 It was in Oxford that he received his baptism in nationalism.The ideas of his liberal-minded tutor Ernest Barker, a meeting with Sarojini Naidu and the patronage of Maulana Mohammad Ali, who visited London during his stay in England, played a role in shaping his ideas.At the call of Mohammad Ali, he returned to India to teach at Jamia Millia Islamia but apparently never became a regular member of its staff.