It was established as
Madrasatul Uloom Musalmanan-e-Hind in 1875, and after two years it became
Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College. The statesman
Syed Ahmad Khan founded the predecessor of
Aligarh Muslim University, the Muhammadan Anglo Oriental College, in 1875 having already established two schools. These were part of the movement of Muslim awakening associated with Syed Ahmad Khan which came to be known as
Aligarh Movement. He considered competence in English and "Western sciences" necessary skills for maintaining Muslims' political influence, especially in Northern India. Khan's image for the college was based on his visit to
Oxford and
Cambridge and he wanted to establish an education system similar to the British model. Sir Syed nursed the institution at a time when English education was a taboo. Intermediate classes were started in 1878, and in 1881 B.A. degree classes were added. In 1881, a civil service preparatory class was started for aspiring students. In 1887, it began to prepare students to enter
Thomason College of Civil Engineering at Roorkee. for the matriculation examination but became an affiliate of
Allahabad University in 1885. In 1877, the school was raised to college level and
Robert Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Earl of Lytton The college also published a magazine by its name. Sir Syed said that their intention was to establish a university. It was the predecessor of
Aligarh Muslim University. ==Principals==