Social and religious reform in UP: Aligarh, Deoband, Arya Samaj

In 1875, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan founded a school in Aligarh that would grow into one of India's most important universities. Nine years earlier, in 1866, a group of scholars had founded a seminary at Deoband that would become one of the most influential centres of Islamic learning in the world. And across western UP, the Arya Samaj was opening schools and challenging caste and ritual. Nineteenth-century Uttar Pradesh was a cauldron of reform — and its movements still shape Indian society.

The Aligarh movement

Sir Syed Ahmad Khan (1817–1898)

• Served in the Company's judicial service; remained loyal during 1857 and wrote The Causes of the Indian Revolt (Asbab-e-Baghawat-e-Hind), explaining the revolt's causes to the British.
• Convinced that Indian Muslims needed modern, scientific education to progress.

Institutions

Ideas

• Rational interpretation of religion; compatibility of Islam and science.
• Modern education in English and the sciences.
• Social reform — against purdah's extremes, polygamy and superstition (though with caution).
• Political caution — Sir Syed advised Muslims to stay away from the early Congress, a stance that has been debated by historians.

The Deoband movement

• Darul Uloom Deoband was founded in 1866 at Deoband (Saharanpur district) by Muhammad Qasim Nanautavi and Rashid Ahmad Gangohi.
• Aim: to revive traditional Islamic learning and preserve religious identity after 1857.
• It was anti-colonial; many Deobandi scholars supported the Congress and opposed the partition of India.
• Maulana Mahmud Hasan (Shaikh-ul-Hind) was involved in the Silk Letter conspiracy (1913–16) against British rule.

The Barelvi movement

• Founded by Ahmad Raza Khan of Bareilly in the late nineteenth century.
• Defended traditional Sufi practices and devotion to the Prophet and saints, in contrast to reformist movements.

The Arya Samaj in UP

• Founded by Swami Dayanand Saraswati in 1875 (Bombay); spread strongly in Punjab and western UP.
• Dayanand spent much time in UP; his Satyarth Prakash was first published in 1875.
• The Samaj:
  • rejected idol worship, ritualism and caste by birth;
  • promoted women's education and widow remarriage;
  • established Dayanand Anglo-Vedic (DAV) schools and gurukuls;
  • ran the shuddhi movement (reconversion), which became controversial.

Other movements

Women's education and reform

• Reformers in UP opened schools for girls.
• Isabella Thoburn College, Lucknow (1886), was among the early colleges for women in Asia.
• Debates on purdah, child marriage and widow remarriage were widespread.

Impact

Practice

Prelims-style:

1. When was MAO College founded, and by whom?
2. When was Darul Uloom Deoband founded?
3. Who founded the Radha Soami Satsang, and where?
4. Which institution founded by Annie Besant became the nucleus of BHU?
5. When did MAO College become Aligarh Muslim University?

Mains-style:

• "Nineteenth-century reform movements in UP combined modernisation with the assertion of identity." Discuss.
• Compare the Aligarh and Deoband movements.