[1] On 9 January 1864 Sir Syed Ahmad Khan formed a translation society called Scientific Society at Ghazipur with the goal of translating scientific books of English and other European languages into Urdu and Hindi.
[2] The society sought to promote liberal, modern education and Western scientific knowledge in the Muslim community in India.
Sir Syed assembled Muslim scholars from different parts of the country and the society held annual conferences, disbursed funds for educational causes and regularly published a journal on scientific subjects in English and Urdu.
[4] Many of the essays he wrote during this time were on topics like the solar system, plant and animal life, human evolution, etc[citation needed].
Jai Kishan Das, close Hindu associate of Sir Syed served as its secretary from 1867 till 1874.