SIR SYED AHMED KHAN Notes O Levels
SIR SYED AHMED KHAN Notes O Levels
SIR SYED AHMED KHAN Notes O Levels
● Sir Syed Ahmed Khan was born in Delhi on 17th October 1817 to a wealthy, reputed
and prominent family
● By the age of 18, he was skilled in Arabic, Persian, Mathematics and medicine
● In 1838 he started his employment and soon raised his position to become a judge in
Delhi in 1846
● Same year he wrote his famous book Ather-al-sanadeed, it was on archaeology
● Later he was transferred to Bijnor where during the war of independence he saved the
life of many women and children.
● Refused the reward often estate from the British
● He was against armed uprising slash revolt
● Become the Chief Justice in Muradabad
● In 1864 he transferred to Aligarh and worked to establish the college.
● In 1876 he retired and devoted himself to improving the position of Muslims in the
subcontinent.
● Aligrah became the center of Muslim renaissnace.
● He died on 27th March 1898.
WORKS
Improving relations between British and Muslim:
i. Convincing the British:
1. He wrote ‘The Loyal Mohammadens of India’, a detailed account of loyal services
which Muslims had given to the British.
2. He wrote ‘Essay on the Causes of the Indian Revolt. In this, he pointed out the main
reasons for the War. He also listed measures taken by the British which created
resentment among the Muslim community.
3. Cleared the meaning of Nadarath (word used by Muslims for British, which the
British took as an insult.) Nadarath is Arabic word that means helper.
ii. Convincing the Muslims:
1. He wrote Tabayin-ul-kalam, in which he pointed out similarities between Islam and
Christianity.
2. Established British India Association to increase cooperation between two
communities.
Encouraging the growth of western education:
1. Western education was important to gain employment and to make progress in
society.
2. He emphasized that an understanding of modern scientific beliefs helped reveal the
full Majesty of God.
3. Set up an Urdu Journal Tahzib-ul-Akhlaq to spread his views on the importance of
modern education.
4. Founded the Scientific Society, its main purpose was to make scientific writings
available to a wider market by translating them from English, Persian or Arabic into
Urdu.
5. 1866, began issuing a Journal called the Aligarh Institute Gazette
6. Opened schools in Muradabad (1859) and in Ghazipore (1864)
7. Traveled to England to study the University system there.
8. 1875, raised funds and opened Mohammadan Anglo Oriental school in Aligarh which
later became Mohammadan Anglo Oriental college. It offered western, Indian and
Islamic education.
9. 1886, set up the Mohammadan Educational Conference, to raise educational standard
among Muslims.
10. In 1920 the college became the University of Aligarh.
Increasing political awareness:
1. Emphasized on the need for cooperation with the British.
2. Emphasized on the need for cooperation with the Hindus.
3. Two Nation Theory: Hindus and Muslims were different enough to be considered as
two separate groups within the subcontinent. However, he encouraged that the two
communities should work together.
4. An organization called United Patriotic Alliance which later became Mohammaden
Defense Alliance was set up, to counter the growth of Congress which has started to
become a predominantly a Hindu political party.
5. Hindi-Urdu controversy: Urdu had a special place in the hearts of Muslim
community. In 1865 the Hindus demanded that Hindi should be made the next official
language in place of Urdu. It became the cause of concern for him and he opposed it.
IMPORTANCE:
1. Tirelessly worked to restore relations between the British and the Muslims
2. Played a major role in bringing Muslim revival through the Aligarh Movement.
Muslim came to value education as a means of self-improvement and better
employment
3. Developed Two Nation Theory.
4. He is also called the Father of The Pakistan movement.