Sir Syed Ahmad Khan History and Culture of Pakistan O Level Notes

Sir Syed Ahmad Khan

Q1. Who was Sir Syed Ahmed Khan? (4)

Ans. Sir Syed Ahmad Khan was the greatest Muslim reformer and

political leader of the 19th Century. He was born in Delhi in 1817

into a wealthy and well-known family. In 1839 he started his

career in the government as a sub-clerk and then rose to the

position of a chief judge. Throughout his life he worked for the

social, educational and political uplift of the Muslims.

Q2. Which of the following services of Sir Syed played the most

important role in the revival of Muslims in the subcontinent?

(14)

1. Political

2. Educational

3. Social

Ans. In the darkest hours of their life, the Muslim community

produced a great and courageous leader in the person of Sir Syed

Ahmad Khan who rendered invaluable services for the cause of

downtrodden Muslims of his time. His educational, political and

social services played a great role for the revival of Muslim

community in the subcontinent.

Among his educational services a school was established in

Muradabad in 1859 and also in Ghazipore in 1864. In 1863 he

founded a Scientific Society in Ghazipore where scientific works

were translated from English into Persian and Urdu for better

understanding of Muslims. In 1864 the Scientific Society issued

the ‘Aligarh Institute Gazette.’ He visited England in 1869 and, on

his return, started his famous movement for the establishment of

the Muslim University. So in 1875 the Muhammadan Anglo

Oriental School was set up. It was upgraded to a college level in

1876 and then to the University of Aligarh in 1921. In 1886 the

Muhammadan Educational Conference was set up to raise the

educational standard of Muslims living in the subcontinent.

He did a great deal to improve the relations between the British

and the Muslims. The war of 1857 had developed great mistrust

between the British and the Muslims. The British blamed the

Muslims for starting the revolt. To clarify the causes of the war Sir

Syed wrote ‘Essay on the Causes of the Indian Revolt’ in which he

stated that the Muslims were dragged into the war by the Hindus.

He also issued the ‘Loyal Muhammadan of India’ to remove the

wrong perception of the British that the Muslims were disloyal. In

it he outlined the loyal services the Muslims had rendered to the

British Empire. The British resented being called Nadarath but Sir

Syed clarified that Nadarath came from an Arabic word Nasir

meaning helper. He wrote a book ‘Tabyin-ul-Kalam’ which was a

commentary on Bible. In it he also pointed out the similarities

between Islam and Christianity. Through this book he proved that

Muslims could eat with Christians. He also issued an Urdu journal

called ‘Tahzib-ul-Akhlaq’ which contained articles from influential

Muslims. In it he also criticized the conservative attitude of the

Muslims and emphasized the need to study.

In 1885 when the Indian National Congress was founded, Sir Syed

soon came to know that it was to work only for Hindu interests.

As it was a threat to Muslims, Sir Syed openly demanded for

separate seats for Muslims in local elections so they had the right

to speak out. He restrained Muslims from joining the Congress

instead he organized an alternative body called the United

Patriotic Alliance which in 1893 became the Muhammadan

Defense Alliance. In the beginning,. Sir Syed was a great

advocate of Hindu-Muslim Unity but the Hindi-Urdu controversy of

1867 had brought a change in his political thinking. In it Hindus

openly demonstrated against Urdu language and instead wanted

Hindi to become the official language. In response to this he

developed his Two-Nation Theory in which he clarified that

Muslims and Hindus were two separate nations who could never

live together. This Theory later on became the base of Pakistan

Movement.

In view of the services rendered by Sir Syed to the Muslim

community, his social services were the most important. His

social services improved the relations between Muslims and

British. Had the relations not improved, the Muslims would have

still been considered as disloyal. They would not have got the

right to express their demands nor would they have been able to

counter the Hindus. With the help of these services, the Muslims

recognized their identity as a separate nation.

Q3. Why did Sir Syed present his Two Nation Theory? (7)

Q4. Why was Sir Syed accused of being pro- British? (7)

Ans. After the War of Independence in 1857, sir Syed started

working to bridge the gap between Muslims and British but he

was accused of being pro-British. This perception was due to

some reasons. When the war of 1857 had broke out, sir Syed was

working as a chief judge in Bijnaur. He saved the lives of many

British women and children. This made the Muslims unhappy and

they labeled him as a traitor. Another thing which may have

become the reason was that he advocated scientific ideas and

western education. In his Urdu journal Tahdbib-ul-Akhlaq he

asked Muslims to gain scientific knowledge and western

education whereas the Muslims at that time considered scientific

education as un-Islamic. Thirdly he advocated English as the

medium of education and that Muslims could only get their right

when they will know how to speak English. Also to counter the

Hindus, they would have to know how to speak English. These

reasons may well support that why was Sir Syed Ahmad accused

of being pro-British.

Q5. What was the Aligarh Movement? (4)

Ans. The Aligarh movement was the movement led by Sir Syed

Ahmed Khan after the 1857 rebellion. It aims were to develop

good will between the British and Muslims by removing British

doubts about Muslims loyalty and Muslim doubts about British

intentions, to improve the social and economic position of the

Muslims by encouraging them to receive Western Education and

take up posts in civil service and army and also to increase

political awareness amongst Muslims that there was a threat to

their position from Hindu side. It’s most significant achievement

was the establishment of Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College at

Aligarh, which later became Aligarh Muslim University.

Q6. For what services do Muslims remember Sir Syed Ahmad

Khan? (10)

Ans. In the darkest hours of their life, the Muslim community

produced a great and courageous leader in the person of Sir Syed

Ahmad Khan who rendered invaluable services for the cause of

downtrodden Muslims of his time. His educational, political and

social services played a great role for the revival of Muslim

community in the subcontinent.

Among his educational services a school was established in

Muradabad in 1859 and also in Ghazipore in 1864. In 1863 he

founded a Scientific Society in Ghazipore where scientific works

were translated from English into Persian and Urdu for better

understanding of Muslims. In 1864 the Scientific Society issued

the ‘Aligarh Institute Gazette.’ He visited England in 1869 and, on

his return, started his famous movement for the establishment of

the Muslim University. So in 1875 the Muhammadan Anglo

Oriental School was set up. It was upgraded to a college level in

1876 and then to the University of Aligarh in 1921. In 1886 the

Muhammadan Educational Conference was set up to raise the

educational standard of Muslims living in the subcontinent.

He did a great deal to improve the relations between the British

and the Muslims. The war of 1857 had developed great mistrust

between the British and the Muslims. The British blamed the

Muslims for starting the revolt. To clarify the causes of the war Sir

Syed wrote ‘Essay on the Causes of the Indian Revolt’ in which he

stated that the Muslims were dragged into the war by the Hindus.

He also issued the ‘Loyal Muhammadan of India’ to remove the

wrong perception of the British that the Muslims were disloyal. In

it he outlined the loyal services the Muslims had rendered to the

British Empire. The British resented being called Nadarath but Sir

Syed clarified that Nadarath came from an Arabic word Nasir

meaning helper. He wrote a book ‘Tabyin-ul-Kalam’ which was a

commentary on Bible. In it he also pointed out the similarities

between Islam and Christianity. Through this book he proved that

Muslims could eat with Christians. He also issued an Urdu journal

called ‘Tahzib-ul-Akhlaq’ which contained articles from influential

Muslims. In it he also criticized the conservative attitude of the

Muslims and emphasized the need to study.

In 1885 when the Indian National Congress was founded, Sir Syed

soon came to know that it was to work only for Hindu interests.

As it was a threat to Muslims, Sir Syed openly demanded for

separate seats for Muslims in local elections so they had the right

to speak out. He restrained Muslims from joining the Congress

instead he organized an alternative body called the United

Patriotic Alliance which in 1893 became the Muhammadan

Defense Alliance. In the beginning,. Sir Syed was a great

advocate of Hindu-Muslim Unity but the Hindi-Urdu controversy of

1867 had brought a change in his political thinking. In it Hindus

openly demonstrated against Urdu language and instead wanted

Hindi to become the official language. In response to this he

developed his Two-Nation Theory in which he clarified that

Muslims and Hindus were two separate nations who could never

live together. This Theory later on became the base of Pakistan

Movement.

In short, sir Syed came forward to guide the Muslims when they

were on the verge of elimination from the Indian society because

of Hindu and British domination. He awakened the Muslims to

animate their dormant spirits in order to put up a resolute

struggle for the revival of their past position of eminence. He can

rightly be called the father of the ‘Pakistan Movement’.

Q7. What were Sir Syed’s most significant contributions to the

improvement of education among Muslims? (10)

Q8. Why did Sir Syed try to improve relations between the

Muslims and the British? (7)

By: M.H.KHAN.:https://www.facebook.com/mhkhanbangash