ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY: HISTORY আলিগড় মুসলিম ইউনিভার্সিটি : ইতিহাস

Sumaiya Ahmed

ABSTRACT

The cataclysm of 1857 was a landmark in the history of modern India which witnesses the fall of the Mughals and the consolidation of the British rule in India. With this it was getting aware of the new ideas of the west and adjusting itself with these new trends. Hindus had taken to the English education warmly but the Muslims resisted the British. They did not embrace western education. Thus they have left far behind the other communities with making the most of the opportunities offered to Indians to by the British. They used the Government schools, cooperated with the Government and received patronage in return. As the Muslims did not avail the facilities provided by the Government, this badly told upon their economy and also accelerated the pace of their social degeneration. Sir Syed was an eye witness to all that had happened during the awful days and his condition was like that of a man a portion of whose house had burnt and who was busy saving the rest of it. This had grayed his hair and made him old pre-maturely. At this critical juncture Sir Syed appeared on the horizon, appealed to his people to cooperate with the Government and make the best use of the English intuitions. Sir Syed with the help of his distinguished colleagues started the Mohammadan Anglo-Oriental College in 1877 at Aligarh Muslim University in 1920. The history of this period is the intellectual history of the Aligarh Muslim University which ushered in a renaissance and which had changed the course of Muslim Community. Aligarh Muslim University produced brilliant students, prose writers and poets, public men and fulfilled the aspirations of its founder. The way Aligarh participates in the various walks of national life will determine the place of Muslims in India’s national life. The way India conducts itself towards Aligarh will determine largely that form which our national life will acquire new a life. This article attempt to highlight that a proper education was the only foundation for broadening human welfare. Only this could extricate Muslims from their backward nature and set them on the path to modernity. Sir Syed aspired to create a system of education that would long be suitable and practicable not only for the present age but also for all the Muslims of the future. His clarity of vision can be seen in the University running under his dream project, Aligarh Muslim University, proves the power of his conception, despite the obvious challenges of the time in which he lived. And it could be of real use to Muslims in the future.