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Aligarh Muslim University

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Aligarh Muslim University
MottoAllamal insana malam yalam.
Teacheth man that which he knewth not.
TypePublic
Established1875
ChancellorJustice A. M. Ahmadi
Vice-ChancellorProf. P. K. Abdul Azis
Academic staff
2,000
Students30,000
Location
Aligarh
,
Uttar Pradesh
,
India
CampusAligarh
AffiliationsUGC
Websitewww.amu.ac.in
Sir Syed Ahmad Khan
Victoria gate, a prominent building at the university
Maulana Azad Library (as viewed from Kennedy Lawns
Kennedy House, AMU. Museum (left); Auditorium (right)
Bab-e-syed, the Gateway to AMU
File:University Canteen.jpg
University Canteen, AMU
Strachey Hall & SS Mosque

Aligarh Muslim University is a Residential Academic Institution which was established in 1875. It was established in 1875 by the Indian Muslims and in 1920 it was granted a status of Central University by an Act of Indian Parliament. It is located in the city of Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India. Modelled on the University of Cambridge, it was among the first institutions of higher learning set up during the British Raj. Originally it was Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College, which was founded by a great Muslim social reformer Sir Syed Ahmed Khan. Many prominent Muslim leaders, and Urdu writers and scholars of the subcontinent have graduated from the University. Aligarh Muslim University offers more than 250 Courses in traditional and modern branch of Education. Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, a great social reformer of his age felt the need for modern education and started a school in 1875 which later became the Mohammedan Anglo Oriental College and finally Aligarh Muslim University in 1920. This is a premier Central University with several faculties and maintained institutions and draws students from all corners of the world, specially Africa, West Asia and South East Asia. In some courses, seats are reserved for students from SAARC and Commonwealth countries. The University is open to all irrespective of caste, creed, religion or sex. Aligarh is situated at a distance of 130 km, South-East of Delhi on Delhi-Calcutta Railway and Grand Trunk route


History

The University grew out of the work of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan who in the aftermath of the Indian War of Independence of 1857 felt that it was important for Muslims to gain modern education and become involved in the public life and Government Services in India at that time. Raja Jai Kishan helped Sir Syed a lot in establishing this university. The British decision to replace the use of the knowledge of Persian in the 1830s for Government employment and as the language of Courts of Law caused deep anxiety among Muslims of the sub-continent. Sir Syed then clearly foresaw the imperative need for the Muslims to acquire proficiency in the English language and "Western Sciences" if the community were to maintain its social and political clout, particularly in Northern India. He began to prepare the road map for the formation of a Muslim University by starting various schools. In 1864, the Scientific Society of Aligarh was set up to disseminate Western works into native languages as a prelude to prepare the community to accept "Western Education". Sir Sultan Mahommed Shah, The Aga Khan III has contributed greatly to Aligarh Muslim University in terms collecting funds and providing financial support.

In 1875, Sir Syed founded the Muhammadan Anglo Oriental College in Aligarh and patterned the college after Oxford and Cambridge universities that he had visited on a trip to England. His objective was to build a college in tune with the British education system but without compromising its Islamic values.

It was one of the first purely residential educational institution set up either by the Government or the public in India. Over the years it gave rise to a new educated class of Muslims who were active in the political system of the British Raj, and who would serve as a catalyst for change among not only the Muslim population of India, but of the entire subcontinent. When Viceroy to India, Lord Curzon visited the College in 1901, he praised the work which was carried on by the College and called it of "sovereign importance" [1].

The college was originally affiliated with the University of Calcutta, and was transferred to the Allahabad University in 1885. Near the turn of the century it began publishing its own magazine, and established a law school. It was also around this time that a movement began to have it develop into a university to stand on its own. To achieve this goal, many expansions were made with more and more programs added to the curriculum. A school for girls was established in 1907. By 1921(exact year 1920), the College was transformed into a university, and it was named Muslim University. Its growth continued. The first chancellor of the university was a female, Sultan Shah Jahan Begum. In 1927, a school for the blind was established, and the following year, a Medical School was attached to the university. By the end of the 1930s, the University had also developed its Engineering faculty. Syed Zafarul Hasan, joined the Aligarh Muslim University in early 1900s as Head of Philosophy Department, Dean Faculty of Arts. He was a pro-Vice Chancellor prior to his retirement, and brought good name to the University.

Maulana Azad Library The Library complex of the University consists of a Central Library and over 80 college/departmental libraries. Libraries of the colleges, institutes and departments, cater to the needs of postgraduates and students of professional courses.

The University has established Book Banks for the benefit of students of certain professional courses. The Central Library was set up in 1875, when this institution was established as Madarsatul Uloom. In 1877, the Madarsa became Mohammadan Anglo-Oriental College. Lord Lytton, the viceroy of India, laid the foundation stone, and the library was named after him as Lytton Library. Eminent scholars like Gardner Brown, Arnold, Releigh, Horowitz, Storey and Auchtelpone functioned as honorary librarians in addition to their teaching responsibilities.

In 1960, it was named as Maulana Azad Library when the first Prime Minister, Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, inaugurated its present building. The Seven storied building is surrounded by 4.75 acres of land in the form of beautiful lawns and gardens. It is the most beautiful building of the University and one of the few very attractive libraries in the country. The Library has about 9,00,000 books

The collection consists of books, periodicals, pamphlets, manuscripts, paintings and photographs. M.A. Library performs the functions of a National Library so far as its collection of Oriental manuscripts are concerned. It is because of these rich collections of immense research value that this Library is reckoned among major libraries of the world. The oldest manuscript owned by the library is more than fourteen hundred years old. It is a fragment of the Quran transcribed by Hazrat Ali, the fourth caliph of Islam and is written on parchment in Kufi script. Another rare collection is the Halnama of Beyazid Ansari, no copy of which is available anywhere else in the world

The Library has a sizeable collection of early printed books in various languages. The most outstanding among them is the Latin translation of the celebrated Arabic work on optics, opticam prafatis, by Ibn-al-Haitham (965-1039) published in 1572

There are several farmans (decrees) of the Mughal kings like Babur, Akbar, Shahjahan, Shah Alam, Shah Alamgir, Aurangzeb etc. Another prized possession of the library is a “Shirt” on which the whole Quran is inscribed in khafi script. This shirt is believed to have been worn by a warrior of Mughal army

Among the large collection of Mughal paintings is the painting of Red Blossom, which is magnum opus of Mansoor Naqqash, the celebrated court artist of Emperor Jahangir. Some valuable Sanskrit works translated into Persian have also been preserved in the library. Other possessions worth mentioning is the Ayurved in Telugu and the Bhasa’s in Malyalam script written on palm leaves. Abul Faiz Faizi, an eminent scholar of Akbar’s court translated several Sanskrit works into Persian, such as Maha Puran, Bhagvat Gita, Mahabharat and Lila Wati, these are also available.

More than 5,000 students, teachers and other members of the university daily visit the library and utilize its services.

Aligarh Muslim University today

Aligarh Muslim University is a residential academic institution offering more than 280 Courses in traditional and modern branches of Education [citation needed]. It has currently currently composed of 12 Faculties viz.

  • Faculty of Agricultural Sciences
  • Faculty of Arts
  • Faculty of Commerce
  • Faculty of Engineering & Technology
  • Faculty of Law
  • Faculty of Life Sciences
  • Faculty of Management Studies & Research
  • Faculty of Medicine
  • Faculty of Science
  • Faculty of Social Sciences
  • Faculty of Theology
  • Faculty of Unani Medicine
    • Ajmal Khan Tibbiya College

Different Schools and colleges:

  • Women's College
  • Senior Secondary School (Boys/Girls)
  • University Schools
    • S. T. High School (Minto Circle)
    • City High School
    • Abdullah Girls High School
    • Ahmadi School for Blind

The university also maintains some interdepartmental research centres such as:

  • Interdisciplinary Biotechnology Unit
  • Centre of Excellence in Material Science/Nanotechnology (Soon to be established)
  • Centre for Comparative Study of Indian Languages & Culture
  • Centre of West Asian Studies

Aligarh Muslim University is planning to set up five regional centres in the country which are Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh), Pune (Maharashtra), Murshidabad (West Bengal), Malappuram (Kerala) and Katihar (Bihar)."Aligarh Muslim University on expansion mode". The Hindu. Retrieved 2008-10-20.

Currently the University has almost thirty thousand students, and over two thousand faculty members with over eighty departments of study. It continues to function as a premiere educational institution in India, and draws students from a number of countries, especially countries in Africa, West Asia and South East Asia. In some courses, seats are reserved for students from SAARC and Commonwealth countries [citation needed].

Aligarh Muslim University is one of the premier central universities in independent India.

The University held its 58th annual convocation on June 18, 2008. Its chief guest was the former president of India, APJ Abdul Kalam and business and Azim Hashim Premji, the chairman of Wipro Technologies Limited. Both of them were conferred with an honorary degree of Doctor of Science. Former chief justice of India, Justice AM Ahmadi, besides many other high profile guests were also present. On the occasion 55 gold and 135 silver medals were awarded and more than 4500 degrees were conferred.



Some Alumni of Aligarh Muslim University

References

  1. ^ Curzon in India. Being a Selection from his Speeches as Viceroy amp ... By Sir Thomas Raleigh, pg474
  2. ^ Lucknow University!!!
  3. ^ Awards, The Milli Gazette, Vol. 3 No. 4
  4. ^ Zarina Hashmi Profile on http://www.saffronart.com
  5. ^ Bloomberg News

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