one of British dominance and Muslim helplessness. This is shown through three major historical references:

1. Memory of 1857

For Mir Nihal, the head of the family, 1857 is still alive in memory. He recalls how the British had wanted to demolish Jama Masjid and turn it into a church. On 14th September 1857, when thousands of Muslims gathered for prayers, Sir Thomas Metcalf's army threatened the mosque. A man on the pulpit urged people to "die like men, fighting for their country and Islam." Though they had only swords, Muslims chose to defend the northern gate. Hundreds died on the steps.

For the British, 1857 was "a Mohammad rebellion" and "the handiwork of Muslims." As W.W. Hunter wrote in 1868: "After the Mutiny, the British turned upon the Mussalmans as their real enemies." Even Nehru in his Autobiography notes that after 1857 "the heavy hand of the British fell more on the Muslims than on the Hindus" because they were seen as more aggressive and dangerous.

2. The Delhi Durbar and Coronation of George V

A key political scene occurs when Mir Nihal's family wedding coincides with the 1911 Coronation Durbar of King George V. To Mir Nihal, this was an insult. Delhi, "which was once the greatest in Hindustan," had been turned into "an exhibition ground."

He watches "one long unending line of generals and governors, the Tommies and the Native chiefs... like a slow unending line of ants." Guns boomed in the background "to show... that Delhi has been conquered with the force of arms and at the point of guns will she be retained."

The most painful sight was Jama Masjid's façade "vulgarly decorated with a garland of golden writing containing slavish greetings from the Indian Mussalmans to the English king," showing the treachery of the priestly class. For Ali, this symbolized colonial humiliation and Muslim subjugation.

3. Home Rule and Early Nationalism

By 1917, political consciousness was rising. The Home Rule Movement began. Streets were deserted, Indian policemen patrolled Chandni Chowk, and the government fired on mobs. The Rowlatt Bill sparked processions with slogans for "freedom of their Motherland."

Yet Mir Nihal remains detached. "He had his own aspirations which he neither understood nor sympathized with." His world had fallen, so he tells others to "build their own." This withdrawal shows how many traditional Muslims felt alienated from both British rule and the new nationalist politics, which they saw as dominated by Hindus.

During this time, a political song recited by Nasim, Habibuddin's son, after the Balkan War reflects Muslim sentiment: "The wish for glory and martyrdom has begun to sway our hearts again / We shall try his skill and see what strength is in the enemy's hand..." It expresses a desire to resist, but also helplessness.

Also read: Indian Writing from 1920s–1950s: Political and Social Aspects.

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The Conflict: British vs Muslims

The novel makes it clear that British policy was deliberately anti-Muslim. William Howard Russell wrote in The Times in 1858: "The Mohammad element in India is that which causes us most trouble... our antagonism to the followers of Mohammed is far stronger than that we bear to the worshippers of Shiva and Vishnu."

This hostility continued into the 20th century. Habibuddin declares: "the English frankly say that they fear no one but Muslims in India and that if they crush the Mussalmans they shall rule with a care-free heart."

Politically, Muslims were caught in the middle. They had lost political power after 1857, and now saw their culture, language, and institutions being eroded. The British celebrated their own kings on "the ashes of Mughal pride in ravished Delhi," as Ali sarcastically notes in Rats and Diplomats.

Meanwhile, Indians were adopting Western culture. Ali laments: "the richness of life had been looted and despoiled by the foreigners, and vulgarity and cheapness had taken its place." The political domination was accompanied by cultural colonization.

For further reference: Twilight in Delhi — Wikipedia.

Symbolism of Political Decline

Ali uses symbols to show political loss:

1. Jama Masjid: Threatened with demolition in 1857, later decorated for the British king. It represents Islam under siege.
2. Red Fort, Humayun's Tomb, Qutub Minar: Monuments of past glory that now only remind Mir Nihal of what was lost.
3. Pigeons and Kites: As British power grows, the traditional sport of pigeon flying disappears — a metaphor for the loss of Muslim freedom.

The novel begins with night covering Delhi and ends with Mir Nihal in a coma at sunset. Politically, this is the "twilight" of Muslim rule in India.

Conclusion

The political condition in Twilight in Delhi is one of subjugation, alienation, and decline. Under British rule, Delhi lost its status as an imperial capital. Muslims, once rulers, became a suspect community after 1857 and faced systematic discrimination.

The middle-class family of Mir Nihal reflects this larger political reality. They are not active participants in the Home Rule Movement or Gandhi's politics. Instead, they withdraw into private grief, religious ritual, and memory. This apathy is itself a political statement — the statement of a community that feels it has no place in the new order.

Ahmed Ali does not write a political pamphlet. He shows politics through daily life: a durbar procession, a decorated mosque, a song in the street, a memory of 1857. Through this, he captures how colonialism destroyed not just an empire, but a "mode of thought and living."

Twilight in Delhi is thus both a family story and a political elegy. It records the moment when Muslim political power in India ended, and a new, uncertain future began. That is why the novel remains vital — it turns political history into human experience.

Also explore: The Rights of Woman in Islam in Different Aspects.

Recommended Reading: Twilight in Delhi by Ahmed Ali — get your copy on Amazon.

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