Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, the founder of Aligarh

After the war of independence in 1857, Muslims were in complete disarray with failures on all fronts. Though Hindus and Muslims were equal partners in the freedom struggle British Government targeted Muslims as the sole responsible for this act. They were banned from getting jobs in government institutions, many leaders were sentenced to death or were put in jail, properties of prominent Muslims were confiscated and British started considering them as their main enemy in the British India.

Many movements took root in India with an aim to reinvigorate the passion of the glorious past in the Muslim minds that they had lost over the time but most of them were based on emotions and not on harsh realities of that time. Religious movements such as Deoband urged Muslims to abstain from going to Schools under the control of British, citing the reason that the very basic Islamic ideals are in danger from the British. This further deteriorated the already miserable conditions of Muslims who were lacking in modern education and scientific study. Hindus took full advantage of the time and received modern education in British schools, providing them opportunities to get jobs in the British Raj. This substantially improved the economic conditions of Hindus and they also became more influential in the government.

At this critical juncture, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan came to the rescue of the sub-continent Muslims. He advised Muslims to avoid interference in politics for the time being and focus on their education and economic condition. For this purpose, he established a school in Moradabad in 1859. When he was transferred to Ghazipur in 1862, he established a school there too and Ghazipur became the Centre of his renaissance movement.  Two years later he laid the foundation of a scientific society in Ghazipur, the purpose of which was to translate modern western research into the Urdu language. His next destination was Aligarh, which proved to be the permanent base for his movement. In 1866, the scientific society issued Aligarh Institute Gazette with an aim to remove misconceptions between the British government and Indian Muslims.

In 1869, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan visited England along with his son, Syed Mahmood.  They stayed in England for seventeen months and closely watched the educational systems of some renowned institutes like Cambridge and Oxford. After that, he returned to India and started striving for a model educational institute. In 1875, he established Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental School at Aligarh, which was later upgraded to College by Lord Lytton. This institute got University status in 1920 after the death of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan. The Aligarh Muslim University was not only an institute but a movement in itself, which truly transformed the Muslim society into a vibrant society.

Apart from this, Sir Syed also established Mohammadan educational conference in 1886 with the sole purpose to concentrate on the educational progress of Muslims across the Sub-continent. It was after the annual session of this conference that Muslim League was established, which later proved to be the flag-bearer of the Muslim cause in future. He also wrote many books to remove misconceptions between the British government and Indian Muslims.  “The loyal Mohammedans of India” and “Causes of Indian-revolt” were books through which tried to bridge the gap between the British Raj and Muslims.