SIR SYED AHMED

KHAN
NaveedAKBAR
BACKGROUND/ INTRODUCTION
 War of independence
 Vengeance against Muslims
 Predicament of Muslims
 Hindus promoted at the cost of Muslim
 Morale at the lowest ebb
 Reluctant to face realities
 Unwilling to face challenges
 Leaderless community
SIR SYED
 Date of birth: october17,1817
Dehli,grandfather Syed Haadi awarded title
of Jawwad-ud-dula in the reign Alam shah-II
and Alamghir-II, Maternal grand father was
sent to Iran by lord Wesley as attaché
 Titles: knighted in 1870
 Died on…27 March 1898 (aged 80)Aligarh,
Uttar Pradesh,
CAREER
 He entered the English civil service and started attending the
East India Company College where he graduated with a
degree in law and judicial services
 He was appointed Serestadar (Clerk) at the courts of law in
Agra, responsible for record-keeping and managing court
affairs.
 In 1840, he was promoted to the title of munshi.
 on May 10, 1857, Sir Syed was serving as the chief
assessment officer at the court in Bijnor.

 In 1858, he was appointed to a high-ranking post at the

court in Muradabad, where he began working on his most
famous literary work.
SCHOLARLY WORKS
 While continuing to work as a junior clerk, Sir Syed began focusing on
writing, from the age of 23 (in 1840), on various subjects
 His career as an author began when he published a series of treatises in
Urdu on religious subjects in 1842.
 He published the book Asar-as-sanadid (Great Monuments) documenting
antiquities of Delhi dating from the medieval era. This work earned him
the reputation of a cultured scholar.
 In 1842, he completed the Jila-ul-Qulub bi Zikr-il Mahbub and the Tuhfa-
i-Hasan, along with the Tahsil fi jar-i-Saqil in 1844. These works focused
on religious and cultural subjects.
SCHOLARLY WORKS
 In 1852, he published the two works Namiqa dar bayan masala
tasawwur-i-Shaikh and Silsilat ul-Mulk.
 He released the second edition of Asar-as-sanadid in 1854.
 He also started work on a commentary on the Bible – the first by a
Muslim – in which he argued that Islam was the closest religion to
Christianity, with a common lineage from Abrahamic religions.
 He began with Genesis and Matthew, the first books of the Old and
New Testament, but quit his project before even completing those
first two.
 His other writings such as Loyal Muhammadans of India, Tabyin-ul-
Kalam and A Series of Essays on the Life of Muhammad and
Subjects Subsidiary Therein helped to create cordial relations
between the British authorities and the Muslim community.
 . Asbab-e-Baghawat-e-Hind (Reasons for the Indian Revolt of 1857)
1875
EFFORTS/CONTRIBUTIONS
 Policy of conciliation and co-operation
 Struggle for uplifting of Muslims through
education/ Aligarh movement
 Religious services
 Political services
 Social services
 Economic services
 Science v/s Religion
 Two nation theory
POLICY OF CONCILIATION AND CO-
OPERATION

 Causes of revolt:
 Advised Muslims to remain loyal to British
 Why he advocated this?
 Was it a slavish mentality?
 Whether it was flattery or submission to
British
 Effects of this approach….
STRUGGLE FOR UPLIFTING OF MUSLIMS
THROUGH EDUCATION/ ALIGARH MOVEMENT
 His conviction for acquisition of modern
education
 Establishment of schools: Muradabad1858,
Ghazipur1863: “ both these schools were
established with the support of Hindu and
Muslim gentry and roused much more popular
enthusiasm than the schools opened by
Christian missionaries(S.M.Ikram, Modern
Muslim India and birth of Pakistan)
 Established Translation Society at
Ghazipur1864 which developed into Aligarh
Scientific society later on
ALIGHAR
 Visit to England 1869 with his son Syed
Mahmud……………..dream of oxford and
Cambridge was transformed to Aligarh
 Founded Mohammaden Anglo-oriental
School(1875) which converted to college at
ALIGHAR(1875).
 Became university in 1921
 “This was the humble begning of muslims
university of Alighar which has played such
an important role in the life of muslim
community of sub-continent” I.H.Qureshi
ALIGARH
 Jamil-ud-din Ahmed: “the object of college was not
purely educational in narrow sense. It was an effort in
the direction of national regeneration in all its aspects”
EARLY PHASE OF MUSLIM POLITICAL
MOVEMENT.
 I.H.Qureshi, The Muslim Community of Indo-Pakistan
Subcontinent: “indeed Aligarh was the cradle of
feeling of nationalism among the Muslims because it
kept alive the idea of well integrated Muslim
community in the sub-continent”
ALIGHAR
 Choudhary Khaliq-u-zaman, Pathway to
Pakistan: if there had been no Aligarh the
Muslims would have been deprived of the
share in the administration and in all the
other department of life in which English
education was required for filling the
posts…..Aligarh produced number of public
spirited men to fight for cause of their
community”
 Times of London hailed him as the prophet of
education
ALIGHAR
 Grahm his biographer( the life and works of sir
Syed ahmed khan),writes: “Syed ahmed’s motto
was educate , educate and educate”
 Inspired by Mr. Wilson impart western knowledge
through the media of local language
 S.N.Sen, “history of Modern India”, “Syed ahmed
and his brain-child, the Aligarh movement have
been condemned mostly by Hindu writers.
According to them the movement resulted in
widening the gulf between the Hindus and Muslims
which culminated in foundation of Pakistan”
MUHAMMADEN EDUCATIONAL
CONFERENCE
 Muhammaden Educational conference(1886):
by using the platform of MAO College this
conference was formed….. It helped in
promotion of education and social reform and
Muslims and brought the older education more
in conformity of new needs
 this conference has cleared the house of ideas
and succeeded in establishments of more
Muslim schools
 It was used as political mouthpiece of Indian
Muslims and has become the forerunner of all
India Muslim league
POLITICAL SERVICES

 Stared political activity during his career

 Achievements of political goals through education
and loyalty
 K.K Aziz ‘the making of Pakistan’, “his call to the
Muslims to cultivate the British and to be faithful
to them was not just a matter of makings amends
for the mutiny or protecting the Muslim minority
against Hindu domination but a genuine conviction
that was only from and through the British the
Muslims could learn to improve their status and to
stand on their own feet.”
POLITICAL SERVICES
 . Asbab-e-Baghawat-e-Hind (Reasons for the Indian
Revolt of 1857) 1875
 Aloofness from politics…foundation of congress1885
 Change in political views …urdu-hindi
controversy(1867)
 Eyes of bridle...
 Appointment as member of Indian legislative council
 Anticipated separate electorate when opposed
introduction of principle of election pure and simple in
country like India…1883…K.M Panikar called him
advocate of two nation theory.
 Role of Aligarh movement
 Father of two nation theory
CONT…
 I. N Topa, is of the opinion that sir syed is a forerunner
of sectarianism in Indian politics and has started
sectarian movement in the last decade of ninetieth
century
 Dr. j.s Dass holds that “Syed publically expressed his
fear that under a democratically elected government, the
ultimate goal of congress , the large community would
override the interests of smaller community”
 k. B Krishna thinks that “what had induced lord Minto
to accept theory of communal representation was the
warning of sir Syed and it was Syed who taught the
Muslim communists to speak of a Muslim nation”
RELIGIOUS SERVICES

 Modern science v/s religion

 His thoughts….rational approach
 Comparison with Christianity
 Acquisition of modern education
 William Muir book life of Muhammad allegations and
his explanations….khutbat-i-Ahmadia
 Word of God and Work of God is same
 Wrote Tafseer-ul-quran in which he made effort to
identify Islam with nature:
RELIGIOUS SERVICES
 Although Sir Syed has committed blunder again
and again in his Tafsir and in some places has been
guilty of the grossest errors in spite of all this we
consider his writing of the Tafsir to be a great
service to religion.(I.H Qureshi, the Muslim
Community of the Indo Pakistan Sub-Continent).
 “He was a human being, and therefore, for from
being infallible; hence he made mistakes, but the
basic in his exposition are not unsound. He showed
the path on which considerable religious thinking
among the educated Muslim of the subcontinent
was progressed”.
SOCIAL
 Tehzib-ul-ikhlaq on the pattern of English
magazine spectator.
 Uplifted through education
 Through educational conferences
 Through employment
 Solidarity among students
 Nourishment of good habits
ECONOMIC SERVICES

 Appointments in different cadres through education

 Indirectly contributed a lot…..
 Collected wealth from different resources …even
begged for establishment of schools
 Softened the stance of British
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
 He declined the support of National Muhammaden
Association founded by Syed Ameer Ali 1877
 As religious belief
 Helper of British
 Incorporated slavish mentality
 Lake political consciousness
 Achieved his personal gains through advocating
the whims and wishes of British
CONCLUSION
 The great man of his age is one who can pour
into words the will of his age tell his age
what his will is and accomplish what he does
is the heart and essence of his age and
actualizes his age…william Delahey
 Father of two nation theory
 Basis of Pakistan Movement
 True political awareness through education