nce institutions come into existence, they don't often die. In India, they generally fade away. Every institution, at some point, faces change and resists it for sure. Change, whether it is good or bad. affects the character of an institution: either overwhelmed by a tidal wave or adapting naturally to it. In India, AMU has perhaps faced more blows than any other institution in the country, both pre-and post-Independence, more from a good number of AMU alumni who claim an extreme emotional attachment to it forming the ranks of Muslim politicians of all sorts than from its adversaries. AMU has survived all such attacks and has in fact thrived for a number of reasons, chiefly and paradoxically ideological contradictions that have been present since its inception. It is also not necessary that history has presented the correct perspective on AMU. New schools of thought come up frequently, presenting things differently, each according to its own ideological predilections. In saying so, I do not mean that on the occasion of the centenary celebrations of AMU, all those who are in any way associated with it should not introspect. On the contrary, its vast network of alumni spread across the world must necessarily conduct this exercise. Every institution is the product of a particular time, and its relevance must be analysed in that backdrop. Therefore, each institution must be measured on different standards, and employing a one-size-fits-all approach will inevitably give chaotic results. Having said this, I must note that there are only a few objective academic works on AMU, and it has always been almost impossible to analyse any aspects of the university or its founder, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, based on those accounts. Anything that does not heap encomiums on the institute or its founder has been regarded as blasphemous Therefore, every writer has been careful while writing about either, leaving one unaware of a number of uncomfortable truths about Syed Ahmad Khan, who has over time gained an almose. mythological persona. It is shameful that despite AMU receiving one of the largest government grants in the country and a huge alumni network, it has been unable to publish the collected works of its founder in their original Urdu, let alone their translations. I shall not delve much into the university's role before Independence nor the founder's allegiance to the British government, but will only note that it played a decisive role in the formation of Pakistan with its alumni having a role in running this new country and also in paving the way for the formation of Bangladesh, one of the initial catastrophes that Pakistan had to deal with. Without commenting on Sir Syed's British loyalties one way or the other, it is worth considering that an anti-British organisation could never have thought of establishing an institution in the 19th century. Nor would it have been possible for it to be alleviated to the status of a university from a college - in this case, Muhammedan Anglo-Oriental (MAO) College, established by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan in 1886, a refined version of a madrasah ul-uloom (school of knowledge). The British government granted it the status of a university through an Act in 1920, twenty-two years after the founder's death, against a fee of two crore rupees funded mainly by Muslims. The moot point remains that simply alleviating its status to a university did not alleviate its mindset towards higher knowledge. This quest has always been missing from the ethos of AMU. Academically it has never been a centre of excellence in post-Partition India.

ligarh Muslim University (AMU) lost its status as an institution Aligarh higher learning even in pre-Partition days; it instead transformed into a movement. However, it has remained the most prestigious intellectual and cultural centre for Indian Muslims for over a century. Little wonder, it is a singular symbol of Muslim life in India. Member of Parliament G.M. Banatwala (Indian Union Muslim League) said the AMU represented the hopes and aspirations of Muslims in India. In the debate in the Rajya Sabha on the AMU Amendment Bill (1965), B.K.P. Sinha said, 'Aligarh is the microcosm of the great Muslim community of this country. What a seed is to a tree, Aligarh is to the great Muslim community." It can be considered an index of the status of Muslims in the country. Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, once hailed the AMU in pre-Partition days as 'the arsenal of Muslim India. Though it may not have remained the only centre of Muslim politics after the Partition of the country in 1947, it still has tremendous importance in Indian politics and in defining its contours as well as in terms of social and political mobilisation. AMU has also been listed as an institution of national importance in the VII Schedule of the Constitution of India. However, it would be misleading to suppose that the Aligarh spirit', as the Aligarh College movement came to be labelled, has always been confined exclusively to Islamist interests. It inspired new generations of Muslims to realise that knowledge, not merely faith, would be the guiding principle of life and progress. During World War I, the Indian rebels who had formed a government. in-exile at Kabul chose Raja Mahendra Pratap, an Aligarian (also involved in the Silk Letter Conspiracy), as their president. The Ali Brothers; Maulana Hasrat Mohani: Muslim Leaguers Liaquat Ali Khan, A.R. Nashtar and Qayyum Khan: Congress leaders TAK. Sherwani, Rafi Ahmad Kidwai. Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, Dr Syed Mahmood of Bihar and Dr M.A. Ansari; Communist leader Kunwar Mohammad Ashraf, and a host of others on both sides of the political divide were the illustrious products of Aligarh during the pre-Partition period. Professor M. Mujeeb, the biographer of Dr Zakir Husain, aptly observes: The common man who raises the question of the value and significance of Aligarh Muslim University would, after the kind of enquiries he can make and the answers he elicits, conclude similar to what the Russian poet Tyutchev said about his country: Russia cannot be grasped with the mind, Or measured with the common yardstick; She has her peculiar quality, In Russia - one can only believe." Almost all those educated at Aligarh or in service there long enough share this belief. Others wonder. Reverence for the university was reinforced by institutions like the All India Muslim Educational Conference (AIMEC), now virtually defunct and a sizeable number of old boys' associations in various cities across the globe besides the Duty Society. These bodies continue to nurture the emotional bond berween the alumni and the university. The degree of reverence for the institution is reflected in the peculiarity that anyone making even mildly unpleasant remarks is often accused of bias and seen as ill disposed towards Muslims or branded anti-religious, at the very least. Objectivity becomes a casualty in such a charged atmosphere. Sir Syed launched a Muslim modernism that sought to reconcile traditional Islam with modern needs.