Aligarh Movement: Genesis & Significance

7 min readSep 14, 2022

Introduction

The Aligarh Movement is the name given to the socio-cultural movement initiated by the British Indian Muslim elite to uplift the Muslim population of British India, 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 in Northern India and, in particular, with the foundation of the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College in 1875.

Over a period, this educational institution which later became Aligarh University served as a role model for the establishment of similar institutions throughout British India. It also created a critical mass of educated and enlightened Muslim leaders who later spearheaded social, economic, and political movements in India. It established a base, and an impetus for the Indian Muslim renaissance that had profound implications for the religion, politics, culture, and society of the Indian subcontinent.

Background

Although the 1857 uprising was a common struggle of the Indians, the ultimate blame for this event was laid on Muslim’s shoulders. They were singled out, individually and collectively, by the English for retribution which ranged from personal persecution to outright denial or limited access to economic opportunities, social esteem, and political participation for two decades after the uprising.

This blatant discrimination against Indian Muslims inevitably resulted in dividing the Indian Muslims into three groups namely Islamists, loyalists, and moderates. Islamists ascribed the fall of the Mughal Empire to the deviation of the Muslims from their religion, advised aloofness from mainstream social and political life for Muslims, and tried to revive the old Islamic spirit of jihad through religious education.

However, the other two groups correctly understood the basic reason for the downfall of the Indian Muslim ascendency: their educational backwardness. As Sir Sayed Ahmed Khan symbolised this thought process, we cannot understand the nature of the Aligarh Movement without understanding his ideas and beliefs

He stated that religion must be adaptable over time, or it will become fossilized, and that religious tenets are not immutable.
He advocated for a critical approach and freedom of thought, rather than total reliance on tradition or custom.
Syed Ahmad Khan was a firm believer in the fundamental underlying unity of religions, also known as ‘practical morality.’
He also preached the fundamental similarity between Hindu and Muslim interests.

The movement’s ideology was based on a liberal interpretation of the Quran, and they sought to reconcile Islam with modern liberal culture. Blaming the prevailing education system for the degrading state of the Muslim society, he initiated a movement for the intellectual, educational, social, and cultural regeneration of the Indian Muslims.

Aims and Objectives

Initially, the main focus of the Aligarh movement was on four issues namely

Removing Misgivings: creating goodwill among the British rulers by showing Indian Muslims as loyal subjects like Hindus. He, therefore, advocated aloofness from politics by the British Indian Muslims believing that active participation in politics at the time would invite the government’s hostility toward the Muslim masses.
Modern Education: Muslims should first focus on education and employment to catch up with their Hindu counterparts who had a head start. Socioeconomic emancipation of Indian Muslims by persuading them to learn western education besides traditional education is the only way to survive. He sought to reconcile Western scientific education with Quranic teachings, which were to be interpreted in light of contemporary rationalism and science, despite his belief that the Quran was the ultimate authority.
Separate Identity: They wished to instil in Muslims a distinct socio-cultural identity along modern lines. Keeping the separate identity of British Indian Muslims by making them proud of their Muslim heritage in India, preserving Muslim cultural practices, adopting Urdu as their language, and keeping them away from politics till they are not ready for it.
Social Reformation: Besides imparting modern education among Indian Muslims without undermining their allegiance to Islam, the Aligarh movement was a social reform movement among Muslims concerning purdah, polygamy, widow remarriage, women’s education, slavery, divorce, and other issues. He also worked to improve women’s status through better education, opposition to purdah and polygamy, support for easy divorce, and condemnation of the Piri and midi systems.

Thus, the allegations levelled against the Aligarh Movement of being a British-sponsored initiative are not true. It was a short-term strategy to survive in difficult circumstances to prepare them for the big battle in the long term.

Actions and Initiatives taken

Sir Sayed Ahmed Khan authored a comprehensive book to pinpoint the real causes of the 1857 Rebellion and tried to dispel the myth that it was the Indian Muslims who are to be blamed for this revolt
His scientific society issued a bi-lingual journal named Aligarh Institute Gazette to wash away the misconception between Muslims and the British government and brought them close to each other.
He also wrote about the contributions of Indian Muslims in the enrichment of Indian culture and society.
In 1859, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan set up a school for Muslims in Muradabad where English, Persian, Islamiat, Arabic, and Urdu were compulsory subjects.
In 1862, he established another school for Muslims at Ghazipur, known as Madrassa Ghazipur. Here, also English, Arabic, Persian, Urdu, and Islamiyat were compulsory subjects.
In 1864, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan laid the foundation of a scientific society at Ghazipur to translate English books into the Urdu language
To closely watch the educational system of England, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan accompanied his son Syed Mehmud, to England in 1869 and stayed there for seventeen months studying English educational institutions like Oxford and Cambridge University.
Later, after his return to India, he toured the country and collected funds for the establishment of a college as a model
In 1875, Sir Syed established the Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental School at Aligarh which was upgraded to the level of college after two years. Inaugurated by Lord Lytton, the main characteristic of this college was that it offered both Western and Eastern education. Later on, this college was raised to the level of the university, after the death of Sir Syed in 1920.

Why and who opposed Aligarh Movement

Aligarh Movement was opposed by the traditionalists such as Pandit Ratan Nath Sarshar, Munshi Sajjad Hussain, and Akbar Allahabadi. They blamed Sir Syed for promoting Western ethics and customs among the Muslims.

The Deoband school was also opposed to the Aligarh Movement alleging that it was not only dividing the Indian Muslims but also making them secular

He was also opposed by Pan-Islamist thinker and activist Jamāl al-Dīn al-Afghānī who thought that the Aligarh alumni were too much focused on Indian Muslims, neglecting the greater cause of Muslims

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 Indian society, particularly on Muslim society compared to the other powerful but less adaptable movements of the 19th century.

Saving Indian Muslims: If the religious scholars teaching in the Madrassas were the ones who saved Islam from its banishment from the Subcontinent in the period following the 1857 Rebellion, then saving Indian Muslims from extreme persecution at the hands of the British is due to the leaders and workers produced by Aligarh Movement. It is anybody’s guess what would have happened to the Indian Muslims if visionaries like Sir Sayed Ahmed Khan and his colleagues had not come forward to not build bridges between these two. While on the hand they convinced the British about the good wishes of the Indian Muslims, they also tried their best to ensure mainstreaming of the Indian Muslims by persuading them to learn western education
Multi-dimensional Impact: It influenced several other contemporary movements to a great extent that it caused the emergence of other socio-religious movements during the 19th century. The Aligarh Movement introduced a new trend in Urdu literature. Sir Syed Ahmad Khan and his association left the old style of writing in the Urdu language, which was rhetorical and academic, and started a simple style that helped Muslims to understand the main purpose of the movement. By the early 1900s, the Aligarh Movement became the progenitor of several socio-religious movements; the Khilafat Movement and the Pakistan Movement are the two most obvious offshoots of the Aligarh Movement
Geographical Spread: The impact of the Aligarh Movement was not confined to Northern India only, but its expansion could be seen in 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, Dacca University, Anjuman-i-Tarqqi Urdu, Jamia Millia Islamia, Dar-ul-Uloom Nadva, Lucknow, and Dar-ul-Musannfafin, Azamgarh
Khilafat Movement: Khilafat Movement was the first mass mobilisation of the Indian people for their political rights. And who were the people who launched, and steered this Movement? Of course, students and alumni of Aligarh University.
Pakistan Movement: Pakistan owes its creation to multiple factors, but the main credit must be given to those hundreds and thousands of od students of Aligarh university who spread in the nook and corner of British India to create consumers about Pakistan and a support base. And who was leading this campaign? The majority were associated with Aligarh in one form or another. That is why Quaid-e-Azam used to spend so much time with the students at Aligarh University.

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Aligarh Movement: Genesis & Significance

Written by Shahid H. Raja

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