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SYED AHMAD KHAN (1817-1898)

Syed Ahmad Khan as a Nationalist:

 Initially Sir Syed Ahmad Khan was a Staunch na-
tionalist. He said "Hindus and Muslims are two

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luscious eyes of a beautiful bride called India, if

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one eye sees in one direction and the other eye sees
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in other direction, the vision will be partial and

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squinted".
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 "We breath the same air, we consume the products from the same soil, we drink
the water from river Ganga and Jamuna, in fact, we are all brethren".
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 "If all people living in Hindustan are Hindus, I am also a Hindu".
 Sir Syed established Aligarh Muslim college and opened the college for Hin-
dus also. In 1873, he declared that religion should not be an obstacle for nation-
alism.
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 Sir Syed advocated for separation of religious and political matters. As the
member of viceroy's executive council, he strived for the welfare of both Hin-
dus and Muslims.
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 He worked closely with many Hindu leaders and in 1884 he said that "by the
word Quam, I mean both Hindus & Muslims".
Syed Ahmad Khan as a Moderniser:
 Sir Syed Ahmad Khan was very much upset to observe the backwardness of
the Muslims everywhere. He started taking progressive steps for the welfare of
the Muslim community.
 He told the Muslims that without obtaining Modern education they cannot
emancipate themselves. Sir Syed pleaded that there was no harm in accepting
western sciences and in learning English language.
 He published a magazine "Tahzib ul akh laq" to spread his modern views. His

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aim behind establishing Aligarh Muslim college is to spread a network of Mus-

lim educational Institutions throughout the length and breadth of the country.
 The Aligarh Movement was a first of its kind in India which awakened the
Muslims from their deep slumber and infused social and political stability. Sir
Syed founded United Indian Patriotic Association to emancipate the Muslims.
 He believed in Modern scientific knowledge. He understood that purdah sys-
tem, polygamy, lack of education etc. In fact, he founded the scientific society to
instill scientific temperament and to make western knowledge available.
 We can conclude that Sir Syed was far ahead of his times and can perfectly be
called as a Moderniser.
Syed Ahmad Khan's Communalist views:

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 Surprisingly during the fagend of his life, Sir Syed turned into a communalist.
He said that so long as religious and racial differences exist in India, the Western

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
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model of Democracy cannot be established as it relies on majoritarianism.
He opined that INCs demand for representative form of government will ad-

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versely affect Muslim community. This argument of Sir Syed made the commu-
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nalists to sow the seeds of two-nation theory.
 Accoridng to this theory, Hindus & Muslims were two separate nations which
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have separate economic, political and social interests. In the later part Sir Syed
disallowed Hindus into Aligarh Muslim College. When his views have be-
come extremely communalist, Lala lajpat Rai wrote a letter to him condemning
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his ideas. The significant reasons which made Sir Syed to believe that Hindus &
Muslims cannot live together are as follows:
1. Inherent backwardness of Muslims.
2. Flattery by the British by giving honours and recognition to Sir Syed.
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3. Divide and rule policy of the British particularly the influence of Theodre Beck
who became the principle of Aligarh Muslim College.
4. Shortsightedness of INC to make it an all-inclusive body & it acted like an
Aristocratic elite Hindu club.
Aligarh Movement:
 Sir Syed Ahmed Khan founded the Aligarh movement. This movement aimed
at spreading modern education and creating political consciousness among the
Indian Muslims.
 The first national awakening among the Muslims found expression through this
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movement. He was assisted in this movement by able persons like Khwaja Altaf
Hussain Ali, Maulvi Wazir Ahmed and Maulvi Shibli Numami.
 This movement is known as 'Aligarh movement' because it had started at Aligarh.
Sir Syed Ahmed Khan established Mohammedan Anglo Oriental (MAO) Col-
lege at Aligarh in 1875. This college developed into Aligarh University in 1890.
 The Aligarh movement aimed at spreading Western education among the Mus-
lims without weakening their allegiance to Islam. The movement also aimed at
introducing social reforms among Indian Muslims.
 Sir Syed Ahmed Khan condemned polygamy and social ban on widow remar-
riage. Widow remarriage was permitted Islam. The Aligarh movement was based

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on the liberal interpretation of Quran. It strived to harmonise Islam with mod-
ern liberal culture.

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