Sir Syed Ahmed Khan a literary genius, an outstanding scholar, an educationist, jurist and politician—–pioneered modern Education for the Muslim community in India and founded the Aligarh Muslim University. His work gave rise to a new generation of Muslim intellectuals, politicians and the Aligarh Movement to secure the political future of Muslims in British India.
In the aftermath of the Indian-Rebellion of 1857, Sir Syed foresaw the imperative need for the Muslims to acquire proficiency in English language and “Western Sciences” in order to maintain their social and political clout. His influential booklet “Asbab-e-Baghawat-e-Hind” (The Causes of the Indian Revolt) had already won him great acclaim. He began to prepare the roadmap for the formation of a Muslim University by starting various schools. He also started publishing the famous Journal “Tehzibul Akhlaq” in 1870 which generated a great deal of awareness in the Muslims of the sub-continent. In 1877, Sir Syed founded the Mohammadan Anglo-Oriental (MAO) College in Aligarh which would become the centre of Muslim intellectual life in India. Over the years, the MAO College gave rise to a new educated class of Muslims who were politically active in British Raj. The college which was transformed into a university in 1920 as Aligarh Muslim University, was widely believed to be “the University that created Pakistan”
