At the Aligarh Numaish (exhibition), an event started by the British that evolved into a major socio-cultural affair over the years, on February 6, 1894, Sir Syed Ahmad and his group of friends took the stage to recite ghazals and act in a play. Proceeds from their performance were earmarked for the development of the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental (MAO) College, founded by the Muslim scholar, to further the cause of the community’s education in the country.
In Jahan-e-Syed, authors Mohammad Asim Siddiqui and Rahat Abrar quoted Sir Syed remarking, “If anyone is surprised to see me on stage, then he has no regard for his people…I am truly sorry for the people of this community who hold disgraceful things to be the cause of their honour and glory, but consider anything done in good faith for the benefit of their fellow men to be a cause for shame… You nobles, you wealthy men, you take pride in your riches and honour: Do you imagine that our children can profit from what you have, while your community is in such a poor state… I have done everything to raise money for the education our children must have… But my efforts have been to no avail…It is for this reason that I am standing on this stage, trying to do what I can for the education of our children.”
In 1920, two decades after Sir Syed’s death on March 27, 1898, MAO College would become Aligarh Muslim University (AMU). Over a century later, on November 8 this year, the Supreme Court underlined that the determination of the “minority character” of an institution is not a rigid concept and, in a narrow 4-3 majority verdict, overruled its 1967 ruling that had held that AMU was not a minority institution.
The university traces its origin to the founding of the Madrasatul Uloom in Aligarh by Sir Syed on May 24, 1875. On January 7, 1877, the Madrasatul Uloom became MAO College. Then, after the AMU Act was passed in 1920, nearly four decades later, MAO College got its current name.
MAO College’s journey to becoming AMU was realised due to Sir Syed adopting a multitude of ways to collect funds for his vision. MAO College was patterned on the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, which Sir Syed had visited in Britain. His objective was to build a college in line with the British education system — but without compromising on Islamic values.
While Sir Syed had a “dream” and a “team of dedicated friends and well-wishers to help him in this mammoth exercise”, he had “no money”, Jahan-e-Syed states. The book’s chapter on fundraising for MAO College states that “he ran from pillar to post to raise funds for building MAO College. He met nobles and aristocrats, Rajas and Nawabs, and ordinary men and women on the street to generate resources for the college”.
As per a coffee table book published by AMU in 2020, its centenary year, Sir Syed collected funds though all possible means and methods — donations, lotteries, and sale of pictures and books, among others. “In the Aligarh Exhibition, an annual feature, he set up a book stall and sold books. He even put on a beggar’s jholi and begged for money,” says the book.
Rahat Abrar, a retired AMU professor and the former director of the Urdu Academy, says Sir Syed devoted his whole life to ensuring education for the Muslim community.
“He found innovative ways to collect money. Instead of seeking funds from the government, he wanted to collect money from the people. In 1875, he announced that those who gave Rs 25 would have their names written on the boundary wall of the Madrasatul Uloom (which later became MAO College and then AMU). Similarly, the names of donors who gave Rs 300 were written on the wall of a classroom or hostel. The names of those who contributed Rs 500 were written on the wall of the Central Hall (later the Strachey Hall). Till date, 285 names are written on AMU’s boundary walls,” Prof Abrar tells The Indian Express.
In 1891, he says, Sir Syed gifted Mir Mahboob Ali Khan, the sixth Nizam of Hyderabad, a painting. “The Nizam bought the painting for a handsome amount. That money too went for the construction of the college,” Prof Abrar says.
Sir Syed had a few more aces up his sleeves. “When he travelled across the country to collect funds for MAO College, he would refuse to eat feasts prepared by his patrons. He would say that instead of feeding him, the money should be donated to MAO College,” says Prof Abrar.
AMU’s 2020 coffee table book mentions the lengths that Sir Syed went to in order to collect money for the college. “It became his practice that on every occasion of family festivities and ceremonies, he donated the money which he would have spent on the feasts, to the college fund. It is interesting to note that he did not give a walima (reception) party on the occasion of the marriage of his son Justice Sayyid Mahmood; instead contributed Rs. 500 to the college fund,” the book states.
Sir Syed’s son studied law in England on a scholarship. An author, Mahmood too dedicated his life to the cause of Muslim education. Mahmood, who died on May 8, 1903, would go on to become a judge in the court in the North-Western Provinces (now the Allahabad High Court).
A fund named “Sir Syed Fund” was started after Sir Syed’s death in 1898, says Prof Abrar. In 1920, the British government demanded Rs 30 lakh to turn MAO College into a university. A committee headed by Sir Agha Khan, under the aegis of the Aligarh Movement, continued to collect funds from people from different walks of life. “While most of the funds were provided by the Muslim community, Hindus too came forward to donate for the cause…the names of several Hindu rulers are still written inside the AMU premises. The sum of Rs 30 lakh was paid to the government and AMU came into existence through the AMU Act, 1920,” says Prof Abrar.
(From left) One of the buildings of Aligarh Muslim University; Sir Syed Ahmad was a Muslim scholar. (Express Archive, Wikipedia) 
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