Abstract
Syed Ahmad Khan (1817–98) remains an important figure of the Indian Renaissance. The present essay examines how he came under the influence of Western ideas, and how these influences radicalised his views in respect of religion and science. The essay strives to set Syed Ahmad Khan’s modernisation project in a broad chronological order, stressing the ideological changes he underwent. His political activities especially after 1885, which involved a bruising conflict with the Congress in 1885–86, and later his intervention in the Hindi–Urdu controversy do not lie within the scope of this paper.
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