Sir Ziauddin Ahmad (born Ziauddin Ahmed Zuberi; 13 February 1873 – 23 December 1947) was an Indian mathematician,Prospectus 2020 . zu.edu.pk. parliamentarian, logician, natural philosopher, politician, political theorist, educationist and a scholar.Karachi: Services of Dr Ziauddin Ahmad highlighted Dawn newspaper, Published 29 April 2003. Retrieved 27 August 2023. He was a member of the Aligarh Movement and was a professor, principal of MAO College, first pro vice-chancellor, vice chancellor and rector of Aligarh Muslim University, India.
He served as vice chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University for three terms. In 1917, he was appointed a member of the Calcutta University Commission also known as the Sadler Commission. He was also a member of Skeen Committee also known as Indian Sandhurst Committee and Shea Commission for the Indianisation of the British Indian Army.
Early life and academic career
Family background Ziauddin Ahmad was born on 13 February 1873, into the prominent Kamboh Nawab family of Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, British India.. Born to Hafiz Muinuddin, a junior employee in the district of collectorate, Ziauddin was related to the influential Muslim political figure Waqar-ul-Mulk.
Education His primary education was at a madrasa and later joined Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College, Aligarh.
Ahmad's association with Aligarh began in 1889, when at the age of 16 years, he joined the 'first year' at the M.A.O. College School. He passed high school in first division and was awarded the Lang Medal and a government scholarship.
He had to join the Government College, Allahabad, as science courses were not available at Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College. He returned to Aligarh and passed his B.A in 1895 in first division, standing first among science students, and was awarded Starchy Gold Medal. Soon after passing B.A., he was appointed assistant lecturer in mathematics at Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College.
On the basis of merit, he was nominated for the post of deputy collector, but Ahmad declined the offer and elected to continue in the service of the college. Sir Syed offered him a permanent appointment in the grade of Rs , provided he signed a bond to serve for a period of five years. He responded by undertaking to serve for his entire life. A highly impressed Sir Syed tore up the bond.
Ahmad completed his BA in mathematics (with distinction) from Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College in 1895. He was the first Muslim to obtain a D.Sc. (Mathematics), from Allahabad University. His field was complex logarithms applications. He published in differential geometry and algebraic geometry. He won the Lytton Strachey Gold Medal in 1897. While teaching, he continued his education and earned M.A. degrees from Calcutta and Allahabad Universities and also a D.Sc. degree from the University of Allahabad in 1901.
In 1901, Ahmad left for England on a government scholarship and obtained his honours degree in mathematics from Cambridge University. He was awarded the Isaac Newton Scholarship in 1904, the first Indian awardee becoming the first Indian to secure this coveted honour. He became a Wrangler He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and London Mathematical Society. Thereafter He joined the Gointtingen University in Germany in 1904 and received a PhD from the University of Göttingen, Germany. He visited University of Paris and University of Bologna, Italy for advanced studies in modern geometry. He did research in astronomy in Bologna, Italy. He visited Al Azhar University, Cairo to understand their academic methodologies.
Professor On his return to India in 1907, Ahmad joined his alma mater. In 1911, he was appointed secretary of the AMU Foundation and Constitution Committees. He became a professor of history at Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College and in 1918 was selected principal. He was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire (CIE) in King's Birthday Honours list.
He coached students who were seeking admission at Roorkie Engineering College. He held seminars and coached students in engineering and forestry.
Ahmad paid to bring students to Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College. One of the most notable was Hasrat Mohani, who hailed from Kanpur and was planning to go to Lucknow. Ahmad noticed Mohani's math talent and went to Kanpur to convince him and his family to attend MAO College.
He was appointed assistant master in MAO College and served as Acting Principal for a time in 1913.
Along with Professor Chakravarti, Ahmad cofounded the first group of researchers focused on Astronomy, History of Mathematics and Theory of Functions. They made innovations in teaching and other discoveries.
In 1890, MAO College Mathematics Society was formed with him as president and A.M. Kureishy as secretary. The society continues as Aligarh Mathematical Society. The Department of Mathematics was founded when MAO College was given the status of a residential University in 1920, becoming one of its oldest departments. Ahmad was the first professor and head of the department.
Principal of the College Beck and Sir Morrison proposed that Ahmad be appointed Deputy Collector with UP Government, which paid Rs. 500/-. He declined the offer in favor of a position as assistant lecturer at the college making Rs. 60/- per month. Khan offered Ahmad a five-year contract, but Ahmad told him that he planned to spend his life there and that anyone who would stay only to complete a contract would not be worth keeping. Khan tore up the contract and Ahmad's career as a teacher began. To keep his promise to Khan, he left the Indian Civil Service.
Ahmad also taught other subjects. For example, in 1897, Professor Arnold, who taught logic, resigned. The budget did not have room for a faculty member from England and so Ahmad took over.
Sadler Commission
At the time of the Government of India Resolution in 1913 five universities operated in India. Colleges were outside the control of the various universities. At this time London University was reorganised per recommendations of the Royal Commission. A decision to reform Indian Universities led to a second university commission, the 1917 Calcutta University Commission. The members of the commission were Sir Ziauddin, Dr. Gregory, Ramsay Muir, Sir Hartog, Dr. Horniel and Sir Asutosh Mukerji.
At the time of the Government of India Resolution in 1913 there were only five universities in India and the number of colleges was beyond the control of the various universities within their territorial limits. As a result, different administrative problems piled up in that period. Sir Asutosh Mukherji was the vice chancellor of Calcutta University. He started imparting post-graduate education in the university in 1916 as recommended by the University Education Commission of 1902. This has attracted the attention of the Government. By this time the London University was reorganised and reformed as per recommendations of the Royal Commission under the chairmanship of Lord Halden. Therefore, it became a necessity to reform the Indian Universities also. All these circumstances led to the formation of the second university commission. i.e., Calcutta University Commission, 1917.
The commission reviewed the entire field from school education to university education. The Sadler Commission held the view that improved secondary education was a necessary condition for the improvement of university education.
Indianisation of officer ranks of British Indian Army The British Government of India appointed the Indian Sandhurst Committee also known as Skeen Committee in March 1925 with the objective of reform and Indianisation of British Indian Army. This committee was consisted of Lt.General Sir Andrew Skeen who was the then Chief of General Staff of India as chairman, and 12 Indian of Military and civil stature as its member. Sir Ziauddin along with Motilal Nehru, M.A.Jinnah, Sardar Jogendra Singh, Sir Phiroze Sethna, Ramachandra Rao, Sahibzada Abdul Qaiyum, Capt. Hira Singh, Capt. J.N. Banerjee, Major Thaku Zorawar Singh were its members. This committee met for the first time in Shimla and quickly decided upon its working. It studied French, American, Canadian, British military system and submitted its report within 6 months. The committee recommended the opening of a Military college in India at Dehradoon which later become Indian Military Academy.
Aligarh Muslim University In 1911, a Central Committee was set up to transform MAO College into a university, with Raja Sahib Mahmudabad, India as president, Syed Ali Bilgrami as secretary and Ahmad as joint secretary. The college had to raise Rs. 30 lakh (3 million) for elevation to university status, which was achieved in 1915. The student body at that time was less than 1500. Ahmad traveled across India to raise funds.
He established most of the departments of AMU. He collected funds to open a Medical College at AMU, which later became Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College (JNMC). He drafted the new university's Constitution.
The university named its dental college after Ziauddin Ahmad. He founded the Commerce and Polytechnic Departments and several other departments. On his recommendation Abdullah School merged with Aligarh Muslim University (AMU).
Vice Chancellor He became AMU's first pro-vice-chancellor. He was elected vice-chancellor in 1934, remaining until 1946, becoming its longest serving VC. He became an honorary professor in the department of Mathematics, working simultaneously as vice-chancellor. Because of his love for the subject, he taught courses both at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. He was AMU's only teaching VC.
With his help, Islamia College was established in Lahore, now called Government Islamia College, Lahore. Ahmad laid the foundation stone for the college and for Islamia College, Peshawar.
Students He recommended students for all kinds of employment, ranging from clerical and administrative to military. Ahmad visited students in their dormitories and mediated sometimes violent student disputes. Habib A. Zuberi, who was also Ahmad's student, writes, "In 1946-47, when I was a student in Xth class at M.U. High School,...he lectured us either once or twice a week....He was a fine teacher. His goal was to include Trigonometry in High School curriculum." Ahmad encouraged informal relations between faculty and students. The university emphasized sports and had a Riding School, a unit of U.O.T.C., and an active Student Union, where students elected their leaders and participated in debates.
When the British hung the father of Pir Pagara, Pir Sabghatullah Shah Rashidi, on 20 March 1943, and abolished his Gaddi (Spiritual Office), Pir Pagara Syed Shah Mardan Shah-II was hardly 15 years old. During the same year Ahmad, at that time AMU vice-chancellor, took him and his brother to Aligarh. At Aligarh the brothers stayed in 'English House', a hostel established to house the sons of nawabs and rajas. In 1946 Ahmad arranged for their education in England.
He was known for throwing parties, often entertaining visiting dignitaries at his house. He often invited people for dinner with ever-swelling guest lists.
Khilafat movement In 1920, Indian Muslims, led by Maulana Mohammad Ali Jouhar and his brother Maulana Shaukat Ali, launched a movement to restore the Khilafat (caliphate) in Turkey. The Turks themselves had no use for the Khilafat and had chosen Mustafa Kemal Pasha as their leader; the Arabs did not want it and the British opposed it. The Congress party supported their efforts and on 9 September 1920, passed a resolution which began the non-cooperation movement. This movement was hailed as a symbol of Hindu-Muslim unity in India.