The Indian Muslim Salariat and the Moral and Political Economies of Usury Laws in Colonial India, 1855–1914.

This article analyzes the Indian Muslim salariat’s evolving response to the 1855 repeal of usury laws in British India, focusing on their efforts to reconcile Islamic legal traditions with colonial economic realities. The salariat, a class of urban Muslim professionals and landed gentry emerging after the 1857 uprising, initially promoted a distinction between permissible interest and condemned usury, blending Islamic exegesis with European political economy to advocate for interest-bearing financial institutions while opposing exploitative moneylending practices associated with Hindu moneylenders. Over several decades, their pro-interest, anti-usury stance shifted, culminating by 1914 in a rejection of all interest as un-Islamic, influenced by perceptions of Muslim economic decline and the colonial state’s role in exacerbating wealth disparities. The article situates this discourse within broader debates on Islamic law, colonial legislation, and comparative Muslim contexts, highlighting the salariat’s significant role in shaping early Islamic economic thought and the moral-political economy of colonial India.