Sir Syed Ahmed Khan/ Aligarh

Movement
Sir Syed Ahmed Khan
 Name: Syed Ahmed
 Born: October 17, 1817 Dehli
 Died: March 27, 1898 Aligarh
 Father: Syed Muhammad Mutaqi
 Mother: Aziz-un-Nisa ( who played a formative role in Sir Syed's early life)
 Maternal grandfather: Khwaja Fariduddin (who had twice served as prime minister of the
Mughal emperor of his time and had also held positions of trust under the East India Company)
 Joined the East India Company in 1838 as a clerk
 In 1841, he qualified for the post of sub-judge and was posted in Fatehpur Sikri and served in
the judicial department at various places.
 During the War of Independence, he was performing the duties as a sub-judge in Bijnore.
 Entitled with the title of Sir in 1867 on the 1st of April
 Visited England 1869-1870 
 Retired: 1876
 Member of the Governor General’s Legislative Council 1878-1883
 Member of Public Service Commission 1887
 Gandhi called him "a Prophet of education."

Works
 Al-Khutbat al-Ahmadiya fi'l Arab wa'I Sirat al-Muhammadiya ( Khutbat-i-Ahmadiya Note: You can also
write this short name) in response to Sir William Muir’s “The Life of Muhammad”

Asbab-i-Baghawat-e-Hind (Reasons for the Indian Revolt of 1857) in which he exposed the aggressive
expansionist policies of the British East India Company and their lack of understanding about Indian
culture as the primary causes of the 1857 revolt.

Loyal Muhammadans of India about the loyal services of the Muslims to the British

 Tehzeeb-ul-Ikhlaq (Social reforms) outlined the ethical aspects of the Muslim life.

Tabiyan-ul-Kalam commentary on the Bible

Ahkam-i-Ta’am-i-Ahle-Kitaab about the etiquettes of eating and dinning in Islam

Assar-us-Sanadid about the monuments of Dehli

Ain-i-Akbari by Abu Al-Fazal

Aligarh Movement
The Aligarh Movement was the push to establish a modern system of education for
the Muslim population of British India, during the later decades of the 19th century.

Objectives
 To create an atmosphere of mutual understanding between the British government and the
Muslims
 To convince Muslims to learn English education
 To persuade Muslims to abstain from politics of agitation
 To produce an intellectual class from amongst the Muslim community

A brief chronology of Syed Ahmad’s efforts

 1859: Built a Farsi Madrassa in Muradabad
 1863: Set up Victoria School in Ghazipur
 1864: Set up the Scientific Society in Ghazipur (Transferred to Aligarh in 1866) This society was
involved in the translation of English works into the native language. This became a focal point
of his dream project which later shaped up as the Aligarh Movement.
 1866: Aligarh Institute Gazette. (Bilingual- Urdu and English) This imparted information on
history; ancient and modern science of agriculture, natural and physical sciences and advanced
mathematics.
 1870:  Committee for the Better Diffusion and Advancement of Learning
among Muhammadans." Committee Striving for the Educational Progress of Muslims. The main
purpose of that committee was to eradicate misconceptions among different communities
especially Muslim’s reservations about English language and western education system.
 1875: Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental School (M. A. O.), Aligarh. Later rose to the level of college
in 1877 and eventually became Aligarh Muslim University in 1920.
 1886: Muhammadan Educational Conference
 1888: United Indian Patriotic Association against Congress
 1893: Mohammadan Anglo-Oriental Defence Association. The purpose of founding
the association was to unite the Muslims and reduce the influence of the Congress in India

Important Sentences
 Muhammadan Educational 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 and was the forerunner
of the Muslim League.
 Aligarh Muslim University is the creation of the movement. The university he founded remains
one of India's most prominent institutions. Prominent alumni of Aligarh include Muslim political
leaders Maulana Mohammad Ali Jouhar, Abdur Rab Nishtar, Maulana Shaukat Ali and Maulvi
 Abdul Haq, who is considered as Baba-e-Urdu (Father of Urdu) in Pakistan. The first two Prime
Ministers of Pakistan, Liaquat Ali Khan and Khawaja Nazimuddin, as well as Indian President Dr.
Zakir Hussain, are amongst Aligarh's most famous graduates.
 The Aligarh Movement had a profound impact on the Indian society, particularly on the Muslim
society.
 The impact of Aligarh Movement was not confined to the Northern India only, but its expansion
could be seen on the other regions of the Indian sub-continent during the 20th century.
 Sir Syed rejected the common notion that the conspiracy was planned by Muslim élites, who
resented ( ‫ ب را منانا‬, disapprove) the diminishing (reduce) influence of Muslim monarchs. He
blamed the British East India Company for its aggressive expansion as well as the ignorance of
British politicians regarding Indian culture
 The Aligarh Movement has made a weighty and lasting contribution to the political
emancipation ( ‫نجات‬  , freeing someone from the control of another) of Indian Muslims.
 The movement served as an Indian Muslim renaissance (revival) that had profound implications
for the religion, the politics, the culture and society of the Indian sub-continent.
 His greatness is to be judged by his impression made on the society and the transitional effect
on thoughts of Muslims of India.
 In the history of Muslim Nationalism in British sub-continent, Sir Syed stands out most
prominent as a philosopher, reformer, thinker and a dynamic force promoting modern scientific
education, tolerance, progressiveness and consciousness.
 He was a rationalist, moralist and above all a humanist. His movement paved the way for
modernism, innovation and a large-hearted tolerance. However, owing to his policy of interfaith
harmony he was labeled as Kafir or an Agent of the British but he never gave up his policy of
reconciliation which brought positive and constructive results for interfaith harmony in the Sub-
continent.
 He was a bridge builder not only between the rulers and the ruled but also among the various
communities.
 His approach of pluralism is quite relevant in today’s Pakistan. Sir Syed Ahmad Khan’s theory of
reconciliation and tolerance is still significant to our present society. Therefore, all hostile
behaviors are needed to be replaced with positive energies towards knowledge and tolerance.
 Sir Syed Ahmad Khan was a multi-faceted scholar, intellectual, educationist political activist,
journalist, theologian, social reformer and the chief organizer of the modernist Islamic
movement of 19thcentury in India

Quotations
Sir Syed speech in 1888:

 "Suppose that the English community and the army were to leave
India, taking with them all their cannons and their splendid weapons
and all else, who then would be the rulers of India?...Is it possible that
under these circumstances two nations—the Mohammedans and the
 Hindus—could sit on the same throne and remain equal in power?
Most certainly not. It is necessary that one of them should conquer the
other. To hope that both could remain equal is to desire the impossible
and the inconceivable. But until one nation has conquered the other
and made it obedient, peace cannot reign in the land."

In the words of W.W.Hunter:

 “The properties of Muslims were distributed among the Hindus

and the Sikhs, and to be a Muslism was considered a crime”

Lord Roberts wrote:

 I passed through the Chandni Chowk Dehli. There were heaps

of dead bodies lying everywhere.

Maulavi Abdul Haque appreciated the role of Sir Syed and said:

 “The fisrt stone of the foundaytion pf Pakistan was laid down

by this old man”

According to Sir Syed Ahmed Khan:

 Man himself is his own greatest teacher.

Sir Syed Ahmed Khan said:

 Call me by whatever names you like. I will not ask you for my
salvation. But please take pity of your children. Do something
for them (send them to the school), lest you should have to
repent (by not sending them)

maiñ de rahā huuñ tujhe ḳhud se iḳhtilāf kā haq

ye iḳhtilāf kā haq hai muḳhālifat kā nahīñ

(Sanaullah Zaheer)

Important Paragraph for CSS

Sir Syed emphasized on religious harmony, tolerance, importance of education, protection of rights of
minorities and pluralistic society. He was staunch believer of idea of stronger together and he skillfully
created an environment of peaceful coexistence among different communities of the subcontinent.
Unfortunately, today’s Pakistan is also facing the same menace in the form of religious intolerance,
sectarian conflict and social dogmatism and we as a nation should adopt a policy of patience,
tolerance, acceptance, importance of education, love of humanity and social justice as adopted by Sir
Syed Ahmad Khan.