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Sir Syed Ahmad Khan and His Contributions

Pakistan Affairs Notes by Prof. Dr. Hassan Askari

The great emancipator of the Indian Muslims Sir Syed Ahmad Khan was born at Delhi in 1817. This is the period when the great Mughal Empire was close to a complete collapse. Sir Syed’s family had already joined the East India Company and his maternal grandfather served in Iran and Burma under the British government. Sir Syed got interest in English from his maternal family. SM Ikram writes, “For this insight into the affairs of the state and first contacts with Western learning and civilization he was indebted to his maternal grandfather…” (S. M. Ikram, Modern Muslim India, p.18). Sir Syed was very healthy by birth and his grandfather remarked: “A Jat has been born in our family.” (Ibid., p. 19) The death of Sir Syed forced him to join the British as head clerk in 1839. The death of his brother made him serious and energetic to face the neuroses of life courageously. Another event that changed him entirely was the War of Independence in 1857. In 1841, he passed examination and became sub-judge. At the eve of the War of Independence he was performing the duties as sub-judge in Bijnore. He established educational institutions and after coming at Aligarh he rejuvenated his aspirations to work for the depressed Muslims of the Subcontinent. He devoted his entire life for this purpose to bring the Muslims close to the British. He died on March 27, 1898 and was buried in Aligarh.