KARACHI: Scholars shed light on Sir Syed Ahmed Khan’s educational, cultural, social and political achievements on Monday, eulogising him as a great visionary whose services would continue to bear fruit for the Muslims for centuries to come.

They were speaking at the inaugural session of a three-day international conference organised by the Department of Urdu, University of Karachi, to mark the birth bicentennial celebrations of the great reformer. The Higher Education Commission and Anjuman Taraqqi-i-Urdu helped the department in organising the event.

The auditorium of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, where the many sessions of the event would be held, brimmed with guests from across Pakistan, abroad as well as Karachi, besides teachers and students. A few members of the faculty of Confucius Institute, established at Karachi University in 2013, were also present.

Delivering his keynote address, Prof Dr Syed Jaffar Ahmed said Sir Syed Ahmed Khan grew up when the Muslims of India were in crises of varying nature. Endeavouring to help them out of the situation, he single-handedly fought on multiple fronts and courageously deflected opposition from various quarters, including religious elements.

Three-day international conference gets under way

As part of this struggle, he initiated dialogue between the East and West, and tried to create an atmosphere of peaceful coexistence for the Muslims of the subcontinent and their Christian masters.

“Sir Syed reminded the Muslims that since they could not drive out the English from India, there was no use confronting them,” said the scholar. “So, the best strategy for the Muslims was to gain the confidence of the British rulers.”

In his writings, too, he tried to bring the adherents of the two religions closer. “He accepted the Darwinian theory of evolution and argued that it did not conflict with the concept of Islam on man’s origin.”

Dr Ahmed said Sir Syed considered women’s education vital for a progressive society.

“Sir Syed stayed in Europe for one and half years, studied their education system, particularly that of Oxford and Cambridge, and introduced it at Aligarh.”

He said Sir Syed absorbed the knowledge of the 19th century and passed it on to the 20th century. He praised the scientific advancement of the West and urged the Muslims to gain modern education in order to prosper. In that context, Dr Ahmed also mentioned Mirza Ghalib. “Although Ghalib was not impressed by the attire and the language of the English, he admired their inventions after visiting Calcutta,” he said.

Vice Chancellor of Karachi University Prof Dr Mohammad Ajmal Khan said Sir Syed taught his people how to act and behave wisely. “He has been criticised for making compromises. Yes, he did make compromises. Assessing the ground realities, he felt no harm in taking two steps backward and moving three steps forward when the situation allowed it,” said the VC. He said Sir Syed gave his people the courage to speak up. “So let us argue and counter-argue without any hesitation and fear.”

Congratulating the head of the Urdu department, Tanzeemul Firdaus, over holding such a mega event, Dr Khan assured her that as the head of the university he would extend all-out assistance in holding such conferences in the future as well.

Ms Firdaus narrated how she faced challenges in planning and organising an international conference, the first such event of her career. She thanked those individuals and institutions that helped her in accomplishing the task. Dr Fatima Hasan, honorary secretary of Anjuman Taraqqi-i-Urdu, briefly spoke on the three books on Sir Syed Ahmed Khan her organisation has published.

Prof Dr Mohammad Ahmed Qadri, dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, KU, in his speech said that many of the fatwas issued against Sir Syed were unjustified.

The guests of honour included Prof Dr Qasim Raza Siddiqui, Dr Akhtar Baloch and Senator Abdul Haseeb Khan.

Dr Rukhsana Saba hosted the programme.

Published in Dawn, October 17th, 2017