How Sir Syed Ahmad Khan's Contributions Shaped 19th-Century Legislation

March 27, 2026, marks Syed Ahmad Khan's 128th death anniversary,

While much has been written about the reformist and social pursuits of the educationist Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, who founded the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College and was the progenitor of the Aligarh movement, his legal feats have remained forgotten. Khan's legislative contributions, in fact, shaped the legal and administrative landscape of 19th-century British India.

While he initially joined the British Government’s service in 1837 or 1838, either as a Sarishtidar in the Sadr Amin’s office in Delhi or as a munshi in the Agra Commissioner’s office, his legal trajectory began in 1841 with his appointment as a munsif in Mainpuri. He subsequently held the higher offices of Sadr Amin and Sadr-us-Sudoor in Rohtak, Bijnor, Moradabad, Ghazipur and Aligarh, eventually retiring in 1876 as the Judge of the Small Causes Court at Banaras. In 1859, he was appointed to a three-member committee to consider petitions against injudicious persecution in the aftermath of the Revolt. 

In 1878, Kyan was appointed a member of the Imperial Legislative Council (officially known as the Council of the Governor-General of India) and served for two terms until 1883, when he was replaced by the noted jurist Syed Ameer Ali, who served as a judge of the Calcutta High Court and the Privy Council. In the Council, he aligned his dispositions with India’s socio-religious temperament at a time when colonial legislations were shaping the country’s legal and political landscape. 

While serving as a young judicial officer, Khan witnessed the cataclysm of the Revolt of 1857 that redefined India’s destiny.  In the aftermath of the Revolt, a proclamation was issued in Queen Victoria’s name, thus signifying the end of Company Rule and the assumption of direct rule by the British Crown. In his seminal monograph, Asbab-e-Baghawat-e-Hind ('The causes of the Indian revolt'), he interpreted the Revolt as a symptom of the British East India Company’s aggressive expansionist policy and ignorance of Indian culture, thereby negating British accounts that reduced the event to a sepoy mutiny. His scrutiny of the Company’s revenue system was particularly severe, emphasising how assessments were fixed without regard for contingencies that impoverished both landlords and the tiller. He advised the British government to take Indians in administration. Subsequently, the Indian Councils Act 1861 was enacted, which empowered the Governor General to nominate six to 12 additional members to the Imperial Legislative Council, out of whom half were to be non-officials, thus signalling a revision of policy of excluding Indians from high offices.

The reformist legislator 

While in the Imperial Legislative Council, Khan actively participated in debates and propelled several key legislations, some of which are still in force today. His first major intervention came when he exposed the limitations of the Deccan Agriculturists’ Relief Bill (1879), which was proposed to regulate farmers' relations with the moneylenders. He demanded loans at moderate interest to free ryots (peasants) from debts so that they could secure more than bare subsistence. Some British officials contended that Indians were litigious to justify curbing appeals. Khan dismissed this notion. Drawing on his experience as a revenue officer, he showed that Indians did not pursue suits indiscriminately.

His support for the codification reflected his belief that the law should not depend on colonial whim. This was evident from his advocacy of the Transfer of Property Bill 1882 and Indian Easements Bill 1881. In 1883, as Viceroy Lord Rippon proposed the Ilbert Bill (also known as the Criminal Procedure Bill), Indian judges were given the authority to hear cases involving Europeans. This provoked racial protests. Speaking in support of the Bill, Khan reminded the Council that Indian judges were already hearing civil suits, some carrying penal provisions, and found ‘no reasonable basis’ for denying them criminal jurisdiction. For him, the Bill reaffirmed equality before the law and challenged the racial demarcation within the colonial judiciary.

Taking into account the condition of Waqf estates in the aftermath of the Revolt of 1857, Khan assisted in drafting the Waqf Bill, which consecrated property as Waqf by rendering it inalienable and immune to dismemberment. The Bill, however, failed due to sectarian differences.  

In 1880, he successfully moved the Qazis Bill, aimed at restoring the government’s power to appoint Qazis, as the same had been abolished in 1864, making him the first Indian non-official member of the Council to move a Private Member’s Bill. Another private member’s Bill which he presented was the Smallpox Vaccination Bill, seeking compulsory vaccination. While some conservative members opposed the Bill on religious grounds, Khan countered it, stating that personal liberty cannot outweigh the right to life; thus, marking one of the earliest instances of scientific rationality being incorporated into legislative action. 

After his term at the Imperial Legislative Council ended in 1883, Khan was appointed to the 16-member Public Service Commission constituted as part of the reformative measures taken after 1857. Therein, he successfully argued for increasing the age limit for Indians, as they generally started education late. In 1887, he was appointed to the Council of the Lieutenant Governor of the North-Western Provinces in 1887 and served in that position for two terms, until 1893.

A legacy recognised

For his contributions to the fields of law and judicial service, several honours were bestowed upon Khan. In 1869, he was made a Companion of the Order of the Star of India (CSI), for his services as Principal Sadr Amin at Aligarh. For his services in the Legislative Council, a knighthood (KCSI) was conferred upon Khan in 1888. In 1889, the University of Edinburgh awarded him an honourary LL.D. He also served as the Fellow of the Universities of Calcutta and Allahabad, respectively.

Sir Syed Ahmad Khan’s contributions to law were not limited to legislature or bureaucracy but also touched upon another fundamental aspect, i.e., legal education. When he founded the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental (MAO) College in 1877 (which later became the Aligarh Muslim University in 1920), law was amongst its earliest disciplines. The Department of Law was established in 1883, and continues to function to this day. Over the last 143 years, the Department has produced many legal luminaries, including Supreme Court Judges Justice Baharul Islam, Justice Murtaza Fazle Ali, Justice R. P. Sethi and Justice Augustine George Masih; noted jurists N. R. Madhava Menon and Faizan Mustafa; and many other judges, parliamentarians and lawyers.

An analysis of Khan’s legal career demonstrates that his interventions were not merely self-serving. Rather, as the Indian Association of Lahore acknowledged in 1884, he showed “impartial care for all classes, courageous and faithful representation of national views and…vigilant regard for national interest”.

Aman Alam is a student Barrister at the University of London, and an advocate in the Supreme Court. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society.

Maimuna Siddiqui is currently pursuing law at Aligarh Muslim University. Her areas of interest include corporate law and gender justice.

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