who emphasised on hindu-muslim unity
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Sir Syed Ahmed Khan: A symbol of Hindu-Muslim unity
The Asian Age11 Oct 2017M.J. Warsi
for the Hindu-Muslim unity in the country and worked all his life for the educational upliftment of the community and for the strengthening of a pluralistic society of a modern India. Sir Syed Ahmad Khan was a very influential figure when it came to the topic of Hindu-Muslim unity. However, many have debated his exact contribution to this subject. There was no doubt that Sir Syed was a devout Muslim and he had served all his life in advancing Muslim communities by ensuring better education standards and placing a strong emphasis on keeping up with the Western world. He has been described by Barbara D. Metcalf as the “Father of Muslim Intellectial Renaissance”. His dedication to serve the Muslim community led him to be the “Founder of the First Modernist Institution in Islam”.
Sir Syed was a firm believer in the fact that unity is of utmost importance to his community for it to avoid being perished. This is unity with both the Westerners and the Hindus. He had understood the merits and demerits of the English education system and it was clear to him that under the existing conditions back then, his community must accept the fresh ordeal in order to survive and succeed.
However, Western civilisation was found from the discoveries of science, the triumphs of reason traditions of a practical and pragmatic life. In many ways, this ideology drifted away from the traditional Muslim line of thinking. Other religious scholars went as far as to term Sir Syed as an “infidel” for being accepting of Western culture. However, Sir Syed stuck with his belief and always pushed for his community to join hands with the Western world in order to flourish.
Similarly, Sir Syed placed a lot of importance on joining hands with Hindus. His family had well-established and cordial relations with Hindus. Sir Syed’s grandfather Nawab Farid ud-Din Khan divided his property equally to his sons and also gave an equal share to his Hindu diwan, Lala Maluk Chand. Sir Syed always participated in Hindu festivals such as Holi and Basant Panchami. When Sir Syed opened up a madrasa in Ghazipur, he invited Raja Dev Narayan Singh and Maulana Muhammad Fasih to lay the foundation stone. This symbolised his affinity and respect towards Hindus.
When Sir Syed founded the Scientific Society mentioned earlier, he made sure that it would have nothing to do with religious affiliation. He wanted the scientific community to flourish in a non-religious and collaborative fashion. This speaks volumes about his dedication to science and knowledge. He was never biased and always wanted everyone to benefit from the beauty of knowledge.
Sir Syed demonstrates his commitment to Hindu-Muslim in his own words at a gathering in Gurdaspur on January 27, 1984. He says: “O Hindus and Muslims! Do you belong to a country other than India? Don’t you live on this soil and are you not buried under it or cremated on its ghats? If you live and die on this land, then, bear in mind, that ‘Hindu’ and ‘Muslim’ is but a religious word; all the Hindus, Muslims and Christians who live in this country are one nation.”
Despite Sir Syed’s valiant efforts to stay in harmony with Hindus, a lot of people incorrectly believe that he was actually against Hindus and that Sir Syed wanted to split India into two. There are several reasons why this misconception may have been born. In Sharif Al Mujahid’s paper, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan and Muslim nationalism in India, he says that Sir Syed was the father of “Muslim nationalism”. People believe that there would be no Jinnah (founding father of Pakistan) or Allama Iqbal (poet-philosopher and ideologue) if it wasn’t for Sir Syed’s efforts in laying the groundwork of a Muslim renaissance.
Sir Syed always strived to further Muslim communities and some people mistook that for being anti-Hindu or that Sir Syed only cared about Muslims. This is false. Sir Syed was merely reacting to the environment and the cultural and ideological challenges of the day. Karl Marx once said: “Men make their own history, but they do not make it under circumstances chosen by themselves, but under circumstances directly encountered, given and transmitted by the past.”
The Asian Age11 Oct 2017M.J. Warsi
for the Hindu-Muslim unity in the country and worked all his life for the educational upliftment of the community and for the strengthening of a pluralistic society of a modern India. Sir Syed Ahmad Khan was a very influential figure when it came to the topic of Hindu-Muslim unity. However, many have debated his exact contribution to this subject. There was no doubt that Sir Syed was a devout Muslim and he had served all his life in advancing Muslim communities by ensuring better education standards and placing a strong emphasis on keeping up with the Western world. He has been described by Barbara D. Metcalf as the “Father of Muslim Intellectial Renaissance”. His dedication to serve the Muslim community led him to be the “Founder of the First Modernist Institution in Islam”.
Sir Syed was a firm believer in the fact that unity is of utmost importance to his community for it to avoid being perished. This is unity with both the Westerners and the Hindus. He had understood the merits and demerits of the English education system and it was clear to him that under the existing conditions back then, his community must accept the fresh ordeal in order to survive and succeed.
However, Western civilisation was found from the discoveries of science, the triumphs of reason traditions of a practical and pragmatic life. In many ways, this ideology drifted away from the traditional Muslim line of thinking. Other religious scholars went as far as to term Sir Syed as an “infidel” for being accepting of Western culture. However, Sir Syed stuck with his belief and always pushed for his community to join hands with the Western world in order to flourish.
Similarly, Sir Syed placed a lot of importance on joining hands with Hindus. His family had well-established and cordial relations with Hindus. Sir Syed’s grandfather Nawab Farid ud-Din Khan divided his property equally to his sons and also gave an equal share to his Hindu diwan, Lala Maluk Chand. Sir Syed always participated in Hindu festivals such as Holi and Basant Panchami. When Sir Syed opened up a madrasa in Ghazipur, he invited Raja Dev Narayan Singh and Maulana Muhammad Fasih to lay the foundation stone. This symbolised his affinity and respect towards Hindus.
When Sir Syed founded the Scientific Society mentioned earlier, he made sure that it would have nothing to do with religious affiliation. He wanted the scientific community to flourish in a non-religious and collaborative fashion. This speaks volumes about his dedication to science and knowledge. He was never biased and always wanted everyone to benefit from the beauty of knowledge.
Sir Syed demonstrates his commitment to Hindu-Muslim in his own words at a gathering in Gurdaspur on January 27, 1984. He says: “O Hindus and Muslims! Do you belong to a country other than India? Don’t you live on this soil and are you not buried under it or cremated on its ghats? If you live and die on this land, then, bear in mind, that ‘Hindu’ and ‘Muslim’ is but a religious word; all the Hindus, Muslims and Christians who live in this country are one nation.”
Despite Sir Syed’s valiant efforts to stay in harmony with Hindus, a lot of people incorrectly believe that he was actually against Hindus and that Sir Syed wanted to split India into two. There are several reasons why this misconception may have been born. In Sharif Al Mujahid’s paper, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan and Muslim nationalism in India, he says that Sir Syed was the father of “Muslim nationalism”. People believe that there would be no Jinnah (founding father of Pakistan) or Allama Iqbal (poet-philosopher and ideologue) if it wasn’t for Sir Syed’s efforts in laying the groundwork of a Muslim renaissance.
Sir Syed always strived to further Muslim communities and some people mistook that for being anti-Hindu or that Sir Syed only cared about Muslims. This is false. Sir Syed was merely reacting to the environment and the cultural and ideological challenges of the day. Karl Marx once said: “Men make their own history, but they do not make it under circumstances chosen by themselves, but under circumstances directly encountered, given and transmitted by the past.”
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