Aligarh Movement

The Aligarh Movement was the push to

establish a modern system of education
for the Muslim population of British India,
during the later decades of the 19th
century.[1] The movement′s name derives
from the fact that its core and origins lay
in the city of Aligarh in Northern India and,
in particular, with the foundation of the
Mohammedan Anglo Oriental Collegiate
School in 1875.[2] The founder of the
oriental college, and the other educational
institutions that developed from it, was Sir
Syed Ahmad Khan. He became the leading
light of the wider Aligarh Movement.

The educational reform established a

base, and an impetus, for the wider
Movement: an Indian Muslim renaissance
that had a profound implications for the
religion, the politics, the culture and
society of the Indian sub-continent.

One of indirect consequences of the

awakening is the notion that without this
revival of a Muslim self-consciousness
and self-confidence, directly attributable to
the Movement, there could or would have
been no Pakistan Movement in the run up
to Indian Independence.

Education
Aligarh Muslim University is the creation of
the movement. In 1886 Sir Syed Ahmad
Khan founded the All India Muhammadan
Educational Conference in order to
promote more broadly the educational
objectives of Aligarh Movement.[3]

The Aligarh Movement had a profound

impact on the Indian society, particularly
on the Muslim society compared to the
other powerful but less adaptable
movements of the 19th century. It
influenced a number of other
contemporary movements to a great
extent that it caused the emergence of
other socio-religious movements during
the 19th century. The impact of Aligarh
Movement was not confined to the
Northern India only, but its expansion
could be seen on the other regions of the
Indian sub-continent during the 20th
century.[4]

The Aligarh Movement was made a

weighty and lasting contribution to the
political emancipation of Indian
Muslims.[5]
The movement was political in nature from
the very beginning.[3] The Deoband school
was opposed to the movement as Aligarh
Movement was pro British.[6]

The Aligarh Movement introduced a new

trend in Urdu literature. Sir Syed Ahmad
Khan and his association left the old style
of writing in the Urdu language, which was
rhetorical and academic, and started a
simple style which helped Muslims to
understand the main purpose of the
movement. Sir Syed Ahmed was the
central figure behind this awakening..
The Aligarh Movement helped poets and
writers to leave the romantic style of prose
and poetry, and suggested the adoption of
a moral, cultural, historical and political
attitude which influenced the common life
of the Indian Muslim.[7] Urdu Defence
Association is regarded as an offshoot of
the Aligarh Movement.

References
Notes

1. "Sir Syed Ahmed Khan and the Aligarh

Movement" . YourArticleLibrary.com: The
Next Generation Library. Retrieved
2016-04-03.
2. "Syed Ahmad Khan and Aligarh
Movement" . Jagranjosh.com. Retrieved
2016-04-07.
3. Brass, Paul R. (2005-01-01). Language,
Religion and Politics in North India .
iUniverse. ISBN 9780595343942.
4. "shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in" (PDF).
shodhganga. UGC.
5. "ENLIGHTENMENT AND ISLAM: SAYYID
AHMAD KHAN'S PLEA TO INDIAN
MUSLIMS FOR REASON" (PDF). ZMO.
6. Dasgupta, Jyotirindra; Studies, University
of California, Berkeley Center for South and
Southeast Asia (1970-01-01). Language
Conflict and National Development: Group
Politics and National Language Policy in
India . University of California Press.
ISBN 9780520015906.
7. Gill, Dr Nazir M. (2013-01-11).
Development of Urdu language and
Literature Under the Shadow Of The British
in India: Under the Shadow Of The British in
India . Xlibris Corporation.
ISBN 9781479757947.

Further reading
Ashirbadi Lal Srivastava, The Aligarh
movement; its origin and development,
1858-1906 by Ema. Esa Jaina( Book )
Ashirbadi Lal Srivastava, Study on the
movement of Indian Muslim
regeneration established at Aligarh,
India
Retrieved from
"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?
title=Aligarh_Movement&oldid=862709686"

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