Si

rSy
edAhmedKhan(
1817–1898)andAl
i
gar
hMov
ement

1.I
ntr
oduct
ion
SyedAhmedTaqv i
knownasSi rSyed(‘Si
r’i
shisti
tl
e,ashewasknightedbytheBrit
ish
Govt.
)wasbor
nintoapr esti
giousfamilyofDelhi
andspenthischi
ldhoodinandaround
theMughal
Court.HestudiedAr abi
candPer si
anandalsostudi
edthewor kofShahWal i
Ull
ah.Hewasendowedwi ththequalit
iesofheadandheart,penandmi nd.Hi
sviews
anddeedsr
esul
tedint
oaf or
ceful movementknownasAl i
garhMov ement.

2.Chal
l
engesaf
terWarofI
ndependence1857
Aft
er1857,
Musl i
msofI ndi
awereawr etchedlot
.TheBriti
shhadblamedMusl i
msf or
muti
nyandtriedtoenfeebl
ethem i
nawayt hatt
heycouldnotri
seagain.Thi
sfactwas
al
soacknowledgedbyNehr uandhesaid,“TheheavyhandofBrit
ishfel
lmoreheavi
ly
uponMusli
mst hanHindus.”

3.St
rat
egy&Obj
ect
ivesofSi
rSy
ed
Si
rSyedAhmadKhanmadeeducat ion,t
hecornerstoneofhisst
rategy
.Heer ect
edthe
whol
esuperstr
uctur
eoneducat
ion.Ashi sbi
ographer,
Graham wrotethathi
smot t
o
was:
“Educat
e,Educat
eandEducate.”

Fol
l
owi
ngwer
etheobj
ect
ivesofSi
rSy
ed:

a)Tor
emov
emi
sunder
standi
ngbet
weent
heBr
it
ishandt
heMusl
i
ms
b)TokeepMusl
i
msawayf
rom agi
tat
ional
pol
i
tics
c)Pr
otect
ionoft
her
ight
soft
heMusl
i
msandt
hei
rint
erest
s

4.Ser
vicesofSi
rSy
edAhmedKhan

A.Educat
ional
Ser
vices
SirSyedpaidattent
iontothemoderneducati
onoftheMusl i
ms.Het houghtthat
Muslimswoul dlosesocialpr
est
igeandadvancementwithouteducati
on.Her eal
ized
thatBri
ti
shhadcomet ostayinI
ndiaanditwasnotpossibl
eforMusl i
mst oov er
throw
them.Therefore,Hewasagainstanyagi
tati
onalpol
i
tics,
andt r
iedtodiver
tMusl i
m
energytowardseducati
on.Hepr ov
idedanumberofinsti
tuti
onsforthepurposeof
educat
ion:
1.Mur
adabadMadr
asa1859

2.Ghazi
purMadr
asa1862

3.Sci
ent
ifi
cSociet
yGhazi
pur1863.Moret
han800booksondi
ff
erentsubj
ect
s
weret
ransl
atedbyt
hissoci
etyi
nUrdu.

4.Commi
tt
eeKhast
gareTar
aqqi
eMusal
mananeHi
nd1870

5.MuhammadanAngl
oOr
ient
al(
MAO)Hi
ghSchool
1875

6.ThisSchoolt
urnedMAOCol
l
ege1877,
andMusl
i
m Al
i
gar
hUni
ver
sit
yin1920
aft
erdeathofSirSy
ed

7.MuhammadanEducat
ional
Conf
erence1886

I
twasthemagneti
cpersonal
i
tyofSi
rSyedthatatt
ract
edar
oundhi
m anumberof
i
ntel
l
ect
ual
slikeMohsi
n-ul
-Mulk,
Waqar
-ul
-Mulk,Shi
bli
Nomani,
Theodor
eBeck,
Syed
Mahmoodetc.
B.Soci
alSer
vices
SirSyedbr oughtaboutgreatsocialref
ormst hr
oughhi sjour
nalsandwr it
ings.Tehzib-
ul-
Ikhl
aqisagoodexampl eofthis.Hehimselfwasi nspi
redbyt heBri
ti
shJour nalsli
ke
‘
Tetlor’and‘Spectat
or’
.SirSyed, t
hroughhiswrit
ings,t
riedtoawakent hesoci al
consciousnessagainstthepr eval
entil
lsofthesociety
.Hewr ot
eforcefulart
icles
againstprejudi
ces,superst
it
ions,dogmat i
sm andconser vat
ism.

C.Pol
i
tical
Ser
vices
SirSyedbeganapol i
cyofr appr ochementbet weent heBrit
ishandt heMusl ims.In
‘
Asbab- e-Baghawat -
e-Hind’ (TheCausesofI ndianRev olt
),hebrav el
ybl amedt heBr i
ti
sh
forthemut iny( WarofI ndependence) .Hewr ot ethebook, ‘
Loyal Muhammadansof
I
ndia’inwhi chhehi ghli
ght edt heser vi
cesandcont ribut
ionsoft hoseMusl i
mswho
remainedl oyaltot heBr i
tishdur ingt heWarofI ndependence( 1857) .Heal sowr ot e
“Tareekh-e-Srkashi-e-
Bijnor .”Het ri
edt oremov ethebitt
ernessbet weent wor eli
gions.
Hewr ote, “
Tabeen- ul-Kalam” ,whi chwasi nt
erpretationoftheHol yBible.Int hisbook, he
wrotethatBi blewasdi vi
nebookandt riedtobr ingcommonal i
ti
esbet weenBi bleand
Quran.SirSy edr eceivedappr eciati
onf rom theBr it
ishandAl i
garhCol leger eceivedhuge
grantsfrom theGov ernment .Fort hepr eser
v ati
onofMusl i
mi dentit
y ,
het ookt he
foll
owingst eps:
i
. Headv
isedMusl
i
msnott
ojoi
nCongr
ess,
becauseagi
tat
ionwasnoti
nfav
or
 oft
heMusl
i
ms,
andCongr
esswasdomi
nant
lyaHi
ndupar
ty.
i
i
.Hepr ov
idedMusl
imswithcert
ainfor
umstorai
sethei
rdemandse.
g.,
MuhammadanEducati
onalConfer
ence,
Bri
ti
sh-
Indi
anAssoci
ati
on,
Indi
a-
Pat
ri
oti
cAssoci
ati
on.
i
i
i.Heusedt
hewor
d‘Qaum’
fort
heMusl
i
ms.
i
v.Dur
ingHi
ndi
-Ur
ducont
rov
ersy
,Al
i
gar
hresol
utel
ydef
endedUr
du.

D.Rel
i
giousSer
vices
SirSyedAhmadKhanwasadev outMusl
im.Hetr
iedt
obri
ngMusl i
m unit
ythr
ough
rel
igi
ousunityandharmony.Hewr ot
efamousbook,“
Khut
bat
-e-Ahmadia”inr
ebutt
alt
o
theall
egati
onsofWill
iam Muir
’sbook“TheLi
feofMuhammad.”SirSyedtr
ansl
ated
“Khutbat
-e-
Ahamadia”inEngl
ish.

Anotherr
eli
giousserv
iceofSirSyedAhmadKhani sthatheatt
emptedt
osy nt
hesize
rel
i
gionandscience.Hebeli
evedthattherewasnocontradi
cti
onbet
weenthe‘Wor dof
God’and‘WorkofGod’.By‘WordofGod’ hemeantQuranandby‘WorkofGod’,he
poi
ntedtotheappli
cati
onofQur ani
clawsi nt
heuni
verse.

5.Concl
usi
on
Theenor
mit
yofSirSyed’scont
ribut
ioncannotbedeni
ed.Al
igar
hmov ementstoodal
so
amovementofi
deasandchangedt heMusl i
ms’soci
al,
poli
ti
calandcul
tur
aloutl
ookand
l
edtotheMusl
imrenaissance.

Si
rSy
ed’
s/Al
i
gar
hMov
ementwaseducati
onali
nnat
ureandnat
ional
in
char
act
er.Di
scuss.
TheAli
garhMov ementwasapushtoestabl
ishamoder neducati
onsystem f
ort
he
I
ndianMuslims.Si
rSyedmadetheeducati
onthecor nerstoneofhisstr
ategy
.Ashi
s
bi
ographerGraham wr
otet
hathi
smot t
owas, ‘educate,educat
e,educate’
.

Itwasthegreatnot
ionofthevisi
onarymi
ndofSirSy
edthateveryMusli
m shoul
dhav
e
i
nhisri
ghthandt heeducati
onofHolyQuran,
andinthel
efthandthesci
enti
fi
c
educat
ion,
andonf oreheadtheKali
ma.

SirSyedt houghtthatMusli
mswoul dlosesoci
alpr
esti
geandadv
ancementwit
hout
education.Healsobeliev
edt hatI
ndianMusli
ms’di
lemmalai
dinignor
ance,
andthe
foll
owingi nst
it
uteswereestabli
shed:
 1.Mur
adabadMadr
asa1859

2.Ghazi
purMadr
asa1862

3.Sci
ent
if
icSoci
etyGhazi
pur1863

4.Commi
tt
eeKhast
gareTar
aqqi
eMusal
mananeHi
nd1870

5.MuhammadanAngl
oOr
ient
al(
MAO)Hi
ghSchool
1875

6.Thi
sSchool
tur
nedMAOCol
l
ege1877

7.MuhammadanEducat
ional
Conf
erence1886

8.MAOCol
l
eget
urnedMusl
i
m Al
i
gar
hUni
ver
sit
y1920

Ali
garhMovement’
sobjecti
vewast oprepar
etheMuslimst oser
vet
heQaum (
nat
ion)
,
andalsot
osupplyeducated,honestandpubl
icspi
ri
tedleader
swhocoul
dworkwitht
he
Bri
ti
shGovt.

I
nbegi
nni
ngSirSy
edwasi nfavorofvernacul
areducati
on,buti
nlat
eryear
shebeli
eved
t
hatal
lMusl
i
mswoul drecei
veEngli
shandocci dent
aleducati
on.Heal
soemploy
edhi s
j
our
nal
sandmagazinesfort
hispurpose.

Thusonemayeasilycomet
othepoi
ntt
hatbasi
cal
l
ytheAl
i
gar
hMov
ementwas
educat
ional
innat
ure.

Theot
heraspectoft
heAl
i
gar
hMov
ementi
sthati
twasnat
ional
inchar
act
er.

SirSyedwantedthatMuslimsshouldgetaposi ti
onofrespecti
naHi ndudominated
societ
y.Hetookmanyst epsfortherevi
valandbet t
ermentofMuslims.Hetri
edto
remov ebi
tt
ernessbetweenthetwobutlaterreali
zedthattheyweredif
fer
entnati
ons.
Hehadsai dthatHi
ndustanwasabr ideandHi ndusandMusl i
mswer ehertwobeautif
ul
eyes.But,
ont heeveofHindi
-UrduControv
ersy ,
hebecamedi sappoi
nted.

TheAl i
garhMov ementalsogavet heMusl i
mst heconsciousnessofsepar ateident i
ty.
SirSy edadvisedt heMusl i
msnott ojointheI ndianNationalCongress.Hepr ovidedt he
Musl imswi t
hot herplatf
ormst oraisetheirvoice.Ali
garhMov emental sosav edUr du.
SirSy edestabli
shedUr dudefenseSoci etyinAl l
ahabad.Heal sointroducednewt rends
toUr dulit
erature.Heusedandpopul ari
zedt hesi mpl
ewr iti
ngstyl
e.Hegav ether eason
fortheuseofsi mpl el
anguageint hesewor ds: i
fthehouseofaper sonisonf ir
e,hewi ll
notsear chforbeaut if
ulorheavywor ds.Ratherhewi llcryinsimplewor ds,save,sav e.
Samei sthesituationofHindustannow.
Ali
garhMovementt
riedtonor
mali
zetherel
ationsbet
weentherul
ingBri
ti
shand
Muslims.I
tal
sodemandedsepar
ateelect
orateforMusl
imssothattheycanchoose
thei
rownrepr
esent
ativ
esonthei
rown.SirSyedalsodemandedquotainjobsf
or
Muslims.

Musli
m Uni
versi
tyAli
garhpr
ovidedsuchprominentMusli
m pol
it
icall
eader
sas:Molana
MuhammadAl iJohar,
MolanaShokatAli,
MolanaHasratMohani,Zaf
arAliKhan,
Molvi
AbdulHaq,
LiaquatAl
iKhan,SardarAbdurRabNisht
ar,Khal
eequzzamanandKhwaja
Nazi
muddeen.

I
tisal
somentionablethatMusl
im Leaguewasborninoneoft hesessionsof
MuhammadanEducat i
onal
Conference.Al
igar
hbecamet heint
ell
ectualcent
erfort
he
demandofPakist
an.ItwassaidthatQuaideAzam foughtthebatt
leforPakist
aninthe
pl
aygr
oundsofAligarh.

Al
lthi
swasdonetopr
eserv
ethesepar
atenati
onal
i
sm oftheMusl
i
ms.Thusi
tisal
so
pr
ovedthatAl
i
gar
hMov ementwasnat
ional
inchar
act
er.

Thecul
tofl
oyal
tySi
rSy
edadv
ocat
ed,
wasi
twhet
herusef
ulorhar
mful
?

1.I
ntr
oduct
ion

SirSy edAhmedKhanr ealizedt hatBriti

shhadcomet ost
ayinIndiaandi twasnot
possibl eforMusl imstoov er t
hrowt hem.Ther efore,
hewasagai nstanyagi tational
poli
ticsandaskedt heMusl imst okeepawayf rom theIndi
anNat i
onal Congr ess.He
regardedt heCongr essasanunnecessar yorganizat
ionandconsideredithar mf ulfor
theint erestsoftheMusl i
ms.Het houghtt hattheCongr esswasdomi nat edbyt he
Hindus, andMusl i
mshadnopl acei nit.Hef eltthattheMusli
mscanpr otectt heir
economi candpol iti
calinter est
st hroughexposur etowesterneducationandEngl ish
l
anguage.I nfactallt
hei nfluentialgover nmentpost sandbusinessoppor tunitieswere
l
inkedwi tht hewesterneducat ion.Ther eforeheaskedt heMuslimst oshowl oy al
tyto
theBr iti
shwhowoul dtakecar eofMusl iminterests.

2.Si
rSy
ed’
sSt
rat
egy

SirSyedwasextr
emelyunhappyaboutt heposi
ti
onofMusl i
msint heSubconti
nent
.He
beli
evedthatMusl
imshadtoacceptt hattheBr
iti
shweretherer
ulersandcouldonl
y
i
mpr oveift
heyhaveaposit
iveapproachtowardsthem.Theyneededt oacceptt
he
Brit
ishi
deaandthei
reducati
oniftheywant edt
oimprove.Hisai
mswer e:
 i
. Toimprov
erel
ati
onsbet
weent heBr
it
ishandMuslimsbyremovi
ngtheBri
ti
sh
doubt
saboutMusli
mloyal
tyandMuslim doubt
saboutt
heBri
ti
shint
ent
ions.

i
i
. Toimpr
ovet
hesocial
andeconomicposi
ti
onofMusl
imsbyencouragi
ngthem
tor
ecei
veWest
erneducat
ionandt
akeuppostsi
ntheci
vi
lser
viceandarmy.

i
i
i. Toi
ncr
easethei
rpoli
ti
calawar
enesst
omakethem awar
eoft
het
hreatf
rom t
he
Hi
ndupol
icyofcooper
ati
onwitht
heBri
ti
sh.

3.Negat
iveI
mpact
soft
hisSt
rat
egy

i
. Itl
aidstr
essonmoderneducati
onandgav elessconsi
derat
iontoIslamic
educati
onbecauset
hinki
ngofSirSyedatthatti
mewast hatthesoluti
onofal
l
probl
emsMusl i
mswast hatt
heyshouldequipwithmoderneducation.

i
i
. I
tfocusedonl
yonshor t
-t
erm goal
sli
kej
obs,
educati
onetc.IHQureshialso
opi
nesthatAl
igarhMovementwasmeantforshor
tterm obj
ect
ivesanditignor
ed
l
ongterm obj
ecti
ves.

i
i
i. Uncri
ti
calaccept
anceoft
heWest
ernv
aluescoul
dn'
tpr
ovi
def
ir
mfoundat
ionf
or
nat
ionhood.

i
v. Engl
i
shl
anguagebecamedomi
nanti
nthewhol
eeducat
ionsy
stem.

v
. I
tcalmedtheMusl i
msinst
eadofmakingthem r
iseagai
nsttheBri
ti
sh.I
nt hi
sway
,
i
tdelay
edthefreedom.Thus,
itsuppr
essedthespi
ri
ttostr
uggleagai
nstthe
Br
it
ishoccupi
ers.

v
i. Sl
avishment
ali
tywasthemostnegati
vei
mpact.Thegener
ati
onl
oyal
tot
he
Br
it
ishcoul
dthi
nkonlyoft
hei
rpersonali
nter
est
s.

4.Concl
usi
on

TheBr i
ti
shwerethecoloni
zersandlooter
s.Theydidnotdeserv
eloyalt
y.SirSyed’
s
str
ategyincr
easedthei
rhegemony .Thei
rpoli
ti
cal
hegemonyi sgone,buttheIntel
l
ect
ual
hegemonyoft heBr
iti
shsti
llcont
inues.