The earliest organised effort to safeguard Muslim interests in the Punjab under British rule appeared with the founding of the Anjuman-i-Islamiyah in 1869. Its immediate object was both symbolic and practical: the recovery and restoration of the Badshahi Mosque of Lahore. During the Sikh period, the great Mughal monument, once the imperial congregational mosque of Aurangzeb’s capital, had been stripped of its sanctity and converted into a military magazine where gunpowder and stores were kept within its massive enclosure. Years of neglect, misuse, and structural damage had left the building scarred and desolate. The courtyard paving was broken, the arcades were crumbling, and the mosque - standing opposite the Lahore Fort - had become a reminder not of Muslim glory but of Muslim dispossession.

When the British authorities returned the mosque to Muslim custody, the community lacked both organisation and resources to rehabilitate it. The Anjuman-i-Islamiyah emerged precisely to meet this need, and at the centre of this effort stood Khan Bahadur Muhammad Barkat Ali Khan. The restoration of the mosque was not merely an architectural project; it was a moral and psychological undertaking. For the Muslims of Punjab, who had passed within two decades from political dominance under the Mughals to marginalisation under Sikh and then British rule, the condition of the Badshahi Mosque mirrored their own decline. Repairing it meant restoring dignity and collective confidence. Barkat Ali Khan tirelessly mobilised subscriptions, personally visited notables and merchants, persuaded reluctant landed elites to contribute, supervised repairs, and ensured that congregational prayers were resumed regularly. Nearly a lakh of rupees was eventually spent on repairs - an enormous sum for a community then economically weakened. Through his persistence the courtyard was repaired, the damaged fabric strengthened, and the mosque once again became a living religious centre rather than an abandoned monument. The revived mosque soon regained its role as the principal congregational space of the Muslims of Lahore, and its restoration created among them a renewed sense of historical continuity.

From this initial task the Anjuman widened its scope. It restored the shops attached to the Golden Mosque of Lahore, assumed custody of sacred relics of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) formerly kept in the fort, instituted scholarships for Muslim students, and hosted the Muhammadan Educational Conference in 1888. Throughout the British period, it continued to manage and maintain the Badshahi Mosque. Though many prominent citizens were nominally connected with the body, its driving force remained Barkat Ali Khan. Justice Shah Din, writing in April 1888, aptly described him as the “guiding genius” of the organisation who compelled the indolent notables of Lahore into public service.

Barkat Ali Khan was born in 1821 into a Pathan family of Shahjahanpur. Entering government service early, he became Thanedar of Mukerian in 1847 and rendered valuable services during the disturbances following the Sikh wars. He later served as a Risaldar in the military police and, in 1860, at his own request, accepted appointment as Tehsildar. His posting to Lahore in 1864 determined the course of his life, for the city became both his home and his field of action for the next 40 years. His efficiency won recognition, and in 1868, he received the title “Khan Bahadur,” unusually early in his career. In 1870, he rose to Extra-Assistant Commissioner and served with distinction until retirement in 1882. He was known for tact and diplomatic skill, settling delicate religious disputes in Lahore and even escorting the envoy of the Amir of Bukhara to Calcutta.

The Lahore in which Barkat Ali Khan worked was undergoing a profound transformation. Under British rule new educational institutions, print culture, municipal administration, and commercial opportunities were expanding rapidly. Hindu mercantile and professional groups - particularly the Khatris - advanced swiftly through adoption of English education and modern professions. Schools, debating societies, libraries, and voluntary associations multiplied among them, and their growing influence was visible in the civic and intellectual life of the city. Muslim society, by contrast, was hesitant and wary of western learning, still psychologically affected by the collapse of Muslim political power and materially weakened by loss of administrative employment. Barkat Ali Khan clearly perceived that the problem facing Muslims was not merely political but educational and social. Unless they embraced modern education and organised themselves collectively, they would remain spectators in a changing order.

His efforts through the Anjuman-i-Islamiyah, therefore, went beyond religious preservation. He sought to create habits of association, public subscription, and institutional work among Muslims who were accustomed to relying on past prestige rather than present effort. He encouraged parents to send their sons to modern schools, offered scholarships through the Anjuman, and emphasised that religious devotion and modern knowledge were not incompatible. In this outlook, he found natural intellectual affinity with Sir Syed Ahmad Khan. Both men recognised that Muslim regeneration depended upon education, discipline, and adaptation to new political realities. Barkat Ali Khan publicly supported the proposed Aligarh College, helped invite Sir Syed to Lahore in 1873, and organised his second visit in 1884 with exceptional care. The Muhammadan Educational Conference held in Lahore in 1888 owed its success largely to his arrangements and influence. By gathering scholars, officials, and community leaders in one place, the conference helped familiarise Punjabi Muslims with the educational programme associated with Aligarh, and Barkat Ali Khan remained throughout his life one of its most consistent provincial supporters.

His commitment to education was practical as well as ideological. He raised funds to pay teachers of the Punjab University College during a financial crisis and earlier encouraged the establishment and improvement of the first girls’ school in Lahore, contributing money and persuasion at a time when female education met strong resistance. He frequently argued that ignorance, not lack of ability, was the chief cause of Muslim backwardness. Through meetings, personal appeals, and example, he gradually created among sections of the Muslim population a willingness to educate their children in modern subjects while retaining religious identity.

Even during government service, he devoted his energy to public causes, and after retirement he gave himself wholly to them. He worked with diverse bodies - the Punjab University, the Lahore Municipality, and the Indian Association - and maintained cordial relations with leaders of other communities such as Sardar Dayal Singh Majithia. This cooperation strengthened his ability to advocate Muslim educational advancement in a multi-communal environment. His influence contributed to the enthusiastic reception accorded to Sir Syed Ahmad Khan in Lahore.

He was not a writer or a celebrated orator, but an organiser of uncommon perseverance. Reports of the Muhammadan Educational Conference consistently placed his name among the foremost supporters of the Aligarh movement. Age gradually compelled him to resign from public bodies, though his interest in Muslim organisations never ceased. In 1902, the Lieutenant-Governor referred to him as the “Patriarch of the Lahore Muhammadans.” On April 21, 1905, he presided over the annual meeting of the Anjuman-i-Himayat-i-Islam, and on August 2, 1905 he passed away, widely honoured.

After his death, the Muslims of Lahore commemorated him by establishing the Barkat Ali Muhammadan Hall, which became not merely a memorial building but a civic institution. The hall served as a meeting place for Muslim associations, educational gatherings, lectures, and public deliberations, and effectively functioned as the headquarters of the Anjuman-i-Islamiyah. Important discussions on education, social reform, and communal organisation were held there, and it provided a permanent venue where Muslims - students, professionals, and community leaders - could assemble, debate, and coordinate collective activity. In this sense the hall symbolised precisely what Barkat Ali Khan had tried to cultivate: organised public life. It stood as a practical continuation of his work, transforming personal leadership into an enduring institutional presence.

His significance lies less in dramatic speeches than in steady labour. At a time when Muslim society in Punjab faced political loss, economic weakness, and educational backwardness amid the rapid advancement of other communities, he restored confidence through institutions. By rehabilitating the Badshahi Mosque he revived a symbol of collective memory; by encouraging education in harmony with the Aligarh movement he prepared a new generation for modern life; and through the Barkat Ali Muhammadan Hall he left behind a permanent centre for Muslim civic activity. Through patient organisation rather than rhetoric, Khan Bahadur Barkat Ali Khan helped lay the social foundations upon which the later Muslim awakening in Punjab would arise.

Published in Dawn, February 15th, 2026