Sir Syed Academy

About Us

The academy has the singular privilege of operating from a house consecrated through long years of residence by the great man from whom the academy gets not only its name but its very raison detre.

Sir Syed House was originally a military mess. In 1876 it was bought by Syed Mahmood, the first Indian judge of the Allahabad High Court, for the residence of his father Sir Syed Ahmad Khan. The bungalow known as Sir Syed House lay in a dilapidated condition till it was fully renovated and restored to its original grandeur in the early 1970s. It was decided to convert the building into a memorial for the founder and house in it the Academy named after him. The academy was inaugurated on 22 October 1974. The founder director of the Academy Professor Khaliq Ahmad Nizami put the whole effort on a sound footing with his extraordinary interest in and knowledge of the Aligarh Movement.

Since its inception the academy has been trying to create an awareness and understanding about the enormous contribution which Sir Syed made for the advancement of the cause of educational, socio-political and cultural development. The academy highlights the substantial efforts of Sir Syed to promote unity and harmony among the various communities for the noble cause of nation building.

Within Sir Syed Academy

Museum

The museum exhibits three galleries in which personal reminiscent of Sir Syed, a brief introduction of Sir Syed and his associates, history of the M. A. O. College, Sir Syeds letters and correspondence and the list of Chancellors and Vice Chancellors of the Aligarh Muslim University are displayed.

Library

To understand Sir Syed and his times, a Library has been established in the Academy which consists of some rare manuscripts of Sir Syed and Aligarh Movement. The library has a range of about 2400 books on diverse topics. Apart from this it has a separate section of the books on Sir Syed in English and Urdu.

Research

Sir Syed Academy is engaged in various research and academic programs, organizing lectures on Sir Syed, conducting seminars, publishing books on Sir Syed and Aligarh Movement. The academy has a research team headed by the director and including the research fellow of the academy and some young scholars from other departments who are engaged in compiling the books on Sir Syed and Aligarh Movement.

The team has initiated the following projects:

Reediting the Maqalaat-i Sir Syed by Muhammad Ismail Panipati,

Bibliography on Sir Syed and the Aligarh Movement,

Compilation of the Seminar papers and Sir Syed Memorial Lectures,

Archive

The Archive section has a collection of rare Manuscripts of M. A. O. College, Scientific Society and Aligarh Muslim University. The earlier records of these manuscripts being in old fashion, the academy has now installed new modern compactors for their more durable and sophisticated preservation. The digitization and conservation of these manuscripts is under progress.