Sir Syed Ahmed Khan and Muslim reform; Akali and Parsi reform movements

Sir Syed Ahmed Khan and the Aligarh Movement

• He believed Muslims could progress only by taking up modern western science and education.
• His main concern was to end the social and educational backwardness of Muslims, and to raise the status of Muslim women.
• He opposed purdah, polygamy, easy divorce and the lack of education for girls, though orthodox Muslims opposed him.
• He read the Quran with reason as his guide, and criticised blind faith and ignorance.
• He opened an English school at Ghazipur (1864). In 1875 he founded the Mohammadan Anglo-Oriental (M.A.O.) College at Aligarh, which taught humanities and science in English and later became Aligarh Muslim University.
• He set up a Scientific Society to translate English books, ran a journal for social reform and started the Mohammadan Educational Conference.
• His movement, the Aligarh Movement, was an important step in the social and political awakening of Muslims.

Other Muslim reform efforts

• Abdul Latif founded the Mohammedan Literary Society of Calcutta in 1863. It was one of the first bodies to spread modern education among upper and middle class Muslims, and it promoted Hindu-Muslim unity. Your lesson, and NIOS papers, print its name as 'Literacy' Society.
• Shariatullah, leader of the Faraizi movement in Bengal, fought for the peasants and criticised caste divisions among Muslims.
• Mirza Ghulam Ahmad founded the Ahmadiya movement in 1889. Your lesson prints 1899, and a recent NIOS paper matched the movement with 1899, so expect that year in a matching question. The movement opened schools and colleges, stressed the humanitarian side of Islam and favoured Hindu-Muslim unity.
• The poet Muhammad Iqbal shaped the outlook of generations through his poetry. He wrote the song 'Saare jahan se achchha'.

The Akali reform movement: a timeline

1. 1870s
   Singh Sabhas formed at Amritsar and Lahore begin religious reform among the Sikhs.
2. 1892
   Khalsa College, Amritsar, set up with British help, promotes Gurmukhi, Sikh learning and Punjabi literature.
3. 1920
   The Akali movement rises in Punjab to clean up the management of gurdwaras (Sikh shrines).
4. 1921
   A powerful satyagraha is launched against the mahants who controlled the shrines.
5. 1925★
   The government passes a new Gurdwara Act. With it, and by direct action, the Akalis free the shrines from the mahants.

★ key step

Reform among the Parsis

Reform among the Parsis of Bombay began in the mid-19th century, led by Naoroji Furdonji, Dadabhai Naoroji, S.S. Bengalee and others. Their Rahnumai Mazdayasnan Sabha (Religious Reform Association) was set up in 1851. They spread education, especially among girls, and campaigned against orthodox practices. In time the Parsis became one of the most progressive communities in India.

Movements to match