Along with his search for a solution
to the community's backwardness, he continued writing for various
causes. He wrote to defend Islam against the attacks of Christian
missionaries, and to overcome religious prejudices.
Sir Syed finally reached to the
conclusion that education was the main cause of the backwardness of
the community. He thus rose to establish the Mohammedan
Anglo-Oriental College at Aligarh. He wanted this College to act as
a bridge between the old and the new, the East and the West. While
he fully appreciated the need
and urgency of imparting instruction
based on Western learning, he was not oblivious of the value of
oriental learning and wanted to preserve and transmit to posterity
the rich legacy of the past. He, therefore, decided to keep a fine
balance between the two.
For a man born into a feudal family that had experienced the trauma
of a declining Mughal empire, he was highly pragmatic in his outlook
and attitude. The College he founded was the visible embodiment of
reason and progress. The aim of Sir Syed was not merely restricted
to establishing a college at Aligarh but at spreading a network of
Muslim Managed educational institutions throughout the length and
breadth of the country.
To this end, he instituted All India Mohammedan Educational
Conference. The Aligarh Movement motivated the Muslims to help open
a number of educational institutions.
Sir Syed was the member of the Viceroy's Legislative Council from
1878-82. He presented evidence to Hunter Education Commission of
1882, and served on the Public Service Commission of 1887. He was
knighted in 1888. In 1889 he received honorary LLD from Edinburgh
University. He died on March 27, 1898 and was buried next to the
mosque at AMU.
