Early Life

• 17th October, 1817 to Syed Muttaqi

• Joined East India Company in 1836 in the office of
Commissioner of Agra and soon promoted as sub-judge
• In 1857 saved 20 British Families and was made Sadr-
us-Sadoor
• In 1869 along with Syed Mehmood went to England and
wrote Khutbat-e-Ahmadia
• In 1878 Lord Dalton nominated him Member of Imperial
Council
• In 1887 Lord Defren made him Member of Civil Service
Commission
• Died in 1898 in Ali Garh
 RESOURCE FOR ALIGARH
• HAYAT E JAVAID BY HALI
• Writings and Speeches of Sir Syed
compiled by Shan Muhammad
 MAO College and AliGarh
• There are three myths about the Aligarh movement: it was simply a movement for
education, Aligarh Muslim University IS the movement, and that the movement is long
dead. Syed Ahmed Khan’s concerns, visions, and efforts for the Indian Muslims came to
be later known as the Aligarh Movement but it was not simply a movement to make
Muslims learn Western education or even the establishment of a university. It was a
movement to give mission to a community that seemed to have lost its bearing in the fast-
changing world, to prepare them for new challenges, and give them new tools to connect
back to their religion and history. Incredibly, Muslims of India still face these issues and the
need for Aligarh movement is still alive.

• Rarely history offers such a sharp divide as in 1857 when medieval India came to a close
and a modern India emerged from the ruins. Syed Ahmed understood the new power and
new rules that will shape the future of India. British saw Muslims as a threat and a
challenge to the British rule in India. They held Muslims responsible for the brutal 1857 war
between British and Indian forces. In this situation Muslim centers of learning and culture
in North India were uprooted or abandoned. At that time Syed Ahmad was in the
employment of the British. He wrote “Asbab-e-baghawat-e-hind” (The Causes of the Indian
Revolt) to show that events of 1857 was a result of British high-handedness in India and
not a conspiracy by the Muslim feudal elites. It was an attempt to tell the rulers of India that
we understand that you are here to stay but we want to be a partner in this new system.
 Chronology of Sir Syed’s Efforts
Aligarh Movement
• 1859: Built Gulshan School in Muradabad.
• 1863: Set up Victoria School in Ghazipur.
• 1864: Set up the Scientific Society in Aligarh.
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.
 Chronology of Sir Syed’s Efforts
Aligarh Movement
• 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 and was the
forerunner of the Muslim League.
• MAO College Aligarh to Muslim University
 Objectives of Movement
• To protect Islam against the onslaught of Orientalists and to prove
that it was the one true religion;
• To remove the bitter enmity which had arisen between the Muslim
and the British for religious or political reasons and to establish
friendly relations between them;
• To reinterpret the teaching of Islam and bring them in harmony with
modern science and philosophy so that educated Muslims while
holding on to their religion, might take a rational and enlightened
view of life and meet the demands of the new age;
• To persuade Muslims to learn the English language and Western
sciences so that they might secure a substantial share in the
administration of the country.
• To maintain Urdu along with English as an associate official
language and to develop it through translations and original writings
 QUOTATIONS
• “Sir Saiyad was a prophet of education “ (Mahatma Gandhi)

• “The real greatness of the man (Sir Saiyad) consists in the fact
that he was the first Indian Muslim who felt the need of a fresh
orientation of Islam and worked for it’’ (Sir Allama Iqbal)
•

• “Sir Saiyad was an ardent reformer and he wanted to reconcile

modern scientific thought with religion by rationalistic
interpretations and not by attacking basic belief. He was
anxious to push new education. He was in no way communally
separatist. Repeatedly he emphasized that religious differences
should have no political and national significance”.
( Jawaharlal Nehru, Founder Prime Minister of India)