Khwaja Muhammad Yusuf

Who is Khwaja Muhammad Yusuf?

Khwaja Muhammad Yusuf was one of the top lawyers and landowners of Aligarh, a small but historically significant town in the ‘doab’ region of the state of Uttar Pradesh in northern India. He was among the first Indian Muslims to understand the nature and gravity of the issues posed by contemporary European colonialism. He was an Islamic liberal who believed that modern, Western-style education was essential for the survival of Indian Muslims in the contemporary world.

His elder son Yahya died as a young man, but Khwaja Yusuf made sure that his other son, Abdul Majeed Khwaja, got the best possible English education. Abdul Majeed went on to study at Christ's College Cambridge, University of Cambridge, in England. There he forged a close friendship with, among others, Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India.

Jawaharlal's father, Motilal Nehru, was a practicing lawyer at the Allahabad High Court and a prominent and early advocate for India's freedom from British colonial rule. Motilal Nehru and Khwaja Muhammad Yusuf had a close personal and professional relationship. Abdul Majeed Khwaja went onto play a significant role in India's struggle for freedom from British colonial rule. He was a close and trusted confidant of Mahatma Gandhi, India’s founding father. Abdul Majeed was also a founding member of the Jamia Millia Islamia, which is now a full-fledged university. He died in 1962.