Syed Mahmood: Colonial India’s Dissenting Judge

Mohammad Nasir · Samreen Ahmed

Apr. 2022 · Bloomsbury Publishing

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At a time when ordinary courage has become rare, one has to look up to the lives of those who stood for dissent in the colonial era. Back in the 19th century, Justice Syed Mahmood, son of the great social reformer Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, became the first judge to resist colonial power by espousing the cause of judicial independence. At the age of just 32, he not only remains the youngest, but also the first Indian Muslim and first north Indian to be appointed as a High Court judge in India. Endowed with a judicial acuity ahead of his times, a number of his dissents were later accepted by the courts, and continue to be the law.

This book chronicles the triumphs and tragedies of Syed Mahmood's life, and his contribution in shaping the consciousness of post 1857 India. With an impressive array of research, perception and analysis, the book succeeds in exhuming a seminal figure from the dust of history, and showcases the past speaking to the present.

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Mohammad Nasir is Assistant Professor in the Department of Law, Aligarh Muslim University. His opinion pieces on legal and socio-political issues have been carried by the Hindustan Times, Indian Express, Wire and OPEN.

Samreen Ahmed is a legal researcher and writer based at the Aligarh Muslim University. A quadruple gold medalist in law from AMU, she is also passionately engaged in empowering destitute women through skill development in Uttar Pradesh.