The Cambridge Companion to Sayyid Ahmad Khan

This volume examines Sayyid Ahmad Khans life his contribution and legacy in the context of current times. The editors engage his writings ideas and activities to read and present his work critically not as a biographical account of his life but approach his work keeping in mind the tumultuous political events and changes of the nineteenth century after the failed revolt of 1857 when Indians were transformed into colonial subjects. The collective anxieties of the Indian communities particularly the Muslims cried out for a new local leadership; Sayyid Ahmad Khan rose up to this occasion etching the way forward for Indians in general and Muslims in particular. Sayyid Ahmad Khans multifaceted work offers an important understanding for national thinking emerging from the location of the Muslim but it is not a minority voice with vested political interests rather a constructive and integrative voice of relevance even today for addressing difficult problems.