by NADEEM FAROOQ PARACHA
In modern Pakistan, Syed is often reduced to a wise old educationist – his radical ideas ignored because they challenge state-sponsored orthodoxy
Syed Ahmad Khan’s life followed a remarkable and contrasting arc: he transformed from a carefree youth frequenting the colourful ‘cultural’ districts of 19th-century Delhi into a rigid “Wahabi,” and finally into a staunch rationalist and reformer. I use the term “Wahabi” as defined by S Akbar Zaidi in his 2022 work, Making a Muslim. Zaidi notes that while only a few Indian Muslims adopted the label themselves, British colonialists popularised it to describe puritanical or militant Sunni groups, while rival sects often wielded it as a pejorative term against each other. During his “Wahabi” phase, Sir Syed was a devout, traditional Muslim focused on preserving the historical legacy of Muslim rule in India through his scholarship. A profound shift occurred when he began questioning the relevance of ancient theological interpretations of his faith.
This intellectual evolution reached a turning point following the failed 1857 Uprising against the British East India Company. The Company had usurped India as its economic domain. Syed famously broke ranks with many of his Hindu and Muslim contemporaries by refusing to support the revolt. His opposition was rooted in pragmatism. He saw no viable political replacement for the British administration.
He viewed the rebellion not as a liberation movement, but as a desperate attempt by a decaying aristocracy to reclaim lost fiefdoms. To him, the Muslim Mughal era had already been in a state of irreversible collapse for over a century, making any attempt to restore it a futile exercise in nostalgia.
Despite his refusal to join the rebellion, Syed was no apologist for colonial mismanagement. In his 1858 treatise, The Cause of the Indian Revolt, he admonished the British for their ignorance of India’s intricate Hindu and Muslim cultures. He specifically targeted the undermining of religious sentiments, citing the 1837 famine during which Christian missionaries converted Hindu and Muslim orphans, an act that deeply unsettled the local population. His bluntness nearly led to his arrest as the colonial regime bristled at his criticism.
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