By Jasim Mohammad,
Emergence of Sir Syed Ahamd Khan on Indian horizon was not an ordinary incident but has proved to be a mile stone in the history of the Indian sub-continent.
Sir Syed Ahmad Khan began his life and work when the Mughal empire was on decline and the sun of British empire was rising fast. At that time Indian Muslims were standing on a cross road from where they were not getting any direction or guidance. In this bleak and dark scenario, emerged Sir Syed Ahmad Khan like a shining star.
Sir Syed decided to lift out the Muslims from the dark future. He believed that if the Muslims are inclined to change their destiny they must first remove evils from their society and have to take up modern scientific education. He was of the view that Muslims should come out from the dreams of being rulers and they have to accept that now they are subjects.
Sir Syed made the education his most effective weapon. He launched a movement commonly known as the “Aligarh Movement” to educate the Muslims in modern scientific education. Aligarh was the centre of the Aligarh Movement and the main aim of it was that there should be confidence between the Britishers and the Muslims. Muslims must adopt the western education system and also keep their religious believes. In fact both were part of Sir Syed’s education policy. Aligarh Movement was not limited only up to education but in fact its ambit was much larger, which touched every aspect of the community’s life.
One of the main points often over looked of the Aligarh Movement was that Muslims should remain out of any type of agitational politics. Sir Syed had wanted that Muslims produce among themselves an intellectual class because the days of landed class were over. Under his Aligarh Movement, Sir Syed took up the social and cultural upliftment of Indian Muslims.
However, the fact is that the ambit of the Aligarh Movement was so much wide that it is even now relevant. One of the most important mile stones in the history of the Aligarh Movement is the founding of the Mohammadan Educational Conference (MEC), which had the task at hand not only to educationally empower Muslims but also to raise their political awareness level.
Later this Mohammadan Educational Conference emerged as the political centre of Indian Muslims. Often political thoughts of Sir Syed are over looked and people shy away to discuss it. Sir Syed was of the view that Muslims should recover their lost glory and for that political power was also a component.
Sir Syed did not stop just after founding a college but embarked upon to remove the evils prevailing in Muslim society. At that time Muslim society was trapped in dowery system and lethargy.
But no doubt Sir Syed had awakened self respect and confidence among Muslims and had produced a whole generation of Muslims who had every shade of opinion. MAO College and later AMU produced centarists, leftists, Muslim Leaguers and Congressmen. No one should forget that AMU is a big platform with freedom of expression and so some Muslim Leaguers were there but it does not mean that Sir Syed had a hand in the partition of India. If there were Muslim Leagures then there were Ali Brothers Congressmen.
In short Aligarh gave ample opportunities to flourish every idea and philosophy. Even today freedom of expression and democratic norms may be found in the AMU campus.
It is very unfortunate that the rulers did not do justice with Sir Syed after independence. Now he should be accorded due place. Since a long time the demand is being made that Sir Syed should be awarded Bharat Ratna but the demand goes missing in the corridors of power due to political bias and prejudices.
Nobody can disagree that MAO College and later AMU played a very important and documented role in India`s freedom struggle. After independence also old boys of AMU registered their presence felt across the globe. AMU produced a galaxy of sportsmen, politicians, technocrats and so on. To name few, Dr. Zakir Hussain former Prsident of India, Hasrat Mohani and Ali Brothers belonged to this illustrious institution founded by Sir Syed.
It was in this respect that the Aligarh Movement monthly magazine and the Millat Bedari Muhim Committee (MBMC) jointly launched a signature campaign led by noted film director & social activist Mahesh Bhatt at Delhi demanding Bharat Ratna to Sir Syed Ahmad Khan.
The target is to submit one crore signatures in favour of the demand to the President of India so that justice may be done to Sir Syed by awarding him Bharat Ratna. Awarding the Bharta Ratmna to Sir Syed will be true tribute to him on his 197th birth anniversary.
(Author is secretary, Millat Bedari Muhim Committee (MBMC) Aligarh )
Sir Syed Ahmed Khan: Lighthouse of the Society