“When a nation becomes devoid of arts and learning, it invites poverty.” (Sir Syed Ahmad Khan). In the light of this statement, assess the role of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan as a reformer in modern India. (UPSC CSE Mains 2021 - Political Science and International Relations, Paper 1)
- Sir Syed Ahmad Khan was born in 1817in a family that was close to the Mughal court, he was a man of many distinctions,a civil servant, journalist, educationist, social reformer and historian among others.
- He served the British administrationbefore the revolt of 1857.
- He has also written a pamphlet titled“The Causes of the Indian Revolt'''' to explain the reasons for the revolt from a Indian perspective.
- Educationist:Sir Syed is, first and foremost, known for his pioneering role in transforming the educational opportunities for Muslims. Sir Syed realised that Muslims could only make progress if they took to modern education. For this he startedthe Aligarh movement.
Sir Syed Ahmed Khan was very upset to observe the depressed condition of the Muslims everywhere. He decided to take extreme efforts for the welfare of the Muslims. He realized that there is a need to the exclusion of mistrust about the Muslims from the minds of British rulers. For this purpose, he wrote Essay on the causes of Indian Revolt in which he proved that there were many factors which led to the rebellion of 1857 and that only the Muslims were not to be held responsible for it. Additionally, he wrote "Loyal Muhammadans of India" in which he shielded the Muslims against the charges of unfaithfulness. These works restored confidence of the British in the Muslims to a large extent. Then, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan focused on the upliftment of educational part of his co-religionists. He told the Muslims that without obtaining modern education, they could not compete with the Hindus and other communities. He pleaded that there was no harm in accepting western sciences and in learning English language. He issued a magazine named "Tahzib-ul-Ikhlaq" which projected adoptable European manners. Afterwards, Syed Ahmed Khan wrote an interpretation on the Holy Quran. In this important work, Syed Ahmed Khan interpreted Islam on logical and scientific basis.
- Social Reformer:He also pushed for social reforms and was a champion of democratic ideals and freedom of speech. He was against religious intolerance, ignorance and irrationalism.He denounced purdah, polygamy and easy divorce. Tahzebul Akhlaq(Social Reformer in English), a magazine founded by him, tried to awaken people’s consciousness on social and religious issues in a very expressive prose.
Throughout his life, Syed Ahmad Khan remonstrated against the practices of purdah, polygamy, easy divorce and many other fallacies in his community. His main priority was advancement of modern western education, in Muslim society.
Aligarh Movement
- It was asystemic movement aimed at reforming the social, political and educational aspectsof the Muslim community.
- The movement undertook to modernise Muslim’s educationby adapting English as a medium of learning and western educationrather than just focusing on traditional teachings.
- Sir Syed established the Scientific Society in 1864,in Aligarh to translate Western works into Indian languages to prepare the Muslims to accept Western education and to inculcate scientific temperament among the Muslims. The Aligarh Institute Gazette,a magazine published by Sir Syed was an organ of the Scientific Society.
- In 1877, he founded the Muhammadan Anglo Oriental Collegeon the pattern of Oxford and Cambridge universities. The college later grew into Aligarh Muslim University.
- The Aligarh Movement helped in the Muslim revival. It gave them a common language— Urdu.
Read More - https://www.dailypioneer.com/2017/columnists/pioneering-hindu-muslim-unity.html
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