 “Sir Syed Ahmad Khan was in no way pro-British”.

Agree or disagree, answer your

question with arguments. (2015)
 What specific steps were initiated by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan which later-on became
the agenda points of the movement for Pakistan? How did these steps orient the
political system in Pakistan? 2009
 The Aligarh Movement was a pure educational venture but it had deep impacts on
Indian politics. Discuss (2016)
 Evaluate the impact of the services rendered by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan towards the
regeneration of the Muslims (2014).
 In Sir Syed Ahmad Khan’s struggle for uplifting the conditions of the Muslims, we
see a conflict between Indian and European traditions and knowledge systems.
Explain 2020
 Analyze the political views and services of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan in the context of
Hindu-Muslim politics. What factors were responsible for his shift from Indian
Nationalism to Muslim sub-nationalism? 2015
 Examine Aligarh movement and the services rendered by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan to
uplift the educational services for the awaking of Muslim of Sub-continent. 2016
 “No Aligarh Movement – No Independence – No Pakistan”, give arguments in favour
or against the common belief. 2014

Biographical Details of Sir Syed

Born in 1817 in Delhi.

He quickly rose from a lowly position in the legal system to become a judge in Delhi in1846.

In 1846, he wrote a well known book on archaeology called “Athar-al-Sanadeed”

He was working as Chief Judge in Bijnaur in 1857, later in Muradabad and Ghazipore.

He believed that armed uprising against the British was pointless and futile effort, which made him
unpopular with some Muslims, but it did not preclude him from working towards reconciliation between
the British and Muslims after the WoI.

In 1876, he retired from his career in law and devoted himself to improve the social and political
position of Muslims in sub-continent through education and political consciousness.

Aligarh became the center of a “Muslim renaissance”.

His Beliefs

He was extremely unhappy about the deteriorating position of Muslims. Since the decline of Mughal
Empire, their social and economic status had declined sharply. The alleged role of muslims in WoI had
led to a further decline in their fortunes as British took stringent measures to ensure that their control
would not be subject to further challenge.
He believed that armed uprising against the British was pointless and futile effort, which made him
unpopular with some Muslims, but it did not preclude him from working towards reconciliation between
the British and Muslims after the WoI.

He believed that the poor status of Muslims was due to the bias and prejudice of Britishers and Hindus
towards Muslims and their treatment of Muslims as second-class citizens. Muslims should take
responsibility of their situation.

He believed that the Muslim community had to accept that the British were rulers who intended to stay
for many years. Many Muslims considered the British to be little more than invaders in India.

The Muslim position could only be improved if they adopted a more positive approach to the British.
Acceptance of British ideas and advantage of British education. If they did not, then the Hindus would
continue to prosper because of their cooperative nature.

Work

1. Improving Relations between the British and Muslim Communities.

Two major obstacles to good relations:

A) The British had put the entire responsibility for WoI on Muslims. As a result, they carried out
policies of repression against muslims. Hindus and other religious groups were considered to be
loyal and prepared to assist I geoverning India, but muslims were seen as rebellious and
unhelpful.