It was left to Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, who had already written several works of outstanding merit, to awaken the Muslims and make them realise that unless they got over their sense of defeatism and deprivation, the future of the community in the sub-continent would be dark. The only way is .to reassert without abandoning their rich heritage of culture and civilisation

After the restoration of peace and order, Syed Ahmad started schools at Muradabad and Ghazipur, and tried to bring English works within the reach of his fellow-countrymen through translation in Urdu. He also urged the patronage of vernacular education. A strong movement was launched against vernacular language Urdu, and led to the introduction of Hindi, written in Devanagari characters, as the official language of the courts. The School which Syed Ahmad started in 1875, became Mohammadan Anglo-Oriental College at Aligarh. Lord Lytton laid the foundation of this college in 1877 and it started functioning in 1879 on the lines of the colleges of Cambridge. Later this institution emerged as the Muslim University, which produced the most learned scholars and national leaders, who played important roles in politics and uplifts of Muslims. Sir Syed Ahmad Khan died on March 27, 1898 and was laid to eternal rest in the University compound. ۔