THE ALIGARH MOVEMENT

1. Introduction After the war of Independence of 1857 A.D. The British took over the whole of India. They left no stone unturned in suppressing and oppressing the usli!s. "or the purpose#

they threw out $ersian fro! the offices% a&olished the posts of 'a(is fro! the )ourts or law% confiscated the educational trusts and the !ova&le and i!!ova&le properties of the acade!ies etc. In this way they succeeded in paraly(ing the and cultural fields. In those days# *ir *yed Ah!ed +han was a civil servant. ,e was for sighted with a keen sense of honour. e could not see the !isera&le plight of the usli!s usli!s in econo!ic# political

usli!s. After a

prolonged and careful thought he concluded that unless the

usli!s ac-uired the knowledge

of the !odern sciences# they could not get rid of their !isera&le plight and keep pace with the true. *ir *yed Ah!ed +han and his colleagues &elieved that the usli!s !ust study and

learn the western sciences in .nglish. At the sa!e ti!e they also thought in necessary for the usli!s to !aintain their Isla!ic identity. "or the purpose# they thought it pertinent to esta&lish a first/rate educational institution. Aligarh )ollege was the outco!e of his untiring efforts which he intended to run on the pattern of the 01ford and )a!&ridge 2niversities. 3. Causes Behind the Aligarh Movement The !ain !otives &ehind the Aligarh a. ove!ent were as follows4

After failure of the war of independence of 1857 A.D. it had &eco!e clear that the British could not &e sent &ack with &attles and wars. At the sa!e ti!e# it was necessary to clarify the position of the usli!s to the British rulers# who usli!s of the *u&

had serious !isgivings a&out the !ind/set of the )ontinent. Aligarh

ove!ent looks it upon itself to do the 5o&.

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)ut of fro! the !odern science as they were the

usli!s of the *u&/

)ontinent regained &ack ward and had to suffer hardship. 0nly those# who had !odern education# were considered eligi&le for civil service. !isera&le financial plight of the The

usli!s forced the! to reali(e that they

needed to learn !odern sciences. They were treated as literate though they were -ualified fro! the religious institutions. c. The ,indus had sla!!ed to do!inate the *outh Asian politics and econo!y to &eco!e the future !aster of the *u&/continent. Therefore# it was necessary to e-uip the usli!s with !odern sciences to ena&le the! to co!plete with

the so called future !asters of *outh Asia. d. The usli!s advocates of the !odern education too were dissatisfied with the

educational syste! of the pu&lic 67overn!ent8 schools# for it was repugnant to their cultural values. Therefore# they thought it indispensa&le for the The Aligarh !ove!ent

usli!s to !anage their education the!selves. fulfilled this o&ligation to a great e1tent. e.

*ir *yed Ah!ed +han had critici(ed the dictatorial role of the .ducation Directorate in particular. ,e was right in thinking that an unusually storng hold of the authorities on pu&lic institutions always !arred their functioning and curtailed the internal freedo! 6autono!y8 of the institutions. ,ence# the need for a non/govern!ental educational syste! in the shape of the Aligarh ove!ent.

f.

The

ediu! of Instruction in $u&lic and !issionary schools# was .nglish.

oreover# the locals were facing !any difficulties in grasping the .uropean science# arts and literature. 0nly the !ost intelligent 9 outstanding students and those healing fro! highly educated fa!ilies could &enefit fro! the

!odern sciences. ,ence# the need of an educational syste! suita&le to cater to the needs of the g. usli!s in the for! of the Aligarh ove!ent.

The curriculu! of the pu&lic and !issionary educational institutions contained such !aterial as -uite against the teachings of Isla!. )hristianity was

preached deli&erately and openly. Therefore# there was every possi&ility for the usli! :ouths to &e easily led astray. That was why *ir *yed Ah!ad usli! youth s to &e

+han and his colleagues though it essential for the educated 9 taught in keeping with their faith and &elief. ;. O !ectives o" the Movement

If we go through the speeches !ade &y and writings of *ir *yed Ah!ed +han# the following o&5ectives of the Aligarh a. ove!ent co!e to light# na!ely4 usli!s generally har&ored for the British and

To do away with the hatred the

to prepare the! for learning .nglish and the !odern .uropean sciences. In one of his speeches# *ir *yed Ah!ed +han stressed the need for co!&ining the crescent and the cross. &. To ena&le the usli!s to &e prepared to live with the &itter realities of life

rather than continuing to &oost a&out their glorious past. c. To ena&le the! to &enefit fro! the !odern facilities and co!forts &eing availa&le due to western science and technology. d. To develop a!ong the usli!s a scientific outlook with a view to

e1ter!inating superstitions to which they had &een a victi! since long. e. To raise the level of consciousness a!ong the safeguard and preserve their national identity. usli!s to ena&le the! to

f.

To revive a!ong the

usli!s the spirit of authoritative interpretation 6I5tehad8

to ena&le the! to har!oni(e religious education with the !odern issues of practical life. g. To introduce and then populari(e a!ong the usli!s the western style of

living &y relin-uishing the out!oded and useless custo!s and rituals &eing practice &y the! since ages. In short *ir *yed<s own words the ai! of his educational !ove!ent was that philosophy would &e in our right hand while natural sciences would &e on the left hand and the =. usli!s creed 6+ali!a8 in for! of testi!ony would rest on the heads as the crown. Achievement o" Aligarh Movement In order to acco!plish the o&5ectives of the Aligarh ove!ent *ir *yed Ah!ed +han

and his sincere colleagues took the following i!portant initiatives# na!ely4 a. &. They esta&lished a *cientific *ociety. They constituted a co!!ittee consisting of those who loved and desired progress and prosperity for the c. d. e. usli!s. usli!s of the *u&/continent.

They launched a !ove!ent for educating the The esta&lished the They constituted the

uha!!adan Anglo/0riental )ollege at Aligarh uha!!adan .ducational )onference.

>ow# as regards the *cientific *ociety# they translated the oriental and western literature into 2rdu and then pu&lished it. Their !aga(ine ?The Aligarh Institute Ga#ette@ played a very i!portant significant and effective role in this regard. The )o!!ittee of $rogress and $rosperity lovers traced out the causes of the decline and degradation of the usli! education syste! in *outh Asia.

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$alient %eatures The following were the salient features of the Aligarh a. Training o" the $tudents The Aligarh 2niversity not only provided !odern education to its student &ut it also inculcated in the! leadership -ualities to ena&le the! to lead successful social life# in future# alongside their education. &. $ocial Activities "or an all/round growth of the students there were a Aiding )lu&# *wi!!ing $ool# )ricket )lu&# and 2nion )lu& founded in the 2niversity. The *tudent 2nion and the 0ld Boys Association created in the students the -ualities of leadership. c. %acilities "or the $tudents The )ollege Dispensary had a *urgeon and a ,aki!. In addition to a &ook depot# !any &ooks were also pu&lished locally. The hostels were accordingly to the taste and paying capacity of the students &oth rich and poor. oreover# ove!ent# na!ely4

the arrange!ents of scholarships and !edals for the intelligent students and stipends and interest free loans for the needy students were also there. A *ir Agha +han 0verseas *cholarship was also availa&le for study a&road. d. Administration Till 1855 A.D.# the anage!ent 9 Ad!inistrative )ouncil was responsi&le for Bater on# it was taken over &y the

the ad!inistration and !anage!ent.

Trustees )o!!ittee. Its secretary/ship re!ained with *ir *yed Ah!ed +han% his son *yed successively. ah!ood% >awa& ohsin/ul/ ulk and >awa& Ca-ar/ul/ ulk

The $rincipal of the )ollege# two professors and the

,ead!aster had to &e the British so that the students !ight learn the western style of living alongside their education. e. Religious Education *o!e religious education was also i!ported alongside the western education. ,owever# it re!ained inconse-uent. In short# we conclude that there was the su&5ect of Deeniyat attached to the curriculu! only as satellite. This su&5ect is still co!!on in the na!e of Isla!iat or Isla!ic *tudies. f. Educating the Elite and the Gentr& As regards the circulation and currency of knowledge# *ir *yed Ah!ed +han &elieved in it to &e restricted to the elitist class of the hand during their rule in *outh Asia the all whether rich or poor. D. Im'act o" the Aligarh Movement The Aligarh ove!ent left deep and far/reaching i!pact on the educational# social# usli!s in *outh Asia. ove!ent. ,ereunder we endeavor to usli!s. 0n the other

usli! !onarchs !ade it free and for

econo!ic and political life of the

enu!erate so!e of &asic conse-uences of the a.

Com'romise Bet(een the English and the Muslims The Aligarh ove!ent played an i!portant role in arriving at an effective usli!s. In this way the usli!s

co!pro!ise &etween the .nglish and the

with the help of !odern education# once again# ena&led to keep pace with other )o!!unities in their socio econo!ic life. &. )ros'erit& "or the Muslims The !odern sciences opened the door of e!ploy!ent for the usli!s.

,owever# this opportunity had a dark side too. The concept of .ducation for

5o& !ade the

usli!s lag &ehind in the field of agriculture# trade# etc.

)onse-uently# the pro&le! of the educated &ut une!ployed was created. c. *evelo'ment o" +rdu Aligarh .ducation ove!ent &enefited 2rdu language the !ost. 2rdu got usli!s. *ir *yed Ah!ed +han#

currency as the national language of the aulana Altaf ,ussain ,ali#

aulana *hi&li >au!ani and Deputy >a(ir

Ah!ed struggled hard to get 2rdu included into the living languages of the su& continent and !ade it the langue of various &asic sciences and social sciences. d. )olitical Training Aligarh ove!ent has greatly contri&uted in raising the level of socio usli!s. The !ost valua&le service of

political consciousness a!ong the

Aligarh was the pro!otion of the ?Two >ation Theory@. It is a !ater of great 5oy and pride that an institution like Aligarh 2niversity that was patroni(ed &y the British the!selves# played and effective role in the creation of $akistan. e. Esta lishment o" Educational Institutions The Aligarh ove!ent paved the way for the usli!s to esta&lish !odern usli!s constituted nu!erous

educational institutions in *outh Asia. The

organi(ations in different parts of *outh Asia for the pro!otion of education. They included the An5u!an/e/,i!ayat/e/Isla!# Bo!&ay# the An5u!an/e/ ,i!ayat/e/Isla!# Bahore and the *ind a!ong others. uha!!adan Association# +arachi

These organi(ations setup !any schools which played

significant role in the educational# social and political progress of the usli!s.

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,esterni#ation The Aligarh ove!ent had a dark side too. It pro!oted an inclination of

su&ordination to the Cestern culture and civili(ation on the part of the south Asians in general and the usli!s in particular. As a result the western

culture was allowed to flourish while Isla!ic culture was left to itself# was rather a&andoned. In other words# the western culture and civili(ation were encouraged# while Isla!ic culture was discouraged.