Sec.#1: Chp.
#4:
Realism & Confidence
Sir Syed Ahmad Khan (Pg. 35 & 36)
Sir Syed Ahmad Khan (1817-1898)
Word Bank
• Reconciliation : the restoration of friendly
relations
• Renaissance : a revival of or renewed
interest in something
Early Biography
• Born in 1817 , in Delhi.
• By the age of 18, skilled in Arabic, Persian & Mathematics &
Medicine
• After his father death in 1838, he was forced to seek
employment
• Became a judge in Delhi in 1846
• During War of Independence (1857), Sir syed was working as
chief judge in Bijnaur
Early Biography
• Appointed as chief justice in Muradabad and later was
transferred to Ghazi pore.
• In 1864, he was transferred to Aligarh where he played an
important role in establishing a new college.
• In 1876, he retired from his work in the law to concentrate on
running the college & to devote himself to improving the
position of Muslims in the Subcontinent through education
• Died on 27th March 1898
Educational Reforms
• Sir Syed Ahmad Khan came forward and tried to help the Muslims
come out from such deplorable and miserable conditions
• In 1863 he founded the Scientific Society at Ghazi pore. He wanted
to make scientific writings available to Muslims by translating them
from English into Urdu.
• He established a Muslim college which led to the Muslim-Anglo
Oriental College in 1876. This became the University of Aligarh
which became important in Pakistani history as providing an
education for many of its future leaders.
Background
• >The British considered the Muslims guilty for the 1857 uprising. So after the war, the British
started the policy of repression against the Muslims. Sir Syed wanted to end this policy. He thus
started the movement to strengthen relations between Muslims and British by removing doubts
of Muslim loyalty.
• >Muslims considered the British as only invaders and didn’t accept co operation with them. Sir
Syed believed that Muslims should accept that British as rulers and should accept British ideas,
such as Western Education, to improve their social and economic relations which will enable
them to take jobs in civil service and army.
• >The Hindus of the sub continent were progressing socially, politically and economically due to
their co operation with the British. This worried Sir Syed as he believed that the Muslims would
get dominated by the Hindus and therefore he established the Aligarh Movement to inform the
Muslims about the Hindu threat, and counter it
The Policy of Reconciliation
• Decline of social & economic status of Muslims & their treatment as second-class
citizens by the British and the Hindus
• After 1857, the Muslims emerged as a backward nation; they were illiterate and
hopelessly ignorant in every walk of life
• A positive approach could only improve Muslim position because Hindus would
continue to prosper because of their cooperative approach
• He started a movement in order to give respectable position to Muslims in society as
they had in past, this movement is known as Aligarh Movement
• He wrote the Loyal Mohammadans of India to highlight the work of those who sided
with the British.
• He wrote the pamphlet, “The Causes of Indian Revolt,” which highlighted the wrong
steps of British and the causes of War.
Services / Work of Sir Syed
• 1. Improving relations b/w Muslims & British:
• Why: To improve socio-economic condition of Muslims, it was
vital to make friends with the British.
• British put all blame of the War on Muslims; considered other
Indian communities loyal to them; Brit had replaced Muslim
rulers & so, thought it justified to penalize Muslims.
• Muslims generally resented British; took them as invaders
trying to replace Islam with Christianity; many rejected the
Western cultural values considering them as un Islamic;
remained hostile & defiant towards the British
Services / Work of Sir Syed
• Convinced the British by:
• Writing books, articles, pamphlets e.g., “The Loyal Muhammadens of
India” (defended the loyalty of Muslims); “Essays on the causes of the
Indian Revolt” (analysed the mutiny:
• insufficient Indian share in govt, forcible conversion of Indians, poor
management of army, British failure to understand Indian mindset);
senior British circles read all this;
• explained the meaning of “Nadarath” to clarify its use: Muslims didn’t
use it to insult the Birt; it was derived from the Arabic word “Nasir”
(helper); Muslims used the word in a positive, not an insulting way.
Services / Work of Sir Syed
• Convinced the Muslims:
• Improved his image as a sincere Muslim by correcting errors in the
book
• of Sir William Muir about the Holy Prophet.
• Highlighted similarities b/w Islam & Christianity to bridge the gap b/w
• Muslims & Brit; wrote “Tabayin al Kalam” (commentary on the Bible);
• convinced that dining together with Christians was not un-Islamic.
• Founded the “British Indian Association” to improve Anglo-Muslim
• relations.
His Famous Writings
Task of The day
• Why did Sir Syed try to improve relations between the Muslims and the British?
First Paragraph (A brief backround/ reasons)
• Muslims became the target of the British anger and wrath after the 1857 War.
• Hindus had very cleverly put the blame on Muslims and it was easier for the British to
punish a minority. British had replaced Muslims as the new rulers of India but Muslims
still carried a sense of imperial pride due to their glorious past.
• It was important for them to accept the drastically changed political scenario of India.
He also tried to change the British mind in favour of Muslims. For this he wrote two
pamphlets: “Essays on the Causes of Indian Revolt” and “Loyal Muhammadens of
India”.
Task of The day
• 2nd Paragraph
• Sir Syed knew that Muslims could hope for an improved socio-economic status only by
making friends with the British who had complete political control of India. If Muslims
distanced themselves from the British, they would continue to remain a backward and poor
community.
• By improving relations with the British, Muslims had a better opportunity to get better
jobs. Moreover, Hindus had already started improving their relations with the British
because for them it was only a matter of changed rulers. They began to acquire modern
British education which most of the Muslims considered un-Islamic. Sir Syed knew that
this would cause a growing social and economic disparity between Hindus and Muslims
and this would bring more troubles for the Muslims. He wanted Muslims to change their
orthodox views about the British and their modern education system.
