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Allama Iqbal / Quaid-e-Azam / Sir Syed Ahmed Khan
Sir Syed Ahmed Khan
Born: 1817
Birthplace: Delhi, India
Died: 1898
Known to be the ‘Father of Two Nation Theory,’ Sir Syed Ahmed Khan was more than mere a civil servant and politician of British India. He was a reformer, educationist, and philosopher of the 19th-century Sub-Continent, who brought a renaissance in the lives of the Muslims crippled by the abortive attempt of ‘Mutiny’ against the British imperialists. Believing in his moderate sketch of religion and the pragmatic approach to adapt to the circumstances, Sir Syed introduced ‘Trinity of Ideas.’ His services in various circles of life prepared as Jinnah called the ‘Ammunition for Pakistan Movement.’
Career
Starting his career as a clerk for the East India Company, Syed also served as ‘Munshi’ and later as Judge. He was honored for being a loyal civil servant to the Britain during the Mutiny of 1857 also called ‘War of Independence.’ After his retirement, Syed was also appointed as Member of Legislative Council.
Causes of India Revolt
The contributions of Syed after the ‘War of Independence’ began with the writing down the ‘Causes of Indian Revolt’ which had a critical analysis why the Indians launched the mutiny. He took a balanced approach in this booklet. Along with pointing out the detrimental policies of the British Government he also highlighted the mistakes made by the Muslims.
Syed’s Trinity of Ideas
Syed could see the fate of a deterred nation who failed to gain independence by fighting a war. He proposed an alternative in the form of ‘Trinity of Ideas’ which carried three principles of salvation for the Muslims of British India:
- Aloofness from Politics
- Dedication to Education
- Loyalty to the Britain
Services Rendered by Sir Syed
Syed was not mere a wordy person. He took practical steps to implement these ideas.
- He founded ‘United Indian Patriotic Association’ to ensure aloofness of Muslims from the Hindu-oriented politics of Congress.
- To develop Muslim loyalty to the British Government, Syed established ‘Loyal Mohammandens of India’ and ‘British Indian Association’.
- To incite the urge of education among the Muslims, he established some schools and colleges. Beginning with the schools in Muradabad and Gazipur, Sir Syed also founded ‘MAO College’ (1875) which turned into ‘Aligarh Muslim University’ in 1920.
Other educational services of Syed include the formation of ‘Mohammaden Educational Conference’ and ‘Scientific Society for Translation’.
Religious Knowledge
Among his prominent religious services his book ‘Khutbat-e-Ahmedia’ has a well-known name. Syed had knowledge of Islam along with Christianity as well. But his interpretations of the religious ideas were often criticized by the religious scholars of that time.
Transformation of Syed’s Views
It is common belief that Syed never thought of having a separate state for the Muslims unless a significant change in his ideas occurred with the eruption of Urdu-Hindi Riots in Banaras.
Conclusion
Syed could have fought and died as a freedom fighter in the Mutiny of 1857 as many other Muslims did. But sometimes it is more worth for a person to live than to die for a cause. Syed saved a nation in this way.