The founder of the Qadiani sect was Ghulam Ahmed, who was born in the town of Qadian from which Qadianism takes it name. Qadian is situated in the district of Gurdaspur, in the province of Punjab, India. Ghulam Ahmed’s father’s name was Mirza Ghulam Murtaza and his mothers name was Chirag Bibi.

The second name of the movement was ‘Ahmediyyah’ taken from Ahmed’s name, which at his birth his father prefixed with the epithet of Ghulam, meaning slave of Ahmed. Mirza Ghulam Ahmed proved himself to be totally the opposite and was the enemy of Ahmed rather than the slave, as Ahmed is another name of the Prophet Muhammad .

The father of Ghulam Ahmed had no avenues of income except for a state pension and suffered financial problems, and as a result Ghulam Ahmed was continuously searching for something better. His habit of lavishly spending what little he had did not allow his financial position to improve. The only way he could improve his financial situation was to win the hearts of rich and wealthy people who would see him as a mentor. Without any proper preparation and previous study, he provoked many ecclesiastical dignitaries and religious pundits in order to achieve popularity and become known by the masses.

When he started to get help, both physical and financial from like-minded people in initiating disputes over dogmas and theological concepts with theologists of contemporary religions in India, he noticed a possibility of all his financial worries being banished to be replaced with a great potential for financial gain. Consequently he made every effort to advance this side of his career and gathered increasing popularity, and with time he and his followers gained in their number and wealth. Ghulam Ahmed was now a fully fledged religious personality and he was now wearing the garment of a religious mentor. Mirza Ghulam Ahmed played his part very well and the requirements of the British Government were fulfilled. His security and protection was looked after with care and diligence and all sorts of facilities were made available and at his disposal. Mirza Ghulam Ahmed Qadiani was always thankful and grateful to his British Masters and he always paid his gratitude to them and declared that his advancement was solely due to their support.

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