Sir Syed Ahmed Khan is one of the greatest Muslim leaders of the subcontinent, who played a major role in the lives of the Muslims of the subcontinent. With the collapse of the Mughal Empire and the defeat of the local army in the War of Independence of 1857, the British empire had wholly taken over the reins of the subcontinent. Their aversion towards Muslims had increased resulting from the war and although they had managed to win the war, the grudge that they held in their hearts against Muslims led them to take strict actions against the Muslims. Likewise, the Muslims had a tantamount magnitude of venom in their hearts for the British and refused to learn anything about the British culture, boycotting every aspect of the society that was British. Sir Syed Ahmed Khan contemplated on this problem deeply. He realized that the Muslims of the subcontinent needed to seek reconciliation with the British in order to develop as a nation as the British were now ruling the state. It was Sir Syed Ahmed Khan who urged the Muslims to learn English as it was now the official language and played a great role in reconciliation between the Muslim and British communities. All of this was done in the regard to end the discriminatory approach of the British against the Muslims and enable Muslims to avail the opportunity to develop in the field of education. With his writings, he motivated the Muslims to learn and prosper and went a step further by establishing the Aligarh University, which became a great learning centre for the Muslims and provided a platform for them to learn and develop in the educational as well as in the societal regard. In short, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan was one of the pioneers in the subcontinent to re-establish the contact between science, technology and the glory of Islam.
