Sir Syed Ahmed Khan believed that since the Hindus constitute the majority in the country, they would dominate the Muslims after the British withdrawal from India. He was of the opinion that the continuation of British rule would bring education and prosperity among the Muslims.
Reasons behind Educational and Economic Backwardness of Muslims
- The upper class Muslims comprising the zamindars and aristocrats were anti-British and were hostile to western education.
- The British government in India discriminated against the Muslims after the uprising of 1857 as they held Muslims responsible for the uprising. They were thus discriminated in the recruitment to civil and military services.
- The Muslims were not involved in the growth of any organized industry.
- Most of the Muslims were conservatives, and they did not readily accept western education; the Hindus, on the other hand, received modern education gaining an upper hand in civil and other government services.
Role of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan
- Sir Syed Ahmed Khan was a great educationist and a social reformer. Earlier, he considered Hindus and Muslims to be one nation, but later, under the influence of the British policies, he declared that the Hindus and the Muslims were vastly different from each other.
- Sir Syed Ahmed Khan founded the Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College at Aligarh in 1875 which later became the Aligarh Muslim University.
- He also founded the United Indian Patriotic Association in 1888 mainly with the motive of opposing the Congress.
- He believed that since the Hindus constitute the majority in the country, they would dominate the Muslims after the British withdrawal from India. He was of the opinion that the continuation of British rule would bring education and prosperity among the Muslims.
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