Question

Why did Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan advise the Muslims not to join the Congress?

Answer 1

Hint: Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan or Syed Ahmed Taqvi bin Syed Muhammad Muttaqi was born on 17 October 1817 commonly known as Sir Syed Ahmed Khan was an Islamic pragmatist, Islamic reformer and philosopher of nineteenth century British India. He pioneered the Muslim nationalism in India and he is widely acknowledged as the father of Two-Nation Theory which was the basis of Pakistan movement.

Complete answer:
Sir Syed Ahmed Khan was against the policies of the Indian National Congress as he felt that the interests of Muslims and Hindus were different. He was insecure that if the British withdrew, the Hindu majority would rule and it would be unfair to the Muslims as they are a minority and also their practices and values are a lot different than that of the Hindus. Initially, He emphasised on joining hands with the Hindus. But, in the 1880s, influenced by his origin he gave up his earlier views and declared that the political interests of Hindus and Muslims were not the same and went against the formation of INC. He founded the United Indian Patriotic Association in 1888 mainly intended to oppose the Congress.

Note: Sir Syed Ahmad Khan believed that the future of Muslims was threatened by the rigidity of their orthodox outlook. So, he began promoting Western–style scientific education and founded modern schools and journals. Sir Syed established Gulshan School at Muradabad in 1859, Victoria School at Ghazipur in 1863, and also a scientific society for Muslims in 1864. In 1875, he founded the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College which was the first Muslim university in Southern Asia.