The Aligarh Movement is a well-known movement in Pakistani history, founded by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, who was instrumental in the development and prosperity of Muslims.
When the Muslims were defeated in the ‘independence war of 1857,’ they were victims of a storm, but it was Sir Syed Ahmed Khan who became a bright star to show them the right path and to make the Muslims politically vigilant.
The reason for establishing such a movement was to help the Muslims, which meant that the Muslims wanted the British to leave but had not learned their language, culture, or civilization.
The Hindus learned the modern British education method and were far ahead of the Muslims. The Hindus worked, but the Muslims remained unemployed and illiterate. So, in such circumstances, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan rose to his intelligence and began working for the betterment of Muslims; his services are known as the ‘Aligarh Movement’ in history.
Sir Syed Ahmed Khan helped Muslims socially by writing books such as ‘Causes of Indian Revolt’ in 1858′, ‘Faithful Muslims in India’, and founding the magazine ‘Culture and Ethics’.
In these written works, he described and indicated to the British government that this war was not planned, but rather was motivated by emotions; the Muslims did not initiate it but were provoked to do so.
Sir Syed Ahmed Khan’s contribution to Muslim education is unforgettable; he built many schools and educational institutions and made ‘English’ a compulsory subject. He built MAO school in 1875, and in 1877, it was promoted from a school to a college. This college was critical in the educational system for the learning of Muslims.
In 1864, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan founded a scientific society in Ghaziabad, where they did a lot of translations and built a lot of printing presses.
In 1866, he established the ‘Institute of Ghazit,’ through which the people were made aware of what was going on at the time.
Sir Syed Ahmed Khan established the ‘Muhammaden Educational Conference’ on September 27, 1866.
Sir Syed Ahmed Khan’s political services are also admirable in my opinion. He was the first politician to believe that Muslims and Hindus would never be cooperative because their cultures and civilizations are so significantly different.
Urdu, Pakistan’s national language, was staged at the time when Sir Syed Ahmed Khan wanted Urdu to be their national language, and Sir Syed Ahmed Khan played an important role in this regard.
According to history, in 1868, the circumstances of Hindustan changed not only Sir Syed Ahmed Khan’s life but also his way of thinking. He demonstrated the theory of two nations. He made powerful comments about his theory.
Religious services by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan are also unforgettable. He wrote numerous religious articles for Muslims.
By Beebagar Baloch
Pasni