The Aligarh Movement was the push to establish a modern system of Western–style scientific education for the

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

population of

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

, during the later decades of the 19th century. The movement's name derives from the fact that its core and origins lay in the city of

Aligarh Aligarh (; formerly known as Allygarh, and Kol) is a city in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. It is the administrative headquarters of Aligarh district, and lies northwest of state capital Lucknow and approximately southeast of the cap ...

in Northern India and, in particular, with the foundation of the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College in 1875. The founder of the oriental college, and the other educational institutions that developed from it, was

Sir Syed Ahmed Khan Sir Syed Ahmad Khan KCSI (17 October 1817 – 27 March 1898; also Sayyid Ahmad Khan) was an Indian Muslim reformer, philosopher, and educationist in nineteenth-century British India. Though initially espousing Hindu-Muslim unity, he ...

. He became the leading light of the wider Aligarh Movement. The education reform established a base, and an impetus, for the wider Movement: an Indian Muslim renaissance that had profound implications for the religion, the politics, the culture and society of the

Indian sub-continent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographical region in Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian Ocean from the Himalayas. Geopolitically, it includes the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India ...

History

The failure of the

Revolt of 1857 The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the for ...

saw the end of the Mughal empire and the succession of the British. The Muslim society during the post mutiny period was in a deteriorating state. Sir Syed Ahmad Khan found the Muslim society to be educationally, socially and culturally backward. He blamed the prevailing education system for the degrading state of the Muslim society. This led Sir Syed to initiate a movement for the intellectual, educational, social and cultural regeneration of the Muslim society. This movement came to be known as the Aligarh movement after Sir Syed established his school at Aligarh which later became the center of the movement. The Aligarh Movement introduced a new trend in

Urdu literature Urdu literature ( ur, , ) is literature in the Urdu language. While it tends to be dominated by poetry, especially the verse forms of the ''ghazal '' غزل and '' nazm '' نظم, it has expanded into other styles of writing, including that of ...

. Sir Syed Ahmad Khan and his association left the old style of writing in the

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' rhetorical and academic, and started a simple style which helped Muslims to understand the main purpose of the movement. Sir Syed Ahmed was the central figure behind this awakening.

Institutes

* In 1859, Sir Syed established Gulshan School at Muradabad. In 1862 he founded the Victoria School at Ghazipur. * Sir Syed founded the ''Translation Society'' in Ghazipur in 1863 to translate major works in the field of sciences and modern arts into Urdu. It was later renamed as the Scientific Society and moved to Aligarh. The Society released two journals – The Aligarh Institute Gazette and the

Tehzeeb-ul-Akhlaq Tehzeeb-ul-Ikhlaq () is a journal established by the Muslim reformer Sir Syed Ahmad Khan in 1871. The journal published alternative Muslim perspectives, written in plain language. It gave voice to the publisher's religious, social, and reforming ...

, known as the Mohammedan Social Reformer in English. * In 1866 the ''British Indian Association'' was established at Aligarh with the intention of addressing the political needs of the people. * The ''Bihar Scientific Society'' was established by Syed Imdad Ali in Muzaffarpur in 1868. The society also launched a fortnightly newspaper, ''Akhbarul Akhyar''. *The Bihar Scientific Society and Bhumihar Brahman Sabha together established a college in Muzaffarpur on July 3, 1899. This is now known as Langat Singh College. * In 1875 Sir Syed and Moulvi Samiullah Khan established a madarsa ''Madrasatul Uloom Musalmanan-e-Hind'' in Aligarh in his bungalow. The school had a primary section and a senior section known as Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental Collegiate School. *Two years later, in 1877, the school was converted into the

Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College ( ur, Madrasatul Uloom Musalmanan-e-Hind, italics=yes) was founded in 1875 by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, initially as a primary school, with the intention of taking it to a college level institution, known as Muhammed ...

. * In 1877 the foundation of ''Lytton Library'' was laid by Lord Lytton for the students of MAO College. It was renamed as the

Maulana Azad Library The Maulana Azad Library is the central library of Aligarh Muslim University in Aligarh, India. It is the largest university library in Asia. The seven-storey building is surrounded by of lawns and gardens. It has about 1,500,000 books. It cel ...

after Independence. * A debating club was founded at MAO College by Sir Syed in 1884. It was renamed

Siddons Union Club Siddons Union Club, commonly referred to as 'The Siddons Union', was established in the year 1884 at Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College, the present day Aligarh Muslim University. The club was named after Henry George Impey Siddons, the first pri ...

after its first principal Henry George Siddons. It came to be known as ''Muslim University Union'' after the college became a university. * In 1886 Sir Syed founded the ''Muhammedan Educational Congress'', an organisation to reform and educate Indian Muslims. Its name was changed to All India Muhammadan Educational Conference in 1890. * Sir Syed founded the United Patriotic Association in 1888 along with Raja Sivaprasad of Beneras to promote political co-operation with the British and ensure Muslim participation in the British Indian Government. * In 1889 Sahabzada Aftab Ahmad Khan established ''Duty Society or Anjuman-Al-Farz'' to support the poor and needy students of the Mohammadan Anglo Oriental (MAO) College. * In 1890 Mohsin-ul-Mulk founded Urdu ''Defence Central Committee'' later renamed to Urdu Defence Association for the advocacy of Urdu. * To promote the political interests of the Muslims before the British Government, the ''Muhammedan Anglo-Oriental Defense Association'' was established in 1893. * In 1893 the Muhammedan Educational Conference established Anjuman-i Taraqqi-i Urdu for the promotion of Urdu. The first anjuman was held in Delhi with Thomas Walker Arnold as its president and Shibli Nomani its secretary. * After the death of Sir Syed in 1899, the ''Old Boys Association'' was formed at Aligarh to generate support for the Aligarh Movement. Maulvi Bahadur Ali was the founding secretary of the association. * ''Sir Syed Memorial Fund'' was established by Sahabzada Aftab Ahmad Khan in 1899 to raise MAO College to a university. * In 1901 ''Mohammadan Political Organisation'' was founded by Nawab Waqar-ul-Mulk to present Muslim grievances before the government. * Sheikh Abdullah launched the Urdu monthly magazine ''Khatoon'' in 1904 to promote education of girls. * In 1906 the

All India Muslim League The All-India Muslim League (AIML) was a political party established in Dhaka in 1906 when a group of prominent Muslim politicians met the Viceroy of British India, Lord Minto, with the goal of securing Muslim interests on the Indian subcont ...

was founded to safeguard the rights of Indian Muslims. * In 1906 Sheikh Abdullah and his wife Wahid Jahan Begum established a small school for girls known as ''Aligarh Zenana Madarsa'' in Aligarh. * In 1914 Begum Sultan Jahan founded the ''All India Muslim Ladies Conference'' at Aligarh. The Begum served as President of the Conference, while Nafis Dulhan Begum from Aligarh was its Secretary. * On October 29, 1920

Jamia Millia Islamia Jamia Millia Islamia () is a central university located in New Delhi, India. Originally established at Aligarh, United Provinces (present-day Uttar Pradesh, India) during the British Raj in 1920, it moved to its current location in Okhla i ...

was established at Aligarh. It was later moved to Delhi. * On December 17, 1920, MAO College was granted the status of university and

Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh Muslim University (abbreviated as AMU) is a Public University, public Central University (India), central university in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, which was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan as the Muhammadan Anglo-Orie ...

was established. The Raja of Mahmudabad

Mohammad Ali Mohammad Khan Maharaja Sir Mohammad Ali Mohammad Khan, Khan Bahadur, KCSI, KCIE (4 June 1878 – 23 March 1931) was the Raja of Mahmudabad from 28 June 1903 to 23 March 1931 and a noted politician, zamindar of British India. Raja of Mahmudabad He wa ...

was appointed the vice-chancellor. * In 1929, Zenana Madarsa became an Intermediate College and In 1930 the girl's college was converted into a ''Women’s College'' under the affiliation of Aligarh Muslim University. * A new constitution was drafted for the Muslim University Union in 1952 and it came to be known as the

Aligarh Muslim University Students' Union The Aligarh Muslim University Students' Union (AMUSU) is the official Students' Union of the Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India. The Aligarh Muslim University Students' Union is the university-wide representative body for students and is ...

Members

The prominent members involved with the movement have included. * Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, founder of

and

* Moulvi Samiullah Khan, first President of ''Muhammadan Educational Conference'' * Raja Jai Kishan Das, secretary of ''Scientific Society'' and officiating editor of ''Aligarh Institute Gazette'' * George Farquhar Irving Graham, member of “Scientific Society” and biographer of Sir Syed *

Zakaullah Dehlvi Maulvi Mohammad Zakaullah or Munshi Zakaullah (20 April 1832–7 November 1910) was a British Indian Urdu writer and translator. He wrote ''Tarikh-e-Hindustan'', a fourteen-volume compilation of Indian history in Urdu. Early life and education ...

, associate of Sir Syed and member of Scientific Society * Nazir Ahmad Dehlvi, associate of Sir Syed and member of Scientific Society * Maulvi Syed Zainul Abideen, associate of Sir Syed * Khwaja Muhammad Yusuf, associate of Sir Syed. * Hemedullah Khan, son of Moulvi Samiullah Khan *

Abdul Majeed Khwaja Abdul Majeed Khwaja (1885 – 2 December 1962) was an Indian lawyer, educationist, social reformer and freedom fighter from Aligarh. In 1920, he along with others founded Jamia Millia Islamia and later served its vice chancellor and chancello ...

, associate of Sir Syed * Mahendra Singh of Patiala, donor of MAO College *

Henry Siddons Henry Siddons (4 October 1774 – 12 April 1815) was an English actor and theatrical manager, now remembered as a writer on gesture. Life Siddons was the eldest child of Sarah Siddons, and was educated at Charterhouse School, being intended ...

, first Principal of MAO College *

Theodore Beck Theodore Beck (4 July 1859 – 2 September 1899Buckland, C. E., ''Dictionary of Indian biography'', 1906) was a Quaker and British educationalist working for the British Raj in India. From 1883 until his death in 1899 he was Principal of Muh ...

, second Principal of MAO College *

Theodore Morison Sir Theodore Morison (9 May 1863 – 14 February 1936) was a British educationalist who served as a Member of the Council of India and Director of the University of London Institute in Paris. He is best known as an interpreter of Muslim life ...

, third Principal of MAO College * William Archbold, fourth Principal of MAO College * J.H. Towle, fifth Principal of MAO College *

, trustee of MAO College and founding Vice-chancellor of AMU * Muhammad Muzammilullah Khan, trustee of MAO College and later Vice-chancellor of AMU *

Ross Masood Syed Sir Ross Masood bin Mahmood Khan (15 February 1889 – 30 July 1937), was the Vice-Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University starting in 1929. Early life and career Ross Masood was the son of Syed Mahmood. His grandfather was Sir Sye ...

, trustee of MAO College and later Vice-chancellor of AMU *

Ziauddin Ahmad Sir Ziauddin Ahmad (born Ziauddin Ahmed Zuberi; 13 February 1873 – 23 December 1947) was an Indian mathematician, parliamentarian, logician, natural philosopher, politician, political theorist, educationist and a scholar.Raja Sivaprasad, associate of Sir Syed and founder of ''United Patriotic Association'' *

Chiragh Ali Moulví Cherágh Ali (1844-1895) (also spelled Chirágh) was an Indian Muslim scholar of the late 19th century. As a colleague of Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan he made a contribution to the school of Muslim Modernists and presented reformative thinking ...

, educationist and associate of Sir Syed *

Mir Turab Ali Khan, Salar Jung I Sir Mir Turab Ali Khan, Salar Jung I, (21 January 1829 – 8 February 1883), known simply as Salar Jung I, was an Indian nobleman who served as Prime Minister of Hyderabad State between 1853 until his death in 1883. He also served as regent fo ...

, donor of MAO College * Nawab Waqar-ul-Mulk Kamboh, honorary secretary of MAO College *

Nawab Mohsin-ul-Mulk Nawab Mohsin-ul-Mulk, Munir Nawaz Jang, also known as Syed Mehdi Ali ( ur, ﻧﻭﺍﺏ ﻣﺤﺴن ‌الملک, منير نواز جنگ, ﺳﻴﺩ ﻣﻫﺩﻯ ﻋﻠﻰ) (born 9 December 1837 — 16 October 1907), was an Indian Musl ...

, secretary of MAO College *

Syed Mahmood Justice Syed Mahmood (also spelled Sayyid Mahmud; 24 May 1850 – 8 May 1903) was Puisne Judge of the High Court, North-Western Provinces of British India from 1887 to 1893, after having served in the High Court in a temporary capacity as offi ...

, Sir Syed's son and joint secretary of MAO College. *

Hasrat Mohani Syed Fazl-ul-Hasan (1 January 1875 – 13 May 1951), known by his pen-name Hasrat Mohani, was an Indian activist, freedom fighter in the Indian independence movement and a noted poet of the Urdu language. He coined the notable slogan ''Inqui ...

* Shibli Nomani, associate of Sir Syed and first secretary of ''Anjuman-i Taraqqi-i Urdu'' *

Altaf Hussain Hali Altaf Hussain Hali ( – ; 1837 – 31 December 1914), also known as Maulana Khawaja Hali, was an Urdu poet and writer. Early life He was born in Panipat to Aizad Baksh and was a descendant of Abu Ayyub al-Ansari. He was in the care of his ...

, member of the ''Muhammedan Educational Conference'' *

Syed Ameer Ali Syed Ameer Ali Order of the Star of India (1849–1928) was an Indian/British Indian jurist hailing from the state of Oudh from where his father moved and settled down at Bengal Presidency. He was a prominent political leader, and author of a n ...

, member of the ''Muhammedan Educational Conference'' * Tufail Ahmad Manglori, member of the ''Muhammedan Educational Conference'' * Thomas Walker Arnold, first president of ''Anjuman-i Taraqqi-i Urdu'' *

Aga Khan III Sultan Muhammad Shah (2 November 187711 July 1957), commonly known by his religious title Aga Khan III, was the 48th Imam of the Nizariyya. He played an important role in British Indian politics. Born to Aga Khan II in Karachi, Aga Khan II ...

, founding Pro-Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University * Sheikh Abdullah, founder of Women's College, Aligarh *

Nawab Mohammad Ismail Khan Nawab Mohammad Ismail Khan (1884–1958) was an eminent Muslim politician and a leading activist of the All-India Muslim League, who stood in the forefront of the Khilafat Movement and Pakistan Movement. Nawab Mohammad Ismail Khan is regarded as ...

, associate of Sir Syed * Kunwar Luft Ali Khan of Chhattari. *

Zafar Ali Khan Zafar Ali Khan (1874– 27 November 1956) ( pnb, – ), also known as Maulana Zafar Ali Khan, was a Pakistani writer, poet, translator and a journalist who played an important role in the Pakistan Movement against the British Raj. He is genera ...

* Shaukat Ali * Mohammad Ali Jauhar *

Sahibzada Aftab Ahmad Khan Sahibzada Aftab Ahmad Khan (March 1867 – January 1930) was an attorney and educator. He was a former vice chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University. Early life He was born in 1867 Kunjpura, Karnal district, Punjab Province, British India ...

, founder of ''Anjuman Al-farz or Duty Society'' * Abdur Rehman Bijnori * Syed Ali Bilgrami *

Syed Nabiullah Syed Nabiullah (سيد نبي الله) was a prominent barrister from Lucknow, India, and one of the eminent leaders of the All India Muslim League. Early life Syed Nabiullah was born in Kara/Manikpur village in the District of Allahabad in 1 ...

, member of ''Muhammedan Educational Conference'' * Sultan Jahan, Begum of Bhopal, founding Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University * Abdul Haq, secretary of ''Anjuman-i Taraqqi-i Urdu'' * Syed Sajjad Haider Yaldram, the founding Registrar of AMU * Shah Muhammad Sulaiman, member of Muhammedan Educational Conference and later Vice-chancellor of AMU * Khwaja Salimullah, founding member of All India Muslim League *

Mian Muhammad Shafi Sir Mian Muhammad Shafi, (10 March 1869 – 7 January 1932) was a lawyer and politician from British India.Khwaja Ghulam Saiyidain * Rafi Ahmed Kidwai *

Hamid Ali Khan of Rampur Nawab Sayyid Hamid Ali Khan Bahadur (31 August 1875–19 June 1930) was Nawab of the princely state of Rampur from 1889 to 1930. He was only thirteen (but turning fourteen years of age) when he ascended the throne of Rampur, he ruled under a ...

Badruddin Tyabji Badruddin Tyabji (10 October 1844 – 19 August 1906) was an Indian lawyer, activist and politician during British Raj. Tyabji was the first Indian to practice as a barrister of the High Court of Bombay who served as the third President of ...

, donor of MAO College *

Adamjee Peerbhoy Sir Adamji Peerbhoy (13 August 1845 — 11 August 1913) was an Indian business magnate, philanthropist and member of the Dawoodi Bohra community based at Bombay in British India. Adamji Peerbhoy was born in 1846 in Dhoraji, Princely State of Gon ...

, donor of MAO College and early member of ''All-India Muslim League''

Opposition

The chief detractors of the Aligarh Movement were the conservative ''Ulemas'' of the time who blamed Sir Syed for promoting Western ethics and customs among the Muslims. The Deoband school was also opposed to the Aligarh Movement. Sir Syed and the movement was ridiculed in the

Awadh Punch The ''Awadh Punch'' (or ''Oudh Punch'') was an Urdu satirical weekly published from Lucknow, India from 1877 to 1937, It was launched on Jan 16, 1877 and was founded and edited by Munshi Sajjad Husain. It was modeled on ''Punch'', a Londo ...

by his detractors like Pandit Ratan Nath Sarshar, Munshi Sajjad Hussain and

Akbar Allahabadi Syed Akbar Hussain, popularly known as Akbar Allahabadi (16 November 1846 – 9 September 1921) was an Indian Urdu poet in the genre of satire. Life and career Akbar Allahabadi was born in the town of Bara, eleven miles from Allahabad, to a fam ...

. He was also opposed by Pan-Islamist thinker and activist Jamāl al-Dīn al-Afghānī.

Impact

The Aligarh Movement has made a weighty and lasting contribution to the political emancipation of Indian Muslims. The movement had a profound impact on the Indian society, particularly on the Muslim society compared to the other powerful but less adaptable movements of the 19th century. It influenced a number of other contemporary movements to a great extent that it caused the emergence of other socio-religious movements during the 19th century. The impact of Aligarh Movement was not confined to the

Northern India North India is a loosely defined region consisting of the northern part of India. The dominant geographical features of North India are the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Himalayas, which demarcate the region from the Tibetan Plateau and Central ...

only, but its expansion could be seen on the other regions of the Indian sub-continent during the 20th century. The annual Educational Conferences held in different parts of the country played an effective role in the promotion of education among Muslims and directly or indirectly influenced the growth of institutes like Aligarh Muslim University,

Osmania University Osmania University is a collegiate public state university located in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. Mir Osman Ali Khan, the 7th Nizam of Hyderabad in 1918 , He released a farman to establish OSMANIA UNIVERSITY on the day of 28 August 1918. ...

Dacca University Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city i ...

, Anjuman-i-Tarqqi Urdu, Jamia Millia Islamia, Dar-ul-Uloom Nadva, Lucknow, and Dar-ul-Musannfafin, Azamgarh. By the early 1900 Aligarh Movement became the progenitor to a number of socio-religious movements like the

Urdu movement The Urdu movement was a socio-political movement aimed at making Urdu the universal language and symbol of the cultural and political identity of the Muslim communities of the Indian subcontinent during the British Raj. The movement began with t ...

, the

Khilafat Movement The Khilafat Movement (1919–24), also known as the Caliphate movement or the Indian Muslim movement, was a pan-Islamist political protest campaign launched by Muslims of British India led by Shaukat Ali, Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar, Hakim ...

and the Pakistan Movement.

References

Cited sources

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