Sir Syed Ahmad Khan

Abstract Sir Syed Ahmad was the harbinger of modern education among Indian Muslims and dedicated his life to establishing an institute that brought about a revolution in Muslim thought, promoting a scientific temperament and intellectual ferment in the community. This book looks at Sir Syed as a person and not just his role in public life. It is an exhaustive examination of how, in fact, Sir Syed’s persona came to be—his relationship with his parents; childhood influences; his journey from adolescence to adulthood; his family’s transition from loyalty to the Mughals to loyalty to the British; the impact that his own service under the British had on his psyche; the motivations behind his wish to make modern education accessible to Muslim society; his foray into community service through MAO College. Sir Syed’s educational reforms have been presented here in the context of these multifarious threads. In doing so the book seeks to plug a puzzling gap in scholarship on the subject, particularly in English.