Javad-ud Daula, Arif Jang, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, KCSI (October 17, 1817 March 27, 1 898),

, also known as Syed Ahmed Taqvi, commonly known as Sir Syed, was an Indian educator and politician, and an Islamic reformer and modernist. Sir Syed pioneer ed modern education for the Muslim community in India by founding the Muhammedan Anglo-Oriental College, which later developed into the Aligarh Muslim Universit y. His work gave rise to a new generation of Muslim entrepreneurs and politician s who composed the Aligarh movement to secure the political future of Muslims of India. In 1842, Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar II revived upon Syed Ahmad Khan the title of Javad-ud Daulah, conferred upon Syed Ahmad s grandfather Syed Hadi by Emperor Shah Alam II in about the middle of the 18th century. The Emperor added to it the add itional title of Arif Jang. The conferment of these titles was symbolic of Syed Ahmad Khan s incorporation into the nobility of Delhi. Born into Muslim nobility, Sir Syed earned a reputation as a distinguished schol ar while working as a jurist for the British East India Company. During the Indi an Rebellion of 1857 he remained loyal to the British and was noted for his acti ons in saving European lives. After the rebellion he penned the booklet Asbab-eBaghawat-e-Hind (The Causes of the Indian Mutiny) a daring critique, at the time, of British policies that he blamed for causing the revolt. Believing that the fu ture of Muslims was threatened by the rigidity of their orthodox outlook, Sir Sy ed began promoting Western-style scientific education by founding modern schools and journals and organising Muslim entrepreneurs. Towards this goal, Sir Syed f ounded the Muhammedan Anglo-Oriental College in 1875 with the aim of promoting s ocial and economic development of Indian Muslims. One of the most influential Muslim politicians of his time, Sir Syed was suspici ous of the Indian independence movement and called upon Muslims to loyally serve the British Raj. He denounced nationalist organisations such as the Indian Nati onal Congress, instead forming organisations to promote Muslim unity and pro-Bri tish attitudes and activities. Sir Syed promoted the adoption of Urdu as the lin gua franca of all Indian Muslims, and mentored a rising generation of Muslim pol iticians and entrepreneurs. Prior to the Hindi Urdu controversy, he was Interested i n the education of Muslims and Hindus both and this was the period in which Sir Syed visualised India as a beautiful bride whose one eye was Hindu and the other Muslim and due to this stance Sir Syed was regarded as a reformer and nationali st leader but there was a sudden change in his policies after the Hindi Urdu controv ersy. His Education and reformist policies became Muslim specific and he fought for the status of Urdu until his last breath.Maulana Hali, in his book Hayat-e-J aved, writes "One day as Sir Syed was discussing educational affairs of Muslims with Mr Shakespeare, the then Commissioner of Banaras. Mr Shakespeare looked sur prised and asked him, This is the first time when I have heard you talking specific ally about Muslims. Before this you used to talk about the welfare of the common Indians.'" He then told him, "Now I am convinced the two communities will not p ut their hearts in any venture together. This is nothing [it is just the beginni ng], in the coming times an ever increasing hatred and animosity appears on the horizon simply because of those who are regarded as educated. Those who will be around will witness it." Therefore in Pakistan, he is hailed as the father of Tw o Nation Theory and one of the founding fathers of Pakistan with Allama Iqbal an d Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Muslim reformer The motto of Aligarh University, Taught man what he did not know. (Qur'an 96:5) Through the 1850s, Syed Ahmed Khan began developing a strong passion for educati on. While pursuing studies of different subjects including European [jurispruden ce], Sir Syed began to realise the advantages of Western-style education, which was being offered at newly established colleges across India. Despite being a de

vout Muslim, Sir Syed criticised the influence of traditional dogma and religiou s orthodoxy, which had made most Indian Muslims suspicious of British influences . Sir Syed began feeling increasingly concerned for the future of Muslim communi ties. A scion of Mughal nobility, Sir Syed had been reared in the finest traditi ons of Muslim lite culture and was aware of the steady decline of Muslim political power across India. The animosity between the British and Muslims before and af ter the rebellion (Independence War) of 1857 threatened to marginalise Muslim co mmunities across India for many generations. Sir Syed intensified his work to pr omote co-operation with British authorities, promoting loyalty to the Empire amo ngst Indian Muslims. Committed to working for the upliftment of Muslims, Sir Sye d founded a modern madrassa in Muradabad in 1859; this was one of the first reli gious schools to impart scientific education. Sir Syed also worked on social cau ses, helping to organise relief for the famine-struck people of North-West Provi nce in 1860. He established another modern school in Ghazipur in 1863. Upon his transfer to Aligarh in 1864, Sir Syed began working wholeheartedly as a n educator. He founded the Scientific Society of Aligarh, the first scientific a ssociation of its kind in India. Modelling it after the Royal Society and the Ro yal Asiatic Society, Sir Syed assembled Muslim scholars from different parts of the country. The Society held annual conferences, disbursed funds for educationa l causes and regularly published a journal on scientific subjects in English and Urdu. Sir Syed felt that the socio-economic future of Muslims was threatened by their orthodox aversions to modern science and technology. He published many wr itings promoting liberal, rational interpretations of In face of pressure from r eligious Muslims, Sir Syed avoided discussing religious subjects in his writings , focusing instead on promoting education. On the pre-colonial system he said "The rule of the former emperors and rajas wa s neither in accordance with the Hindu nor the Mohammadan religion. It was based on nothing but tyranny and oppression; the law of might was that of right; the voice of the people was not listened to" (Bipan Chandra: India's struggle for in dependence).