Remembering Sir Syed Ahmed Khan on his 202nd birthday
Sir Syed Ahmad Khan known as the founder of Two-Nation Theory in the modern era was born in Delhi on October 17, 1817 and died on March 27, 1898 Aligarh, India.
Sir Syed Ahmed Khan not only created awareness among the Muslims of Sub-continent about the significance of modern, scientific education, but he also advocated their case in front of the British Empire in a strong manner. He laid the foundation of academic pursuits.
“Acquisition of knowledge of science and technology is the only solution for the problems of Muslims.”
Sir Syed Ahmad Khan was a great reformer, educator, jurist and politician of the 19th century, but he may rightly be called the chief architect and inspired the thought process and philosophy that ultimately led to the creation of Pakistan.
“Remember that the words Hindu and Muslim are only meant for religious distinction: otherwise all persons who reside in this country belong to one and the same nation.”
Sir Syed founded the Madarsatul Uloom in Aligarh and patterned the MAO College after Oxford and Cambridge universities that he went on a trip to London in 1875. His objective was to build a college in line with the British education system but without compromising its Islamic values.
“I wish that youth of India should follow the example of young men and women of England who are religiously engaged in the hard work of industrial development of their country” (During the stay of Sir Syed in England).
Just as pushing the youth of the sub-continent to follow English’s footsteps in education, he pushed the youth to practice Islam as much as they can.
“Do not show the face of Islam to others; instead show your face as the follower of true Islam representing character, knowledge, tolerance and piety.”
Sir Syed Ahmed Khan was the first Muslim leader who used the word “NATION” for the Muslims of Sub-continent. According to Sir Syed
“In India there exist two nations, the Hindus and Muslims. They could not live together and that as the time would pass the hostility between the two-nation would grow. Hindus and Muslims are two separate nations because their religion, history, culture and civilization were different from each other.”
He died on March 27, 1898 and lies buried next to the main mosque at AMU.
