Remembering Sir Syed Ahmed Khan on his 203rd birth anniversary

Sir Syed Ahmed Khan was born on 17th October 1817 in Delhi. His family held major positions in the dynasty of Mughal Emperors.

Ahmed had a versatile personality, and his contributions to the field of writing are remarkable. At the start of his career from the age of 23, he started writing religious texts.

Ahmed was the first Muslim to write about the fact that Islam is really close to Christianity in certain aspects. Bahadur Shah Zafar II bestowed Ahmed with the title of Jawa’d-ud-Dawla, and Arif-e-Jang.

It was Sir Syed Ahmed Khan who maintained a distance from the Mughals because he realized that their condition is deteriorating due to the deviance from Islam.

He joined East India company in 1837 and started managing court affairs and keep records of important matters. Ahmed himself was active in politics as well but did not advise other Muslims to indulge in it.

Ahmed died on March 27, 1898 and is buried in the Sir Syed Masjid inside Aligarh University. He was arguably the most influential politician from the subcontinent in 19th century.