Sir Syed Ahmad Khan - 14 Marks Question

‘The “Two-Nation” Theory was Sir Syed Ahmad Khan’s main contribution to the development of the Pakistan Movement during the nineteenth century.’ How far do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer.

Sir Syed Ahmad Khan’s one of the greatest contribution to the Muslim community was his ‘Two-Nation Theory’. He wanted the British to treat Muslim and Hindu groups separately since they lived separate and different lives from one another and so were really like separate nations. He was concerned that the Hindu community demanded that Hindi should be made the official language in 1867 in place of Urdu. He became opposed to the way that Congress was working for the interests of Hindus in a way that was detrimental to the Muslim community. This led to the formation of the United Patriotic Alliance. He was the first person to express this point of view and it became known as the ‘Two Nation Theory’ that gave hope to Muslims of a separate homeland.

However, Sir Syed contributed many other things too. He believed relations with the British could be improved by improving the understanding of Christianity by Muslim groups. He tried to overcome this by writing Tabyin-ul-Kalam, in which he pointed out the similarities between Islam and Christianity. He was also aware that the British knew little about Islam. After reading a book in Britain on the life of the Prophet, he wrote his own work correcting the many errors he had read.

Sir Syed’s contributions in education were important as well. In 1863, he founded the Scientific Society at Ghazipore. He wanted to make scientific writings available to Muslims by translating them from English into Urdu. He established a Muslim college, which led to the Muslim-Anglo Oriental College in 1876. This became the University of Aligarh, which became important as it educated many future leaders. In 1886, he set up the Mohammedan Educational Conference with the aim of raising educational standards amongst all Muslims. He devoted his time to improving the position of Muslims through education.

Sir Syed also made a contribution in politics. He was worried about Hindu groups dominating the Muslim community. He recognised that the Muslim community could not win any election because of the Hindu majority population, so he advocated separate seats and a separate electorate, which was the forerunner of the future demand for a separate homeland. His books following the War of Independence attempted to restore British understanding about the Muslim community. He showed that there were Muslim supporters of the British government. He gave explanation of the word ‘Nadarath’ and suggested that the British should try to understand Muslim groups better.

Perhaps, it can be viewed as if Sir Syed’s ‘Two-Nation Theory’ was his most important contribution. He emphasised Hindu threat to the Muslim community and developed his Two Nation Theory; indeed, as a result, many Muslim groups called him the ‘Father of the Pakistan Movement’.