Sir Syed Ahmad Khan

Who was Sir Syed Ahmed Khan?

Sir Syed Ahmad Khan was the greatest Muslim reformer and political leader of the 19th Century. He was
born in Delhi in 1817 into a wealthy and well-known family. In 1839 he started his career in the government as a sub-
clerk and then rose to the position of a chief judge. Throughout his life he worked for the social, educational and
political uplift of the Muslims.

Which of the following (Political, Educational, Social) services of Sir Syed played
the most important role in the revival of Muslims in the subcontinent?
In the darkest hours of their life, the Muslim community produced a great and courageous leader in the
person of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan who rendered invaluable services for the cause of downtrodden Muslims of his time.
His educational, political and social services played a great role for the revival of Muslim community in the
subcontinent.

Among his educational services a school was established in Muradabad in 1859 and in Ghazipore in 1864. In
1863 he founded a Scientific Society in Ghazipore where scientific works were translated from English into Persian
and Urdu for better understanding of Muslims. In 1864 the Scientific Society issued the ‘Aligarh Institute Gazette.’ He
visited England in 1869 and, on his return, started his famous movement for the establishment of the Muslim
University. So, in 1875 the Muhammadan Anglo Oriental School was set up. It was upgraded to a college level in
1876 and then to the University of Aligarh in 1921. In 1886 the Muhammadan Educational Conference was set up to
raise the educational standard of Muslims living in the subcontinent.

He did a great deal to improve the relations between the British and the Muslims. The war of 1857 had
developed great mistrust between the British and the Muslims. The British blamed the Muslims for starting the
revolt. To clarify the causes of the war Sir Syed wrote ‘Essay on the Causes of the Indian Revolt’ in which he stated
that the Muslims were dragged into the war by the Hindus. He also issued the ‘Loyal Muhammadan of India’ to
remove the wrong perception of the British that the Muslims were disloyal. In it he outlined the loyal services the
Muslims had rendered to the British Empire. The British resented being called Nadarath but Sir Syed clarified that
Nadarath came from an Arabic word Nasir meaning helper. He wrote a book ‘Tabyin-ul-Kalam’ which was a
commentary on Bible. In it he also pointed out the similarities between Islam and Christianity. Through this book he
proved that Muslims could eat with Christians. He also issued an Urdu journal called ‘Tahzib-ul-Akhlaq’ which
contained articles from influential Muslims. In it he also criticized the conservative attitude of the Muslims and
emphasized the need to study.

In 1885 when the Indian National Congress was founded, Sir Syed soon came to know that it was to work
only for Hindu interests. As it was a threat to Muslims, Sir Syed openly demanded for separate seats for Muslims in
local elections, so they had the right to speak out. He restrained Muslims from joining the Congress instead he
organized an alternative body called the United Patriotic Alliance which in 1893 became the Muhammadan Defense
Alliance. In the beginning. Sir Syed was a great advocate of Hindu-Muslim Unity, but the Hindi-Urdu controversy of
1867 had brought a change in his political thinking. In it Hindus openly demonstrated against Urdu language and
instead wanted Hindi to become the official language. In response to this he developed his Two-Nation Theory in
which he clarified that Muslims and Hindus were two separate nations who could never live together. This Theory
later became the base of Pakistan Movement.

In view of the services rendered by Sir Syed to the Muslim community, his social services were the most
important. His social services improved the relations between Muslims and British. Had the relations not improved,
the Muslims would have still been considered as disloyal. They would not have got the right to express their
demands nor would they have been able to counter the Hindus. With the help of these services, the Muslims
recognized their identity as a separate nation.
Why did Sir Syed present his Two Nation Theory?

Why was Sir Syed accused of being pro- British?

After the War of Independence in 1857, sir Syed started working to bridge the gap between Muslims and
British, but he was accused of being pro-British. This perception was due to some reasons. When the war of 1857
had broken out, sir Syed was working as a chief judge in Bijnaur. He saved the lives of many British women and
children. This made the Muslims unhappy and they labelled him as a traitor. Another thing which may have become
the reason was that he advocated scientific ideas and western education. In his Urdu journal Tahdbib-ul-Akhlaq he
asked Muslims to gain scientific knowledge and western education whereas the Muslims at that time considered
scientific education as un-Islamic. Thirdly he advocated English as the medium of education and that Muslims could
only get their right when they will know how to speak English. Also, to counter the Hindus, they would have to know
how to speak English. These reasons may well support that why was Sir Syed Ahmad accused of being pro-British.

What was the Aligarh Movement?

The Aligarh movement was the movement led by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan after the 1857 rebellion. It aims were to
develop good will between the British and Muslims by removing British doubts about Muslims loyalty and Muslim
doubts about British intentions, to improve the social and economic position of the Muslims by encouraging them to
receive Western Education and take up posts in civil service and army and to increase political awareness amongst
Muslims that there was a threat to their position from Hindu side. Its most significant achievement was the
establishment of Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College at Aligarh, which later became Aligarh Muslim University.

For what services do Muslims remember Sir Syed Ahmad Khan?

In the darkest hours of their life, the Muslim community produced a great and courageous leader in the
person of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan who rendered invaluable services for the cause of downtrodden Muslims of his time.
His educational, political and social services played a great role for the revival of Muslim community in the
subcontinent.

Among his educational services a school was established in Muradabad in 1859 and in Ghazipore in 1864. In
1863 he founded a Scientific Society in Ghazipore where scientific works were translated from English into Persian
and Urdu for better understanding of Muslims. In 1864 the Scientific Society issued the ‘Aligarh Institute Gazette.’ He
visited England in 1869 and, on his return, started his famous movement for the establishment of the Muslim
University. So, in 1875 the Muhammadan Anglo Oriental School was set up. It was upgraded to a college level in
1876 and then to the University of Aligarh in 1921. In 1886 the Muhammadan Educational Conference was set up to
raise the educational standard of Muslims living in the subcontinent.

He did a great deal to improve the relations between the British and the Muslims. The war of 1857 had
developed great mistrust between the British and the Muslims. The British blamed the Muslims for starting the
revolt. To clarify the causes of the war Sir Syed wrote ‘Essay on the Causes of the Indian Revolt’ in which he stated
that the Muslims were dragged into the war by the Hindus. He also issued the ‘Loyal Muhammadan of India’ to
remove the wrong perception of the British that the Muslims were disloyal. In it he outlined the loyal services the
Muslims had rendered to the British Empire. The British resented being called Nadarath but Sir Syed clarified that
Nadarath came from an Arabic word Nasir meaning helper. He wrote a book ‘Tabyin-ul-Kalam’ which was a
commentary on Bible. In it he also pointed out the similarities between Islam and Christianity. Through this book he
proved that Muslims could eat with Christians. He also issued an Urdu journal called ‘Tahzib-ul-Akhlaq’ which
contained articles from influential Muslims. In it he also criticized the conservative attitude of the Muslims and
emphasized the need to study.

In 1885 when the Indian National Congress was founded, Sir Syed soon came to know that it was to work
only for Hindu interests. As it was a threat to Muslims, Sir Syed openly demanded for separate seats for Muslims in
local elections, so they had the right to speak out. He restrained Muslims from joining the Congress instead he
organized an alternative body called the United Patriotic Alliance which in 1893 became the Muhammadan Defence
Alliance. In the beginning. Sir Syed was a great advocate of Hindu-Muslim Unity, but the Hindi-Urdu controversy of
1867 had brought a change in his political thinking. In its Hindus openly demonstrated against Urdu language and
instead wanted Hindi to become the official language. In response to this he developed his Two-Nation Theory in
which he clarified that Muslims and Hindus were two separate nations who could never live together. This Theory
later became the base of Pakistan Movement.

In short, sir Syed came forward to guide the Muslims when they were on the verge of elimination from the
Indian society because of Hindu and British domination. He awakened the Muslims to animate their dormant spirits
to put up a resolute struggle for the revival of their past position of eminence. He can rightly be called the father of
the ‘Pakistan Movement’.

What were Sir Syed’s most significant contributions to the improvement of

education among Muslims?

Why did Sir Syed try to improve relations between the Muslims and the British?
Partition of Bengal
Why was Bengal divided in 1905?
Bengal was the largest province of the subcontinent and the one with the highest population. Western
Bengal was a Hindu majority region with a population of 42 million Hindus and 12 million Muslims. On the other
hand, East Bengal being a Muslim majority area had 18 million Muslims and 12 million Hindus. There were ten times
as many people as there were in whole of Britain currently. This was no doubt a huge area to govern as one unit.

It was also huge in area wise, so the provincial governors could not know what was happening in every area.
So, in 1903 Viceroy Curzon suggested that Bengal should be partitioned into two units to improve administrative
efficiency. Hence in 1905 Bengal was divided in West Bengal and East Bengal respectively. The eastern province now
also included Assam, Dhaka, Chittagong and Mymensingh. Whatever reasons the British had for this decision, it was
to lead to conflicts between Muslims and Hindus.

Why did British reverse the partition of Bengal in 1911?

While the Muslims benefited from the Partition of Bengal, the Hindus were totally against it. They regarded
the partition as part of British divide and rule policy. Some also considered as a British attempt to weaken Hindu
unity by establishing a Muslim majority province. The annulment of Bengal partition was for several reasons. The
Partition had led to a huge political crisis. In West Bengal there were factories which belonged to Hindus.

On the other hand, the people working in theses factories were Muslims living in East Bengal. This created
economic problem for the Hindus. 16 October the day the partition was put into effect became a day of mourning.
There were hundreds of protest meeting and many petitions sent to the government. Later there was even an
assassination attempt on future viceroy Lord Minto.

Protest movements led by the Indian nationalist and the Congress like the Swadeshi movement pressurized
the British and they were forced to reconsider the wisdom of their decision. At the hands of these protest
movements the British suffered a great economic loss.

What was the Swadeshi Movement?

The Swadeshi Movement of 1905 started as an Anti-Partition agitation against the British government’s
decision to partition Bengal. The protest movement demanded for boycott of all British goods such as silk, spices and
clothes. British clothes were thrown on fire and people started using locally produced goods. Workers denied going
to British factories. Soon the sale of British goods dropped dramatically.