 Aligarh Movement was an important Reform Movement of

19th century.
 It was started to end the socio-religious evils of the Muslim
Society.
 Its founder was Sir Sayyed Ahmed Khan who got a lot a lot of
success in his mission .
 He was a liberal and a great scholar who studied his religion
deeply and tried to put an end to false rituals.
 He introduced educational reforms to end ignorance.
 His movement is known a Aligarh movement , because its
main centre was at Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh
Sir Sayyed Ahmed Khan belonged to
a noble family of Delhi.

Birth  17 October 1817

Father’s name  Mir Muttaqi
Mother’s name  Aziz-un-Nisaa

After his Father’s death in 1839 A.D.,

he had to join the services of the
British Company and on the basis
of his honesty and intelligence, he
was promoted to high posts.
 After the Mutiny of 1857 A.D. , the govt. adopted anti-Muslims
attitude because the Muslims had participated actively in the
revolt.
 Sir Sayyed Ahmed Khan realized that the interest of the
Muslims could be served only be winning the favour of the
British Govt.
 He tried to bring Muslims near English.
 In 1869, he went to England and propagated his ideology there.
 In 1876, he decided to launch a movement to reform the social
and religious life of the Muslims.
 He felt to achieve this objective , spread of Education was
essential
 Sir Sayyed Ahmed Khan tried to establish
Hindu-Muslim Unity.
 He asked the Muslims to consider
themselves that first of all they are Indians
and then anything else
 He asked the Hindus not to consider the
Muslims as foreigners.
 His efforts were praiseworthy but his views
were accepted neither by the
fundamentalist Hindus nor the fanatic
Muslims.
 Islam was a missionary religion that spread rapidly in India but the arrival
of Christianity the situation changed.
 Christianity started its work against Islam and proved a great hurdle in
their way.
 Superstition and false rituals had become part of Islam as a result of this
the Muslims had forgotten the real faith.
 Initially Muslims believed in the principle of equality but know they had
given up this principle.
 They ill-treated the below class people and the slaves
 After the Mutiny of 1857, the British Govt. became anti-Muslim because
the Muslims had participated more actively in the revolt.
 After the decline of the Mughal Empire the Muslims had lost political
power, their interest were in danger.
 To create an atmosphere of mutual understanding between the
British government and the Muslims.
 To persuade Muslims to learn English education.
 To persuade Muslims to abstain from politics of agitation.
 To produce an intellectual class from amongst the Muslim
community.
 To bring a social and cultural reform amongst the Muslim
community.
 To maintain, and as far as possible promote the political and
economical importance of Muslims in the affairs of the country
to the extent that was possible in a country under foreign rule.
 Sir Sayyed Ahmed Khan decided to counter these evils and appealed
the Muslims to follow these principles to shun their social evils and
the religious backwardness.

 The teachings given in the Quran are only real and should be followed
honestly.
 God (Allah) is omnipotent. Remember him always.
 Teachings in religious book except the Quran, should be considered wisely.
 All Muslims are equal. Do not hate the slaves or low class people.
 Do not believe in miracles and false rituals.
 According to Islam, it is not necessary to perform force marriages. Avoid
this social evils.
 Do not hate other religion. Respect them . Jehad or religious war is
unjustified.
For the success of reforms, spread of Education is essential.
 In 1874 A.D. he set up a school in Aligarh.
 In 1878 A.D., he set up Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental collage
in Aligarh.
 Islamic as well as western education was imparted in these
institution.
 Medium of Instruction
Under graduate classes  Urdu
College  English, Arabic and Urdu
 He also established Mohammedan Educational Conference.
 After some time Sir Sayyed Ahmed Khan’s Liberal
Ideology underwent a Change.

 He realized that Muslims could be more benefit more

from closeness with the English than Hindus.

 Since the Govt. was anti Muslim and government’s

attitude could only be changed by terming the
Muslims as pro-government and the Hindus as the
anti-government.
 In order to bring the Muslims near the British, he
sought help form Aligarh Educational Center.

 With the cooperation of the principal of the collage,

the Muslims Students were Imparted education form a
particular point of view, so that they could realize
that their benefit was in supporting the British
rule in India.
The establishment of
Muslim League was also the
result of his efforts .

It had adverse effect on the

National Movement of India
which led to the partition
of the country on religious
basis on 1947 A.D..
 Aligarh movement was started to
improve the Social and Religious conditions
of the Muslims……………… But
due to the British Policy of 

It inclined towards the

English.
 Fortunately, Sayyed Ahmad Khan was able to attract into his
orbit a number of sincere friends who shared his views and
helped him. Among them were well-known figures like
Nawab Mohsin-ul-Mulk, Nawab Viqar-ul-Mulk, Hali, Shibli,
Maulvi Nazir Ahmad, Chiragh Ali, Mohammad Hayat, and
Zakaullah. Above all, his gifted son Sayyed Mahmud, a
renowned scholar, jurist and educationist, was a great source
of help to him.

 Sayyed Ahmad also succeeded in enlisting the services of a

number of distinguished English professors like Bech,
Morison, Raleigh and Arnold who gave their best in building
up the Aligarh College into a first-rate institution.
 1859: Built Gulshan School in Muradabad.
 1863: Set up Victoria School in Ghazipur.
 1864: Set up the Scientific Society in Ghazipur. This
society was involved in the translation of English
works into the native language.
 1866: Aligarh Institute Gazette. This imparted
information on history; ancient and modern science
of agriculture, natural and physical sciences and
advanced mathematics.
 1870: Committee Striving for the Educational
Progress of Muslims.
 1870: Tahzib-ul-Akhlaq started, December 24.
 1873: Scheme for establishing a college presented.

 1875: Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental School (M. A.

O.), Aligarh, setup on the pattern of English public
schools. Later raised to the level of college in 1877
and university in 1920.

 1886: Muhammadan Educational Conference. This

conference met every year to take stock of the
educational problems of the Muslims and to
persuade them to get modern education and abstain
from politics. It later became the political mouthpiece
of the Indian Muslims.