Jamal Khwaja Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Jamal Khwaja

Born	(1926-08-12)12 August 1926 Delhi, British India
Died	25 December 2020(2020-12-25) (aged 94) Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India
Education	Aligarh Muslim University
Occupation	Indian philosopher

Jamal Khwaja (born August 12, 1926 – died December 25, 2020) was an important philosopher from India. He explored two main ideas in his work. First, he looked at why people have different opinions in philosophy. Second, he studied the religious side of life, especially focusing on Islam. Jamal Khwaja always preferred peaceful discussions over arguments when talking about philosophy and religion.

Jamal Khwaja's Family History
Jamal Khwaja's Education
Jamal Khwaja's Career and Public Service
Key Achievements
Jamal Khwaja's Works
Major Conferences and Lectures
Personal Life
See also

Jamal Khwaja's Family History

Jamal Khwaja was born in Delhi, India. His father, Abdul Majeed Khwaja, was a well-known lawyer and educator. He was also a big part of India's fight for freedom, working with Mahatma Gandhi.

His grandfather, Khwaja Muhammad Yusuf, was a wealthy landowner and lawyer from Aligarh. He strongly supported the Aligarh Movement, which aimed to bring modern education to Muslims in India. This movement was led by Syed Ahmad Khan, who started the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College. Jamal Khwaja's grandfather gave a lot of money to this college.

Jamal Khwaja's mother was Begum Khursheed Khwaja. Her father, Muhammad Hamied Ullah, was one of the first students at the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College. He later studied at Christ's College, Cambridge in England. He became the Chief Justice of the High Court in Hyderabad, India.

Jamal Khwaja's Education

Jamal Khwaja started school in Allahabad, India. He learned the Persian language and studied the Quran at home. Later, he went to Government Intermediate College in Allahabad.

In 1943, his family moved back to Aligarh. Jamal Khwaja then joined the Aligarh Muslim University. Many of his family members had studied or taught there before him.

After getting his master's degree in Philosophy from Aligarh Muslim University, he went to Christ's College, Cambridge in England. This was the same college his father had attended. He also spent a year in Germany studying the German language and a type of philosophy called existentialism.

At Cambridge, he was greatly influenced by famous thinkers like C.D. Broad and Ludwig Wittgenstein. His tutor, Ian Ramsey, taught him to appreciate the beauty of spirituality. Jamal Khwaja learned to combine clear thinking with deep insights into religion and life.

Jamal Khwaja's Career and Public Service

In 1953, Jamal Khwaja started working as a Philosophy lecturer at Aligarh Muslim University.

However, his family had a tradition of public service. So, he briefly entered politics with Jawaharlal Nehru, who was the first Prime Minister of India. Nehru wanted new, young people to join the Indian National Congress party. Jamal Khwaja was one of them. He became one of the youngest members of the Indian Parliament from 1957 to 1962.

During his time in politics, he learned a lot. He decided that his true passion was in academics, not politics. So, in 1962, he returned to Aligarh Muslim University. He continued teaching and researching the Philosophy of Religion.

He became the Dean of the Faculty of Arts. He also served on important committees for the University Grants Commission. He retired in 1988 as a Professor and Chairman of the Philosophy Department. He often took part in national meetings at the Indian Institute of Advanced Study in Shimla.

Key Achievements

Jamal Khwaja had many important achievements throughout his life:

He was a Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha) from 1957 to 1962.
He gave a special lecture called the Schopenhauer Centenary Lecture in New Delhi in 1959–60.
He was a member of the Central Advisory Board of Anthropology from 1959 to 1962.
He was part of the Indian government's group that went to the International Islamic Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 1969.
He led the Department of Philosophy at Aligarh Muslim University from 1978 to 1984.
He was the Dean of the Faculty of Arts at Aligarh Muslim University from 1980 to 1982.
He was a member of the Governing Body of the Indian Council for Philosophical Research in New Delhi in 1984.

Jamal Khwaja's Works

Jamal Khwaja wrote several important books. These include Five Approaches to Philosophy, Quest for Islam, and Authenticity and Islamic Liberalism. His autobiography, The Vision of An Unknown Indian, was published in 2011.

He also wrote many scholarly articles and essays. His work always tried to answer two big questions: "What does it mean to be a true Muslim?" and "How should believers understand God's word today?"

His first book, Five Approaches to Philosophy, explored why philosophers often disagree. His main work, Quest for Islam, looked at the religious side of life. Jamal Khwaja always aimed for peaceful understanding in philosophy and religion. He tried to bridge the gaps between different ways of thinking, like Rationalism and Empiricism.

Major Conferences and Lectures

Jamal Khwaja participated in many important events:

He led a cultural group from the Indian government to Afghanistan in 1960.
He was an official Indian representative at the Pakistan Philosophical Congress in Peshawar in 1963.
He was an official Indian representative at the International Islamic Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 1967.
He gave a series of three special lectures at the Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Library in Patna in the mid-1980s.
He took part in a seminar about tolerance in Indian culture in Madras in 1985.
He directed a philosophical discussion between religious scholars and modern thinkers in New Delhi in 1988.
He was an official Indian representative at the World Philosophical Congress in Brighton, United Kingdom, in 1988.

Personal Life

In 1949, Jamal Khwaja married his cousin, Hamida. They had three sons: Jawahar Kabir, Rajen Habib, and Nasser Navin. They also had one daughter, Geeta Anjum. He traveled to the United States and several countries in Western Europe. In 2005, he performed the Hajj, a special pilgrimage for Muslims.