Aligarh Movement Try

Background:
After the failure of the 1857 mutiny, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan found Muslim society to be culturally,
educationally and socially backwards. He blamed this on the prevailing education system and the
common attitude among the Muslims, that the British were just there to drive out Islam.
The blame mostly lies with the orthodox Muslims of the time, those who claimed that British
government schools taught nothing but profanity i.e. English, and called for parents to keep their
children away from such schools. It was thought that English, being a British product, would only bring
ruin to India. It should be noted that, while this was a prevailing notion, many people were less
opposed to English as a language, but more towards its culture. Not to mention, they were still bitter of
the loss of 1857.
Sir Syed opposed these notions and urged the Muslims to favour modern scientific knowledge. He
fought against narrow-mindedness and fanaticism, and the guided the Muslims towards being tolerant
and broad-minded. He knew that the only way to progress was the adoption of Western learning
methods, and throughout his life, he promoted it.
Introduction and Objectives:
The Aligarh Movement was an initiative to set up a system of Western-style scientific education in
British India for her Muslim population. The movement started in Aligarh, from which it takes its
name, along with the founding of Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College.
The Aligarh Movement had the following objectives:
1. To persuade the Muslim community to acquire modern knowledge and the English language.
2. To promote and maintain the economic and political significance of the Muslim community
3. To build a sense of trust between the Muslim community and the government
Educational Aspects:
The Aligarh Movement of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan was based on two primary objectives; the revival of
Muslims with advanced education and civilizing good relationship of the Muslims with British
Government. For this foresightedness he faced abundant criticism from orthodox Muslims however this
didn’t deter him from his mission.
Through this movement, Sir Syed performed the following services:
1. Sir Syed founded a modern madrassa in Muradabad in 1859; this was one of the first religious
schools to impart scientific education and teach English.
2. In 1863, while posted in Ghazipur, he established a madrassa which later became Victoria High
school. He also founded the Translation Society to translate major works in the fields of science
and modern arts into Urdu. This was later renamed as the Scientific Society and moved to
Aligarh. This society released two journals: The Aligarh Institute Gazette and the Tehzeeb-ul-
Akhlaq.
3. In 1877 the foundation of Lytton Library was laid by Lord Lytton for the students of MAO
College. It was renamed as the Maulana Azad Library after Independence.
4. In 1886 Sir Syed founded the Muhammedan Educational Congress, an organisation to reform
and educate Indian Muslims. Its name was changed to All India Muhammadan Educational
Conference in 1890.
Political Aspects:
Separate politics was encouraged by the Aligarh Movement even though it began as a reform
movement. Mainly, it divided the Muslims and the Hindus, weakening the Indian National Movement.
1. The Muslim community was guided to keep a distance from the nationalistic movements. These
nationalistic movements were initiated in 1885 by the National Congress of India.
2. Urdu-Hindi Controversy:
In 1867, the Hindus demanded to replace Urdu as the official language by Hindi in Deva
Nagari script. Sir Syed used the Aligarh Movement – in form of the Translation Society – to
translate major works into Urdu.
3. Two-Nation Theory:
The movement acted as a solid foundation for the two-nation theory, through which Sir Syed
argued that Hindus and Muslims were different people.
4. Political Awareness:
Previously, the Indian Muslims were unaware of Western politics. Through the Aligarh
movement, they gained this much needed knowledge and prepared themselves to defend their
rights.
5. Better Relations:
The relationship between the Muslims and the British was bettered. Through the Aligarh
movement, Indian Patriotic Association and British Indian Association were created.
Impacts:
1. It removed mistrust between the British and the Muslims.
2. It gave Muslims modern knowledge

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