As we know that after the freedom struggle the condition of the Muslims of India was very pathetic because the British fell more on the Muslims than the Hindus. They believed that Muslims were responsible for all the mistakes and the war was caused by their harsh and rude behavior. After 1857, Muslims emerged as a backward nation; He was illiterate and hopelessly ignorant in every sphere of life. They were deprived of their basic rights and were neglected in every sphere of life. Nevertheless, they were subjected to brutal punishment economically, politically, socially and more precisely religiously. They were helpless in front of the British and their coalition lobby with Hindus; Therefore, under these circumstances he neither trusted the Hindus nor the British, who left no stone unturned to harass the Muslims. In such a situation Sir Syed Ahmed Khan came forward and tried to help the Muslims out of such pathetic and pathetic condition. He guided the Muslims to the right path and tried to get the Muslims out of such a helpless situation. He started a movement to give respectable place to Muslims in the society, as he had done in the past, this movement is known as Aligarh Movement. So let’s know about Sir Syed Ahmed Khan and Aligarh Movement.
History of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan and Aligarh Movement
The failure of the Revolt of 1857 saw the end of the Mughal Empire and the succession of the British. The Muslim society was in a deteriorating condition during the period after the rebellion. Sir Syed Ahmed Khan found the Muslim society to be educationally, socially and culturally backward. He blamed the existing education system for the deteriorating condition of Muslim society. This inspired Sir Syed to start a movement for the intellectual, educational, social and cultural upliftment of the Muslim society. This movement came to be known as the Aligarh Movement when Sir Syed established his school in Aligarh which later became the center of the movement. The Aligarh movement started a new trend in Urdu literature. Sir Syed Ahmed Khan and his union abandoned the old style of writing in the Urdu language, which was rhetorical and academic, and introduced a simpler style that helped Muslims understand the main objective of the movement. Sir Syed Ahmed was the central figure behind this awakening.
Sir Syed realized that this pathetic and pathetic condition of Muslims is due to the lack of modern education. He believed that the cure for every problem of Muslims is modern education. Hence, he started an educational program for the upliftment of the underprivileged and depressed Muslims who had lost their past glory. He took concrete steps for his education plan. Thus, in 1859, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan established a school for Muslims in Moradabad, where English, Persian, Islamia, Arabic, Urdu were compulsory subjects. In 1862, Sir Syed was transferred from Moradabad to Ghazipur where he established another school for Muslims, which was known as Madrasa Ghazipur. Here also English, Arabic, Farsi, Urdu and Islam were compulsory subjects. In 1864, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan laid the foundation of a scientific society in Ghazipur. The aim of this society was to translate English books into Urdu language. But, later, in 1866, after his transfer to Aligarh, the head office of the Scientific Society was also shifted to Aligarh. In 1866, the Scientific Society issued a journal called the Aligarh Institute Gazette. This magazine was published in both Urdu and English languages. The purpose of this magazine was to remove the misconceptions between the Muslims and the British government and bring them closer to each other.
Establishment of education by Syed Mahmud
To take a closer look at the education system of England, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan with his son Syed Mahmud went to England in 1869 and lived there for seventeen months and studied English educational institutions like Oxford and Cambridge University. Later, after his return to India, he founded a committee called “Striving for the Educational Progress of Muslims”. Under this committee another committee was set up named “Fund Committee for the Establishment of Muslim Colleges” and Sir Syed was elected as the secretary of both the committees. For this purpose Sir Syed toured the country and collected funds for the establishment of the college. The committee first decided to make the school as a model for the people and later established the college. Therefore, in 1875, Sir Syed established the Mohammedan Anglo Oriental School in Aligarh. In 1877, the school was upgraded to the level of a college which was inaugurated by Lord Lytton. The main feature of this college was that it offered both western and eastern education. Later, after the death of Sir Syed in 1920, this college was raised to the level of a university. In 1886 Sir Syed founded an organization known as the Mohammedan Educational Conference, which presented twelve-point programs in Western and religious education in English and other languages. Its purpose was to give the message of education to the Muslim masses.
The conference organized its sessions in different cities of the country to learn about the educational problems and then try to solve them. The conference discussed modern techniques for the development and improvement of the standard of education in its meeting.
Sir Syed founded the British India Association in Aligarh
In 1866, Sir Syed founded the British India Association in Aligarh. The main objective of this organization was to express the grievances and views of Indians in the British Parliament. He also wrote “The Loyal Muhammadans of India”, in which he recorded a detailed account of the loyal services of Muslims which he rendered to the British rulers. In 1870, Sir Syed, after his return from England, founded an organization called “Anjuman-e-Taraqi-e-Musliman-e-Hind” to provide modern education to the Muslims of India.
Bible written by Sir Syed
Sir Syed wrote a philosophical commentary on the Bible which was named “Tabin-al-Kalam”. In this commentary, Sir Syed outlined the similarities between Islam and Christianity. He also wrote “Essays on the Life of Muhammad” in response to the “Life of Muhammad” by William Muir, in which he criticized the Holy Prophet. Sir Syed also wrote “Anjuman-e-Tariqi-e-Urdu” for the protection of Urdu. Sir Syed published another influential magazine named “Tahzeeb-ul-Akhlaq” in which he discussed the Muslim society by criticizing the orthodox lifestyle and emphasizing on the new modern way of life.
Sir Syed’s best performance
Sir Syed, although the first Muslim member of the Central Legislative Council, advised Muslims to stay away from politics until they received education. He believed that the solution to Muslim problems is only education and unless Muslims do not get education, they will remain backward in every sphere of life. Thus, Sir Syed, through the Aligarh Movement, did his best for the Muslims, and by showing loyalty to the British, took their support and also separated the Muslims from the Indian National Congress.