Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, one of the architects of
modern India was born on October 17, 1817 in Delhi. His father Syed
Mohammad Muttaqi was a Mughal noble descendent who had, in the time
of Akbar, migrated to India from Herat.
The 1857 revolt was one of the turning
points of Syed Ahmad's life. Before it, his career had been
that of a civil servant and a scholar. Most of the historical
works, which were to win him an honorary fellowship of the Royal
Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, were completed
before 1857. In 1847, he published the famous archaeological
masterpiece, 'Asarus Sanadeed' - a book that
provided a wealth of information on countless historical
monuments in Delhi from the eight hundred year long Muslim era.n
1855, he published yet another book 'Ain-e-Akbari'. After the
1857 revolt, Syed Ahmad authored the marvelous book 'Asbab-e-Baghawat-e-Hind'(The causes of Indian Revolt). The publication of this book in
1859 was, in fact, Syed Ahmad's
induction to public life. He also
witnessed the terrible revenge the British wrought on Delhi and its
inhabitants after the city was recaptured in September 1857. At
personal level, he found an uncle and a cousin dead; his aunt died
of thirst before his eyes; he succeeded in rescuing his mother only
for her to die because of the privations she had experienced.
Muslims were the main target of the Government's wrath.
In spite of all the suffering, Syed Ahmad was highly impressed by
the culture and customs of Western society. He instituted Scientific
Society in 1864 to create a scientific temperament among the Muslims
and to make the Western knowledge available to Indians in their own
language. He got translated many scientific works from English into
Urdu.
The Aligarh Institute Gazette, an
organ of the Scientific Society was started in March 1866 and
succeeded in agitating the minds in the traditional Muslim Society.
Anyone with a poor level of commitment would have backed off in the
face of strong opposition but Sir Syed responded by bringing out
another journal 'Tehzibul Akhlaq' which was rightly named in English
as 'Mohammedan Social Reformer'. The Tehzibul Akhlaq succeeded in
infusing a new desire amongst Muslims for acquiring
modern knowledge. It also gave a new direction to Muslim social and
political thought. It advocated the stance that Muslims should avoid
getting involved in political issues until they achieved parity with
the Hindu community in the field of education.
