Introduction
The Aligarh Muslim University is today in the throes of a controversy regarding its origins. At the centre of this debate is the key issue, “is this historic institution?” Was Minority institution, “was this institution established by the Muslims of India for empowering the community or was this institution like the Allahabad or Calcutta Universities?”
This crucial issue can only be decided on the basis of three key pieces of evidence. Who were the people who founded this institution? Who raised the funds and under what terms? And finally in whose hands was the institution placed for its administration?
The following pages present a brief but critical history of this institution by the noted Western scholar Gibbs who described AMU as the “first modernist” educational institution in the entire Islamic world.
The Mohammedan Anglo Oriental College (MAO College) was founded on January 8, 1877 at Aligarh. It was affiliated to the University of Calcutta and remained so till 1884 when it became affiliated to the University of Allahabad. In December 1920, the MAO College was upgraded to the Aligarh Muslim University.
A Brief History of the Institution
The blueprint for a Muslim University had been initially was envisioned by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan when he visited England in the year 1869 and had a firsthand experience of leading educational institutions of higher learning of the West, including the Oxford and Cambridge Universities.
Shortly after his return to India, he founded a “Committee for the Better Diffusion and Advancement of Learning among Muslims of India” on December 26, 1870 in Banaras. The purpose behind the establishment of this committee was three-fold:
- To examine why Muslim students were lagging behind other communities in the field of education in government schools and colleges?
- Why was there a decline in the percentage of Muslims in government jobs?
- Why were Muslims resistant to the ideas of modern scientific education?
With the object of finding answers to these deep-rooted maladies afflicting the Muslim community, Sir Syed issued an appeal in several leading newspapers urging Muslims of India to participate in an Essay Writing Competition, which he felt would act as an impetus to the members of the Muslim community to express their views on the above mentioned vital questions.
More than 32 essays were received by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan in response to his appeal. Based on this nationwide response, the Committee prepared a report which sought to emphasize that it was a pressing need of the hour for the Indian Muslims to urgently take up the cause of western scientific education, while simultaneously preserving their own oriental heritage.