Waseem Malik presents the introduction to his extensive MPhil dissertation titled Dilemmas of Ideology: A Critical Social Psychological Study of Maududi’s Educational Thought in the Kashmir Context. This introduction offers an overview and exploration of the complex relationship between ideology, education and social behavior within a Kashmiri context. The study presented critically examines the educational philosophy of Abul Alaa Maududi and its implementation by the Jamaat-i-Islami in Kashmir. By employing Michael Billig’s concept of ideological dilemmas and introducing the notion of “points of anchorage,” Malik investigates the inherent tensions and contradictions within Maududi’s ideological framework as it interacts with the realities of modern education. The dissertation provides a detailed analysis of how these ideological tensions manifest in the educational practices of the Jamaat-i-Islami Jammu & Kashmir (JIJK), exploring the ways educators and students navigate the ideological challenges posed by the intersection of Islamic thought and the secular, modern educational system.
Through this empirical study, Malik develops complex ideas to complicate the traditionally assumed linear relationship between ideology and subjectivity, offering insights into how ideologies are actively engaged with, interpreted, and lived by individuals within the socio-political context of Kashmir. Waseem Malik’s introduction published in the Academia section of Inverse Journal serves as an apt point of departure that synthesizes all too well the many complexities explored within his dissertation through the use of a wide array of theoretical and philosophical texts and research material relevant to his line of academic inquiry.
It is pertinent to recall that the state attempted to disband the educational apparatus of the Jamaat-i-Islami, Jammu & Kashmir(JIJK) by officially banning the movement in 2019, followed by a ban of its Falah-i-Aam (Welfare for All) Trust and affiliated schools within Kashmir in 2022.
