The career of Syed Ahmad Khan runs parallel to, in many ways, that of Raja Ram Mohan Roy. Both were born into families of high social rank.

Both were educated in Persian and Arabic learning, which was required to entrants into the service of the Mughal Empire. Both were supporters of British rule and appreciated and advanced scientific knowledge of the West. Both rejected the Christian doctrine being preached by missionaries and made their own independent studies of the Christian scriptures.

Both searched for the central messages at the core of their religions and sought to purify their religions of superstitions and other evils. Both wanted to reinterpret them in such a way so as to give their ancient meanings a new vitality and living them in time with modern science and technology. Both edited periodicals and enriched, with their writings, the languages of their regions.

Both founded schools to make western learning available to young people. Both occasionally criticized the British government, but travelled to England to learn from the West. Both suffered bitter attacks from their co-religionists and-yet were hailed as the founding father of their respective community’s modern world views.