Nadwatul Ulama, in British India, was founded by Maulvi Abdul Ghafoor in 1898. It was found in Kanpur. The word Nadva gives the meaning of assembly. The Aligarh movement by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan mainly focused on modern education, while Darul Uloom Deoband focused on religious education.

Therefore, there was a dire need to combine these two education systems into one. Thus, Maulvi Abdul Ghafoor started the Nadwatul Ulama, an educational movement, for this purpose.

The objectives of the Nadwatul Ulama:

About the objective of Nadwatul Ulama, ‘Maulana Syed Abdul Hasan” in the book “A History of Nadwatul Ulama” says that its primary objective is the production of scholars who are:

1. Well-versed in Islamic Education
2. Are able to address the challenges of modern world.

• Removal of sectarian issues among the Muslims
  The Darul Uloom worked tirelessly to remove sectarianism among the Muslim Ulama. It conducted inter-sectarian debates. These debates reduced the sectarian tension greatly because the enhanced the understanding of the two major sects of Islam, Shia and Sunni.
  
  Moreover, these discussions created peace among the Muslim scholars. Further, they united the Muslims. Now they could work together as one nation for greater good of Muslims.
• The elimination of the prevailing extremist educational ideas and making them coherent
  This institution also worked for the removal of extremist ideas in the society. The reason is that it was crucial for a united India. Therefore, this work of Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama bridged the gap between Indian nationals and united them.
• The improvement of the educational syllabus
  It improved the Madrasa System as it changed the curriculum from the traditional education to an amalgamation of Islamic education and Modern/Western education. Moreover, it taught its students to adapt to the changing times.
• The elimination of the prevailing social evils
• The improvement of the Muslims’ lives
  It also encouraged the Muslims to join the British administration because without it Muslims would not be respected in the Indian society.
• The Nadwatul Ulama worked for women education
  It also promoted women’s education to uplift the Muslim society.

Conclusion

The establishment of Nadwatul Ulama was successful in producing worthy scholars for the Muslims of India. These famous scholars include Syed Suleiman Nadvi and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. These famous personalities worked a lot for the political awareness of Muslims.