significantly. These leaders deve.loped their political thought regarding the.

Sir Syed ~ h m c dKhan,

relationship between religion and politics, democracy and rights of individuals, Mohamrnad Iqbal, M.A. Jinnah
sovereignty and nationalism. Islam has been the hub of their views. But they did not a"dPbU' Ka'm
.make what can be termed as original contribution to political thought.

18.2 SIR SYED AHMED KHAN

18.2.1 Aligarh 'Movement

Sir Syed Ahmed Khan founded the Aligarh movement. This movement aimed a t
spreading modern education and creating political consciousness among the Indian
Muslims. .The first national awakening among the Muslims found expressi~onthrough
this movement. He was assisted in his movement by able persons like Khwaja Altaf
Hussain Ali, Maulvi Wazir Ahmed and Maulvi Shib!i Numami. This move:ment is
known as 'Aligarh movement' because it had started at Aligarh. Sir Syed Ahmed
Khan established Mohammedan Anglo Oriental (MAO) College at Aligarh in 1875.
This college developed into Aligarh University in 1890. The Aligark movement aimed
at spreading Western education among the Muslims without weakening their
allegiance to Islam. The movement also aimed at introducing social reforms among
Indian Muslims. Sir Syed Ahmed Khan condemned polygamy and social ban o n
widow remarriage. Widow remarriage was permitted by !c!.-m Thc Alizarh
movement was based on the liberal interpretation of Quran. It strived to harmonise
. Islam with modern liberal culture.

18.2.2 Political Thought

The political thought of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan can be divided into two phases: First
phase spanned up t o 1887, and the second phase startcd after 1887. During the first
phase Sir Syed Ahmed Khan stood for Hindu-Muslim unity. Expressing the need for
Hindu-Muslim unity he said that for "centuries we have been living on the same soil,
eating the same fruit on the same land ..... breathing the air of the same country." In
1873, he declared that religion should not be an obstacle for nationalism. He
advocated separation between religious and political matters. According to him the
religious and spiritual matters were not linked with mundane affairs. As a member of
the Viceroy's legislative council he strove for the welfare of both Hinfius and
Muslims. In 1884, he made it clear that "by the word qaum, 1 mean both Hindus
and Muslims. What we see is that >allof us, whether Hindus or Muslims, lie on one
soil, are governed by the one and the same ruler, have the same sources of benefit
and equally share the hardships of a famine". He was not a religious bigot or Hindu
baiter. He worked closely with the Hindus in the scientific society and the Aligarh
British lndia Association. He sought donations from the Hindu Rajas and
Zamindars for M A 0 College. Hindus were well represented in the management and
the teaching community. In the initial years of the college, the Hindu students
outnumbered the Muslims. Cow slaughter was banned in the college. Along with
Surendra Nath Banerjee he demanded restoration of age for civil services
examination from 18 t o 21 years. He revived the British Association at Aligarh for
, his purpose.

~ h surprisingly
t during the second phase Sir Syed Ahmed Khan changed his vi6ws
(in December 1887). Until then he had a background which was almost similar to
that of the Congress. But during this phase imperialist thought found expression in
his writings. They were based on the "emancipatory", "democratic" and "progressive"
characterisation of the British rule. Unlike before he opposed the application of
principles of representative and ~arliamentarygovernment. He held that the western
form of democracy and nationalism would not operate in India. He said that in a -
country like lndia which was complex and full of diversities of castes, religions and
races, the system of representative form of government would not satisfy the
principles of equality. Democracy believes in the rule of the.majority. In his opinion
such a system would lead to the domination of the more educated and mbre
'
numerous Hindus over the less educated and less numerous Muslims. Helopined that
..
'&e Congress demand for a representative form of government would hurt the
Muslims most.
' Politics and Religion in
.
He said that s o long as the.religious, castiest and racial differences exist In India, the
Modern lndia : the interface western model of democracy could not be established. Hie felt that if thq western
model of democracy was adopted in lndia, "the large conlmunity would totally
override the interests of the smaller community." This argument was carried f o r ~ a a r d
by the communalists who believed in the two-nation the0r.y. According to this theory
Hindus and Muslims were two separate nations which had separate econorr,ic,
political and scocial interests and different cultural and historical background, and
who cannot form a single nation and Sir Syed Ahmed Khan\ was averse, to the
process of elections. ln 1888 he said that the system of electiton would, put the
legislation into the hands of "Bengalis or Hindus of Bengali 'type', a condition of
utmost degradation" and the Muslims would become slaves o f Hindus. O n similar
grounds, he rejected the applicability of the Self-government in India, which in his
opinion woultj result in the "maltreatment" of Muslims. He even opposed the
freedom of speech and the press. He openly su~pportedthe Lyttous attack on the
freedom of press.
Sir Syed Ahnled Khan was even opposed t o [political agitations. I i e argued that they
would tantamount t o sedition and being anti-government o r a t least it would arouse
the suspicion of disloyalty in the official mind. He exhorted hdv~slimst o shun politics
and remain non-political and non-agitationaIl..or politically passive and "complete a
breach" between the Muslims and the Benga.11-dominated Congress. He sought to
establish Anglo-Muslim alliance t o arouse t h e Muslim feelings against the Congress.
He changed his views because of the influence of British officirils on him. He
required the help of the government for the: college founded by him. The British
officials took advantage of Sir Syed Ahmeld Khan's desperatia~n.They influenced his
views to the extent that he became a man of ideas which were totally different from
those he had cherished earlier. The M A 0 c:ollege principal, T11,eodore Beck,
influenced h i m t h e most. Beck set out t o counter the "evil" ir luence of Congress by
counterposing Sir Syed Ahmed Khan against it. He worked1 hard t o cregte a "strong
conservative school of thoughtn and "complete a breachn between the Muslims and
the Bengali dominated Congress.
Sir Syed Ahmed Khan relented under the influence of Beck. He turned against
Congress. The growth of Hindu revivalism and its links with tthe Congress intensified
his anti-Congress feelings.
Sir Syed ~ h m e dKhan had limited influence on the North-ln~dianMuslims. He
catalysed social and educational reforms among sections of Muslims. His influence
was not all pervasive. His sustained campaign against the Congress prevented the
movement from going beyond Aligarh and its neighbouring, districts. A large number
of Muslims remained uninfluenced by him.
-I
Check Your Progress 1
Note : i) Use the space provided below for your answers.
ii) Check your answers with that given at the end of the unit.
I) What are the tenets of two-nation theory?

.........................................................................................
2) Explain the views of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan regarding the applicability of
concept of democracy.