Ziauddin Lahori is a strange fellow. He has made it a mission of his life to carry out research on the life and works of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan. He has sifted through hundreds of books and magazines that have something to say about Sir Syed Ahmed Khan. His library boasts all books of Sir Syed and their different editions. The results of his life-long passion are published in the shape of five books. Maybe there is nothing so strange about what I have just said but the conclusions he has drawn from his research may not be music to the ears of those who hold Sir Syed in high esteem. And it sounds quite strange in a society that has made an idol out of Sir Syed and worships it, conveniently ignoring that after all he was a human being.

In the forward to his fifth and the latest book ‘Aasar-i-Sir Syed’ Lahori says: “Our curriculum and media have created such a mesmerising image of Sir Syed that every one loves him and thinks that he was a perfect man in every respect and was above human weaknesses. This approach creates problems for those who are engaged in research as they find such documentary evidences and truths that Sir Syed’s devotees do not bother to listen to, let alone admit them. And some of his emotional and violent followers even run after the researchers [to torment them].”

Lahori has been publishing rejoinders to the writings of Sir Syed’s fans in magazines and newspapers for decades. What perturbs the devotees of Sir Syed is that Lahori supports his arguments with the quotations from Sir Syed’s writings that have been published and as he is well-versed with them, denying him or the evidences is a bit too hard.

His first book ‘Sir Syed ki kahani un ki apni zubani’, published in 1980’s, reproduced many such excerpts from the writings of Sir Syed with specific references that see Sir Syed from a different perspective. ‘Khudnawisht Hayat-i-Sir Syed’, ‘Khudnawisht Afkaar-i-Sir Syed’ and ‘Naqsh-i-Sir Syed’ are his other books that prove with the help of what Sir Syed has written about himself that Sir Syed was not exactly what every one wants to believe.

Let us have a look, for instance, what Sir Syed wrote about the revolution of 1857 and that has been reproduced, with references, in ‘Aasar-i-Sir Syed’: “This disorder that occurred [1857] was a bane which resulted from the ingratitude of the Indians”, Sir Syed wrote in his book ‘Sarkashi-i-Zila Bijnore’. In the same book he wrote “The disorder and disloyalty that occurred in Meerut on May 10 [1857] …” In his letters he wrote: “Thank God during the sudden disaster that fell on India [1857], I remained very reputed and was a supporter and well-wisher of the British”.

Sir Syed is usually blamed for his faithfulness to the British during the war of freedom. Some go to the extent of calling him agent of the colonial forces who conspired against his own country and people and worked to ensure that the British forces overcome what he called ‘disloyalty’. ‘Aasar-i-Sir Syed’ gives many excerpts from his writings that tell how he worked for the British and was promptly rewarded by them for his loyalty. In his book ‘Loyal Mohammadans of India’ Sir Syed has described how he was appreciated and amply rewarded by his foreign ‘masters’ (on many occasions he uses the word ‘Aaqa’ for his bosses).

Another quotation from Sir Syed’s book ‘Sarkashi-i-Zila Bijnore’ proves that he was not only co-operating with the British during the ‘rebellion’ but was also an emissary and was spying for the British: “In fact we were having secret correspondence with Janab Mr John Kerry Croft Wilson Sahib Bahadur”.

With due apologies, I now reproduce from the book what Sir Syed has written about those who participated in the war of freedom. In Sir Syed’s words, they were ‘mufsid’, ‘kafir’, ‘paji’, ‘be-iman’ and ‘namak haram’. Sir Syed wrote that the Muslim leaders of 1857 freedom war were ‘badmaash’ and ‘badzaat’. It may be painful to many readers but the book has not only given the exact references of Sir Syed’s books cited (with page numbers) but has also reproduced facsimile of a few pages of the original works. We may or may not agree with Ziauddin Lahori’s point of view but we will at least have to admit what Sir Syed himself has written.

The book in present form is repetitive as it is a collection of articles published in different magazines and newspaper. The author would do well to write a concordant and extended book on the issue.

drraufparekh@yahoo.com