It was while he was in England that Khan decided he must start a college for Muslim men desirous of modern education. On his return to India in October 1870, he set about raising funds for the enterprise. He visited the towns he knew in the United Provinces, but also ventured further afield; to the capital of the Punjab, Lahore, and to the great principality in the Deccan, Hyderabad, whose ruler, the Nizam, was reputed to be one of the richest men in the world. After making dozens of speeches and travelling thousands of miles, he had finally collected enough money to formally inaugurate his project. The Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College (as it was first called) was founded on 24 May 1875 in Aligarh. Classes commenced three years later.
In later years, Khan continued to travel across India to raise funds for his college, and to encourage Muslim families to send their children there. In a speech of 1893 he warned that the gap between Hindus and Muslims on this, the educational front, was very wide indeed. For example, in Bengal, where Muslims constituted 45.9 per cent of the population, only one graduate in thirty was Muslim; in Madras, where Muslims constituted some 7 per cent of the population, they had less than 1 per cent of the graduates. The one province which countered the trend was his own, and largely because of his efforts. Thus in the United Provinces, where Muslims were 11.2 per cent of the population, they supplied 17.25 per cent of the graduates.
Khan died in the year of Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee, 1897. In 1920 the Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College was renamed the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU). Ninety years later, it remains the university of choice for many young Muslims in India—with schools of medicine, law and engineering, it has (and Khan would have approved) an especially well-regarded department of history. The AMU, now well into its second century, is the chief institutional legacy of Syed Ahmad Khan. A flavour of his intellectual and political legacy is captured in the excerpts that follow.
Educating the Muslims
In 1882 the viceroy, Lord Ripon, appointed a commission to review the state of primary and secondary education in British India. This commission was chaired by the civil servant and scholar W. W. Hunter. Excerpts from Syed Ahmad Khan’s testimony to the Education Commission follow. Here, the phrase ‘our nation’ refers to the Muslims of India. Note also the now somewhat archaic preference for ‘Muhammadans’ over ‘Muslims’.2
Question: With reference to English schools for primary, middle, high and collegiate education, do you consider that English education is essentially requisite for the interests of the country, and for the people in their daily affairs of life? If so, to what standard?
Answer: About thirty years have now elapsed since the dispatch of 1854.3 During this period the condition of India has undergone a considerable change. Railways have united distant provinces, and have facilitated intercourse to a great extent. Telegraphic lines have been extended all over the country, and have provided facilities for distant persons to talk with one another as if they were in the same room. These very things have [infused] a new life into commercial business, and have given a fresh impulse to every sort of enterprise.
In 1854, when the above-named dispatch was written, India was certainly in a condition which might justify our thinking that the acquisition of knowledge through the medium of the vernaculars of the country would be enough to meet our immediate wants. But now such is not the case. Vernacular education is no more regarded as sufficient for our daily affairs of life. It is only of use to us in our private and domestic affairs, and no higher degree of proficiency than what is acquired in primary and middle vernacular schools is requisite for that purpose; nor is more wanted by the country. It is English education which is urgently needed by the country and by the people in their daily life. It will be useless to realize the truth of what I have said by any theoretical argument when we practically find so many proofs of it every day. We see that an ordinary shopkeeper, who is neither himself acquainted with English nor has any English knowing persons in his employment, feels it is [a] serious hindrance in the progress of his business. Even the itinerant pedlars and boxwalas, who go from door to door selling their articles, keenly feel the necessity of knowing at least the English names of their commodities, and of being able to tell their prices in English. A gentleman who visits a merchant’s or a chemist’s shop to make necessary purchases, but is neither himself acquainted with English nor is accompanied by a person knowing that language, feels his position as one of real perplexity. In consequence of the facilities afforded for travelling, respectable men are often under the necessity of sending and receiving telegraphic messages, and their ignorance of English proves a serious hardship to them. A few months ago a respectable Native gentleman sent his wife by railway from one station to another, telegraphing to a relation of his at the latter station to be present at the railway station with a conveyance for the lady, who was of course a pardahnashin. The message reached him in time, but he was unhappily not acquainted with English. He was yet in search of an English-knowing person who might explain to him the import of the communication, when the train reached the station and the lady was necessarily compelled to leave the carriage and to wait outside. The state of affairs has therefore been so altered during the last thirty years that a necessity for English education is as much felt as that for a Vernacular one …
Question: Have all classes of the people benefited from the study of Western sciences and literature in Government or other institutions, and have the Muhammadans also derived this benefit as readily as the communities? If not, to what causes may their forbearance be attributed?
Answer: Of all the sections of the Indian community the Muhammadans have derived the least benefit from European sciences and literature. It is evident from the annual reports on public instruction that in Government and missionary schools and colleges, which may be regarded as the only means of disseminating Western science and literature in this country, the number of Muhammadans is extremely limited …
I have myself earnestly endeavoured for years to trace the causes to which this shortcoming of the Muhammadans may be ascribed. And in 1871 my humble endeavours resulted in the formation of a committee the object of which was to investigate the causes which prevented our community from taking advantage of the system established by Government, and to suggest means by which education could be spread amongst them. As a means of receiving aid in their enquiries the committee offered three prizes for the best essays by educated Muhammadan gentlemen on the subject of Muhammadan education, and no less than thirty-two essays were sent in. The views expressed in these essays were fully discussed at a large meeting of respectable and educated Musalmans, and the committee arrived at the conclusion that Muhammadans had strong feelings of dislike towards modern education, and that their antagonism to the Government educational system was not a mere matter of chance.
This aversion of the Musalman community is due to the fact that when in the reigns of the Caliphs of Baghdad the Greek sciences of logic, philosophy, astronomy, and geography, were translated into Arabic, they were accepted by the whole Muhammadan world without hesitation, and, with slight modification and alterations, they gradually found their way into the religious books of the Muhammadans, so that in course of time these sciences were identified with their very religion, and acquired a position by no means inferior to that of the sacred traditions of the faith. A few spurious but well-known foreign as well as indigenous traditions which referred to remote historical events, and to which time had lent a charm, were likewise adopted and accepted like other religious doctrines.
European learning, which was founded on the results of modern investigations, differed widely in principle from these Asiaticised Greek dogmas, and the Muhammadans certainly believed that the philosophy and logic taught in the English language were at variance with the tenets of Islam, while the modern sciences of geography and astronomy were universally regarded, and are still regarded by many, as altogether incompatible with the Muhammadan religion. History was viewed in no better light, inasmuch as i
t differed from their adopted traditions. As regards literature, it must be admitted that it is a subject which is always more or less connected with the religion of the nation to which it belongs: as such being the case, the Muhammadans, as a matter of course, viewed this branch of knowledge, too, in anything but a favourable light. Their antipathy was carried so far indeed that they began to look upon the study of English by a Musalman as a little less than the embracing of Christianity, and the result was that Muhammadans generally kept aloof from the advantages offered by Government institutions. There are still some Musalmans who denounce the study of English in the severest terms, and those who pursue or endeavour to promote that study are positively pronounced to be Christians. But this prejudice has of late decreased to a great extent, and is not entertained by so large a portion of the Muhammadan community as formerly. This may be said to be the main cause of the abstention of the Muhammadans from the study of European science and literature.
Question: Can you suggest how the causes, which may have hitherto operated in excluding the Muhammadans from this benefit, might be removed?
Answer: The very nature of the causes which have operated in excluding the Muhammadans from the benefit of English education, makes it impossible for Government to bring about their removal. Government could in no way interfere with or make an attempt to expose the fallacy of those views which the Muhammadans had rightly or wrongly believed to be their religious doctrines. There was no remedy but that some members of their own community might undertake the arduous task of impressing on the Muhammadans the advantages accruing from English education, and of proving by argument and reason that such education was in no way inconsistent with the tenets of their religion, and that the fanciful theories of Arabicised Greek science and philosophy which the advance of modern science and enlightenment tended to subvert, had no connection with the doctrines of Islam. Numerous discouraging circumstances and serious social dangers lay in the path of those advanced Muhammadans who undertook the task, odious as it seemed to the detractors of modern civilisation among Muhammadans. The advocates of reform and enlightenment were sure to be made the object of furious and frantic abuse, and to be denounced as atheists, apostates, and Nazarenes [i.e., Christians]. But they were fully convinced that the Muhammadan nation could never be able to get rid of those illusive ideas and prejudices, until some members of their community prepared themselves to incur the odium which fanaticism and bigotry are always ready to offer to the advocates at enlightened reform. I was an humble participator in the endeavours of those who determined to devote themselves to this unpleasant task for the well-being of their co-religionists. With this object a periodical, named the Muhammadan Social Reformer, was issued, in which the more advanced Muhammadans from time to time wrote articles on the subject of education and social reform, and, in spite of the vigorous opposition from the bigoted and conservative Muhammadans, made public speeches in various parts of Upper India to rouse the Muhammadans to make exertions to educate themselves and to realise their duties as citizens. The advocates of the cause of reform and enlightenment had, of course, anticipated the opposition with which they had to contend before undertaking so momentous a task and had prepared themselves for the worst consequences to their personal popularity among the common people. They did not mind the difficulties and obstacles which bigotry and ignorance placed in their way, but persevered in their endeavours; and I am glad to notice that my co-religionists have now begun to yield to reason and to acknowledge and amend their errors. The number of Muhammadan students in English-teaching institutions is now much greater than what it was ten years ago. The Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College at Aligarh has some two hundred and twenty-five Muhammadan pupils at present, most of whom belong to good families, and have travelled from various parts of India to study European science and literature along with their own religion, languages, and literature. The Musalmans are now everywhere relaxing their undue prejudices, and reconciling themselves to modern thoughts and conditions of life. Time is no doubt a great reformer, but I think the endeavours above alluded to, which have been going on for the last twelve years, have in no small degree contributed to the present state of things. The remedy therefore lies in no hands but those of the Muhammadans themselves, and the evils can be removed by their efforts alone …
A Modern Curriculum
Continuing on the theme of education, Khan now offers an up-to-date reading list for his fellow Muslims. These paragraphs are from a talk delivered to the Mohammedan Literary Society, Calcutta, in 1884.4
I have now a few words to offer in connection with the business to be entered upon from to-day—the business of the Society. The most important and the most difficult subject which you gentlemen of the Directing Council will be requested to deliver your opinions on, is the selection of books to be translated and published as a commencement. Looking at the state of my fellow-countrymen’s minds, I find that, from their ignorance of the past history of the world at large, they have nothing to guide them in their future career. From their ignorance of the events of the past, and also of the events of the present—from their not being acquainted with the manner and means by which infant nations have grown into powerful and flourishing ones, and by which the present most advanced ones have beaten their competitors in the race for position among the magnates of the world—they are unable to take lessons, and profit by their experiences. Through this ignorance, also, they are not aware of the causes which have undermined the foundations of those nations once the most wealthy, the most civilized, and the most powerful in the history of their time, and which have since gradually gone to decay or remained stationary instead of advancing with the age. If, in 1856, the natives of India had known anything of the mighty power which England possesses—a power which would have impressed the misguided men of the Bengal army with the knowledge how futile their efforts to subvert the empire of her Majesty in the East would be—there is little doubt but that the unhappy events of 1857 would never have occurred. For the above reasons, I am strongly in favour of disseminating a knowledge of history, ancient and modern, for the improvement of my fellow-countrymen. There are certainly several works on history extant, written by our own authors; but they do not contain that information which is necessary to improve the civilization and morality of men. Their views of the age in which they wrote were entirely those of their rulers; and their works abounded in flattery of those same rulers, as writing the truth, in many cases, would have doomed them to death or torture. Thus, much that was evil and tyrannical in the governors of our country has never been transmitted to us. They never enlightened the people of this continent on those subjects of which, as I have stated above, they were ignorant. Sir Charles Trevelyan5 has offered a prize of 500 rupees for the best essay on a comparison of the influence of the Greek literature on the Arabs under the Abbaside Caliphs of Bagdad, and the Ommizade Caliphs of Cordova, with the subsequent influence of Arabic literature on Europe. This is a step in the right direction, and this country ought to be very grateful to Sir Charles Trevelyan for his liberality. Various small editions of works on history have been translated by the Department of Public Instruction for the use of schools; but these do not contain that copiousness of detail, that full description of the morals, virtues, and vices of nations, which, in my opinion, are necessary in order to confer any real benefit on the native mind. The book which, I think, would be very suitable for our Society to commence with, is one written by M. Rollin on the ancient races, in which are admirably described their discovery of, and improvements on, the arts and sciences; as also their lives and systems of government, together with their virtues and vices. This book is equally adapted to old and young, and is, I think, admirably adapted for the training of the native mind. This history is that of the ancient nations. At present the natives of India firmly believe that the arts and sciences were perfected by the Greeks. Now I do not mean to deny that nation’s ability. I quite agree with M. Rollin that, whether we regard their splendid arm
y, their wise laws, or their introduction of, and improvements on, various arts and science, we must allow that they brought all these to a very high pitch of perfection. We may with truth designate the Greeks as the schoolmasters of the world in their own and also in succeeding ages. But we in India know nothing of their former state of barbarism, of the means by which they raised themselves to the position which we know they attained, and we are also utterly ignorant of what conduced to bringing about the prosperity of Europe, which now so far excels the Greece of ancient days …
Again, gentlemen, with regard to works on natural philosophy. All those who have anything to do with the internal management of districts are well aware how the producing capabilities of the soil are gradually decreasing. One great reason for this evil, which, if not remedied, will some day seriously affect the finances of India, is that the natives have never even heard of the principles on which the cultivation of the soil ought to be conducted, or of the many new inventions for improving their acres. The basis of these principles is natural philosophy, by the study of which we acquire a knowledge of the various properties of bodies, and by which we learn how to make use of the same. Steam, which we thought of no use whatever, is revealed to us in all its usefulness by the above science. Those among us who have been to Roorkee6 will have observed how wonderful are the uses to which a solitary shaft set in motion by steam is turned—how by it many works are set in motion, and many and varied articles turned out; and at first you have doubtless thought that all this was done by something more than human. The works at Roorkee, great as they are, are small compared with the many wonderful ones in England. I would therefore strongly advocate the translation of small works on natural philosophy in separate series. We might, for example, translate a small one on steam, one on the properties of water, or one on electricity.