Ahmad Khan, Sir Sayyid [key], 1817–98, Indian Muslim educator. His family was long connected with the Mughal court, but he entered the service of the British East India Company. Convinced of the futility of revolt, he remained loyal to the British during the Indian Mutiny and saved the lives of many Europeans. Seeking to revitalize the Muslim community by the introduction of Western ideas, Sayyid Ahmad Khan organized societies for the translation of English works into Urdu and for the teaching of civics to the Indian public. In 1875 he established the Muslim Anglo-Oriental College at Aligarh, which later became Aligarh Muslim Univ. He was knighted in 1888. Among his works are Loyal Mohammedans of India (1860–61) and Causes of the Indian Revolt (1873).
See J. M. S. Baljon, Reforms and Religious Ideas of Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan (1949).
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