SIR SYED AHMED KHAN AND HIS SERVICES FOR THE MUSLIMS OF

THE SUB-CONTINENT
PERSONAL LIFE

Sir Syed Ahmed Khan was born in a noble family on 17th October, 1817 in Delhi. He got his
primary education from his maternal grandfather which included the study of Holy Quran,
Arabic and Persian literature. He also acquired excellence in history, mathematics and medicine.

After completing his education, Sir Syed joined government service in 1837. He served in
different capacities in Fatehpur Sikri and Mainpuri before he was elevated to the position of
Chief Judge in 1846 and posted at Delhi. During the War of Independence of 1857 he was
'working in Bijnaur and saved the lives of many British women and children at the risk of his
own life. He was offered an estate for his services he rendered to the British during the War of
Independence, which he refused to accept.

ALIGARH MOVEMENT

Sir Syed always felt aggrieved over the deplorable social and economic condition of the Indian
Muslims. He desired to see those (Muslims) at a respectable position in society and decided to
guide them in their struggle for the revival of their past position of glory and eminence. The
services which Sir Syed rendered for the renaissance of Muslims are known as the Aligarh
Movement in the history of Muslims of India. He was conscious of the miserable state into
which Muslims had fallen over the years. He also realized that the present deplorable condition
of Muslims was partly because of their own extremist and conservative attitude. The Indian
Muslims had always considered the British as their enemies and avoided any social interaction
with them, which created a great deal of mistrust amongst the British about the Muslims. Sir
Syed very rightly observed that the pitiable condition of the Muslims shall not improve unless
Muslims changed their behavior towards the British.. Sir Syed felt that the Muslims should
extend co-operation to the British because they (British) were the rulers and likely to stay in
country for many years. He was also of the opinion that Hindus would get closer to the British if
the Muslims continued with their policy of hatred towards the British rulers. He emphasized on
the Muslims to change their policy of keeping away from the British and come closer to them
because only then they would be able to counter the Hindu and Congress propaganda to win back
their position in society.

EFFORTS TO REMOVE MISUNDERSTANDING BETWEEN MUSLIMS AND THE

BRITISH
PAMPHLET ON THE CAUSES OF INDIAN REVOLT

Sir Syed believed that the first essential step towards the betterment of Muslims was to restore
mutual trust between Muslims and the British. Without it, he felt, any plan for the renaissance of
the Muslims would be useless. He wrote a pamphlet on the causes of the Indian revolt in order to
remove misunderstanding amongst the British about Muslims. The British had put the entire
responsibility of War of Independence on the Muslims and considered them as their greatest
enemies. When the war ended the British adopted a policy of mass extermination against the
Muslims to punish them for their involvement in the war. The Hindus and other nations, who
were equally responsible for the war were forgiven and ignored.
Sir Syed explained the real causes of the war in this pamphlet and said that Muslims were as
much responsible for the war as were the other nations. He wrote that the Muslims were dragged
into the war and it was unworthy to blame Muslims alone for the war. He put the responsibility
of the waron the government and declared that the dictatorial and oppressive policies of the
government contributed a great deal towards the outbreak of the uprising against the government
in 1857. He wrote that because of the ignorance and oppressive policies of the government the
embers of discontent continued to smolder resulting in the armed clash with the government. He
wrote the explanation of the Bible entitled as Tabaeen al Kalam in this work Sir Syed pointed out
the similarities between Islam and Christianity. He wrote 'Loyal Mohammedans of India' in
which he gave a detailed account of the services which the Muslims had rendered to the British
rulers.

EDUCATIONAL SERVICES

Sir Syed's Aligarh movement was based on a two-fold program for the Muslim renaissance
which included modern education for the Muslims and co-operation with the British government.
He persisted to it even in the face of extreme opposition from the conservative elements. The
next vital step for the uplift of the Muslims, he considered, was the acquisition of modern
knowledge by the Muslims of India to prepare them for taking due place in new society. Modern
education, he felt, was very essential to equip Muslims to compete with the Hindus. He was of
the opinion that the present deplorable state of Muslims was mainly because they lagged behind
in the modern and English education. The Muslims could not compete with the Hindus because
they did not acquire English education out of extreme hatred about the British. He clearly told
the Muslims if they did not acquire English and modern education they would not be able to get
their due status in the society and would be ruined forever. He told the people that Hindus
progressed becausethey were well advanced in education. Sir Syed removed the
misunderstanding of the people, created by the orthodox and conservative ulema, and said that it
was not against Islam to acquire English education.

Sir Syed took practical steps for the improvement of educational standard of the Muslims, in
1859 he opened a school at Muradabad where Persian was taught. He established another school
and founded a scientific society at Ghazipur in 1864. The scientific society issued a journal in
1866 entitled as 'Aligarh Institute Gazette' published in English and Urdu languages. The main
purpose of this journal was to arouse the sentiments of goodwill amongst the British for the
Muslims. In 1866 Sir Syed founded the British Indian Association which worked for the
safeguard of the rights of the Indian people.
MOHAMMEDAN EDUCATIONAL CONFERENCE

In 1886 he established MohammedanEducational Conference which was to take steps for the
educational uplift of theMuslims of India. The conference heldits meetings at various places
andestablished its sub-committees at other places in India.

MOHAMMEDAN ANGLO ORIENTAL COLLEGE

The establishment of M.A.O. College at Aligarh in 1877 was the great achievement of Sir Syed
Ahmed Khan with regard to the educational services for the Muslims of India. On 24th May,
1874, M.A.O. High School was established at Aligarh where modern and .eastern education was
imparted. Sir Syed worked very hard to raise the school to the college level. In 1877 the school
was upgraded to the status of a college and inaugurated by Lord Lytton.The college at Aligarh
was more than an educational institution. It was a symbol of a broad movement affecting every
phase of Muslim life.