Raja Rammohan Roy and Sir Syed Ahmed Khan: A Comparative Study of Philosophical Thoughts

Abstract

The dissertation has been prepared in eight chapters and commences with an introductory chapter that deals with preliminary deliberations, literature review, utility and methodology. The researcher tried to present a general assessment of what has been placed in different chapters. At the outset we have said that Raja Rammohan and Sir Syed appeared in Indian history at a crucial moment. This was nineteenth century, the most eventful period of Indian history. Though they belonged to two different communities their thoughts and activities passed in the same line. What Rammohan was to the Hindus Sir Syed was just like to the Muslims. In spite of that they had some dissimilarity that was evident to the researcher after deliberations of the literature review. In the second chapter the researcher has discussed philosophical problems showing a difference between Western philosophy to Indian and Muslim philosophy. We know that Rammohan was greatly influenced by the three main philosophy of the world- the Western, the Muslim and the Indian philosophy. Sir Syed was mainly influenced by the two world important philosophy- the Western and the Muslim philosophy. We tried to define these three kinds of philosophy very briefly and to show the similarity and dissimilarity. Western philosopher tried to define Philosophy as the search for knowledge and understanding of the nature and meaning of the universe and of human life. A philosopher is such a person who has developed a particular set of theories and beliefs. Philosophy means the various theories and systems of thought, developed by great philosophers - like Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Aquinas, Descartes, Spinoza, Locke, Berkeley, Kant, Royce, Jon, Dewey, Whitehead and others'. Philosophy has been described in India as darshan or vision. In fact, the Indian view of Philosophy has always been comprehensive and regarded it as not a mere intellectual discipline but also an exercise in moral and spiritual excellence. Philosophy and religion can never be separated in Indian thought. Muslim philosophy may be regarded as a connected historical account of the development of this ideal among the Muslims living in different countries of the world in different ages. There is a little difference between Islamic philosophy and Muslim Philosophy. In all ages Muslim thinkers in different parts of the world speculated deeply on the ultimate problems of life and the world and under the impact of alien civilizations and cultures endeavored to formulate explicitly the implicit philosophy of Islam. The third chapter dealt with the impact of different philosophical school of thoughts upon them. The renaissance philosophy, especially, Rationalism, Humanism, Utilitarianism and Naturalism influenced them exaggeratedly. Rationalism is an epistemological theory. It deals with the nature, origination, development and probability of knowledge. According to this theory reason is the source of knowledge. We know that Rammohan and Syed Ahmed were rationalist thinkers. Rammohan is credited by many historians as the first modern man in India. The same credit goes to Sir Syed also. He is known as a rationalist Muslim Philosopher. Utilitarianism is an ethical theory. By this theory one can judge conduct as right or wrong taking pleasure and happiness as standard of measurement. Humanist philosophers placed man in the centre of philosophy. They stress the need for human welfare, social studies and the universal applicability of the empirical, experimental methods of the natural sciences. In rationalism it is supposed that men through the use of intelligence can establish democratic institutions. It can create for themselves without assistance from 'supernatural powers', a rational civilization in which each person enjoys security and finds cultural outlets. Naturalism and materialism are related terms, but they are not synonymous. All materialistic systems of philosophy are also naturalistic, but some naturalistic systems are not materialistic. In the Chapter four the researcher dealt with the Indian renaissance. The period of renaissance is characterized by its revolt against tradition, authority and the church. In that new age, the individual refused to acknowledge the authority of a human intermediary between himself and the all powerful God. He claimed intellectual independence and made his conscience or reasons his standard of deciding matters related to life and the world. It is generally believed that the significant social and economic changes that took place in the Indian subcontinent during the nineteenth century were due to British rule and Western education. These social, economic, political, religious and cultural changes led the Indian reformers to initiate many sided reforms activity. This very new outlook differed from medieval outlook towards life and society is called Indian renaissance. Specially, the early decades of the nineteenth century while the Hindu society particularly in Calcutta was in a state of ferment caused by reformist and radical movements inspired by the Western education were really a renaissance. The spread of Western education, commercial development and Christian missionary activities had produced a great impact on the Hindu Society in Bengal. This renaissance spirit later penetrated into the Muslim community. The last phase of Indian renaissance was merged into the Indian nationalism and through this path eventually the independence of India came. In the fifth chapter our discussion centered round the philosophy of Raja Rammohan Roy. The social life of 18th and early part of nineteenth century was not at all good. Decay of knowledge and learning coupled with social degeneration helped extensively to spread blind superstition and inhuman social customs like polygamy, kulinism, early marriage, sati rites, killing of female children, throwing of the first child into the holy rivers etc. These most dreadful and inhuman practices were practiced in different parts of the country in varying degrees. Perhaps the worst aspect of this social degeneration was the terrible sufferings and social fetters of the womenfolk. In this crisis moment of Indian history Rammohan Roy appeared and sought to reform the rituals and activities of his countrymen. By teaching them to contemplate the natural, intellectual and moral attributes of God, he proposed to make them worship their creator in spirit and in truth His countrymen hated and took several actions against him and even planned to suspend or kill him. They called him renegade. In this connection he said, "By taking the path, which conscience and sincerity direct, I born a Brahman, have exposed myself to the complaining and reproaches even of some of my relations, whose prejudices are strong, and whose temporal advantage depend upon the present system. But these, however accumulated, I can tranquilly bear, trusting that a day will arrive when my humble Endeavour’s will be viewed with justice-perhaps acknowledged with gratitude. At any rate, whatever men may say, I cannot be deprived of this consolation: my motives are acceptable to that Being, who beholds in secret, and compensates openly." He began his quest for harmony in religious thought through a comparative study of various religious creeds. It was Rammohan who first realized that these systems of education were totally inadequate to meet the requirements of a society which had any expectation to measure up to the standards of the enlightened countries of his days. The existing Sanskrit system of education could, at best, load the minds of the youth with grammatical niceties and metaphysical distinctions of little or no practical use to the society. Besides, the Sanskrit language itself the vehicle of this education was very difficult for the common people to learn. The sixth chapter was devoted to discuss the philosophy of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan. The Sepoy Mutiny of 1857 was a great event in Indian history which had changed the outlook of the British government towards Indian people, especially the Muslims. They misunderstood the Muslim community and held them responsible for the Mutiny. In this dire need of Muslim community, Sir Syed came to the scene of Indian history. Sir Syed loved the Muslim community and the people of India at large and wanted to serve them. He was more concerned with the Muslims. He found them in grave danger, and therefore gave priority to their cause. He drew up a comprehensive plan to save the Muslims from material and spiritual ruin and devoted the remaining forty years of his life, i.e. from 1858 to 1898 to reform their educational political cultural, religious, social and moral problems. He knew fully well that education was going to be the most powerful weapon to fight superstitions, injustices, and above all docile submission to fate. He tried his best to diffuse the European arts and sciences in the country, so as to produce an enlightened and rational outlook among the intellectuals, who must lead the society to the modern line. His main plan was to persuade the Muslims to learn the English language and Western sciences so that they might meet Englishmen on equal terms and get a substantial share in the administration of the country. The main cause for the intellectual and cultural deterioration of the Muslims in India and other parts of the world was that, in their arrogance of being the inheritors of a great world culture they were contemptuous of the contemporary world culture. The seven chapters are designed to explore a comparison between the philosophies of Raja Rammohan and Sir Syed Ahmed. We have already realized from our discussion that there is a lot of similarity rather than difference between Rammohan and Sir Syed Ahmad. Both of them are known as reformers, educationists, journalists, historians, religious reformers politicians and philosophers. They were deeply influenced by the western science and philosophy. According to epistemological point of view they were rationalist. K.K. Aziz said, "Rammohan and Syed Ahmed Khan were the first Indians to dare apply intellect to traditional faith. They started an intellectual revolution". Raja Rammohan and Sir Syed expressed the same opinion about the educational system of India. They advocated in favour of western education. Throughout the life they both fought against orthodoxy, superstitions which were prevalent during their time in the name of religion. Both were rationalist thinker. They firmly believed that reason is the best guide to decide what is right and what is wrong. So, the first and foremost work of them was to give their religion a rational explanation and to establish their faith on rational basis. Like Rammohan, Sir Syed also initiated an intellectual movement which aimed at revitalizing Islamic religion and society in response to the needs of the age. Both of them were influenced by the 8th century Arabian free-thinkers the Mutazilas. The Mutazilas believed in the strictest form of monotheism, denied any resemblance between the God and his creatures. They also believed that those nations that did not derive a divine scripture from the God could also acquire wisdom and properly perform their duties to reach self-realization. They had dissimilarities in their thinking in many respects as educational, political, religious, social, cultural and philosophical. Such as they had dissimilarities in regards to international affairs Rammohan was more concerned than Syed Ahmed. About the female education their ideas were different. Besides these, Rammohan had imbibed three great cultures of the world whereas; Sir had his authority over two cultures. Finally, chapter Eight consists of the discussions made in the previous chapters and draws certain conclusions of general nature in the light of the findings of the study. We have discussed that the task of Rammohan to awaken his own community was rather easy than Sir Syed. During Rammohan's Calcutta lite there were three sections in Hindu community - the conservatives, the progressives and the radicals. Rammohan was included in the progressive sections of people. Interesting matter was that all these groups were in favour of western sciences, philosophy and English education. But the situation of Muslim society was a different one. They felt hesitant to acquire English education, western science and technology. They had their psychological, political, social and religious causes which have been mentioned in this chapter. So, Sir Syed had to work hard to change the mentality of the Muslims for their regeneration.