Educational and Political Services of Sir Syed Ahmed

Khan with Reference to the Aligarh Movement

Course Title: Genesis of Pakistan
Submitted by: Syeda Muzna ali
Program: BS-Political Science (Mor)
Semester: Vth
Session: Fall 21
Submitted To: Dr.Khurram Shahzad
Roll no/: FA19A7BA038
Date: November 27th, 2021
The Islamia University of Bahawalpur
Sir Syed Ahmed Khan was among the great men who shaped the history
of the Muslims of the Indian subcontinent. He was a born visionary, a
political activist, a reformer, and a great journalist. Syed Ahmed Khan
was born at a time when the Indian subcontinent was on the verge of
chaos. After the war of independence of India in 1857, the world saw a
political reformist and a social activist in the form of Syed Ahmed khan
emerge, who guided the Muslims of the subcontinent.
Educational backwardness and Political conditions of Muslims
before the Aligarh Movement:

No one suffered the wrath of the British more than the Muslims after the
war of independence of 1857. Not only did they lose their glory and rule,
but also, they became weak, politically and educationally. Due to their
denial of western education, Muslims were given meager jobs in the
British raj. In Politics, Muslims were stripped of their rights to participate
in the council. The crippling state of Muslims of the subcontinent became
an impetus for Syed Ahmed Khan to reshape and revive them.
The Aligarh Movement and The Educational Upliftment of The
Muslims:
The Aligarh movement was initiated in the later years of the 19th century
to instill scientific learning, critical reasoning, and tolerance among
Muslims of the subcontinent. This movement was multi-dimensional as
it played a huge role in structuring the socio-economic, political, and
educational aspects of Muslims, but it was more inclined towards the
educational aspects.
After analyzing the situation of Muslims, Sir Syed Ahmed khan found
western education as the only solution to their deplorable condition. But
it was next to impossible to convince the staunch Muslims of his time to
opt for the Western education, so he took another path. First, he opened
a school at Muradabad in 1858. He strived to establish scientific caliber
in Muslims by founding Ghazipur scientific society in 1864. It was a
translation society in the beginning that later transformed into the
Scientific society. Its main aim was to translate all the scientific literature
into Urdu. He was also the founder of a magazine, the Aligarh institute
gazette (1866) that tended to the cultural demands of Muslims. He
published his famous article Tahzib-al-akhlaq also known as The
Mohammadan social reformer. This periodical was a stepping stone, as
it helped revive the spirit of Urdu.
As mentioned above, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan was also a great journalist.
He introduced a new way of prose writing in Urdu and articulated the
then socio-political issues impressively. While in Aligarh, Sir Syed started
a primary school on 24th May 1875, and later on, viceroy Lord Lytton laid
 the foundation of the college. On this path, he faced opposition too. He
openly refuted the education systems of the madrasah. This was the
reason a section of clergies and their supporters stood up against the
reforms of Sir Syed. But he kept on urging Muslims to adopt the modern
education system as it was the only way out of their misery. Sir Syed
said: "Philosophy will be in our right hand and natural science in our left,
and the crown of "There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is His
Prophet" will adorn our heads".

In 1866, he founded the All-India Muhammadan educational conference.

Its sessions used to be held in every city to spread the message of
Aligarh. It later came to be known as All-India Muslim educational
conference and is thought to be the parent body of the All-India Muslim
league formed in 1906.1
Sir Syed established the Mohammaden Anglo-oriental college in 1877
and was met with a huge backlash from the conservative section of the
society. He was even branded as kafir who was trying to pollute the
Muslim nation. Sir Syed tried against all odds to establish M.A.O college
and also put great efforts into highlighting the importance of Islam in the
curriculum. The department of theology was well provided in teaching
both Sunni and Shia theology, which is still practiced today.2
22 years after Sir Syed's death, the MAO college was raised to the status
of university. Not to forget how the Muslim community, supporters all
over the country, and comrades of Sir Syed collected three million rupees
to get this status. Aligarh college was not just an institute, but it was a
movement, through which great Muslim leaders emerged and held the
reins of Muslims of India. The Quaid-e-Azam called this University of
Aligarh his Arsenal. Liaquat Ali Khan and Muhammad Ayub Khan, the
two heads of the Pakistani state, were graduates of this university.
The Aligarh Movement and The Political Upliftment of The Muslims:

According to Rajmohan Gandhi: "Sir Syed is hailed and assailed, as the

founder of Muslim separatism on the subcontinent. He is blamed, and
praised, as a modernizer of Islam".3 As mentioned before, due to his
reformist, revolutionary ideas, he was despised in the conservative
sections of Muslim society. Sir Syed was of the view that the British are
going to stay in the subcontinent for a long time, so Muslims should
establish cordial relations with them. His advice to the Muslims was to

1 Kazimi,M.R(2009),” A Concise History of Pakistan”, Karachi: Oxford University Press,p.p 74-75

2 Haque, M.Mohibul-Perspectives on Sir Syed and the Aligarh Movement (2017), A.R Kidwai, “Sir Syed Ahmed
Khan Muslim Renaissance Man of India.
3 Haque,M.Mohibul,ibid, p-51
 give-up confrontational politics and become law-abiding citizens. He
always urged them to adopt fewer hostile means to put their grievances
across. To clear the stance of Muslims, which was much corrupted in the
eyes of British raj after the mutiny, Sir Syed wrote a memorandum named
Asbab-i-Baghawat-i-Hind (The causes of the revolt of India) in 1858. He
sent it to the British parliament. The main points discussed in it were:

• Muslims are not forced to oppose the British rule by their belief
• The main cause of the 1857 revolt was the communication gap between
the rulers and the people. If the Britishers have noticed or communicated
with the Indians, the revolt would not have happened.
When the Indian National Congress was formed in 1885, Sir Syed
opposed it and vehemently denied the objectives of the party, that it
represents all communities of the society. Through his public speeches,
periodicals and teachings, he advised Muslims to not join congress or
any other political organization. He wanted to reinvigorate Muslims
through high education.
Sir Syed was not a separatist earlier. But when the Urdu-Hindi
controversy broke in 1867, Sir Syed took a clear stance that Hindus and
Muslims were separate Nations, voicing his famous Two-Nation theory.
He stated that although Congress has the support of the British, it may
come into conflict with them at some point, to get what they want. And if
Muslims participate in the congress, they would have to bear the brunt
of the British just like they did after 1857.
Another political service for the Muslims of the subcontinent was how he
laid the foundation of the Mohammaden Educational conference that
became the parent body of The All-India Muslim League (AIML) in 1906.
It was AIML that demanded the rights of Muslims and demanded a
separate homeland for them.

It was the strong foundation, the deep roots of Aligarh that even after the
death of Sir Syed in 1898, Muslims began to organize themselves again
when Urdu was restricted. They formed an Urdu defence association on
May 2, 1900, in Aligarh under the patronage of Nawab Mohsin ul Mulk.
This activity added fuel to the fire and the then Lt. Governor-general of
UP, Sir Anthony McDonnell passed a Hindi resolution. He also took a
forced resignation of Mohsin ul Mulk from the Urdu defence association.
This discriminatory act of the British raj could not hold the Muslim
revolutionary force. They were politically organized and ready to
challenge anyone who destroyed their cultural integrity. So, on October
1, 1901, Mohammaden Political Association was formed.4

4 Kazimi,M.R, ob.cit, p-85

Conclusion:

Sir Syed was a visionary, who came at the time when Muslims lost their
glory and status in the subcontinent. They were going through cultural
depravity; socio-economic and political setbacks were imminent. The
establishment of the Aligarh Movement was a breath of fresh air.
Although he faced several hardships and personal attacks during the
process, his aim never deterred, that was to awaken the Muslim nation
from the deep slumber and to make them able enough to get good
employment and demand their rights. He wanted the Muslims to discard
their views regarding the British and adopt modern education and
balance it with religion. The Aligarh movement produced visionaries, who
elevated the status of Muslims in the subcontinent.
References:
1 Kazimi,M.R(2009),” A Concise History of Pakistan”, Karachi: Oxford
University Press,p.p 74-75

2 Haque, M.Mohibul-Perspectives on Sir Syed and the Aligarh

Movement (2017), A.R Kidwai, “Sir Syed Ahmed Khan Muslim
Renaissance Man of India.
3 Haque,M.Mohibul,ibid, p-51

4 Kazimi,M.R, ob.cit, p-85